Liu Xiyin slept until it was fully bright outside.
In this era, there were no mobile phones and no clocks in the room; Liu Xiyin did not know what time it was.
But the light shining through the gaps in the curtains was very bright, making her feel as if it were already midday.
It was midday, and the great villain hadn’t found evidence that she was a spy yet. Did that mean she didn’t have to die?
Could it be that Yan Changye wanted to let her wither away here on her own?
Liu Xiyin sat on the bed biting her fingernail, thinking that might be okay too.
“Young Mistress, are you awake?”
Oh, that was not okay.
Liu Xiyin let out a long sigh, got out of bed, and opened the door.
The maid from last night brought in new clothes and helped her wash up and get dressed.
As the curtains were drawn, Liu Xiyin discovered that it had started snowing outside, and the snow made the daylight even brighter.
So, it wasn’t that she had woken up too late; it was just brighter than usual.
Liu Xiyin asked, “What time is it now?”
The maid, A-Xiang, replied, “It is 7:30. Breakfast has already been prepared. The Young Marshal says we shall go to the Marshal’s residence to serve tea after eating.”
The great villain still had the mood to eat breakfast; it seemed he didn’t suspect she was a spy anymore?
Liu Xiyin gloated inwardly.
Wonderful, she could live a little longer.
Liu Xiyin quickly finished washing up. A-Xiang changed her into a bright red, fleece-lined cheongsam embroidered with gold flowers, with a warm, thick silver fox fur cape draped over it.
A-Mei styled her hair into a beautiful bun, adorned with several red plum hairpins. She looked bright, docile, and elegant.
Liu Xiyin touched the gold thread embroidered on her cheongsam, shook the jade earrings on her ears, and kicked her pearl-adorned embroidered shoes, feeling like she was covered in money.
The great warlord is truly wealthy!
The dining room of the main building was on the first floor, and Yan Changye was already there.
He had changed into a military uniform. His collar insignia was adorned with gold plum blossoms and a star badge. Liu Xiyin knew this was the insignia of a Republic of China general.
[I never expected that one day, I could be a general’s wife.]
On Yan Changye’s left side lay the pocket watch he had taken last night; on his right was a stack of photographs.
He was examining the photos one by one.
Most were from a candid perspective. It was evident they were taken outside of Ancheng. In some, the young bride was getting into a car; in others, she was entering a hotel, or dining at the hotel where she was staying.
The young bride was accompanied by people from the Liu family, confirming these were taken on her way back to the Liu residence.
Therefore, after the young bride was found, there were others—besides the Liu family and the old bandit—watching her.
Yan Changye recalled the information he had gathered.
After the young bride returned to the Liu family, she prepared for marriage for a month. During that month, the Liu family’s fake daughter fell into water once, jewelry was stolen once, and she was bullied by the real daughter in the street once… every time, the news spread out of the Liu residence, causing quite a few jokes in the upper social circles.
Then, because the real daughter of the Liu family bullied the fake one, her reputation for being raised in the countryside and being unrefined became deeply rooted in people’s minds.
If no one was fanning the flames, Yan Changye did not believe it.
The young bride claimed she was a “scientific genius,” could make a “small gramophone” that even the military government had never seen, and had some kind of voice recorder—would she really fight with the Liu family’s fake daughter over such things?
Those who were unrefined were clearly the ones who intentionally wanted to ruin the young bride’s reputation.
They were birds of a feather with Song Shiyun and her aunt.
It was quite possible that it was the work of the Song family.
Yan Changye narrowed his eyes, temporarily suppressing his suspicion that the young bride was a spy.
He would tentatively believe that she came from the future.
However, she kept thinking about “Empress,” “Imperial Noble Consort,” and “Noble Lady.” Yan Changye did not believe the emperor of the future could restore the monarchy.
Then, the young bride’s inner voice came again.
Does the young bride even understand military ranks?
Yan Changye put down the photos and looked up.
Consequently, Liu Xiyin’s gaze shifted from his collar insignia to his hands.
[The great villain isn’t holding a gun, so he shouldn’t suspect me anymore, right? If he wanted to shoot me at the dinner table, how sloppy would he have to be?]
[Wait, no. He didn’t even bathe on our wedding night; he’s already quite sloppy.]
[If he really isn’t going to kill me and is eating with me, if he doesn’t brush his teeth and smacks his lips, could I stuff a steamed bun into his mouth?]
“…”
Liu Xiyin was only sixteen this lifetime. Her voice was soft and pleasant, and when a series of thoughts poured out of her heart, it let Yan Changye know exactly what “large and small pearls falling onto a jade plate” sounded like.
But now, he was amused by the “jade plate.” He looked at A-Xiang and A-Mei beside Liu Xiyin: “Are you not going to help the Young Mistress over to eat?”
A-Xiang and A-Mei immediately stepped in on both sides to support Liu Xiyin as she sat at the dining table. “Young Mistress, please dine.”
Liu Xiyin: “…”
Yan Changye looked at her coldly.
Liu Xiyin forced a smile. “Young Marshal, good morning.”
Yan Changye carefully scrutinized her smile.
Liu Xiyin glanced at the photos he had placed to the side and confirmed, “Young Marshal, these photos are fine, right?”
A servant brought a tray holding two damp napkins.
Yan Changye picked one up and wiped his hands carefully. “If there were a problem, you would have already been dragged off to feed the fish.”
That’s good, that’s good.
Hehehe, she survived!
Then, Liu Xiyin suddenly widened her eyes, reacting—the great villain was wiping his hands.
He actually wiped his hands before eating!
Yan Changye couldn’t be bothered to pay her any mind, but thinking of her messy thoughts, he couldn’t help but glare at her. “Washing hands and rinsing one’s mouth before and after meals—does the Young Mistress not know this?”
Now she knew. This was exactly what Lin Daiyu did on her first day in the Jia household.
So, wealthy households really did have such a procedure.
As someone with a laboratory-grade obsession with cleanliness, Liu Xiyin was overjoyed and picked up the remaining napkin. “I know, I know. Thank you for the tip, Young Marshal.”
Yan Changye didn’t care to expose her pretense, put down the napkin, and said, “Eat.”
Breakfast included Chinese soy milk, steamed buns, fried eggs, and a few side dishes, as well as Western-style milk, bread, bacon, and even coffee.
Liu Xiyin had gotten married yesterday, and a bride was not supposed to eat, so the Marshal’s mansion didn’t even have pastries. She had gone out last night just to find something to eat, only to invite disaster upon herself.
This morning, she could finally eat. She resolutely picked up the soy milk and chugged more than half the bowl. It warmed her up.
Then she took a steamed bun, took a bite, and nearly threw up.