At the sight of Li Yunluo, Little Yun trotted over at once. “Aunt Yunluo, you knew my uncle came to the academy?”
Yunluo gently stroked Little Yun’s rounded head, smiling brightly. “Of course. Whatever your uncle does, Aunt Yunluo knows—it’s called telepathy.”
In truth, Fourth Uncle had mentioned it to her on the road while driving his ox cart, yet she insisted on framing it with such intimacy, her voice loud and clear.
It was impossible for Lin Yuhe to miss. Her heart sank with a dull ache.
She felt certain now that Xie Shuhuai’s enrollment in Yunxiang Academy was entirely due to Yunluo’s persuasion. She thought to herself that it was no wonder the master had waived the tuition—Yunluo must have covered it for him.
Earlier, she had been quietly thrilled, believing Shuhuai had joined the academy because he took her own advice to heart. These past few days, that thought had fueled her determination to earn money. To realize it was all because of Yunluo left a sharp, bitter tang in her chest, and her eyes welled up with unshed tears.
Losing all heart to listen to their conversation, Yuhe focused entirely on wrapping her glutinous rice cakes.
While Yunluo doted on Little Yun, Shuhuai’s eyes drifted through the crowd moving in and out of the gate, settling on Yuhe standing under the large shade tree.
Unbeknownst to anyone, her lower abdomen was already showing a faint curve, yet her hands worked with nimble efficiency, wrapping portion after portion of rice cakes as though she felt no exhaustion.
A complex, bewildered emotion surged in Shuhuai’s cool, quiet gaze, locking his eyes onto her figure for a long time.
Noticing Shuhuai staring so intently at Yuhe, Yunluo assumed he found Yuhe’s presence embarrassing. She deliberately stirred the pot. “Brother Shuhuai, with all these scholars passing by, having Sister Lin selling lunch right here… I worry it reflects poorly on you.”
Not a single ripple passed through Shuhuai’s eyes as he replied in a flat, tranquil voice. “What is so poor about it? To have the chance to earn an honest living is a testament to her own ability.”
Though Mrs. Cui and Little Yun had kept it a secret from him, Shuhuai had known about Yuhe’s stall all along.
Yunluo was quick-witted enough to catch the defensive edge in his tone. Feeling a pang of displeasure alongside a swell of surprise, she quickly smoothed her expression. “Brother Shuhuai is quite right. Sister Lin and Auntie are remarkably capable indeed.”
She shifted the topic seamlessly. “I came today to tell you about something else. Tonight, the grand scholars of Xuyang are holding a literary gathering at Sihai Tea House. My elder brother has invitations, and he offered to take us.”
She leaned in slightly, her voice gentle and persuasive. “The more influential people you know, the more they will reach out with direct invitations to future gatherings. You don’t need to arrive early—I can come pick you up right after your classes finish.”
Yunluo’s elder brother, Li Yunshen, was a lover of poetry himself. After failing the civil service exams twice, he had lost his desire to compete and instead joined their father in business.
When the Xie family fell on hard times, Yunshen had quietly offered Shuhuai help on numerous occasions. It was only after Shuhuai’s family relocated to Hongye Village that the two grew distant. Deep down, Yunshen held great respect for Shuhuai and was eager to have him as a brother-in-law. This gathering was his intentional effort to introduce Shuhuai to wider literary circles and expand his network.
Without a moment’s hesitation, Shuhuai turned down the offer with calm resolve. “I appreciate Sister Yunluo’s thoughtful gesture, but I have always disliked noisy gatherings.”
Yunluo was thoroughly baffled. Such an invitation was an opportunity no ambitious scholar would dream of turning down. Attending these gatherings allowed scholars to build crucial social connections, exchange knowledge, and refine their craft among peers. Countless impoverished scholars lingered outside the tea house for hours, hearts aching with regret because they lacked an official invitation.
Yunluo explained patiently, “Those attending tonight are all renowned scholars and literati of Xuyang. Going will bring you nothing but benefit, Brother Shuhuai. Even the most respected masters of your academy are likely on the guest list.”
Faced with her persistent pressure, Shuhuai—a man of few words by nature—offered no elaborate excuses.
He simply dropped a brief sentence. “I must return to the lecture hall to review my studies. Farewell.”
It was the first time Yunluo had experienced Shuhuai’s unyielding detachment firsthand, and a wave of aggrieved frustration settled in her chest.
Fearing Yunluo might take offense, Mrs. Cui stepped in to smooth things over. “Yunluo, don’t mind him—that’s just how he is. He prefers quiet and rarely attends such events.”
A feeling of utter helplessness washed over Yunluo. She realized her understanding of Xie Shuhuai was far less complete than she had believed.
