Chapter 113
Translator: NovelMultiverse | Editor: NovelMultiverse
Shi Huiru was taken aback after hearing the words: “You…you don’t want to marry Lord Xu? Why?”
Lord Xu was precious and suave, and his pa.s.sionate pursuit of Yu Linglong was even known throughout the capital. Why wouldn’t Yu Linglong marry such a man?
Yu Linglong asked, “Why should I marry him?”
She really didn’t understand the traditional concept of women in ancient times. Do women have to marry? Her body was just fifteen years old after the New Year. She was still a junior high school student in modern times. But in ancient times, she had to talk about marriage? She didn’t plan to give herself to others so early.
What’s more, that Lord Xu had a mysterious ident.i.ty. For a while, he was a romantic prince, and then he turned into a black leader. He must not be a simple character. She has enough of her own affairs and did not want to mix with this mysterious guy.
Of course, she would not tell Shi Huiru this, nor was she a person who liked to explain too much to others.
Those who understand her do not need to explain; those who do not understand her do not deserve to listen to her explanation.
Looking at Yu Linglong’s peaceful face, Shi Huiru really didn’t understand Yu Linglong’s thoughts. In her capacity, she could be regarded as a social climber by Lord Xu. How could she refuse to marry him?
In the room, the two girls fell silent for a while. Only the charcoal fire in the smoked cage made a slight crackling sound.
Hearing the faint sound of flute music outside, Yu Linglong said, “Let’s go out.”
Shi Huiru was roused from her contemplation. She seemed to think of something and stood up with a smile: “By the way, your sister is here today, too. I heard that she will be married to Gan Taifu’s family next year?”
Yu Linglong thought of this mistake and smiled unconsciously: “Yes, that is happening.”
Shi Huiru pursed her lips and said with a smile: “I don’t know what kind of a person is so beautiful that she can actually catch the eyes of Lord Gan. Take me to see her.”
The two put aside the heavy topic just now and walked outside with a smile.
Shi Huiru said, “I heard from my father that he also invited the Gan family today. I wonder if Lady Gan will come?”
Yu Linglong paused slightly and said, “You said Lady Gan might come?”
Shi Huiru said, “Yes, Lady Gan is easy-going. If she is free, she should be here today.”
Yu Linglong faintly felt that something was wrong, but couldn’t say it, so she didn’t think about it. If something really happened, there would be an answer at the banquet in a while.
The banquet was set in the main hall of the Shi house. The outer hall was for male guests and the inner hall was for female family members. Shi Huiru took Yu Linglong into the inner hall and saw that there were six square round tables inside. They were surrounded by a stove to warm up the large square hall. Although it was winter, there were still many flowers of various colors blooming in the room. The elegant floral fragrance was enhanced by the fire, making the room warm and fragrant as spring.
Dozens of maids were bringing dishes to the table like running water, looking very orderly. Soon, the table was filled with delicate dishes.
Shi Huiru dragged Yu Linglong towards a small table in the inner hall and smiled at her: “You are my good sister. Naturally, you won’t sit outside with them. Come, let’s go sit inside.”
It was said to be a small hall, but in fact, it was just a layer of yellow rosewood flower and bird screens separated from the banquet in the middle of the hall. Behind the screens, the layout inside was different. The seats were divided into three sides, and there were three small tables directly opposite them. Each one could only accommodate one person, and the two sides had slightly longer tables. The dishes on the top were even more exquisite. Just smelling the aroma makes one salivate.
At this time, the guests were seated one after another. Yu Linglong did not like to socialize, and she recognized very few people during the dinner. She saw Yu Qianjiao sitting alone beside the table on the side, a little curious but still pretending to look around with restraint.
A few times at the table opposite them, Yang Yunzheng combed her bun, whispering something with the two ladies at the neighboring table. Seeing Shi Huiru and Yu Linglong coming in, she only raised her eyes to them. With a slight smile, it was regarded as a greeting.
Shi Huiru placed Yu Linglong behind a table and said with a smile: “Sit down for a while, and I will go to say h.e.l.lo to them.”
Yu Linglong nodded and turned her gaze to meet Yu Qianjiao’s eyes from a distance.
Yu Qianjiao was stared at by Yu Linglong and lowered her head subconsciously.
Yu Linglong smiled coldly, ignoring the probing eyes of the people around who saw that their sisters weren’t sitting together. She turned her face away and ignored her.
Shi Huiru returned soon. She sat next to Yu Linglong and said with a smile: “Lady Gan is really here.”
As she spoke, she pointed to Yu Linglong: “Do you see that lady in purple over there? That’s Lady Gan.”
