Qi Zhenzhen and Gu Sinian were completely relieved. Jin Rong’s calm words indicated she had truly moved on from Yan Liulang.
Later, Yan Qi sent a calling card to Qi Zhenzhen through Ruining, expressing her desire to visit the Duke’s mansion. After consulting Jin Rong, Qi Zhenzhen agreed.
Yan Qi was unaware of this arrangement. It would be unfair to her if Qi Zhenzhen harbored resentment towards her because of Yan Liulang. Moreover, she had been playing well with Jin Rong, clearly liking her. Yan Qi had privately mentioned to Jin Rong that if she married into the Yan family, they would surely be the closest of sisters-in-law.
Upon meeting Jin Rong, Yan Qi insisted on performing a formal kowtow. “Princess, the Yan family has wronged you in this matter. My parents specifically instructed me to apologize to you on their behalf. Sixth Brother is a son of the Yan family, so even if the family was unaware initially, they cannot absolve themselves of responsibility for this reason. My parents said it is their fault for not raising their son properly. Even if you resent the Yan family because of this, the Yan family will have no complaints. My father also asked me to convey a message to you: if you ever need the Yan family’s help in the future, they will not refuse.”
This final promise was significant: they would not refuse. This was the Yan family’s way of showing their commitment to Consort An and the First Prince.
Qi Zhenzhen hadn't expected the Yan family to declare their stance on this matter. To those in the know, Consort An would surely resent the Yan family because of this incident, so the Yan family would not side with the First Prince. By privately declaring their attitude, was the Yan family acting covertly?
After saying this, Yan Qi spoke again, “Princess, selfishly speaking, I hope you do not hate the Yan family. Hate is also an emotion, and if you hate the Yan family, you will inevitably be reminded of my Sixth Brother. I feel he is not worthy of being remembered by you. You will surely meet a good man in the future whose eyes are only for you.”
Jin Rong slowly smiled. “Yan Qi, you are right.”
Yan Qi breathed a sigh of relief. Based on her understanding of Jin Rong, she had truly let go.
Qi Zhenzhen invited Yan Qi to sit down. Ruining also sat down. With sharp eyes, she spotted a small white plush toy on the low table by the couch and happily picked it up. “This is so cute! Zhenzhen jie, I want one too.”
“This isn’t mine; Jin Rong made it herself. Asking me won’t get you one.”
Jin Rong smiled gently. “I made several, and there’s one for you.”
After a pause, Jin Rong added, “I’ve also prepared one for Yan Qi. I’ll have Lv Ru give them to you when you leave later.”
This was also a sign of her intention to remain friends with Yan Qi. Yan Qi smiled from the heart. She genuinely liked Princess Jin Rong. While she regretted that Jin Rong couldn’t be her sixth sister-in-law, she was also relieved. Her words just now were not mere pleasantries but her true feelings. As a friend, she didn’t want her good friend’s heartfelt intentions to be misplaced.
“By the way, Song Chi is getting married,” Ruining said with a smile.
“Oh, I hadn’t heard he was engaged. Whose daughter is it?” Qi Zhenzhen asked.
“It only happened a few days ago. Zhenzhen jie, you were at Taihe Temple, so it’s normal you don’t know. Moreover, the Song and Li families didn’t publicize it, so besides close families, others don’t know yet,” Ruining said with a smile.
The Li family?
Qi Zhenzhen’s mind immediately conjured the image of Li Ruyi. For some reason, she instinctively felt that the Li family Ruining mentioned was related to Li Ruyi. But she remembered that Li Ruyi had been engaged before, and it wasn’t to the Song family!