Li Ling, accompanied by Jing Xiu, left the elegant pavilion and headed towards the lake shore.
The person in charge of the lake had already received orders and had the boat rowed to the shore.
Li Ling helped Jing Xiu onto the boat.
The old woman rowing the boat had seen this handsome heir before, but it was her first time seeing the heir’s wife.
She only glanced at Jing Xiu and was stunned.
Most of the servants here came from the palace, and this boatwoman was no exception. Although she was a menial servant in the palace, she had spent half her life there and had seen countless beauties.
Yet none were as breathtaking as the young master’s wife before her.
This young woman was so beautiful, saying she was a celestial maiden descended from the heavens would not be an exaggeration.
“There’s no need for service here, you may go,” Li Ling instructed the boatwoman.
Only then did the boatwoman come to her senses, hurriedly shifting her gaze away from Jing Xiu, and said with trepidation, “I am ordered to serve the young master and his wife well.”
Li Ling took the bamboo pole for rowing and said, “I, the young master, can row the boat myself.”
The old woman hastily argued, “Such work should be left to me.” While saying this, her eyes still roved over the “fairy” standing at the bow of the boat.
Li Ling stood at the bow of the boat, silent, his gaze turning cold as he looked at the old woman.
Seeing the young master’s displeased expression, the old woman let go and replied with a forced smile, “Since the young master does not require my services, I shall leave.”
With that, the old woman walked awkwardly down from the boat, and as she was about to step onto the shore, she couldn’t help but steal another glance at Jing Xiu.
Such a beauty, the more one looks, the more one wants to see, but never enough.
But the young master did not allow her to serve on the boat, otherwise, she would have feasted her eyes. Muttering to herself, the boatwoman tripped over the side of the boat as she disembarked.
Jing Xiu quickly called out, “Be careful, granny!”
The old woman, heeding Jing Xiu’s warning, quickly grabbed the mast and managed not to fall.
Still shaken, she looked at Jing Xiu, her face blooming into a chrysanthemum smile, and hurriedly replied, “Thank you for the warning, madam.”
“You are too kind,” Jing Xiu said with a slight smile.
A person as beautiful as a fairy, with a voice even sweeter than the oriole’s song, and so kind-hearted.
Such a “fairy” is truly rare and cherished.
After the boat woman got ashore, she still couldn’t resist looking back at the boat.
Unfortunately, as soon as Li Ling saw her leave the boat, he pushed off, placing his tall frame in front of the fairy, blocking her completely.
She could not take another look, no matter how much she wished to.
The boat was exquisitely crafted and sailed very steadily. Being a new boat, one could still smell the faint scent of wood while sitting at the bow.
The lake water was clear to the bottom, and as the boat moved slowly over the shimmering surface, the various fish raised in the lake, accustomed to being fed by people, competed to follow the boat.
Jing Xiu sat at the bow, looking at the rippling blue waves, and suddenly remembered that her first encounter with Li Ling was in the water.
That Dragon Boat Festival, she was boating on the lake with her father, stepmother, and siblings. She was pulled by her sister to watch the fish at the bow when unexpectedly, the railing loosened, and her sister nearly fell into the water. She quickly grabbed her sister, only to fall into the water herself.
She couldn’t swim and struggled in panic in the water, vaguely seeing someone swimming towards her. Then she was firmly grasped by a strong arm and lifted halfway out of the water, gasping for air. Only after catching her breath did she realize that a man was holding her, and in the chaos, her own arms were wrapped around his neck.
He quickly let go, but his heart felt as if it had plunged into an icy abyss.
She had been saved by a man in such a manner.
Her reputation!
She was a well-known young lady in Chang’an, and after such an incident, how was she to live on?
She was only sixteen, and her life was ruined by this accident!
Afterward, as expected, the gossip about her falling into the water and being saved by the young master of the Zhenguo Duke’s House became the hot topic in Chang’an, with various rumors swirling around.
She stayed indoors all day and even fell seriously ill because of it, thinking to herself: Why did he save her? It would have been better to let her drown in the lake.
At that time, she was young and stubborn, truly resolved to die.
Unexpectedly, not long after, someone from the Duke of Zhen’s Manor came to propose marriage.
Her parents naturally had no reason to refuse.
In terms of family background, she was indeed marrying above her station.
If it weren’t for this incident, she could never have married into such a prestigious family.
Some, envious of her fortune born from misfortune, deliberately slandered her reputation, saying she had fallen into the water on purpose, scheming to cling to Li Ling.
She was deeply hurt when she heard this, thinking at the time that if the Duke of Zhen’s Manor did not come to propose, if Li Ling did not marry her, she really could not go on living.
Those rumors and slanders were enough to take her life.
At that time, she was truly grateful to Li Ling, thinking: Since Li Ling was willing to take responsibility and marry her, she would be good to him, utterly devoted and obedient.
It was he who saved her, twice.
It’s just a pity that in the end, in her previous life, she still did not manage to be without regrets towards him.
“What are you thinking about? You’re so lost in thought.” The boat had reached the center of the lake, and Li Ling put down the pole, walked over to Jing Xiu, and sat down beside her.
Jing Xiu turned her head, looked at him with a smile, and said, “I wasn’t thinking about anything.”
Li Ling saw her clear, apricot eyes glistening with moisture and drew her into his embrace, gazing at the boundless lake and asked as if to himself, “Are you not happy to be married to me?”
Jing Xiu lifted her head from his chest and looked at him, asking, “Why would you say that, my husband?”
Li Ling turned his gaze away, looking at his young wife and said, “I see you always seem to be preoccupied with heavy thoughts.”
In this life, he actually cared about her so much.
In her previous life, she was sullen every day, more downcast than now, and he had never cared.
To be fair, in this life, Li Ling had been good to her, and she should not dwell on the resentment she held against him in her previous life.
That would be unfair to Li Ling.
She herself could not be cheerful.
One must always look forward.
“My husband is a noble man, caring and protective of me. I am not unhappy to be married to you; on the contrary, I feel very fortunate,” Jing Xiu said, leaning her head on his shoulder.
Hearing her words, Li Ling’s lips curved into a smile, and he tightened his embrace, unable to find the right words to respond.
He was silent for a long while, then suddenly said, “The carp in this lake are especially delicious. I’ll catch one for you to eat.”
Saying this, Li Ling stood up and went to the cabin, returning shortly with a fishing rod. He stood tall and straight in front of Jing Xiu, an excited expression on his resolute and handsome face, his bright eyes looking at her as he said, “Wait for me, I’ll catch a fish for you right now.”
His demeanor and words carried a hint of childlike innocence.
Li Ling: I would, for you, ascend to the heavens to capture the moon, or dive into the lake to catch fish.
Jing Xiu: I want neither the moon nor the fish; all I desire is your sincere affection.
(End of this chapter)