Volume 1, Chapter 20 – The Unexpected

There was no trace of this young man in Shi Lan’s memories, which left her a bit at a loss. Had she offended him somehow?

But when her gaze fell on the young woman beside him, Shi Lan was briefly stunned.

What a breathtaking beauty…

Ever since her rebirth, this was the first time she’d encountered a woman this beautiful. Even yesterday’s courtesan queen of Hundred Flowers Pavilion couldn’t compare to this woman in the slightest.

Maybe it wasn’t that she’d never seen beauty before. Shi Lan subconsciously rubbed her chin. With this body of hers, if she put on women’s clothes, she might barely be able to compete.

“Ahem!”

Shi Tianlu coughed twice, pulling Shi Lan’s thoughts back.

“I greet Father, Mother.”

“Aunt Shen.”

“Second Brother, Third Brother.”

……

Shi Lan greeted them one by one.

“Lan, let me introduce these three distinguished guests to you.” Shi Tianlu rose and walked over to the trio.

“These three are all from the renowned Lu clan of Nine Skies City.”

“Uncle Shi flatters us.” The young woman smiled gently, her manner respectful and polite.

The moment Shi Lan heard the words “renowned Lu clan,” she suddenly reacted, staring in slight astonishment at the smiling young woman.

So this was that genius fiancée of his? No wonder the young man beside her was looking at him with such hostility.

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Then this visit…

Shi Lan’s mind spun rapidly. Was this about to turn into that classic, dramatic “breaking off the engagement” scene? How was she supposed to respond later?

“Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west”?

“Don’t look down on the young and poor”?

Both lines felt kind of embarrassing…

Just as Shi Lan’s mind was churning, his fiancée spoke up first.

“Uncle Shi, why don’t I introduce us myself?”

“Very well.” Shi Tianlu nodded slightly.

“This is our first time meeting. My name is Lu Yueqing—I’m the fiancée you were betrothed to from the cradle but haven’t yet married. This is my Third Granduncle, and this is my cousin Lu Yuan.”

Lu Yueqing spoke slowly, giving a brief introduction for the three of them. Her tone was warm and courteous.

“Uh… nice to meet you.” Shi Lan felt a bit awkward. What a gentle person…

From the moment Shi Lan entered until Lu Yueqing opened her mouth, the Third Granduncle had kept his eyes half-closed, never once looking at Shi Lan directly.

“Lan, sit. We’ll talk as we sit.” Shi Tianlu waved his hand and returned to the main seat.

“Yueqing came here this time mainly because of the engagement between you and Shi Lan…”

Hearing Yueqing say this, Shi Lan’s spirits lifted. Here came the main act!

“The two of you are no longer that young. It’s about time we discussed a wedding date,” Shi Tianlu nodded with a smile.

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Seated below, Shi Yiming and Shi Qinghu both unconsciously clenched their palms.

Lu Yueqing—the number one prodigy within a thousand li, and such a stunning beauty to boot—how could she possibly be paired with their useless eldest brother?

The two were clearly worlds apart.

“As for the engagement between us…” Yueqing looked a bit troubled, like the words were stuck in her throat.

Sitting next to Shi Tianlu, Su Lanyue felt her heart settle and quietly let out a breath. With Yueqing acting like this, she was clearly dissatisfied with this marriage.

Seeing Yueqing’s expression, Shi Lan sighed inwardly. This engagement was probably about to be dissolved.

“Yueqing, if you have something to say, just say it. We’ll all be family in the future,” Shi Tianlu said with a hearty smile, as if he hadn’t noticed anything.

“Today is the first time I’ve met Shi Lan. I know nothing about him at all. To talk of marriage now feels a bit too rushed.”

“You can get married first and get to know each other slowly afterward,” Shi Tianlu replied casually, sounding rather eager to see the wedding done.

“I’d like to ask Uncle Shi for a favor.”

“So long as it’s something I can do, there’s nothing I won’t agree to.”

“I’d like the wedding date between me and Shi Lan to be discussed later. I want to spend some time getting to know him first.”

As she spoke, Yueqing lowered her head slightly, looking somewhat shy.

“Yueqing-jie! How can you—” Lu Yuan beside her started to protest.

But when Yueqing glanced at him with a smiling squint, Lu Yuan could only swallow the rest of his words.

Staring at the smiling Lu Yueqing, Shi Lan couldn’t quite process it. Why wasn’t this person following the script?

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She wanted to “spend some time together first”?

The fact that the Shi family’s legitimate eldest son, Shi Lan, had been born with a crippled body was, if not fully known to everyone, at least not far from it.

How could a proud daughter of heaven like Lu Yueqing possibly accept a useless husband?

The smile on Shi Tianlu’s face stiffened slightly, his fingers rubbing at his sleeves.

What Yueqing had just said not only astonished Shi Lan, it also completely exceeded his expectations.

He had been mentally prepared for Yueqing to come and break off the engagement—or rather, he’d been hoping she would come and do exactly that.

Given Shi Lan’s reputation in Tenglong City, not to mention someone like Yueqing, even a woman with the slightest bit of pride wouldn’t be willing to marry such a person.

Yet Yueqing acted as if she knew nothing at all, ignoring all of Shi Lan’s “various misdeeds,” and instead said she wanted to spend time getting to know him.

Shi Tianlu suddenly felt that he couldn’t see through this “daughter-in-law in name” at all.

Su Lanyue, on the other hand, felt a twinge of panic. If they really spent a long time together, with a young lady’s finely tuned instincts, there was a high chance Yueqing would discover that Shi Lan was actually a girl.

When that time came…

The hall fell momentarily silent.

“Mm… what Yueqing says is not without reason. However…” Shi Tianlu hesitated slightly.

“I’d like to speak with Shi Lan alone. I hope Uncle Shi can agree.” Yueqing rose and bowed.

With Yueqing lowering herself to such a degree, it would have been hard for Shi Tianlu to refuse any further. He could only nod.

“Then we’ll leave it here for today. I’ve already ordered a banquet prepared. Everyone, please move to the other hall.”

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Shi Tianlu stood, walked over to the Third Granduncle, and gestured with his hand. “Please.”

The Third Granduncle rose and returned the gesture. “Patriarch Shi, after you.”

Shi Tianlu didn’t decline further and took the lead out of the hall.

“Keep an eye on Lu Yueqing.”

As he passed Shi Feng, Shi Tianlu condensed his true qi into a thin strand and sent the words straight into Shi Feng’s ears.

Shi Feng gave a slight nod, then melted into the shadows by the path.

In the blink of an eye, only Lu Yueqing and Shi Lan were left in the hall.

Yueqing walked up to Shi Lan, a faint smile on her lips. “Shi Lan, may I ask you a few questions?”

“Ah? Sure, go ahead.” Shi Lan blinked, then nodded.

“I’ve heard that whenever you go out, you’re always accompanied by a large group of guards, and that if you run into anyone who displeases you, you beat them—and even smash up shops?”

Yueqing stepped closer, looking down at Shi Lan seated on the chair.

Shi Lan rose from the chair. For some reason, she felt that Yueqing was a bit dangerous right now.

“The guards were arranged by my father. As for beating people and smashing shops, that never happened.” Shi Lan shook her head and backed up two steps, putting some distance between them.

“Then do you know Xu Yuanbai?” Yueqing took two steps forward again, once more closing the gap between them.