Chapter 57: Poor Little One

Lu Yuner had learned in advance that this garden was located in the southern suburbs, a place for sightseeing. Not far away was a hot spring resort, and the environment was quiet and beautiful, very suitable for vacation.

Soon, Lu Yuner arrived at the suburban garden by carriage.

After getting off the carriage, she followed a servant into the antique-style garden. Walking along the path paved with bluestone slabs, she could see a large lotus pond not far away, surrounded by winding bridges. At the end of the bridges was a long corridor, with a small hill beside it. On the hill stood a beautiful and exquisite pavilion.

Lu Yuner immediately saw a perfect couple in the pavilion. She knew Ouyang Jinghe, and beside him stood a woman with proper features, mature and steady.

She also knew her, the Minister of War, Lin Ruowei.

Meeting their greeting gaze, Lu Yuner smiled faintly and returned the greeting, then walked up the steps towards the pavilion.

Standing in the pavilion looking around, the entire lotus pond came into view.

Looking at the beautiful woman approaching, Ouyang Jinghe’s calm gaze gradually became somewhat subtle. After all, she was the woman he once admired. Seeing the familiar face, various feelings welled up in his heart, not of unrequited love, but more of a beautiful past.

His tone was light, as if recalling something, murmuring: “She hasn’t changed at all.”

The woman beside him said nothing, seemingly aware of his emotional changes. She put her hand on Ouyang Jinghe’s shoulder, patting it gently in comfort. Ouyang Jinghe leaned into her embrace, “Elder Sister Ruowei, you’re so good!”

“It’s been a while since we last met, how have you been?” Seeing the loving couple before her, Lu Yuner smiled, “Congratulations on your marriage.”

“Elder Sister Yuner, please sit.” Ouyang Jinghe left the embrace, looking shy, and extended his hand to introduce, “This is my future wife-master, Lin Ruowei. Elder Sister Yuner probably knows her.”

“I do.” Lu Yuner nodded in greeting to Lin Ruowei.

Lin Ruowei smiled and nodded in return.

The three chatted like good friends for half an hour, then Ouyang Jinghe handed the prepared wedding invitation to Lu Yuner, “Elder Sister Yuner, may I hug you?”

“This…” Lu Yuner instinctively glanced at Lin Ruowei, fearing she might misunderstand, but saw her smile openly. Lu Yuner’s eyes flickered, and she opened her arms, giving Ouyang Jinghe a brief and light hug before letting go.

Ouyang Jinghe smiled slightly, sincerely saying: “I wish Elder Sister Yuner finds her ideal person soon.”

Lu Yuner paused slightly, but still said: “I’ll take your good wishes. I will.”

Afterwards, Ouyang Jinghe and Lin Ruowei left.

This garden was not a private garden but for commercial use, and Ouyang Jinghe had booked it for the entire day.

It was still early, and Lu Yuner, standing in the pavilion, felt the urge to play as she looked at the lotus pond. Plus, there was a hot spring nearby, and Lu Yuner wanted to relax properly.

Just as she was about to turn and leave the pavilion, her gaze swept over the winding corridor above the lotus pond.

Suddenly she stopped.

A young man in pink stood like a weak willow in the center of the lotus pond. The green pond made his complexion appear shockingly white, like a patch of snow on an iceberg, looking particularly frail.

Lu Yuner looked at him with an indecipherable gaze. It seemed that this encounter today was unavoidable.

She came to the lotus pond, facing the young man before her, “Young Master Su, how did you know I was here?”

Faced with Elder Sister Yuner’s question, Su Qingwan nervously clasped his hands together, standing obediently like a little husband being scolded, his eyes lowered: “I… I had someone check your whereabouts.”

Young Master Su’s frankness made Lu Yuner pause with a subtle expression, “Do you have something to discuss with me?”

“The… one-month period… hasn’t passed yet.” Su Qingwan stuttered, lowering his head to look at his shoes.

Lu Yuner’s eyes narrowed slightly, “Young Master Su, do you know why I’m here today?”

He had just seen a couple with Elder Sister Yuner in the pavilion, and he couldn’t understand why when they left, that man had specially hugged Elder Sister Yuner, and she had hugged him back.

Su Qingwan finally raised his eyes to look at Lu Yuner, “I… don’t know.”

“I came here today to meet a couple who are about to get married,” Lu Yuner said earnestly. “Before this, I knew the man of this couple who are about to marry. At that time, he, like Young Master Su, had some affection for me, but we weren’t suitable for each other. Now he has found a suitable woman he admires.” Lu Yuner took out the wedding invitation, “Young Master Su, please look, I’ve already received his wedding invitation. In a few days…”

“Elder Sister Yuner, what do you mean?” Su Qingwan’s eyes reddened, his voice trembling.

The sadness revealed by the young man somewhat stung Lu Yuner. She slightly turned her gaze away, saying irritably, “Young Master Su, sometimes giving up is not a bad choice. Perhaps in the next moment, you’ll meet someone better than me.”

