Watching Wu Luoluo looking dejected because of a painting, Shangguan Yun turned pale and stood there stiffly, at a loss.
Wu Luoluo forced a smile, glanced at Shangguan Yun, and asked in a low voice, "Is this Miss Wei?"
Shangguan Yun kept silent. He put away the painting scroll and said in a low voice, "Luoluo, I'm so sorry you saw this painting. It should have been put away by Pin Hao and the others. I'll go burn it right away."
Wu Luoluo grabbed his hand and looked at Shangguan Yun with gentle yet firm eyes. She dissuaded him, "It's such a wonderful painting. It would be a pity to burn it. If you have the chance in the future, give it to Miss Wei?" Wu Luoluo sighed silently in her heart. The young master must be reluctant to burn this painting. Why make things difficult for him?
Shangguan Yun was silent for a moment. After making sure that Wu Luoluo wasn't blaming him, he stepped forward and hugged her soft and delicate body. He murmured, "Luoluo, please believe that I'm whole - hearted towards you! After I met you, I've let go of the past."
Wu Luoluo indulged in the warmth of Shangguan Yun's embrace and gently sniffed the faint fragrance of herbs on him. She nodded and said softly, "My lord, I believe you."
Shangguan Yun loosened his fingers, letting the painting scroll fall to the ground. He hugged the beauty in his arms even tighter.
At night, just as the two of them had finished washing up and were about to go to bed, He Xiao came back.
He stood still at the door for a while, listening intently to the sounds inside, then gently knocked on the door.
Shangguan Yun wrapped his robe around him and came to open the door. Frowning unhappily, he asked, "What's the matter?" Didn't I tell you not to bother me at night?
He Xiao looked a bit embarrassed and lowered his voice, saying, "My lord, Lord Pin Hao is here." He heard that Pin Hao had been working for the emperor recently. He searched the palace all over but couldn't find him. Finally, he went back to the Su Mansion and asked Cheng Hao before he managed to bring Pin Hao back.
Shangguan Yun followed the direction He Xiao was pointing at. Looking up, he saw the figure standing beside the rockery in the courtyard. He turned back and said in a low voice to Wu Luoluo on the couch, "Luoluo, you go to sleep first. I'll be back soon."
The woman behind the screen replied cheerfully, "Okay!"
Shangguan Yun closed the door for her and strode towards Pin Hao.
"My lord! It's really you who's back?" At this moment, Pin Hao looked haggard with red - rimmed eyes. Looking up at Shangguan Yun, he tried his best to suppress the turmoil in his heart.
Just now, when He Xiao found him and told him that the young master was back and specifically wanted to see him, Pin Hao was still skeptical. It wasn't until this moment, in this familiar courtyard, that the familiar figure opened the door and walked straight up to him. That gentle and elegant young master had really come back!
Pin Hao couldn't hold back his tears any longer. He knelt down on the spot and paid a grand salute.
Back then, when Shangguan Yun fell to the bottom of Tianhu Lake, Pin Hao was heart - broken and wanted to follow the young master right away. But Pin Hao still remembered what the young master was worried about. He clearly remembered that the young master had repeatedly told him: No matter what, protect Miss Wei!
God knows how he had gritted his teeth and endured the pain in his heart for the past few months, following Wei Dongling through thick and thin!
Pin Hao couldn't hold back any longer. He stepped forward and hugged Shangguan Yun's leg, crying loudly.
Shangguan Yun looked at the snot and tears smeared on his leg by Pin Hao. Speechless, he sighed, "You're such an adult. Why are you still crying like a child?"
Knowing that his young master was a bit of a clean - freak, Pin Hao wiped his hands back and forth on Shangguan Yun's leg while crying, smearing the dirty tears and snot on his inner robe evenly.
Shangguan Yun was petrified on the spot. If the atmosphere hadn't prohibited it, he really would have stepped forward and slapped Pin Hao twice.
