Chapter 54: Ninth Sister Ruo Lan

  Jiǔ Mèi Ruò Lán

  "If it's related to that Song Zirong, forgive me..." Xiling Hao was extremely intelligent and quickly pushed back, he really didn't want to have anything to do with Song Zirong again.

  "We've arrived at my place, let's go in and sit down for a bit, Brother Xiling!" Yan Ruo Fei said with a turn of her eyes, inviting him proactively.

  "Going in so recklessly..."

  "It doesn't matter, my grandmother is the kindest person."

  Xiling Hao was pushed and pulled, unable to get away, so he had no choice but to follow along. The others hastily made excuses, saying they were too annoyed to deal with the old man, and told Xiling Hao to wait at the usual place before scattering in all directions.

  Yin Ruofei took Xi Linghao into the Town River Marquis's estate, reported at the entrance of Fushou Hall and went in to pay respects to Old Madame.

  Seeing her grandson return, the old lady was naturally delighted. She also heard that the young man in front of her was her grandson's new friend and praised him a few words. Then she asked Mrs. Gu to bring out the freshly made warm pastries to entertain the two of them.

  Two children ate a few pieces of pastry, Yin Ruofei made an excuse to take her classmates to sit in her own courtyard, and bid farewell to the old lady.

  "If you grandmother is this good, she's almost as good as my grandmother." Xiling Hao had been doted on by his grandparents since he was young and had a very good impression of his elders, especially those who were warm and kind to him. He seemed careless but was actually very sensitive and clever, able to accurately sense whether others were being genuine or not.

  It's precisely because of this that he can feel the old lady being genuinely nice to him, and truly good to Yin Ruofei, which is why he has such a sigh. All those high-ranking families, with faces as thick as skin, have crying and laughing ones, depending on what's needed, they put on whichever one is required. What they say is more pleasant than singing, but what they really think in their hearts, that's another matter altogether, it's possible that the ones who stab you in the back are the ones who smile at you the sweetest.

  "My grandmother has always been very fond of me." Yin Ruofei left most of the pastries at the old lady's place, which were all famous snacks from old shops in Beijing. What Yin Ruofei bought was mostly soft osmanthus cake, crispy puff pastry, and that sticky glutinous rice cake dyed with floral juice.

  Most of these things are too small for Rui Qi and Ruo Lan, they prefer candies and honeyed fruits. Song Zi bought a big bag of sugar plums, enough for Yan Ruofei.

  These things, Yin Ruofei had sent a small servant to deliver to Er Jie Ruiqi's place. As per Yin Ruofei's request, Ruiqi had already taken in Ruolan and was living with her in her own courtyard, so they could be delivered together.

  Yin Ruofei invited Xi Linghao to his study, and they sat opposite each other. Ziling hurriedly brewed tea and served it up.

  "Xiling brother, my mother has passed away. At home, except for the elderly grandmother, there are only two sisters who treat me well." Yin Ruofei didn't respond to Xiling Hao's words, but instead said something else, "The grandmother is very fond of the second sister, and my father was deceived by the Song family. If the sister marries into the Song family, it would be sad for little brother, but what worries me more is that the elderly grandmother might not be able to bear it."

  "I..."

  "Xiling brother, I'm young and weak, knowing that second sister is going to marry this kind of person, what can be done?"

  "Why don't you go beg King Ze..."

  "Xiling brother, you and I are friends, I and the king are just master and servant. Moreover, he chose me as his companion reader only because I refused previously, so he insisted on going." Yin Ruofei's long eyelashes seemed to be stained with tears, "I'm young, my body is weak, my grandmother didn't intend for me to go, I also told the truth. It's just that King Ze thought I was pretending to refuse, so..."

  "It turns out that Zewang is this kind of person." Xiling Hao clenched her fists, "Don't worry, I'll definitely help you with this. Tell me, what do you want me to do!"

  Yin Ruofei silently apologized in her heart, but who made Xiling Hao the most suitable candidate. High status, young age, having a past with Song Zirong, and treating herself as a confidant.

  High status, no worries after causing trouble. Younger age can even make Song Zirong appear more unjust, and the last two are simply tailor-made candidates, only Yin Ruofei knows that he owes a favor to the other party's adult, this life he will be sincere with Xiling Hao. Fortunately, Xiling Hao is also someone he likes.

  "It's actually quite simple, but it would require sacrificing Brother Xiling's reputation." Yin Ruofei looked somewhat apologetic. "However, don't worry, Brother Xiling, I'll clear your name later."

  "Alright, you speak!" Xi Ling Hao Zheng nodded heavily.

  The two of them were going over their plan again and again until the sun was low in the west. The gatekeeper, Ziling, came to report, "Seventh Master, Ninth Miss has arrived."

  "Let her in quickly."

  Miss Jiuxi was the daughter that Yin Ruofei's mother had taken in and raised two years before her death. Her mother was just a concubine, not even a proper wife, with a lowly status and an illegitimate birth. After her mother passed away, almost no one was willing to take care of this child.

  Dalin's body was not good, and he didn't even have the energy to raise his own son. However, hearing that the child was pitiful, he could only reluctantly take him in and raise him. In Dalin's view, although the child's birth mother was of low status, she was after all the flesh and blood of her husband, and he couldn't bear to let her die.

  The two grew up together since childhood, with deep feelings. Now Yu Ran is still young and has not experienced the hardships that lie ahead, but Yin Ru Fei is different. After his rebirth, he passed by his sister's courtyard several times, but never went in.

  He's afraid of losing control of his emotions and arousing suspicion in others. He's also afraid that he can't protect himself well enough, which would put his sister in harm's way.

  Up till now, Kobayashi has gone to the claws and teeth, and his second sister has also returned home, allowing him to finally dare to show a hint of true emotion.

