Chapter 115: Chapter 115: The Unwitting Speaker

Lost in thought, Song Tan bowed low.

"Thank you, Grand Commandant," he said, his tone uncharacteristically solemn and sincere. "If you ever need my help in the future, I will do anything you ask."

Lu Xiu raised a hand. "There’s no need. This is about all I’m good for."

As he spoke, he glanced at Liang Wan’s face, then walked around them and left.

Song Tan froze, looking up to see Liang Wan pulling at the corners of her mouth in a dry laugh. "He said there’s no need."

Then, she shamelessly chased after him.

Song Tan straightened up and looked back at the two of them, one following the other. A look of understanding dawned on his face.

Large red lanterns hung high, and red silks and colorful satins were tied everywhere. The pageantry for taking in a son-in-law was truly no less grand than for welcoming a daughter-in-law.

What a festive atmosphere!

Liang Wan followed Lu Xiu with a faint smile. He merely glanced back at her before heading through the gate. Song Tan hurried to catch up as well.

But just as they stepped over the threshold, they heard someone laugh behind them.

"Grand Commandant, you’ve arrived a step ahead of me!"

Liang Wan turned and bowed her head in a salute. It was Prince Guangping, Gao Yi.

Lu Xiu said, "I have only just arrived myself."

Gao Yi walked up, smiling.

As he passed Liang Wan, his gaze couldn’t help but linger on her. Her glossy black hair, her fair, delicate face, her exquisitely sculpted figure... that slender waist was simply to die for.

Gao Yi licked his lips. ’She looks as pure as a water lotus beaded with morning dew. If I hadn’t seen her ferociously stab someone with a sword at the Emperor’s Birthday Banquet, I never would have guessed she had such a fiery spirit.’

He glanced at her face again. ’Beautiful, yes, but lacking a certain allure...’

Then he looked at Lu Xiu. ’It’s a shame, really. He’s trained a perfectly fine beauty to be just as cold as he is.’

The tip of his brow twitched, and he stepped closer. "This Liang Ji... Uncle, have you decided on anyone for her yet?"

Liang Wan’s eyelid twitched.

Song Tan shot a quick glance at Liang Wan, breaking into a nervous sweat. This Prince Guangping was notorious for his lustfulness.

Lu Xiu’s eyes were pitch-black. "Liang Ji is not like the others."

His icy attitude made Gao Yi pause for a moment, but he quickly understood, nodding with a smile. "Of course. She was a gift from my elder brother."

’I heard it clearly that day. My elder brother publicly told Lu Xiu to train her. Little does he know, that’s no way to train a woman.’

Gao Yi glanced at Liang Wan again, a profound smile on his face. "As long as you agree, Uncle, I’ll go speak to my elder brother later. Let me train her for a few days, and I guarantee she’ll be much more enjoyable for you to appreciate!"

It was a common practice for the powerful men of scholarly families to exchange and gift concubines. Gao Yi thought nothing of it, continuing inside as he spoke and laughed.

"Don’t worry, Uncle. I won’t take her for a few days for nothing. After I report to my elder brother, I’ll send you a few stunners in return—no need to send them back! Consider it my thanks for your help with that recommendation!"

Seeing Lu Xiu’s silence, he laughed again. "Uncle, you don’t understand the finer points of this as well as I do. When I return her to you, the experience will surely be different..."

His tone was as if he were discussing horses, birds, cats, or dogs, without any sense that what he was saying was inappropriate.

Liang Wan’s hands and feet went cold. She knew that as long as Gao Yi asked, Gao Qian would agree...

"Prince Guangping and the Grand Commandant have arrived—"

When Princess Lanling heard that Lu Xiu and Gao Yi had come, she hurried out to greet them. Her still-graceful face was flushed, and her smile crinkled the fine lines at the corners of her eyes.

When she first heard of this marriage, she hadn’t been pleased, thinking she was marrying off her daughter. She never expected it would be a live-in son-in-law. After all, forget about scholarly families, what man, even a commoner, would be willing to marry into his wife’s family? Cui Hao’s status was a bit low, but now that he’d been promoted, things were different.

