An Old Friend’s Wife
Lu Chengyuan looked around, only to see a woman with delicate eyebrows and eyes and a graceful figure standing not far away. However, the woman’s eyes were full of hostility, and her gaze towards him was full of ridicule.
He immediately frowned and scolded, “Who are you? How dare you attack this Marquis? Don’t you want to live?”
In the capital for so long, this is the first person who dared to attack him.
Jiang Yimian stood beside Lu Cijian, glanced indifferently at the person in front of her, and ridiculed, “Marquis, you are not a very competent father. Since that’s the case, why bother to come and ask for scolding?”
She didn’t want to appear at this time, but this person was simply too infuriating. She was afraid that Lu Cijian, because of that bit of longing in his heart, would not be willing to attack the person in front of him.
Since that’s the case, then she would do it. She couldn’t really let Lu Cijian get hurt because of this scumbag father.
Lu Chengyuan was clearly hit where it hurt, so angry that his eyes turned red. His usually dignified face was now full of anger. “Bring someone here, send this commoner to the Ministry of Justice Prison. She dares to attack this Marquis; this Marquis sees that she doesn’t want to live.”
Does it need this commoner to say whether he is a competent father or not?
As soon as he finished speaking, a guard wearing a combat outfit immediately appeared in front of Jiang Yimian, reaching out to grab her.
However, he missed. Lu Cijian’s hand firmly grasped the other’s wrist, his knuckles cracking. The guard felt like his wrist was about to break, and his face changed drastically.
Lu Cijian simply looked coldly at Lu Chengyuan, his voice unprecedentedly cold, “Marquis, there’s no need to exert yourself. I will not return.
Duke Anguo’s Residence should be under the scrutiny of many people now, Marquis, you’d better be careful.”
Having said that, he pushed away the guard blocking him, pulled Jiang Yimian, and left directly.
Lu Chengyuan was so angry that he stomped his feet, but Lu Cijian’s last words nailed him to the spot, momentarily unclear about the meaning of his words.
According to Lu Cijian’s nature, these words would certainly not be out of concern for him. What exactly did it mean?
The guard in combat attire beside him bowed and said, “Marquis, should your subordinate continue to follow Young Master?”
Lu Chengyuan just waved his hand, his eyes staring fiercely at the street corner not far away, and said coldly, “No need. Since he doesn’t want to go back, then don’t bother with him for now. This Marquis doesn’t believe that he can stay away forever and not acknowledge me as his father.”
He has a thousand ways to force him back. Since he is his son, he must follow the path he has paved.
Lu Cijian held Jiang Yimian’s hand and walked for a long time before stopping, but he did not let go of her hand, remaining unusually silent along the way.
Jiang Yimian wanted to comfort him but didn’t know how to speak. She simply inserted her fingers into his, tightly intertwined, wanting to give him some strength.
Lu Cijian was startled, but instead of letting go of her small hand, he held it even tighter.
Until the two of them arrived in front of a dilapidated residence, Jiang Yimian instantly felt the tension in the person beside her relax.
The wooden door was full of traces of time, dilapidated, yet a rusty copper lock still hung on the door that could be pushed open.
Under the eaves, many cobwebs were densely woven, looking like it had been unoccupied for a long time.
Jiang Yimian looked at the dilapidated courtyard in front of her and was stunned, not understanding why Lu Cijian had brought her here. Before she could ask,
Lu Cijian had already opened the courtyard gate. The gate was unlocked, and it opened with a push.
The old wooden door creaked softly, but quickly closed behind the two of them.
They thought that the inside would be as dilapidated as the outside, but unexpectedly, the small courtyard was very clean,
especially the pots of thriving orchids under the eaves, adding a lot of color to this barren small courtyard.
Jiang Yimian was examining the furnishings in the courtyard when a voice, old and somewhat doubtful, came from inside the house, “Who is it?”
Lu Cijian simply said, “It’s me.”
As soon as he finished speaking, an old woman with white hair came out of the house. Seeing the people in the courtyard, she immediately said with a joyful smile, “Little Lu, it’s been so long since you came. Today, you finally have time to see this old woman.”
Having said that, her gaze fell on Jiang Yimian beside him.
Her eyes immediately lit up, and she said with a smile, “Whose girl is this? She’s so beautiful. When did you have such a good girl by your side? Come, have a seat.”
Having said that, she suddenly thought of something and continued with a smile, “You must not have eaten yet. I’ll make you some saozi noodles; they’re delicious.”
With that, she turned and went into the kitchen.
Jiang Yimian looked at Lu Cijian, curiously asking, “Who is that?”
Lu Cijian pulled her to sit at the stone table in the courtyard and then said with a smile, “An old friend’s wife.”
Jiang Yimian’s eyes flickered as she looked at the person in front of her, signaling for him to continue.
Lu Cijian was momentarily dazed, as if recalling something from a long time ago.
The winter estate was extremely cold, everywhere covered with white snow, a silvery landscape, looking like a beautiful scene from afar.
But the child inside the house had no intention of admiring this beautiful scene. He simply huddled in the corner, trying to bring a bit of warmth to his icy body.
Yet the leaky windows and dilapidated roof were constantly being blown by the cold wind, the piercing chill constantly washing over every inch of the child’s skin.
Although he was inside the house, it was no different from outside.
He hugged his knees tightly, but his teeth still chattered uncontrollably from the cold.
From the house next door, the laughter of several old women came from time to time, making his scalp tingle.
The child, pale from the cold, huddled in the corner, and hearing the lively sounds, he slowly moved towards the opposite wall.
There was a brazier in the next room, burning warmly, making the entire wall warm.
The child pressed himself tightly against the wall, wanting to draw some warmth from it. But the heat was too little, and not only did it not add any warmth to him, but it also caused him to be blown by the cold wind from the roof.
The cold wind poured into the room, making him unable to open his eyes. Occasionally, snowflakes blew in, falling on the ground.
The already shivering child huddled even tighter.
A voice suddenly came from the next room, with a hint of worry, “All the charcoal in the estate is in this room. Won’t that guy freeze to death? After all, he is the young master of the Marquis’ residence. If he dies, won’t we all be buried with him?”
“What are you worried about? He’s just an unfavored young master. Look, he’s been here for months, and has anyone come to see him?
Clearly, he’s never been treated as a young master. This bit of charcoal is for him; we’ll freeze to death this winter.”
“The people in the Marquis’ residence are really stingy. They are a prominent family, yet they are so stingy with winter charcoal.”
“Who says they’re not? We are pitiful people too. In the dead of winter, we have to stay in this broken estate to look after that unfavored young master. If we were with the Second Young Master, we would definitely be comfortably nestled in the mansion, and we might even get a lot of New Year’s gifts.”
“That’s right. How long has it been since the Marquis took a second wife? He’s heartless, just like his son.”
“Shh, keep your voice down, in case others hear you. I want to live, you don’t have to.”
“What’s there to be afraid of? There are only a few people in this estate. Who can report it back to the capital? Oh, by the way, where did the gardener go? I haven’t seen him all day.
The steward will collect his flowers. Don’t let him kill the flowers.”
“Why are you worried about him? He must be in the flower house. Come on, let’s continue playing cards.”