Spring Mansion Intrigue 009 The Fiancé Arrives

  "Director Wu has arrived, I'll go and greet him." Zhou Ding hastily walked outside.

  "Ah, Wu Gege is here!" Qin Xiang jumped up at the same time and ran out excitedly.

  Qin Yan glanced at Chen Huan and shook her head, "Why did the Wu family's visitor run so fast? If someone should go to greet her, it should be Chen Huan. There's no need for others to lose face on her behalf."

  Chen Huan continued to burn paper with an indifferent expression.

  Before long, a couple came in. The first was Wu Bin, the fourth-ranking official from Yuzhou and the deputy governor of Suzhou, who was also a subordinate of Mr. Su's father. Next to him was a woman in her thirties with an elegant appearance, who was Mrs. Wu.

  Behind him was a jade-faced young man, wearing a long gown made of white silk with bamboo leaves and mulberry patterns, tied with a wide belt woven with silver threads, and hanging down a soft jade waist ornament wrapped in pure white silk threads.

  He is Wu Bin's only son, 12-year-old Wu Feiyang, who was betrothed to Shen Huan in his previous life.

  Qin Yan pulled Shen Huan up and slightly bowed towards them.

  "Little sister Xinghuan." Wu Feiyang's eyes lit up when he saw Xinghuan, and he immediately reached out to grab her hand. Qin Xiang followed closely behind, looking unhappy with a pout on his face.

  Her hands suddenly clenched into fists, she raised her eyes, the chill in them instantly suppressed, and all that floated to the surface was a calmness and detachment.

  Wu Feiyang was taken aback, looking at Chen Huan's slightly pale face, her eyes reddened, "Fourth sister is scared, don't be too sad."

  Silently and quietly, he didn't respond.

  "It's all because of this official's incompetence in suppressing bandits." Wu Bin said in a low voice.

  Madam Wu's eyes scanned Shen Huan up and down, and when she saw that he still dared to be so cold, a hint of chilliness flashed in her eyes.

  Zhou Ding also noticed that Chen Huan was being cold and distant, making them feel a bit awkward. He coughed and said, "In recent years, natural disasters have been frequent, and bandits have been rampant. You've already done your best, sir. It's just that Brother-in-law and the others were unlucky. You don't need to blame yourself."

  Wu Bin, Qin An and Zhou Ding were all classmates and good friends in the private school. Qin An studied hard, but if it weren't for the unrest at home, which delayed his exams several times, he wouldn't have ended up without any honors until his death. Although Wu Bin was always unlucky in his exams, the Wu family had relatives who were officials in the capital, and Mrs. Wu's maiden family was the richest in Yuhang, so they had plenty of silver to grease the wheels, and even though he hadn't passed the imperial exam, he got a ninth-rank official position in Yuhang. Over the years, he paved his way up with silver. He and Qin An got along well, and their children often played together. Wu Feiyang liked Shen Huan the most, and they were also of suitable age, so naturally everyone thought that Wu Feiyang and Shen Huan were a good match, and the two families arranged an engagement between them when Shen Huan was 5 years old, which was also the year before Qin An left the Qin family. After Qin An left the Qin family, perhaps because their social status became increasingly disparate, the two families actually drifted apart.

  In her past life, Shen Huan didn't know if the Wu family had come to pay their respects to her parents. But afterwards, the Wu family seemed to have forgotten about the existence of this future daughter-in-law. When she was 15 years old, she received a letter from the Wu family breaking off the engagement, and then Qin Xiang married Wu Fei Yang.

  Thinking back carefully, her relationship with Wu Feiyang was also very indifferent, and they hadn't seen each other in the following years.

  Wu Bin arrived, and Qin Gongxun naturally hurried over to keep him company. Even Lü Shi brought Su Shi out to greet them. Madame Wu was very polite to Su Shi, but rather dismissive of Lü Shi. Lü Shi seemed not to notice, and fawned on them as she invited them to the back garden for tea.

  "Don't just stand there, the incense is too strong and it's suffocating. Qin Yu, take everyone to the garden to sit down and entertain Fei Yang properly." Qin Gongxun instructed Qin Yu.

  Qin Yu's face sank, his grandfather didn't care about his deceased parents, only caring about the Wu family's status. But in front of Wu Feiyang, he couldn't express it, suppressing his discontent deep down.

  "Wu Gege, let's go to the flower pavilion and have some snacks. The incense here is really suffocating." Qin Xiang was dissatisfied with Wu Feiyang staring at Shen Huan, and glared at her fiercely. Hearing her grandfather speak, she couldn't wait to hurry away.

  Qin Wan took a look at Chen Huan, feeling that her stillness made him uneasy in his heart, fearing that she had not yet recovered from the shock, lest she get sick from holding it in, so he said to Qin Yan, "Let's all go out for some fresh air."

