Chapter 6
Chapter 6
Li Mingrou’s expression darkened at the rebuke, and she still had not recovered by the time Ji Hanyi left.
Rongchun followed beside Ji Hanyi. After hearing what the Young Madam had said, she felt a small flicker of satisfaction.
Still, she could not help worrying. “What if she goes running to Eldest Master to complain again…”
It would hardly be the first time. Li Mingrou appeared gentle and gracious, but behind closed doors, she often twisted matters around and accused the other party first. Yet Eldest Master always took her side. Not once had he ever believed the Young Madam.
Ji Hanyi had already planned to discuss divorce with Xie Yuheng within the next couple of days. Even if Li Mingrou really did speak to him, it no longer mattered.
Perhaps she and Xie Yuheng had never been on the same path to begin with.
She drew her fox-fur cloak tighter around herself and said softly, “Don’t worry. Let’s go back first.”
The bluestone path was wet. As her skirt swept over it, the damp stones caught fragmented streaks of color.
When they passed a bamboo grove, low voices drifted from up ahead.
“Did you see her this morning? She didn’t dare say another word, did she? She could only swallow her anger, no matter how bitter it was.”
“When she first married in, she brought only two measly loads of dowry. Yuheng was the only one willing to marry her.”
A sigh followed.
“What a shame. Yuheng and Mingrou were such a perfect match, but she had to come between them.”
Ji Hanyi stopped in her tracks.
A slightly younger voice spoke up. “That’s true, but I do feel sorry for her.”
“Back when the Ji Family was still standing, how glorious they were! Even the Xie Family couldn’t compare. Who could have imagined that overnight…”
The other woman gave a faint laugh. “What’s there to pity? It’s all fate.”
“Why else do you think my eldest sister-in-law won’t let her help manage the household? Isn’t she afraid that woman will take the family’s things to support her invalid mother? Her maternal grandparents’ family has fallen into decline as well. If she were put in charge of the household, wouldn’t she send everything off to outsiders?”
“My eldest sister-in-law has always been on guard against her.”
The voices gradually receded, dissolving among the sparse branches of the cold winter landscape.
Rongchun stared blankly before turning toward Ji Hanyi.
The voices had been unmistakable. They belonged to Second Madam Xie and the daughter-in-law of the Second Branch.
Ji Hanyi remained where she was and raised her head to watch a withered leaf tumble down. She held out a hand to catch the snowflakes that had begun drifting through the air again, then exhaled a long plume of white mist.
How ironic.
That night, Ji Hanyi sat writing a letter in a room off the covered corridor behind the courtyard.
She normally used this room as her study. Xie Yuheng had never allowed her into his study in their courtyard. Even though he spent most of his time in the study in the front courtyard, the one in the inner residence remained off-limits to her.
Ji Hanyi knew that the case files Xie Yuheng handled were complicated and that others could not casually enter his study, so she had cleared out one of the rooms along the covered corridor at the back of the courtyard for her own use.
It stood beside the storeroom, and few people came this way. Ji Hanyi had always enjoyed peace and quiet. She had no household affairs to manage, so whenever Xie Yuheng was not back and she had time to spare, she stayed here.
The dim yellow candlelight was not bright, but it was enough to illuminate the desk.
Ji Hanyi sat straight, spread out a sheet of letter paper, and finally put brush to paper.
The Ji Family was gone now, and she could not stay long with her maternal relatives either. She needed to arrange somewhere to go after the divorce.
When she finished the final stroke, Ji Hanyi studied the words on the page, then reached down to stroke the white cat in her arms.
The white cat was a stray she had taken in, but Xie Yuheng disliked it. She had therefore never brought it before him and had always kept it here.
Rongchun came over to put the letter away for Ji Hanyi, then heard her say softly, “See to it as soon as you can.”
Rongchun nodded at once.
Ji Hanyi unrolled the half-finished painting beside her, lowered her head, and set her brush to it once more.
When Xie Yuheng returned, he carried the damp chill of winter with him. Upon entering, he found the main room empty. It seemed desolate and cold.
