Chapter 123
Chapter 123
Ji Hanyi took the prescription from Chunju and lowered her eyes to read it. Every ingredient listed was a top-quality restorative. No doubt they were expensive as well.
But as long as her mother could recover, Ji Hanyi could no longer afford to worry about the cost.
Once the hot water was ready, the maids came in to change the bedsheets. They also changed Madam Gu’s clothes and wiped her face clean.
By the time the medicine had finished brewing, the sky was beginning to brighten.
Ji Hanyi sat at the bedside and fed her mother the medicine. Crouching beside the brazier, Rongchun stirred the coals and murmured, “I’m afraid we won’t be able to leave for the next few days.”
Ji Hanyi said nothing, though she had already begun turning the matter over in her mind.
They certainly could not continue their journey today, but staying here for too long was out of the question as well. Even if her mother had not recovered, she did not want to remain here.
Meanwhile, at the Shen Residence, Shen Si had spent almost the entire night sitting in his study.
He leaned back against a red sandalwood chair, his gaze fixed on the box on the desk before him. The pair of earrings lay inside, shimmering with a glasslike luster beneath the lamplight, but Shen Si’s expression was unusually cold and withdrawn.
A faint strip of white had appeared on the horizon outside. Only after a long silence did he ask Wen’an, rare exhaustion weighing on his voice, “Has she left?”
Wen’an hurried out from behind the folding screen to answer. “No word has come from over there yet. She most likely hasn’t left.”
Shen Si pressed his lips together and looked down at the geographical gazetteer of Wei County in his hands.
Wei County was thirteen hundred li from the capital. Even if he rode a swift horse to see her, the journey would take seven or eight days at the very least.
And given the important post he held in the capital, it was almost impossible for him to spare seven or eight days to go and see her.
Shen Si’s fingertips traced the mountains and rivers drawn across the page.
To think he still wanted to see her.
And what would happen even if he did?
She was leaving it all behind. Most likely, she had no desire to see him anyway.
She did not want to marry again. What she wanted now was freedom, and that was her choice.
Shen Si said nothing more, and Wen’an tactfully withdrew without a sound.
The Marquis had returned last night and remained in the study ever since. No sooner had the fifth watch passed than he began asking whether Miss Ji had left. How could Wen’an not understand? The Marquis simply could not bear to see Miss Ji go, yet his pride had stopped him from asking her to stay.
Then again, after all the effort the Marquis had put into having those earrings made for Miss Ji, she had returned them. How could he possibly feel?
Standing beneath the veranda outside, Wen’an gazed at the dark sky, still waiting for dawn, and let out a long sigh.
At six o’clock, the maids arrived as usual to assist with washing and dressing. Wen’an had assumed the Marquis would make them wait outside for a while, but to his surprise, he called them in as usual.
When the Marquis emerged, he had changed into his official robes. His hair was immaculate, and his face betrayed no emotion. He was once again as stern and impeccably composed as ever. Apart from the faint exhaustion and bloodshot veins in his eyes, he looked no different from any other day.
Without being told, who would have known that the Marquis had spent last night drinking alone, then sat awake in his study until dawn, waiting for news of a single person?
Shen Si glanced at Wen’an, who was waiting outside, and instructed in a low voice, “If she leaves, make sure our people protect her well along the way.
“I want a report from every stop. See to it that she reaches Wei County safely.”
Shen Si paused. After pressing his lips together, he added, “Don’t let her find out.”
Wen’an froze for a moment before hastily acknowledging the order.
He watched the Marquis walk away, his figure tall and straight, still as meticulous and composed as ever, as though everything that had happened last night was already behind him.
Wen’an could not tell whether he had truly let go.
No one could ever fathom what the Marquis was thinking.
As usual, Shen Si went to pay his respects to his mother. By the time he arrived, Yide Residence was already crowded with members of the First Branch.
The First Madam, the young ladies of the household, and the granddaughters-in-law were gathered around Old Madam Shen. He could hear their lively chatter before he even entered.
The room quieted slightly when Shen Si walked in. At the sight of him, Old Madam Shen said, “They were just saying that the weather has begun to warm up and quite a few flowers are blooming in the rear garden. They want to hold a poetry gathering.”
“I think it would be livelier with more people. Who else do you think we should invite? I heard Hanyi used to be quite talented at poetry. Should we invite her?”
Shen Si’s expression cooled. After a brief pause, he merely said, “No need.”
Then he turned and walked out.
Old Madam Shen faltered. Watching his aloof figure leave, she could not fathom what he was thinking. She had expected him to agree.
After what happened last time, she had thought she understood. Why else would he have taken the initiative to mention the invitation from the Gu Residence? Miss Ji had moved there after her divorce. The invitation had clearly been nothing more than a pretext.
That was why she had deliberately tested her son again today, wanting to see if he truly cared for the Ji Family’s Young Lady.
Ji Hanyi had always been likable. She was fresh-faced and pretty, with a soft, delicate appearance and an agreeable temperament. There was nothing to fault in either her character or her looks. The one problem was that she was divorced. The Xie Family was no insignificant household, either. If her son married their divorced daughter-in-law, would he not become a laughingstock?
If her son truly had feelings for Ji Hanyi, then once Ji Hanyi came, Old Madam Shen could give her a few words of warning. She did not intend to make things difficult for the girl. She could make it up to her generously instead. After all, the child could not have been living an easy life. Old Madam Shen could take her as an adopted daughter and give her more estates and shops so that no one would dare bully her in the future.
Yet now, after seeing Shen Si’s cold response, she was uncertain of his feelings once more.
First Madam Shen, Madam Bai, watched Shen Si’s retreating figure and said with a smile, “Fifth Younger Brother has always been like this.”
Old Madam Shen paused, but she had lost all interest in the subject. Worrying over her son’s marriage had truly drained her.
She glanced at Madam Bai and said mildly, “Let’s leave the matter at that. There is no need to invite anyone else to the poetry gathering. We can do things the same way we have in previous years. Let Third Young Lady decide the details.”
Seeing that Old Madam Shen seemed to be in a poor mood, Madam Bai hurriedly agreed. “Rest assured, Old Madam. I’ll make certain everything is arranged perfectly.”
Old Madam Shen glanced at her but said nothing more about her eagerness. She truly liked Madam Bai, the wife of her stepson. The woman was perceptive and clever, knew exactly what to say, and was equally adept at attending to her and arranging affairs. Old Madam Shen felt entirely at ease leaving the household in her hands.
Over the years, Madam Bai had managed everything in the residence steadily and thoroughly, without overlooking a single detail.
At that thought, Old Madam Shen sighed with faint regret. She had no idea what sort of woman her own son might marry in the future, and she found that she no longer held any great expectations.
She only hoped the woman would possess some of Madam Bai’s shrewdness. The Shen Residence had extensive holdings, countless social obligations, and guests to receive from outside. As long as the woman could handle all of that, it would be enough.
Shen Si had only just stepped out through the front gate when one of his subordinates, who had been waiting beside the carriage, hurried over. As soon as he drew near, he lowered his voice and said, “My lord, something seems to have happened at the Gu Residence.”
Shen Si had been about to climb into the carriage, but his step halted. He lowered his gaze to the letter his subordinate handed him.
He stood before the carriage as a draft swept through the passage, setting his robes fluttering. Even beneath the dim predawn sky, his tall, elegant figure remained perfectly straight.
Shen Si broke the seal and lowered his head to read. When he reached the end, his slender fingertips tapped against the page.
His cool, indifferent brows drew together slightly.