Lu Lingzhi forced a bitter smile out and said, “Yaoyao, Eldest Brother here is somewhat confused. What can he do for you?”
“I am unclear of the reason why you treat me like I am Ye Zhen… One thing I’m sure of is that you’re obsessed with her. You haven’t done anything wrong to her, have you?” she asked, looking at the other with a smile that was not a smile. She absolutely did not believe the excuse he gave that he mistook her for Ye Zhen because he missed her. In fact, she was certain his reaction was because he had killed her, so he felt guilty whenever he saw her who had the same face as the deceased Wang Fei. This poisoning must have made him unable to control himself and made him mistake her for her twin several times.
“Indeed, I do owe her.” He sighed before he looked at the little girl gently. “Yaoyao, what can I do for you?”
Her voice was very cold as she asked, “Why did you ask Tang Zhen to propose marriage after you forgot yourself and mistook me for Ye Zhen? Do I make you uneasy living in the Lu Family?”
He chuckled and said, “Yaoyao, you misunderstand. Tang Zhen has long been interested in you. I’m just mentioning it for him to Third Uncle. In fact, he had told me a few months ago, just… at that time, you had yet to attend school and start your study, so it was hard to act as your matchmaker.”
“Whether it is due to this reason or not, you know it clearly in your mind.” She lightly said, “I won’t let you control my life as you please nor am I a puppet you can marry off to whoever at your will. Why are you in a hurry to marry me off anyway? Do you feel uncomfortable when you look at Yaoyao everyday?”
“Yaoyao, what on earth are you talking about?” His gentle and smiling face gradually grew colder with each word that came out of her mouth. He reached out and put his hand on her shoulder. “How could I do this kind of thing to you? Don’t let your imagination run wild.”
Ye Zhen pushed his hand away in disgust. “Don’t touch me.”
Lu Lingzhi was a little embarrassed and at a loss. He didn’t know how to make this little girl believe him, make her believe that he only wanted to betroth her to Tang Zhen for her own good.
“Eldest Brother!” Lu Xiangzhi’s voice came from outside the study and Ye Zhen put away the indifferent expression she donned as she looked back, only to see Lu Xiangzhi coming through the door. He also saw her and his eyes widened in surprise. “Eh, Yaoyao, why are you here too?”
“Brother.” Ye Zhen smiled sweetly at the other. Although she hadn’t met Lu Xiangzhi only for several days, she already missed him a little.
Lu Xiangzhi deftly rubbed Ye Zhen’s head before looking at Lu Lingzhi. “Eldest Brother, Teacher has promised to see you tomorrow. Let’s go to the Xu Family together then?”
Ye Zhen glanced at Lu Lingzhi and wondered why he was looking for Old Xu at this time.
“Alright, then Fourth Brother, I will trouble you.” Lu Lingzhi nodded with a smile.
Lu Xiangzhi waved his hand, unbothered. “This is simply a matter of lifting one’s hand, Eldest Brother, no trouble at all. Now then, I’ll talk to you later. I want to talk to Yaoyao first.”
“Go on ah!” Lu Lingzhi smiled and nodded his head.
♚
“Brother, what is Eldest Brother looking for?” Ye Zhen followed Lu Xiangzhi, and still couldn’t help but ask him curiously.
Lu Xiangzhi smiled and said, “I don’t know either. Eldest Brother asked to see Master Xu several times before, but he had already closed his doors, not accepting any visitors. I don’t know why he is looking for him either.”
Ye Zhen glared at him irritably. “You don’t even know what he’s seeing Master Xu about, how could you ask for an appointment on his behalf? What if there’s a chance you upset him?”
“Yaoyao, why do you still have this attitude towards Eldest Brother? He is our elder brother. No matter what it is, you should help him.” Lu Xiangzhi smiled and patted her head. “You, just a little girl, are so stingy.”
“How is this me being petty? Brother, you don’t know, last time Eldest Brother said he wanted to kill me in the carriage.” She complained aggrievedly. She knew that Lu Xiangzhi had brotherly love for Lu Lingzhi, but she didn’t.
How could she hope that everything goes well for Lu Lingzhi like everyone else in the Lu family? Only when his life gets worse, would her heart feel better.
Lu Xiangzhi hadn’t heard about this, so he looked at his sister in surprise. “Why? What did Eldest Brother do to you?”
“I don’t know.” She was very aggrieved. She pulled his hand and said softly, “He suddenly called me Zhen Zhen and said he owed me something. Anyway, it was something I didn’t understand, and then he said he was going to kill me. Brother, I was very scared that day.”
“Yaoyao, Eldest Brother certainly didn’t mean it.” He comforted her. “He was poisoned, perhaps at times, his consciousness would not be clear. Otherwise, he would certainly hate to do something that would hurt you.”
Ye Zhen pouted. “Brother, you always speak for him.”
“He is our eldest brother. In order for everyone in the Lu family to live a better life, he was willing to risk life and limb, went to Western border, and got poisoned as a result. Yaoyao, he works harder than all of us. We should be considerate of him,” he said softly.
Yes, as a member of the Lu family, she must be grateful to Lu Lingzhi. It was he who was willing to risk life and limb for them, that they were able to have glory today. But who in the Lu family knew that Lu Lingzhi had stepped on her corpse, betrayed her in the past to have this today?
