Chapter 443 – The Most Suitable (1)

“Yaoyao, you’re back!” As soon as Chen Jinru saw her, she immediately ran over and asked, “Are you okay? Just now, we heard a terrible noise outside and thought—”

“It’s alright, everything is alright,” Ye Zhen said, smiling. “Don’t worry.”

Chen Jinru hugged Ye Zhen’s arm and fussed. “You just ran out like that without a word… That scared us all… Scaring us into thinking that you’re in danger.”

Immediately after her, Xia Yaohua also spoke. “Right! Then, Chief Gong also refused to let us go out. And I heard… It’s Fifth Prince who is trying to force the emperor to abdicate?”

“Regardless of who was trying to force the emperor to abdicate, the inner palace is not a place that people can get in easily,” Ye Zhen said with a smile.

“Is the emperor conscious?” Chen Jinru asked with a low voice, afraid of being heard.

“Conscious.” Ye Zhen stated plainly. She figured that, since Mo Rongzhan had already met the cabinet ministers, he no longer planned to hide the truth about his recovery.

Chen Jinru and Xia Yaohua both breathed a sigh of relief. Then, both of them began to murmur to Ye Zhen, sharing with her the recent happenings and news surrounding the imperial hospital.

At this time, the number of guards surrounding the whole palace was several times more than usual, but outside the palace, everything was proceeding as normal without being affected by today’s farce. It was as if there was no such thing as forcing the emperor to abdicate.

♚

At Lu Mansion- Lu Shiming’s study.

“ The emperor should be attending the morning court tomorrow. It’s estimated that those people, who keep making petty maneuvers in the court these days, will not come to a good end.” Lu Shiming commented out loud, informing Lu Lingzhi of what had happened in the palace earlier in the day.

“His Majesty is a wise and farsighted monarch. How could he let a man like Fifth Prince… succeed in forcing him to abdicate,” Lu Lingzhi said as he shook his head with a smile. He had never believed that Mo Rongzhan would be defeated.

The one who could defeat Mo Rongzhan… would be one with such a simple means like Fifth Prince.

Lu Shiming nodded and smiled. “You’re right. That aside, it’s good that it’s safe now. Yaoyao is still in the palace after all.”

Speaking of Yaoyao, the guilt in Lu Lingzhi’s heart spilled out as he said, “Third Uncle, since I scared Yaoyao—”

He didn’t know what came over him today, but when he saw Lu Yaoyao’s resemblance to Ye Zhen, he unexpectedly became confused and really considered her as Ye Zhen. He didn’t know from when, but today he finally realized that in the depth of his heart, hidden from sight, Ye Zhen’s existence still lived on and had become his heart demon.

However, Lu Shiming did not react and simply said, “It’s not your fault. When Yaoyao comes back, I’ll talk to her. She’ll understand.”

“Third Uncle, what do you think of Tang Zhen?” Lu Lingzhi asked with a low voice, ignoring the inexplicable pain at the bottom of his heart.

“Tang Zhen? He’s pretty good,” Lu Shiming said as he nodded with a smile. However, he then frowned as he looked at Lu Lingzhi, realizing something from his words. “Though I think, Lingzhi, you have another meaning behind this question.”

Lu Lingzhi smiled as he poured another cup of tea to his uncle. “I would like to ask Third Uncle’s opinion. Do you think Tang Zhen is worthy of Yaoyao?”

In Lu Shiming’s mind, no man deserved to be his son-in-law. “Did that boy ask you to enquire?”

“It seems that Third Uncle has long seen Tang Zhen’s mind.” Lu Lingzhi laughed. Indeed, Tang Zhen’s intention and care for Lu Yaoyao was really obvious for all to see.

♚♚♚

Alas, no matter how reluctant Lu Shiming was to betroth his daughter, she would eventually marry when she grew up. And when he scoured throughout the capital, apart from his nephews, only a few young men were able to enter his eyes. Moreover, contrary to what he said, Tang Zhen – this young man – was actually not a bad choice. After all, the Tang Family was small, and for his free-spirited daughter who was raised unrestrained, it was a more suitable choice than a large family.

“Haa, I didn’t expect that in the blink of an eye, she has grown so big… I really don’t want to part with her, ah!” Lu Shiming said, sighing lightly. “Your Third Aunt means for her to stay for another two more years.”

Lu Lingzhi lowered his eyes and said, “She can get engaged first. Tang Zhen is also a reasonable man. He should be willing to wait a little longer.”

“I have to discuss this matter with your Third Aunt first,” Lu Shiming said.

“Third Uncle, there’s still Grandmother. After all, Yaoyao is her most beloved granddaughter,” Lu Lingzhi said, smiling. However, according to his understanding of the Old Madam, he was mostly assured that she should be very much in favor of this marriage.

Lu Shiming sighed. “This is also Mother and Yaoyao’s fate.”

Who would have thought that the Old Madam who was very indifferent towards her own granddaughters would be so close to Yaoyao? Still, in Lu Shiming’s mind, Yaoyao was already his own daughter, so he would of course not tell anyone about her life experience. After all, not everyone in the Lu Family regarded Yaoyao as their flesh and blood like him and his wife.

Actually, before he formally adopted Yaoyao, when she was around three or four years old, he joked with Pei Shi that he wanted to raise Yaoyao as a child bride. However, later on, the affection between the children as brother and sister deepened day by day, and they – husband and wife – also regarded Yaoyao as their daughter. So, this idea never came up again and it was even more impossible to be brought up now.

After Lu Shiming returned, he discussed the matter with Pei Shi, who was very happy to hear it. “Tang Zhen? Marquis Jing Ning? I have always thought that he is worthy of our Yaoyao. I just didn’t expect you to think the same way.”

“When did you begin to think this way?” Lu Shiming asked in surprise. “Did that boy send you some hints before?”

Pei Shi shot him a look of displeasure and annoyance. “What nonsense are you saying?! Our Yaoyao has already reached a marriageable age(has already had her hairpin ceremony),  Girls from other families have long been engaged, but ours hasn’t. Naturally, I have to choose carefully, ah. So, I have been quietly inquiring about the single young men in the capital. Alas, the result was unpromising. Either they have tongfang (a maid who doubles as a bed partner, and is of the lowest status in terms of concubines) in their backroom or their elders are not reasonable enough or they are people with bad character. Therefore, I think Tang Zhen is the one most suitable for our Yaoyao.”

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