The curtain separating the side room from the main hall was lifted, and the next moment, a young girl in a bright blue dress appeared before everyone, holding a bowl of steaming longevity noodles in her hands.
She had her head down, so Prime Minister Lu couldn't see her face clearly. Even so, his thoughts involuntarily drifted back more than twenty years ago.
That year, Wanru seemed to have been wearing a similar dress when she appeared before him. From then on, he was completely smitten with her until she became his wife.
However, the course of life is unpredictable, and those years could never return.
"Father, please have the longevity noodles."
The soft voice of the young girl interrupted Lu Wenhan's reverie. Looking at his daughter standing right in front of him, he suppressed the hint of tenderness that had just emerged in his eyes. An angry shout accompanied the ruthless wave of his sleeve.
"Who allowed you to come back?!"
"Clang!"
The tray and the porcelain bowl toppled and shattered at his feet. Prime Minister Lu showed no mercy. Lu Yinxi was forced to take several steps back by his strength and barely managed to steady herself.
"Xi'er!"
"Master!"
The second wife and Lu Yinjian exclaimed in surprise at the same time, one out of genuine concern and the other with a hint of schadenfreude.
"Xi'er, are you okay?"
Sensing her brother appearing beside her, the young girl shook her head with a smile. "I'm fine, brother."
Even so, Lu Yinjian was still worried. But before he could say the words of concern, Prime Minister Lu's voice resounded in his ears.
"Someone, send the fourth young lady back to the manor right now. Without my order, she is not allowed to leave even a single step!"
"Father!"
Lu Yinjian widened his eyes. He didn't understand why his father was so cruel to his little sister. "Father, the fourth sister is your own daughter. How could you bear to do this?"
"Master, what the eldest young master said makes sense!"
The second wife also pretended to be concerned and knelt down beside Lu Yinjian.
Hearing their words, something in Lu Wenhan's heart seemed to loosen. The suppressed reluctance almost resurfaced, but in the end, reason prevailed.
His cold gaze swept over the two of them and finally landed on Lu Yinxi.
"When did it become your turn to question my decisions? Where are you people? Why aren't you moving!"
"Wait a minute!"
The strong maidservant had already walked behind Lu Yinxi and was about to take action when she stopped because of this sentence.
The young girl slowly got up, raised her head, and unhesitatingly met Lu Wenhan's gaze.
It was the first time Prime Minister Lu saw his youngest daughter face - to - face. His heart tightened involuntarily, and the veins on the back of his hand hidden in his sleeve stood out clearly.
Those eyes were so much like his Wanru's.
While he was in a daze, the young girl's voice slowly rang out.
"When I was a child in the manor, the maidservant always told me that father kept his daughter in the manor because I couldn't speak and it would disgrace you.
But today, I finally know that's not the case. It has nothing to do with whether I can speak or not. You just don't like me!"
As the words fell, tears rolled down from the corners of Lu Yinxi's eyes. Lu Wenhan forced himself not to look at her and coldly ordered, "Why aren't you moving yet!"
The tactic of feigning weakness didn't work after all!
Lu Yinxi sighed in her heart. The next moment, her expression suddenly changed, and then a charming voice echoed in the main hall.
"Father, I want to stay in the prime minister's mansion."
"Okay!"
As soon as the words were out, the young girl felt a sharp gaze fall on her.
She didn't need to turn around to know that the owner of the gaze was the King of Jing in the Lu family's mouth, the man who was immune to her speech spirit.
Narrowing his eyes, Shang Luoshu had to be suspicious because Prime Minister Lu's change in attitude was too abrupt. He didn't think Prime Minister Lu would suddenly have a change of heart.
His intuition told him that something he didn't know must have happened.
The man's gaze fell on Lu Yinxi imperceptibly, and a hint of dark light flashed in his eyes.
In contrast, the second wife's emotions were more obvious. She almost tore the handkerchief in her hand.
This was not the scenario she wanted.
Based on her understanding of the prime minister, he should have firmly driven Lu Yinxi away. That's why she arranged for the young girl to present the longevity noodles.
She just wanted that girl to know that no matter how many servants she punished in the manor, in the end, she was still at her mercy.
But now, all her plans were disrupted.
"Father, are you serious?"
Among all the people present, only Lu Yinjian showed a sincere smile for the young girl's stay.
Frowning, Lu Wenhan seemed not to have realized that the word "okay" had come out of his own mouth. His face became even more solemn. The words of denial were on the tip of his tongue, but what finally came out was,
"Serious."
"Thank you, father. Thank you so much, father. Xi'er, quickly thank father."
Lu Yinxi readily complied, knelt on the ground again, and sincerely kowtowed.
"Thank you, father, and..."
Her gaze shifted to Lady Wang. The young girl's lips curled up at some point, as if in mockery or sincere gratitude. "I also want to thank the second wife for bringing me back and giving me the opportunity to see father!"
"We're family. Why are you saying thank you?"
The second wife gritted her teeth and forced out these words through her anger.
Seeing this, Lu Yinxi was about to say a few more words to provoke her, but the next moment, she suddenly closed her eyes and fell straight forward.
"Xi'er!"
This was the last voice Lu Yinxi heard before she fell into darkness.
The side - effects of the speech spirit were not easy to resist. After holding on for so long, she finally couldn't take it anymore.
So she didn't see that the prime minister's mansion was thrown into chaos because of her collapse.
Shang Luoshu left the Lu mansion in the midst of this chaos.
This fourth young lady of the prime minister's mansion was becoming more and more interesting.
Looking at the man's departing figure, Lu Jinran behind him was full of infatuation, but there was also something else in her eyes.
"Hongling, do you think His Highness the King of Jing likes the fourth younger sister?"
In the main hall before, her attention had been on Shang Luoshu, so she didn't miss the strange light that flashed in his eyes when Lu Yinxi appeared.
Later, the man's gaze fell directly on that person and hardly ever left.
This was a treatment she had never enjoyed.
Without hesitation, Hongling immediately said respectfully, "No, His Highness the King of Jing would never take a fancy to such a vulgar woman!"
"But she is father's daughter and a legitimate daughter! And I'm just a concubine's daughter!"
The difference between legitimate and concubine children had always been a thorn in Lu Jinran's heart.
Hongling's mind was racing. Past experiences told her that she had to coax the third young lady well.
"So what if she's a concubine's daughter? Isn't the current empress also a concubine's daughter?"
"You're right!"
Seeing the smile reappear on Lu Jinran's face, Hongling couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief in her heart.
This time, Lu Yinxi didn't sleep well because she dreamed of her past life.
Zombies, ruins, and killings.
This was the era she was born and grew up in, the end - times.
When she woke up, it was already dark, and the side - effects of the speech spirit had faded.
The young girl struggled to get up, but before her feet touched the shoes, her mind cleared.
"Your Highness the King of Jing is a member of the royal family. Breaking into my boudoir several times is not very appropriate, is it?"
"Miss Lu the Fourth, we meet again."
In the darkness, someone walked to the window. The bright moonlight shone on his side face. Who else could it be but Shang Luoshu?
"Your Highness comes late at night. I wonder what you have to teach me?"
"The ledger! Miss Lu the Fourth knows very well, doesn't she?"
Of course she knew!
But it wasn't that easy for him to get something from her!
Narrowing her phoenix - like eyes, Lu Yinxi got into a defensive state.
"Then it depends on whether Your Highness the King of Jing has the ability to take it!"