  "Go ahead, go ahead, Auntie is here." Zhao looked at Shen Huan, this child's calm demeanor made people feel uneasy.

  Qin Yan nodded and said in a soft voice, "Let's go, Chen Huan." As she spoke, she pulled Chen Huan's hand and walked out.

  Chen Huan didn't refuse either. With one hand holding Qin Wan's hand, the three of them walked out of the door together and headed towards the flower hall in the backyard.

  Wu Feiyang looked at Shen Huan's back and sighed, then hurriedly followed up.

  Qin Lian saw no one paying attention to her and quietly followed behind everyone.

  The group of people soon arrived at the flower hall in the front yard.

  "Wu Gege, the pastry you brought last time was delicious, did you bring some this time?" Qin Xiang called out coquettishly.

  Wu Feiyang nodded, "I heard that the eldest sister and fourth sister have also returned, so I brought it specially." He turned his head to shout at the young servant, "Don't hurry up and bring it over!" The young servant responded with a sound, carrying the wooden box in his hand and bringing it over.

  Inside are almond cookies made by Yu Hang's most famous pastry shop, which is said to have been offered as tribute to the palace.

  Qin Xianghuan snatched a piece and put it in her mouth, crunching away and shouting that it was sweet. Qin Yan frowned at the sight of her eating.

  Qin Wan handed over a piece to Chen Huan, "Your favorite food in the past."

  He took a bite of the crispy snack and chewed it with relish, his eyes fixed on Qin Xiang who was wrapped around Wu Feiyang.

  "Wu Gege, this time you can stay in the mansion and play for a few days." Qin Xiangjiao said with a smile.

  Wu Feiyang's eyes were on Chen Huan, they hadn't seen each other in almost two years, and Chen Huan had transformed from a cute doll into a young girl. Just now, when he saw her for the first time, he felt that she was somehow different, anyway, that small face as white as porcelain, cold and aloof, had become even more beautiful.

  "I'd like to stay in the mansion for a few days and have a good chat with my brothers." Wu Feiyang's eyes were fixed on Chen Huan.

  "Really? That's great!" Qin Xiang was so happy that she jumped up.

  "Third sister, can't you be more reserved? It's Fourth sister who should be happy. Besides, this is a mourning period, how can you be so ignorant of the rules?" Qin Yan frowned, constantly reminding Chen Huan that Wu Feiyang was her fiancé.

  Qin Xiang pouted and sat up straight, but before long she couldn't sit still again, got up to pick candied fruit.

  Chen Huan was too lazy to care about their individual expressions, originally her mind was only thinking about Lü's words, now she had to think of another problem, how to divorce early without affecting herself.

  According to the trajectory of his past life, Qin Songtao received a notice of release at noon today and became the youngest jinshi of the current dynasty. As a result, he suddenly became the most attention-grabbing and promising top scholar in the imperial city. If the emperor does not add an extra test this year, he can directly enter the Hanlin Academy, although it is just an official without rank, but it is also close to the emperor's favor. In his past life, after obtaining the jinshi degree, he was busy flattering officials in the capital and did not return home for mourning even when his brother and sister-in-law passed away. If he returns home triumphantly this time, it is likely that the Lu family will use him to suppress his uncle, and even if his big uncle returns, he may not be able to guarantee that he can win against Qin Songtao. Because Qin Songtao is good at seeking fame and fortune, with extremely deep cunning, for the sake of his own career, even his daughter Qin Yan is a pawn used by him.

  "Fourth sister." Wu Feiyang looked at her with some grievance.

  A faint hum of assent from someone whose heart is not in it.

  "Why aren't you eating the pastry? I remember it's your favorite." Wu Feiyang heard her response and quickly took one out to hand over.

  "Too sweet, toothache." Chen Huan didn't respond and instead brushed away the remaining sugar foam in his hand. Wu Feiyang was stunned, holding the rock candy unable to move forward or backward, awkwardly suspended.

  Qin Xiang snatched it over, "She doesn't eat it, I'll eat it."

  Chen Huan held out a box of candies in front of Qin Lian, "Fifth sister, have some candy."

  Qin Lian glanced around nervously, saw that Qin Yan didn't even look at her, couldn't resist the temptation of the pastry, and quickly grabbed one and stuffed it into her mouth.

  Chen Huan stuffed the box into Qin Lian's arms, "You're the smallest, so all the sweets are yours now."

  "What right do you have?!" Qin Xiang shouted, reaching out to grab it.

  "Fourth sister said give then give." Wu Feiyang quickly raised his hand to block Qin Xiang, looking at Chen Huan with a flattering expression.

  Qin Lian had a piece of sugar in her mouth, and she was holding the box with a shocked expression as she stared at Chen Huan. Seeing Wu Feiyang say this too, she quickly hugged the box tightly.

  Qin Yu and Qin Wan exchanged a glance, helplessly looking at Chen Huan.