  Before long, Ziling brought in Ninth Miss Ruolan. Ruolan was four years old this year and was followed by her big maid.

  As soon as she entered the door, that girl hurriedly asked with her head bowed and eyes cast down, indicating that Ninth Miss had come to thank Seventh Master.

  "Brother." Ruolan released Ziling's hand and rushed towards Yin Ruofei.

  Yin Ruofei hastily bent down and hugged her sister, "Lan'er, are you listening today?"

  "Listen, Second Sister asked me to come and thank Brother." Roulan said in a soft and gentle voice. Since there were outsiders present, Ruiqi naturally couldn't come over, but Roulan was being stubborn and wanted to see her brother, so she had to let the maid bring her over. After all, she was just a four-year-old girl, not too particular about things.

  Ruolan's mother was named Lan'er, and even her surname was unclear. Originally a lonely girl sold into the household, as she grew older there wasn't even half a relative outside, so she simply accepted being taken in as a concubine. Ruolan's "Lan" also came from her mother's name, at least it was a thought.

  "Come, meet Brother Xiling." Yin Ruofei smiled and brought her sister in front of Xi Linghao.

  Although Lian was not very old, she had been clever and obedient since childhood. She clasped her small hands together and placed them on her right waist, slightly curving her non-existent waistline. With a sweet voice, she said, "Wishing Brother Xiling good fortune." Her cute appearance made the two young men burst out laughing.

  "If Younger Sister Lian has the politeness." Xiling Hao also stood up, solemnly returned a bow, and even took out a small purse from his body and handed it to Ruolan. "Younger Sister Lian takes it to buy sweets to eat."

  Ruolan was a bit stunned, she was so young and had never seen any strangers before, let alone received anything from someone else. At this moment, seeing Xiling Haoke put the purse in her hand, she hesitated for a moment and then put it back, "Brother bought me candy."

  Xiling Hao was about to laugh his belly sore, "Fei Di, your sister is too lovely, if she wasn't so young, I'd even consider marrying her."

  "Brother Xiling gave it to you, so just take it, Ruo Lan." Yin Ruofei also smiled, but said, "If you really want to marry her, don't blame me for turning against you."

  "You really don't show any mercy at all." Xiling Hao was choked enough, but then he also smiled, "It's also true, such a cute little sister, I want to hide her too."

  Two people played with Ruo Lan for a while, then had someone send her back to the backyard. Yin Ruofei originally wanted to keep Xi Linghao for dinner, but Xi Linghao said he hadn't informed his family and still needed to hurry back, so Yin Ruofei could only nod in agreement.

  Xiling Hao was sent out of the gate, and Yin Ruofei beckoned to her own carriage driver to prepare to return to Ze Wang Fu. Jin Yuan happened to be coming back from outside and saw Yin Ruofei, so he immediately called out to him.

  "Big brother, long time no see." Since Yin Haicheng got married that day, the two brothers had only met once and Yin Ruofei didn't have a fixed return date, so they naturally hadn't seen each other again. On that busy day at the Hou Mansion, the two of them didn't even get to talk, Jin Yuan's heart was always thinking about it, and now he wasn't willing to let him go.

  "Are you leaving again?" Jin Yuan's face was not good, looking a bit sad. "I know my mother hurt your heart too deeply, but this Marquis Manor is after all your home, you still have a father, and brothers and sisters..."

  "Big brother, I'm not..." Yin Ruofei was taken aback and quickly explained.

  "It goes without saying, I understand." Jin Yuan's eyes were filled with tears. "I don't want the affairs of the inner courtyard to affect our brotherly relationship. Your things, I won't snatch them away."

  "Big brother......" Yin Ruofei's mouth was agape. How could Jin Yuan say something so straightforward, what exactly happened?

  "So come back, those things won't happen again." Jin Yuan's tone was solemn and promising.

  "Big brother." Yin Ruofei sighed, "I'm Ze Wang's study companion, I can't be at home every day."

  "Zhe Wang." As soon as Jin Yuan mentioned Rong Jing Ze, his expression became somewhat unusual. "How is Zhe Wang to you?"

  "It's fine with me, don't worry, big brother." Yin Ruofei didn't want to say too much. "Family matters, big brother worries too much, when I have time I will definitely come back. It's getting late, I still need to hurry back to the Ze King's mansion."

  "What's wrong with staying home for one night?" Jin Yuan pulled on Yin Ruofei's sleeve, wanting to keep him from leaving.

  Two people were pulling and tugging at each other. Rong Jingze slowly walked up the steps. "Pulling and tugging, what kind of behavior is this."

  "Your Majesty!"

  "Your Highness."

  The two brothers hastily paid their respects to Rong Jingze, but under the cover of night, it was hard to make out the expression on Rong Jingze's face.

  "Get up." The voice was still lazy, but Yin Ruofei noticed that Rong Jingze was angry. Having been together for so long, he wasn't really a child anymore, and naturally knew some of Rong Jingze's habits. The slower the tone, the bigger the fire in his heart.

  "Your Highness Ze Wang..." Jin Yuan wanted to speak but was interrupted by Rong Jing Ze.

  "Fei Er, let's go."

  Jin Yuan wanted to say something else, but Rong Jingze had already turned and left, so Jin Yuan could only give up.

  "Take care, big brother." Yin Ruofei didn't give him a chance to speak either, quickly following behind Rong Jingze.

  Getting on the luxurious carriage of Rong Jingze, Yin Ruofei put on a smile and said, "Your Highness, why have you come?"

  Rong Jingze gave him a glance, hummed softly, and reached out to pinch the tender skin on Yin Ruofei's face. "You've been away from me for a day and you ran back to your mother's house. What else could I do if I didn't come to pick you up myself?"

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