She is the most elegant lady I have ever met.
Before Lou Junyan appeared, this story followed a light and slightly angsty romance plot. After Lou Junyan appeared, it began to take the route of power struggles within a wealthy family. Due to business reasons, Lou Junyan bribed the prefecture and county officials to fabricate a charge of collusion with rebels against the He family, and a group of people were imprisoned.
He Yiyi said that the first time she met Lou Junyan was in a side hall of the yamen, under the plaque of Mingjing Gaotang. Lou Junyan was holding a gold-edged red silk folding fan and smiling as he drank tea with the governor.
He placed the teacup neatly on the table, leaned close to her ear, and said, "Let's make a deal. You marry me, and the rest is up to you."
He Yiyi picked up the teacup and threw it at his face, the tea stains seeping into his emerald-colored brocade robe along the corner of his smiling eyes.
This was He Yiyi's first impression of Lou Junyan, which shows that Lou Junyan's appearance was too much of a cannon fodder role.
But Lou Junyan had actually seen her long ago, going around to the backstage to see what she looked like without makeup.
According to the script's plot, with the heroine as the saint, He Yiyi would surely sacrifice herself for righteousness and succumb to a loveless marriage in such a perilous situation. In fact, she did agree to this deal.
Before agreeing, she went to see Fu Yi.
Upon seeing him, He Yiyi's first words were, "Fuyi, I want to elope with you. Will you agree?"
The opera troupe members were still rehearsing and practicing their skills when Fu Yi, who was halfway through applying makeup, suddenly stopped and turned to look at her.
She moved closer to him and said, "I don't actually want to learn opera; I want to be by your side. I want to be with you for a long, long time. What about you?"
She looked at him expectantly, thinking about the unspoken understanding between the two of them on stage in the past. He knew all of that, didn't he?
Fu Yi turned back and continued to draw on his eyebrows with his pen.
He said in a low voice, "Nonsense."
He Yiyi curled her lips slightly, "You see, it's hard to tell whether something is true or false when it's out in the open."
It was all an act. Standing on the stage, he whispered sweet nothings to her and gazed at her with deep affection; it was only because Yu Ji and Xiang Yu were deeply in love, and had nothing to do with He Yiyi. Whoever took the act too seriously lost.
Then things progressed smoothly, leading to the situation we have today.
The sun gradually emerged, casting light and shadow on the withered leaves.
She looked back at the center of the stage, pointed to the east corner, and said, "I still remember in the play, Fu Yi came on stage from there, wearing a red robe, looking very spirited."
She said, "People said, 'What's so great about an actor? To be honest, I can't really explain it either, but at that time I just felt that he was the best.'"
Looking at He Yiyi's profile, her sideburns neatly combed into a bun, I almost wanted to pounce on her and say: Sister~~ I've been through the same thing~~
However, my master was different from Fu Yi; he never even gave me a chance to perform a fake play.
I stood up and said, "Madam, it's already noon. Let's go back to the manor for lunch."
She nodded slightly, and when I pulled her up, I felt a pulse on her wrist indicating pregnancy.
Back at the He residence, Lou Junyan was already waiting at the dining table. He smiled and asked He Yiyi, "Did you go to the opera with Miss Qi?"
He Yiyi paused slightly, nodded, picked up her chopsticks and began to eat.
I noticed a hint of displeasure flash across Lou Junyan's brows, and he coughed, saying, "Ahem, Young Master Lou, your wife is pregnant."
"Clatter—" The bamboo chopsticks in He Yiyi's hand fell to the ground.
Lou Junyan paused for a moment, then grabbed He Yiyi's hand, pulled her into his arms, and laughed, "Did you really go and pray to the Goddess of Mercy who grants children that day?"
Afterwards, Lou Xiyue asked me, "Fifth Brother has been married for two years but still has no children. Did you do something to sabotage this?"
I paused for a moment, then nodded and said, "He Yiyi added saffron to her usual Xuanqing tea."
Lou Xiyue said, "Did she do it on purpose?"
I said, "Maybe. Lou Junyan used any means necessary to marry her back then, causing her to lose both her money and her love. If I were He Yiyi, I would definitely hold a grudge against him for the rest of my life."
Lou Xiyue disagreed, saying, "Before the He family's incident, Fifth Brother didn't know she was the eldest daughter of the He family. After he found out, he spent a lot of time and effort bribing his connections to settle the matter."
I shook my head. "If He Yiyi hadn't married your fifth brother, would he have done all these things for her?"
Lou Xiyue gave me a hint and laughed, “Of course, he had already taken care of everything before he went to explain it to her.”
I was taken aback. "Oh, I see. Then why didn't your fifth brother tell her?"
Lou Xiyue shrugged, indicating that she didn't know.
I find Lou Junyan's actions hard to understand. He was originally positioned as a charming and affectionate young master, but he insisted on playing a trick on He Yiyi, making her think he was a two-faced villain.
That night, Lou Junyan and I had a conversation, and it proved that he really was a cunning and ruthless person.
He sat down at the table, handed me a porcelain bottle, and said with a smile, "Miss Qi, this medicine can cure Fu Yi's muteness. Would you please do me the favor of curing him?"
I was taken aback. "How...how did you know I came to Yifuyi?"
Lou Junyan raised an eyebrow slightly, smiling without saying a word.
I thought for a moment and said, "Was it Young Master Lou who poisoned Fu Yi?"
He shrugged, neither agreeing nor disagreeing, and said slowly, "I hope Miss Qi can help me with this. Yiyi is pregnant right now, so this matter shouldn't disturb her peace."
I took the medicine bottle, a thought flashing through my mind. I turned back and asked him, "Were you planning to kidnap Fu Yi back then?"
Lou Junyan rubbed his forehead and said calmly, "I never force anyone to do anything against their will. It's a decision I made myself. Miss Qi, why don't you ask him directly?"
In the end, I asked someone to give the antidote to Fu Yi.
I heard that he still only sings that one play.