Chapter 79: Unmoved

How could Lu Yuner really do that with him? She covered his eyes with her hand, her low voice as soft as a feather, full of calm and tranquility, coaxing: “Be good, close your eyes first, then follow my words.”

Su Qingwan smiled shyly. Although he didn’t know what sister Yuner was going to do, he still followed her instructions.

After a while, Su Qingwan’s eyes were tightly closed, breathing lightly, as if he had fallen into a deep sleep.

Lu Yuner smiled with satisfaction. It seemed that hypnosis was effective. But looking at the dark circles under the young lord Su’s eyelids, which had not disappeared since accompanying her on Changyun Mountain.

Lu Yuner felt heartache and got up to take the blanket beside her to cover Su Qingwan, helping him arrange the bedding.

Then she turned and got off the bed. Before leaving, she approached Su Qingwan again and left a light kiss on his forehead.

Walking out to the door, looking at the door locked from the inside, Lu Yuner shook her head slightly and smiled helplessly. Just as she opened the door, she saw Xiao Yuan standing not far away, lowering his eyes and not daring to look at her. Lu Yuner glanced slightly into the room, seeming to understand something.

Lu Yuner walked forward and explained: “Don’t misunderstand. Nothing happened between me and your young lord. He’s been tired recently and fell asleep in the room. You go watch over him!”

“Yes.” Xiao Yuan blinked his eyelashes, seemingly lost in thought.

He naturally believed Dr. Lu’s words. He knew she was upright and not a wanton person, and would not take advantage of his young lord.

On the contrary, looking at his young lord, to be honest, it was more likely that he would…

Later, after Lu Yuner finished dinner, Chen Si personally sent her back to the Lu residence, discussing the marriage arrangements briefly along the way.

Chen Si said: “Princess Yun said that the engagement can be simple. You don’t need to prepare betrothal gifts. As long as Dr. Lu treats our young lord well, that’s fine. But the wedding day must be formal and grand.”

“No need for betrothal gifts, this…” Lu Yuner had some concerns. Young Lord Su was of noble status after all. Although it was her first marriage, she knew that men and women should prepare betrothal gifts when getting married. Waiving this etiquette all at once, was it somewhat inappropriate?

Lu Yuner frowned and thought: Could it be that she was expected to marry into their family?

Seeing Lu Yuner’s thoughts, Chen Si smiled and explained: “Dr. Lu, your parents have passed away. Since everything is arranged by Princess Yun, you should follow Princess Yun’s arrangements.”

“Princess Yun only has one son. By rights, for your marriage with Young Lord Su to happen, you would have to marry into Princess Yun’s family. But Princess Yun knows that you are from a military family after all, and your mother has served the country loyally for so many years. Princess Yun naturally considers the face of your Lu family and won’t let you marry in. And you, Lu Yuner, certainly wouldn’t agree to it.”

Chen Si looked at Lu Yuner with a deep smile, “Moreover… Young Lord Su is determined to marry you and no one else. You should understand the relationship between Princess Yun and the young lord. How could Princess Yun possibly break the young lord’s heart?”

“In addition, after you and the young lord went missing, a single man and woman staying together for so long, even if nothing happened between you and the young lord, during the days you weren’t in the capital, he went to your Lu residence every day. To see you, the young lord would wait at the Lu residence for an entire day.”

“Even if he is Young Lord Su, what does his noble status matter? The rumors have been flying everywhere. So even if you still maintain your previous attitude about your relationship with the young lord, at this point you have no choice but to marry him.”

“Fortunately, you two now have mutual feelings. It can be considered a case of lovers finally becoming a couple. Princess Yun, as an elder, will only fulfill her role as an elder and won’t interfere too much in your affairs.”

Hearing this, Lu Yuner’s furrowed brows gradually smoothed out. She didn’t expect Princess Yun to be so magnanimous.

Chen Si was silent for a moment, then looked at Lu Yuner with sincere eyes and said earnestly: “Princess Yun is doing all this to make amends to the young lord. I have followed Princess Yun for these years and know that she has experienced too many hardships and too many things beyond her control.”

“Because of the death of her lord, they have maintained a rigid relationship for many years, living under the same roof but staying as far from each other as possible. Although Princess Yun acts decisively, when it comes to handling family relationships, she doesn’t know where to start. I’ve also tried to mediate, but obviously to no effect.”

“I understand their mother-son relationship best. When we met at the prince’s mansion today, I could see subtle changes in the young lord’s eyes towards Princess Yun.”

“You spent many days with the young lord on Changyun Mountain. I don’t know how much the young lord told you, nor do I know what you might have said to the young lord. But it’s clear that the young lord treats you differently. He relies on you a lot and is very willing to listen to what you say.”

“I have an unreasonable request. For both Princess Yun and the young lord, I hope you can ease the relationship between mother and son.”

Lu Yuner already knew the ins and outs of the matter between Princess Yun and the young lord. In this matter, none of them were really at fault.

Lu Yuner felt that this was not a request, but something she should do anyway. For her, she also didn’t want to let Young Lord Su remain trapped in painful memories for long.

Lu Yuner replied solemnly: “You don’t need to ask. This is something I should do. I also hope that the young lord can be happy every day, without being entangled in past pain.”

Chen Si breathed a sigh of relief, “With your words, I can rest assured.”

Lu Residence.

