Wine-scented Beauty

Chapter 363: Another Time I Broke My Promise

Lu Yu simply said, "Okay," and then fell asleep holding Ji Meiqing. Actually, he didn't have high hopes, but as long as Ji Meiqing was happy, he wouldn't care about anything else.

The next day, at the Drunken Immortal Pavilion, Ji Meiqing saw Shen Bin and Zhao Ning'er entangled together early in the morning, a sight that truly made others envious. Ji Meiqing walked over.

"Young Master Shen..."

"Sister Ji..." Ji Meiqing and Zhao Ning'er spoke at the same time, then stopped simultaneously, creating an awkward atmosphere. Shen Bin quickly stepped in to smooth things over, saying, "Miss Ji, Ning'er and I will get married at twenty-eight. We hope Miss Ji will do us the honor of marrying us." As he spoke, Shen Bin pulled Zhao Ning'er into his arms. Zhao Ning'er lowered her head shyly and remained silent.

Ji Meiqing swallowed back the words she was about to say. She had originally intended to settle accounts with Zhao Shenbin so she could get some money to take back to Rongcheng. However, seeing how enthusiastically Zhao Ning'er and Shenbin wanted her to be there to support them on their wedding day, she felt quite helpless. She had promised Han Yu last night, but now she was going to break her word again.

She could only nod with a forced smile and say, "I'll definitely come, I'll definitely come, don't worry." After saying that, she turned back somewhat guiltily and hurried back to the inn. On the way back, she thought that if Lu Yu didn't agree, she would immediately take the money and go straight back to Rongcheng. Even if it meant ruining things, she couldn't let Lu Yu be hurt.

As soon as Ji Meiqing returned to the inn, she looked aggrieved. Lu Yu, who was sitting on the bed, was wiping the dagger in his hand. When he saw Ji Meiqing return, he could tell from her expression that the matter of returning to Rongcheng would definitely not be resolved in the short term. He was not too disappointed, because he had not had much hope in the first place.

As soon as she entered the room, Ji Meiqing looked genuinely aggrieved, but Lu Yu sat on the bed ignoring her. This made Ji Meiqing, who had been pretending to be aggrieved, look at Lu Yu with genuine grievance and say, "Brother Lu, I'm sorry, we can't go back this time." She even pretended to cry a few times as she spoke.

Lu Yu sat on the bed without any reaction. Ji Meiqing's first thought was that Lu Yu must be angry and giving her the silent treatment. The more she thought about it, the more anxious she became, and she said, "I was just about to settle the money with Young Master Shen and then we would go back to Rongcheng, but who knew that they would stop us? They're getting married on the 28th, and we're here to support them." After saying that, she looked at Lu Yu, trying to find a change in his expression.

Lu Yu simply said "Oh" and didn't say anything more. Seeing that Lu Yu didn't seem to want to talk to her much, Ji Meiqing sat down next to him like a bullied child, looking aggrieved.

Lu Yu put away the dagger in his hand, turned his head, and looked at Ji Meiqing, who looked aggrieved, with a puzzled expression. He didn't know what was going on. He hugged Ji Meiqing and said, "Do what you want to do. You can't do it if you're pregnant." After saying that, he let go of Ji Meiqing.

Still not quite understanding, Ji Meiqing stared at Lu Yu in disbelief. She knew he wasn't angry, but rather that he hadn't been paying attention to her, and she had turned around and made a suggestive remark to herself. Feeling a pang of self-reproach for her stupidity, Lu Yu watched Ji Meiqing's reaction with satisfaction.

Time passed quickly, but for Ji Meiqing, it was pure torture. Ever since she told Lu Yu that she couldn't return to Rongcheng, Lu Yu's words to her had been unpredictable, making her live in constant fear.

But if she looked closely into Lu Yu's eyes, she would find that he wasn't angry at all, and was still smiling at her. She even wondered which of her observations was the real one.

Finally, the day of Zhao Ning'er's wedding arrived. It was said that their marriage was indeed opposed by the clan chief on Shen Bin's side. In the end, Lu Yu had to tell the clan chief that Zhao Ning'er was already pregnant before he would give up his obstruction.

Many people came to offer their congratulations that day, most of whom were officials in the court, and very few were Shen Bin's friends. However, there was a strange congratulatory gift at the end: a letter. The servants of the Shen family quickly found Shen Bin to check the letter.

Shen Bin, dressed in his wedding attire and beaming with joy, was contemplating welcoming Zhao Ning'er when a servant suddenly interrupted his reverie. Shen Bin frowned slightly and asked, "What's the matter that you're in such a rush?"

The servant was quite clever, realizing he must have accidentally angered Shen Bin. He lowered his head and said, "Young Master, there is an envelope among all the congratulatory gifts. Please take a look." After speaking, the servant handed the envelope to Shen Bin, who looked at it with some doubt.

He accepted it nonetheless and dismissed the servant. Shen Bin took the envelope and saw the delicate handwriting and the signature of Princess Xiangping, but he could hardly believe it.

“Young Master Shen, I didn’t expect you and Sister Ning’er to be getting married so soon. I’m a little disappointed that you didn’t invite me. Although I’m disappointed, I also feel a little guilty. I hope you and Sister Ning’er will have a son soon and grow old together. — Princess Xiangping”

Shen Bin didn't think much of the letter from Princess Xiangping. He hadn't invited her to his wedding to avoid startling Zhao Ning'er, and now that she had written to him, he felt embarrassed. He wasn't thinking too far ahead; all he wanted now was to marry Zhao Ning'er as soon as possible.

As Shen Bin pondered, he forgot all about Princess Xiangping. Ji Meiqing had invited Zhao Ning'er and Zhao Lei to stay at the inn the day before, as it was customary for the bride and groom not to meet before the wedding. Zhao Ning'er was clearly reluctant, leaving Ji Meiqing unsure what to do.

It took a lot of persuasion before Zhao Ning'er finally agreed, which made Ji Meiqing a little embarrassed. These two were already so affectionate before they were even married; what would happen if they did get married? The restaurant might even go out of business. But despite her thoughts, she didn't really reject Zhao Ning'er; she just felt that compared to herself, Zhao Ning'er and Shen Bin were really a bit crazy.

"Sister Ji, do I look good like this? I think I should put on some more rouge." Zhao Ning'er looked at herself in the mirror and saw that she only had a red dot between her eyebrows and a little vermilion on her lips, nothing else. Ji Meiqing carefully examined Zhao Ning'er and felt that there was nothing that needed to be changed, but Zhao Ning'er was probably too nervous and insisted on adding some more rouge.

"Ning'er, you're already beautiful. What if you scare Young Master Shen with too much makeup? Just a little bit of rouge is enough, don't apply too much." She couldn't say Ning'er was ugly or anything, so she had to be tactful. Zhao Ning'er looked at Ji Meiqing with a half-understanding expression, and then applied the rouge to her face.

After being touched, Ji Meiqing was quite frightened. Even a light touch from her caused Zhao Ning'er to blush like she had a high fever, her cheeks turning as red as lanterns. Zhao Ning'er looked at herself in the mirror and was also startled. She then looked at Ji Meiqing with a pitiful expression, hoping for some advice.