Chapter 646: Chapter 644: Brothers
It turns out that Li Shan has never married because of him. He and Li Shan grew up together in the orphanage and were adopted together by Old Sir Zhong, always having a good relationship. But Li Shan doing this for him was unexpected, leaving Yan Hui very touched and at a loss for words.
He said, "Then I’ll get married as soon as possible. I shouldn’t delay him any longer."
Old Sir Zhong laughed heartily upon hearing this, clearly very happy.
Yan Hui waited for Old Sir Zhong to finish laughing before saying: "Besides telling you this today, I also need to ask you to come out of retirement to help me propose marriage."
Old Sir Zhong raised his eyebrows and asked, "Whose family’s daughter is it? To have me propose? I’m not boasting, but there’s no one in Beijing who wouldn’t want to have you as their son-in-law."
It’s indeed not an exaggeration. Yan Hui has the looks and the talent, achieving remarkable accomplishments at a young age, especially with Old Sir Zhong backing him up. He’s genuinely popular, yet no one has found a way to link him to their daughters.
Yan Hui couldn’t help but laugh at Old Sir Zhong’s pride in him and said, "The girl is the daughter of the high-ranking official."
Upon hearing it’s the daughter of the high-ranking official’s family, Old Sir Zhong exclaimed "Oh," furrowed his brow in thought, and asked, "Is she the little girl he brought back from outside?"
"Yes," Yan Hui nodded.
More than twenty years ago, when Ming Wan was brought into the Ming Family, Old Sir Zhong hadn’t retired yet, and this matter caused quite a stir at the time. He naturally knew the details.
Old Sir Zhong straightforwardly said, "Since you’ve made up your mind, I’ll naturally handle the proposal with the Ming Family. Bring the little lady around someday to meet everyone."
Yan Hui laughed and said, "Got it."
After talking with Old Sir Zhong, Yan Hui left the study and saw Li Shan under the old locust tree, frowning as he talked with Hunter.
Looking at Li Shan’s tall and solid figure, scenes from the past surfaced in Yan Hui’s heart.
From childhood to adulthood, Li Shan always silently stood behind him. Back then, Old Sir Zhong initially planned to adopt only Li Shan, but Li Shan was adamant:
"If you’re taking me, take Yan Hui along too, or I won’t go."
Old Sir Zhong’s interest in Yan Hui was piqued by Li Shan’s words and asked why. Li Shan simply replied, "Yan Hui is my brother; he’s smarter and more capable than me. With him around, I am not worried, and Yan Hui is meant for great things. I need to watch over him and help him with logistics."
So, Old Sir Zhong ended up taking both of them in.
Later, he received a full scholarship abroad, and Li Shan told him, "You go ahead; I’ll handle things at home and take care of Old Sir Zhong."
Thus, he ventured out to explore, strive, and conquer, while Li Shan stayed by Old Sir Zhong’s side, taking care of him and fulfilling his filial duties.
A few years ago, Li Shan had Xiao Yu, and Yan Hui was very happy for him, yet never expected Li Shan had been waiting to marry until Yan Hui was settled.
This kind of brotherhood, despite no blood relation, felt like the most sincere kinship and warmth in the world.
Li Shan soon saw Yan Hui standing under the eaves, watching him, and couldn’t help gesturing, asking if something was up.
Yan Hui walked over with a smile and said, "It’s time to prepare for your marriage with Xiao Yu."
Li Shan didn’t understand why he’d say such a random thing but didn’t delve further, simply saying, "Don’t worry about this; we have our arrangements for when we will marry."
Yan Hui couldn’t help but pat his shoulder, saying, "I’m getting married too, and we’ll both marry together as brothers."
Hearing this, Li Shan’s eyes widened, and seeing Yan Hui wasn’t joking, his face broke into a big bright smile, saying, "That’s great!" and nothing more.
"Yes, it’s wonderful," Yan Hui said, "In a few days, I’ll bring her over for you all to meet and let her get to know Xiao Yu."
Li Shan chuckled foolishly, nodding repeatedly, saying, "Okay, I’ll have Xiao Yu give her some space."
Yan Hui couldn’t help but laugh along too.
Fearing any unexpected obstacles, Old Sir Zhong acted quickly, calling the high-ranking official’s family the next day to propose the marriage and personally discussed it again with the high-ranking official’s son, now the current high-ranking official.
Mr. Ming and Ming Wan’s father naturally agreed without hesitation, happily setting a time to meet with Old Sir Zhong.
Old Sir Zhong shared the news with Yan Hui. Yan Hui didn’t expect Old Sir Zhong to move so fast. He smiled as he told Ming Wan:
"Our Old Sir Zhong has already spoken to your grandfather and father about our marriage, and they’ve agreed. You’ll be my wife from now on."
Ming Wan was stunned by the surprise. After a moment, she incredulously asked, "Why didn’t you tell me in advance? Did my grandfather and father really agree? Are we really getting married? Am I not dreaming?"
Seeing her with a cat-like expression, Yan Hui wrapped her in his arms, softly printing a kiss on her lips, "Believe it now? You’re not dreaming, are you?"
Ming Wan, flushed and dazed, said, "I never want to wake from this beautiful dream," causing Yan Hui to laugh as he held her tighter.
Soon, the Ming Family called, asking Ming Wan to return. Although they had established their relationship, they couldn’t live together without formal commitments, even though they were proper aside from that one night.
Ming Wan also felt it was time to go back. Yan Hui thought it over and drove her personally to the heavily guarded place. After sending Ming Wan off, Yan Hui didn’t hesitate and directly sought out the Crown Prince.
But upon learning about Yan Hui and Ming Wan’s relationship, the Crown Prince left the meeting place without any expression, said nothing, and left Yan Hui behind.
The Crown Prince returned to the Ming Family, which he hadn’t visited in a long time, found Mr. Ming directly, and said: "I don’t agree for Ming Wan to marry Yan Hui."
Mr. Ming squinted and said, "Ming Wan is marrying; I agree, your father agrees, Ming Wan agrees, Yan Hui agrees, Old Man Zhong agrees, so everyone’s happy."
The implication was that Ming Wan’s marriage was none of the Crown Prince’s concern, and his agreement or disagreement was irrelevant.
Seeing no leeway here with Mr. Ming, the Crown Prince didn’t persist, nodded, and left. He then scheduled a meeting with his father’s secretary, meeting his father the next day to repeat what he had told Mr. Ming.
Mr. Ming looked at him steadily before saying, "Ming Wan doesn’t owe you anything."
The Crown Prince’s expression faltered but quickly returned to normal, saying, "Zhu Shiling from the Southwest Zhu Family has met Ming Wan once and likes her very much."
"Ming Wan likes Yan Hui, not anyone with surnames like Zhu, Ma, Yang, or Niu," Mr. Ming said, suppressing his anger, "Don’t think I don’t know what you’re up to. I’ve been tolerant of you all these years; don’t push your luck!"
