Chapter Thirty: The Jade Pendant

Yun Yao returned to the camphor garden, and as soon as he entered, he saw the lady in the hall.

When the lady saw Yun Yao, her slightly furrowed brows relaxed. She looked at the young man and said with a smile, "Yun'er, you're back."

Yun Yao lowered his head and addressed her with the same respect and caution he had shown when he first came to Cuiwei Manor: "Madam."

Yun Yao thought, "The right thing to do is to go back to the way things were and return to the relationship they should have had."

But the lady frowned slightly, scrutinizing Yun Yao as if deep in thought. Yun Yao, with her head slightly bowed, stood respectfully to the side.

All around was quiet when suddenly Yun Yao heard his wife's voice: "Yun'er, come here."

Yun Yao looked up and saw the lady sitting on the rosewood chaise lounge, gesturing for him to come over. Yun Yao had no choice but to obey, but as soon as he approached the lady, she grabbed his arm and pressed him down onto the couch.

The lady stared intently at the young man, her face close to Yun Yao's, their noses almost touching, their breaths mingling.

"Yun'er, are you still angry?" the lady asked calmly.

Yun Yao lowered his eyes, his mind in turmoil, because he was still thinking about everything Xing Yu had just said. He didn't know how to face his wife's intimacy again.

But at this moment, in this instant when it seemed as if their breaths were mingling, Yun Yao thought of the news that his wife would be leaving soon.

He understood perfectly well that when the time came, he and his wife would be separated by vast distances, returning to their original social circles, and they would probably never see each other again in this lifetime. If this was already the inevitable ending, then all his previous struggles, disappointments, pain, and delusions seemed to no longer matter.

Yun Yao thought to himself, these are the days left, everything will be over soon. So what if he does everything to please his wife? Let it be a period without regrets to this period of time, a final curtain call to his past delusions.

Thinking of all this, Yun Yao looked up at his wife, his smile as serene as a lily in the morning dew, a smile that seemed to bring him peace. He looked at her and said softly, "No, my wife. I'm not angry."

Seeing Yun Yao's smile, the lady paused for a moment, then smiled as well. She stroked the young man's beautiful face, lowered her head, and kissed those soft, warm lips she had longed for.

Yun Yao obediently closed his eyes, feeling the lady's burning, tender embrace. This final moment of pleasure made him a little more frenzied.

The two kissed on the bed for an unknown amount of time. Only when he felt his wife's cool fingertips slipping under his clothes and eagerly caressing him did Yun Yao turn his head slightly and pause the overly lingering kiss.

He looked at his wife and whispered, "Madam, not here, there might be someone here."

The lady gazed at Yun Yao, her eyes deep and unfathomable. She bit the corner of the boy's lip and whispered, "No one dares to come in."

Seeing the boy's still worried expression, the lady stroked his cheek and smiled helplessly. She leaned close to his ear and whispered with her hot breath, "Alright, let's go inside..."

...

Yun Yao felt like a mayfly, living only a fleeting moment, burning with all its might in that brief existence. And that unrestrained, desperate entanglement made his hopeless, fruitless love seem eternal.

That's enough. After the wind and rain stopped, Yunyao told herself.

Soft light shone through the window screen, lingering on the disheveled blanket. The lady held Yunyao intimately and kissed his forehead, which was covered with fine beads of sweat.

She held Yun Yao's hand, their fingers intertwined and inseparable.

In this moment of ultimate satisfaction, they silently felt each other's warmth and heartbeat.

The lady lingered on the warmth beneath her fingers, then suddenly kissed the boy's beautifully slender neck, whispering affectionately in his ear, "Yun'er, my darling, I have something to give you."

The lady propped herself up and took off a jade pendant necklace that she always wore from her neck, then put it around Yun Yao's neck.

Yun Yao looked at his wife in surprise. He picked up the jade pendant that she was wearing around his neck, which still carried her body heat and the scent of sandalwood. Even though Yun Yao didn't know what it was, he could tell at a glance that it was priceless, with extraordinary craftsmanship and materials.

Under his wife's affectionate, smiling gaze, Yun Yao slowly placed the jade pendant back against his chest. He had already decided that on the day he was to leave, he would leave this overly precious jade pendant at Cuiwei Manor. At this moment, he didn't need to spoil his wife's mood.

He looked up at his wife and said softly, "It's very beautiful. Thank you, madam."

The lady smiled, seemingly overjoyed. She held Yun Yao tightly, drawing him intimately into her embrace. Passionate kisses rained down on Yun Yao's face and neck.

"Yun'er, my dear Yun'er..."

...

Such a wonderful yet excessively indulgent and decadent time passed by in the blink of an eye, and a week went by.

That day, Yun Yao and his wife were studying a collection of ancient poems in the flower hall when Butler Cheng led several people in. He respectfully knocked on the door and said, "Madam, Master Lin and the others from the clothing workshop have arrived."