She had assumed that if she personally invited him, he would never refuse. Yet he had declined without leaving a shred of leeway.
Exchanging a few polite words with Mrs. Cui, Yunluo boarded her carriage and departed from the academy gates.
As the carriage approached the county town, Dongyue poked her head out through the gauze curtains and spotted Lin Yuhe riding in an ox cart behind them.
“Mistress, Sister Lin is right behind us.”
Troubled by the day’s frustrations and desperate for someone to untangle her doubts, Li Yunluo ordered the coachman to pull over and had Dongyue signal the ox cart to stop.
Not wanting to delay the other passengers on board, Yuhe paid Fourth Uncle her fare. Heavy with the child, she moved with careful deliberation, taking her time to step down.
Yunluo and Dongyue simply watched with cold indifference, offering no hand to help. In the end, an elderly woman from Hongye Village, unable to bear the sight, gently steadied Yuhe as she alighted from the cart.
“Sister Lin, come ride in my carriage,” Yunluo offered smoothly. “I’ll give you a lift.”
Tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear that had been ruffled by the breeze, Yuhe smiled faintly. “No need. I doubt Miss Dongyue would care to lay out a seat cushion for me anyway. If you have something to say, Miss Li, please speak freely.”
She had originally set out for the market to buy glutinous rice, only to be intercepted by Yunluo. She was curious to see what game the young lady was playing now.
“Sister Lin, it must be truly exhausting to sell lunches outside the academy in such blistering heat,” Yunluo sighed, her voice dripping with pity. “To be pregnant and still forced to toil for a livelihood, with no one to cherish or care for you…”
Yuhe was in no mood to endure her passive-aggressive taunts today, nor did she intend to play along with her delicate act.
She countered with sharp irony, “Who says no one cares for me? Isn’t Miss Li showing up before me time and again precisely because you care so deeply? When I was in Hongye Village, you came to Hongye Village. When I set up a stall at the academy gates, you followed right behind. Speaking of toiling and bustling about, I could hardly match your devotion, Miss Li.”
Yunluo’s face turned pale with anger. She had stopped Yuhe intending to vent her pent-up frustration, only to be dealt a sharp blow right out of the gate.
“It seems Miss Li only wishes to indulge in idle gossip,” Yuhe said, taking a step back. “I am quite busy today, so I shall take my leave.”
Seeing her about to walk away, Yunluo finally blurted out her question with reluctant haste. “Brother Shuhuai… does he truly dislike lively gatherings?”
A subtle twitch touched the corner of Yuhe’s mouth. Leaving the question unanswered, she turned and kept walking.
Yunluo pressed on behind her. “What, is the kindness I showed you last time—playing the fool to help you sell off that stale rice—not even worth a single word from you?”
Yuhe ignored her completely, quickening her pace.
Unable to stomach the snub, Yunluo raised her voice. “Our embroidery shop is short on seamstresses! Are you interested, Sister Lin?”
It was undeniably an enticing offer, but Yuhe deduced that Yunluo must have suffered a cold rejection from Xie Shuhuai earlier.
Turning around slowly, Yuhe offered a calm smile. “I thank Miss Li for pointing out a path to earn silver. However, my body cannot endure heavy labor right now, so I must decline your kind offer.”
Selling glutinous rice cakes and fruit cordial allowed her to rely on Mrs. Cui’s help, taking up half a day at most before she could return home to rest. Working as a seamstress in an embroidery shop, on the other hand, meant straining her eyes and hands all day without pause—a toil her pregnant body simply couldn’t handle. Besides, the wage might not even match what she earned selling rice cakes.
“Miss Li, you are the one destined to marry Xie Shuhuai in the future,” Yuhe added softly. “You shouldn’t always be trying to fish information out of my mouth. You know as well as I do that he has always detested me. I know far less about him than you do. Besides, he personally told me that his heart belongs to you—what else could you possibly worry about?”
Those words acted like a soothing remedy to Yunluo’s anxious mind, instantly clearing away the knot in her chest.
Yet a quiet bitterness lingered in Yuhe’s heart. Despite everything she had done lately, she still hadn’t managed to earn a single kind word from Shuhuai. A growing urge to give up began to settle in her mind—she even entertained the thought of taking her child and leaving the Xie family altogether once the time came. After all, no mother would willingly give birth to her child only to hand it over to another woman to raise.
Because of the delay on the road, dusk had already fallen by the time Yuhe finished purchasing her ingredients and started her journey back.
A shop assistant named A-Zhu drove the ox cart to drop her off at the junction. Before she could even step down, her eyes caught sight of Xie Shuhuai standing at the fork in the path.
Standing tall and straight against the fading light, his cool gaze swept directly toward her.