Chapter 120

Chapter 120

As soon as Wen’an entered, he carefully made his way to the Marquis on silent feet. The closer he got, the stronger the smell of alcohol became. His master had always been fastidious and would never have tolerated such a smell on himself before.

Knowing what the Marquis wanted to hear, Wen’an lowered his voice. “I only saw the maid. Miss Ji probably didn’t come out.”

The moment he finished speaking, Wen’an distinctly felt the air around the Marquis grow even colder.

He hurriedly continued, “The maid came to see me and handed me a box. She said it contained something Miss Ji wished to return to the Marquis.”

As he spoke, Wen’an held out the box.

He had not opened it, so he had no idea what was inside.

But the instant he offered it up and raised his head slightly, the coldness radiating from the Marquis startled him.

That stern, unapproachable face was particularly terrifying when it turned icy. Back when the Marquis conducted interrogations at the government office, who could look upon that face without feeling at least a little guilty?

Wen’an was so frightened that his heart lurched. He repeatedly went over his words, wondering what he had said wrong – or what could possibly be inside the box.

He truly could not imagine what Miss Ji might have to return to the Marquis.

Still holding the box, he scarcely dared to breathe.

Shen Si silently took the box from Wen’an and opened it. He lowered his gaze to the pair of earrings inside. He had personally selected the jade for Ji Hanyi, drawn the design himself, and inspected every last detail as they were made for her.

Yet in her eyes, they meant so little.

His emotions threatened to burst free, and his heart ached as though a dagger had sliced it open. He picked up the earrings and held them in his palm.

“Her maid handed these to you herself?”

After asking, Shen Si closed his eyes tightly, the veins standing out across the back of his hand.

He found himself utterly ridiculous. She had returned the token of his feelings, yet he still clung to a shred of hope, trying to find some excuse for her.

He knew he was not truly making excuses for her. He was making them for himself – for his own obsession with her.

He wanted proof that she cared about him, even if only a little.

Seeing the Marquis’s expression, Wen’an’s heart pounded wildly. He lowered his voice even further and answered with the grim resolve of a man marching to his death, “Yes. Miss Ji’s personal maid gave it to me with her own hands…”

The Marquis let out a faint scoff, and a sheen of cold sweat broke out over Wen’an’s skin.

Now he remembered these earrings. For days, the Marquis had asked about them constantly. He had hired the finest goldsmith and jade craftsman in the capital, personally overseeing every detail. Even with his schedule as busy as it was, he had still made time to inspect their work himself.

The jade was of the highest quality, and the pearls set into them were the finest eastern pearls, paired with green jade.

Wen’an thought back for a long while, but he had never seen when the Marquis gave the earrings to Miss Ji. What he found even more unbelievable was that she had returned all the sincerity and effort the Marquis had poured into them!

This was likely the only time in the Marquis’s life that anyone had ever treated him this way – rejecting him so thoroughly.

No wonder his expression had suddenly turned so dreadful. If it were Wen’an, he reckoned he would be furious enough to cough up blood too.

Inside the private room, thick with the smell of alcohol, Wen’an trembled inwardly.

Then the Marquis coldly ordered, “Get out.”

Wen’an practically scrambled behind the door in his haste to retreat, terrified that the Marquis’s anger might fall upon him instead.

The warm gauze lanterns trembled faintly beside the open window. The night breeze swept over the upper floor, stirring the gauze curtains. From time to time, they brushed a corner of the low table before drifting toward the incense burner in the corner.

Shen Si lowered his head and stared at the earrings lying quietly in his palm. His eyes were bloodshot, and his clenched hand trembled faintly as he bowed his head and braced himself against the low table.

His tall, slender frame was hunched over. The gauze lanterns cast a hazy glow across his elegant white robe. A man who had always been impeccable and composed now looked desolate and cold.

Standing outside the door, Wen’an suddenly heard porcelain shatter inside. He flinched, wondering how they were ever going to make it through the night.

He truly could not understand what Miss Ji was thinking. The Marquis was a man of such standing. How could she, a divorced woman, possibly turn her nose up at him, let alone go so far as this?

Those were gifts from the Marquis! Did she not understand what that meant?

Even the Lady of the Commandery currently staying in the palace was always visiting Her Majesty the Empress. And why did she do that, if not for the Marquis?

Wen’an shook his head. Miss Ji would not even take a bite when such a prize had been delivered right to her mouth.

At least she knew enough to be afraid. She had fled quickly enough.

–

Meanwhile, Rongchun returned in high spirits with the silver from the pawnshop. Ji Hanyi took the money she had brought back and counted it.

There were only a little over three hundred taels in total. Ji Hanyi could not help feeling that it was a pity.

She had originally bought those two hairpins for her mother, but her mother had refused to accept them. Even after Ji Hanyi gave them to her, she had secretly slipped them back into Ji Hanyi’s belongings, so Ji Hanyi had kept them for her own use.

Rongchun stood nearby watching Ji Hanyi count the silver and told her about running into Wen’an.

At the mention of Wen’an, Ji Hanyi paused slightly. She raised her head and looked at Rongchun.

“Did you hand it to him personally?”

Rongchun quickly nodded. “I gave it to him with my own hands.”
Ji Hanyi knew that Wen’an was Shen Si’s personal attendant, so she felt safe leaving it in his hands.

Even so, a faint melancholy came over her at that moment.

