“I will,” Lu Yanzhi said.
No reminder from Song Zhiyao was needed.
Song Zhiyao nodded. “Good.”
When it came to Lu Jienshen and Lu Jianwei, the person she trusted the most was Lu Yanzhi.
“Since we’ve reached an understanding, shall we talk?” Song Zhiyao suggested.
It was deep winter; each breath she exhaled came out as thick white mist. “It’s too cold outside—let’s go to the study.”
Lu Yanzhi didn’t refuse.
The Guipu Courtyard had a study as well, where a dragon stove burned warmly, filling the room with heat.
The two sat down, and Song Zhiyao sipped lightly from the hot tea Lanxin had brought before speaking. “I want to ask about Jianwei.”
“You brought a doctor for Jianwei’s treatment. What did they say about her condition?”
The culprit’s question mentioning the victim made Lu Yanzhi’s expression harden slightly, though he kept his composure. “Jianwei’s body is perfectly healthy. She simply refuses to speak.”
Song Zhiyao’s eyes reddened with concern.
From this, it seemed that Jianwei must have suffered a huge grievance, which left her timid and unwilling to talk.
Lu Yanzhi observed clearly, a trace of irony forming in his mind—wasn’t all this thanks to the person in front of him?
The words hovered on his lips, but he didn’t speak.
After a brief silence in the study, Song Zhiyao said, “I’ll do my best to comfort Jianwei. She’s still young; there’s bound to be a turning point in the future.”
Lu Yanzhi nodded in agreement.
At that moment, a voice came from outside the door: “Song Zhiyao, come out! I have something to say to you.”
It was Lu Jinyu, speaking naturally, arrogantly, with his usual high-handed tone.
He hadn’t been like this in the past, but over the years, being spoiled by “Song Zhiyao” had made him accustomed to taking a high stance in front of her.
He was just outside in the courtyard.
The quiet study instantly fell into a tense silence.
Song Zhiyao instinctively glanced at Lu Yanzhi—and met his penetrating gaze that seemed to see through everything.
A sudden pang of guilt hit her.
She thought for a moment, then stood up. “I’ll be right back.”
Stepping out of the study, she paused under the corridor.
Lu Jinyu wore moon-white clothing with a fox fur cloak draped over his shoulders, face full of anger. “Song Zhiyao, you’ve really crossed the line today!”
His words were sharp, accusing. “If you have a grievance with me, take it out on me! Why involve Guanzuan and Yan’er?”
“Guanzuan is kind-hearted, Yan’er has always respected you—and you? How have you become so cruel?”
Lu Jinyu looked thoroughly disappointed, claiming the moral high ground as he condemned Song Zhiyao with his gaze.
Song Zhiyao couldn’t help but laugh at his audacity. “You came to me just to say that?”
A little brother coming to scold his elder sister in the middle of the night? Ridiculous.
Lu Jinyu clearly misunderstood her intentions, recalling what Lin Guanzuan had said to him. He was convinced that everything Song Zhiyao did today was targeted at him.
“I know what you mean, Song Zhiyao, but your actions today only make me hate you more,” he said, eyes full of disappointment.
Ridiculous.
Song Zhiyao turned and walked back inside. Before either Lu Yanzhi or Lu Jinyu could react, she grabbed Lu Yanzhi’s teacup and flung the full, hot tea straight onto Lu Jinyu’s face.
Splash!
The tea hit him with both warmth and force, shocking him with the sudden cold.
“Ah!” Lu Jinyu shrieked as the tea ran down his cheeks and neck. He wiped his face, fuming. “Song Zhiyao! You’re insane!”
Song Zhiyao’s voice was icy. “Now are you awake?”
“Lu Jinyu, I am your elder sister-in-law. You should respect me, yet you dare to call me by my name—what kind of upbringing is that?”
Lu Jinyu choked. Clearly, it was she who had insisted he call her by her name before.
Song Zhiyao gave him no chance to reply, continuing, “Seems like you didn’t remember a word of what I told you yesterday.”
Mentioning “yesterday” made Lu Jinyu flush with embarrassment.
“Song—” He instinctively called her name, realizing mid-word and abruptly falling silent.
“I’ve been clinging to you all these years?” he blurted out.
Her? Never!
“Clinging to me? And what of it?” Song Zhiyao countered.
Lu Jinyu replied, “You know in your heart what you’ve said and done! You—”
Song Zhiyao’s heart skipped. Could the person who had occupied her body be so bold as to make advances toward her little brother-in-law?
No matter what, she could never admit that. She fixed her gaze on him. “Lu Jinyu, you should know my temper, right?”
“You begged me to get engaged, then ran off on the wedding day, shaming both me and the Song family. Don’t think you can act like nothing happened!”
Lu Jinyu’s face paled slightly. “You… what do you mean?”
“I’ve just been toying with you all these years,” Song Zhiyao said.
