The moon had risen above the trees, but thick clouds covered it, startling a few crows resting on the wall.
Yue Jingque stood at the entrance of the courtyard and looked at Wei Xinian, who was lying in the middle of the ancestral hall. He held a piece of fruit from the altar offerings and happily ate it.
The young man in white had one leg crossed over the other. He looked completely unrepentant.
Yue Jingque then looked toward the corner of the ancestral hall.
Li Zhenchun, dressed in light yellow and pale green, frowned as she painfully copied Buddhist scriptures. Beside her, Wei Nancheng quietly read a book of political essays.
“Young Madam, shall we go inside?” a maid asked.
Yue Jingque replied calmly, “Take the food box to the Eldest Young Madam and the Eldest Young Master. She returned to her parents’ home today, then came back and had to kneel in the ancestral hall. She probably hasn’t had a proper meal all day.”
Nanzhi frowned slightly.
“Isn’t it for the Second Young Master?”
Yue Jingque glanced at Wei Xinian, who was lying comfortably on the prayer cushion.
“Isn’t he already eating? Say a few words to provoke him, but don’t let him steal the Elder Young Madam’s food.”
Li Zhenchun stared at the black words on the white paper.
Soon, the characters seemed to float and wiggle before her eyes like earthworms.
She shook her head.
She was tired, sleepy, and hungry. No wonder she was starting to hallucinate.
She took a deep breath, blinked hard, and was just about to continue writing when a maid walked into the ancestral hall.
Li Zhenchun recognized her. She was the maid who always followed Yue Jingque.
The maid walked over and placed a food box in front of her.
“Eldest Young Madam, my mistress remembered that you returned to your parents’ home today and haven’t had dinner yet. She asked me to bring you some pastries and tea to fill your stomach.”
Li Zhenchun froze.
She looked at Wei Xinian lying on the cushion, then looked back at the maid.
“For me?”
“It’s for you and the Eldest Young Master.”
Wei Xinian climbed off the cushion and limped over.
“What about me? I haven’t eaten dinner either.”
Nanzhi lowered her eyes respectfully.
“The Second Young Master is capable of anything. Surely you don’t need servants to prepare food. As long as you wish, with one wave of your sleeve, countless beautiful women outside the Wei residence will gladly dress and feed you.”
“Besides, these were personally prepared by my mistress. I’m sure they aren’t to your liking.”
Wei Xinian’s hand froze in midair before opening the food box.
He turned to Nanzhi with a blank look.
“Yue Jingque made them herself?”
“Yes.”
“She poisoned them, didn’t she?”
He immediately pulled his hand back in disgust.
“I’m afraid of being poisoned to death. I don’t want them.”
Li Zhenchun tilted her head toward him.
It was rare to meet someone this simple-minded.
Even she, who came from an ordinary merchant family, knew poisoning was a foolish trick that was easy to expose.
Besides, the food was meant for both her and Wei Nancheng.
If she died, it might not matter much. But poisoning Wei Nancheng was a capital crime.
Yue Jingque wasn’t stupid enough to do something like that.
Li Zhenchun smiled brightly.
“Please thank your mistress for me.”
After Nanzhi left, Li Zhenchun secretly glanced at Wei Nancheng, wondering how to speak to him.
Wei Xinian leaned over her desk and watched her.
She kept sneaking looks at his older brother like a guilty student trying to copy someone else’s answers.
She wanted to look but didn’t dare do it openly.
So timid. No backbone at all.
Li Zhenchun finally gathered her courage.
“Would you…”
Before she could finish, Wei Xinian interrupted.
“Big Brother, do you want to eat these poisoned pastries?”
Li Zhenchun immediately turned toward him.
“They’re not poisoned!”
“You fool, what do you know?” Wei Xinian said confidently. “That woman Yue Jingque is so clever. She must want to poison you first, then take control of the household from Aunt.”
He slapped the table.
“Oh no! If the first step is poisoning you, then the second step must be poisoning Aunt too! Mmff—”
Li Zhenchun stuffed a lotus pastry into the fool’s mouth, silencing him.
Finally,
The whole world became peaceful.
Wei Nancheng looked up at her.
Only then did Li Zhenchun suddenly remember he was there.
She slowly turned her head and met his deep black eyes.
She froze like a statue, her mouth slightly open.
His gaze seemed so intense that she shivered and quickly looked away.
Wei Nancheng lowered his eyes again.
“You and the Second Brother can share those pastries. I’m not hungry.”
Wei Xinian held the pastry in his mouth while looking back and forth between the silent Li Zhenchun and Wei Nancheng, who had returned to reading.
He removed the pastry from his mouth.
“If you lower your head any more, it’ll disappear into the desk.”
Li Zhenchun stayed silent.
