Chapter 34: Chapter 34 Call Me Big Brother
“When the late Madam was still alive, my Miss was the only legitimate daughter in the mansion! That time, the Lady gave me this authority—if anyone showed disrespect to my Miss, it was my duty to slap them!”
No sooner had the words fallen than Miao Zhu continued to slap away. Even though Li Lu covered her face, her palm still came crashing down relentlessly.
Wei Ruili didn’t want to see Li Lu’s sorry state. Facing Leng Yu Yan, he spoke gently, “Yu Yan, I really didn’t recognize you.”
“What difference does it make whether you recognized me or not?” Leng Yu Yan watched Miao Zhu demonstrate her ‘talent’ with interest, “They are but passersby in life, nothing more.”
At that moment, a sudden round of applause burst from the crowd, “Well said! Leng Yu Yan, bravo!”
Following the direction of the sound, Leng Yu Yan looked over—she had seen this person before at Mozhai.
A young man strode towards her.
Seeing that he could call out her name, Leng Yu Yan nodded slightly, “May I ask your esteemed name?”
Li Yuyue stood firm before Leng Yu Yan, “My surname is Lai, first name Yuyue. You can call me Brother Lai without losing face, we are indeed family.”
So, it was the Heir of Prince Zhenbei, Li Yuyue.
The man before her was refined and elegant, his eyes and brows like a painting. Just by standing there, his natural aura subdued the whispers of the surrounding crowd.
Leng Yu Yan gave a slight curtsy, “Brother Lai.”
Uh, that felt a bit odd.
“I’ll escort you home,” said Li Yuyue, taking a step towards Wei Ruili, his towering figure blocking Wei’s view.
No need, I’ll go back with my younger sister.
“And where is your younger sister?”
Leng Yu Yan was indeed worried that Lai Jiajia had fallen into some pit. Just as she grew anxious, she saw her, light-hearted and cheerful, running towards them.
Lai Jiajia waved as she ran, “Sister, sorry to keep you waiting.”
Leng Yu Yan introduced her with a smile, “That would be my younger sister.”
“Your younger sister seems quite lively,” Li Yuyue said with a slight smile.
Only then did Lai Jiajia notice that the atmosphere at the academy’s gate was somewhat strange.
Why are all these people still standing around and not going home? Moreover, they were either watching Miao Zhu hit Li Lu or fixing their gaze on her.
Qinxian pulled her young lady aside and briefly explained the situation.
Lai Jiajia was momentarily stunned—in the time it took her to relieve herself, so much had happened!
Li Yuyue listened intently, his ears perked; he had left the Imperial College late and missed most of the preceding events.
Now that he’d heard the story, his cold gaze fell on Li Lu, “As sisters, you are even less than an outsider in public—by my judgment, your heart is even uglier!”
With the Heir of Prince Zhenbei reaching a verdict, the students of the Imperial College began to echo in agreement.
The girls from Xinya Academy who admired Heir Lai started to blame Li Lu, hoping to leave a good impression on the Heir.
Lai Manting and Xu Yaxiang didn’t expect the event to take such an unexpected turn. Not only had they failed to remove the ugly girl’s veil, but the Heir of Prince Zhenbei had also sided with her.
If they stayed any longer, they feared Li Lu might expose them. With hunched shoulders, they quietly moved to their respective horse carriages, preparing to leave without a trace.
Facing the accusations of the crowd, added to the burning sensation on her slapped face, Li Lu couldn’t keep face and burst into tears.
As she wiped her tears, she noticed Lai Manting preparing to leave on her own and quickly chased after her.
“Miss, she’s running away,” Miao Zhu shook her hand, finally releasing the emotions she had suppressed for so many days.
The task entrusted by the late Madam—she really had accomplished it!
Leng Yu Yan had long noticed the secretive glances exchanged between Li Lu, Lai Manting, and Xu Yaxiang.
Li Lu’s timidity now adequately explained why she suddenly turned hostile towards her.
At that point, the students each returned to their homes.
