I've been bullied and humiliated for thirteen years; when I wake up, I'll be bloodthirsty.

Chapter 510 Tonight's dinner: vinegar?

Why is his surname Lu?

Lu Yangyang was slightly puzzled, but it wasn't something she couldn't talk about. She pushed Zong Que's hand off her shoulder, took his arm, helped him into the yard, and then carried his wheelchair in. As she pushed him toward the study, she told him about that past event.

“I felt wronged and angry at the time. I especially hated hearing the name Cao Ya, especially when the villagers talked about me behind my back. They would always say things like, ‘A little girl is just a blade of grass, you can throw her away like that.’ So I got angry whenever I heard that name. Lu Wei said, ‘Then just change your name.’ He even explained to me how he got his name. So I changed my name. I chose my own name. Once I had my own name, I had nothing to do with that family anymore. From then on, whenever someone called me He Cao Ya, I would loudly tell them, ‘I’m not He Cao Ya, I’m Lu Yangyang.’ At the time, I didn’t even know what Yangyang meant. I only knew that it was a line from the Book of Songs that Lu Wei often recited. Later, Lu Wei explained to me that Yangyang means the vastness of water.”

Lu Yangyang only learned later that Lu Wei's family was actually too poor to afford his education. His father's studies had exhausted all the family's money, and after passing the imperial examination and becoming a scholar, he sent Lu Wei back with a letter of divorce, abandoning his wife and children, and went off to find a better match. His mother was so angry that she fell seriously ill, but she was very strong-willed. In a fit of rage, she placed the few books they had kept in front of Lu Wei and made him read them over and over again, wanting to know what was hidden in those books that could make someone so ungrateful. Lu Wei's father gave him some basic education, but didn't teach him anything. He didn't understand the meaning of the poems and texts in the books, and could only recite the Thousand Character Classic over and over again. After his mother had cried her eyes out, she told him to continue studying, to study even better than his father, to become the top scholar, and to show his heartless father that even without him, they would be better off than him.

Lu Wei was gloomy for a long time because of this, not understanding why he had to become a kind of proof. His father had already run away, so how could he regret it? Later, he probably saw that she was in a worse situation than him. At least he had a mother. She was a few years younger than him and hadn't even learned to speak properly yet. Not only did she have to find a way to support herself, but she also had to support a crazy woman. He was inexplicably cured and even shamelessly said that he would repay her well if he became the top scholar in the imperial examination.

While eating the pie in the sky he painted, Lu Yangyang tried her best to help him out because he was really pitiful.

Thinking of this, Lu Yangyang couldn't help but mutter, "If he doesn't become the top scholar in the imperial examination in the future, he can work like a slave for me to pay off his debts."

After all, if you round it up, it's still a child she raised.

Lu Yangyang was preoccupied with Lu Wei's affairs and didn't notice Zong Que's increasingly deep eyes and his fingers tightening little by little.

After saying that, he muttered to himself, "Why did I suddenly ask that?"

Zong Que calmed his turbulent emotions slightly and said softly, "When I first heard the name Yangyang, I thought it sounded very nice and I was also very curious."

Lu Yangyang was immediately intrigued and moved closer to him: "Curious?"

"The first time I saw you wasn't the first time I'd heard your name. I had corresponded with Lord Ling, and he mentioned you with joy and pride. Later, he wrote again, saying you had come to the capital and begging me to look after you if I met you. So, that time at the polo match wasn't a chance encounter; I went there specifically to see you. Firstly, I hadn't expected you to heal Yan Yue's leg, and secondly, I was curious about what kind of girl Lord Ling described you to be." Zong Que looked up at her.

Lu Yangyang's eyes lit up, her heart pounding like a deer. So His Highness knew about her before they even met?

Could there really be such a connection between them?

Lu Yangyang instantly forgot all about whether Lu Wei could become the top scholar in the imperial examination and excitedly asked Zong Que, "After you met me, what kind of person do you think I am?"

Zong Que chuckled softly.

Lu Yangyang was dazzled by the smile on his face and felt like she had asked a really silly question. Her face flushed instantly, and she turned her head slightly away, but the corners of her lips unconsciously curled up a little.

Zong Que gazed at her upturned lips, grasped her fingers, and spoke in a soft voice that resonated in her heart like the strings of a zither, “Yangyang is the best girl, which is why the name Yangyang is the most beautiful name. A name may contain a lot of expectations, but it is just a label. You are good enough for your name to be beautiful enough. Otherwise, no matter how beautiful a name sounds, it will be mixed with all sorts of different emotions when you say it.”

Lu Yangyang turned her head to meet Zong Que's eyes, and was slightly stunned. So that's how it is.

If she gets better and better, and more and more people like her, then when they call her name, it will sound beautiful and joyful.

But if she is utterly wicked and despised, then when she hears others call her name, it will probably be with hatred and contempt.

So that's what a name means! It's not the literal meaning, but the true meaning that changed as she grew up.

Lu Yangyang's heart pounded, her eyes shining as she looked at Zong Que, and she murmured softly, "A Que, you are the best person."

How could she not like His Highness? Anyone would be confused by that! Huh?

Zong Que looked into her bright eyes and his own eyes crinkled into a smile.

Just then, Pei Ji knocked on the door. "Madam, someone is looking for you."

Lu Yangyang poked her head out from next to Zong Que and asked hesitantly, "Did you call me?"

Pei Ji hesitated for a moment, then, considering the abstract relationship between the two, asked uncertainly, "Lu Yangyang?"

Zong Que turned his gaze and glanced at Pei Ji casually, "You and Yang Yang are also acquainted, there's no need to be so formal."

Pei Ji: "?"

Pei Ji was almost completely confused. He missed something because he didn't keep up for a moment.

He slowly replied, "Yangyang?"

Lu Yangyang stood up and nodded casually: "Yes, there's no need to be so formal. Just call me Yangyang. Who's looking for me? Is something wrong with Zhiyi?"

Pei Ji pointed to the doorway.

Lu Yangyang quickly ran out.

After Lu Yangyang left, Pei Ji stood with one foot outside the door and the other inside the threshold, looking at his young master with a bewildered expression: "Young master, will we be having vinegar for dinner tonight?"

Just then, Lu Yangyang returned and heard those two words. She asked, puzzled, "Why are you drinking vinegar?"

Then he turned to Zong Que and said, "A Que, you need to eat a light diet while taking medicine recently. Vinegar is also not good, it's too sour."

Zong Que nodded: "Yes, I'll listen to Yang Yang."

Lu Yangyang was relieved: "I need to check on Miss Liang's condition and go back to the dressing room, so I won't be coming over today. Your Highness, please remember to take your medicine on time."

“Okay,” Zong Que replied.

Lu Yangyang then turned and left.

Zong Que looked up at Pei Ji, who silently withdrew the foot that had stepped into the study.