Qin Wanru laughed. The lamplight set her face off to advantage, but in the shadow of the light, her snowy skin and red lips, together with her weird smile, gave a sense of gloom and horror.
Qi Rongzhi was so scared that she took two steps backward and her heart started thumping like crazy.
This Qin Wanru involuntarily made her feel scared.
“Qi Rongzhi. If I hear you call me sister Wanru one more time, don’t blame me for being rude!” Qin Wan said coldly and then turned away.
Qi Rongzhi opened her mouth slightly behind her and tried to stop her, but no sound came out. She swore at herself inwardly for being easily discouraged and then composed herself. With a trace of irritation and anger in her eyes, she gritted her teeth and held back her anger.
“Miss…” Chun Yi looked behind and alerted her in a low voice. There was a voice behind her. Someone was coming.
“Let’s go!” Qi Rongzhi had returned to her senses. She looked around and ensconced herself behind the rockery on one side. She didn’t believe that there was no chance for her!
“Cousin, can I go back with you?” The footsteps came near. There was a large number of people. The foremost ones were Di Yan and Qin Yuru. Qin Yuru seemed unhappy with her head slightly turned down.
“Cousin, listen to me. You can’t go back with me today. Don’t worry, I’ll ask my mother to send someone to pick you up next time.” Di Yan promised.
“But… but I want to live in Duke Yong’s mansion. I don’t want to live here, I don’t know if I’ve unpacked. I haven’t lived here for so long. Can I live there?” Qin Yuru stopped and looked around with great dislike.
Although Qin’s mansion was not bad, it was still inferior to the house of Duke Yong. It had not been fully decorated, and many parts weren’t laid out and fixed, waiting for the day the master moved in. Therefore, the house looked more dilapidated and shabby.
“Cousin, now that my aunt and uncle are in the capital city, it’s improper and unreasonable to live outside. Actually, I want you to stay at my house, and I hope you’d never go back. But not now. You know, my mother was a little upset because of what happened before, and she said she wanted to fix a new marriage for me.”
Di Yan appeased Qin Yuru.
As soon as Qin Yuru heard what he said, she felt grieved and her eyes turned red. “Doesn’t aunt like me?”
Di Yan could not bear a beauty to shed tears, so he took the hanky from Qin Yuru’s hand to wipe her tears immediately. “Why won’t my mother like you? But you know, someone is secretly spreading the news that you’ve been engaged to someone before. I don’t know who spread the news. Although there is no evidence, my mother wasn’t happy after hearing it.”
“Will aunt really arrange an engagement for you?” Qin Yuru felt worried about this. This time when she went to the capital city, she did everything carefully and was dramatically more respectful and docile in front of her aunt for fear that someone would get something on her. Luckily, Madam s.h.i.+ of Duke Yong was satisfied with her.
However, without any apparent reason, Madam s.h.i.+ didn’t promise Qin Wuru that she would make an engagement for her and Di Yan. She had previously promised to make an engagement for them as soon as Qin Wuru arrived in the capital city when Madam s.h.i.+ sent a letter to her before.
Qin Yuru was clearly aware of those things, fearing that Madam s.h.i.+ would hear something and she wouldn’t get engaged to Di Yan. She was really worried after hearing what Di Yan had spoken.
“Don’t worry, she won’t. My mother just said it casually. I don’t know where she heard the rumor that day. It’s okay, listen to me. And it’s nothing serious even if she really heard something. You’re the most innocent one!” Di Yan actually didn’t know the truth of the matter. What he knew was nothing but what Qin Yuru had told him. She mentioned that Qi Tianyu was fond of her and sought marriage in front of Qin Huaiyong.
Qin Huaiyong agreed because he was ignorant of the relations.h.i.+p between her and Di Yan.
But she would never agree. When she was about to break off the engagement, Qi Wanru came out, saying that she was willing to marry Qi Tianyu. Therefore, Qin Wanru naturally took responsibility for the marriage. At that time Magistrate Qi merely asked for marriage for his son with the daughter of Qin’s mansion, he didn’t clearly point out that he wanted Qin Yuru to marry his son.
However, Qin Wanru went back on her word. She had feelings for the Second Young Master of Qi’s mansion and was unwilling to marry the First Young Master of the Qi Family. Thus, she blew up the affair, a.s.serting that the one Qi Tianyu wanted to marry was actually Qin Yuru. So, Qin Wanru implicated her with disrepute.
In the whole process, Qin Yuru portrayed herself as one who was innocent and soulful, whereas Qi Wanru was born with wanton behavior. She couldn’t be a good girl!
“Okay, cousin, I will listen to you!” Qin Yuru said obediently. “Come and play when you’re free.”
“Okay, okay, okay!” Di Yan was still rather satisfied with Qin Yuru’s dependence on him with such airs and graces, thus he was willing to coax her patiently. He thought that it would be fine to marry his cousin who was as pretty as a flower and jade and was affectionate. With her mild temper, she would have no objection if he eventually intended to marry some more concubines.
His elder cousin seemed not as beautiful as his younger cousin!
“Cousin, I feel that my second cousin is so young. Does she really know what it means to get married?” having said something to amuse Qin Yuru, Di Yan involuntarily asked her, with a delicate but childish face crossing his mind in an instant.
