Jing Xiu was awakened by the rustling sound of clothes. Opening her eyes, she realized that she was actually lying in a bathtub, wearing only a pink bellyband, with her entire body immersed in water. Li Ling had his back turned to her and was getting dressed.
What was going on? Last night, Li Ling clearly left her and went to the study.
There was water splashed all over the bathroom floor, and the clothes were strewn about, giving the room a messy appearance.
It seemed like they had just experienced a moment of pleasure.
“When did you come back?” Jing Xiu’s mind was in a haze as she looked at Li Ling in surprise and asked.
Li Ling was already dressed neatly. He turned his head and replied, “What did you say?”
It was the face of a young man, slightly immature but full of vigor.
It was the appearance of him when she first met him, or rather when she just married him.
What was going on? Could it be a dream? Jing Xiu was full of doubt and pinched her thigh hard. The clear sensation of pain told her that this was not a dream.
“I’m going to practice martial arts. You should get ready earlier. We need to hurry to the front to pay respects to grandmother,” Li Ling said and then walked out.
“Lady Xiu, let me help you get up.” After a while, a familiar figure lifted the bath curtain and walked in.
It was Zi Yun, the senior maid who used to serve by her side.
Zi Yun had been with her in the Duke’s mansion for less than a year. When her mother fell seriously ill, she allowed Zi Yun to return home to take care of her. A year later, Zi Yun’s mother passed away, and she reached the age for marriage.
Jing Xiu rewarded her with a sum of money and let her get married.
“Why have you come back?” Jing Xiu asked in puzzlement.
“This servant has been keeping watch outside all night. Why do you ask, Lady Xiu?” Zi Yun brought a bath towel and continued, “The young master instructed me to attend to you and have you get ready quickly when he went out. Today is the 60th birthday celebration of the old madame. We’ll need to go greet the guests after breakfast.”
The old Madame Li’s 60th birthday?
But that was just one month after her marriage to Li Ling.
She clearly remembered being married to Li Ling for five years already. The days were stifling, and she had requested a divorce. Yet now, she was back to the time when she was newly married to Li Ling!!!
Jing Xiu felt dazed and disoriented, utterly at a loss.
Zi Yun brought the towel to wipe her lady’s body: Our young mistress’s body is truly exquisite. Her skin is so smooth, that not a single water droplet can cling to it. Her slender waist is more supple than a willow branch.
Even Zi Yun, as a woman, admired this figure, not to mention the virile young master. No wonder every night when she kept watch outside, there were unending sounds of intimacy from within. Seeing the faint red marks on Jing Xiu’s body, Zi Yun couldn’t help feeling pained: The young mistress is more delicate than a flower. Yet, the master was vigorous and demanding every night. How can the mistress endure this?
“My lady, this servant will have the kitchen prepare a bowl of nourishing bird’s nest soup later.” Bird’s nest replenishes yin and the best supplement.
After getting ready, Jing Xiu left the bathroom in a daze, surveying the room. Sure enough, the carved lattice windows still had large red “double happiness” characters pasted on them.
While making the bed, Zi Yun relayed, “Before leaving, the young master instructed me to tell you that the Ninth Princess will be attending the birthday banquet today. He wants you to go to his study after rising to retrieve the purple-gold inkstone, so you can present it to the Ninth Princess when you see her.”
It really was just like her previous life!
In her former life, she had just married into the Marquis of Zhenguo’s residence when it was also the old madame’s birthday celebration. That early morning, Li Ling had dallied with her in bed for quite a while before finally getting up. Later, when she went to bathe, he followed her in and took her again in the bathtub.
After getting up, Zi Yun relayed the message for her to go to the study to retrieve the inkstone. That purple-gold inkstone was extremely valuable. Li Ling normally treasured it so much that he didn’t allow anyone else to even touch it. Hearing he wanted to gift it to Qing Luan, she felt displeased at the time, but didn’t dare voice any objections.
Come to think of it, in all those years she was married to him in her previous life, when had he ever gifted her anything?
Jing Xiu dejectedly made her way to the study and picked up the purple-gold inkstone from Li Ling’s desk, examining it front and back in her hands.
This inkstone was cast from exquisite purple-gold metal, vividly carved with two verdant pines. Engraved along the rim was a line of poetry: “Hold onto the green mountains tightly and never let go.”
