The Lucky Heiress

Chapter 491: Chapter 491 Qi Yansong seeks to meet Xu Heyou_1

“Yes. Actually, our Xiu family does share some distant kinship relations with Prince Rui’s maternal family. However, we were quite detached from them, which is why we were not implicated when Duke Xiu was prosecuted back then. My grandparents, though they didn’t speak of it, held Duke Xiu in high regard and considered themselves his loyal followers.”

Xiu Fengyuan would never have dared to say these words in the past. But now that Duke Xiu’s case has been overturned, it is okay for him to speak about it.

“So, even if you may not have a bond with King Rui, you wouldn’t bear a grudge against him, would you?” Wei Ruo asked, puzzled.

Xiu Fengyuan smiled bitterly, “Doctor Xu, you might not be aware that I was originally betrothed to Miss Wei, but that was disrupted by King Rui.”

“Your marriage with Queen Rui was disrupted by him?”

“Yes.” Xiu Fengyuan lay on the bed, gazing at the ceiling, his smile slightly bitter.

He slowly added, “At that time, he had not yet formally regained his status as the ninth prince, but many of Duke Xiu’s old followers already knew. I don’t know what he said to my grandfather that made him change his mind and forbid me from continuing the marriage negotiations with Miss Wei.”

“I was not aware of the reason at that moment. I just knew that I couldn’t disobey the orders of my elders. It was only after Rui’s grand wedding that I realized I had lost out on the chance to marry Queen Rui… I was genuinely in love with her. Had our match been successful, I would have cherished her as my most valuable treasure, but now…how can I not resent him?”

“It’s strange, I wonder when King Rui had met Queen Rui to begin planning everything in advance.”

Wei Ruo was astonished.

So it was her brother who had disrupted her engagement to young master Xiu!

But why?

Had her brother planned to marry her himself all along?

After Xiu Fengyuan finished speaking, he noticed that Doctor Xu beside him had been quiet for a long time, so he turned his head.

“Doctor Xu, what’s wrong?”

“Ah, it’s nothing.” Wei Ruo snapped back to reality, “I just found that a bit surprising.”

“Did you not know about this before?”

“I didn’t.”

Her second brother had never mentioned this to her, so she naturally wouldn’t have thought about it.

After a moment’s thought, Xiu Fengyuan hurriedly added, “Doctor Xu, please don’t misunderstand. My affection for Queen Rui was one-sided, it had nothing to do with her. She never revealed any feelings for me and she never even paid any more attention to me than necessary. She is a virtuous and obedient girl.”

Xiu Fengyuan was worried that what he had just said might lead someone to think ill of Wei Ruo, so he immediately clarified.

“Don’t worry, I won’t misunderstand.” Wei Ruo replied.

Even though she had no romantic feelings for the young master of the Xiu Family, she still felt grateful when she heard him defend her reputation.

###

Lu Yuhong, who was not seriously injured in the first place, had recovered considerably after some rest and rehabilitation. He even wanted to pick up his sword and start training again, but his grandfather enforced strict bed rest.

As the old saying goes: ‘Healing a bone injury takes a hundred days.’ Even if it was Lu Yuhong, who had broken ribs, how could he start jumping around after just one month?

With no other choice, Lu Yuhong had a carpenter build a wheelchair for him. He would sit in the chair and the servants would push him around the residence to help alleviate his boredom.

Lu Yuhong also had a wheelchair made for Xiu Fengyuan, so that he would have some company.

Not content with just strolling around indoors, Lu Yuhong had the guards escort him and Xiu Fengyuan around the city for a change of scenery.

Although Lu’s grandfather reluctantly agreed, he was worried that his grandson might harm himself from boredom. Therefore, he arranged everything and ensured his grandson’s safety before allowing him to go out for a stroll.

On this outing, Lu Yuhong and Xiu Fengyuan did not visit crowded places, but news of their recovery still spread quickly.

The news reached Qi Yansong.

Upon hearing that Xiu Fengyuan’s arm had recovered, Qi Yansong summoned Xing Jiang and the others to account for their actions.

Upon learning that Xiu Fengyuan’s arm had recovered, Xing Jiang and the others were dumbfounded.

“How is that possible?” Xing Jiang’s face was filled with disbelief.

“Master Xiu was seen out and about, how do you ask me if it’s possible or not?”

“Master Qi…this…there might be a trap.”

“What kind of trap could there be? Master Xiu is even able to lift a teacup now! You are nothing but a quack doctor!”

Xing Jiang was so scared that he quickly knelt and apologized to Qi Yansong.

“Please calm down, sir. I will definitely find out what happened and explain everything to you!”

“There’s no need for you! I will send someone to investigate!”

Qi Yansong was disappointed with them. He wanted them to treat his son, not to investigate. If it were investigation, would he have needed them?

After chastising them, Qi Yansong summoned his subordinates to further investigate the matter.

Before long, Qi Yansong received the reply.

“Sir, it’s said that the doctor who cured Master Xiu’s arm is from King Rui’s Residence…”

“King Rui’s Residence… that’s a difficult place to deal with.” Even Qi Yansong, as arrogant as he was, did not dare to offend the King Rui Residence directly.

After some thought, Qi Yansong decided, “Send an invitation to King Rui’s Residence on my behalf. I will go and extend my greetings personally.”

###

One hour later.

Wei Jinyi looked at the invitation in her hand and ordered someone to pass the invite to Wei Ruo.

Soon, the invitation from Qi Yansong reached Wei Ruo’s hands.

The Wei family had been trying every possible method to get their invitation into Qi Yansong’s hands, but to no avail. Now, Qi Yansong had sent an invitation to her.

“Miss, what is this?” Xiumei asked.

“An invitation from the Prime Minister.”

“What does the Prime Minister want to do?”

“He wants to see me, to be more precise, he wants to meet Xu Heyou.”

“What should we do? Miss, are you going to meet him?” Xiumei asked urgently.

“This isn’t something I can decide. I need to ask the Prince.”

Wei Ruo didn’t want to meet him, but she needed to consider the bigger picture. Qi Yansong was not just anyone. If her refusal could lead to trouble, she would have to meet him for the sake of the King Rui Residence.

So, Wei Ruo took the invitation and went to the front courtyard.

As she pushed open the door, she saw Wei Jinyi was sitting at his desk, holding a brush in his right hand.

When he lifted his head, his gaze met with Wei Ruo’s.

Wei Ruo went up to Wei Jinyi. Holding the invitation, she got straight to the point and asked, “If I don’t want to see him, would it cause any issues for the King Rui Residence?”

“He can’t hurt me for now, and when he can, he won’t spare me no matter what.” Wei Jinyi responded.

Wei Ruo: “Really?”

Wei Jinyi: “Yes.”

Wei Ruo: “Then I don’t want to see him.”

Wei Jinyi: “I’ll handle it for you.”

Wei Ruo: “Okay.”

Their conversation was brief and to the point. The problem was resolved with a few short sentences.

Then, they both fell silent again.

Their eyes met, creating a somewhat awkward atmosphere.

Clearing her throat, Wei Ruo brought up the matter that Xiu Fengyuan had mentioned a few days earlier.

“Was the proposal of marriage between Xiu’s family and me disrupted by you?” Wei Ruo asked.