Chapter 148
Chapter 148
The outer courtyard was dim, and the lantern hanging by the front gate did not cast its light this far in.
Shen Si stood entirely in the shadows. Ji Hanyi could not make out his expression, yet for some reason, she sensed that he was displeased.
She could also feel his eyes on her.
Ji Hanyi paused, then hurriedly opened her umbrella again and walked over to Shen Si with her lantern. The glass lantern’s glow fractured amid the fine strands of rain, scattering cold, rippling reflections across the bluestone beneath their feet. Even so, it was not enough to illuminate Shen Si’s expression.
Stopping two steps away from him, Ji Hanyi asked, “Are you leaving, Lord Shen?”
Shen Si looked at her without answering.
After a long moment, his dark eyes fixed deeply on her. “Was that your cousin?”
Ji Hanyi nodded. “My second-oldest cousin.”
Shen Si took a step toward her. The lantern’s soft glow fell across her face, while the patter of rain surrounded them.
A faint, damp fragrance drifted to him as raindrops drummed against the umbrella. Shen Si’s gaze slowly lowered. Flecks of light glimmered in his eyes, shadowed by something unreadable, and his voice was low when he said, “You two seem rather close.”
Ji Hanyi was slightly taken aback.
Still watching her, Shen Si continued, “In the future, it would be best not to keep male visitors here after dark.”
Ji Hanyi thought she understood what he meant. Did he believe it improper for her to invite Gu Yan to dine with her at night, lest it give rise to gossip?
After thinking it over, she had to admit that Shen Si had a point.
She had lived in the capital for years, after all. Many of her former acquaintances had probably already heard about her divorce and knew that she had moved out of the Gu Family residence. If Cousin Yan visited at night and someone with ill intentions saw them, it could harm both their reputations even though they were cousins.
She nodded. “I’ll be more careful in the future.”
The look in Ji Hanyi’s eyes showed that she had taken his words to heart.
The tension that had wound itself around Shen Si’s heart when he saw her standing alone with Gu Yan finally began to ease.
His cold, handsome features softened little by little.
He gazed at Ji Hanyi’s neatly arranged black hair, tinged faintly red by the chilly drizzle, and the dark eyes set in her fair face. He reached out, wanting to draw her into his arms and shelter her from the wind and rain. At that moment, tenderness welled in his heart. She alone had shown him what the simple warmth of ordinary life could be.
It was nothing more than sharing three meals a day with the person he loved, free from all restraint, able to confide in each other and be as close as they wished.
Perhaps he, too, could wait for such a day to come.
Shen Si’s expression was not as distant as usual. His tall frame blocked the wind for Ji Hanyi as he said, “Go inside.”
At his words, Ji Hanyi shifted hesitantly. A thousand thoughts raced through her mind before she finally looked up at him cautiously. “Lord Shen, could you do me another favor?”
It was rare for Ji Hanyi to ask him for anything of her own accord. Shen Si raised a brow. “What is it?”
Ji Hanyi told him about encountering Xie Jin, then said, “I’m afraid Xie Jin will have the Jinyiwei under her husband’s command search for where I’m living now.”
Ji Hanyi did not want to trouble Shen Si, but he seemed to be the only person who could help her with this.
Shen Si lowered his gaze to the worry in her eyes and gave her a reassuring look. “Don’t worry. Lu Yuan’s men won’t find you.”
That one sentence was enough.
Ji Hanyi’s heart immediately settled.
She knew that if Shen Si gave his word, he would certainly help her.
Once again, she thanked him sincerely. “Thank you, Lord Shen.”
As Shen Si moved past her, the cuff of his dark robe brushed her fingertips. Ji Hanyi turned after him, but all she saw was his retreating figure.
The white crane embroidered on his dark robe looked almost alive. Amid the curtain of rain, he seemed like someone from another world.
Three or four more days passed. Madam Gu’s health continued to improve, and she began discussing their departure with Ji Hanyi.
Ji Hanyi was already planning to leave within the next couple of days. Nor did she intend to tell Gu Yan exactly when she would be going.
The spring rain pattered softly. It had been falling without pause since the previous night. Ji Hanyi stood beneath the eaves and held out a hand to catch the runoff. Icy droplets splashed into her palm, leaving her fair skin glistening with water.
Early that morning, she had received another letter from Second Uncle. He said that if things were inconvenient for her in the capital, he would have her older male cousin come to the capital to escort her back.
Rongchun approached and said quietly, “Miss, everything that needs to be packed is ready.”
Ji Hanyi glanced at the sky. Fine rain continued to fall from the heavy gray clouds.
She gave a soft murmur of acknowledgment, then turned and went to see her mother.
The light beyond the window was just right. Ji Hanyi sat facing her mother on the daybed, with the light spilling across the small low table between them.
An incense burner and a Buddha’s hand citron sat on the table, along with a plate of barely touched persimmon pastries Gu Yan had brought.
