Chapter 550: When Will Shen Ningning Come to Him
Chapter 550: Chapter 550: When Will Shen Ningning Come to Him
Shen Ningning didn’t speak, and Mo Lingwei’s composure began to crumble bit by bit.
Afraid he would erupt in a fit of rage right then and there, Shen Ningning said, "You should go back first. I’ll explain it to you another day."
Mo Lingwei’s frigid gaze shifted to Lu Shaoyuan, only to see him shielding Shen Ningning. Mo Lingwei’s eyes then dropped lower; Shen Ningning was clutching Lu Shaoyuan’s sleeve, ever so tightly.
They were nestled together as if he were an outsider.
Mo Lingwei felt he couldn’t stand it for another second.
He felt like he should go on a killing spree in the Lu family’s home right now, but the last shred of his sanity told him...
’Shen Ningning wouldn’t want him to do this.’
So, he flung his sleeve and stormed off. "I’ll be waiting for your explanation!"
With that, he departed in a fury.
Long after Mo Lingwei had left, Lu Shaoyuan immediately shut the door and windows.
When he turned back to look, Shen Ningning was covering her face, her slender shoulders trembling as she cried.
Lu Shaoyuan finally understood.
She didn’t like him. The one Shen Ningning liked was Mo Lingwei.
But, for some reason, she had decided to give up on Mo Lingwei.
Lu Shaoyuan’s expression was complicated. Then, he slowly walked over and gently took one of Shen Ningning’s fingers in his hand.
"Shen Ningning, are you really doing this of your own free will?"
He was starting to feel that something wasn’t right.
However, upon hearing his words, Shen Ningning quickly wiped away her tears.
She lifted her pair of red, rabbit-like eyes.
"I’m doing this voluntarily. It’s not too late for you to back out now."
"How could I possibly back out! I can just tell you have your difficulties. But if you don’t want to talk about it, I won’t ask again. Whatever you want to do, I’ll be right there with you."
Looking at his earnest expression, Shen Ningning felt an even deeper sense of guilt.
She didn’t stay long. She asked Lu Shaoyuan to arrange for a carriage to take her back to Wolf Mountain.
In her current state, it wasn’t a good idea to return to the Xie family, or her father and brothers would surely see that something was wrong.
After Shen Ningning left, Lu Shaoyuan was overjoyed.
He immediately called for his trusted attendant. "Quick, go get my mother from the trading house! I need to discuss the betrothal gift matters with her!"
The attendant readily agreed.
Lu Shaoyuan was in high spirits. He looked back and saw the mess on his desk and actually felt the urge to tidy it up.
’I’ll have to buy a house first,’ he thought.
Since he and Shen Ningning were only getting married in pretense, they naturally couldn’t sleep together after the wedding.
So they had to move out, otherwise his mother would find out.
The house couldn’t be too small, either. It had to be a sprawling residence with at least three main courtyards.
They’d need plenty of servants, and they’d have to buy the best carriage.
In fact, he should start looking at houses now. The garden would need to be designed in advance.
Because Lu Shaoyuan knew that Shen Ningning liked to host parties for her friends.
He was also thinking that he needed to set aside a courtyard for Grandma Qin, so it would be convenient for Shen Ningning to bring the old woman to live with them in the future.
"Thinking about it, I’ll also need a large house for the wolf pack to rest and live in."
The more Lu Shaoyuan thought about it, the more excited he became. He simply picked up a brush and began designing it himself.
As a result, while pulling out a sheet of xuan paper, he accidentally knocked into a book beside him.
The book fell to the floor, and the fortune slip tucked inside was flung out.
Lu Shaoyuan caught sight of it from the corner of his eye and slowly froze.
It was the fortune slip from the Matchmaker Temple that day.
Last time he said he would burn it, but in the end, he had kept it.
He had wanted to see what would come of it.
He hadn’t understood it at the time, but now it had come true.
The marriage he longed for was not truly his.
Lu Shaoyuan knew very well that Shen Ningning had her unspoken troubles. He was just a temporary safe harbor, not the one she truly loved.
But so what?
Without a moment’s hesitation, Lu Shaoyuan picked it up and set the fortune slip on fire.
"If it’s a Mirror Flower Water Moon, then so be it. What if I can make it stay?" he said, a wave of happiness welling up from the bottom of his heart.