“Song… Zhiyao!” Lu Jinyu ground his teeth, but at that moment, the study door opened again.
He frowned, looking at the newcomer, freezing in shock.
The man, with a towering presence, looked at him with an expression of caught embarrassment: “Big brother…”
Lu Yanzhi stood beside Song Zhiyao, eyes lowered as he looked at Lu Jinyu. “You’ve crossed the line.”
Lu Jinyu: “…”
Crossed the line? He had just been doused in tea, his face and neck still chilly!
Yet, facing Lu Yanzhi’s eyes, Lu Jinyu couldn’t utter a single word.
He had been afraid of his elder brother since childhood.
All he could do was lower his head, silence his last bit of stubbornness.
Lu Yanzhi’s intervention was unexpected, but Song Zhiyao seized the opportunity.
“Lu… husband,” she said. “During the years you were away, they bullied me.”
The quiet courtyard sank into an even heavier silence.
Lu Yanzhi pressed his lips together, his gaze dark and deep, fixed on Song Zhiyao.
A hint of disbelief lingered in his eyes.
Did she just… call him husband?
They had been married six years, with two children, yet had barely spent ten days together as husband and wife. This was the first time she had called him that.
Lu Jinyu was equally shocked, a flash of resentment passing through his mind faster than he could process.
Of course, Song Zhiyao was nervous too.
But she didn’t want to leave the Lu family and wasn’t ready to finalize the divorce. Repairing her relationship with Lu Yanzhi was critical.
This was her chance.
“Husband,” she said again, more naturally this time. “You are my husband, and you can’t let them bully me.”
Lu Jinyu almost choked. Bully her? Who could possibly? She had just verbally pummeled him!
Yet Lu Yanzhi merely uttered a deep hum, calm and steady. “Lu Jinyu, apologize to your elder sister-in-law.”
“Big brother!” Lu Jinyu looked at him incredulously, voice tinged with grievance.
Lu Yanzhi merely glanced away.
At his age, still making such expressions… revolting.
His silence made his stance clear.
In this suffocating silence, Lu Jinyu could only stammer out, “Elder sister-in-law, I’m sorry.”
He felt humiliated beyond belief, as if the man who had just scolded Song Zhiyao cruelly wasn’t him at all.
His cheeks flushed as he turned to leave.
“Wait.” Song Zhiyao’s voice rang out again.
Lu Jinyu whipped his head around, suppressing his anger. “Elder sister-in-law, not satisfied yet?”
The words “elder sister-in-law” were deliberately emphasized.
Song Zhiyao ignored him and turned to Lu Yanzhi. “Husband, my second brother hasn’t repaid me.”
She complained openly.
Lu Jinyu’s chest heaved in anger. “Clearly it’s your—”
“Just answer, yes or no,” Song Zhiyao cut him off.
Lu Jinyu had no words, and finally drew a deep breath. “Elder sister-in-law, don’t worry. I’ll repay you.”
He couldn’t bear it any longer, swung his sleeve, and strode out.
Outside the Guipu Courtyard, the cold wind blew, chilling his wet neck.
His anger seemed to disperse in the gust, leaving a strange emptiness.
Song Zhiyao… seemed serious this time.
Back in the courtyard, seeing Lu Jinyu leave, Song Zhiyao’s eyes curved with a smile.
She turned to meet Lu Yanzhi’s intense, probing gaze.
Her smile was so bright and radiant it made him momentarily dazed, his heart skip.
He lowered his eyelids slightly. “You just used my teacup.”
Not her own, she used his.
Song Zhiyao responded matter-of-factly, “Yes. I had already drunk my tea—how could I throw it on him?”
Lu Yanzhi didn’t mind.
Lu Yanzhi: “…”
They exchanged a look, each taking measure of the other.
After a moment, Lu Yanzhi said, “If there’s nothing else, I’ll leave first.”
“Husband,” Song Zhiyao hurriedly spoke, eyes lowered, lashes quivering. Her voice, tinged with nervous hope, asked, “Husband, aren’t you staying tonight?”
Song Zhiyao wasn’t asking for anything intimate.
She had just been warned by Lu Madam that this was her final chance.
If Lu Madam regretted it and insisted she leave, she couldn’t resist.
The only one whose opinion mattered—and could change the outcome—was Lu Yanzhi.
He had been away for three months without resting even a single day in the Guipu Courtyard.
If he stayed, it would clearly show his stance.
Lu Yanzhi’s lips curved slightly. Lowering his gaze on her, he asked, “Are you really that desperate for a man?”
She had just cleared things with Lu Jinyu, and now spoke to him in a way that suggested… something.
“Or is this how you speak to everyone?”
If staying in the Lu family was only for this, he’d have to think carefully.
His words carried weight.
Song Zhiyao instantly sobered. This man, who had defended her in front of Lu Jinyu, had once tried to strangle her when she first woke.
Song Zhiyao replied, “You’re not anyone else.”
“You’re my husband.”