1115 Courtesy Name

"And if I didn't meet you at first, I wouldn't have won against the Lu Family schemes on my own. All the hard work prior would've been pointless struggle then. Because of you, Lu Hanli did not dare to collude with Lu Qiyuan to harm me back then and I could work at the Han Corporation." Her current life had changed so drastically from her previous life—and the turning point was Han Zhuoli.

"If not for you, I'd surely have been framed by Lu Qiyuan and thrown into jail again," Lu Man said in a low voice.

Because this had happened before.

It was precisely because things had unfolded that way in her previous life that she felt deathly afraid now, thinking back on it.

She could not stop herself from trembling in Han Zhuoli arms.

Han Zhuoli felt her tremors and hugged her tighter.

For some reason, he had a hunch that Lu Man was really harmed before.

"It's alright," Han Zhuoli coaxed her. "I'm here, it's alright."

Lu Man nodded against his chest, and after a while, she calmed down.

The warmth and scent of Han Zhuoli's embrace let her be at peace.

She raised her head and smiled at Han Zhuoli. "Did I scare you?"

Han Zhuoli placed a kiss on her forehead. "A tad. It frightens me to think of what you could've experienced."

"I'm sorry for saying this," Lu Man said.

She still had no idea about Han Zhuoli's telepathy.

Han Zhuoli shook his head. "You're just scaring yourself. Everything's fine now."

"Yes." Lu Man nodded, pecking Han Zhuoli on the chin. "I'll go help Mom with dinner."

"Wait." Han Zhuoli held on to her waist.

Now that Lu Man was no longer perturbed, it was Han Zhuoli's turn to be troubled.

Holding her tight for a while, he reassured himself that she was well and whole in his arms and that nothing had happened to her before letting her go.

Lu Man returned to the kitchen. Xia Qingwei's smile never dropped once. She did not feel that the couple was being overly lovey-dovey.

Nothing made her happier than them having a good relationship.

***

They left Yi Garden at night and returned to the villa before unpacking their luggage.

Their luggage was placed in the trunk when they went to the Han Family home and her mother's place.

Now, Lu Man was picking out clothes to be sent to the washers as she unpacked.

"Oh, right." Lu Man suddenly recalled something. "There were rumors that the members of the eight great families have courtesy names. Is that true?"

"It's true." Han Zhuoli sat and started to explain.

Same as when they were packing for the return trip, Lu Man refused to let him help while she busied about by herself.

"You know the histories of the eight great families. When the Qin Dynasty vanquished the six states, the royal families of the six states escaped with their guards. They hid their identities and lived amongst the commoners or up in the mountains. But long before they ran away, the kings of the six states knew they couldn't escape their fates, so they hid away the royal treasures, waiting for the day their family members who successfully escaped could rise again with the help of these riches. However, as time passed, none of them succeeded. Instead, they thrived in the business industry," Han Zhuoli explained.

"There's a reason for the close relations between the eight great families too. At that time, the six royalties living incognito had communicated with each other in secret in hopes of strengthening each other. They had a common enemy then, so they were united, suffering no internal conflicts. Hence, until now, the eight great families still uphold this tradition. After the unification during the Qin Dynasty, the Qin had searched extensively for the treasures of the six states and realized that what they discovered was different from what they heard. Thus, they thought that maybe the rumors were exaggerated."