Chapter 6

Chapter 6

“Siming, what’s wrong?”

“What does it have to do with you?”

I knew my expression must have looked awful, shifting again and again, but in the end, reason won out.

I didn’t dare gamble with my future. I couldn’t afford to lose.

Flirting with Li Huaiyi might feel satisfying for a moment, but it would drag me into endless trouble. The marriage alliance between our two families was tangled too deeply. My fate might end up even worse than Lady Mei’s.

“What are you doing here? Got nothing better to do? Didn’t you know to keep your distance when you saw me? Siyuan has been going on and on about that Eight-Treasure Ruyi Hairpin you promised her and still haven’t given her. What, did you forget again? Is that why you’re hiding here?”

I put on my elder-sister airs and lectured him, bringing up Siyuan at every turn in an attempt to wipe away the strange atmosphere from earlier. But no matter what I said, Li Huaiyi only smiled. He remained as tolerant as ever, then pressed a handkerchief into my hand and left.

It was like punching cotton. Just as I was about to breathe a sigh of relief, another voice came from above my head, startling me.

“Are you done crying?”

I looked up and saw a youth, not quite grown, sitting on the rockery with a faint flush on his face and an expression like he was enjoying the show.

Not knowing who he was, I nodded first and replied, “I’m done.”

“Why were you crying?”

“The Princess Consort gave my husband a concubine.”

“Why did you stop crying?”

“Because crying won’t help.”

“Not because you’ve already come up with a plan?”

Seeing that mocking expression, I knew he had watched the whole little scene just now.

“I have come up with a plan.” I tilted my head back and told him without the slightest guilt, “I have houses, land, and shops. I can live perfectly well on my own. I’m not going back there just to swallow that anger.”

“You can really bear to let go?”

“Qi Wei isn’t some golden treasure. What’s there for me to be unable to let go of?”

“I meant Li Huaiyi.” He rested one hand on his bent knee, tilted his head slightly, and looked down at me from above as he continued, “Or are you planning to become his kept woman after you divorce? Siyuan is a little madcap. You’ll have plenty of trouble in the future.”

“Thank you for the reminder. His status is noble, and I’m not worthy of him, so you can save yourself the worry.”

“Then what about the Qi Family? Don’t you wield all the power there? You’re giving that up too?”

“Those who abandon me cannot be kept. You’re old enough to have read that much, aren’t you? If you want to see wives and concubines living in harmony, you can go home and look for your mother. Admire that grand-lady bearing of hers instead!”

With that, I turned and left, refusing to let this half-grown boy pick apart my state of mind.

What was he doing? Since when was it his turn to look down on me?

I had compromised, but that didn’t mean just anyone could step on me!