When Yun Yao saw that there were outsiders visiting, he quietly withdrew his hand from under the table, which was being held by his wife. His wife gave him a helpless look before slowly raising her eyes to look at the visitor.

"Master Lin, thank you for your trouble," the lady said calmly to the visitors.

The visitor immediately bowed respectfully and said, "Madam, please rest assured."

Then, he and several professionals behind him stepped forward and asked, "Madam, please come with us to the inner room to take your measurements."

But then, the lady hesitated for a moment. She looked at the well-behaved boy beside her and said to Master Lin, "Measure my little boy first."

Master Lin was a little surprised. He looked at the young man standing quietly beside his wife, astonished by the boy's striking good looks and serene, moon-like demeanor. But he didn't dare look at him for long and immediately replied warmly, "Yes, madam. Is this gentleman also making it according to the autumn/winter season?"

The lady smiled and said, "My little friend's name is Yunyao. Make him several sets according to the four seasons. Make sure they are the same as mine."

Master Lin was surprised. He had vaguely heard that his wife had taken a gentle and charming concubine, but he hadn't expected her to dote on this new woman so much. This was quite rare.

Although he was somewhat shocked, Master Lin bowed and responded calmly.

Following his wife's instructions, he and his assistants first invited Yun Yao into the inner room to take measurements for the garment.

Yun Yao also realized that this Master Lin and his team were most likely the clothing production team that Madam had in Nanhang. All kinds of clothing for Madam and those around her were custom-made by a private team.

Yun Yao cooperated and completed all the measurements. At this moment, Master Lin suddenly handed Yun Yao a set of pictures, which contained pictures of winter clothing, including down jackets made of various animal furs.

Master Lin told Yunyao that she could first choose the style and material she liked.

Looking at the winter clothing examples in the catalog, Yun Yao felt that most of them were made of materials that were quite warm and suitable for the north. So he smiled at Master Lin and said, "Thank you for your help, but I probably won't need these winter clothes. Winters in Nanhang aren't cold, so I probably won't need to wear them."

Master Lin was somewhat surprised and couldn't help but say, "No way, Butler Cheng specifically told us this time that he wanted to make a few sets of winter clothes in advance, which our team in the north will then deliver to him."

Upon hearing this, Yun Yao knew that his wife was indeed about to return to the north. He felt both sad and relieved. He smiled and said to Master Lin, "Perhaps Steward Cheng didn't explain it clearly to you. I don't think I need it."

Master Lin was even more surprised. He didn't know what the intricacies were, but the lady's attitude towards Yun Yao had been evident to all. Moreover, the lady had just said that she would make several sets of new clothes for the newlyweds for all four seasons, and the standards would even be the same as the lady's, the highest.

So Master Lin replied, "Mr. Yun, as you just heard, Madam instructed us to make you a winter coat as well, this..."

Yun Yao was taken aback. He recalled the conversation between his wife and Master Lin earlier, and realized that they had indeed mentioned it. Yun Yao was confused.

Seeing that Yun Yao didn't speak, Master Lin smiled and said, "Mr. Yun, why don't you choose a style first? We'll confirm it with Butler Cheng later."

Yun Yao didn't want to make things difficult for Master Lin and the others, so she had no choice but to agree.

As dusk approached, Master Lin's team completed all their tasks for the day and, led by Butler Cheng, were sent out again.

Madam also learned about the conversation between Yunyao and Master Lin that Butler Cheng had reported today.

So the lady called Yun Yao over and asked him to sit next to her.

"Yun'er, I have something to tell you." The lady looked at the young man affectionately, her eyes gentle.

Yun Yao knew that Madam was planning to confront him. He had thought that Madam would probably send Steward Cheng to inform him, but he didn't expect that Madam would come to talk to him in person.

Looking at the young man's serene face, the lady felt a surge of tenderness. She felt as if her old house had caught fire, and she could never get enough of loving this lover who was so much younger than her.

She raised her hand to stroke Yun Yao's cheek and said gently, "Yun'er, you know, I came to Nanhang to recuperate. Now that I've recovered, it's time for me to go back."

After saying this, the lady kissed Yun Yao's lips again before gently continuing, "The main family in the north is ready. You will come with me then."

Seeing the boy's stunned expression, the lady felt even more affection for him, and held his hand, saying, "Go back to the main family. Yun'er, you will still live with me. Don't worry, okay?"

Yun Yao felt dizzy. He looked at his wife, his heart filled with turmoil. He couldn't understand why fate always played such tricks on him.

Just when he had made up his mind to give up everything and spend this period of time with his wife in a life of debauchery, and then part ways and never see each other again, his wife told him that she wanted to take him with her.

This completely disrupted Yun Yao's original plan, and at this moment, he felt no joy, only fear and resistance...