“What a ‘hold onto the green mountains tightly and never let go.’ Li Ling truly had deep feelings for her.
No doubt in her previous life, Li Ling avoided appearing improper by gifting this directly to Qing Luan due to their gender difference. So he borrowed her hands – having his own wife assist in this private exchange with his beloved!
Did Li Ling see her as a dead person? Did he have any regard for her in his heart at all?
She was extremely foolish back then. Although her heart wasn’t at ease, in order to please Li Ling, she had deceived herself by making excuses for him: It’s perfectly normal for an elder brother to gift something to his younger sister. Don’t be so petty-minded.
After receiving the inkstone, Jing Xiu, full of troubled thoughts, returned to Qingfeng Garden.
Maidservant Danzhu approached and asked, “Lady Xiu, someone from the kitchen just delivered a message. They said the bird’s nest is ready, should we prepare some shrimp cakes as well?”
“Weren’t we just eating shrimp cakes yesterday? Why are we having them again today?” Biliu pouted.
“Our mistress had guihua cake yesterday, it was you who had shrimp cakes. You silly goose,” Danzhu tapped Biliu’s head.
“You know I’m scatterbrained yet you keep rapping my head, making me even more scatterbrained.”
The few little maidservants were joking and laughing when Li Ling entered.
He had to go practice martial arts for an hour every morning, a rigid habit rain or shine, cold or hot.
The maidservants immediately fell silent, lowering their heads obediently with respectful demeanors before withdrawing.
Li Ling had a cold temperament. He seldom joked or smiled, placing great importance on propriety. Thus, the servants were in awe of him.
This had its advantages too. Jing Xiu never worried about any maids with ulterior motives trying to play any tricks in the bedroom. The maids in the mansion would go around him, and if they couldn’t avoid him, they would keep a distance of two zhang (about 6 meters) from him. In front of him, they were like mice encountering a cat, completely honest and obedient.
Li Ling entered the room, hung his green candle sword on the wall, and then went into the bathroom by himself.
After waiting for a while and seeing that Jing Shu didn’t follow, he poked his head out of the bathroom and said to her, “Come in!”
He had many eccentricities. He disliked maidservants attending to him personally. Ever since they married, she has taken care of bathing and such matters herself.
Jing Xiu followed him into the bathroom. Li Ling had already removed his fitted martial arts attire, standing bare-chested and sweaty, waiting for her to wipe him down.
Jing Xiu had not yet recovered from this strange situation. She mechanically took the damp towel from Li Ling’s hands and wiped his back.
He had a tall and shapely figure. Years of martial arts training had given him a toned physique with muscular arms and a slim waist. He was extremely attractive.
Unfortunately, Jing Xiu’s mind was in disarray. She could not appreciate this exquisite visual before her, merely wiping him mechanically.
Seeing her repeatedly rubbing the same area, Li Ling took the towel from her hands, re-soaked it in the basin, and returned it to her. He then turned to face her, spreading his arms slightly to indicate she should wipe his front.
He could not reach his back, but surely he could take care of the front himself? Jing Xiu looked at his attitude of entitlement to her service and thought bitterly: This despicable man, besides being handsome, what is there for a woman to fight over?
“What are you doing?”
Lost in her wandering thoughts, Jing Xiu did not notice Li Ling calling her until the dripping water from the towel had dampened the front of his pants.
Li Ling gave the distracted Jing Shu a displeased look and said curtly: “Pay attention.”
Demanding her service while being so picky – this was the bad habit she had indulged him in her previous life!
Jing Xiu shoved the towel back to Li Ling and said flatly, “We have to hurry over soon. I will go get ready first.” With that, she left the bathroom without looking back.
Back in the bedchamber, Jing Xiu called the maidservants in to assist her with dressing and makeup.
Sitting before the mirror, she looked at her beautiful, flower-like face reflected, comparing it to her later haggard, tormented self, her heart swirling with emotions.
To hell with Li Ling and those rumors, including about Qing Luan! Since she got a second chance, she would live well for herself this time.
In her previous life, after losing her maidenhood and marrying into the Marquis of Zhenguo’s residence, she stopped adorning herself despite her once loving beauty. Her clothes were drab, her accessories plain and simple. She feared the vicious rumors then, worried that dressing gorgeously would lend credence to the gossip, inviting ridicule and embarrassment for Li Ling.
But not in this life. She would not wrong herself again.
