Chapter 26 She just wanted to keep the show going…

The misunderstandings and barriers from the past remained. He didn't expect to ease their relationship with just a few things, but when he heard her casually pretend to "care," it felt like a fine needle pierced his heart, yet so light that he couldn't feel the pain.

"When I went to court today, I heard someone talking about what happened yesterday. Why didn't you tell me the truth?"

With his back to her and not speaking, his back view appeared even more arrogant and aloof. To him, silence was far more terrifying than rebuke.

But now, she felt no emotion whatsoever. She only wanted to discern his true feelings so she could continue the charade.

The dissatisfaction and questioning in his tone made Yu'an feel ridiculous.

Whether he knows it or not, what's the point?

"It's a small matter, so I don't think there's much to say. Saying too much would just make it seem like I'm playing the victim."

Yu An stopped her needlework. "The Xu family and Uncle Yu are very kind and righteous. It was indeed my family that made a mistake. There's nothing to say."

A simple "There's nothing to say" encapsulates a thousand words, hastily overlooking the real reason for his neglect.

This is disregard, this is distrust. They are husband and wife; they shouldn't be like this.

Ji Jinghe let out a long sigh: "You are the young mistress of the Ji family. Although the Xu family has been kind to me, they cannot humiliate you at will. I am not such a cold-blooded and heartless person who would not even protect his own wife."

"After today, I will assign manpower to Banmu Courtyard so that people can take it with them when they go out, which will put their minds at ease."

The words hit Yu'an's ears hard, making her head ache.

If he wasn't cold-blooded, why did he stand by and watch her die? If he truly considered her his wife, how could the Chu family be in this state now?

In his eyes, the Xu family was destroyed and their members perished. Even with just suspicion, he had already sentenced the Chu family to death and never given her a second glance. Now, even if he knew the Chu family was innocent, what help could he offer?

They didn't even say a word of justice, so how can they talk about protection...?

He's just putting on an act now, probably only to avoid embarrassing her.

Yu An buried the bitterness in her heart and tried to put on a normal tone: "I rarely go out anyway, it's nothing. My father is no longer alive, so please let me go, don't mention it."

"As for the Xu family, don't worry about them, I won't take them to heart."

She spoke quietly, without revealing any emotional fluctuation, as if she had already accepted the matter.

When she first married into the family, although she was gentle, she had a sharp edge to some extent. She would argue with him and secretly drug others to teach them a lesson. But now, she is completely different from before, and she doesn't even feel resentful anymore.

Ji Jinghe turned around and stared at her intently. She was as serene as calm spring water, as gentle as a spring pond, seemingly silent and soft, yet concealing her unique sharpness, never revealing it to him in the slightest.

Yu An looked up and met his gaze, managing a weak smile. "Don't worry, sir, I'm really fine."

She gave a final laugh, but there wasn't a trace of genuine joy in it.

"If you really care about me, sir, please don't send me any guards. If I really go out with guards, I don't know how much I'll be scolded in private. It's better if I don't go out."

She said, "They're not coming in anyway."

He was completely compliant, without the slightest dissatisfaction. He spoke with a smile, but his eyes were cold and indifferent, as clear as ice, and the darkness in his eyes seemed endless.

Ji Jinghe remained silent, and Yu An did not intend to say another word until she was alone in the room, at which point she finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The next day, Baozhu brought in clean water and saw the dark circles under Yu'an's eyes. She couldn't help but feel sorry for her. "Miss, would you like to rest a little longer?"

Yu An glanced outside. "What's going on outside?"

Baozhu: "Qingque said that the master has assigned several skilled guards to our courtyard. He said that he is used to leading guards and would not feel at ease living without a courtyard."

It was just an excuse when he saw that she disagreed.

He's a man skilled in martial arts, so he's never had any bodyguards around. Besides, he doesn't live in the Half Acre Courtyard, so what does it matter to him whether he's at ease or not?

Seeing that Yu'an remained silent, Baozhu comforted her, "It's not so bad to stay. Even if it's just for show, it will show outsiders that the young lady is being cared for by the young master. Be more careful when you go out in the future."

They're already here, we can't just kick them out.

Yu An waved his hand, and that was the end of it.

After that, Ji Jinghe didn't come for five days in a row, telling Yu An to have some peace and quiet. Besides arranging all the big and small things in the mansion, he spent the rest of his time doing needlework.

I finally managed to carve out a free afternoon, so I took the knee pads and forehead band I made to Rongshoutang. I was able to cheer up the old lady and get a couple of cups of tea from her.

Holding the things Yu'an brought, Madam Ji examined the fine stitches against the light from the window and said with a smile, "Our Ji family is really lucky; we've both married wives with skillful hands."

Yu An was still wondering why there was a "都" (du) in the name when the nanny serving Madam Ji explained, "That's right. When Madam was young, she was also very good at needlework. The pair of embroidered shoes she made for the old lady are still in the cupboard."

It turned out to be Shen Qiulan.

For Yu'an, it was quite unexpected. She thought that Shen Qiulan didn't like these things, but considering that Shen Qiulan came from a prestigious family, it was not surprising.

The old woman said, "When I was making tea just now, I heard from the young mistress's maid that the young mistress spends all her time doing needlework, besides managing the household. She really needs to be careful, lest she hurt her eyes at such a young age."

