These were Song Zhiyao’s words.
Lu Jinyu’s face darkened instantly. Was Song Zhiyao crazy?
Lin Guan Guan, who couldn’t read, smiled brightly and sweetly asked, “Brother Jinyu, what did Song Zhiyao write?”
Lu Jinyu: “……”
Faced with Lin Guan Guan’s expectant, cheerful expression, he really couldn’t bring himself to speak.
“Brother Jinyu?” Lin Guan Guan noticed his sullen expression, her voice tinged with concern. “What’s wrong?”
Lu Jinyu said, “Return the money.”
“What?” Lin Guan Guan was puzzled.
He indicated the two characters on the paper.
Lin Guan Guan’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Has Song Zhiyao gone mad??”
Thinking that most of the items in the estate had to be returned to Song Zhiyao, her heart ached.
“These were all sent by her…” she instinctively pressed her wrist where the bracelet rested, full of reluctance.
Once given, how could she take it back?
“Who knows what kind of madness she’s in,” Lu Jinyu said with some disdain.
In the past, regarding the wedding escape, he had felt a bit guilty toward Song Zhiyao.
But when he returned to the Lu family, Song Zhiyao, as his elder sister-in-law, had been overly attentive, pestering him endlessly—as if she had completely changed.
All that remained in his heart was disgust and relief.
Disgust for Song Zhiyao, relief that he had escaped the marriage—so that he could be with the one he truly loved.
“Brother Jinyu,” Lin Guan Guan suddenly spoke, “maybe Song Zhiyao is just playing hard to get?”
“At the end of the day, returning the items might be fake—her real goal is you, Brother Jinyu,” Lin Guan Guan pouted slightly, her eyes full of reluctance and grievance.
“Song Zhiyao is being so childish. Isn’t this just threatening you?”
After years of Song Zhiyao doting on him, Lu Jinyu found Lin Guan Guan’s guess entirely reasonable.
He sneered. “Song Zhiyao’s tactics are getting more and more outrageous.”
“Brother Jinyu,” Lin Guan Guan said, “why not go see Song Zhiyao?”
Lu Jinyu frowned, speaking with righteous severity, “She’s my elder sister-in-law, and she harbors those filthy thoughts toward me. How could I go see her?”
Over the years, Song Zhiyao had chased him relentlessly.
But he had always known boundaries, keeping enough distance, never showing any leniency toward her advances.
Song Zhiyao could be shameless, but he would not.
Though he spoke sternly, Lin Guan Guan grew anxious. Could she really return the money?
No way, absolutely not!
Her eyes lit up with an idea. “But if she makes a fuss… Brother Jinyu, the Lu family could become the laughingstock of the capital.”
“What Song Zhiyao is doing, my elder brother probably doesn’t even know. If news spreads, he might misunderstand you.”
Lin Guan Guan looked worried.
Lu Jinyu frowned. Her words had sparked even more annoyance toward Song Zhiyao.
Lin Guan Guan said, “So, Brother Jinyu, why not take this chance to make things clear with her?”
“While you’re at it, you can advise her. Now that our elder brother has returned, she should live properly with him.”
As for the items? She would absolutely not return them.
Lu Jinyu pulled Lin Guan Guan into his arms, sighing softly, “Guan Guan, meeting you is my greatest fortune.”
…
Suxin delivered the list and quickly returned to Guipu Courtyard.
No sooner had she reported back than Song Zhiyao called, “Suxin, come here.”
Suxin’s heart leapt. Nervously, she approached Song Zhiyao. “Young Madam.”
“Extend your hand.”
Suxin hesitated, unwilling to disobey, and slowly held it out.
Her hands were swollen and red, like steamed buns, with cracks that looked gruesome.
Song Zhiyao hadn’t been idle herself. She had gone to Zhimou Courtyard but was stopped as usual.
Still, she hadn’t come back empty-handed—she had obtained medicine to treat frostbite on Suxin’s hands.
Now, she applied it herself.
“Young Madam, I can do it myself. I dare not trouble you,” Suxin said anxiously.
“Don’t move,” Song Zhiyao said, focusing seriously on applying the medicine.
Suxin immediately obeyed, not daring to twitch.
Once finished, Song Zhiyao handed Suxin the medicine bottle and instructed, “Apply it morning and evening. Avoid water for a few days.”
Suxin lowered her eyes, her tear ducts warm. “Thank you, Young Madam.”
Song Zhiyao smiled. “Don’t thank me yet. I still have something for you to do.”
Suxin quickly replied, “Please, Young Madam, tell me.”
Song Zhiyao went inside, wrote a note by hand, and handed it to Suxin. “I need everything on this list. Go buy it for me.”
Suxin and Lan Xin had grown up by her side and could both read.
“Yes,” Suxin said, taking the note and leaving immediately.
Shortly after Suxin left, a male voice came from outside, “Is the elder sister-in-law home?”
The voice was polite but carried a haughty contempt.
Song Zhiyao recognized it.
She rose and stepped outside, immediately spotting Lu Jinyu standing in the courtyard, dressed in white, exuding pride.
Alone.
Song Zhiyao asked, “Where are the items?”
Lu Jinyu immediately broke his composure, frowning in irritation. “Song Zhiyao, stop pretending. I know what you mean.”
“I know what happened back then… it did indeed wrong you. But now I have Guan Guan. This life, besides her, I will not marry another woman.”
Song Zhiyao: “……”
Just hearing Lu Jinyu speak, she knew he truly didn’t understand her intention.
She asked directly, “You don’t want to return the money?”
If it were just a few trinkets, she wouldn’t bother, but most of her dowry was at Lu Jinyu’s estate.
Was he not afraid of overstepping?
Having heard Lin Guan Guan’s analysis, Lu Jinyu now simply thought Song Zhiyao was threatening him.
Fuming, he said, “Song Zhiyao, don’t forget—you are now my elder sister-in-law.”
“There’s no possibility between us.”
Song Zhiyao nodded in agreement. “Since you know I’m your elder sister-in-law, then return all my dowry.”
“Song… Zhiyao!” Lu Jinyu, still thinking she was threatening him, shouted angrily, “Have you had enough of this?”
“I will never betray my elder brother,” he said righteously.
Song Zhiyao almost laughed out loud.
She finally understood—Lu Jinyu… really didn’t understand human speech.
She remembered that he had once been straightforward and carefree, much closer to her than the aloof Lu Yanzhi.
That had been why she agreed to the engagement.
Years had passed, and now Lu Jinyu had become so self-important.
Truly infuriating.
If Lu Jinyu had been like this ten years ago, she would never have agreed to the marriage.
She looked at him and asked, “If there’s no bronze mirror in your estate, why not fill a basin with water and see your own reflection?”
Lu Jinyu froze. “What?”
“See yourself clearly,” Song Zhiyao said. “We’ve been engaged for years. You refused to marry, had all the time to explain, yet chose to flee on the wedding day, utterly irresponsible.”
“You have accepted most of my dowry even after becoming my elder sister-in-law, shamelessly.”
“You say you love Lin Guan Guan, yet you father a child with her and cannot give her status—a weak and incompetent man.”
Song Zhiyao summed up: “Lu Jinyu, you’re in your twenties, neither accomplished in literature nor martial arts.”
“And my Brother Jinyu, Lu Yanzhi, is a celebrated warrior with limitless prospects. Why would I ever cling to you?”