Standing behind Ji Hanyi, Rong Chun trembled with rage at these words.
Li Mingrou didn’t just have a problem with the scent of begonias; she simply couldn’t stand to see the Young Madam have any peace of mind.
Whenever she saw the relationship between the Young Madam and the Eldest Young Master improve even slightly, she would always stir up trouble.
The Young Madam loved begonias because her mother had loved them. Her father had personally planted a whole courtyard for her mother; it was through begonias that her parents’ fate had first intertwined.
The begonias were the Young Madam’s solace. Yet, because of a single word from Li Mingrou, the Eldest Young Master had ordered all the begonias the Young Madam had planted with her own hands to be uprooted.
That day, the Young Madam had wept in sorrow, begging the Eldest Young Master to leave just one, but he hadn’t even blinked as he had the men pull them all up.
Now, nearly two years later, bringing up this old matter was like rubbing salt in the Young Madam’s wounds.
Ji Hanyi turned her head to look out the window.
In the first year of her marriage into the Xie family, she had believed she and Xie Yuheng would live their lives in harmony, just as her mother and father had.
After all, Xie Yuheng was noble and upright; she had heard of his honorable reputation long ago.
They said he possessed the noble character of a gentleman, untainted by filth.
She had planted the begonias thinking she could live a peaceful and stable life here.
Every flower she had planted by hand had received her utmost care.
Now, the view outside the window was desolate. A single glance revealed only a flat expanse of white, without a trace of color.
Ji Hanyi turned back, her expression remaining composed.
She had indeed been heartbroken for a long time. With no one to comfort her, and unable to let her mother and maternal grandmother worry for her, she had spent her nights alone until the wounds healed themselves and no longer hurt.
Her fingertips remained slightly cold; even the tea could not warm her entire body. Ji Hanyi spoke softly, “Begonias can be seen anywhere. It is the people who matter most.”
Her unhurried words made Li Mingrou feel as though she had thrown a punch into a bale of cotton.
She hadn’t expected that even after being pushed to this point, Ji Hanyi would still stubbornly cling to a man who didn’t love her.
It was only because her family had fallen into ruin that she couldn’t bear to let go of this wealth and status.
She looked down on such a person from the bottom of her heart.
She hadn’t come here to show Ji Hanyi any respect. Having reached the age of fifteen a year ago, she could wait no longer.
Li Mingrou sat up slightly straighter, the disdain and arrogance in her eyes no longer hidden. “Do you know? The year you came to find Cousin with your marriage certificate, my aunt had already begun planning for me to marry him.”
“If you hadn’t barged in with a ten-year-old marriage certificate, I would already be Cousin’s wife by now.”
“In the two years since you married into the Xie family, you should understand my place in Cousin’s heart.”
“If you’re sensible enough to request a divorce yourself, I can persuade Cousin and Aunt to give you some compensation.”
Having finished, Li Mingrou stood up, casting a contemptuous look at Ji Hanyi. “Cousin-in-law, don’t be foolish.”
“Cousin didn’t even care when you stood in the snow all night. Are you still not awake? He doesn’t care about you at all.”
“One must recognize their own place. Don’t be too greedy.”
The curtain swayed gently as the sound of light footsteps faded away.
Li Mingrou tucked her hands into her sleeves and looked at the unthawed snow in the courtyard. Seeing the pear tree in the corner had grown tall, she exhaled a breath of white mist and smiled again.
That pear tree was planted by her and her cousin together when she first arrived at the Xie manor as a child. Her cousin said that as long as this pear tree remained, she would always be important.
He would always protect her.
She looked down on Ji Hanyi.
Because Ji Hanyi didn’t understand—what isn’t yours will never be yours.
Even if obtained by force, it wouldn’t last.
Inside the room, Ji Hanyi quietly watched Li Mingrou’s retreating figure. Turning back, she saw Rong Chun’s hesitant expression. She smiled and patted the girl’s hand, telling her to prepare hot water for a bath.
The hot water washed away the chill from her body. After soaking for a long time, she finally felt warm.
Rong Chun said in a low, worried voice, “After waiting a whole night in the snow and being exposed to such cold wind, Madam has surely caught a chill. Perhaps we should call a physician to take a look.”
Ji Hanyi couldn’t suppress the itch in her throat and coughed a few times before nodding in agreement.
The physician arrived quickly. After performing the examination, he frowned and sighed. “How can Madam’s body withstand such cold? A common cold can be life-threatening.”
Beside them, Rong Chun’s eyes grew red. Ji Hanyi comforted her, “It’s just a cold, don’t worry.”
Rong Chun wiped her tears. “When has the Young Madam ever suffered such a grievance? In the past, if she were caught in a light drizzle, the Master and Madam would be heartbroken.”
“Let alone standing in the snow for an entire night.”
Ji Hanyi’s fingertips paused, and she gave a soft sigh. “Rong Chun, things are different now.”
The Ji family had fallen, and with no one behind her, she could no longer expect anyone to feel sorry for her.
At that moment, an elderly maid came in to deliver a message. She was from the First Madam’s side. Perhaps having learned of last night’s events, she brought some tonics to nourish the body and told Ji Hanyi to rest well for the next few days and not worry about paying her respects.
Ji Hanyi accepted them and expressed her gratitude.
After the maid left, she had Rong Chun take the gifts away and store them.
Though her family had fallen, her life in the past had been precious, and she had always used the best of everything. The gifts sent—supposedly bird’s nest and shark fin—were actually of inferior quality.
Ji Hanyi didn’t feel like making an issue of it. The Xie family, after all, were scholarly gentry; their ancestors were all successful candidates of the imperial examinations. They placed great importance on rules and etiquette and wouldn’t let things become too unsightly. However, the First Madam was the most adept at being perfunctory and superficial under the guise of rules.
When Xie Yuheng returned that night, he smelled the scent of medicine as soon as he entered the inner chamber. His cold brow furrowed slightly.
He walked in to find Ji Hanyi leaning against the headboard. Her long hair, which she usually kept meticulously pinned up, now fell loosely over her shoulders. Her complexion beneath her low-set brows was somewhat pale, adding a touch of frail, scholarly elegance to her appearance.
The room was not lit with bright candles; a warm glow spread over her thin inner garment. The moment he entered, she closed the book in her hands and placed it by her pillow.
This was the first time Xie Yuheng had returned at night to find Ji Hanyi lying in bed. It was also the first time she hadn’t come out to greet him and followed him to help him change his clothes.
There was no extra expression on his face. He didn’t need her to do those things anyway. His cold eyes looked at the person on the bed. “Mingrou came to see you today, and you sent her away.”
A simple statement delivered in a cold, level tone.
Perhaps because he had spent so much time in the Grand Court of Revision, even such a statement sounded like an interrogation.
Since he had come to demand answers like this, it seemed he had gone to Li Mingrou’s place first.
Li Mingrou had used every means to prove to her that Xie Yuheng cared for her most, and she had indeed succeeded.
Ji Hanyi rubbed the space between her brows. Faced with this repeated interrogation, she only felt a faint sense of weariness and boredom.
She had grown weary and bored of Xie Yuheng as well.