After Mo Lingwei returned to the palace, he flew into a terrible rage.
The officials who came to discuss state affairs were all terrified.
Hearing the news, the Emperor dragged his ailing body over.
"Ling Wei, what are you throwing a tantrum about now?"
The oppressive aura around Mo Lingwei was heavy. He was leaning against a mahogany daybed covered with a tiger pelt, seething with irritation.
"Today, Shen Ningning actually stood me up for Lu Shaoyuan."
Something flashed across the Emperor’s eyes, but Mo Lingwei, with his head down, didn’t see it.
He only heard the Emperor sigh. "You can’t get angry over this. Ningning is a popular young lady; isn’t it normal for her to have many friends? If you throw a fit just because she went out to have fun with someone else, Ningning will think you’re childish."
Mo Lingwei knitted his brows and raised his eyes, looking coldly at the Emperor.
"How can I not be angry? She actually dared..." ’...to touch Lu Shaoyuan’s face.’
The more he thought about it, the more agitated he became, until even the sight of the Emperor was an eyesore.
"What are you doing here? The Imperial Physician said you couldn’t even get out of bed yesterday. Are you all better today?" He raised a sharp eyebrow, his dark eyes sizing up the Emperor.
The Emperor coughed lightly. "You little rascal. I came rushing over because I heard you were raising hell in Zichen Palace. If you were to randomly execute a court minister, I would be the one cleaning up your mess!"
Mo Lingwei’s thin lips pressed into a chilling line.
"I am indeed agitated, but I’m not a complete fool who has lost all reason. I know full well who should be killed and who shouldn’t."
Hearing this, the Emperor, as a father, felt even more proud.
The world said his son had a bad temper and no patience, but in his eyes, Mo Lingwei was decisive and resolute, never sloppy or indecisive.
He could rest easy entrusting the empire to him.
"Alright, alright. I won’t hold you up. I will return to my chambers to rest." The Emperor clasped his hands behind his back and, supported by the Chief Eunuch, left Zichen Palace.
As he walked outside, he didn’t forget to instruct the servants attending to the Crown Prince.
"The Crown Prince’s anger is harming his health. Have the Imperial Chef make some cooling soup for him."
"Yes."
After the Emperor left, Mo Lingwei was still deeply vexed, so he had Wu Fang close the door.
He lay down fully clothed on the daybed beneath the window, his narrow eyes staring blankly at the ceiling as he zoned out.
’When did Shen Ningning get so close to Lu Shaoyuan?’
’Could it be that because I haven’t been by her side these past few days, she realized her true feelings are for Lu Shaoyuan?’
As he thought this, Mo Lingwei sat straight up.
He pressed a hand to his brow bone, agitated.
’Shen Ningning said she would come and explain. It’s probably not what I’m thinking, right?’
’When will she come?’
For Mo Lingwei, time seemed to pass second by second, each day feeling like a year.
He was completely out of sorts for three days, but Shen Ningning still hadn’t come.
「Meanwhile.」
Shen Ningning had already told Xie Suzhi and her brothers about her decision.
"What?!" Xie Ming’an’s voice rose. "You’re going to marry Lu Shaoyuan? You, you... Little Sis, since when did you like him? How come I never noticed?"
Although they could all see that the second young master of the Lu family did indeed like Ningning.
He followed her around every day like a little lackey, buying whatever she asked and doing whatever she said.
But Xie Ming’an just felt that Shen Ningning had never seen him as a romantic partner, but only as a childhood playmate.
And now he was hearing that the two of them were in love and were even getting engaged?!
Xie Suzhi’s face was so dark it could have been dripping ink.
Her eldest brother, Xie Mingxu, remained silent. Finally, he asked directly, "Ningning, did the Lu family use something to coerce you?"
Second Master Xie shot to his feet. "Don’t be afraid. Second Uncle will go get justice for you."
Xu Jingxi immediately tried to reason with them. "The Lu family doesn’t seem like the type to coerce our little sister."
Xie Ming’an shot him a sharp glare, about to accuse him of siding with an outsider.
But in the next second, Xu Jingxi added, "Perhaps Lu Shaoyuan coerced her himself."
Xie Ming’an declared, "Then we won’t let him get away with it!"