Yu Linglong followed her words, and the Lady Gan pointed out by Shi Huiru was sitting behind the table on the left side of her. She was dressed in luxurious clothes and graceful, and she knew her status was unusual.
Shi Huiru was very envious: “Is she the empress’ sister-in-law? Look at how beautiful she is.”
Shi Huiru was innocent, thinking that Lady Gan was very elegant in her gestures, so she couldn’t help but say it.
She saw Lady Gan and Lady Shi, who was the mistress. She said a few words, then suddenly turned her head to look at Yu Qianjiao. She saw Yu Qianjiao sitting silently on the side, and ordered something to the maid behind her. The maid immediately walked to Yu Qianjiao.
In a short while, several maids carried a small table and settled it beside Lady Gan. Yu Qianjiao looked flattered, but tried to pretend to be cowardly and timid, and bowed to Lady Gan. She sat beside her.
The status of the guests on the main seat was extremely precious. Lady Gan’s move naturally attracted the attention of everyone present. The young ladies looked at Yu Qianjiao curiously and couldn’t help whispering.
Yu Linglong looked around calmly, and couldn’t help feeling that these women in the inner room were very funny. Lady Gan clearly wanted to support Yu Qianjiao, her future daughter-in-law. Yu Qianjiao must be happy at the moment.
It’s no wonder that Lady Gan wanted to do this. Compared with the ladies present here, Yu Qianjiao’s ident.i.ty was really not n.o.ble, and her appearance was at best a middle-upper cla.s.s lady. If Lady Gan ignored her, I am afraid she would be easily lost in the crowd.
After all, she was a wife who will be married to the Gan house in the future.
The banquet hadn’t officially started. The female family members were talking in twos and threes. An older maid suddenly walked over behind the screen and said to Lady Shi: “Lady, Young Master Gan is asking to see you outside.”[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the “Novel Multiverse dot com” website @ novelmultiverse.com]
After hearing this, Lady Shi paused slightly, and couldn’t help but glance at Lady Gan.
On this occasion, it was not a big deal for the nephew to ask the mistress to join. It’s just that there was a lady in this room who had not been through the door. According to the rules, it should be avoided, but it depended on Lady Gan’s treatment of Yu Qianjiao. Obviously, she didn’t want to avoid it deliberately.
Perceiving Lady Shi’s questioning gaze, Lady Gan smiled and said, “Let him come in and give everyone a salute, as for Qianjiao…”
Her voice lowered a little, but she didn’t seem to conceal anything deliberately. She said flatly: “They’ve seen each other before.”
The faint sentence drew more complicated looks, but Lady Gan looked like it was a matter of course and didn’t mean to explain.
When Yu Linglong heard this, her heart sank slightly. Originally, she thought she had to wait until she entered the bridal chamber before Gan Lin found out that Yu Qianjiao was not her, but now it seemed that she was afraid it would happen today.
Should she get up and avoid it? That was even more unrealistic. First, it was below her, and second, leaving the meeting at this time was too obvious, and there was no need to arouse more suspicion.
What should come will come, so she should face it.
Soon, Gan Lin entered the small hall. It is known that the princes of big families behave differently. Although Gan Lin was still young, he was also very outstanding. At this moment, he was wearing a pine green robe with white fox fur trim. He wore a dark green woven belt around his waist, and he wore a purple gold crown inlaid with tired silk that looked like a jade crown. His face was flushed with vigor.
Yu Qianjiao, who was next to Lady Gan, almost forgot to evade her. She was staring at Gan Lin with her bright eyes, obviously very fond of her future husband.
Gan Lin stepped forward to give Lady Shi a respectful bow and said in a clear voice: “I pay my respects to Lady Shi. I hope you are well.”
Lady Shi smiled and said, “Please rise.”
Then he smiled to Lady Gan and said, “Master Ling is looking better and better. If I remember correctly, he should be fifteen after the New Year, right?”
Lady Gan smiled and replied: “Lady Shi remembers correctly.”
The two ladies were gossiping, but Yu Qianjiao on the side could not hear what they were talking about. She stared at Gan Lin, her heart thumping so hard that it almost jumped out of her chest.
She only knew that he was the son who was promised to her by Lady Gan, but she did not expect Gan Lin to look so good-looking. Although he was only a young man who had not yet matured, he had a clear face, and his eyes were like shooting stars.
How lucky she was to be able to marry such a romantic and handsome character. This was really the blessing of her previous life.
With those eyes, she looked at Gan Lin baffled, watching his every move.
Her heart was like a pond full of spring water, rippling to and fro, and it couldn’t stop.
However, Gan Lin, who was firmly locked in her tender eyes, didn’t seem to notice her at all. She saw his eyes suddenly fall on a young girl after paying respects to all the ladies present.