“Elder Sister Yuner, do you know… how painful and cruel these words are to me?” Su Qingwan’s heart was filled with indescribable sourness, his eyes brimming with tears, tears constantly falling from the corners of his eyes, his pupils showing obvious sadness, “I like Elder Sister Yuner, it has never changed, and it will never change in the future.”

“In my eyes, Elder Sister Yuner is not only beautiful and kind-hearted, but also gentle and modest, pure and unmarried. Such a rare good woman, no man would not be moved. I know Elder Sister Yuner doesn’t like me, so from the beginning, I never dared to hope that Elder Sister Yuner would look at me more.”

“When Elder Sister Yuner agreed to try getting along with me, even though it was only for a month, I was really happy. I felt I was the luckiest man in the world. I thought as long as I slowly approached and tried to understand Elder Sister Yuner, I would enter Elder Sister Yuner’s heart, but Elder Sister Yuner has never opened her heart to me.”

“I don’t understand… why?” Tears streaming down his face, Su Qingwan suddenly threw himself into Lu Yuner’s arms, his tone becoming more and more out of control. He spoke with a hint of hope and pleading, “Why? Elder Sister Yuner… tell me why? Is there something wrong with me?”

“Young Master Su, you are very good.” Lu Yuner paused slightly, her heart in turmoil, and slowly said: “But… we are not suitable.”

The two looked at each other silently. As time passed, he slowly retreated from Lu Yuner’s embrace, his figure swaying as he stepped back facing her.

Su Qingwan, with tears in his eyes, stared unblinkingly at Lu Yuner, the light in his phoenix eyes already dim, gradually replaced by grief and despair.

Suddenly, he turned and ran away in tears.

Lu Yuner stood still, her eyes complex with a hint of melancholy and bewilderment, her fingers clenched into a fist in her sleeve, seemingly calm but desolate.

After standing for a long time, Lu Yuner no longer had the mood to sightsee and was about to leave.

Unexpectedly, a servant of the garden hurriedly came over, “Wait, miss, do you know that young man who was talking to you just now?”

“I do.” Lu Yuner frowned, “Has something happened?”

“That young man came to the garden alone, saying he was here to look for someone. This garden has been booked by someone, and outsiders are not usually allowed in, but this young man paid a very high price. You know, business is all about money, who would turn down money? So we let him in. I saw him standing with you by the lotus pond, so I thought you knew him. Just now, I saw him running towards the resort. As the sky is getting dark, if he encounters any danger alone…”

Lu Yuner’s expression tightened, and she immediately ran off.

Following the path towards the resort, there were lush trees all around, eerily quiet. Suddenly, a fierce wind raged through the forest, seemingly foretelling something.

At this moment, Lu Yuner’s heart was in turmoil, panicked.

She anxiously quickened her pace, constantly shouting loudly along the way, and for safety reasons, changed her form of address, “Young Master Su!…”

Soon, Lu Yuner caught a glimpse of a familiar figure in the distance. She breathed a sigh of relief and quickly ran over. As she approached, Lu Yuner gradually slowed down, slowly walking over, her gaze complex as she looked at the increasingly close petite figure.

The young man was crouching on the ground, resting his head on his knees, arms around his knees, silently grieving. His clean pink clothes, including the exposed snow-white skin, were already covered in dirt from falling.

Immersed in sadness, Su Qingwan seemed to sense someone’s arrival and slowly raised his head. His gaze moved slowly upwards from the bottom, stopping halfway and continuing to hide his face on his knees. He knew Elder Sister Yuner was standing in front of him.

Now, with his tear-stained and dirty appearance, he didn’t want Elder Sister Yuner to see.

The young man’s disheveled state entered her eyes. Lu Yuner crouched down, her eyes slightly sinking: “There are few passersby in the suburbs. Young Master Su shouldn’t travel alone. If you encounter danger, it would be bad. It’s getting late, I’ll send you back to Yun Qinwang’s mansion.”

Su Qingwan silently raised his head slowly. He had stopped crying, but his face was still covered in tear stains, obviously having cried a lot. His phoenix eyes were already red all over. He got up silently and walked a few steps, his figure swaying unsteadily. It turned out his ankle was sprained.

Seeing this, Lu Yuner was about to go forward to support him, but was interrupted by Su Qingwan, his voice still choked with sobs, “Elder Sister Yuner, if you want to break my hopes, don’t be so kind to me anymore. Otherwise, I might not be able to let go and cling to you again.”

Saying this, Su Qingwan once again welled up with sour emotions and turned to leave.

Lu Yuner frowned, watching the stumbling figure of the young man in front of her. Her eyes flashed with gravity, and an inexplicable irritation disturbed her heart.

She indeed cared for Young Master Su too much, beyond the normal range.

Suddenly, while she was deep in thought, a strong sense of crisis arose. Lu Yuner slightly turned her eyes, and the next second her figure moved quickly. At the same time, a flying dagger appeared in her previous position.

Someone wanted to kill her! Could it be that the account book matter had been exposed in advance?