Chapter 453: Chapter 453

Lu Jingchen’s expression darkened, and the hand holding his phone unconsciously gripped it tighter.

Everything that happened at the wedding was unforeseen by everyone, including him. He did not expect Murong Rui to return at this moment, let alone reveal everything at the wedding.

Actually, he had always known that Song Qiao was innocent. Even if her parents were responsible for the death of his adoptive parents, it wasn’t something Song Qiao had done. After all, she was just born into the Song Family, affected by association.

After hanging up the phone, Lu Jingchen immediately dialed Song Qiao’s mobile phone, only to find that no one answered.

His complexion grew even more somber, and the man got ready to head outside, but a figure stood directly in his way.

Previously, Lu Tianming had people send Murong Rui away since she disclosed the matter at the wedding, which would soon become known to the media; they would surely be stopped by reporters, worried that Murong Rui might reveal something more.

Of course, Murong Rui wasn’t likely to stay put. When she saw the chance, she directly ran to the hotel. Her return to the country was solely for Lu Jingchen.

"Jingchen brother..." She was still catching her breath from running, with a faint flush on her face and disbelief, she directly asked, "Why do you want to marry that woman? Her parents killed mine, how could you marry her? And... and..."

She found herself at a loss for words towards the end.

Lu Jingchen frowned slightly at her, then counter-questioned, "Xiao Rui, today is my wedding. Why did you expose these things at the ceremony? Song Qiao is innocent, and this matter really has nothing to do with her."

"How can it have nothing to do with her? The ones who killed my parents are hers, she is the daughter of my parents’ killers." Murong Rui’s face turned red with anger as she objected fiercely, "If it wasn’t for her parents, mine would not be dead right now."

"You also said it was her parents, not her," Lu Jingchen said, his irritation growing clearer by the moment, only wanting to find Song Qiao now.

He saw Murong Rui as nothing more than an immature child, and said, "From now on, don’t bring this up again. Song Qiao is innocent. If you still consider me your brother, then don’t trouble her anymore. She is married to me now, and that makes her your sister-in-law."

Murong Rui’s face turned from pale to ashen, but without hesitation she retorted, "She is not my sister-in-law. Jingchen brother, don’t you know that I have always loved you? I was planning to get married to you after I graduated..."

"Xiao Rui!" The man didn’t let her finish, sharply cutting her off, his low voice tinged with sternness, and even his face took on a rarely seen ferocity, "I have always regarded you as a sister, and I hope you will no longer harbor such thoughts in the future."

His words struck directly at Murong Rui’s heart.

She suddenly became agitated, stepping forward to embrace Lu Jingchen’s waist, "Jingchen brother, I love you, I have never just seen you as a brother, I want to marry you..."

Her voice trembled with emotion, and tears shimmered in her eyes.

However, upon hearing her words, Lu Jingchen’s face sank, and he swiftly grabbed her arm, pulling her away from him forcefully, then called out for assistance, "Someone, take her back to the Mu Mansion."

The Bodyguard approached immediately and responded, "Yes."

Murong Rui, pale-faced, hadn’t expected Lu Jingchen to evade her confession so directly; she didn’t dare to fling herself at him again, but through clenched teeth she inquired, "Jingchen brother, why?"

Why wouldn’t he respond to her? She had finally mustered the courage to confess her love, having hurried back from abroad without a moment’s rest after landing. Why was he treating her this way?

Lu Jingchen intended to turn away and leave, but upon hearing her, he paused and then firmly stated, "Xiao Rui, I have always treated you as a sister, and never considered anything beyond that between us."

After saying that, he gave the Bodyguard a glance and turned to leave.

Murong Rui’s face went from pale to paler, watching Lu Jingchen’s retreating back she felt as if he had always been unreachable, as if he had never been close to her.

She couldn’t reconcile with it; Jingchen brother was originally hers, but that woman was going to marry Jingchen brother. She had loved Jingchen brother for more than a decade, how could she accept this?

Lu Jingchen drove straight to the Mu Mansion and rang the doorbell. Upon recognizing him, Zhang Ma hesitated but still went to inform the Elder.

The Elder was just about to lie down, not sure if Qiaoqiao was too tired or what, but after having dinner and taking a bath, she had already gone to bed by a little past eight.

Ning Wan stayed by Song Qiao’s side all day due to her concerns about the harm today’s events may have caused her, and even slept in the same bed tonight. Elder Mu had always known about their closeness as best friends; they’d not only slept together before but had also bathed together.

