Chapter 3

For an entire month, Li Ruolan did not see Xie Bi.

She did not even send him a message.

This had never happened before.

Xie Bi found it unsettling. He actually came to her courtyard himself, only to be stopped at the door by a maid.

“My lord, the mistress is unwell. Please go back.”

He frowned.

“Still sulking over that business? I only said a few words to her. What a temper!”

Inside, Li Ruolan heard him and immediately started to rise, ready to argue. I pressed her back into her chair.

The young maid outside had no idea how to respond. Then she saw me come out.

“My lord, your wife has been ill for several days. She really cannot receive anyone.”

Xie Bi still treated me with a measure of respect.

“She’s dragged you into this too, Aunt Chun? Who does she think she is?”

I shook my head.

“She is the mistress of the household. When she’s ill, it’s only proper that I visit her. How does that make her presumptuous?”

“Is she really ill?” He sounded doubtful.

I nodded and said softly,

“Mostly a sickness of the heart. It reminds me of your mother, all those years ago. Give your wife a little more time, my lord. She’ll recover.”

At the mention of his mother, Xie Bi remembered the unhappy woman forever caught between his father and his father’s women.

A trace of guilt and tenderness crossed his face.

“Ah, I was too hasty that day. Very well. Let her rest. Tell me if she needs anything. I’ll come back when she’s better.”

Once we had seen him off, the little maid by the door breathed a sigh of relief.

“You always know what to do, Aunt Chun! I thought the master was going to scold the mistress again.”

Li Ruolan sat dazed inside.

“Since I learned about his mistress, that’s the first time he’s admitted he was wrong… Aunt Chun, it’s all thanks to you.”

I pressed my lips into a smile.

“Not at all. You kept your composure, my lady. Don’t rush. We’re only just beginning.”

“What next? Do I keep refusing to see him?”

She asked tentatively.

I gave her a mysterious smile.

“You can’t let him see you whenever he pleases. But you mustn’t keep him away altogether, either. Let him look, but don’t let him touch. That will torment him nicely.”

A few days later, a relative came to visit the Xie estate.

Since Li Ruolan was ill, Xie Bi had to receive the guest alone.

Without a mistress to manage things these past days, the household had grown rather chaotic.

The relative had been sitting there for ages, and no one had even brought tea.

Xie Bi was embarrassed.

“My wife’s been feeling unwell. Forgive the poor hospitality.”

Just then, a gentle voice sounded outside the door.

“I’m late. How remiss of me to neglect our honored guest.”

Li Ruolan entered with a gracious smile.

Xie Bi’s gaze went straight to her.

She wore a soft blue dress. The color was understated, but the fabric was superb, making her look all the more dignified and refined.

Her black hair was swept high and adorned with only a few exquisite ornaments.

She was thinner, but her complexion was good. There was a delicate charm about her.

After more than a month apart, Li Ruolan seemed a different woman.

Xie Bi could not have said exactly what had changed.

And then there was her manner: courteous, attentive, poised. She carried herself with precisely the bearing a mistress of the household should have.

He had spent so much time with his mistress lately that comparisons were inevitable.

Pretty though the other woman was, she came from an ordinary family. She lacked this elegance.

The more he thought about it, the harder he found it to take his eyes off Li Ruolan.

Li Ruolan seemed entirely unaware.

After seeing the relative off, she turned wearily to Xie Bi.

“If you have business elsewhere, my lord, please go. Don’t concern yourself with me. I’m tired. I’ll return to my rooms and rest.”

Xie Bi was hardly willing to let her leave.

“Why do you keep sending me away? I won’t go anywhere today. Let me stay here and keep you company.”

The sun really must have risen in the west. Even Li Ruolan could not hide her surprise.

“You’re staying with me today? Will… she agree?”

Thinking his wife jealous, Xie Bi felt secretly pleased. He put on a show of annoyance.

“You are my lawfully wedded wife. Do I need anyone else’s permission to stay with you?”

He stepped forward and took her hand.

“Lan’er, why are your hands so cold? Are you still unwell…?”

Li Ruolan tried to pull away, but he held on.

“Why have you been so distant with me lately, Lan’er?”

While they were caught in this exchange, a servant came to the door. Seeing Li Ruolan, he hunched his shoulders and spoke very cautiously.

“My lord, someone has come from… Miss Rou’s house. They say she has stomach pains. Something may be wrong with the baby… She asks you to come.”

Xie Bi looked guilty.

His wife had yet to bear him a legitimate son, and already his mistress was pregnant. There was no respectable way to explain that.

To his surprise, Li Ruolan used the opportunity to withdraw her hand. She did not argue.

“You had better go, my lord. I couldn’t bear the blame if something really did happen.”

He hesitated.

“Perhaps I should send a physician first. I can wait and see.”

“Go, my lord. I’ve been entertaining all day. I’m tired and cannot attend to you.”

She actually began urging him out.

The servant pressed him again. Xie Bi had no choice but to turn away.

Before leaving, he looked back.

“Lan’er, why do I feel you can’t wait to be rid of me?”

She smiled.

“What nonsense. Off you go.”

“I’ll be back soon. We’ll have dinner together!”

Even at the courtyard gate, Xie Bi was still reluctant to leave, turning back to call this assurance.

The moment he was gone, I appeared.

“Thank you for rescuing me, Aunt Chun. I really didn’t know how to deal with him.”

Li Ruolan breathed out in relief.

I had deliberately let the mistress’s messenger through.

Today’s plan had always been to let Xie Bi look without getting what he wanted.

But I had not expected Li Ruolan to seem genuinely unwilling for him to stay.

“Haven’t you always wished he’d spend more time with you, my lady? What brought about this change?”

I was half teasing.

“I don’t know. I used to wish he would stay by my side every day.”

She knitted her brows.

“But today, when he touched me, I felt… an unbearable disgust.”