To Hold One’s Joy

  Chapter 114 Closer

  Luo Sheng glanced at the maid, but did not speak.

   Hongdou stared: "Who are you girls, if you want to invite our girls to drink tea, we girls will show you face?"

  The servant girl whispered: "Our girl's surname is Xu, she is sincere—"

   "Lead the way," Luo Sheng said bluntly when he heard that the surname was "Xu".

  The servant girl did not expect it to go so smoothly, she was stunned before saying: "Please follow the servant girl."

  Luo Sheng said to Sheng Sanlang: "Cousin, you sit at the restaurant first, I'll take Hongdou over to have a look."

   "Okay." Sheng Saburo hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

   Originally worried about his cousin's safety, when he thought of the robbery he encountered on the way to Beijing, he felt overwhelmed.

  Watching Luo Sheng follow the maid into the opposite teahouse, Sheng Sanlang walked into the restaurant and sat down on a bench at random, becoming curious.

   "Kuer." Sheng Sanlang waved to Kouer who was standing not far away.

  Keer walked over with a sullen face: "Is there something wrong, Mr. Biao?"

   "Do you know who is looking for your girl?"

  Ke'er twitched the corners of her mouth: "How would the maidservant know, the girl didn't bring the maidservant with her. Cousin, it's not okay for you to gossip like a big man..."

  Sheng Saburo rubbed his nose and fell silent.

   It could be seen that the little girl was in a bad mood, so he decided not to provoke her.

  In the elegant room of the teahouse, Luo Sheng saw Miss Xu whom the maid was talking about.

  Miss Xu looks seventeen or eighteen years old, with bright eyes and white teeth, black hair like clouds, she is a bright beauty.

  But her black eyebrows subconsciously frowned, her temperament and appearance were a bit out of tune.

   Seeing Luo Sheng come in, Miss Xu hurriedly got up to greet her, and said a little embarrassedly: "I'm still worried that Miss Luo won't come..."

  Luo Sheng took a deep look at Miss Xu, with a smile on his lips: "Miss Xu, please, why don't I come?"

  The girl in front of her is Xu Fang, daughter of Princess Huayang, and Luo Sheng's niece.

  Xu Fang blessed Luo Sheng: "I've always wanted to thank Miss Luo personally for the matter of my brother-in-law, but I just got the chance now. I hope Miss Luo will not blame her."

   "Sit down first." Luo Sheng went straight to the tea table and sat down, pouring himself a cup of tea leisurely.

  Xu Fang took a seat opposite.

  Luo Sheng held the teacup and looked at her, the more she looked at her, the more she looked like her elder sister.

  Blood inheritance is so magical. When that person is gone, the child born of her flesh and blood will always have traces of her existence in this world.

   Being looked at by Luo Sheng like this, Xu Fang became more and more embarrassed.

  She knows Miss Luo's vicious reputation. She even beat up the daughter of Ge's hometown before, let alone just made her stepmother look ashamed.

   It was precisely because her stepmother had suffered from Miss Luo that she mustered up the courage to invite her this time.

  Luo Sheng played with the teacup, and said in a casual tone, "Why did Miss Xu thank me? I thought you would blame me. After all, I brought Lingdi back to the Metropolitan Governor's Mansion."

  Xu Fang looked at her with a solemn expression: "No one will bully my younger brother after that. Even if someone bullies, someone will make the decision for him."

  After Miss Luo's trouble, even if the younger brother was bullied and kept silent, the father and stepmother could no longer turn a blind eye.

  Luo Sheng's eyes flickered slightly, feeling a little lucky.

  Compared to the fostered nephew, the niece looks transparent.

   "I also charged five thousand taels of silver from your family." Luo Sheng took a sip of tea.

  Xu Fang smiled: "Miss Luo also said that she took my house."

  Even if she does not accept it, the five thousand taels of silver will not fall into her hands.

  Luo Sheng's eyebrows stretched: "Then I will accept Miss Xu's thanks."