When Nanny Zhang mentioned Lu Jingchen had arrived, the old gentleman thought it over and still let him in, as he also made his way down to the living room.

Inside the living room, Elder Mu and Lu Jingchen sat on the sofa, while Nanny Zhang brought over two cups of plain boiled water. Drinking tea at this time could make it hard to sleep later on.

Elder Mu didn’t speak, and naturally, Lu Jingchen didn’t either, sitting there without showing any expression on his face.

Elder Mu took a sip of boiled water from his cup, then set it down, his gaze landing on him. Lu Jingchen was still wearing the suit from the wedding, his face wearing a tint of exhaustion, yet he was meticulous.

After a moment, the elder finally spoke up directly, "Do you want to come and take Qiaoqiao back with you?"

Lu Jingchen hummed in response, but did not say much more; he knew that Elder Mu was already aware of the incident at the wedding, and he himself couldn’t find the right words for the moment.

"Then you should go back," despite feeling angry about his granddaughter being hurt , Elder Mu wasn’t the type to burn bridges after crossing, especially since Lu Jingchen had done so much. He could also see that Lu Jingchen cared for Qiaoqiao, so for the moment, he did not break the silence and continued, "Qiaoqiao is not in a great mood right now, and going back with you would only upset her. Regardless of what happened at the wedding, I hope you can resolve it. After all, it had nothing to do with Qiaoqiao in the first place, and as for that incident from the past, if you are willing, you should definitely be able to uncover some discrepancies."

Lu Jingchen was momentarily at a loss for words, but when he heard Elder Mu’s latter words, he couldn’t help but be startled; he clearly understood the implied message in the elder’s words.

He knew that now wasn’t the time for Qiaoqiao to go back with him, and that those matters needed resolving, so he stood up and said without further ado, "Then I will leave Qiaoqiao in your care, Grandfather."

Elder Mu didn’t say anything, simply waving his hand dismissively.

When Song Qiao woke up the next day, it was already past ten in the morning. She really didn’t feel like getting up from the deep sleep she was in and had no idea that Lu Jingchen had come to the Mu Mansion last night.

It wasn’t until after she finished her breakfast and was about to leave that she overheard a neighboring auntie passing by the door saying, "Last night when I came back, I noticed a Maybach parked at the entrance to the Mu Mansion. There was a man sitting inside the car, and he didn’t leave until I went out to buy vegetables in the morning. Surely someone from the Mu Family had visitors but didn’t let them in, right?" Dıscover more novels at 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵※𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮※𝓷𝓮𝓽

Someone immediately joined the conversation, "Didn’t you watch the news? The newspapers are filled with reports from Elder Mu’s granddaughter’s wedding yesterday—quite a serious incident occurred."

"Really? I haven’t read today’s newspaper yet. Wasn’t Elder Mu’s granddaughter married off to the Lu Family’s heir?"

"Yes, but at the wedding, it was revealed that Elder Mu’s daughter and son-in-law were responsible for the deaths of someone’s foster parents."

"There was actually such an incident?"

"Yeah, yeah, I couldn’t believe it at first, but then I asked my old man, and it’s true. He was at the wedding yesterday, saw and heard it all with his own eyes and ears. But in the end, Elder Mu’s granddaughter was innocent, as she had nothing to do with it after all."

"But isn’t there a saying? ’A son must pay his father’s debts.’"

The voices from outside grew fainter as Song Qiao stood frozen by the door, ready to open it. Without a second thought, she turned around and walked back into the villa.

Only a few servants were in the living room, as Elder Mu was busy with something unknown in the study, and Nanny Zhang had gone out to buy some household items. Song Qiao immediately found today’s newspaper from beneath the coffee table in the living room, and her gaze fell upon the front-page headline as she unfolded the paper.

The front-page headline starkly detailed the events that had unfolded at the wedding the day before, especially the words spoken by Murong Rui, with the font color darkened and bold.

Below, there were a few photos—besides the one of her and Lu Jingchen on the stage, there were also shots of Murong Rui and the reactions of the guests below.

When Lu Jingchen arrived at the company in the morning, he saw countless reporters gathered at the entrance, obviously waiting for his appearance.

After he left the Mu Mansion that morning, he changed into a different set of clothes and even opted to drive a car he hadn’t driven before, one that was more inconspicuous.

After what happened last night, it didn’t take a genius to predict what kind of scene he would encounter today. On his way over, his assistant had already informed him over the phone that the incident from the wedding had made the headlines.