From outside, the maidservant announced, “Fourth Prince has arrived.”
The dowager’s feelings were stirred up by the earlier incident with the Third Miss, responded calmly, “Let him in.”
The crystal curtains parted slightly, and a young man stepped in. He wore a white silk robe, tall and slender. This was the Fourth Master, Li Yu.
Unlike Li Ling’s dashing nobility or Third Master Li Xiang’s exquisite handsomeness, Li Yu exuded a strong scholarly air, with a hint of melancholy between his brows.
Third Miss had just been reprimanded by Li Ling, so she naturally wouldn’t provoke this half-brother she disliked during the banquet. Although the others were also not close to him, there was no need to provoke conflict. With the cheerful eldest sister-in-law, Xu Wanning, overseeing the proceedings, the family feast went smoothly.
After the banquet ended as the moon rose over the willows, everyone retired in groups of three or two.
Jing Xiu followed Li Ling back towards Qingfeng Garden.
Halfway there, Mei Zi, the senior maid beside the Third Miss, caught up and relayed to Jing Xiu, “The Third Miss asked this servant to tell the Second Madam that the Dowager has agreed for you to accompany her to the Deer Garden. She said you should prepare, as you’ll leave tomorrow at noon.”
It seemed Third Miss had only mentioned this to the elderly lady after everyone had left. Since the granddaughter wanted to stay with her mother for a few days, the Dowager naturally didn’t object.
Jing Xiu replied, “Very well. Tell Third Miss that I’ll accompany her tomorrow.”
Once Meizi left, Li Ling turned to Jing Xiu. “What’s going on? Why do you both suddenly want to go to the Deer Garden?”
Jing Xiu briefly recounted the events of today—how she had taken Third Miss out to choose fabrics for new clothes and encountered the Grand Princess along the way.
Li Ling did not say much more, and the two walked back to Qingfeng Garden in silence.
Upon returning to her room, Jing Xiu went into the inner chamber. After washing up, she saw Li Ling sitting in a chair, staring fixedly at her.
This gaze meant he had something to say.
Jing Xiu asked, “Do you have something to discuss with me?”
Li Ling asked, “Do you know about Second Aunt being punished to the ancestral temple by Grandmother?”
Li Ling would not discuss family affairs lightly, so suddenly bringing up Second Aunt must have a reason. Jing Xiu nodded and asked, “Why do you ask?”
As expected, Li Ling got straight to the point, “Was it you who gave Elder Sister the idea?”
Jing Xiu pretended to be clueless. “What idea? Second Aunt was sent to the ancestral temple by Grandmother. It has nothing to do with Elder Sister.” She glanced at Li Ling and added coldly, “And it certainly has nothing to do with me.”
Li Ling replied, “The exchanged looks between you and Elder Sister at today’s banquet could not escape my notice. With Elder Sister’s personality, how could she come up with such an idea herself?”
That Second Aunt Guo took advantage of her status as the matriarch to bully her daughter-in-law and deprive a mother of her own child – it was only natural to be outraged.
It was indeed Jing Xiu’s idea, but Second Aunt Guo deserved this punishment.
Since he had seen through it, Jing Shu no longer pretended, simply replying, “Fine, you’ve seen through it. So what?”
Seeing her displeasure, Li Ling walked over and explained, “I’m not blaming you. Second Aunt can indeed go too far sometimes, but she is still an elder after all. We as juniors should be more understanding.”
True, she was an elder, but fairness mattered too.
Jing Xiu thought to herself: For Li Ling to say such things, he must be as blindly filial as Li Xian.
Fortunately she had the Grand Princess as her mother-in-law, someone too dignified to seek validation by making things difficult for her daughter-in-law. If she had encountered someone as troublesome as Second Aunt Guo, Li Ling would definitely side with her like Li Xian did, never sympathizing nor standing up for her. Her life would likely be even harder than Xu Wanning’s.