She took another deep breath. They were leaving tomorrow; this was no time to dwell on such thoughts. She told Rongchun to go finish packing, then rose to join her mother for dinner.

Her maternal grandmother had originally planned to hold a farewell banquet that evening, but Ji Hanyi saw no need to go to all that trouble. Besides, they needed to rest early tonight if they wanted to set out early tomorrow.

She knew herself that they were leaving rather abruptly. But as far as she was concerned, every additional day she and her mother remained here would only leave them feeling worse.

Madam Gu had made a rare effort to get out of bed. She was neatly dressed, her hair carefully arranged, with a few simple pieces of jewelry adorning her. For once, there was even some color in her face.

Seeing that her mother appeared to be in better spirits than she had been over the past few days, Ji Hanyi was delighted.

During dinner, Madam Gu said that she wanted to visit her mother again after they finished eating.

She had already spent the entire afternoon talking with Old Madam Gu, yet she still wanted to go back for another conversation. Ji Hanyi nodded and said she would accompany her.

Her grandmother had always treated her mother well. It was only natural that her mother would be reluctant to part with her.

After dinner, a maid brought Madam Gu some white-jade matsutake soup.

Gu Yan had sent the matsutake to help restore Madam Gu’s health. In the years after she married Ji Hanyi’s father, Madam Gu had lived in comfort and had always been fond of matsutake. After misfortune befell the Ji Family, however, they had been forced to live frugally. No matter how much she liked it, she could no longer have it. Whenever Gu Yan found time to visit, he would bring her some.

Ji Hanyi knew all of this. She also knew that while her mother was staying with the Gu Family, some of the Eldest Maternal Aunt’s arrangements had left much to be desired. It was only because Cousin Yan came by so often to look after her that her mother’s days with the Gu Family could be considered somewhat comfortable.

Madam Gu accepted the white-jade matsutake soup from the maid, then held it out to Ji Hanyi. “You have it.”

Ji Hanyi shook her head. “It’s meant to nourish your health. Your health is what matters most, Mother. If you recover a little, our journey will be much easier too.”

Madam Gu fell silent for a moment. She did not want to burden her daughter or hold her back. She knew that her health had deteriorated drastically, and a trace of sorrow entered her eyes as she quietly drank the soup.

In a soft voice, Ji Hanyi began telling her about their plans for tomorrow – where they would switch to traveling by water, which places had beautiful scenery where they could stay for an extra day or two, and what local delicacies they could try along the way.

She had begun looking into all of this as soon as she started planning their departure, so the details came easily to her.

She was telling her mother these things because she knew how easily Madam Gu worried. The slightest difficulty was enough to make her want to turn back. Ji Hanyi wanted to reassure her that she had thoroughly investigated every part of their journey. Even if they encountered a few minor setbacks along the way, they would be nothing serious.

Madam Gu drank her soup, watching Ji Hanyi speak with a warm smile.

The room was not brightly lit. The candles Madam Zhang sent to Huilan Courtyard were not the brighter, less smoky beeswax kind, but tallow candles that cast a murkier light and gave off a faintly rancid odor.

Ordinary tallow candles were usually mixed with spices to mask the smell, but the ones burning in the room clearly contained hardly any fragrance at all. They were the poorest grade of tallow candles, their light dim and their smell unpleasant.

But Madam Gu had endured such candles for three years and had long since grown accustomed to them. In the dim light, she watched Ji Hanyi sit across from her, sipping tea and chatting from a small rose chair. Though her pale-pink clothes were plain, they could not conceal the gentle beauty and jade-like warmth of her bearing. Her delicate eyes and brows, along with her cherry-red lips, lent her an arresting loveliness that greatly resembled her father’s dazzling beauty.

Now, there was even something of her father’s old composure in her expression – the calm confidence of someone who had everything well in hand. When one was by his side, it had seemed that all one needed to do was follow in his footsteps, and there would be nothing to fear.

Ji Hanyi now seemed to possess a trace of that same quality.

It seemed she, too, was capable of standing on her own.

As Madam Gu continued watching her, tears gradually blurred her vision. Not wanting to grieve in front of her daughter again, she lowered her head and suddenly gathered the softly speaking Ji Hanyi into her arms. As she felt her daughter’s soft, petite body against her, all the unease and uncertainty in her heart melted away.

Even though her husband was gone, she still had her daughter.

She had to remain by her daughter’s side.

Ji Hanyi was startled when her mother suddenly embraced her, but she soon relaxed. Closing her eyes, she nestled peacefully into her mother’s soft, fragrant arms. Her mother was a source of comfort to her as well.

The road ahead was not truly uncertain. A spark of defiance still burned in her heart. A divorced woman did not have to shut herself away, live miserably, and wallow in self-pity as they wished.

She did not want such a life, nor would she accept it.

By the time they left her grandmother’s quarters that night, it was already quite late.

Madam Gu’s eyes were red. She and Old Madam Gu had clung to each other and wept for a long while, as though they were parting forever, and Ji Hanyi had been unable to persuade them to stop.

The Eldest Maternal Aunt and Second Maternal Aunt had also come over to offer many parting words, each saying her piece. The Second Maternal Aunt even took out some of her private savings and insisted on giving them to Ji Hanyi. Ji Hanyi refused for a long time, and by the time they finally emerged, it was already between nine and eleven at night.

The night outside was utterly still. For some reason, Ji Hanyi suddenly thought of Shen Si’s cool, aloof air.