Chapter 844 He Did Not Expect Her To Be So Important To Him
His father-in-law was obviously in a mood so pleasant that he no longer found Long Yang an eyesore.
It was all thanks to his mother-in-law.
Long Yang cocked an eyebrow.
After playing two rounds of Chinese chess, they took a break.
At this moment, the snow had stopped falling outside, and the sun had come out. Lu Liangwei wanted to admire the snow in the garden, but just then, the steward came to inform that Duke Ji had arrived with his son and Third Miss Ji to pay their New Year’s greetings to the Dowager Duchess.
Both families lived close to each other and had always maintained close ties. Since they were already here, there was no reason to turn them away, so the Dowager Duchess asked the steward to show them in.
When Ji Qingyuan walked in with Ji Xiu and Ji Lingxiu, he was startled to see the Emperor and Empress there. Recovering from his shock, he hurried forward with his children to greet them.
“Rise,” Long Yang said calmly.
“Thank you, Your Majesty, Your Highness.” Ji Qingyuan straightened up, then paid his New Year’s greetings to the Dowager Duchess.
The Dowager Duchess said kindly, “Thank you for coming. It’s rather cold outside, isn’t it? Do sit down.”
Seeing that Long Yang’s expression remained unchanged, Ji Qingyuan sat down cautiously with his children.
Lu Liangwei got up and said to the Dowager Duchess and her parents. “Grandmother, Dad, Mom, why don’t you have some tea with Duke Ji? I want to go to Dusklight Court with His Majesty for a bit. We’ll be back soon.”
The Dowager Duchess did not reply immediately but looked at Long Yang.
Long Yang had already risen from his seat. He stepped forward, took Lu Liangwei’s hand, and nodded to the Dowager Duchess. “I’ll take Weiwei there.”
“All right, go ahead.” Only then was the Dowager Duchess at ease.
Ji Qingyuan watched in astonishment as the Emperor and Empress left the room.
He had never seen the Emperor act the way he did just now.
He spoke to the Dowager Duchess as humbly and respectfully as a younger person would to his elders.
Ji Qingyuan could hardly contain his shock.
He had long known how fond the Emperor was of Lu Liangwei, but he did not expect her to be so important to him.
He could not help thinking of his bedridden daughter.
There was a bitter ache in his heart.
After Long Yang and Lu Liangwei were gone, Ji Qingyuan said ruefully, “His Majesty is very fond of Her Highness.”
Lu Hetian was not at all happy to see him. Not only did the Ji Family’s sudden visit disturb his family time, but he was also still upset about Ji Qingyuan chatting Lihua up yesterday while he was not by her side. The last thing he wanted was to talk to Ji Qingyuan.
The Dowager Duchess was a little helpless, but she understood her son’s temper well, and there was nothing she could do.
Her gaze landed on Ji Xiu and Ji Linghui.
After Ji Xiu had gotten married, he was no longer the capricious man he used to be and was now much more steady and composed.
She was glad to see the change in him – both their families were considered close friends, after all. “Xiu’er, when you have time, you can bring Xin’er here.”
Xin’er was Ji Xiu’s wife. Their marriage had been granted by the Emperor.
Ji Xiu nodded. “Thank you, Madam.”
The Dowager Duchess then shifted her gaze to Ji Lingxiu and said tenderly, “Lingxiu’s getting lovelier day by day.”
Ji Lingxiu had always been cautious in front of the Dowager Duchess, and when she heard her compliment, she averted her gaze in embarrassment.
Ji Qingyuan laughed. “Don’t compliment her too much, Madam. She’s a wild one, this girl. She only behaves when you’re around.”
The atmosphere in the room had lightened a little. Just then, Ling Lihua looked Ji Lingxiu over and commented, “This girl’s not quite the same as her elder sister.”
Ji Qingyuan was surprised. “You’ve seen Huiler before?”
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An ambiguous smile tugged at the corners of Ling Lihua’s lips. “Not really.” That night, when she went to the palace to abduct Ji Linghui, she had not bothered to look at Ji Linghui’s face at all.