Startled awake from her dream, Wei Luo looked at the jade hairpin in his hand. She didn't return to her senses for a while.
Once she was finally more aware, her mind and body were alarmed. She hadn't put the jade hairpin away before she fell asleep. And, Jin Lu and Bai Lan wouldn't move her things without her permission. Now, Chang Hong had discovered the jade hairpin. How should she explain? She lowered her head and rubbed her eyes to hide her guilty conscience. She looked left and right, then she asked him, "Why did you come here? Weren't you going to look for Mister Xue?"
Chang Hong stood up straight and pursed his thin lips. "The sky has already darkened. I heard from Jin Lu that you had napped for four to six hours and became worried that you were sick, so I came to your room to look."
When he had entered the room, he saw that the box had been placed on a Chinese cedar table with an eight immortal style. It was the box that Wei Luo had been holding earlier today.
Inside the open box, there was a white jade hairpin with a carved hornless dragon and an ivory pendant with a carved hornless dragon. He didn't pay attention to the ivory pendant. His attention was focused on the jade hairpin and his expression went through many changes. Ah Luo had bought a jade hairpin. Neither of them could use it. Who was she going to give it to? It was clearly a man's hairpin. Which man would she be giving this to? Was it her sweetheart?
Who was her sweetheart? Song Hui?
Wei Chang Hong's heart felt as if a large stone was blocking it. He felt gloomy and troubled. Count Zhong Yi's son had come here to discuss Ah Luo's engagement with Song Hui a few days ago. Ah Luo had grown up and would be getting married soon. Once she was married, she would be living in Count Zhong Yi's residence. They would no longer be able to live in the same courtyard. He knew that this day would come and didn't say anything even though he felt a sense of loss. But today, after he saw the jade hairpin she had bought for Song Hui, he almost couldn't remain calm.
Seeing her marriage being arranged by their father and her giving a man a present were two completely different things.
Wei Luo looked at the window. It really was dusk and the courtyard outside was murky and dark. From the verandah, the light from a few octagonal-shaped lanterns penetrated their coverings and hazily lit her vermillion-lacquered table with spiral carvings and inlayed gold. Most of her sleepiness had disappeared. Her blinking dark eyes were like flashing stars. "I'm not sick... I was too tired from going outside today, so I slept a little bit longer."
Chang Hong knew that she was deliberately changing the topic. He sat down across from her and placed the jade hairpin on the vermillion-lacquered table with spiral carvings and inlayed gold. "Are you going to give this to Song Hui?"
Wei Luo blinked. Confused, she said, "En."
He didn't hear the surprise in her voice. He only felt lonely. The relationship between twins was closer than normal siblings. They had been born together and grew up together. Because they looked similar and had the same preferences, sometimes they would think the other person was their other self. Now, his other self was going to get married and he felt as if something was being taken away from him. His heart felt desolate and uneasy, but he couldn't do anything about it.
Chang Hong silently sat across from her for a long time before opening his mouth to say, "Ah Luo, do you like Song Hui?"
Wei Luo finally realized that he had misunderstood. This jade hairpin wasn't for Song Hui. She was already at the point where she wanted to cancel the engagement between Song Hui and her. Why would she be giving him something? But, for now, she would continue to let him misunderstand. This way, she wouldn't have to exert effort to explain herself. With both hands, she held up her cheeks and didn't say anything.
Chang Hong thought she was tacitly agreeing. He stared at that jade hairpin as if it was Song Hui's face. One by one, he gouged out these words, "After you marry him, will you still remember me?"
Wei Luo couldn't resist lifting the corner of her mouth and making fun of him, "Regardless of whom I marry, I won't forget you. What are you thinking?"
Hearing this, he felt slightly at ease.
His mood didn't improve until Wei Luo coaxed him for a while.
As for that jade hairpin... It would be the best if she sent it off soon. The longer she kept it, the more likely other people will misunderstand. After she came back from Zi Yu Villa, she would plead with Wei Kun to cancel her engagement with Count Zhong Yi's family. If Song Hui wouldn't agree to cancel the engagement on his side, she could only bring it up herself.
She didn’t know that Zhao Jie had already secretly put everything into order for her.
After Song Bai Ye considered this matter for three days, in order to save the hundreds of lives in the residence, he decided to cancel the engagement with Duke Ying's family. He called Song Hui to his room and started to talk about this matter.