Princess Lanling was all smiles. She chatted and laughed with Gao Yi for a while, then mentioned with great regret that Princess Yuzhang could not attend, as she was in a period of heavy mourning.

Liang Wan’s heart was heavy. The lightheartedness she’d felt upon arrival was gone, and she followed behind them woodenly.

Song Tan found an opportunity to sidle up to her, lowering his head to whisper a word of comfort. "Don’t worry. Based on my observations, the Grand Commandant won’t hand you over!"

Liang Wan lifted her eyes to look at him.

Song Tan said mysteriously, "Didn’t you see? When Prince Guangping was talking, the Grand Commandant’s glare was cold enough to kill?"

Liang Wan shook her head. Other than trying to think of a countermeasure, she had no energy to pay attention to anyone else.

Song Tan looked at her large, round eyes and gave a helpless smile. "You’re not cut out for my line of work. Your ability to read people is naturally not as good as mine. In any case, you can trust me on this. When he said you’re different from the others, he really meant it!"

Seeing his serious expression, Liang Wan couldn’t help but want to laugh. "He agreed to help you, so now you’re here putting in a good word for him?"

’Putting in a good word?’

Song Tan looked at her, a smile slowly spreading across his lips. "Well, you tell me. Does he need anyone to put in a good word for him? And why do you think he needs *me* to put in a good word for him *to you*?"

He rattled it off like a tongue twister, leaving Liang Wan a bit dazed.

Song Tan smiled. "At the Dragon Boat Festival banquet, you told me the rumors outside weren’t true. I’d believe it from anyone else, but after seeing you two together just twice, I know it’s not like you said. So, is everyone else muddled and mistaken, or are you the one deliberately avoiding the truth, unwilling to face it?"

Song Tan continued, "You spend every day with him. Don’t you know if it’s real or not? But if you truly don’t know, then why did you just ask me that question?"

His gaze was too sharp, and for a moment, Liang Wan didn’t know what to do. Some things were too complicated. How could she possibly explain them in just a few words?

Song Tan looked at her and sighed. "I don’t know why, but I feel like you’ve changed a lot since the Peach Blossom Banquet. You weren’t like this before."

Liang Wan couldn’t explain. She had already lived a whole other life; how could she possibly be the same?

Song Tan said, "We haven’t known each other for just a day or two. I know about the tragedy that befell your family. But you can’t keep dwelling on the past and ignore the present."

Anyone else could have said that, but it wasn’t fitting coming from him.

Liang Wan retorted, "Aren’t you dwelling on the past, too?"

"Hah! Are we the same? I’m looking for my elder brother so we can live well together. Does looking for him stop me from living in luxury right now? I don’t miss out on any of the pleasures I’m due. But you? Your face is written with a single word," Song Tan said with no small amount of mockery, "Misery!"

First, her mood had been ruined by Gao Yi, and now she was being lectured by Song Tan. Liang Wan’s expression completely fell. She shot him a glare and walked out of the flower hall.

Song Tan watched her storm off, shaking his head and clicking his tongue. ’She already missed her chance with Wang Tingyue. This time, with this one, she absolutely cannot let him get away!’

’Besides, this is Lu Xiu we’re talking about! He’s the ultimate person to latch onto for support! I’m still counting on him to help find my brother...’

Song Tan glanced over at the group of people talking. That icy, aloof man didn’t forget to look outside the flower hall even as he spoke. ’Yep, it’s a sure thing!’

Then he looked toward the doorway. ’But sigh, he ended up with someone so dense. He’s really got his work cut out for him!’

Thinking this, Song Tan’s lips curved into a smile as he chased after her.

Once outside, Liang Wan didn’t know where to go. She just knew she couldn’t listen to him anymore.

As she hesitated, a string of firecrackers suddenly exploded with a deafening CRACKLE-POP.

Someone shouted, "The groom is here!"

Immediately, a crowd of people rushed toward the gate, eager to catch a glimpse of the handsome groom!

Just as Liang Wan was hesitating over whether to join the crowd, someone tapped her on the shoulder.

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