The candlelight was dim, casting two blurry figures against the gauze curtains.
The smoke from the gilt beast-head incense burner, which should have risen straight up, was scattered into a pale green mist by the crisp clinking of the silver hooks at the corners of the canopied bed, drifting through the sweltering air.
Beside the bed, jade-belted robes lay in a messy, scattered heap on the floor.
The faint light inside the curtains reflected off the man’s heaving shoulders, and beads of sweat glistened in the halo of light.
For a moment, as her eyes met the man’s burning and sharp gaze, Li Tingyuan had the fleeting illusion that he had already recognized her.
Cui Zhuo—the elder brother of her best friend, Cui Yueyao—was the coldest, most noble, and untouchable young lord of the capital’s elite families.
She had never imagined that one day she would have such a ridiculous encounter with him.
The sound of silk and bamboo instruments drifted in from the window.
Not far away, the crowd was bustling.
Li Tingyuan could even hear the sound of Cui Yueyao laughing and chatting with others just a door away. It felt as if, at any moment, she might push the door open and discover the shameful act of her brother and her friend cohabiting without a marriage contract.
Li Tingyuan was suddenly overcome with anxiety, and the man before her let out a low, muffled hiss.
Soon, he pinned her wrists again, pulling her nervous thoughts back into an even more violent tide.
The temperature within the dense brocade curtains continued to rise, the heat rolling with the fumes of wine.
Suddenly, a gust of damp, cold wind broke in from nowhere, blowing away the lingering romance in the curtains.
Li Tingyuan’s body felt a sudden drop, and she snapped awake.
The sunlight was blinding.
Her heart pounded violently, thumping as if it were about to burst from her chest.
Li Tingyuan clutched her chest and panted in small breaths, her gaze fixed blankly on the dappled light and shadows spilling in from beneath the carriage curtain. It took a long time for her to slowly come to her senses.
She had actually fallen asleep leaning against the small table in the carriage, exhausted from the long journey.
The young woman’s gaze fell upon the celadon porcelain cup before her. She raised her hand to pour herself a cup of tea, holding it with both hands as she took small sips until half was gone.
Under the bright light, her slender fingers were as translucent as jade, tightly gripping the cold, sky-blue porcelain cup.
Looking at the street scenery outside the carriage window—a sight she hadn’t seen in three years—Li Tingyuan felt a complex rush of emotions.
During the first year she left the capital, she had no idea how many times she had dreamt of that night.
Later, until her father fell seriously ill six months ago.
At that time, her mother knew nothing but self-pity and washing her face with tears. She had to care for her dying father, comfort her mother, and take responsibility for her younger brother’s studies.
She had been so busy all day that she never thought of that night again.
But upon returning to the capital this time, perhaps because she knew she would see that man again, she had begun to uncontrollably dream of that ridiculous night over and over again these past two days.
Li Tingyuan’s slender, elegant brows furrowed slightly, her pale fingertips pressing faint red marks into the rim of the cup.
Strictly speaking, this return to the capital was a matter of necessity.
In these three years, she had never intentionally sought out news of him.
Before that incident occurred, she had heard that the Cui residence was discussing a marriage alliance with the Shen residence. After all these years, he surely must have married and had children by now.
But if he already had a wife and children, how was she to face him in the mansion?
Li Tingyuan lowered her eyes slightly, her long lashes softly veiling the emotions within, her hands nervously picking at the rim of the cup.
The carriage soon turned a corner and came to a stop.
“Miss Li, we have arrived at the Gongfu.”
The coachman’s voice came from behind the curtain.
Li Tingyuan sat quietly for a moment before taking a deep breath. She dragged her heavy and apprehensive steps as she slowly descended from the carriage.
The spring sun was at its peak, spilling over her and driving away a hint of the chill in her fingertips.
Looking up, the four imperially bestowed gilt characters for “Zhenguo Gongfu” shone brilliantly under the fierce sunlight. The vermillion gates were high and wide, and the pair of bluestone Suanni before the door looked down upon the long street with majestic expressions.