Wei Ruili carefully skirted around Li Yuyue, “Yu Yan, shall we…”
Li Yuyue stepped aside, reached out to grab a hold of Wei Ruili’s collar, as if picking up a duckling, and lifted him off the ground, “Aren’t you going to scram?”
Wei Ruili’s legs flailed, “I’m scramming, I’m scramming, please let go first, Princely Heir.”
Once Li Yuyue let go, Wei Ruili immediately fell to the ground, scrambled to his feet, and ran off as fast as he could.
“Thank you, Brother Lai!” Leng Yu Yan sincerely expressed her gratitude.
If her own elder brother had still been alive, he surely would have protected her just like Heir Lai.
Thinking so, ripples of emotion swam in Leng Yu Yan beautiful eyes.
“What’s wrong with you?” Li Yuyue, keen-eyed, clearly saw the lucent shimmer in her eyes, as if she was about to burst into tears any second, which instantly made him panic.
Leng Yu Yan blinked her eyes and shook her head, “It’s nothing, just got some sand in my eye.”
“Thank you for today, Brother Lai; it’s getting late, so I’ll take my leave now.” While speaking, Leng Yu Yan, accompanied by Lai Jiajia, curtseyed.
Li Yuyue nodded, watched the sisters board their horse carriage, and then left.
On the carriage, Lai Jiajia asked, “Sister, how did you come to know the Heir of Prince Zhenbei Mansion?”
“I met him at Mozhai on the day I first came to the academy,” Leng Yu Yan candidly replied, though she didn’t mention the incident involving Wei Ruili.
“The Heir of Prince Zhenbei came to the Capital City three years ago, ostensibly to study and gain experience, but really as a hostage to keep the power of Prince Zhenbei Mansion in check by the Emperor. Prince Zhenbei was magnanimous, sending his eldest son without hesitation, signifying to the Emperor to be at ease.”
Leng Yu Yan asked in surprise, “How do you know all this in such detail?”
“Our father mentioned it to me; our family and the Prince Zhenbei Mansion share common ancestry for generations.”
Leng Yu Yan squeezed Lai Jiajia’s hand, “You can tell me what uncle said, but never speak of it in front of others.”
“Sister, I understand!” Lai Jiajia clasped Leng Yu Yan’s hand in return, giggling, “Sister’s hand is so soft, so nice to squeeze.”
Hearing this, Leng Yu Yan withdrew her hand and smacked the back of hers, “Why are you acting like a playboy?”
“Playboys are all men, but I am a girl…”
Before she could finish, the two erupted into a bout of tickling and laughter.
Their crisp laughter spilled from the horse carriage onto the street.
Qinxian watched from the side, fretting inwardly, “This is terrible; my miss is going to lead the Fifth Miss astray!”
Miao Zhu, on the other hand, was very pleased; her miss hadn’t laughed so genuinely in a long time, it seemed the Sixth Miss had quite the charm.
Upon returning to Qingyu Residence, Leng Yu Yan had just entered the house when Mrs. Zhao grabbed her arm.
“Mrs. Zhao, what is it?”
Mrs. Zhao glanced towards the entrance to ensure no one was coming and whispered, “While Miao Zhu went to pick up the miss, the Lady sent people to inspect the gifted items.”
Leng Yu Yan’s brow furrowed slightly, “Mrs. Feng came?”
“It was her maid who came, claiming they were looking for some capable maids and servants for you. They thought I was deaf and mute, not listening, whispering about where exactly the gifted items were placed.”
Thinking of the miss at the academy, Miao Zhu picking her up, and her, an old maid unable to contend with so many alone in Qingyu Residence, Mrs. Zhao was extremely worried, “What if they come to rob us, this old servant…”
A flicker crossed Leng Yu Yan’s brows, realizing that summoning the maids from Linqing Pavilion wouldn’t be timely.
After a moment of contemplation, she said, “I’ll find a place to secure these valuables.”
“It won’t be that quick to find a place,” Miao Zhu said, concerned, “What if they come to grab them tomorrow?”