Yin Huayue thought that Shopkeeper Zhao was truly a considerate and thoughtful person. Knowing that it wasn’t easy to drive a carriage in the early morning, he’d found an excuse to bring her and He Shi along for part of the journey. In comparison, Third Young Master Li was rather shameless, actually trying to use this matter to claim credit for himself.
The difference in character was clear at a glance.
“Thank you for the trouble,” she said gratefully, bowing her head toward Shopkeeper Zhao.
Li Jingyun stood off to the side, his face ashen, his eyes fixed unwaveringly on her, carrying a trace of irritation.
If it had been before, Huayue would have surely read his expression and turned to coax him. But the person standing here now was no longer swayed by his threats. Her eyes swept lightly across his face before she lifted her feet and followed the others out.
The lotus-pink hem of her skirt brushed past the edge of his black robe, without the slightest trace of longing.
It felt as though something in his chest had suddenly gone hollow, and the wind and rain raging outside poured straight into that emptiness, chilling even his fingertips.
“Papa.” Youjie watched the group walking away, frowning as he looked up. “Not staying?”
Li Jingyun lowered his head to look at him. On that face, always sharp and severe, a bitter smile appeared toward his own child for the first time.
“Can’t keep her here,” he sighed.
Youjie didn’t understand why. He thought his papa was very impressive—there was nothing he couldn’t obtain if he set his mind to it. Even the surrender letter from the enemy at the border, which they’d refused to hand over a year ago, had been obediently delivered a year later. What could possibly be harder to get than that?
And yet, this papa who dared advance even against enemy troops hadn’t dared chase after that frail young woman.
“Don’t understand,” Youjie said, shaking his head repeatedly.
Wen Guzhi got down from the carriage and came over, reaching out to pat his head. “A little kid doesn’t need to understand these things. Get in the carriage first.”
Li Jingyun looked up at him, his thin lips pressed tight.
“Feeling wronged?” Wen Guzhi asked, amused. “What’s there to feel wronged about? If you’re really that unhappy, have Qin Sheng tie up that shopkeeper and toss him twenty li away—out of sight, out of mind.”
Carrying Youjie onto the carriage, Li Jingyun closed his eyes and pressed at the space between his brows. “What I can’t figure out is—is a man like that better than me?”
Stroking his chin as though giving it serious thought, Wen Guzhi said, “No need to compare family background—you outrank him by leagues. Same with looks—he doesn’t measure up to you in a single respect.”
Li Jingyun frowned, and just as he opened his mouth to speak, Wen Guzhi continued, “But right now, your lady wife doesn’t think well of you. No matter how good you are, it won’t help.”
At the mention of this, Li Jingyun looked at him with a blank expression.
“Eh, hear me out.” Wen Guzhi said hurriedly. “How things got to this point between you and your lady wife wasn’t entirely because I spread careless words. She had quite a few people in the household back then helping her pass messages—you knew about that, didn’t you?”
Li Jingyun nodded.
Back then she’d been single-mindedly focused on revenge, and quite a few Wei people in the household had been working for her. He’d turned a blind eye, only stepping in when she was in danger. Later she left, and those people gradually left the estate as well.
“There used to be a maid in the kitchen who later went to Qifeng Pavilion,” Wen Guzhi said. “A letter just arrived from the capital—the manager there said he discovered that maid had been passing messages out for a long time. Although in the past two years the messages were mostly trivial matters about the capital, when they checked the timing, it turned out she’d already started paying attention to your comings and goings at Qifeng Pavilion well before you and your lady wife went cold with each other.”
His eyelids lowering, Li Jingyun twisted at his cuff in silence for a long moment before saying in a muffled voice, “She never harmed me.”
“I’m not saying your lady wife meant to harm you.” Wen Guzhi slapped his thigh in frustration. “It’s been so long, who’s digging up old accounts? What I mean is—since she had someone at Qifeng Pavilion, then when you deliberately summoned other girls to keep you company out of spite, your lady wife knew about every bit of it.”
“—” Li Jingyun’s eyes snapped up to look at him, his pupils suddenly contracting.
“That’s not our fault, is it?” Wen Guzhi spread his hands, looking innocent. “The brothers all advised you against it at the time. You cared too much about face, insisted on acting like it didn’t matter, didn’t care, let those girls sit in your lap. The brothers knew what you were really thinking, but there was no telling how it looked to anyone else.”
Who knew what stories got carried back to her. And at the time, Yin Huayue had still been pregnant. A pregnant woman was the most likely to hold a grudge, and also the most easily hurt—and then later, when she gave birth, Third Master had, through some twist of fate, not even been there. No wonder the misunderstanding had grown so large.
“Don’t get worked up.” Seeing his expression, Wen Guzhi hastened to soothe him. “It’s been so long now, even if you go explain yourself to your lady wife again, it won’t do any good. I have an idea—hear me out.”
Clever as Li Jingyun was, when had he ever listened to someone else’s plan? And yet right now, he sat there obediently, his ink-black eyes fixed only on Wen Guzhi.
Wen Guzhi felt quite moved, and his tone softened to match. “Right now we’re not sure whether your lady wife still has feelings for you, but she definitely cares about the young master. You can use the young master’s favor to soften her up a little. But Third Master, if you truly want her to willingly come back to the capital with us, you have to stop putting on airs all the time. Today, Shopkeeper Zhao didn’t beat you anywhere else, but he speaks gently and courteously, and that lets your lady wife know he’s genuinely good to her—that’s what matters most.”
Li Jingyun said with considerable disdain, “A grown man, seven chi tall—must I grovel before a woman?”