Everything silently proclaimed the Cui family’s illustrious status and untouchable lineage.
It seemed that merely standing before these solemn and dignified gates was enough to make the shame and guilt she had worked so hard to conceal have nowhere to hide.
Li Tingyuan tightly clutched the bundle in her hands as if it were her only support, yet the anxiety in her heart only intensified.
Just then, the vermillion gates of the Gongfu slowly let out a heavy sound, and a figure in goose-yellow appeared outside.
“Yuanshu!”
Yuanshu was Li Tingyuan’s childhood name.
Inside the gate, Cui Yueyao’s eyes widened in surprise upon seeing her friend after three years. Holding up her skirt, she ran toward Li Tingyuan.
“How are you here at this hour? Didn’t you say you’d arrive in the afternoon? I was just planning to go to the city gate to wait for you!”
Cui Yueyao had a lively personality; she chattered away without any of the awkwardness of a three-year separation.
As she spoke, the pearl hairpins on her head glittered in the sunlight, appearing even more dazzling than those four gilt characters.
Li Tingyuan looked down at the hand unceremoniously hooked around her arm, then looked up at Cui Yueyao’s bright face. Her eyelashes fluttered, and a wave of warm, soft emotion seemed to flood into her chest silently.
After a long moment, a sincere smile slowly bloomed on her lips:
“I was anxious to see you, so the journey was a bit faster.”
Cui Yueyao snorted disdainfully:
“You’re always so good at sweet-talking me! Don’t think that saying that will make me forgive you for leaving without saying goodbye!”
Li Tingyuan couldn’t help but laugh. Just as she was about to coax her, she turned and realized that Cui Yueyao, who had been complaining a moment ago, now had slightly red eyes.
Cui Yueyao’s voice choked up, her words filled with heartache despite her complaining tone:
“How did you get so thin? You must not have taken good care of yourself all these years! Why didn’t you tell me when your family met with trouble? Even if I’m not very capable, my brother…”
Hearing her mention Cui Zhuo, Li Tingyuan’s expression stiffened unnaturally, and she lightly patted the other girl’s back:
“Haven’t I come back now?”
“But you…” Cui Yueyao was about to say more when a servant woman in her forties emerged from the mansion gates.
The woman wore expensive clothes and had her hair meticulously styled. She approached the two with measured steps and gave Li Tingyuan a smiling bow:
“Miss Li must be exhausted from the journey. Our Madam requests your presence inside.”
Saying that, she spoke to Cui Yueyao with earnest advice:
“Third Miss, let us go inside before talking.”
The Cui residence valued propriety; it was truly unbecoming for the young ladies of the house to be hugging and clinging at the main gate.
Cui Yueyao gave Li Tingyuan’s sleeve a small tug. “Let’s go in.”
In the past, Li Tingyuan often came to the Cui residence to find Cui Yueyao.
The Gongfu was elegant and grand, with pavilions, terraces, and shifting views at every step, exactly as it was in her memory.
However, after a three-year absence, these familiar sights inevitably felt as if they were behind an invisible veil, carrying a touch of strange detachment.
Li Tingyuan was somewhat distracted along the way.
Just as they rounded the screen at the East Flower Hall, a child’s milky voice spoke from inside, followed by the light laughter of everyone in the room.
Li Tingyuan’s footsteps came to an abrupt halt, and her face turned deathly pale.
Cui Yueyao looked at her strangely. “Why did you stop?”
Li Tingyuan regained her senses, shook her head, and followed her up the steps.
As they stepped into the flower hall, the room fell silent for a moment. Everyone’s gaze fell simultaneously upon Li Tingyuan.
It was Cui’s mother who spoke first:
“Is that Ting-ya-tou? Come quickly and let me see you.”
In the room, besides Cui’s mother, Chen Shi, there were also the aunt from the second branch, Wen Shi, as well as Wen Shi’s daughter-in-law, Liu Shi, and several distant cousins from the second branch.