Seeing Jing Xiu simply leave him behind, Li Ling felt somewhat displeased. His new wife had been gentle since arriving, yet today she was giving him attitude. Were her previous acts of compliance all just a front during their first month of marriage?
After bathing, Li Ling strode out with a stern face. But upon seeing his wife in the chamber, his eyes lit up.
Jing Xiu was exquisitely adorned in a white floral silk dress with a brilliant crimson overcoat and a blue-green sash accentuating her graceful figure. Her cloud of black hair was piled high with a slanted phoenix hairpin of nine crimson-gold tails adorning it. Her eyebrows arched elegantly over distant, smoky eyes and lips the color of cinnabar.
This petite woman’s ethereal beauty was breathtaking, like a celestial descending or a shining pearl indescribably captivating.
Except for their grand wedding day when she dressed up, Jing Xiu had been dressing modestly throughout their first month of marriage. She, as the new bride, possessed extreme beauty. Even in simple attire and minimal makeup, her charm couldn’t be hidden. However, she still didn’t shine as brightly as when she was all dressed up.
“Come and have breakfast, aren’t we in a hurry to leave?” Jing Xiu called out.
Li Ling responded with a “Hmm” and walked towards her.
The serving maid brought in breakfast, and Jing Xiu and Li Ling sat face to face at the dining table. Li Ling, out of habit, expected his new bride to serve him soup and dishes, but to his surprise, after Jing Xiu served herself, she started eating without paying any attention to him.
Li Ling felt displeased and was about to speak up, but when he glanced at her face it was both enchanting and exuded a hint of coldness, he swallowed his words and served himself the soup instead.
“You don’t need to worry. You’re new to the mansion, and today we have Big Sister attending to the female guests. Just follow Grandmother,” Li Ling thought that his new bride was acting differently because she was nervous about attending guests.
Jing Xiu snorted inwardly, it was rare that he still considered her feelings.
In her previous life, when she had just married into the Duke’s mansion, she happened to attend the old lady’s birthday celebration. As a new bride, she was plagued by rumors and gossip, feeling anxious and uneasy. But when did he ever give a word of guidance?
At that time, she was still unfamiliar with the people in the mansion. In the bustling banquet, she felt neither like a guest nor a host, feeling as if she were being subjected to punishment. The noble ladies looked at her with cold eyes, as if enjoying the spectacle, and she, who was always strong-willed, felt so embarrassed that she wished for death.
In the end, it was Xu Wanning, the sister-in-law busy managing the birthday feast, who couldn’t bear it any longer and led her to the old lady’s side.
At night, she was overwhelmed with embarrassment and cried under the covers. When he returned in the middle of the night and saw her like this, he even asked her with a hint of reproach, “On such a joyous day, why are you crying?”
She had so much grievance inside, but she didn’t dare to complain to him. She was afraid of making him angry, so she bit her lip and choked out that she was homesick.
He didn’t have the patience to ask more questions, and once he got into bed, he acted the same as before, only focusing on endlessly pestering her.
Now, he comes to give her instructions and arrangements, but she doesn’t need them anymore!
With this new chance, she had gained clarity. She didn’t need to deliberately try to please anyone. She had done nothing wrong and had no need to worry about malicious rumors.
“Although a new bride, I am still the Young Master’s wife. For such a major event as the Grandmother’s birthday banquet, there is no reason for Sister-in-law to oversee it alone while I hide in the back. I will assist her in receiving guests today.”
This sister-in-law was Li Ling’s cousin. Among Li Ling’s four brothers of the same generation, there was one cousin, one younger brother, and one half-brother from a different mother.
Li Ling didn’t expect her to be so assertive.
He picked up a shrimp cake and put it in Jing Xiu’s bowl, saying, “That’s good. Then follow your sister-in-law and let her guide you.”
“As for the purple-gold inkstone, I have already fetched it for you and placed it on the small table in the outer room.”
Li Ling took a sip of soup and calmly replied, “Very well, thank you. When Qingluan comes today, you can give her the inkstone.”
Jing Xiu lowered her eyelids and replied coldly, “I’m sorry, I can’t do it for you.”
Li Ling paused when he heard this, put down the bowl of soup in his hand, and asked, “Why?”
With an impassive expression, Jing Shu answered, “I am not acquainted with her. If you wish to give her something, you can do so yourself.”
(End of this chapter)