She knew all too well that this cousin of hers was soft - hearted. Sure enough, at first, Wei Yuan wore a somewhat impatient look on his face, but when he saw the red mark on her palm, he couldn't help but loosen his furrowed brow, and his expression softened a bit.
"Thank you, cousin. But I'm busy at the moment. I'll come back and apologize to you later." With that, he tried to step around her and head out.
Wei Wanling's eyes changed. "Cousin!"
Wei Yuan paused in his steps and looked at her in surprise.
But Wei Wanling quickly composed herself and put on a dejected look. "Since I returned to the capital, I haven't had any close female friends to talk to in this city. So I've had to stay in the courtyard all day, embroidering and reading books..."
"I know cousin is a man who is going to achieve great things, and I didn't want to bother you on weekdays. But today I happened to run into you going out... Even if cousin blames or scolds me, I'll take it. I just hope cousin can take me with you. It would be good for me to go out and relax." As she spoke, seeing Wei Yuan's expression change several times, she quickly added, "Cousin, don't worry. I definitely won't interfere with your business. I just want to go out for some fresh air and see the world. I will never bring shame to you!"
She sounded so pitiful. Originally, she just wanted to find an excuse to go out with him, but as she spoke, thinking of her current situation, she couldn't help feeling sad, and real tears fell from her eyes.
Wei Yuan was both annoyed and couldn't bear it. He was going out to meet his sweetheart this time. What would it look like if he took his cousin along?
But now hearing what his cousin said, he couldn't help feeling pity for her. So he hesitated for a moment and found it hard to make a decision.
Seeing this, Wei Wanling's expression flickered. She wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief. As if seeing his hesitation and embarrassment, her expression dimmed. But she took a deep breath and forced a smile. "It's my overstepping. Cousin is going to do something important. It would be really difficult to take me, a burden, along. I've put cousin in a difficult position. Cousin, don't take it to heart. Just take it as my joking."
With that, she lowered her head, as if not wanting him to see her tear - filled eyes, and turned around to go back.
Who would have thought that just as she took two steps, she heard Wei Yuan sigh behind her. "Cousin, you've thought too much. Alright, you can go with me."
"But there's one thing I have to tell you first. When we go out later, you must listen to me and not wander around. Do you understand?" Wei Yuan said seriously.
He knew that his cousin had her own little schemes, so he had to say some things in advance to avoid any mistakes later.
Wei Wanling's eyes lit up. She immediately turned around and looked at him in disbelief. She was so excited that she seemed a bit incoherent. "Yes, yes. I will definitely follow closely behind cousin and never leave you for a single step!"
Wei Yuan frowned slightly. There was something strange about this statement, but since it was he who had first said not to wander around, and since it was getting late and he was in a hurry, he simply put aside that sense of unease. He said to the servant beside him, "Go and prepare the carriage. We're leaving now."
Yongchun Tower.
Fu Zhen put on her veil hat in the carriage and then got out of the carriage holding her maid's hand.
Outside, she had to be more cautious.
Chen Tingfeng subconsciously raised his hand slightly, but then seemed to realize something. He glanced at Fu Zhen, pursed his lips, and put his hand down.
He was not an impatient man. Although he was sometimes impulsive towards Fu Zhen, he would not do anything to embarrass her in public.
Although he was a bit unhappy, he managed to suppress it. He walked beside Fu Zhen and went into the building with her.
He had reserved a room, a room he often came to. The waiter opened the door, served them a pot of hot tea and the signature pastries, and then respectfully withdrew.
When there was no one around, Fu Zhen took off her veil hat. She glanced at the silent man, reached out to pour herself a cup of tea, and leisurely took a sip.
When he looked over, she ignored him. She picked up a pastry with chopsticks and ate it while commenting, "The pastries in Yongchun Tower are really good. It seems to be made of goat's milk, but there's not a bit of the unpleasant smell. It's really rare."
Chen Tingfeng stared at her for a moment. Suddenly, he reached out and held the hand that was holding the chopsticks. He lowered his head and took a bite of the pastry. Seeing her glaring at him, he finally showed a bit of a smile. "Well, it's really good."
Fu Zhen looked at the pastry that was almost finished on the chopsticks. She stretched out her hand and stuffed it directly into Chen Tingfeng's mouth. She forced a smile and said, "Since cousin thinks it's good, eat more. Don't sit here daydreaming."
But Chen Tingfeng sighed. "The pastry that cousin picked for me is really different. Now I feel much more comfortable."
Fu Zhen gave him a disdainful look and was too lazy to talk to this guy who always took advantage of the situation.
After they finished a cup of tea, the carriage from the Duke's Mansion slowly stopped at the door.
Fu Zhen asked someone to change the pot of tea and serve a new plate of pastries.
On the other side, Chen Tingfeng raised his eyebrows slightly when he saw the carriage. As if thinking of something, the smile on his face turned a bit colder.
When Wei Yuan rushed upstairs excitedly and opened the door, he saw Chen Tingfeng at a glance. The smile on his face froze.
Fu Zhen heard the noise and looked over. Who would have thought that just then, Wei Wanling came up, still breathing slightly. She followed behind as if she didn't see the scene inside. She just said softly, "Cousin? Why don't you go in?"
After saying that, she looked up and happened to meet Fu Zhen's calm and composed eyes.
She pursed her lips. Her gaze moved upwards, and she saw Chen Tingfeng standing beside Fu Zhen with a hint of imperceptible care.
The originally somewhat proud mood instantly sank to the bottom.
She sneered in her heart. She had schemed so hard to get her cousin to take her out, but it turned out that the other person had never intended to come alone.
The feeling of all her schemes coming to nothing really made her feel as if there was a fishbone stuck in her throat. It was extremely uncomfortable.
Looking at the intimate relationship between the other two cousins and thinking of the way her own cousin avoided her, she felt as if there was a huge stone blocking her heart. It almost made her unable to breathe.
Wei Yuan greeted them stiffly and then walked in under Chen Tingfeng's ambiguous gaze.
He couldn't help but feel a bit shocked. Although he and Chen Tingfeng were both heirs, their personalities and ways of doing things were completely different. Chen Tingfeng and Xie Yan stayed together all day long, and neither of them was a kind - hearted person. He didn't like such a way of handling things, so he was never very close to them.
This was the first time he had faced Chen Tingfeng like this.
Fu Zhen pretended not to notice the undercurrent between them. It had to be said that this scene was a bit embarrassingly comical. But perhaps because she had been with Chen Tingfeng for a long time, her skin had thickened. Now she even had the leisure to say with a smile, "What a coincidence. Since you're here, Lord Wei and Miss Wei, come in and have a cup of tea first."