“Exactly,” Mother Ji echoed.

Yu An chuckled awkwardly: "Besides being a housekeeper, I'm not really good at anything. Grandmother, you've helped me so much, what's this?"

With such a huge incident happening to the Chu family, she became a helpless person in the huge Ji mansion. If it weren't for the kind-hearted old lady who took pity on her and stayed with her during that time, she might not have been able to get through it.

No amount of hatred can outweigh grief; Chu Xingjian's passing almost extinguished her will to live.

Madam Ji smiled slightly, the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes revealing the composure accumulated by a noble family. She sighed, "I can't really say I helped you much. You're an open-minded and kind-hearted child. Whatever you've gained, it's what you deserve... In the end, it's Jinghe who has wronged you."

“Jinghe is arrogant. Apart from his recent demotion, he has never experienced any setbacks in his life. He knows a lot and has never made a mistake, so he naturally doesn’t care about others, which is why he has harmed himself.”

Seeing Yu An's slightly somber expression, she spoke in one breath: "Actually, it's not that he didn't..."

Just then, a noise came from outside the door, completely drowning out the words that Ji's mother was about to say. Yu'an's attention was drawn away, and she had no interest in speaking anymore.

"Madam, the young master has arrived."

Mother Ji: "Please come in quickly."

Yu An got up and stood aside. When Ji Jinghe came in, he looked up and saw her directly.

His gaze briefly fell on her before quickly averting itself.

Ji Jinghe didn't show much emotion on his face, but Ji's mother, with her sharp eyes, noticed that Yu'an was acting strangely.

"grandmother."

Ji Jinghe bowed and greeted him.

Ji's mother maintained her smile: "Didn't you say you were busy? Why did you rush back so early? I thought you two had planned to come here together."

The old woman hurriedly brought two stools, and just as Yu'an was about to say goodbye, Ji's mother spoke up first to keep her there.

"It's almost time to eat, so don't go back. You two stay and eat with me before you leave."

Seeing that Yu'an was about to speak, Madam Ji pulled Yu'an directly in front of her and told her to sit back down opposite her on her couch.

Whether it was forced or not, she did it anyway, because she didn't want the couple to become strangers.

Ji Jinghe remained silent, but he understood perfectly well. He never liked to force others to do things against their will, so he took the initiative to say, "Grandmother, she is in charge of the household and has a heavy burden on her shoulders. Why don't we let her go back earlier? She is not used to the food at Rongshou Hall."

Mother Ji snorted, exasperated, "I think you only lose your appetite when you're around. Other people eat perfectly fine with me. What nonsense are you spouting..."

Ji Jinghe: ...

The old lady was determined to bring the two of them together. Since she had said all that, Yu'an couldn't insist any further. It was just a meal, and it would be over in half an hour.

As the room fell silent, the words bottled up inside felt like cold tea on the table, settling at the bottom of the cup, leaving a bitter taste in my mouth.

After the tea was served, Ji Jinghe, seeing that Yu'an was no longer making any moves, then spoke of the important matter of the day: he was going to Yuzhou for a month-long inspection tour.

Having lived through five generations, Madam Ji, though a woman confined to the inner quarters, possessed political acumen no less than that of officials in the court. Upon hearing that her grandson was to be sent to Yuzhou, she immediately inquired about it.

"Another change?"

Ji Jinghe: "His Majesty is critically ill. I am going there to investigate some matters. There should be new developments by next year."

It wasn't explicitly stated, but it was implicitly acknowledged.

This trip is intertwined with the struggle for the throne, and if things go wrong, it could turn into a fatal tragedy.

Success or failure hinges on this one move, and we have no choice but to do it. Words cannot express our feelings, and in the end, we can only give repeated instructions.

In contrast to Ji's mother's concern, the other end of the bed seemed unusually calm. Ji Jinghe repeatedly agreed, but his gaze remained fixed on the woman in plain clothes. A hint of anticipation arose in his heart, hoping to hear a word of advice from her.

Time passed quickly, and Yu'an left first. Not long after arriving at Banmu Courtyard, Qingque came looking for Ji Jinghe's clothes.

Those clothes had been left in the courtyard for who knows how long, and even Baozhu had no recollection of them.

They had no idea why they suddenly started thinking about things they would never mention normally, right before they left.

Ji Jinghe was not short of clothes.

In the end, they could only send Qingque back first, and then make another trip to deliver Baozhu after finding her.

Baozhu spent a lot of effort and worked up a sweat before finally finding two robes that were crushed beyond recognition at the bottom of the cabinet.

"The son-in-law is something else. I've never seen him wear anything before, so why is he suddenly so eager to get involved? It would be better if he didn't stay with us in the future."

Just as I was about to fold it up and send it over, I discovered that there was a large tear in the cuff.

"After all that work, the clothes are torn... I don't believe the young master would wear them. I think he's just deliberately torturing me," Baozhu said through gritted teeth.

Yu An smiled faintly: "Then let's not worry about it. You go and rest first. Just send it to Qing Que before you leave tomorrow."

After packing up, Baozhu left without a second thought.

Under the dim candlelight, my eyes welled up with tears, and as I looked up at the package on the small table, my mind gradually went blank.

She got up and walked towards the couch...