As she spoke, she headed towards the door. It was unclear whether she was distracted or just in a hurry, but as she stepped over the threshold of the drawing room, she carelessly tripped and nearly fell.
Li Jun had been paying close attention to her movements and, seeing her stumble at the doorway, instinctively furrowed his brows and called out in a low voice, "Be careful!"
As soon as he spoke, his body had already reacted.
Li Jun hastily set down his teacup and took a few quick steps to reach Zong Yue from behind, lowering his head to look at her leg, "Are you hurt?"
Zong Zhan’s motion of bringing a cigarette to his lips came to a halt, his eyebrows raising almost involuntarily.
Meanwhile, Li Qiao and her two siblings watched the scene unfold with composure, showing no signs of surprise.
It might not be that the elder brother was particularly fond of Zong Yue, but as a man like him, responsibility and commitment were ingrained in his very bones.
Now that he had married Zong Yue, the patriarchal Li Jun would inevitably treat her as his responsibility and possession.
So what was so surprising about him showing concern and care for her?
At this moment, Zong Yue looked at Li Jun with a dazed expression, her shin having been struck against the threshold, causing a faint pain.
But she didn’t want to seem too delicate and, shaking her head, forced out a slight smile, "It’s nothing, go back and sit down. I’ll go check on Grandfather."
Li Jun glanced back at the drawing room and then eyed her attentively before leaning forward, his deep voice only audible to the two of them, "Are you sure he will see you?"
Zong Yue’s face instantly turned pale.
Up to now, the members of the Li family were still unaware of how this marriage had come to be.
Many outsiders also thought it was the Zong Family that needed an alliance, and that the South Sea Li Family was merely lucky to have climbed up the social ladder.
But Li Jun was in the know.
On the second night following their wedding, Zong Yue had no choice but to reveal the truth behind their union to him.
Because they needed to return to the capital for the maternal family banquet, if she didn’t tell him, Li Jun would undoubtedly face difficulties from his grandfather.
This marriage was indeed sought by her herself.
The only reason she used was... she was pregnant with Li Jun’s child.
She had acted impulsively at the time, going her own way without considering the consequences.
She was also certain that the Red Gate Sect could not afford to lose face over this issue of premarital pregnancy, so she burned her bridges.
Now, although they were married, the grandfather had been avoiding her all along.
She had inquired secretively with Uncle San, and according to what she heard, grandfather had once sent someone to investigate Li Jun and also uncovered his affairs with Ye Yun.
Clearly, in the eyes of the Zong Family, Li Jun was not a match for her.
At the moment, Zong Yue gathered her wandering thoughts and, holding Li Jun’s fingers, murmured somewhat helplessly, "No, Grandfather dotes on me."
Li Jun, observing her look of utter disarray, didn’t say much. Taking her hand, he led her towards the east wing, "Let me accompany you."
Zong Yue instinctively resisted a bit, not because she didn’t want them to meet, but because she feared her grandfather would make things difficult for him.
"Let’s go. The old master’s heart has a knot, and unless it’s untied, you’ll be uncomfortable," Li Jun said earnestly, determined to face it together with her.
You say he doesn’t love her, yet he consistently provides her with ample warmth and support. The more he does so, the deeper Zong Yue finds herself inevitably falling.
After Li Jun and Zong Yue left, the drawing room remained silent for a long time.
Zong Zhan wasn’t the talkative type. Even if the Zong Family treated them negligently, the crux of the matter still lay with Zong Yue.
As long as this issue remained unresolved, no one’s heart would be at ease.
In the meantime, Zong Zhan stepped out to make a phone call. Upon his return, he stood at the door and looked at Li Qiao, "Sister, shall I show you around the yard?"
Li Qiao glanced at her phone and stood up after locking the screen, knowing that Zong Zhan had something to tell her.
In the reception room, Mr. and Mrs. Li looked towards the door, eyeing each other, barely able to maintain their composure, "Is the old master really not planning to meet with us?"
From beginning to end, the marriage negotiations had been handled entirely by Zong Zhan.
Now that they thought about it, it indeed seemed somewhat hasty.
Li San leaned against the back of his chair, nonchalantly smoking, and lifted his eyelids to look at his mother, "He will meet us."
"How do you know?" Duan Shuyuan glanced at him skeptically, "It’s been almost an hour, and he hasn’t come out. I think... it’s hopeless."
Li San tilted his head back and blew a smoke ring, his silhouette hidden behind the smoke, with a faintly hazy smirk, "Mom, you have to have faith in big brother."
About ten minutes later, Li Qiao and Zong Zhan returned side by side.
Their expressions were inscrutable, and they took their seats back in their original places, without a word exchanged between them.
Close to mealtime, Zong Zhan took them to the dining hall next door for a quick lunch.
By this time, Mr. and Mrs. Li’s faces were somewhat embarrassed.
As for the three Li siblings, after eating, they returned to the reception room to continue idly playing with their phones.
Meanwhile, Zong Yue, Li Jun, and Liang Wanhua never came back.
At two-thirty in the afternoon, Mr. and Mrs. Li could no longer sit still. Exchanging glances, just as they were about to speak, footsteps were heard outside the reception room.
"I’ve kept the two in-laws waiting for a long time," came the voice of Old Master Zong before he appeared.
His voice was robust and hearty, not at all like someone who had been ill the night before.
At this moment, everyone in the room stood up.
As Zong Zhan got up, he even looked at Li Qiao in surprise.
The latter simply curved her lips into a light smile.
Seeing this, Zong Zhan chuckled, suppressing any unnecessary expression and looked towards Old Master Zong, who was approaching from outside, backlit by the light.
Zong Hesong, the retired old general and ex-military man, still boasted a strong physique and straight back even in his seventies, a pride and posture unique to a soldier.
By his side were Zong Yue and Liang Wanhua, with Li Jun trailing behind, appearing normal but his steps... seemed a bit dragging.
"Old Master, you’re overestimating our wait; we haven’t been here that long," said Li Guangming.
Li Guangming hastened forward to shake Zong Hesong’s hand, deliberately bending his waist slightly.
It wasn’t servility, but rather the proper respect and admiration owed to an elder.
Zong Hesong’s face looked quite serious, and though he wore a smile, the many years of military life gave him an inherent sense of authority.
Releasing the handshake, Old Master Zong scanned the reception room. When his gaze landed on Li Qiao, it paused sharply for two seconds.
Li Qiao looked back at Zong Hesong calmly, with a slight nod, neither inferior nor arrogant, "General Zong, good to see you."
Zong Hesong nodded with a smile, "Good, you’re all good, we’re all family here, please sit down."
If not for Mr. and Mrs. Li being seasoned in handling tough situations, they might have been overwhelmed by such contradictory behavior.
They composed themselves quietly, adjusting their seated posture, and tried to stabilize their emotions.
After ten minutes, the adjustment failed.
Because they truly did not know how to face the warm and attentive Old General Zong any longer.
What on earth had happened to make him so... magnanimously kind?
It wasn’t until they left the Zong family’s quadrangle in the evening that Mr. and Mrs. Li walked with a certain lightness in their step.