White smoke curled slowly from the incense burner. In the elegantly appointed room, Ji Hanyi rested her fingertips on the large orchid-patterned ruyi bolster beside her as she told her mother about her plans to set out the following day. She intended to leave without telling her grandmother and inform her only after they reached Wei County.
After running into Xie Jin, Ji Hanyi felt it would be better to leave as soon as possible and put all the grudges and entanglements here behind her.
When she finished speaking, Ji Hanyi looked up at her mother.
She wanted to leave without saying goodbye precisely because she did not want to cause any more trouble. It would also make Cousin Yan understand that she did not want him following them to Wei County.
Madam Gu gazed into Ji Hanyi’s calm eyes. They held the same composure and certainty they had that day when Ji Hanyi placed the Divorce Agreement in her hands and told her that she had no regrets and had already secured a way forward for herself.
Madam Gu understood everything Ji Hanyi was thinking. She knew her daughter truly did not want Gu Yan to accompany them to Wei County or be dragged down by them.
This was Ji Hanyi’s decision.
Her daughter was grown now, old enough to make her own decisions. As her mother, the one thing Madam Gu had to do was ensure she no longer held her daughter back.
Yet as Madam Gu looked at Ji Hanyi’s serene, lovely face, sorrow welled within her. Ji Hanyi was still so young. She should have lived out her life in comfort as a noblewoman, yet now she had to take her ailing mother to a distant place where the two of them would have only each other to rely on.
Madam Gu did not bring up Gu Yan again. She knew Ji Hanyi had already made her choice.
She nodded gently. “All right.”
The mother and daughter discussed leaving the next day. Ji Hanyi also explained that she was in such a hurry because there was no telling when someone from the Xie Family might come again. The sooner they left, the less trouble they would face.
Ji Hanyi wanted nothing more to do with the Xie Family.
Madam Gu agreed. Now that their ties with the Xie Family had been severed by divorce, there should be no further contact or involvement between them.
However, before leaving, Madam Gu wanted to visit Old Madam Gu one last time – without mentioning their departure.
Ji Hanyi understood her mother’s feelings, so she postponed their departure until the day after next.
That evening, Ji Hanyi stood in the courtyard and looked toward the pavilion across the way. It was shrouded in darkness, with not a single lamp lit. Shen Si clearly had not returned.
Over the past few days, Ji Hanyi had noticed that lights would sometimes glow in the upper story of the pavilion, revealing the faint outline of a tall, slender figure. Shen Si had told her he occasionally stayed next door, so she assumed the figure was him.
The rain continued to fall in a soft drizzle. Ji Hanyi stood beneath the rear courtyard’s covered walkway and gazed up at the pavilion for a long time, but no light appeared.
She had thought that if Shen Si was there tonight, she would bid him a proper farewell and sincerely thank him for all his help.
But Shen Si was always busy. It seemed she would not get to see him tonight.
Ji Hanyi waited for a long while, but the glow of candlelight never appeared. At last, she turned and went back to her room.
The completed Osmanthus, Chrysanthemum, and Peacock Painting still lay on the small kang table, shifting in and out of clarity beneath the flickering candlelight.
Ji Hanyi had intended from the beginning to give this painting to Shen Si. She had always known she would eventually leave the capital, and the only way she could repay him was by painting something for him.
The chrysanthemum represented purity and integrity, the osmanthus a prosperous official career, and the peacock wealth and glory. She hoped Shen Si would rise smoothly through officialdom, retain his integrity, enjoy longevity, and live a life of eminence.
Ji Hanyi had wanted to place the painting in Shen Si’s hands herself, but now it seemed she would not have the chance.
Just then, Rongchun lifted the curtain and entered. She reported that Madam Gu had already retired for the night and that everything had been packed. Once they returned from praying at the temple the following day, they would be ready to leave at first light the day after.
Ji Hanyi nodded. She carefully rolled up the painting and set it inside the long box beside her. Then she spread a sheet of letter paper across the table, intending to write Shen Si a few words of farewell.
But the tip of her brush hovered over the paper for a long time without touching it. Her heart was full of gratitude toward Shen Si, yet now that she had to put it into words, she had no idea what to write.
Her thoughts were in disarray. After a moment, Ji Hanyi set down the brush.
There was not much she needed to write, after all. Perhaps Shen Si would understand that she was leaving as soon as he saw the painting.
Ji Hanyi left the box on the kang table, then rose to bathe and prepare for bed.
The next day, Ji Hanyi first accompanied her mother back to the Gu Residence.
Upon their return, Madam Gu no longer looked as melancholy as she had before, nor did she let anyone see that she was about to leave. Later, however, she spent a long time speaking privately with Old Madam Gu before emerging from the room.
Ji Hanyi remained at her mother’s side the entire time. Madam Zhang tried several times to strike up a conversation with her, but Ji Hanyi avoided her and spoke only with her Second Maternal Aunt, Madam Liu.