  Xu Fang picked up the teacup and raised it to Luo Sheng.

  Luo Sheng took a sip of tea, and seemed to mention it casually: "I heard that Miss Xu doesn't often live in the Hou Mansion?"

  Xu Fang didn't expect Luo Sheng to ask this, and nodded with a little hesitation: "Well, my cousin will pick me up to live in the Duke's Mansion from time to time."

  The aunt Xu Fang mentioned is Mrs. Ning Guogong, who is a distant cousin of Princess Huayang.

  The relationship between the Xungui officials is intricate and complicated, and two of them are randomly picked out as relatives. Therefore, the Zhennan Palace did not implicate such distant relatives in the murder of the family for the crime of treason.

  When Luo Sheng was still in the palace, he knew from the letter from Princess Huayang that the elder sister had a good relationship with Mrs. Ning Guogong.

   "Why do you always go to live in other people's houses?"

  This question is straightforward, even rude.

  The embarrassment flashed across Xu Fang's face, and he maintained a calm voice: "My aunt has loved me since I was a child, and my mother often took me to my aunt's house to play when I was young, and I am used to it."

  Luo Sheng nodded slowly: "Remember, your siblings, like me, have no mothers."

  She spoke casually, even a little coldly, but somehow touched Xu Fang's heartstrings.

  Yeah, none of them have mothers...

  Miss Luo developed such a lawless temperament, probably because she didn't have a mother to discipline her.

   Xu Fang thought about it sadly, and she no longer had any grievances with Luo Sheng's sharp question just now.

   "Does Miss Xu know that your younger brother is often bullied?" The girl opposite asked another sharp question.

  Xu Fang blushed slightly, suppressing embarrassment: "I bumped into it once, but he didn't want others to know..."

   After a long silence, she lowered her eyes and said, "My brother is not very close to me."

"how about you?"

   "Me?" Xu Fang was taken aback, and looked up at Luo Sheng.

  Luo Sheng looked at her quietly without any expression on his face.

  Xu Fang gently touched the corner of her lips, and a wry smile overflowed: "I only have such a younger brother."

  The implication is that she is naturally willing to get close to her brother.

  Luo Sheng pinched the teacup, his heart moved slightly.

  Through this conversation, at least it can be seen that the niece is not stupid.

  A very smart little girl came to thank her, and revealed a lot of information, why?

  Her questions are very sharp, if the other party doesn't want to, they can avoid answering them.

  Luo Sheng's thoughts turned slightly, and he vaguely had an answer.

  Xu Fang approached her cautiously and tentatively.

  The purpose of approaching her is self-evident: to use Miss Luo's prestige to fight against her stepmother.

  Luo Sheng naturally welcomed this.

   She decides to ask another question.

   "Miss Xu is just such a younger brother, how can she have the heart to leave him alone in the Hou's Mansion, while she often lives in the Duke's Mansion?"

   "I can't help—" Xu Fang seemed to sense a slip of the tongue, and bit her lip.

   As for whether it was a true slip of the tongue or something else, it's hard to say.

  Luo Sheng didn't pursue the question.

  When a person approaches you actively, what you have to do is to express a little kindness and give the other person the courage to continue to approach. Instead of being too enthusiastic and eager to scare people away.

  Luo Sheng put down his teacup, smiled lightly and said, "The tea here is not very good."

  Seeing that Luo Sheng didn't ask any more questions, Xu Fang's expression was a little complicated, he seemed to be relieved, but at the same time he seemed a little regretful.

   "Really? I seldom come out to drink tea, so I don't really understand. I was rude, and I went back and chose a good teahouse to apologize to Miss Luo."

  Luo Sheng waved his hand and pointed out the window: "Why bother. Miss Xu, have you seen the wine shop opposite?"

  Xu Fang glanced out.

   It was a newly decorated wine shop without a signboard.

   "That's mine. It will open on the eighth day of next month. Ms. Xu can go to support it if she has time."

  New month, good morning.

  (end of this chapter)