This girl wore a soft satin pomegranate dress with green silk satin piping. Her hair was lightly combed like cicada wings, her green eyebrows curved like the spring mountains, her face was like a red flower, and her eyes were as clear as water. It was impossible to look away from her.
When Gan Lin saw this, his face lightened involuntarily, and he walked over to her disobediently, and said with a smile: “Qianjiao, you are here too.”
Yu Linglong raised her face when she met Gan Lin’s scorching eyes. His eyes were full of joy and eagerness, but it was a pity that she could not look back at him with the same gaze.
Glancing at Yu Qianjiao, who was dazed, Yu Linglong smiled faintly, and her lips opened slightly: “Prince Gan, you must have the wrong person.”
Gan Lin looked astonished. He said: “Qianjiao, what’s wrong with you, are you angry with me?”
Did she blame him for being too reckless last time? He forgot everything when he saw her, and maybe he accidentally offended her.
Yu Linglong slowly shook her head, raised a fair hand, and pointed to the pale girl next to Lady Gan: “Prince Gan, your future wife is over there.”
Looking in the direction of her fingers, Gan Lin stared at Yu Qianjiao, who had never met before, and was startled.
Lady Gan sensitively noticed something wrong. She glanced at Yu Qianjiao next to her, and then at the confused Gan Lin. The smile on her face gradually disappeared: “Lin’er, what’s wrong with you? This is the Sixth Lady of the Yu family, Yu Qianjiao.”
Gan Lin took a step back in surprise and shook his head vigorously: “No, that’s not right! She is not Yu Qianjiao, I don’t recognize her!”
The white face turned to Yu Linglong. His big eyes fixed on her, and his face was full of shock: “Are you lying to me? She’s not Yu Qianjiao, you are!”
The sudden change made everyone present stunned. The ladies looked at each other, wondering what happened.
Seeing the surrounding changes, Lady Gan suddenly stood up and said in a low voice: “Lin’er, what’s the matter? We will talk about it when we go back!”
Lady Gan’s reaction was quick. She had already noticed what was wrong with this. Although she didn’t know the reason yet, she knew that the most important thing in front of her was to appease her son and not let him continue to embarra.s.s her.
They were the relatives of the emperor and the family members of the first-cla.s.s officers, and they must not make fools of themselves in public.
Gan Lin didn’t seem to hear Lady Gan’s words at all. He walked quickly to Yu Linglong’s table and asked eagerly: “Qianjiao, why are you lying to me? What is going on?”
He remembered it clearly. She told him herself that her name was Yu Qianjiao.
He remembered clearly that he was in that dark cave, and he had to suffer for a long time before finally waiting for a girl who looked like a fairy to rescue him.
He remembered clearly that in the dark, she once held his hand and said firmly: Follow me.
He never told her that this voice gave him infinite strength and made him strong in an instant, just because she was there.
When he was most helpless, when he thought it was impossible for anyone to find him, when he thought that the whole world had abandoned him, she came to him like a fairy falling to the world and saved him from the endless darkness and pain.
He liked her calmness, her firmness, and the faint, unknown fragrance on her body. Although she was so indifferent and proud, he had been close to her and felt the warmth of her fragrance. This feeling gave him a sense of security he never had before.
At this moment, he knew that he must get her in this life.
After returning to the Gan Mansion, he exhausted all the reasons before he asked his parents to go to the Yu Mansion to propose marriage. After receiving the promise of General Yu, he was so excited that he couldn’t sleep for several days, thinking that he would see her again, and he would never be separated from her again.
But now she told him that she was not Yu Qianjiao!?
Why!? Why would she lie to him!?
At this moment, he felt as if he had been knocked down from the clouds into the abyss. He had no other choice but to stare at the cold-faced girl in front of him.
As if the drowning person wanted to grab the last straw, Gan Lin looked desperate, and said word by word: “Tell me you are Yu Qianjiao, okay?”
Seeing that he still refused to accept the reality, Yu Linglong sighed. Why was this kid so persistent!
In response to his painful eyes, Yu Linglong said quietly: “Prince Gan, the woman who has a marriage contract with you is sitting right there, please be polite.”
The development of things to this point was not what she had expected before. The rescue of Gan Lin at the beginning was a complete mistake. At that time, she was thinking about Feng Xuanyuan and Yu Lieyang, and she just casually answered Gan Lin’s question. Who knew that things would evolve to where they were today.
She didn’t intend to hurt the boy in front of her, but once everything in the world involved feelings, it was difficult to guarantee that it would not be hurt.
Gan Lin looked at Yu Qianjiao next to Lady Gan, her white face showing a look of disgust.