“Husband is right.” Jing Xiu did not want to discuss this topic further with Li Ling. She lightly tossed out this sentence before getting into bed to rest.
Seeing Jing Xiu’s attitude, Li Ling felt rather unhappy in his heart. But after their dispute over going to Marshal Zhou’s manor for the ceremony last time, he realized this new wife of his was quite opinionated. Although inwardly vexed by Jing Xiu’s perfunctory indifference towards him, he also felt somewhat helpless.
He just could not understand why this new wife had been acting strange towards him since his grandmother’s birthday banquet.
She seemed very dissatisfied with him, guarded and distant.
Jing Xiu turned over and saw Li Ling sitting cross-legged right beside her. Surprised, she asked him, “Why isn’t the Young Master sleeping?”
Today after strolling around for half a day with the Third Miss, Jing Xiu was indeed tired. She was about to doze off when Li Ling got into bed after washing up, disturbing her drowsiness. She thought she could settle back to sleep once he lay down, but Li Ling did not lie down after getting into bed.
Jing Xiu turned over and saw Li Ling sitting cross-legged right beside her. Surprised, she asked, “Why aren’t you sleeping?”
Li Ling remained silent, reaching out to pull her up.
The limited space on the bed forced them to face each other. Li Ling’s intense aura brushed against Jing Xiu’s face, making her feel slightly uncomfortable.
Jing Xiu looked at Li Ling questioningly, “Does the Young Master have something more to ask?”
Li Ling reached out and gently tucked the stray hairs behind Jing Xiu’s ear.
This small action seemed extremely unusual to Jing Xiu. She instinctively leaned back slightly.
Li Ling spoke, “You’ve been married into the manor for over a month now. In these days, I’ve been busy with official duties and neglected you. I don’t know if you’ve gotten used to things here in the manor?”
In her previous life with him for five years, he had never said such words to her, as if she marrying him meant she had to abide by all his rules and duties, and everything she did and endured for him was simply her obligation.
Suddenly hearing him speak like this stirred Jing Xiu’s heart. After a silence, she softly replied, “Everyone treats me well. I haven’t faced any difficulties.”
Indeed, she was educated and sensible, acting cautiously and steadily. Since entering the manor, she had managed her interactions with everyone smoothly.
The Dowager liked her, the Elder Sister treated her as a confidante, her sister-in-law loved clinging to her, even that usually aloof Princess Mother seemed to look upon her favorably.
She should have no difficulties adjusting.
The only question was, why was she so distant towards him?
Could it be that their time together was too short?
“If you have any troubles, you can tell me,” Li Ling said to her, his voice gentler than she had ever heard.
Under the brilliant moonlight filtering through the gauze canopy, his chiseled features were bathed in a soft glow. This Li Ling was different from the one she knew—more caring and understanding.
In their past life, she had faced many difficulties. If he had spoken to her like this back then, offering to help, would she still have grown disheartened?
Jing Xiu’s eyes stung, and she forced a smile. “I don’t have any difficulties, nor anything to confide with the Young Master.” With that, she turned away and lay down, her back to him.
A moment later, Li Ling also lay down. Jing Xiu instinctively shifted slightly toward the inner side, leaving a distance between them—not too close, not too far.
Jing Xiu calmed her thoughts. After a while, drowsiness returned, and she closed her eyes to sleep. Suddenly, she felt Li Ling move closer, his body pressed against hers. He wrapped an arm around her waist and whispered, “I forgot to ask earlier, how many days do you plan to stay in the Deer Garden with the Third Miss?”
Jing Xiu replied vaguely, “Let’s see. It depends on mother-in-law’s wishes.”
Li Ling was about to say something when Jing Xiu interjected, “Let’s sleep. I’m tired.”
Li Ling’s inner monologue: I can’t fathom why you’re so indifferent to me.
Jing Xiu’s response: Think about it more.
(End of this chapter)