He actually stood there and smiled, as if some amusing thought had crossed his mind. Only then did he say,
“Of course, two rooms.”
Su Mingyuan was more worried than he was.
“I mean, the two of you—a man and a woman—have been living under the same roof for so long, and you still haven’t…”
Before he could finish, Ruan Qingli walked in.
Su Mingyuan quickly cleared his throat to hide the awkwardness.
Ruan Qingli’s cheeks were flushed, and it was impossible to tell whether she had overheard their conversation.
“Miss Ruan, you must be tired. I’ll have someone show you to your room.”
“Alright. Thank you, Lord Su.”
After Ruan Qingli left, Han Sheng stayed behind to drink with Su Mingyuan.
The two of them set up a small table on the daybed, placed a few dishes for drinking, and began sharing cup after cup of wine.
“Ah Sheng, when are you planning to tell Miss Ruan about your background?”
“When the time is right.”
“Aren’t you afraid she’ll call you a liar?”
“I’m protecting her. Knowing who I really am won’t do her any good. At least, not right now.”
“Do you really intend to marry her?”
“What kind of question is that? Of course I do.”
“But if you arrange the marriage on your own like this, your parents probably won’t acknowledge her as their daughter-in-law.”
“Whether they acknowledge her or not, she’ll still be their daughter-in-law. If they have the guts, they can disown me too.”
Su Mingyuan gave him a thumbs-up.
He truly admired Han Sheng’s resolve.
Compared to him, he really was much more timid.
“So when are you planning to hold the wedding?”
“It was originally supposed to be in the next couple of days. But now that my third sister is here… with her personality, I’d better avoid her for a while. Otherwise, she’ll definitely make a scene.”
Su Mingyuan nodded in understanding.
Then he thought about his own situation and couldn’t help feeling a little miserable.
Suddenly, he picked up a cup of wine and downed it in one gulp.
As he set the cup back on the table, he said,
“Ah Sheng, if I want to break off my engagement with your third sister, will you support me?”
Han Sheng wasn’t surprised in the slightest.
“You two should have ended it long ago.”
Su Mingyuan poured himself another cup and drank it.
Yes.
He and Han Jiaojiao should have parted ways a long time ago.
That night, when Han Sheng returned to his room, he found Ruan Qingli waiting for him outside the door.
“Ah Li, why aren’t you asleep yet?”
“I wanted to talk to you.”
Han Sheng opened the door, and the two of them walked inside together.
Once they were alone, he pulled her into his arms.
“Did you miss me? Hmm?”
Ruan Qingli hadn’t expected him to hug her and instinctively tried to wriggle free.
“Ah Sheng, stop it. We’re in Lord Su’s house.”
Han Sheng smiled.
“So what if we are? There’s no one else here.”
But Ruan Qingli still felt embarrassed.
“Ah Sheng, I have something I want to ask you.”
Han Sheng kissed her forehead before asking,
“What is it?”
“Have I made things difficult for you with your family?”
“No.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“Then why are we hiding here tonight?”
“Because I didn’t want you to meet certain unpleasant people.”
“Who? That Miss Jiang?”
“Yes. Her.”
“Ah Sheng… why do I feel like you’re very hostile toward her?”
Han Sheng let out a cold laugh.
“Do you know something? Jiang Tang used to be in love with my eldest brother, and he loved her too. They were practically about to get married when my eldest brother suddenly died. Then she turned around and claimed she loved me instead—and she said it with complete conviction. Tell me, isn’t a woman like that frightening?”
Though his explanation was brief, it seemed to hide countless untold stories.
Ruan Qingli was astonished.
She couldn’t help wondering what kind of family Han Sheng had grown up in.
Everything sounded so complicated.
“You said your eldest brother died. He couldn’t have been very old. How did he die?”
Han Sheng didn’t tell her the whole truth.
Not only had his eldest brother died—his second, third, and fourth brothers had all died as well.
Among his father’s adult sons, only he remained alive.
The complexity of his family was far beyond anything Ruan Qingli could imagine.
That was why he didn’t want to tell her.
If possible, he didn’t even want to bring her back into that cage.
Instead of telling the truth, Han Sheng simply said his eldest brother had died of illness before changing the subject.
“Ah Li, our wedding banquet will probably have to wait a few more days. Tomorrow, let’s go to the magistrate’s office and register our marriage first, alright?”
Ruan Qingli’s eyes immediately lit up.
She knew this was Han Sheng’s way of giving her a sense of security.
Her voice choked with emotion as she replied,
“Alright.”
At daybreak the next morning, the two of them dragged Su Mingyuan to the magistrate’s office.
Normally, something as simple as drafting a marriage certificate didn’t require the town magistrate to handle it personally.
But given his relationship with Han Sheng, he naturally wrote it himself.
“Miss Ruan, what are your birth date and the Eight Characters of your birth?”
Ruan Qingli froze.
She… didn’t know when she had been born.
She had been found by her adoptive father beside a river.
That year, her adoptive father had gone to Youzhou City intending to take the imperial examinations.
Instead, he was robbed of all his travel money.
During the struggle, his right hand was broken so badly that he could never write again.
Overcome with despair, he had gone to the river intending to end his life.
Instead, he found little Ruan Qingli washed ashore by the current.
Her adoptive father had never known her actual birthday.
So for all these years, Ruan Qingli had never celebrated one.
When she married Fang Shubai, the birthday written on their marriage certificate had simply been the day the document was issued.
But this time…
For some reason, she wanted to write down her real birthday.
The problem was…
She had no idea what it was.
She couldn’t remember anything.
Seeing her remain silent, both Han Sheng and Su Mingyuan looked at her.
“Ah Li, what’s wrong?”
“I… I don’t remember when I was born. When my adoptive father found me, there wasn’t anything on me that recorded my birth date, so… I don’t know.”
Both Han Sheng and Su Mingyuan knew that Ruan Qingli had been adopted.
But they had never known exactly how her adoptive father had found her.
Unable to help himself, Su Mingyuan asked.
Ruan Qingli answered honestly.
When she mentioned Moon River in Youzhou City, Su Mingyuan’s expression suddenly changed.
“You’re saying… fourteen years ago, you fell into the river while trying to save a little boy?”
Ruan Qingli nodded.
“That’s the only thing I remember. I can’t remember anything else.”
“Are you certain the river was called Moon River? And that it happened fourteen years ago?”
“Yes. My adoptive father told me so. He found me there. The river’s name was beautiful, so I remembered it.”
Su Mingyuan suddenly stood up.
He looked visibly excited.
Then he shook his head and muttered to himself,
“Impossible… It can’t be such a coincidence.”
Neither Han Sheng nor Ruan Qingli understood what had happened, and both stared at him.
Su Mingyuan asked,
“Miss Ruan… may I see your shoulder?”
Han Sheng smacked him on the shoulder.
“Su Mingyuan, do you hear what you’re saying? She’s my wife.”
Ruan Qingli also looked at him in confusion.
Only then did Su Mingyuan snap out of his daze and realize how inappropriate his request had been.
Impossible.
Ruan Qingli couldn’t possibly be the little girl who had saved him all those years ago.
Because his mother had told him…
…that little girl had already died.