regret

"Ugh—you filthy pervert!"

Early in the morning, a scream broke the silence, startling several small birds resting on the branches of the trees in the courtyard, causing them to flap their wings and fly away.

Jiang Yi clutched the blanket tightly to her chest, glared at He Lin sitting on the ground, and looked down to check if her clothes were still on.

Thankfully, nothing was missing.

Why are you in my bed? Why don't you sleep in your own bed?

He Lin slowly bent one leg and sat on the ground, resting his elbow on his knee. He stared at Jiang Yi, who was the one who accused him first, with a look as if she were looking at an idiot. He had been sleeping soundly, but she kicked him out of bed early in the morning, and now his tailbone was throbbing. Before he could say anything, she turned the tables and accused him, leaving him speechless.

Jiang Yi felt her heart pounding under his gaze.

Who could have imagined the stunning beauty she witnessed when she opened her eyes? She regretted it; she should have taken advantage of He Lin before he woke up! Okay, she admitted she was the real scoundrel.

Why are you looking at me like that?

He Lin snorted softly, stood up, and walked barefoot around the screen to the bed by the window.

Jiang Yi sat on the bed and thought for a while. She was waiting for He Lin to come back last night, and she fell asleep without realizing it. Could it be that He Lin carried her to bed?

The more she thought about it, the more convinced she became that he was right. He carried her to bed, fine, but why did he offer her up as a "buy one get one free" deal? Didn't he know how dangerous that was? What if she couldn't resist?

No, I still need to remind him before I feel at ease.

"He Lin, um, I'm sorry, I got too excited, I didn't mean to kick you. Thank you for last night, otherwise I would have caught a cold today."

After Jiang Yi put on her shoes and went out, He Lin had already tidied himself up. His clothes were neatly and meticulously put on, except that his long hair had not yet been tied up...

Jiang Yi: "..."

Is it really necessary? Why wrap yourself up so tightly? Honestly, she didn't see anything!

He Lin glanced at her, adopting an aloof attitude, walked to the table, poured himself a glass of iced tea, and said coldly, "Remembering what you did last night?"

Jiang Yi was dumbfounded. She was just asleep, what had she done?

After a moment of stunned silence, Jiang Yi couldn't help but gasp. Given her lecherous nature, could she have molested He Lin in her sleep? Probably not. The key is that she hadn't been drinking, so she shouldn't have blacked out and not remember anything about what happened.

Jiang Yi sat down next to He Lin, cleared her throat, and tentatively asked, "Last night, did I touch you inappropriately?"

Upon hearing this, He Lin raised an eyebrow, thinking to himself that she was indeed pretending to be asleep on purpose.

But in Jiang Yi's eyes, it was a different story. She had still embarrassed herself in front of him. Her image in He Lin's eyes was not good to begin with, and now it was even worse.

Nevertheless, Jiang Yi still tried to save face, saying, "Yi, if this happens again, you can just wake me up directly, no need to go through all that trouble."

After hearing this, He Lin suddenly asked, "Who is the scoundrel here?"

Jiang Yi opened her mouth, almost choking on her breath. How could this person be so vengeful! All she did was call him a "scoundrel"!

“I,” Jiang Yi raised her hand and obediently admitted, “I’m a hooligan…”

He Lin raised his eyebrows even higher, lowered his eyes, calmly took a sip of tea, and offered no comment, clearly acknowledging the answer.

But what Jiang Yi said next almost made He Lin spit out his tea. She reflected, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have molested you without your permission. I will definitely do better next time..."

Jiang Yi spoke too quickly, and by the time she realized what she had said, it was too late. She had accidentally blurted out her true feelings!

The two of them turned their heads and looked at each other strangely in unison. She immediately changed her tune: "Pah, learn from the pain! Learn from the pain..." What a joke!

He Lin coughed twice and said, "Why didn't you sleep on the couch last night? Were you waiting for me?"

Jiang Yi asked in surprise, "How did you know?"

He Lin didn't answer the question, but it was easy to guess. In the past, when he came home late, Jiang Yi was already fast asleep, snoring loudly like thunder. No matter how loud the noise outside was, it wouldn't disturb her at all. One couldn't help but admire her "easygoing nature." Even He Lin himself found it strange that he could sleep so soundly under such circumstances. It was truly a strange thing.

"What is it? Speak."

Jiang Yi silently organized her thoughts, realizing that now was not a good time. If she told the truth, He Lin would inevitably scold her for meddling.

After thinking for a moment, he awkwardly asked, "Um, could you lend me some more money?"

He Lin put down his teacup and looked at her. Jiang Yi felt extremely embarrassed, her cheeks burning hot.

"I'll pay you back in a while, really!"

"Oh, did you use my money to gamble or to visit prostitutes?"

"What are you saying?" Jiang Yi could hardly believe her ears and hurriedly explained, "Nothing! I swear! I just really needed it urgently!"

He Lin gestured with his chin toward the doorway and said, "The money is still in the cabinet in the study. Go get as much as you need."

Jiang Yi's eyes lit up. So generous and straightforward! Not even asking what he needed the money for. Money talks!

She was just about to stand up and leave when, as if remembering something, she sat back down: "Wait a minute, He Lin, I suddenly remembered something very important."

