Chapter 785: Chapter 747: This Is My Older Sister (Second Update)

After Zhao Xunyin left, Lu Yanqing sat in her west room drinking tea.

After an unknown amount of time, a young servant from the outer courtyard came in to report, "Second Young Master, the Commandery Princess and Eldest Young Master, along with the Young Madam, have arrived."

Lu Yanqing had not been home for many years. Upon hearing these titles, he felt an indescribable strangeness. By the time he figured out who was who, the young servant had already brought them in.

Originally, they were supposed to meet the head mistress, Zhao Xunyin, first. But as fate would have it, she had just left for the Imperial City.

So Wen Wan and the others were led to the west room, and upon entering, they saw a handsome and serene young man inside.

His dark robes made the aura around him even more subdued.

He sat there steadily, seemingly not planning to stand up. When he glanced at Wen Wan from the corner of his eye, there was an evident awkwardness on his face, and he slightly turned his head away.

Lu Yanbin and Mrs. Xiao Liu were unaware of the intricacies behind this.

Lu Yanbin joked, "People say a girl changes a lot during her teenage years, but I think a boy does too. He was just a mischievous child back then, and now he’s all grown up."

Saying this, he walked over and sat beside Lu Yanqing, naturally patting him on the shoulder, "After being back for so many days, have you gotten used to it?"

Mrs. Xiao Liu lifted the corners of her lips slightly and softly called, "Second Uncle."

When she married into the Lu Family, Lu Yanqing had already been exiled to the Northern Desert. This was their first meeting.

She had heard long ago that Lu Yanqing was known as the "Little Overlord" in the Capital, arrogant, and dismissive of everyone. Not even the noble children or high-ranking officials dared to provoke him easily.

But seeing him today, he didn’t seem like a dissolute son of a rich family. His stern face clearly said "stay away."

Mrs. Xiao Liu looked towards Wen Wan questioningly.

Wen Wan also noticed the unusual changes in Lu Yanqing.

Before his exile, Wen Wan had met him several times and deeply knew Lu Yanqing’s rebellious nature. He was an unteachably spoiled second-generation heir, acting tyrannically with someone backing him up, so much that nobody dared to speak against him even if he caused huge trouble.

At a young age, he dared to secretly form a group to open mines, dared to publicly fight in the Imperial College, dared to threaten court officials in broad daylight...

The unique "Empress Dowager’s grandson" halo seemed to grant him extraordinary privileges — nothing in the world was beyond his reach.

Back then, whenever Lu Yanqing’s name came up, who didn’t first spit before describing him: lawless, outrageous, abominable, Little Overlord, spoiled heir, brat, ill-mannered...

Such a notorious person, if born into an ordinary family, would have been done away with many times over.

But Lu Yanqing wasn’t; after committing such an enormous crime, his parents took the blame for him, voluntarily leaving the family and going to Ningzhou to guard the tomb to reduce his sentence.

His accomplices from the Su Family and Cheng Family were exiled for life, but he was only exiled for thirty years.

And now, thanks to his parents’ merits in saving the emperor, he was granted an early return.

Wen Wan still vividly remembers that rainy evening years ago when she opened the courtyard door to see her foster father, covered in yellow mud, disheveled and red-eyed, telling her that an accident had happened at the mine, the rain had caused a collapse, burying many workers.

She also remembers that she, her foster father, and husband rushed to the mine in the pouring rain, unable to see a single living person, all buried under the collapsed soil and rocks.

Those scenes further solidified her belief that the instigator deserved a thousand cuts.

On the way here, Wen Wan had thought about how to face Lu Yanqing. She wasn’t impulsive enough to stab him directly, nor would she be soft-hearted enough to recognize him with tears.

Even for siblings born of the same mother, she would never forgive Lu Yanqing because of Zhao Xunyin’s connection.

Therefore, Wen Wan’s face was very calm at the moment.

However, Lu Yanqing’s change still aroused her suspicion.

Could it be that his time in exile had truly transformed his nature?

Seeing Lu Yanbin clinging by his side and refusing to move, Lu Yanqing furrowed his eyebrows almost imperceptibly, then said softly, "Sit."

There was no title, and it was unclear whom he was addressing.

Lu Yanbin noticed Lu Yanqing’s indifference, slowly withdrew his hand from Lu Yanqing’s shoulder, moved to sit elsewhere, and did not forget to call Mrs. Xiao Liu over.

Wen Wan found a seat for herself.

Another maid from the Liufang Courtyard, Bai Zhi, came in to serve tea to everyone, smiling sweetly, "Knowing the Commandery Princess loves Yuhua Tea most, the Eldest Princess specially prepared it, saying it should be brewed for you as soon as you arrived."

Then she said to Mrs. Xiao Liu, "Young Madam can’t drink tea, so I specially prepared walnut milk. See if the sweetness suits you."

