Jiang Caiping tilted her head and stared at Yunyi, then suddenly clapped her hands and exclaimed in surprise: “I know! Sister, you… you really have fallen for the Second Young Master!” Although she had been talking about Li Shimin and Yunyi before, that was just playful teasing. She never expected… that she would actually guess correctly.
“I haven’t!” Yunyi exclaimed excitedly. “I haven’t fallen for the Second Young Master. Don’t talk nonsense!”
Jiang Caiping didn’t notice anything unusual about Yunyi’s reaction, thinking she was just too shy to admit it. She said seriously: “I’m not talking nonsense! When I was at home, I saw a cousin of mine when she met her beloved, and she looked exactly like you do now, sister!”
Yunyi stared at her with an almost ferocious expression, shouting harshly: “I haven’t fallen for Li Shimin, and I absolutely will never fall for Li Shimin! Don’t ever mention such things again—not a single word. Do you hear me clearly?!”
Jiang Caiping had never seen such a frightening expression on her face. For a moment, she was so scared she stood there in a daze. After a long while, she finally recovered and said timidly: “But…”
“Answer me!” Yunyi’s words startled Jiang Caiping greatly. She replied in a small voice: “I… I heard you clearly.”
For a long time afterward, neither of them spoke. One was still in an agitated emotional state, while the other was too frightened to dare speak. It wasn’t until sounds came from outside that Jiang Caiping carefully said: “Then… I’ll go to the accounting room first. Sister, you… be careful on the road.”
After Jiang Caiping left, Yunyi covered her face and slowly sank to the floor, something transparent and barely visible sliding between her fingers…
When Yunyi walked out of the room, her expression had already returned to calm, showing no trace of anything unusual. Just as she was about to cross the vermillion threshold of the Governor’s residence, a voice called out to her. Looking back, she saw it was Chuyi, the young servant who usually attended Li Shimin. He was holding something over a foot tall in his hands, covered with cloth so she couldn’t tell what it was.
Yunyi said indifferently: “What is it?”
Chuyi held out the thing in his hands, breathing heavily as he said: “This is something the Second Young Master asked me to give you. Fortunately, I caught up with you.”
Yunyi looked at it with confusion and asked: “What is this?”
Chuyi caught his breath and smiled: “You’ll know once you remove the cloth. The Second Young Master wouldn’t let me tell you.”
Yunyi hesitated for a moment, then reached out and removed the cloth covering it, revealing a small wintersweet tree inside. Yes, what Chuyi was holding was a potted plant, and what was planted inside wasn’t the usual pine, cypress, evergreen, or other plants, but wintersweet—exactly like those in the back garden, only much smaller. The golden petals, like honey-colored wax, bloomed proudly in the wind, giving off a subtle, clear fragrance.
“The Second Young Master knew that Miss Meixue likes wintersweet, so some days ago he specifically ordered the residence’s gardener to search for wintersweet potted plants. It wasn’t until today that the gardener was able to collect one. No sooner had the gardener delivered it than the Second Young Master had me bring it to you, saying it was for Miss Meixue to take home and enjoy.”
Yunyi stroked the delicate petals of the wintersweet and said coldly: “Please thank the Second Young Master for his kindness, but I can’t accept such unearned rewards. Such a precious gift is truly something Meixue cannot accept.”
Chuyi never expected she would refuse his young master’s goodwill. He stood there stunned for a moment, and only when he saw Yunyi about to leave did he come to his senses and hurry to catch up, saying with difficulty: “Miss Meixue, if you don’t accept this, it will be very difficult for me to explain to the Second Young Master.”
“I’m sorry, but I really cannot accept it. Please take it back.” After saying this, Yunyi walked out the main gate without looking back, no matter how Chuyi called after her, she never stopped again.
“What a strange person!” Seeing that she truly wouldn’t accept the potted plant, Chuyi had no choice but to carry the wintersweet back. When he reached the door of the Jijing Pavilion, he happened to encounter Li Shimin, who saw the wintersweet in his hands, still in its original condition, and asked: “Didn’t catch up?”
“I did catch up, but Miss Meixue absolutely refused to accept it, so I had to bring it back,” Chuyi’s words surprised Li Shimin greatly. “She wouldn’t accept it?”
Chuyi nodded: “Yes, she said something about not accepting unearned rewards, and no matter what I said, she wouldn’t take it.” Then he asked: “Second Young Master, what about this wintersweet…”
Li Shimin was about to speak when Liuxia hurried over, bowed to him, and said: “Second Young Master, the Second Madam requests that you come over, saying there’s something to discuss.”
“I’ll go right away.” After saying this, Li Shimin saw Chuyi still standing to the side and said: “Put it in my room for now.”
When Wang Wei and Gao Junyan got up, they remembered Yunyi again. When they learned that this person had already gone home for the New Year, they were quite displeased. Using the excuse of wanting to appreciate singing and dancing, they hinted that Li Shimin should summon her back. Li Shimin was afraid they would pester Yunyi, which was why he had let her go home early—how could he possibly summon her back now? Regarding Wang Wei’s repeated hints, he only pretended not to understand, which made Wang Wei quite displeased.
When Li Jiancheng learned of this matter, he advised Li Shimin to present Yunyi to Wang Wei, to prevent him from stirring up trouble before Yang Guang when he returned to the capital, which would bring disaster to the Li family. This kind of petty person was capable of anything.
Li Shimin knew he was telling the truth, but asking him to send an innocent woman into the tiger’s mouth was something he simply couldn’t do, especially since he had feelings for Yunyi…
This was the most difficult New Year’s Eve that Li Shimin had experienced in his twenty years of life. He had thought about finding a woman with plain looks to replace Yunyi, to dispel Wang Wei’s thoughts. After all, Wang Wei hadn’t actually seen Yunyi’s true face that day. But to find someone with the same dancing skills as Yunyi—how could that be easy?
Because of this matter, Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin argued several times, each time ending in discord. According to Li Jiancheng’s thinking, they should hand Yunyi over to Wang Wei and his group. How could a mere country woman compare to the safety and survival of the entire Li family?
On this day, Li Jiancheng once again summoned Li Shimin to Qingchun Garden. As soon as he entered, he heard Li Jiancheng say coldly: “Have you thought it through?”
Li Shimin gritted his teeth and said with lowered head: “If our Li family can’t even protect the common people within our jurisdiction, who will dare to come and seek our protection in the future?!”
“According to what you’re saying, we should just let Wang Wei slander us before the Emperor and let the Li family be destroyed? In your heart, is a mere woman more important than the rise and fall of the Li family?”
“No.” Before Li Shimin could finish speaking, Li Jiancheng had already said coldly: “But from your current behavior, that’s exactly what it looks like! Shimin, I’ve told you many times that those who accomplish great things cannot have the compassion of women. Why do you always fail to cast aside this unnecessary mercy?”
Without waiting for Li Shimin to speak, he said coldly: “I’ll have Feng Li go bring Wu Meixue here to hand over to Wang Wei.”
Li Shimin was shocked and hurriedly said: “Big brother…”
Li Jiancheng said solemnly: “I know you have feelings for this Wu Meixue, but for the sake of the Li family, we must do this.” Seeing that Li Shimin remained silent, his expression softened slightly, and he said with heartfelt sincerity: “Shimin, it’s not that your big brother wants to make things difficult for you, but the Li family right now truly cannot afford to offend Wang Wei and his group.”