Chapter 5
Chapter 5
At dawn, Meng Ye returned to the manor, bringing a chill with him.
That young girl had left a striking love bite on his neck.
I pointed at the nauseating red mark and joked, “The person outside is quite bold. She likely doesn’t know the temper of the Su Family. She might end up dead halfway down the road without ever knowing why.”
Meng Ye looked at the bracelet I had smashed, his brow twitching. “It’s just a red rash from accidentally eating peanuts. Why would the bracelet break for no reason?”
I replied with a faint smile, “Jade is brittle; it cannot compare to the resilience of a Dongzhu Pearl. Relatively speaking, I still prefer the Dongzhu Pearl.”
His gaze darkened as he searched my face for an answer.
Unmoved, I simply handed him the medicinal soup his mother drank daily. “Golden Gardenia Jade is too precious. Now that Consort Shu is pregnant, she needs it for herself, so I cannot ask for more. As for Mother’s side, I’ll have to trouble you to go yourself.”
“After all, a thousand instances of care and diligence cannot compare to a single moment of dissatisfaction when it comes to losing someone’s heart.”
Meng Ye confronted me in silence for a long while before finally taking the bowl.
“Serving Mother has always been what you are best at. Fine, since you’ve come to me with this request, I will make the trip for you.”
Watching his tall, upright figure step out the door, I added nonchalantly, “Fulfilling one’s filial duty is always for one’s own sake. For fifteen years, I have been devoted and diligent only because I never treated any of you as outsiders. You shouldn’t forget that.”
Meng Ye turned back in surprise, but I held my teacup and didn’t spare him a single glance.
Carrying a belly full of doubts, he went to his mother’s courtyard for another hour of scheming.
“If he knew that the medicine he brings her day and night is meant to take his mother’s life, would he still be able to smile?”
Lian Cheng had never seen me with eyes so bloodshot with hatred. Hidden in the darkness, he did not reveal himself; even I did not know where he stood.
“The girl outside is so ostentatious and has tried to intimidate me so many times. Shouldn’t I send a return gift? I recall that Deputy General Wen has a hot temper and cannot tolerate a grain of sand in his eye. If his daughter is making such a public spectacle of herself, shouldn’t he do something about it?”
Like a gust of wind, the treetops trembled, and I knew Lian Cheng had gone.
That night, under his mother’s warnings, Meng Ye grew wary of me. Fearing that the girl he had hidden away might be discovered and harmed by me, he no longer dared to run to the western part of the city.
However, that girl was far too tactless, sending people to call for him again and again.
Watching Meng Ye’s restlessness and frequent lapses in concentration-to the point where he didn’t even notice a glob of ink falling from his brush onto the paper-I stopped my writing.
“If you have business, you may go and attend to it first. Being so divided will only result in losing both ends.”
His face turned pale, and he fearfully pulled his thoughts back. “No, I specifically cleared a day to accompany you.”
Despite his words, less than half an hour later, amidst a servant’s panicked hesitation, he used the excuse of urgent business to leave the manor. He tossed the scriptures he had been halfway through copying for our child to me.
As his hurried figure was about to cross the courtyard gate, I couldn’t help but call out, “The roads are slippery in the rain; be careful with every step you take. After all, at our age, it is not easy to ensure everything is handled steadily. If you truly take a great fall, everything will be gone!”
His back stiffened for a moment, but he left resolutely anyway.
I withdrew my gaze, my voice cold. “I hope you won’t act a fool for love.”