Song Tangning pursed her lips tightly upon hearing those words.
Seeing her frowning, her small face scrunched up, Xiao Yan gently brushed her hair off her forehead, "Alright, I was just saying it casually, it may never come to that."
Tangning lifted her eyes, "Even casually, it's not okay!"
Xiao Yan, helpless, replied, "Fine, not okay, I won't mention it again." As they stepped over the threshold, which was a bit high, he reached out to steady Tangning's back, "Watch your step."
Tangning placed her hand on his arm, looking at the bustling crowd outside, while the officials behind them were still fervently discussing the books from the Lu family. As she reached the doorway, she suddenly halted.
"A-brother."
"Hmm?" Xiao Yan responded.
Tangning looked up at him with a particularly serious expression, "Whether you believe it or not, no matter what happens in the future, I will always stand by your side."
Be it as a traitor or with a tarnished name, to her, he was just A-brother.
The one who called her Little Haitang, the one who would protect her without any reason.
Xiao Yan was taken aback by the seriousness of her tone. By the time he recovered, her green skirt had already swept past him, and the young girl stepped out over the threshold, her hair accessories swaying gently as she walked forward.
"Little Haitang..." Xiao Yan murmured, his voice caught in his throat, softening his gaze and sighing as he followed her.
This child always knew how to strike at his weak spots.
...
Lu Zhijian watched from a distance as the two walked out of the door side by side. His eyes caught sight of their intimate conversation and Tangning’s subtle leaning toward Xiao Yan.
The two stood one tall and one short, their clothes almost touching, and perhaps because they were so close, it appeared as if they were whispering intimately to each other, creating a sense of ambiguity.
Lu Zhijian couldn't help but frown, his chest tightening as if something was blocking it, making him feel suffocated.
How could Tangning be so close and reliant on a eunuch?
Though the man was castrated, he still had a male physique in everyone's eyes. How could she, a young lady, not see the need to avoid suspicion around him?
Xiao Yan seemed to have supported Tangning for some reason, and when she turned and smiled at him, the eyes that once always had Lu Zhijian’s figure now only held the image of another "man." Lu Zhijian clenched his molars hard.
That was his Tangning, the little girl he had watched grow up. Their engagement hadn’t been dissolved yet; she was still to be his future wife. How could she be so close to another?
Even if that man was a eunuch, Lu Zhijian still felt a suffocating frustration in his chest. Just as he was about to push open the carriage door and get out, Lu Zhao grabbed him back forcefully, slamming him against the side of the carriage with a thud.
Lu Zhao shouted angrily, "What do you think you're doing?"
"I want to see Tangning, to explain to her..."
"Are you out of your mind?!" Lu Zhao's eyes were filled with rage, "Can't you see how many people are outside? Can’t you see they're all here to mock the Lu family? What do you intend to explain to Song Tangning right now? Do you want to explain how you wronged her, or how you mistreated her?"
"Do you want everyone to see you groveling, spineless, and begging for her forgiveness, so they can all laugh at our Lu family?!" If it had been before today, it might have been different. Begging for forgiveness might have swayed Tangning, but now, with the Lu family already humiliated and forced to give away those books, they had been thoroughly mocked.
If Lu Zhijian were to show weakness now, it would only add fuel to the fire, giving people even more reason to laugh at the Lu family.
"I’m telling you, you’d better stay put, don’t go out and make a fool of yourself!"
Lu Zhijian listened to Lu Zhao’s scolding, but only looked up at him.
His back hurt terribly; the collision seemed to have reopened the wounds left from his previous beating.
He could feel the dampness on his wrinkled clothes but seemed numb to the pain on his back, only filled with sarcasm as he spoke to Lu Zhao.
"I'm the one making a fool of myself?"
"The one asking me to be spineless, groveling on my knees, isn't it you, father?" Lu Zhijian's lips were dry, and his voice was hoarse, "Haven't you and grandfather already cast me aside, already decided to beg Tangning? You’ve long stopped caring about dignity, so why be angry now?"
"Didn’t you just say, it's only kneeling, we would have to do it sooner or later? If it can make Tangning change her mind, wouldn't you be pleased, father?"
"Sanjie..."
"Or has father changed his mind, willing to go to Jiyun Alley to refuse Tangning himself?"
Lu Zhao froze, his voice stopping abruptly, and his hesitation only deepened Lu Zhijian’s mockery.
"So father doesn’t want to refuse, nor does he want me to disgrace the Lu family. In your eyes, if I kneel in Jiyun Alley, as long as you don’t see it, you’re not worried about the Lu family being humiliated..."
Slap—
"Lu Zhijian, I am your father!" Lu Zhao, angered by his questioning, slapped him hard.
With his cheek red and swollen, Lu Zhijian merely laughed softly, unclear whether it was mockery at Lu Zhao's fury or the words he had just spoken.
Leaning on the side of the carriage, he slowly climbed down, and when he saw Lu Zhao reaching out to grab him again, he turned back with a faint smile, "Father really wants to pull me back and make a scene in front of everyone?"
Lu Zhao's outstretched hand instantly retracted.
Lu Zhijian, half-smiling and full of disdain, said, "There are so many people outside. If father wants to keep the Lu family’s dignity, it’s best not to make a fuss with me. Otherwise, if it harms you and fifth brother’s reputation, it won’t be good."
"You!"
"Thank you, father, for taking the time to pick me up from prison." Lu Zhijian finished with a sarcastic tone and paid no further attention to the alternating shades of green and white on Lu Zhao’s face. Supporting himself against the side of the carriage, he slowly stepped down.
Seeing him stagger away, Lu Rong hurriedly said, "Master, Sanjie is still injured..."
"Leave him be!" Lu Zhao clenched his fists, his face filled with anger, "That ungrateful son!!"
"But if he really goes to see County Princess Yiyang..."
"Let him go if he wants to, who can stop him?!" Lu Zhao said furiously, "Does he think that the Song girl is still the same, that she can be coaxed back with just a few words, thinking that the marriage can still continue after all this?"
"Let him hit a wall, and he’ll understand. After seeing the Song girl, he’ll realize that both I and his grandfather are acting for his own good." If he hadn’t been left with no choice, how could he allow his son to kneel before a young girl?
After all, Lu Zhijian’s mistakes had cost the Lu family greatly.
If he did not step forward to settle this, if he did not let everyone see that he was also suffering, how could the elders of the Lu family tolerate him, and how would he have a place in the family in the future?
Though Lu Zhao had indeed considered supporting his youngest son, he had valued Lu Zhijian for years. How could he not feel any pity for him? But Lu Zhijian simply did not understand the deeper meaning behind his and his father's actions.
"Leave him be, let him go to Tangning. I want to see how capable he is. If he can truly coax her back, then the Lu family will be his!"
If he could restore the Lu family’s reputation without needing to kneel, Lu Zhijian still had a chance.
But if not, he would have no one to blame but himself!
============
You can read ahead to chapterr 234 here
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