"What?"

"Where is my dowry?"

He Lin narrowed his eyes dangerously and asked, "Don't you know how much dowry you brought from your family?"

Jiang Yi was truly stumped by the question. Her throat tightened, and she avoided eye contact, remaining silent. After a long while, under the gaze of the person beside her, she silently poured herself a cup of cold tea. Her mind raced as she tried to think of an answer, and she stammered weakly, "I, of course I know! I'm asking where your dowry is now!"

He Lin noticed her hesitation and didn't say anything, only saying, "You burned it."

"What? When did I get a fever..." Jiang Yi slammed her hands on the table, stood up abruptly, stopped speaking halfway through her sentence, and stared at He Lin with wide eyes in astonishment.

"That's right, it's in that little courtyard."

On the day Jiang Yi married into the General's Mansion, she was inexplicably struck by lightning and fainted. The First Madam thought it was bad luck and also felt it was really strange. She originally wanted to throw her back to where she came from. Later, He Wei and Su Tong persuaded her, and Qi Shuangyun reluctantly agreed to throw Jiang Yi into the abandoned courtyard in the backyard, along with all the things she brought with her.

Otherwise, if something like this happens to the bride on her wedding day and she's kicked out by her in-laws, she might never be able to show her face in public again...

Jiang Yi was heartbroken; that was her dowry!

According to Xia Zhi, the Jiang family is one of the wealthiest families in the capital. Although she is just an unfavored concubine's daughter of the Jiang family, this marriage was bestowed by His Majesty, so how could her dowry be small?

At the very least, it must be a grand and magnificent procession of ten miles of red bridal procession!

That would have been enough for her to live a carefree and happy life, but who would have thought she would ruin it all with her own hands?! Jiang Yi wanted to slap herself twice; what a spendthrift!

Seeing that she was almost dead, He Lin raised an eyebrow, gently rubbed the cup a few times, and kindly asked, "Are you alright?"

Jiang Yi clutched her chest and slowly sat down, saying sadly, "It's nothing, just a little discomfort in my heart. Do you have any quick-acting heart medicine? Give me two..."

Upon hearing this, He Lin paused, turned to look at her, and asked, "What kind of pill?"

"It's nothing. He Lin, I regret it. I was too impulsive back then, I..." Jiang Yi reflected on herself very seriously, sincerely admitted her mistake, and finally sighed helplessly, propped her elbows on the table, cupped her face in her hands and concluded: "It's over, I will never be happy again."

A faint smile flickered deep in He Lin's eyes, and at the same time, his doubts were answered.

...

As soon as Gu Ziyu stepped into Luoying Courtyard, he heard someone calling his name softly. Looking around, he saw Jiang Yi and Xia Zhi standing under the corridor, like two ghosts, sneaking behind the pillars, their faces smiling at him.

It was already dark by then, and with the bright red lanterns overhead, he was truly startled when he saw this scene.

"Young Madam, you..."

"Shh, don't talk, come with me."

Gu Ziyu glanced at the study where He Lin was, which was brightly lit. He lowered his eyes and thought for a moment before following Jiang Yi's steps.

After leaving Luoying Courtyard, Jiang Yi saw that it was dark and deserted, so she whispered to Gu Ziyu, "Is there anything I need to do later?"

Gu Ziyu was taken aback for a moment, then honestly replied, "Is there something you need my help with, Madam?"

Jiang Yi smiled silently, her eyes full of approval. He Lin's people were well-trained; they were quite perceptive, knowing he needed something before he even spoke.

"Will you fight?"

"ah?"

Jiang Yi crossed her arms and looked at his height of over 1.8 meters. Even if Gu Ziyu couldn't fight, he could still intimidate people and give her courage.

"Let's go, come with me to deal with someone."

Gu Ziyu was even more shocked. He stood there stunned for a long time before he reacted and hurriedly followed.

He had only taken a few steps when Gu Ziyu's ears twitched, his expression hardened, and his gaze, sharp as a knife, shot towards a spot behind him. He shouted sternly, "Who's there? Show yourself!"

Jiang Yi and Xia Zhi were startled by the sudden sound and turned to look at him.

"What's wrong?"

There are people over there.

Jiang Yi swallowed hard, just about to yell at who was so shameless as to eavesdrop from behind, when she heard a few low laughs and steady footsteps from not far away.

"Don't be nervous, sister-in-law, it's me."

That voice and that address clearly belong to He Yu!

When the person stepped out of the shadows, it was indeed him.

"Big brother, what are you doing here?"

He Yu stood with his hands behind his back, looking calm and relaxed, without the slightest hint of guilt or shame for eavesdropping. It was as if he had just wandered over here for a casual stroll after dinner. He remained completely composed, and probably no one else could do that.

"I came to discuss something with my second brother. I heard people talking as I passed by. I didn't expect it to be you. I didn't mean to eavesdrop. I hope my sister-in-law doesn't mind."

Jiang Yi's lips twitched. He actually admitted it so openly. What could she say?

"...Hey, I just heard you guys talking about getting into a fight? Excuse me, who are you going to beat up? Can I come along and watch the show? Hmm?"