"You are..." Lin Zhiran recalled the portrait he had seen. "Miss Lian?"
Ji Feiyu nodded. "I've come to talk to you about our marriage."
Lin Zhiran felt a bit uncomfortable. "Our marriage was arranged by our parents. It seems inappropriate for us to meet privately and discuss it."
Ji Feiyu said, "You're right, Young Master Lin. But if I weren't desperate, I wouldn't have taken such a risk."
Lin Zhiran said, "Since that's the case, Miss Lian, just tell me what you want from me."
Ji Feiyu said, "To be honest, I've fallen in love with someone else, so I don't want to marry you."
Lin Zhiran couldn't help but smile bitterly. "If you don't want to marry me, you should tell your parents and let them decide. What's the use of coming to tell me?"
Ji Feiyu said, "I've already told my family, but no one cares about my feelings. Do you know? Our wedding was postponed for a month. The official reason was that I was sick, but actually, I ran away. I thought since my words carry no weight, it might be better for the top - ranked scholar to speak up. I believe if you tell your father you don't want to marry me, there might be a real chance of a change."
Lin Zhiran laughed upon hearing this. "Miss, you've oversimplified this matter. If my words really worked, I wouldn't be so troubled about this by now."
Ji Feiyu, as if she had discovered a secret, asked eagerly, "You don't want to marry me either, do you, Young Master Lin?"
Lin Zhiran didn't answer. Instead, he asked, "Does Lord Lian know you're here, Miss Lian?"
Ji Feiyu shook her head. "No."
Considering the previous theft incident, Lin Zhiran immediately understood. He said, "In that case, I'll see you out of the mansion."
Ji Feiyu knew he was also helpless. She was a bit dejected, thinking that there was little hope of calling off the engagement if he were to bring it up.
Seeing her like this, Lin Zhiran led her out of the room. Unexpectedly, as soon as he opened the door, a gust of wind blew in, scattering a stack of white papers on his desk.
He quickly rushed to pick them up, and Ji Feiyu helped as well. She found they were just some sketch papers for painting. Just as she was about to return them to him, she noticed a simple ink sketch of a woman's profile on the top paper.
The drawing was just a few casual strokes, but Ji Feiyu could see a noble and beautiful woman from those strokes.
Could this be the woman he was in love with? Ji Feiyu wondered. Staring at the drawing, she felt the woman looked very familiar.
Could it be someone she knew?
Just as Ji Feiyu was deep in thought, she saw Lin Zhiran quickly take the sketch from her hand. Looking a bit embarrassed, he said, "Get up. I'll see you out."
"Okay." Ji Feiyu nodded and stood up. She followed him towards the door. Just as they reached the door, they saw Lin Chujie walking towards them from afar.
Seeing Lin Chujie coming, Ji Feiyu quickly hid beside the door. Lin Zhiran glanced at her awkwardly, then lifted his robe and walked out cheerfully.
"Father, what do you want to see me for?"
Hearing his voice, Lin Chujie laughed heartily. "Ran'er, just now the vice - minister of the Supreme Court came to see me and talked about your marriage to his daughter. This marriage was arranged by your mother when she was alive. It was almost ready a month ago, but was postponed because Miss Lian was sick. Now that Miss Lian has recovered, you can get married. The wedding is tentatively set for three days later. What do you think?"
Lin Zhiran was quite helpless but answered respectfully, "Marriage is a matter of parental order and matchmaker's word. Even if I say I don't want to, what can I do?"
Perhaps Lin Zhiran's expression was not very happy, so Lin Chujie's tone changed. "Ran'er, your attitude towards this matter was not like this a few months ago. Why has it changed so much after you started working in the court?"
Lin Zhiran felt a bit wronged. "Father, you know I've already fallen in love with someone!"
Hearing this, Lin Chujie snorted coldly and said, "Are you still thinking about that person? I'm telling you, it's absolutely impossible!"
Hiding behind the door, Ji Feiyu's heart skipped a beat. Who was that person? Why was it impossible?
Then she heard Lin Zhiran say, "Yes, I know it's impossible, but I just can't help thinking about her."
Lin Chujie said, "Back then you were young. She saved you by chance. It's normal for you to remember her. But times have changed. Your social statuses are now worlds apart. If you have other delusions, where will you put your father?"
Lin Zhiran's voice was rather desolate. "Yes, I also think I'm ridiculous. But if she hadn't suddenly appeared that year, I would have really been bullied by those hooligans on the Cuibo Tower. That year, with just a red dress, she made me remember her name for many years. But I didn't expect that now..."
Now what? Why did they always stop talking halfway? Ji Feiyu was so anxious. What on earth was going on?
Lin Chujie sighed and said, "Don't think too much about this. Even if that person was sent to the Cold Palace by the Emperor, it has nothing to do with you. You'd better prepare for your wedding to Miss Lian of the Lian family."
The Cold Palace! Ji Feiyu's heart skipped a beat. Could it be that Lin Zhiran was talking about her!
Before Ji Feiyu could calm down, she heard Lin Zhiran say, "The Cold Palace? Why did she go to the Cold Palace! There was a fire in the Cold Palace some time ago. Is she okay?"
Lin Chujie said, "Alas... It's all because of your cousin who loves to show off. After she got pregnant, she went around showing off. One day, for no reason, she went to the Qiwu Palace. Well, this angered the Queen, and the Queen directly made her lose her child. You know that in the harem, with the Queen around, it's not easy for the concubines to have children. Naturally, she wasn't willing to let it go. After a lot of crying and making a scene, she even asked me to threaten the Emperor to severely punish the Queen. I was worn down by her mother and had no choice but to go to the palace to see the Emperor. Unexpectedly, in the end, the Queen was sent to the Cold Palace, but the Emperor didn't issue an edict to depose the Queen. The Supreme Court is investigating the fire in the Cold Palace. There are many interests involved. There's no news that the Queen is in danger for the time being. I think it won't be long before the Emperor will bring her back."
Lin Zhiran murmured, "I heard that the fire in the Cold Palace was extremely tragic, but I didn't know she was also involved. And the reason she was involved is related to Xin'er..."
Ji Feiyu was completely stunned. So it was the old fox Lin who had a hand in her being sent to the Cold Palace. She wondered why Yong Yaxuan didn't listen to her explanation and directly sent her to the Cold Palace. It turned out that the old fox Lin had asked for the Queen's deposition!
Ji Feiyu was so angry that her teeth were itching. On the other side, Lin Chujie said, "You can't blame Xin'er for this. She didn't know the danger. I think there must be someone sowing discord in this matter. Xin'er was also deeply hurt and lost her child in vain. Harem matters are always complicated. We are both external officials. Just pretend you don't know about the matter of deposing the Queen. Just wait and see what decision the Emperor will make next."
Lin Zhiran shook his head and said, "She's not that kind of person. There must be a misunderstanding in this matter!"