“Not quite to that extent,” Wen Guzhi waved a hand. “Just make your heart match your mouth.”
For a young master born into such a family, who didn’t have his pride? Who would easily let their true feelings show, let someone step all over their head? Especially these past two years, as his rank and status had only grown, he hadn’t even looked at people directly anymore—and now he had to go speak nicely to her?
Fine, if speaking nicely was what it took, he’d speak nicely!
Lifting his chin with pride, Li Jingyun pressed his lips together, still feeling a bit unsure of himself.
He understood very well how to scheme against someone—step by step, cornering the prey into a trap he’d laid himself. That was exactly how he’d tricked Yin Huayue the first time. But he had no idea how to court someone’s genuine affection.
This was far harder than fighting a war.
The two carriages rattled back to the small town, one after the other. Wen Guzhi glanced at the cloth shop ahead and hurried to help Li Jingyun down, whispering advice to him. “Your lady wife isn’t in good health, and a bumpy road must be uncomfortable for her. Go give her this medicine pouch, and she’s sure to know you care about her.”
The medicine pouch for supporting the lower back—Wen Guzhi had prepared it in advance. Li Jingyun picked it up, hesitated a moment, then flicked his sleeve and walked forward anyway.
Youjie instinctively wanted to follow, but Wen Guzhi scooped him up.
“Let me go instead,” Youjie said, his face scrunched up. “Papa can’t handle it.”
Amused, Wen Guzhi tapped his nose. “You underestimate your papa too much. It’s just delivering something—how hard can that be?”
On the verge of saying something, Youjie looked toward the cloth shop with worry.
Shopkeeper Zhao and Huayue had arrived a little earlier and had already gone inside. Li Jingyun followed in, but there was no one in the main hall—only Shuang Jiang’s wary expression greeted him.
“What else would the guest like to buy?” she asked.
Weighing the medicine pouch in his hand, Li Jingyun said, “I have business with your shopkeeper.”
“Then have a seat and wait a moment,” Shuang Jiang said, her smile not reaching her eyes. “The shopkeeper’s gone in to change clothes.”
His expression darkening slightly, Li Jingyun asked, “And that other person just now—did he go in too?”
“You worry too much,” Shuang Jiang said impatiently, pointing to the side. “That one went to the privy.”
Li Jingyun fell silent.
Wen Guzhi waited outside for a while and, hearing no movement from within, called out curiously, “Third Master?”
Li Jingyun set the medicine pouch down on the square table by the guest seating and went out to ask, “What is it?”
“Still hasn’t worked out?” Wen Guzhi peered in.
Shoving him impatiently, Li Jingyun said, “She hasn’t even come out yet, what are you rushing for?”
Looking at his expression, Wen Guzhi shook his head. “Don’t look so serious, you’ll scare her off. Come on, lift the corners of your mouth a little—yes, like that. Girls like dashing, charming young men. Look how these past two years have worn you down—you never smile anymore.”
Following his lead with a smile, Li Jingyun turned, holding onto that amiable expression, and stepped into the cloth shop.
The moment he walked in, he saw Huayue, freshly changed, sitting together with Shopkeeper Zhao, who’d just returned from the privy, both in the guest seats.
His smile faltered, and Li Jingyun’s face darkened again.
The medicine pouch he’d left on the table had been picked up by that wild man and casually placed against the back of Huayue’s chair. Huayue gave him a grateful smile and leaned back comfortably against it, the two of them speaking in low voices like close friends.
Taking a deep breath, Li Jingyun strode over.
A chill breeze swept past without warning, and Huayue turned, meeting a face that promised a storm. She instinctively sat up straight, frowning as she asked, “Do you need something else?”
His jaw tightening, he looked past her shoulder.
Huayue immediately pulled the medicine pouch out. “Did you want to use this?”
Snorting coldly, Li Jingyun looked at Shopkeeper Zhao. “Is this yours?”
Shopkeeper Zhao shook his head in bewilderment. “No, it was just sitting there, so I assumed it belonged to the shop. Shopkeeper Yin’s back has been troubling her, so I had her lean against it… Is it yours? My apologies, please take it back.”
Understanding dawning, Huayue placed the pouch into his hands. “She only leaned against it for a moment, it shouldn’t be dirty. Shopkeeper Zhao was just careless for a moment—please don’t blame him.”
“You—” He frowned, a flare of anger showing in his eyes as he looked at Shopkeeper Zhao.
What he was actually angry about was the man taking his belongings, not Huayue using it—it had been meant for her use in the first place. But now that Shopkeeper Zhao had said this, Yin Huayue was directing an apologetic attitude at him too, as if he were the sort of person looking to pick a fight.
“Don’t blame him. If you really mind, tell me how much silver it’s worth, I’ll pay for it,” she said, positioning herself in front of Shopkeeper Zhao.
“—”
This posture of shielding another man was thoroughly grating to the eyes.
Gripping the medicine pouch, Li Jingyun stood stiffly to the side for a moment before silently turning and walking out the door of the cloth shop.
“What happened?” Wen Guzhi asked, puzzled. “Your lady wife wouldn’t take it?”
“No.”
“Then why didn’t you give it to her?” Wen Guzhi stamped his foot anxiously. “Worried about face again?”
His jaw clenching, Li Jingyun said irritably, “Ran into an obstacle. Lost that round.”
Wen Guzhi’s face went blank with astonishment, while Youjie wore an expression that clearly said “I told you so.” Wriggling free of Wen Guzhi’s grip, he took the medicine pouch from his father’s hand. “I’ll do it myself, then.”
Grown-ups these days—they just wouldn’t let a child rest easy.