Gu Yanchi's fingertip still clutched her sleeve, his tone laced with impatience and reproach.
"I know you're upset, but Miss Lin was present. Acting so shamelessly not only tarnishes the Marquis's Estate's reputation but also embarrasses her. Why do it?"
Qin Xianyue trembled, looking at him with disbelief.
His brows furrowed tighter, his gaze sweeping towards the door as if fearing someone might pass by.
"When did my concern become a tool for you to test my feelings or humiliate yourself in front of others? Jiao Jiao, you are truly too foolish today."
"Test..."
Qin Xianyue repeated in a low voice, feeling an icy chill rise from the soles of her feet, spreading through her veins to every limb.
The chill from being in the water seemed to have never dissipated, now transforming into an invisible lake, seeping into the room from all directions, enveloping and drowning her...
Suffocating her until she could barely breathe.
After a long pause, she looked up, her eyes misted over, her voice as light as a feather, yet carrying a heavy question.
"Elder Brother, do you still remember what you promised me when I gave you this jade pendant?"
Gu Yanchi's movement abruptly halted, his eyes suddenly darkening.
Memories surged like a tide.
It was the year after Qin Xianyue's fake young lady identity was exposed, on Gu Yanchi's birthday.
Clutching the precious jade pendant she had chosen for a long time, she had carefully hidden in the Marquis's Estate's plum grove, intending to give it to her elder brother personally after he finished his martial arts practice.
However, before she could wait for Gu Yanchi, she was intercepted by Gu Zhaoyun and two maidservants who had heard the news.
"A lowly servant girl living under someone else's roof, how dare you give a gift to the Young Master?"
Gu Zhaoyun swatted the jade pendant from her hand.
"This cheap trinket is an eyesore even on the ground. Remember, you are lowly, and what you give is also lowly. Eldest Brother doesn't care for such things."
Later, Qin Xianyue squatted on the ground, cradling the jade pendant covered in dirt stains, and cried for a long time.
It wasn't until she felt her tears were almost gone that Gu Yanchi found her and asked why she was crying.
She didn't want to mention how Gu Zhaoyun had deliberately made things difficult, only lifting her tear-streaked face and sobbing.
"I'm not part of the Marquis's Estate, and I'll have to leave sooner or later... I can't bear to leave Elder Brother..."
Gu Yanchi squatted down, gently wiping away her tears, his voice carrying a seriousness she had never heard before.
"Silly girl, a younger sister will eventually get married, but I have a way to keep Jiao Jiao in the Marquis's Estate forever, by my side."
Qin Xianyue didn't understand the meaning of "forever" at the time, only wanting to stay by her elder brother's side. She asked eagerly.
"What way?"
He looked at her reddened eyes and said, word by word.
"Sign a marriage contract, marry you as my wife."
The next day, Gu Yanchi indeed obtained the marriage contract from his maternal grandmother, the Old Madam.
It was at that moment that Qin Xianyue realized her gaze towards him had long since changed.
The "Elder Brother" who had protected her since childhood, whom she had called for so many years, had, at some point, become the one and only young man hidden in her heart, the one who stirred her emotions.
She had once thought that even just staying by his side as a little maidservant would be good.
But his promise and that marriage contract caused the wishful thinking in her heart to grow wildly like a prairie fire, without regard for its own limits.
......
Bringing up the events of that year now, Gu Yanchi's voice was a little strained.
"Of course, I will marry you, but now is not the time."
"What do you mean?"
Qin Xianyue's voice was as cold as ice.
"You only see me solving difficult cases and being promoted with honor, but you don't know how dangerous this Southern Tour has been. Prince Jin's faction is pressing hard. Without the Lin Family's assistance in court, the Marquis's Estate wouldn't be able to stand firm."
Gu Yanchi's tone carried a hint of exhaustion.
"Jiao Jiao, if the Marquis's Estate is on the verge of collapse, even if I marry you, what can I give you? You would only suffer with me."
Qin Xianyue opened her mouth, almost blurting out her words.
She didn't want luxurious food and clothing; what she had always wanted was to be together day and night, to be a couple through life and death.
Even if life was simple, even if the road ahead was bumpy, as long as she could be by his side, she would be content.
But Gu Yanchi seemed to see through her thoughts. Before she could speak, he interrupted her, his tone carrying an undeniable assertiveness.
"Just endure a few years in the estate. When I've truly established myself in court and completely secured the Marquis's Estate's position, I'll elevate you to the status of a principal wife. What's wrong with that?"
Hearing him personally admit to the marriage with the Lin Family, admitting he wanted her to stay in the Marquis's Estate as a concubine...
Qin Xianyue felt something explode in her mind.
If she, with her status, entered the estate as a concubine, how could the proud Lin Meijun and the powerful Lin Family possibly let her off easily?
Would they allow her to stay peacefully for a few years, giving her a chance to threaten the Main Wife's position?
She carefully observed the peerlessly handsome young man before her, as if she had never truly seen him clearly.
It was he who had sown the seed in her heart back then.
Now, the seed had grown into a towering tree, and he was uprooting it.
Suddenly, Qin Xianyue tugged at the corner of her lips.
But the smile never reached her eyes, only spreading a hint of desolation at the corners of her brows, like lingering snow about to fall from a winter branch.
"Elder Brother, I don't want to stay in the Marquis's Estate anymore."
Gu Yanchi seemed unable to believe she would want to leave, to leave him.
After looking at her for a while, he said with certainty.
"You're just saying that out of anger. Where can you go if you leave the Marquis's Estate?"
After all, in his view, Qin Xianyue had no one in the world to rely on. Staying in the Marquis's Estate would at least ensure her food and clothing.
Moreover, he already considered her his woman. Who could she marry if she left him?
"I want to go back to You Ning..."
Qin Xianyue was unusually calm.
"I heard that's my hometown. I want to see it."
Gu Yanchi frowned, pondered for a moment, and said.
"Then when I have time, I'll take you back for a visit."
"No need."
Qin Xianyue pulled back her sleeve and took two steps back, creating distance between them.
"Elder Brother just took office and must be busy with many affairs. You can't neglect public duties for personal matters."
The annoyance that Gu Yanchi had just suppressed resurfaced as she deliberately kept her distance.
He wanted to say more, but just then, the door was gently pushed open.
Bao Xiang entered with a set of new silk skirts. Seeing the tense atmosphere between them, she didn't dare to ask further. She simply bowed and greeted "Young Master," then stood silently by the side.
Gu Yanchi looked at Qin Xianyue's resolute profile, swallowing the words that had reached his lips.
He knew that any further explanation now would be futile, so he could only say in a deep voice.
"Think about it carefully. Everything I've done is for your own good."
With that, he turned and left in a huff.
Once she confirmed he was far away, Bao Xiang let out a long sigh and carefully approached with the dress.
"Miss, the attendants on the painted boat are truly thoughtful. I casually asked if they had anything dry, and before long, they brought this set of high-quality silk skirts."
She said softly as she stepped forward to help Qin Xianyue remove her damp clothes and change into the newly brought silk dress.
She had initially thought that since the clothes were found in a hurry, they might not fit well.
To her surprise, they fit perfectly when she put them on, as if... as if they were custom-made to her exact measurements.
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