"Yue'er, come here." Old Master Leng narrowed his slightly cloudy eyes and waved at Leng Sa. She walked over. "Grandfather."
Old Master Leng carefully observed her, and seeing her calm and composed expression, he nodded slightly. It was the Second Master Leng and the Second Madam, one with a stern face radiating anger as he stared at Fourth Young Master Fu, the other with red eyes filled with worry, who looked at their daughter.
"Take a seat and let's talk." Old Master Leng said to his son and daughter-in-law, "Yue'er, you've heard about what happened, right?"
Leng Sa nodded silently.
Old Master Leng continued, "Don't be afraid. Grandfather will stand up for you. Even if I have to sacrifice my life, I can't let others humiliate the Leng family's young lady like this!" Hearing this, Warlord Fu and Madam Fu exchanged a glance, their eyes revealing even more worry. Forcing the late emperor's teacher to death, then… the Fu family could forget about finding scholars to work for them in the future.
Warlord Fu coughed lightly and said, "It's our fault for letting Mingyue down. Old Master Leng, please tell us what we should do."
Old Master Leng's expression softened. He looked at his granddaughter and said, "I'm not an unreasonable person either. I don't care if Fourth Young Master Fu doesn't like Third Young Lady or has feelings for someone else…"
"Elder Leng, you must be joking," Mdm Fu said awkwardly. "This is truly unexpected. There's no such thing as having feelings for someone else."
Old Master Leng chuckled with a cryptic smile and continued, "My Leng family cannot have a girl who has been rejected in marriage. Without going into further details… even if I were to forsake the Third Young Lady, there are still four unmarried daughters in the Leng family." Seeing that Madam Fu wanted to say something, Old Master Leng waved his hand and said, "Madam, there's no need to tell me that this is a new era and what era it is… Any groom's family would still be unwilling to marry a girl whose engagement was broken off. Besides… honestly ask yourselves, are you willing to let your young master marry a girl who has been rejected in marriage? People are ignorant, they won't care about the reasons for her rejection."
Warlord Fu sighed. "So what is Elder Leng suggesting?"
Old Master Leng said, "If Fourth Young Master really can't bear to part with that girl, just take her in as a concubine according to the tradition."
"No!" Fourth Young Master Fu, who was standing in the hall, firmly refused.
Old Master Leng looked at him as if he were looking at an unreasonable child. "No? Fourth Young Master Fu means…"
Fourth Young Master Fu also knew he had acted impulsively. He gritted his teeth and said, "It's the modern era now, what's polygamy? Those are all outdated customs! I can't let my child… grow up being ridiculed. Since things have already come to this… Leng Mingyue, you wouldn't want to share a husband, right?"
Leng Sa looked up at the impatient young man before her and did not say anything. Fourth Young Master Fu continued, "This marriage was arranged by Grandmother. I never said that I wanted to marry you. Old Master Leng, even if Leng Mingyue enters our family, she won't have any children." In other words, if she insisted on entering their household, she would have to live like a widow for the rest of her life.
"Old Master, why don't we…" Second Madam Leng, with red eyes, began to speak. How could she bear to let her daughter suffer even before she entered that family? However, Old Master was right, people were ignorant, who would be willing to marry a girl whose engagement had been broken off? No matter whose fault it was, in the eyes of the world, a broken engagement meant the girl wasn't good.
"Enough!" Old Master Leng said coldly. "The Leng family doesn't have girls with broken engagements. Why aren't you thinking about your nieces?"
At the side, the Leng family's First Master was also frowning. "Second Brother and Sister-in-law, Father is right. Fourth Girl is about to come of age for marriage in two years. Fifth Girl should be engaged in two years. And your two grandnieces should find someone else in a few years."
Fourth Young Master Fu didn't expect the Leng family to be so stubborn. He was instantly infuriated and spoke without thinking. "What do you mean for the girl's sake? You can't bear to sever the relationship with the Fu family! To enter the Fu family, you're willing to give up your dignity!"
"You!" Old Master Leng was so angry that his face was ashen. He pointed at Fourth Young Master Fu and coughed repeatedly.
