The room was so quiet that only the soft rustle of Cui Zhuo’s brush gliding across paper and the sound of pages turning could be heard as he reviewed official documents.
Time passed minute by minute.
Li Tingyuan stood with her head bowed, her respectful demeanor unwavering.
Perhaps it was her imagination, but even with her head lowered, she could feel his gaze upon her—tangible, sweeping from her hairpin down to the hem of her skirt, filled with scrutiny.
Li Tingyuan discreetly wiped the fine sweat from her palms beneath her sleeves. Her heart raced uncontrollably once more under that lingering gaze.
After what felt like an eternity, the rustling of the brush against paper ceased.
Li Tingyuan held her breath. It was a long moment before she heard the man speak, his tone unhurried:
“Here to pay your respects?”
Li Tingyuan snapped back to attention, composed herself, and performed a proper bow:
“Tingyuan has come at Mother’s behest to pay respects to Elder Brother.”
Her gentle voice carried a faint, almost imperceptible tension.
Whether it was the term “Elder Brother” that displeased Cui Zhuo, he tapped his finger lightly on the desk and let out a soft chuckle.
Li Tingyuan pressed her lips together and remained silent.
The air grew still.
After a moment, Cui Zhuo spoke again, his eyes still fixed on the documents, his voice as flat and cold as before:
“Are you settling in well?”
Li Tingyuan’s heart tightened, and she grew even more cautious:
“In reply to Elder Brother, Qingning Yuan is quite comfortable. Thank you for your concern.”
As her words fell, Cui Zhuo finally set down his brush and lifted his gaze to her.
His amber eyes held an inexplicable depth. His calm gaze swept over her before finally settling on her slightly trembling eyelashes, betraying her nervousness.
Cui Zhuo’s thumb rubbed gently against his finger.
“Now that you have entered Cuifu, you must leave behind all that came before.”
His tone remained steady, yet each word was clear, carrying a warning that resonated in Li Tingyuan’s ears.
“The household has many rules, unlike your past. I hope you will be cautious in speech and conduct, and avoid missteps that could tarnish the family’s reputation.”
Li Tingyuan’s face paled. She blinked, forcing back the grievance welling in her eyes.
“Yes, Tingyuan understands.”
She lowered her head, her voice softer now, obedient and proper. “Tingyuan will strictly abide by the rules and dare not disobey.”
Cui Zhuo stared at the crown of her head, his eyes deep and unreadable.
After a long pause, his tone softened slightly:
“If you lack anything, you may come and inform me directly. There is no need to be overly reserved.”
He paused. “If there is nothing else, you may leave.”
Li Tingyuan did not move.
Cui Zhuo halted as he reached for his brush again, raising an eyebrow slightly:
“Is there something else?”
Li Tingyuan clenched her sleeve lightly, mustered her courage, and looked up, meeting Cui Zhuo’s eyes directly as she asked earnestly:
“Does the Prince dislike me calling you Elder Brother?”
What she truly wanted to ask was whether he disliked her—whether he resented Madam Cui taking her in as an Adopted Daughter, fearing it might disgrace Cuifu’s standing.
Yet she lacked the courage to voice it so bluntly.
The man opposite her paused, lifting his eyelids to give her an inscrutable look.
Li Tingyuan herself did not know why she had asked such a question. Perhaps it was unwillingness, or perhaps the lingering unease from what had happened three years ago.
Though her heart was uneasy, she did not retreat, meeting his gaze directly.
Cui Zhuo studied her for a moment, then set down his brush again, leaning back slightly in his chair. His posture relaxed into a casual ease that had been absent before, his eyelids lowering slightly.
In contrast, Li Tingyuan was tense all over, her knuckles clenched at her side turning white, like prey caught in a hunter's sights.
Their gazes collided in mid-air.
After a long while, Cui Zhuo was the first to look away.
"Li Tingyuan—"
His tone was casual as he picked up the white jade thumb ring from beside him and put it back on, slowly rising to his feet and walking around the desk.
The man's tall figure drew closer and closer, his gaze like a net, tightly locking onto her.
The scent of pine resin mixed with a faint, heated masculine presence pressed down upon her.
Li Tingyuan clenched her fists, instinctively taking half a step back, swallowing before saying:
"Broth…"
Before the word "brother" could fully leave her lips, Cui Zhuo glanced down at her, a faint, almost imperceptible chuckle escaping his throat.
