Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Ren Fengjue snapped out of his daze. He took a moment to compose himself before his expression gradually returned to normal.

“I indeed have no objections.”

To be honest, this engagement was something he could take or leave. Even if the person before him was tied to him by title, she was ultimately just a stranger.

His thoughts cleared as he continued, “However, an engagement is the command of one’s parents. If it is to be annulled, I must first inform my father and mother. How could I dare to make such a decision on my own?”

Xia Ximo’s expression remained calm as she uttered two words.

“How long?”

Ren Fengjue choked on his words for a moment.

Lately, because of the case involving the Minister of Works, he hadn’t returned home for over a month. In his view, breaking the engagement was a small matter, but if his parents found out, they would certainly demand to know every detail. Moreover, there was something suspicious about this whole situation, and he didn’t want to handle it rashly.

With this in mind, he could only resort to a stalling tactic.

“An engagement is not child’s play. I will first write a letter home to mention this to my father. At the earliest, there will be a reply in three to five days.”

Hearing this, Xia Ximo merely gave a faint hum of acknowledgment and stopped speaking.

Silence immediately fell over the surroundings.

Caught in the middle, Yu Lang felt the atmosphere was incredibly bizarre. He stole a glance at Ren Fengjue and said in a low voice, “Lord Ren, it’s getting dark. This official… shall take his leave?”

Only then did Ren Fengjue realize something.

Night was about to fall, and Xia Ximo had come to the Capital alone. It seemed she had no place to stay. Although there was no affection between them, for the sake of their parents’ old friendship, he should at least fulfill his duties as a host.

Furthermore, he had his own considerations…

After a moment of thought, Ren Fengjue glanced at Yu Lang and said, “I still have some matters to discuss with Vice Minister Yu. Stay and have dinner with us.”

“…”

Without waiting for Yu Lang’s response, he turned back to Xia Ximo. “Miss Xia, you must be exhausted from your long journey. It is late today; if you don’t mind, please stay at my humble abode for a few days.”

Yu Lang’s words were stuck in his throat. He was slightly shocked and couldn’t help but speculate inwardly.

Having known him for so many years, he understood Lord Ren’s temperament well. The man was exceptionally clean-living; to this day, there hadn’t even been the shadow of a woman in his residence. It was said that even the Emperor’s most beloved Princess Ding’an had shown him favor multiple times, yet he had remained indifferent, his mind entirely focused on chasing criminals and solving cases.

Yu Lang had once thought that Lord Ren might simply be uninterested in women.

Thinking about it now, everything suddenly became clear. It turned out he had been keeping himself pure for his fiancée all along-he was clearly a man of deep devotion!

Xia Ximo seemed to hesitate for a moment upon hearing the offer.

This body was no longer suited for sleeping in the wild or overexerting itself. Too much travel and fatigue would only further deplete her Yang energy. If her soul were to leave her body again, she didn’t know how she would fix it. Staying by this man’s side for the time being would happen to suppress the Nine Nether Yin Cold Qi within her, which wasn’t a bad thing.

“Fine.”

Her thin lips parted as she spoke, still as sparing with her words as if they were gold. She didn’t say a single unnecessary thing.

Ren Fengjue didn’t ask further questions and immediately called for the servant, A’chun, instructing, “Go tidy up the guest room and arrange for Miss Xia to stay there.”

Then, he looked at Xia Ximo again. “My home is modest. If Miss Xia needs anything, just tell them to go and procure it.”

“Mm.”

Xia Ximo didn’t stand on ceremony with him. She turned and followed the servant away. Her manner was so natural it was as if she didn’t consider herself an outsider at all.

Yu Lang suppressed a laugh, holding it in for a long time. When he looked at Lord Ren again, his gaze held a hint of something ambiguous. He waited until the sound of footsteps faded before saying, “I don’t think Miss Xia actually looks like she wants to break the engagement with Lord Ren. It’s more likely… she’s run into some sort of trouble.”
Ren Fengjue didn’t reply. He sat down and poured himself a cup of tea, his expression calm while his eyes remained deep and unreadable.

After a moment, he set the teacup down and asked, “How do you know her identity is genuine?”

Yu Lang’s smile faded. “Lord Ren, surely you don’t suspect…”

“General Xia’s daughter has been frail and sickly since childhood. Six years ago, she moved into her maternal uncle’s home. Since then, only my mother has seen her once.”

This meant that in the Ren Family, no one except the Marchioness had ever met this Miss Xia.

“Just now, I asked her if something had happened to the Mu family that forced her to travel a thousand miles to the Capital to find me.”

“She offered no explanation, only an insistence on breaking our engagement. The whole thing is rather suspicious.”

Yu Lang followed his train of thought, pondering for a moment before suddenly jumping to a conclusion.

“Lord Ren! Do you think Miss Xia… could have fallen for someone else?”

“…”

If she hadn’t fallen for another man, why would she be so determined to call off the wedding?

If that were the case, Lord Ren was truly pitiable!

Seeing the other man remain silent, Yu Lang couldn’t help but offer some comfort. “Matters of the heart truly defy logic. There’s no need to be too upset, Lord Ren. A man of your stature will never lack for a wife.”

He was about to continue when Ren Fengjue silently handed him a cup of tea.

“Yaoguang should still be in Jiangnan. Write a letter to her and have her go to Xiling County to secretly investigate the Mu family’s situation.”

Yaoguang was a member of the Shadow Guards under the Shadow Bureau. She was a master of light-body techniques and specialized in scouting and tracking.

Half a year ago, the Emperor had assigned her to the Three Judicial Offices to assist Ren Fengjue with his cases.

On this journey south, the three of them had traveled together.

Yu Lang took a sheepish sip of tea, his expression turning awkward. “Lord Ren, you know very well that Miss Yaoguang and I don’t get along. Why are you making me write the letter?”

“Don’t get along?”

It was clearly a case of him flirting with the girl, getting beaten up for it, and losing face.

Ren Fengjue shot him a sidelong glance. “Back in Wuzhou County, you were the one who offended her first. From what I’ve seen, Miss Yaoguang is far more magnanimous than you.”

Knowing he was in the wrong, Yu Lang could only offer a wry smile. “Very well. Since Lord Ren has commanded it, how could I dare refuse?”

Ren Fengjue nodded, a hint of a smile finally touching his eyes. “See to it as quickly as possible. I won’t be keeping you for dinner.”

“…”

Yu Lang looked like he wanted to say more, but ultimately left in a huff.

Silence returned to the hall, save for the occasional crackle of the charcoal fire burning brightly in the corner.

Ren Fengjue walked over to the brazier and leaned down slightly, extending his slender hands to feel the warmth of the flames against his palms.

“Uncle Ren.”

He lowered his gaze and called out softly.

Shortly after, a middle-aged man around forty years old entered the room.

“Young Master, what are your orders?”

Ren Fengjue turned his hands over, his expression indifferent.

“For the next few days, have someone keep an eye on the movements of ‘the guest in the guest room.’ Report back to me exactly what she does and where she goes throughout the day.”

“As for the Marquis Mansion, do not breathe a word of this for now. Under no circumstances are the Marquis or the Marchioness to find out.”

“Go.”

“Yes.”

The steward, Ren Cong, was about to leave when Ren Fengjue called him back.

“Wait.”

As if remembering something, he frowned slightly and added, “Tomorrow morning, send her a hundred taels of silver. Also, have the people from the Clothing Manor come over to tailor two sets of winter clothes for her.”