Jiang Lan was unaware of Su Qinghe’s current state of mind, her attention wholly consumed by the vexing sight of Qin Yuehan walking ahead.
The courtyard featured elegant pavilions and murmuring springs, with bamboo groves around artificial hills growing lush and verdant.
Yet none of this beauty could compare to Qin Yuehan standing silently by the pond.
His cool gaze rested on the water, his green robes lending him an air of noble detachment.
Jiang Lan stood beneath the corridor eaves, watching Qin Yuehan who had been giving her the cold shoulder for days.
“Jiang Lan, why aren’t you going in?” A woman’s voice boomed from behind.
Hearing the commotion, Qin Yuehan turned and, seeing Jiang Lan with her friend, approached them slowly.
He then bowed slightly to Jiang Lan before offering another bow to Hu Yue.
Frowning at this, Jiang Lan reached out to support his wrist and moved to his side, saying gently, “There’s no need for such formality with me. This is Hu Yue, my colleague at the Imperial Academy and my friend.”
Hu Yue rarely saw such softness on Jiang Lan’s face. Noting her attitude toward Qin Yuehan, she smiled and said, “There’s no need for such courtesy, Jiang Husband. If anything, I’m the one intruding.”
Jiang Lan made the introduction with seriousness, so Hu Yue naturally dared not treat Qin Yuehan lightly.
In this world where women dominated and men were subordinate, even the master of the household seldom appeared before his wife’s friends.
But Jiang Lan seemed to completely disregard these conventions, holding Qin Yuehan’s hand without any intention of letting go.
Having spent time with Jiang Lan recently, Hu Yue knew well that beneath her friend’s gentle temperament and striking beauty lay a formidable nature.
Thus, when Qin Yuehan tried to pull away, Jiang Lan smiled at Hu Yue and asked, “You don’t mind if I bring my husband along, do you?”
Hu Yue hurriedly nodded, not daring to utter a word of objection.
Qin Yuehan, however, froze at these words, his peach blossom eyes looking at Jiang Lan in confusion.
Without explaining, Jiang Lan instead summoned Qin Zhong and whispered a few instructions to him before turning back to Qin Yuehan with a smile. “Let’s go.”
A carriage waited quietly at the gate.
“Husband, be careful.” Jiang Lan took Qin Yuehan’s wrist and assisted him into the carriage.
Standing below, Hu Yue watched this scene wide-eyed, her slender eyes widening further in astonishment.
“Get in already! What are you staring at? Need me to help you too?” Jiang Lan walked to the carriage beside Hu Yue and briskly entered the compartment.
Snapping out of her daze, Hu Yue followed Jiang Lan into the carriage.
“Wait, so you came to your residence just to bring your husband out?” Hu Yue asked, her voice slightly unsteady.
Leaning against the carriage wall, a trace of weariness showed on Jiang Lan’s beautiful face. Though she was gradually getting used to carriage rides, they still made her somewhat uncomfortable.
Then Hu Yue saw her friend raise an eyebrow with a roguish look and say, “What else? Did you think I specially brought him out just to introduce him to you?”
Hu Yue stared blankly for a moment before her cheeks flushed crimson. “Jiang Lan, what nonsense are you spouting?” she stammered.
Jiang Lan’s weariness instantly dissipated upon seeing Hu Yue’s reaction, leaving only a leisurely smile.
“Look how nervous you are, yet you dare to speak as Lin Yuezhi’s advocate. Quite bold of you,” Jiang Lan spoke again, reaching out to lift the carriage curtain as she gazed lazily out the window.
Hu Yue sat opposite Jiang Lan, startled by her relaxed yet commanding demeanor.
“You knew?” Hu Yue asked, her somewhat simple face showing traces of unease.
“Mm, Lin Yuezhi knows too. Everyone knows except you,” Jiang Lan replied before falling silent.
Meanwhile, in another comfortable and soft carriage, Qin Yuehan watched as Qin Zhong hurriedly caught up holding a jewelry box.
“Young Lord,” Qin Zhong called out slightly breathlessly after boarding the carriage, presenting the jewelry box to Qin Yuehan.
“What is this?” Qin Yuehan asked curiously as he accepted it.
“The family head instructed me to retrieve this from the study for you, saying you should open it yourself,” Qin Zhong explained.
Qin Yuehan froze at these words, lowering his gaze to the jewelry box with complicated emotions in his eyes.
Since returning to the residence that day, he had been cold toward Jiang Lan, though he knew in his heart he was being excessively willful.
But after meeting Su Qinghe, the suffocating resentment in his chest made it impossible to pretend nothing was wrong.
Qin Yuehan’s slender fingers traced the simple patterns on the jewelry box, betraying their owner’s unease.
When he opened the box, he found inside a hair crown made of premium mutton-fat white jade.
Mutton-fat jade, warm to the touch with texture fine as suet – its value was immediately apparent, far beyond what a woman from an impoverished family like Jiang Lan could afford.
Qin Yuehan suddenly grew concerned. Since Jiang Hongshi’s departure, he had been managing the Jiang household’s finances and knew exactly how limited Jiang Lan’s means were.
[Congratulations host, as male lead Qin Yuehan has developed concern for you, the Darkening Level has decreased. Current male lead Darkening Level: 15%.]
System 009’s voice suddenly echoed in Jiang Lan’s mind, instantly revitalizing her carriage-weary spirits.