He remembered how, in the past, whenever he returned, Ji Hanyi would soon come to help him change his clothes, then place a bowl of warming soup she had prepared into his hands.
No matter when he returned, that figure was always there.
But Xie Yuheng merely frowned slightly and asked no questions. The senior maid beside him came forward and said in a low voice, “Young Madam is in the gallery room at the back. Shall this old servant fetch her?”
Xie Yuheng simply changed his clothes without replying, clearly indicating there was no need. The woman tactfully withdrew.
When Xie Yuheng emerged from the room, an attendant came over and draped a cloak around his shoulders. As he set off for the study, he once again saw the medicine stove bubbling away by the doorway, sending up wisps of steam. The scent of medicine had spread through the courtyard, leaving a faint bitterness in the air.
The young maid crouched beside it, tending the decoction. When she noticed Xie Yuheng looking down at her, she hurriedly rose and explained, “This servant is preparing medicine for Young Madam’s cold.”
Xie Yuheng recalled hearing Ji Hanyi cough softly that day. Two or three days had already passed since then.
The steward had also told him that she had sent for a physician. She must have caught a cold.
As far as he could remember, Ji Hanyi had never fallen ill. Mingrou, on the other hand, had always been frail and would fall sick every few days.
He pursed his lips but said nothing, continuing on his way.
It was already late by the time Ji Hanyi returned from the rear of the courtyard. She had become so absorbed in her painting, and cared so little whether Xie Yuheng returned to their room, that she had stayed much later than usual.
The main room was still empty. One glance at the dim candlelight told Ji Hanyi that Xie Yuheng had not returned.
However, the maid at the door followed behind her and whispered, “Eldest Master is back.”
Ji Hanyi stopped in her tracks.
The maid hurriedly added, “Eldest Master is in the study.”
Ji Hanyi turned to look at the pavilion off to the side. Past the overlapping shadows of the night, she saw bright lamplight glowing through the study window, with the silhouettes of two people cast upon it.
She recognized the other figure at a glance.
Her eyes lowered once more.
She had never been allowed inside that study, yet Li Mingrou could enter whenever she pleased.
Ji Hanyi merely nodded before turning and going inside.
Xie Yuheng rarely returned to sleep here. She did not know why he had come to the courtyard study today, but he had most likely come for Li Mingrou.
She had still been coughing a little at night over the past few days. Even if Xie Yuheng came back to the main room, he would probably leave again.
He was a light sleeper and could not tolerate the slightest sound at night.
Still, she wanted to wait for Xie Yuheng so she could speak to him about their divorce as soon as possible.
The maid followed her in and said softly, “We brought Eldest Master his nourishing soup earlier, but he sent it back. It’s still warm.”
“Would Young Madam like some?”
Ji Hanyi entered the inner room and sat down in a cushioned chair.
She held her hands over the brazier. Warm golden light danced across her cheeks, but no emotion showed on her face.
Ji Hanyi had forgotten to tell the maids to stop making nourishing soup for Xie Yuheng. He had indeed told her before that he did not like it. She had only continued because she worried about him working late into the night.
Whenever he sent the soup back, she could not bear to waste it and would drink it herself.
Ji Hanyi rubbed her brow, then looked up at the maid. “You may all share the soup.”
She added, “And there’s no need to make it again in the future.”
The maid froze, wondering if she had misheard. She looked at Ji Hanyi and asked uncertainly, “You truly don’t want it made anymore?”
Ji Hanyi nodded and dismissed her. Once the maid had withdrawn, she relaxed and let the tension ease from her shoulders.
Rongchun came over carrying a bowl of medicine and said with concern, “Who knows how much longer it will take for Young Madam’s cold to clear up?”
“Who would have thought one illness could drag on for so long?”
Ji Hanyi accepted the bowl without speaking. The bitter medicine made her frown, and her head was beginning to ache as well.
Before she had even finished the medicine, a gentle, concerned voice reached her ears.
“Cousin-in-law.”
Ji Hanyi looked up and saw Xie Yuheng and Li Mingrou walking in together.
Xie Yuheng walked half a step behind Li Mingrou, as though silently guarding her from the rear.