Before she could react, he had already moved past her, walking to the bookshelf behind her and taking down an account ledger. His voice returned to its earlier calm:
"Until you have calculated all the accounts in this ledger, you may not call me brother."
He handed the ledger over.
"Of course, if you make no mistakes in your calculations, I can also grant you one condition."
The heat on Li Tingyuan's face had not yet fully receded, and her heart was still pounding in her chest.
Grant her one condition?
Hearing this, her gaze fell blankly on the account ledger.
The man's fingers holding the ledger were pale and slender, like white jade carved into strong bones, with faint veins winding across the back of his hand—the kind only a grown man would have.
Those distinct, bony hands were steady and powerful; who knew how many matters concerning the people of the world had passed through them.
Cui Zhuo wore a white jade thumb ring on his thumb, the jade clear and warm, with pine and crane patterns carved so vividly they seemed alive.
Li Tingyuan's gaze shifted away as if burned, her cheeks flushing once more.
On that night three years ago, she had already learned the cool temperature and distinct, raised patterns of that thumb ring, which had touched too many things.
She swallowed softly, pushing away the untimely thoughts in her mind, and reached out to take the ledger.
Whether it was intentional or not, Li Tingyuan tried several times to pull the ledger from his hand but failed. Their fingers were so close they almost touched, as if in a standoff.
She looked up at him, her eyes filled with confusion.
The moment their gazes met, Cui Zhuo finally released his grip, but the look in his eyes was inscrutable, carrying an unclear meaning.
Li Tingyuan's heart tightened.
For a moment, looking at his expression, she almost thought he had deliberately put on that thumb ring just to show it to her.
Li Tingyuan let out a breath, pretending to be calm as she asked him quietly:
"Any condition at all?"
Behind her was the bookshelf, and the two were so close their breaths almost mingled.
Cui Zhuo was tall, and Li Tingyuan only reached his chest.
From Cui Zhuo's downward angle, the girl's cheeks were tinged with a faint pink, as delicate and vibrant as spring rain on crabapple blossoms. Her small, palm-sized face was upturned, her almond-shaped eyes wide with a hint of anticipation.
She likely didn't even know that her long, delicate eyelashes still held a few pitiful, glistening teardrops.
Cui Zhuo's gaze suddenly darkened, and he took a slight step back.
"Hmm."
He clasped his hands behind his back, his fingertips gently rubbing together, his Adam's apple bobbing:
"Any condition at all."
As the man stepped back, the overwhelming sense of oppression dissipated.
Only then did Li Tingyuan calm down again.
She took the ledger, lowered her eyes, and silently began calculating the condition she wanted in her heart.
Cui Zhuo's gaze drifted downward, subtly tracing the slight curve at the corner of her lips.
After returning, Li Tingyuan sat dazed at the desk for a while to calm her emotions, then eagerly began flipping through the account ledger Cui Zhuo had given her.
This was the ledger for one of the Cui Family’s rural estates in the outskirts, recording precisely the entire year’s revenue and expenditures for the entire estate.
Fortunately, the estate Cui Zhuo had entrusted to her was the smallest among the Cui Family’s properties, and it was well-managed, with relatively clear accounts.
After reviewing it for a long while, Li Tingyuan had a general understanding in her mind.
Just as she was about to mark a few places that seemed questionable at first glance, she looked around and realized… her room didn’t seem to have any writing brushes, ink, paper, or inkstones prepared.
It made sense—as a woman who had traveled a great distance to seek refuge, Mother Cui would naturally focus on arranging her daily necessities first, rather than prioritizing such items.
As for Cui Yueyao, there was no need to even consider it.
Just as she was hesitating whether to ask Cui Zhuo for a set of writing materials, a cheerful sound of footsteps suddenly came from outside the door.
Before Cui Yueyao even arrived, her voice rang out first.
“Yuanshu! Look what I’ve brought for you!”
Li Tingyuan instinctively tucked the account ledger on the table into a drawer before rising to greet her.
She saw Cui Yueyao carrying a large wooden box, huffing and puffing as she walked in. Behind her, two maids followed—one holding a thick stack of bedding, and the other carrying an even larger box, just like her.
Li Tingyuan stepped down the stairs and took the wooden box from Cui Yueyao’s hands, asking in confusion:
“What are all these things you’ve brought?”
Cui Yueyao shook her hands. “Is there water? I’m so thirsty!”
