Chapter 5
Chapter 5
My hands kept moving as I met his eyes and answered respectfully, “If my husband wishes to tell me, he naturally will. I am not in any hurry.”
Instead, he laughed and lifted one hand to stroke my cheek.
“Your sister and I only had a few misunderstandings before. Don’t take it to heart.”
“Lan Yin, you’re even more sensible than I imagined. Marrying you truly was the right choice.”
I smiled without saying anything. The ice in my hand had melted quite a bit, and the redness and swelling on Shen Xiu’s face had gone down.
Only the mark could still be seen.
The First Madam still had not returned. I was just considering whether to send someone to hurry her along.
Then Xiao Hu suddenly barged in, looking rushed and alarmed. Shen Xiu asked what had happened, and only then did he explain.
“Young Master, Miss Chen left a letter behind and went off.”
“She should have just reached the ferry by now.”
The moment Shen Xiu heard this, he rose to his feet. Before he could speak, I spoke first.
“Husband, go find Miss Chen. It is hardly safe for a woman to be out there alone.”
“I happen to want to speak with my mother for a while. Once it gets dark, I will return to the manor on my own.”
After hearing me say that, he did not say a single word. He turned and left with Xiao Hu.
I wound my way through the estate and returned to the courtyard where I had lived since childhood.
The courtyard had been fitted with new doors and windows. At night, they probably would never creak softly again.
I called out, “Mother.”
The woman came out of the room and urged me anxiously, “Why have you come to my courtyard? Hurry back. Don’t let others think you don’t know proper etiquette.”
I held her hand and pulled her inside. “Shen Xiu went after that young cousin of his, and the First Madam went to look for my elder sister. They have no time to care about me.”
As soon as I finished speaking, her eyes reddened. “My daughter, you are not living well.”
I refuted her before her tears could fall.
“Mother, why would you think I am not living well?”
“I am living very well, Mother.”
Before I even leave the house, the carriage is already waiting at the gate.
The moment I lift my hand, maids dress me in my clothes.
Everyone respectfully addresses me as Madam. Compared with the old days when I never had enough to eat or warm clothes to wear, I am living far more comfortably than I ever imagined.
“But your husband abandoned you on the day of your home visit. He…”
My mother was too soft-hearted. Back then, Master Xie had fallen in love with her at first sight, and she, a proper young lady, had entered Xie Manor as a concubine.
I interrupted her. “Mother, romantic love is the most useless thing in the world.”
The First Madam appreciates me, and the account books have already been sent to my room.
That is the real, tangible thing I need to hold in my hands.
She did not understand, but she understood that her daughter was living well. That was enough.
She smiled through her tears again, held my hand, and reminded me to be cautious in all things.
Only when the sun slanted west did I leave.
Shen Xiu had gone, and the First Madam had no heart to keep up appearances, but I had not expected my elder sister to be waiting at the gate specifically for me.
Seeing that I was alone, she scoffed and said, “He went after his beloved?”
“The same old trick, but this lifetime, it actually happened earlier.”
I smiled without making a sound. She forced a smile. “You really do have a good temper.”
After saying that, she waved her hand again. “Forget it. Forget it. Ever since we were little, you have kept everything bottled up. I don’t expect you to say anything.”
“My grudges with Shen Xiu are settled now, but you are still my sister after all.”
“I worry that you are no match for his beloved. If, in the future, you feel you have nowhere to go, you can send a letter back.”
I looked at the way she refused to speak softly, and suddenly I remembered when the tutor came to teach lessons when we were children.
I had been so envious I could hardly stand it, but she had said stubbornly, “From now on, you are responsible for waking me up and organizing my brushes, ink, paper, and inkstone.”
And that was how I learned to read.
The afterglow of sunset fell over her, just like the way the evening sun had fallen on her after the tutor finished his lesson.
I said, “Thank you, Sister. Lan Yin understands.”