“My lady! You’re finally back, I was so worried! Thankfully you’ve recovered!” Qiu Yi hugged Lu Yuner and cried bitterly.

Lu Yuner patted Qiu Yi’s back, smiling and comforting: “Alright, a grown woman crying and wailing like this, what does it look like? Don’t cry! I’m already fine, don’t worry!”

Qiu Yi wiped away her tears and left Lu Yuner’s embrace. Remembering the carriage from Princess Yun’s mansion that sent the lady back, she said somewhat dissatisfied: “General Liu sent someone with a message early this morning saying you would return today, but you only came back after dark. So it turns out my lady went to Princess Yun’s mansion first.”

Hearing the jealousy in Qiu Yi’s words, Lu Yuner explained: “The reason I recovered so quickly was because Princess Yun sent spirit flowers. She saved my life. I originally planned to send Young Lord Su home and then return, intending to visit with gifts tomorrow. But I ran into Princess Yun and was called into the mansion. I had dinner there, so I came back a bit late.”

“Oh, so that’s how it was!” After understanding, Qiu Yi curiously asked: “What did Princess Yun discuss with you?”

Lu Yuner smiled slightly and said: “My marriage to Young Lord Su.”

“What! Ma-marriage?!” Qiu Yi’s eyes widened instantly, her eyelashes trembling. Then she suddenly realized and understood why Princess Yun would be so kind to her lady for no reason. The main reason was because of Young Lord Su.

Lu Yuner continued: “Young Lord Su and I will get engaged this month first, then marry next month after Young Lord Su finishes his studies. So Qiu Yi, you’ll need to help your lady with the wedding preparations. Discuss with Manager Chen tomorrow, and just let me know once the engagement date is set.”

“Then my lady, will you be marrying him or marrying into their family?” Qiu Yi asked anxiously.

“Tidy up the bridal chamber these next few days. I’ll still be living in it!” Lu Yuner didn’t answer directly, smiling as she patted Qiu Yi’s shoulder. “I’m going to see Juzi first.”

Qiu Yi was slightly startled, then quickly came to her senses, her eyes smiling: “It looks like this Lu residence will have a male master soon!”

“But…” Qiu Yi’s smile suddenly froze, her brows furrowing tightly as she said: “Doesn’t my lady have no interest in men? Has my lady forgotten? If you share a room with Young Lord Su, then wouldn’t that… No, I must quickly think of a solution!”

Peach Grove.

Su Qingwan slowly woke up at this time. In his drowsy state, he reached out to feel beside him, only to find an empty space. Suddenly wide awake, he sat up and looked around but still saw no one.

Su Qingwan sat alone on the bed, his expression somewhat desolate, but still called out hopefully: “Sister Yuner? Sister Yuner?”

Hearing the call, Xiao Yuan rushed in. Entering behind the screen and seeing the young lord’s low spirits, he asked worriedly: “Young Lord, you’re awake. Dr. Lu has finished dinner and returned to the Lu residence.”

Su Qingwan’s eyes lowered slightly. Now he not only felt dejected, but more than that, he felt inferior as a man.

He knew that sister Yuner wouldn’t touch him before marriage, except for simple intimacies. But he had been so proactive, even deliberately teasing her. He himself had even had an embarrassing reaction, yet she didn’t touch him at all and even put him to sleep.

Could it be that he held no attraction for sister Yuner at all?

Su Qingwan looked up and asked: “Xiao Yuan, am I not good-looking?”

Xiao Yuan opened his confused big eyes, not understanding: “Young Lord, what are you saying?! In this capital, I haven’t seen any man more handsome than you! Have you forgotten? You used to have quite a few ladies gathering around you!”

Su Qingwan blinked his eyelashes and asked again: “Then do I have no manly charm at all?”

Seeing the young lord fall into self-doubt, Xiao Yuan said anxiously: “Young Lord, how can you say that? How can you not have charm?! You just need to stand in a crowd, and there’s no lady who won’t turn to look at you! If you just crook your finger slightly, I guarantee those ladies’ souls would be captivated by you.”

After hearing this, instead of looking happy, Su Qingwan lowered his eyes and fell into a dejected mood. “But… but why is sister Yuner so… so unmoved by me?”

“Young Lord, what do you mean by that?” Xiao Yuan’s mouth twitched slightly. Now he understood why the young lord had suddenly become so unconfident. It seemed Dr. Lu was truly someone who could remain unmoved even when tempted. To have such self-control in front of the young lord, if it were him, he really couldn’t guarantee he could do the same.

Xiao Yuan fell silent at this point. He had no experience in matters between men and women either, and didn’t really understand a woman’s thoughts. But if he were a woman, he would certainly fall at the young lord’s feet.

Su Qingwan then lay down again, lying on his side facing inward, and said in a muffled voice: “Xiao Yuan, I’m not going back to Qinghua Garden today. I’ll continue sleeping here. You can go now!”

Xiao Yuan frowned and said worriedly: “But you haven’t had dinner today…”

Su Qingwan said in a flat tone: “I’m not hungry. You go first! I want to continue resting.”

“Yes, you rest first. If you need anything, just call me.” Xiao Yuan looked at the young lord’s lonely back with pity, shook his head and turned to leave.

Su Qingwan reached out again to touch the empty space beside him, his gaze full of attachment. This was where sister Yuner had lain before. He moved closer, as if he could still smell a faint familiar scent.