Pin Hao looked at the wet patch on Shangguan Yun's trouser leg embarrassedly and said awkwardly, "My lord, I'm sorry!"
Shangguan Yun sighed helplessly and asked, "How have you been recently?" Haven't you caused any trouble? Haven't you shamed the Prince's Mansion?
"Everything's fine." Hearing that the young master still cared about him, Pin Hao choked with sobs as he answered. Then his nose twitched and he started crying again.
Shangguan Yun was taken aback for a moment. Waving his hand, he asked, "What happened to Dongling? She was stabbed seven times by He Yao's people. Were you not there at that time?"
Pin Hao quickly explained, telling him everything that had happened on the day Wei Dongling was assassinated. Seeing Shangguan Yun's face getting darker and darker, Pin Hao quickly added, "The murderer has been executed by slow slicing! As the daughter of a criminal official, He Yao has been imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice's prison, and her father, He Jingyao, has also been beheaded in public..."
Shangguan Yun's expression softened a bit. Then he eagerly asked about some other things.
Unexpectedly, the Ninth Prince had already died of poisoning, and the one who had ascended the throne was Murong Xuan. Shangguan Yun was silent for a long time and sighed silently in his heart. He didn't expect that Murong Yuchen, such a pure - hearted child, would end up like this in the end! How unfair God was!
The two of them talked for a long time. It wasn't until they heard a baby's faint cry that Pin Hao seemed to remember something. He quickly said to Shangguan Yun, "My lord! I've brought someone to see you!" With that, he quickly walked to the corridor and brought Qi Jinlan, who had been waiting there, over.
Qi Jinlan stepped forward carefully and bowed. She was still holding a wrapped - up baby in her arms.
Shangguan Yun sized Qi Jinlan up and down for a long time. Seeing that Pin Hao didn't seem to want to introduce her, he raised his eyebrows and asked him, "Who is this?"
Pin Hao replied, "Miss Qi Jinlan from the Qi Mansion."
"The Qi Mansion?" Shangguan Yun tilted his head and thought for a long time before saying, "Oh oh oh, she's that girl's younger sister, right?"
Qi Jinlan looked at Shangguan Yun pitifully and then looked at Pin Hao helplessly. Her elder cousin, Qi Jinxuan, had risked her life to give birth to the young master's son but ended up dying. Yet the young master didn't even remember her name?
Alas, what a pity for her cousin!
Pin Hao coughed lightly and said, "My lord, I know this may be hard for you to accept, but this child is yours."
Shangguan Yun and He Xiao looked at each other, completely confused. Seeing that Pin Hao and Qi Jinlan didn't seem to be joking, Shangguan Yun asked in astonishment, "How is that possible?" He had only met this girl for the first time today!
Pin Hao stepped forward, took the baby from Qi Jinlan's arms, and handed it to Shangguan Yun seriously, saying, "My lord, hold him!"
Shangguan Yun carefully lifted the swaddle and took a look. There was a tiny, ugly baby lying inside, crying helplessly with its mouth wide open. Shangguan Yun was startled. He quickly covered the swaddle and took several steps back, waving his hands repeatedly, "Take it away! Take it away quickly!" This baby was obviously much smaller than a newborn, and even its cry was weaker than other babies. It was really strange.
Pin Hao was taken aback for a moment. Speechless, he exclaimed, "My lord! He's your child with Miss Qi Jinxuan!"
Qi Jinxuan? Shangguan Yun's face changed drastically. He kept shaking his head and backing away, saying, "Impossible! You're lying to me!"
Shangguan Yun looked terrified. Suddenly, a ugly - looking, premature - looking baby was brought to him, and they said it was his child! How could that be? He hadn't even touched Qi Jinxuan. How could he have a child? Had Pin Hao made a mistake? Had he brought back the child that woman had with someone else?
Pin Hao stepped forward and grabbed Shangguan Yun's sleeve, saying, "My lord! I'm telling the truth!"