"Old Four, keep quiet!" Warlord Fu snapped.
Fourth Young Master Fu stopped unwillingly, full of dissatisfaction. He shot a cold and disdainful glance at Leng Mingyue, who was sitting quietly at the side. He believed that she was also insisting on not breaking off the engagement for the sake of the Fu family's status and wealth.
"Father, I will never marry Leng Mingyue! Why don't you kill me?" Fourth Young Master Fu sneered, his eyes filled with defiance as he looked at Warlord Fu.
"Do you think I won't dare to kill you?" Warlord Fu slammed the table. If not for his eldest son's situation, he would kill this b*stard.
"Master!" Madam Fu's eyes reddened. "Fengcheng has already had an accident. If anything happens to Yucheng, I won't be able to live anymore!"
Warlord Fu was so angry that he was gasping for breath. Being a rough man, it was inevitable he was impatient with handling these messy matters. Unfortunately, this time it was his son causing trouble, and not dealing with it wasn't an option.
This b*stard was truly a thorn in his side!
Both sides were unwilling to back down, and there was silence in the hall.
Leng Sa raised her eyes slightly and discreetly observed Fu Yucheng, who stood at the center of the hall as if he wanted to challenge the whole world.
A pampered young master that had yet to experience the hardships of the world.
However, Fu Fengcheng, the Fu family's shining star who was once regarded as the most likely to lead the Fu family to glory, was now crippled. Wasn't this person becoming precious out of a sudden?
After an unknown period, Warlord Fu suddenly seemed to have thought of something. He looked at Leng Sa, who sat on the opposite side and hesitated for a moment before saying, "Elder Leng, even if Mingyue marries this b*stard she will feel wronged. I have a proposal, and I'd like to hear your thoughts on it."
"Please enlighten me, Warlord."
Warlord Fu said in a deep voice, "Let Mingyue marry Fengcheng."
"What?!"
"No way!"
Both the Second Master and Second Madam of the Leng family exclaimed simultaneously.
Fu Fengcheng was crippled. Half a year ago, he was ordered to escort important supplies from the North to Yong City but encountered bandits on the way. Not only did he lose the use of his legs, but more importantly… there were rumors that he was not only a cripple but was also injured in a way that he would never have offspring in this lifetime.
Old Master Leng's face also darkened. "You must be joking, Warlord."
Warlord Fu shook his head. "Elder Leng, rest assured, we will not mistreat Mingyue. Once this matter is over in a year or two, if Mingyue is still willing to live with Fengcheng, naturally that's good. If she's unwilling, the Fu family won't make things difficult. I can send Mingyue to the capital, or even abroad. The Fu family will take care of Mingyue for the rest of her life. Consider it… as gaining another daughter!"
Old Master Leng narrowed his eyes slightly. "In that case, Fourth Young Master…"
Before he could finish, Fourth Young Master Fu interrupted, "Impossible. I won't marry her!"
At this point, everyone present could tell that Fourth Young Master's connection with Miss Zheng wasn't an accident; it was clear they had already formed an illicit relationship.
Though they held disdain in their hearts, aside from Second Madam, no one else displayed their thoughts on their faces.
"What do you think, Mingyue?" Warlord Fu asked Leng Sa.
Leng Mingyue looked up and was about to speak when Old Master Leng suddenly raised his hand to stop her. "Warlord, our Leng family needs time to consider this matter."
"How long will it take?" Fourth Young Master Fu could not help but ask.
Old Master Leng said calmly, "Don't worry, Fourth Young Master. We won't make you wait until your love child is born."
Fourth Young Master Fu's face instantly turned red, clearly embarrassed by Old Master Leng's insight. He was indeed concerned that the Leng family would deliberately delay. If he waited until the child was born or until Ahying looked pregnant, it would not be good for the Fu family, the Zheng family, or the unborn child. Although it was the modern era, the Fu family still adhered to many traditional rules. Otherwise, the illegitimate children of the Fu family wouldn't have been suppressed all these years.
Warlord Fu sighed and stood up. "Then we'll go back first."
"I won't send you off."