Everyone stood under the eaves, watching the rain and hoping for it to stop.
In the distance, a young maidservant hurriedly walked over, holding an umbrella. She bowed slightly to Lanling and respectfully said, “Reporting to Princess, the Marquis’s son is outside and said he came to pick up Madam Shen.”
All eyes turned towards Jing Xiu. Lanling was initially surprised but quickly recovered and smiled, saying, “I didn’t expect my nephew to be so considerate.”
Jing Xiu blushed slightly and replied, “He happened to be going out today, so it’s on his way.”
Xu Wanning said, “Then we will leave first. I brought the new bride out today, and if our Second Young Master has to wait too long, he might get anxious.” As she spoke, she glanced at Zhou Qing with a meaningful look.
A maid brought an umbrella, and after bidding farewell to Xu Wanning and Lanling, Jing Xiu left the main hall and walked outside.
The rain wasn’t heavy. After they left, the others also bid their farewells and went their separate ways.
It wasn’t that they were in a hurry to go home, but hearing that the dignified and stern Marquis’s son personally came to pick up his wife, greatly aroused their curiosity.
Could someone like Li Ling do such a thing?
Could it be that Shen Jing Xiu arranged this performance to dispel the rumors that “Li Ling had no choice but to marry her”?
They had to see it with their own eyes to believe it!
Especially Zhou Qing, who couldn’t wait and had already called a maid to hold an umbrella and left the house first.
The once fragrant and lively main hall was now filled with the opening and closing of colorful umbrellas.
Li Ling sat in the carriage and saw a group of women gradually coming out of the main gate. Among the colorful figures, his new wife stood out the most.
In the misty rain, his new wife wore a pale blue silk dress, and her clothes fluttered gently as she slowly walked towards him in the drizzle.
Li Ling got up from the carriage.
Liang Jin, the attendant waiting outside, didn’t expect Li Ling to get out of the carriage, so he quickly held up a black umbrella to shield him from the rain.
Jing Xiu walked up to him, her beautiful face even more enchanting in the misty rain.
She smiled at Li Ling and said, “Why did the Young Master come?”
Li Ling didn’t answer, but instead reached out his hand to her.
Jing Xiu hesitated for a moment before placing her hand in his. He tightly held her delicate hand and helped her onto the carriage. Then, Li Ling took a big step and got on the carriage as well.
The renowned Marquis’s son treated this young wife with such tenderness.
Satisfied with their curiosity being fulfilled, the noble ladies boarded their own carriages in groups of two or three.
Xu Wanning coldly glanced at Zhou Qing, who was standing in the rain, and pretended to be ignorant as she asked, “Oh! Miss Zhou, why haven’t you gotten on the carriage yet?”
Only then did Zhou Qing snap out of her daze. Her gaze quickly shifted from Li Ling’s carriage and she stammered, “I, I’m about to, leave.”
Zhou Qing was assisted onto her own carriage by her maidservant. Before she could even settle down, she impatiently lifted the curtain and stared at the carriage: the door was tightly closed, and she couldn’t see anything.
It was just Li Ling and Shen Jing Xiu inside the carriage. She wondered what they would do in there.
As she thought about it, she couldn’t help but recall the scene of their first meeting on the polo field that year.
He was wearing a red polo uniform, riding a white horse, galloping on the field. His handsome and agile figure stood out. The radiant aura he exuded made everyone else pale in comparison.
Just one glance, and she could never forget it.
What would it feel like to be embraced by such a handsome and powerful man?
Zhou Qing’s face turned red, and she felt a slight heat in her body.
Upon returning to the Marquis’s residence, Li Ling got off the carriage first. The road was already wet, with a thin layer of water forming.
Li Ling reached out his hand towards her, and just as Jing Xiu was about to hold his hand to get off the carriage, he instead lifted her and held her in his arms.
Zi Yun walked ahead, holding an umbrella for Jing Xiu. The rain had stopped, and only a few droplets were still carried by the wind. Li Ling didn’t hold an umbrella and followed behind them. The three of them entered Qingfeng Garden together.
Upon returning to the main house, Zi Yun went to prepare ginger tea for Jing Xiu.
Inside the room, only Li Ling and Jing Xiu remained. When they came back, Li Ling didn’t hold an umbrella, and his summer clothes were light and thin, with a large wet patch on his shoulder from the raindrops.
Jing Xiu found dry clothes from the wardrobe and handed them to Li Ling, saying, “Quickly change out of these damp clothes. It’s uncomfortable to wear them when they’re wet.”
Li Ling looked at her but didn’t reach out to take the clothes.
Jing Xiu put down the clothes and helped him change.
He had put aside his pride to come and pick her up. For someone like Li Ling to do this, it was not easy. She wasn’t an ungrateful person either. If he had the intention to reconcile, she wouldn’t play hard to get anymore.
Men shouldn’t be spoiled, but if they show improvement, they should be rewarded with a sweet date. This way, they would be more obedient in the future.
As soon as he took off his outer clothes, Li Ling embraced her and lifted her onto the bed.
Although they had only spent two nights not sleeping together, he seemed like a hungry wolf, passionately entwining with her on the bed.
Zi Yun and Bi Lü finished brewing the ginger tea and returned to the main room. Seeing that the door to the inner room was tightly closed and hearing the joyful music from inside, Zi Yun gestured to Bi Lü to keep quiet.
“Let’s go prepare some water.” Zi Yun said.
Bi Lü was young and hadn’t spent the night in the outer room before, so she looked confused. “Why do we need to prepare water in broad daylight?”
Zi Yun didn’t know how to explain this to a child.
“Oh no, sister, listen. It sounds like the young miss is crying,” Bi Lü exclaimed upon hearing the commotion from inside.
Zi Yun urged, “Don’t worry about that. Let’s go quickly.”
Bi Lü widened her eyes and looked at Zi Yun with confusion. “Why do I hear the young miss crying and begging the Young Master for mercy? Could it be that the young miss offended the Young Master a few days ago, and now he’s going to punish her?”
Zi Yun’s ears turned red.
“That’s none of your concern. Come with me quickly,” Zi Yun urged.
Bi Lü looked worried and said, “Sister, listen. It sounds like the young miss is crying miserably. Shouldn’t we go in and comfort her?” She was genuinely concerned that their delicate mistress was being mistreated by the Marquis’s son.
Zi Yun was too lazy to argue with her any further and forcefully pulled her out of the main room. “You don’t need to prepare water and don’t cause any more trouble here. Go rest wherever it’s cool.”
In the end, Jing Xiu was carried by Li Ling to the bathroom, where she soaked in warm water for a while before feeling revived.
Her face was flushed, her almond-shaped eyes glistening with moisture. There were tiny water droplets on her feathery eyelashes. She looked at Li Ling, who was also soaking in the tub, and said, “Let’s stop here for today, okay?”
Her tone was soft, carrying a hint of pleading.
Perhaps she had indeed been tormented too much just now. Seeing her so exhausted, Li Ling nodded slightly.
Seeing that he finally agreed, she gave him a faint smile, her tender little face radiating brilliance.
He then moved closer to her again.
“Li Ling, how can you go back on your word like this?”
Jing Xiu cried even more miserably this time.
Note: In the story, there are many wives in the Marquis’s residence, so to distinguish them, they each use their own surnames.
Jing Xiu’s surname is Shen, so she is referred to as Madam Shen.
In ancient times, although women took their husband’s surname, in large families, to differentiate them, they were called by their own surnames.
(End of this chapter)