“Cousin, don’t you trust me?” Qin Yuru bit her lip with tears trickling down her cheeks.
“Why won’t I trust you? Who are you and what is our relations.h.i.+p? Why would I trust an outsider!” Di Yan reached out to wipe Qin Yuru’s tears, saying to himself that he must be kind to such a delicate cousin in the future and not allow others to bully her.
Seizing the opportunity to bury herself in Di Yan’s chest, Qin Yuru pulled his clothes and said with a grievance, “My second sister always seems like a charming girl, but it’s a facade. You see, she’s arrogant now. She calls my mother not mother but madam. Mother raised her for so many years, and she’s worked really hard to do so but she does not get any credit!”
Di Yan agreed with what she said. “Your family is quite out of order. Though Shui Ruolan is my uncle’s concubine and my second cousin has been entrusted to her, my second cousin should be warmer when meeting my aunt. At the very least, my second cousin can call your mother her aunt.”
He was blind to what was going on, feeling that it was a little out of order unless his aunt had done something. However, he did not consider that his aunt had done something wrong in this matter! Besides, before he came here, his father has warned him against talking nonsense even when he saw that his uncle didn’t like his aunt. His father would settle the matter.
“Cousin!” Qin Yuru felt increasingly wronged, directly throwing herself into Di Yan’s arms!
Di Yan was both distressed and excited. It was difficult for him to calm down when Qin Yuru, who was pretty and had such a nice hourgla.s.s figure, buried herself into his arms. After a while, he realized that this was Qin’s mansion, thus he choked down the desire in his heart and patted her back to appease her in a low voice. “It doesn’t matter. Now you’re in the capital city, Duke Yong’s mansion will shelter you. Uncle can’t treat you badly!”
“Well, it’s late. I’ll go back!” Looking up at the sky, Di Yan felt that it would be a good time to go out. He had a date with someone.
During this period, because Qin Yuru had come to Duke Yong’s mansion, she was always pestering him. But the fact that she could also be called a beauty didn’t make him take unkindly to her, and he coaxed Qin Yuru on purpose sometimes. However, it took away his time to flirt with other women, and several of his close friends had already complained to him in private.
He couldn’t break this appointment anymore!
“Cousin, be careful on your way!” Qin Yuru said softly while wiping her tears and extricating herself from Di Yan’s arms.
“Okay, don’t worry. You go back first. I’ll watch you go, and then I’ll turn here and go to the outer courtyard!” Di Yan said with deep affection. They were indeed standing at a junction.
“Cousin, I’m going!” Hearing that her sweetheart would actually wait for her to leave first, Qin Yuru was full of happiness. She bashfully pulled back her hanky from his hand and walked inside gracefully and charmingly. On the half-way, she turned back to give Di Yan a winsome smile.
Seeing Di Yan wave at her made her reluctant to leave him.
She had to find a way to ask her mother to settle their engagement in case some harsh words came to their ears. Although she felt it was unlikely to be greeted with that news because Jiangzhou was far from the capital city, she had to be careful, especially since Qi Tianyu was also in the capital city.
She had to look for a chance to meet Qi Tianyu so that they could be united in what they would say. She couldn’t settle down because it was inconvenient for her to handle Qi Tianyu while she lived in Duke Yong’s mansion before.
Di Yan kept his word and didn’t leave until Qin Yuru was totally out of his sight. He didn’t expect that someone would be standing behind him, thus knocking the person down by accident when he turned around.
Before he could see who it was, Di Yan had reached out to hold the person in his arms.
He was the son of an aristocratic family in the capital city, after all. After a short while, he quickly put out his hands to help Qi Rongzhi up politely. “Miss Qi, why were you behind me?”
“Mr. Di, I’m lost. I can’t find my way. I saw you here, so I wanted to ask you the way, but you turned around so suddenly!” Qi Rongzhi said with her face reddened all over while her head was lowered as she wrung the hanky in her hands.
“I didn’t notice someone standing behind me just now.” Di Yan replied while he set his eyes on Qi Rongzhi’s delicate face. Qi Rongzhi and Qin Yuru were actually equally matched for their delicacy and beauty, but because she was much smaller than Qin Yuru and had a little bit more childishness, he could not help glancing at Qi Rongzhi several times.
He had always been a man with a soft spot for women, and he could not bear to see such a little beauty saying something with misgiving. Gazing at Qi Rongzhi who was too shy to ask something, he said softly with a thud in his heart. “Shall I take you to the guest house?”
He had accompanied Qin Yuru here several times when the supervisor cleared up Qin’s mansion, so he had a general idea of the layout of Qin’s mansion.
“Then… I’m sorry to trouble you, Mr. Di!” Qi Rongzhi answered shyly.
“It doesn’t matter. Since you live in Qin’s mansion now and grew up with my cousin, you’re also my sister!” Di Yan turned around to show the way and even waited for Qi Rongzhi for a moment at the crossing. With a smile, he looked at Qi Rongzhi with her blus.h.i.+ng face and teased her.
“Thank you very much, Brother Di!” though Qi Rongzhi spoke in a low and soft voice, it sounded clear on such a quiet night.
Behind the rockery, Qin Wanru watched the scene with Qing Yue with a cold smile on her face. Qi Rongzhi did manage to do something…