Li Tingyuan placed the box on the table and poured her a cup of water.
Cui Yueyao drank it all in one gulp, took a few breaths to recover, and patted the box, saying:
“Thinking you were coming back, I just ordered these a few days ago—rouge from Linglong Zhai and hairpins and jewelry from Jinyu Ge! And this bedding set—it’s made of Suzhou’s specially crafted Yunjin Sha, soft and skin-friendly. Mother specifically ordered it prepared for you!”
As soon as the wooden box was opened, Li Tingyuan indeed saw rows of various rouges and jewelry neatly arranged inside, all in fashionable and undoubtedly expensive styles.
Warmth filled her heart. She took Cui Yueyao’s hand and said softly:
“You’ve spent so much again. I’m already deeply grateful that Cuifu is willing to take me in…”
“What do you mean, ‘take you in’!”
Cui Yueyao glared at her. “From now on, you’re my own sister! If you keep being so polite, I won’t stand for it!”
Li Tingyuan pursed her lips into a gentle smile. “Thank you.”
“By the way, Miss, where should we put these?”
A young maid beside Cui Yueyao stepped forward, holding an elegant brocade box.
Li Tingyuan had noticed this brocade box earlier, precisely because it was more understated and vastly different from the dazzling wooden boxes Cui Yueyao had brought.
She saw a set of brushes and ink sticks placed inside, with a stack of paper tucked beneath the inkstone beside them.
“This is…”
“Oh, this…”
Cui Yueyao said casually:
“On my way here, I ran into Uncle Zhang. He said my brother ordered him to open the storeroom and distribute new sets of writing materials to each household. Well, this set happened to be meant for you, so I brought it along on my way.”
Cui Yueyao had no interest in writing brushes, ink, paper, or inkstones. After saying this, she pulled Li Tingyuan over to look at the newly purchased rouge.
Li Tingyuan glanced back, her gaze sweeping over the set of paper and brushes, as if someone had inadvertently plucked a string in her heart.
“By the way, speaking of my brother, did he give you a hard time this morning?”
Li Tingyuan was pulled down to sit by Cui Yueyao. Upon hearing this, she suddenly recalled the scene between the two of them in front of the bookshelf earlier, and an inexplicable sense of guilt surged in her heart.
Seeing her remain silent, Cui Yueyao thought she was being troubled again and quickly said:
"Don’t take it to heart. My brother is like that with everyone—he’s very strict! When I was little, if he found out I couldn’t recite my lessons, he’d make me copy them ten times, and that was considered lenient! He must value you highly, which is why he’s so strict with you."
Li Tingyuan inwardly smiled bitterly.
For his sister, it was a case of "wishing iron could turn into steel," but for her, it was simply "dislike."
However, these matters had nothing to do with Cui Yueyao, and she didn’t want to trouble her with them.
After a moment, Li Tingyuan suddenly remembered something and asked:
"By the way, you mentioned this morning that your brother isn’t married yet?"
"Oh! I almost forgot!"
Cui Yueyao slapped her forehead:
"That Lu Chengxiao is the child of my brother’s close friend. Lu Gege’s wife passed away from difficult childbirth two and a half years ago while giving birth to Chengxiao. Unable to bear the loss of his wife, Lu Gege entrusted Chengxiao to my brother half a year later and followed his wife in death."
Cui Yueyao fiddled with her fingers and sighed, "How could someone be so foolish, leaving behind a half-year-old child, ah…"
Li Tingyuan had met the "Lu Gege" Cui Yueyao mentioned a few times before. He was a very cheerful person, and his wife was equally bright. The two had been childhood sweethearts.
Who would have thought that child was theirs?
Recalling the vivid memories of those two, Li Tingyuan couldn’t help but feel a pang of sorrow and sighed along with her.
"But I can’t understand why my brother would take a liking to that Liu Mengyuan."
Cui Yueyao leaned against Li Tingyuan’s shoulder, twisting a strand of her hair as she muttered to herself:
"From what my mother said, it seems he once saw a handkerchief embroidered with the character ‘Yuan’ kept in my brother’s room. Who knows when Liu Mengyuan gave it to him? My brother has never accepted anything from a woman before…"
As Cui Yueyao continued chattering beside her ear, Li Tingyuan’s face suddenly turned deathly pale.
It was as if her entire body had plunged into an icy abyss, a chill rapidly creeping up her spine.
—After that night three years ago, she had indeed lost a handkerchief.