Compared to arguing with Wei Xinian, she would rather avoid attracting Wei Nancheng’s attention.
…
The ancestral hall was very quiet late at night.
As she ate a pastry, Li Zhenchun secretly glanced at Wei Nancheng again.
Actually, she felt he wasn’t as cold and heartless as people said.
On their wedding night, he had let her sleep on the bed while he curled up on a small couch.
When she had been punished for kneeling, he had spoken for her.
He had even given her his share of the pastries.
Compared to Wei Xinian, Wei Nancheng was simply more serious.
She was just… too afraid to look at him.
After finally finishing copying the scriptures, Li Zhenchun rubbed her numb legs and left with Wei Nancheng.
The only reason they could leave so smoothly was because the fool, Wei Xinian, had fallen asleep on the prayer cushions, snoring like a dead pig.
Her legs were still numb.
As she walked down the steps outside the ancestral hall, her knees suddenly gave way, and she stumbled forward.
Just before she could fall flat on her face, an arm wrapped around her waist.
Once she regained her balance, the arm quietly withdrew.
Not daring to look at its owner, Li Zhenchun softly said,
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
While her heart was still racing, a hand holding a lantern appeared before her.
“It’s dark in the courtyard. Take the lantern.”
Li Zhenchun stared at the back of his hand before quietly accepting the lantern.
Perhaps the peach blossoms near the ancestral hall had bloomed.
Their sweet fragrance drifted into her nose, filling her heart with warmth.
Her heart jumped wildly like a frightened deer running through a peach blossom forest.
Walking ahead of her, Wei Nancheng said calmly,
“I’m busy with official duties. In the future, I won’t be able to stay by your side like an ordinary husband.”
“Oh…”
Li Zhenchun answered softly.
Her quiet reply made Wei Nancheng glance back at her.
Seeing her shrinking her neck like a frightened bird, he turned around and continued walking.
The next morning, in Chen Runiang’s courtyard, Li Zhenchun looked like a sleepy puppy as she greeted her mother-in-law and presented the Buddhist scriptures she had copied the previous night.
Chen Runiang looked at her.
When she noticed the dark circles under Li Zhenchun’s eyes, she frowned slightly.
“After you finished copying the scriptures last night, did you and Dalang stay up causing trouble?”
“Huh?”
Li Zhenchun forced herself to stay awake and widened her eyes.
“No.”
“We’re not children. Why would we fool around?”
Her sleepy mind didn’t understand what Chen Runiang meant.
She only remembered being so tired that she could barely keep her eyes open after returning.
How could she have had the energy to play around?
Chen Runiang looked at her innocent expression and sighed quietly.
“Where is Dalang?”
“He left early this morning. He probably went to the Shuntian Prefecture.”
At least she knew the answer to that question.
Chen Runiang looked at her and silently gave up.
This girl isn’t very quick-witted. If she can keep Dalang’s attention, it’ll be a miracle.
She picked up the copied scriptures from the stone table.
First she looked at Wei Nancheng’s beautiful handwriting.
Then she looked at Li Zhenchun’s.
She raised her head.
“Didn’t your family hire a tutor for you?”
These characters look like random scribbles.
Li Zhenchun lowered her head.
“They did, but my parents weren’t very strict when I was little. Our family also wasn’t wealthy, so the tutor only came on rest days. Most of the time, I studied by myself.”
“By yourself?”
Chen Runiang frowned slightly.
“Grandma Bai, bring several books of the classics from my room. I’ll test the Young Madam.”
Li Zhenchun’s eyes immediately widened.
The next moment, she dropped to her knees.
“I loved playing when I was little and hardly read any books. I only recognize a few simple characters.”
Chen Runiang took a deep breath and held her chest.
I really don’t know what Dalang’s late father was thinking when he arranged this marriage.
Li Zhenchun secretly looked up at her mother-in-law’s expression and obediently said,
“I was wrong. Mother, if you teach me from now on, I’ll study hard.”
Chen Runiang told her to return first.
She needed time to decide whether to hire a tutor for Li Zhenchun or send her to a women’s academy.
Traditionally, once a woman married, she learned to manage the household from her mother-in-law.
But Li Zhenchun knew almost nothing.
Everything had to be taught from the beginning.
Chen Runiang was troubled.
Li Zhenchun was troubled too.
She had never liked studying.
She thought getting married meant she would never have to read books again.
Who knew her mother-in-law would come from such a scholarly family?
“You’ll see! Even if I never study, I’m still full of good qualities!”
Wei Xinian’s arrogant voice echoed through the back garden.
Li Zhenchun stopped walking and looked toward the garden.
“That sounds like the Second Young Master’s voice,” Hongxiu said beside her.
“Let’s go take a look.”