Mrs. Xiao Liu expressed her thanks.

After attending to the two female guests, Bai Zhi served tea to Lu Yanbin, refilled Lu Yanqing’s, and then bowed herself out.

For a moment, no one spoke in the inner room, and the atmosphere was subtly awkward.

Lu Yanbin, unable to hold back, was the first to break the silence, "Qing, where is Second Aunt? Why don’t I see her?"

"Entered the palace," Lu Yanqing responded indifferently.

Lu Yanbin naturally knew Zhao Xunyin had entered the palace. A servant had mentioned it as soon as he walked through the door. This was just an attempt to fill the awkward silence.

After speaking, the room fell into silence again.

Unable to enliven the atmosphere, Lu Yanbin chose not to force it, turning his head to whisper with Mrs. Xiao Liu beside him.

Wen Wan glanced at Lu Yanqing and asked him, "Have you been to Ningzhou?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Yanqing’s eyelids trembled slightly; he still didn’t dare to meet her gaze, just nodded slightly.

"And then?" Wen Wan asked again.

Although her tone wasn’t aggressive, asking in such a manner evidently had a confrontational edge. Lu Yanbin really couldn’t understand what was going on with this pair of siblings. Sister Wan was recognized during Qing’s exile, and today was their first formal meeting as siblings. Shouldn’t they first acknowledge each other?

Despite his internal grumbling, he couldn’t just watch the atmosphere stiffen between them. So he tried to mediate, "Second Uncle and Second Aunt saved the emperor. Since the Holy Emperor has ordered Qing to return, the past is written off. We’re all family now, so let’s speak properly."

Wen Wan ignored him, her gaze never straying from Lu Yanqing.

Lu Yanbin wanted to say more, but Mrs. Xiao Liu gave him a look, prompting him to fall silent and mutter softly, "You don’t want me to speak, but do you really want to watch them argue?"

Mrs. Xiao Liu replied softly, "They won’t argue."

Firstly, Sister Wan isn’t someone who doesn’t know how to read the room.

Secondly, Lu Yanqing is already in his twenties and has been tempered in the Northern Desert for so long. He shouldn’t be so petty over a single sentence.

At times like this, outside interference might actually exacerbate the siblings’ conflict.

"Young master, so you were inside!"

Suddenly, a gentle voice came from outside.

Following the voice came a young lady with charming looks, dressed in a long plum-colored robe with Ruyi patterns. Upon seeing Wen Wan and the others, she paused, unsure how to address them.

Lu Yanqing had no choice but to introduce, "This is my eldest cousin, cousin-in-law, and this is my sister."

The word "sister" that came from his mouth carried a plethora of complex emotions.

Then he introduced, "Miss Fan is from Ningzhou."

He didn’t mention that Fan Zhuowen was brought back by him.

Fan Zhuowen didn’t seem to mind. She stepped forward to salute Wen Wan and the others.

Wen Wan had no interest in the business between the two, but upon hearing that Fan Zhuowen was from Ningzhou, she found the girl much more agreeable and asked, "Are you in the Capital from such a far place to look for family?"

Fan Zhuowen shook her head and said, "No, I don’t have relatives in the Capital."

Since she wasn’t here to find relatives, it was very likely she came because of Lu Yanqing.

Wen Wan didn’t pursue further, standing up and saying, "I have many matters at home and must return. Miss Fan, if you’re free another day, do visit us. I’ll take my leave now, goodbye."

After Wen Wan left, Lu Yanbin and his wife felt awkward sitting there.

Lu Yanbin helped Mrs. Xiao Liu up.

Mrs. Xiao Liu said, "Since Second Aunt isn’t here, let’s come another day."

With that, the couple left Liufang Courtyard as well.

In the west side room, only Lu Yanqing and Fan Zhuowen remained.

Lu Yanqing asked her, "Why did you come?"

Fan Zhuowen clearly sensed the previous awkward atmosphere but didn’t inquire about it, "I came to ask when you will leave?"

Lu Yanqing: "What?"

Fan Zhuowen candidly said, "I’ve asked the household staff. The Marquis is fighting in the Northern Border; the enemy forces are numerous. This battle is large-scale. That day in Ningzhou, you said where you’re going, I can’t go - you meant the Northern Border, right?"

Lu Yanqing didn’t answer but asked in return, "Do you want to go?"

Fan Zhuowen replied, "I don’t want to go, but if you go, then I’ll follow."

Lu Yanqing frowned, "What will you do there?"

Without a second thought, Fan Zhuowen said, "You said you would protect me."

"Not letting you go to the Northern Border is my way of protecting you."

"But if you’re not there, how can you protect me?" Fan Zhuowen insisted, "Let me go to the Northern Border. Back then, when the earthquake hit Ningzhou, I cared for many injured civilians. I’m experienced and can be of help."