As soon as she spoke, the rest of the people in the room became animated as well. Some praised Li Tingyuan for becoming even more beautiful after a few years, while others asked if the journey had been difficult.
Li Tingyuan replied to everyone one by one and smoothly approached Chen Shi.
Cui’s mother was holding a child nearly three years old in her arms. When Li Tingyuan approached, Wen Shi, who was closest, took the child.
Li Tingyuan silently pursed her lips and gathered her skirts to perform a formal bow. “Tingyuan pays respects to Madam…”
Before her knees could bend, her arms were gently supported by Cui’s mother.
“Good child, there is no need for such formality.”
Cui’s mother’s hands were warm and dry as she looked at Li Tingyuan lovingly, her voice full of pity:
“Why do you look so pale? And you’ve lost so much weight. You’ve suffered these years.”
Cui’s mother was a gentle woman in her early forties who spoke softly. She had been very supportive of Li Tingyuan in the past.
At her words, Li Tingyuan’s nose crinkled and her eyes grew hot:
“Thank you for your concern, Madam.”
When no one had told her she had worked hard, she didn’t feel much. But suddenly hearing another’s comfort, the grievance she had suppressed in her heart could no longer be held back.
Cui’s mother sighed, pulled Li Tingyuan close, wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, and said distressedly:
“Now that you’re back, good child, the Cui residence will be your home from now on.”
She pulled Li Tingyuan down to sit and said with a smile:
“When Yao-er said she wanted to bring you back to the capital, my heart was filled with joy. From now on, stay in the Cui residence with peace of mind. You can keep that little rascal company and keep her temperament in check.”
Cui Yueyao sat beside her mother with Li Tingyuan, deliberately putting on a displeased expression as she pouted:
“Mother! I am not a rascal!”
Cui’s mother glared at her, and everyone laughed heartily at her charmingly stubborn expression.
Cui Yueyao rubbed her nose and took Li Tingyuan’s arm, acting coquettishly:
“Since Yuanshu is back, why doesn’t Mother just adopt her as a daughter! I’ve wanted her to be my sister for a long time!”
Li Tingyuan had been uneasily glancing toward the door, but at those words, she turned her head sharply and instinctively refused:
“Yueyao, don’t talk nonsense, how could I dare…”
“Why wouldn’t you dare?”
Cui’s mother had always been quite fond of Li Tingyuan, and hearing this, she truly began to consider it.
She patted Li Tingyuan’s hand, her gaze sincere:
“You are a well-mannered child. I feel we have a special connection, and I’ve long regarded you as my own daughter. Yao-er is right. Ting-ya-tou, from now on, you shall call me ‘Mother’.”
Li Tingyuan lowered her head silently, twisting her sleeves, her heart racing.
To say she wasn’t tempted would be a lie. Setting Cui Zhuo aside, the Cui family had always treated her very well. Moreover, now that she was orphaned and without support, having a family would mean her future wouldn’t be too difficult…
Cui Yueyao shook her arm from the side, urging her:
“Yuanshu, hurry up and call her Mother!”
“Yes, from now on, Yao-er and Ting-ya-tou can be true sisters! Our Gongfu cherishes young girls so much!”
The others chimed in with joy.
Li Tingyuan knew that the affection this family showed her was sincere. This long-lost warmth was something she cherished deeply. But if she became a daughter of the Cui family, she would be that man’s sister…
She gripped her sleeves tightly, her eyelashes trembling violently, the conflicting emotions in her heart intensifying.
Cui Yueyao urged her continuously.
Li Tingyuan looked up, meeting Cui’s mother’s loving and encouraging gaze. Her lips moved, and the word “Mother” hovered between her teeth, carrying a hint of longing and trepidation, almost ready to burst out—
“Mother.”
A cold, deep voice rang out from behind her without warning.
The crisp sound was like a freezing wind blowing from the peak of a snowy mountain, instantly freezing the warmth of the room.
Li Tingyuan’s body stiffened, her blood seemingly congealing in that instant.
After a moment of stagnation, she stiffly and slowly turned her gaze.