Chapter 85 [V] Teasing
Li Jiaojiao, who still held a sliver of hope for him, felt her heart sink even further upon seeing his attitude.
Cui'e, however, was still trying to persuade her master: "It's true! Young master, please believe me."
"Cui'e, you don't need to say anything more," Li Jiaojiao coldly stopped her. At that moment, it wasn't just her words that turned cold, but her heart as well.
This is her husband! Now that she's been wronged, instead of helping her, he's siding with outsiders and even speaking up for her stepmother.
Han Yue knew she was heartbroken and should have offered some words of comfort, but he couldn't bring himself to. Their marriage had deteriorated to this point, and even if he were to feign concern and say a few kind words, he couldn't bring himself to do it.
"You...get some rest." In the end, Han Yue only told her to get some rest, adding, "Don't overthink things." After saying that, he turned and left, heading back to his study.
“Miss.” Cui’e felt indignant for her mistress. She understood her sadness and disappointment, so she quickly helped her into the house to sit down.
After closing the door, Cui'e looked at the unremarkable, even somewhat ugly, face of the young lady before her, and felt a pang of sadness.
But there was no other way. Cui'e could only ask her mistress for advice: "Miss, what should we do now?" It was obvious that the young lady had lost the young master's favor. There was no one in the Li family who could help the young lady. If she lost the young master's love as well, how could the young lady fight against the second mistress?
What to do? Li Jiaojiao didn't know what to do either. All she knew was that she was filled with resentment; she hated Li Yan to the core.
If she could, she would love to take a knife and slash her face.
At worst, we'll fight to the death and perish together.
.
Now that his wife harbored deep resentment towards his stepmother, Han Yue naturally abandoned the idea of having his wife go find her. Therefore, he had no choice but to go himself.
With that in mind, Han Yue personally wrote a visiting card and sent it to the Xue residence by his servant.
After returning home from the camp, Xue Yi received the visiting card from the gatekeeper and went straight to his wife's room.
Halfway there, he suddenly remembered that he was sweating profusely and might offend people, so he turned back, quickly washed up in the study in the outer courtyard, changed into clean home clothes, and then headed back to the inner courtyard.
When Xue Yi arrived, Li Yan was also busy; she was looking at the contract that had been handed to her from outside.
The contract has been drafted, and if there are no problems, she will sign and affix her fingerprint.
When Xue Yi arrived, she was just about to press her handprint on the document. But seeing him, and remembering their current marital relationship, she handed the contract to him instead.
"The contract for the restaurant we're collaborating on with Masters Ye and Qin has been drafted, and we've chosen an auspicious day to open. Here's the contract; I've read it carefully twice and don't see any problems. Could you take another look?" Li Yan said.
Xue Yi originally intended to share with her the news that Han Yue had sent a visiting card, but seeing that she needed his help to look at the contract, he reached out and took it.
Although Xue Yi had not studied much, having only studied for a few years, he was worldly-wise and capable of holding office, so he was naturally well-versed in the law. He could easily determine whether there were any problems with a simple contract.
Although Xue Yi was not well-educated, he was intelligent and possessed a remarkable photographic memory. Once the contract was in his hands, he read it almost ten lines at a glance, quickly and carefully filtering through all the information on the contract.
"No problem." After reading it, he handed over the contract and said, "It's a normal business cooperation contract. You can sign it without worry."
Li Yan, who had also thought there was no problem, felt even more relieved after hearing what he said.
After signing and pressing their fingerprints, they asked Qingniang to put the contract into a box.
Only then did their gaze fall on the invitation card in Xue Yi's hand, and they asked, "Whose invitation card is this?"
Having been a general's wife for some time, she had interacted with other female officials' wives in Jiangning Prefecture. They would exchange visiting cards and thank-you notes, so Li Yan naturally recognized what Xue Yi was holding at a glance.
Since he brought the post here, he must have something to say to her, which is why Li Yan took the initiative to ask.
Xue Yi had already intended to say so, and when she asked, he said, "It was sent from Han Yue's residence."
"Han Yue?" Li Yan was genuinely surprised and asked after a moment of astonishment, "He wants to pay a visit?"
"Mm." Xue Yi nodded.
Scholars like Han Yue looked down on military generals like Xue Yi, but in truth, Xue Yi also looked down on them.
They were just a bunch of armchair strategists who only knew how to talk big, yet they were so arrogant and disdainful of him.
He's okay with a simple acquaintance when absolutely necessary, but he really doesn't want to go through the trouble of socializing with these people.
If it were anyone else, Xue Yi could have simply given them an excuse and refused. But he was his wife's relative…
Although he knew his wife wasn't close to her family, since they were her relatives, he still had to ask for her opinion.
"Should we meet?" Xue Yi asked.
Li Yan then realized that he had come to ask for her opinion, so she smiled and said, "Can I not see him?"
Xue Yi frowned slightly, puzzled: "Why not?" Unless the official rank was higher than his and he was constrained by them and had no choice but to see them, he could choose not to see people he didn't want to see.
Li Yan had been thinking that Han Yue was the male protagonist in the book, destined for a bright future. He was always on easy mode, with the protagonist's halo, so no one should stand in his way. But then she realized that she had transmigrated into the book, and the plot had naturally changed a lot; Han Yue might have already lost his protagonist's halo.
Besides, Li Jiaojiao is no longer the Li Jiaojiao in the book. If the female lead has changed so much, how could the male lead not have changed?
Thinking this, Li Yan said, "If it's not necessary to see him, then let's not see him. This person..." Although it's not good to gossip about others behind their backs, Li Yan really didn't like this person's temperament. She felt that he was arrogant to the core and looked down on ordinary people like them. If it weren't for the circumstances forcing him to seek help from Xue Yi, he definitely wouldn't have sent a formal invitation to come here.
“I don’t like this person,” Li Yan said truthfully.
Upon hearing this, Xue Yi was overjoyed and immediately said, "Alright, I'll listen to you. I'll go and refuse him." With that, he got up and strode out the door.
Standing to the side, Qingniang saw Xue Yi's expression and couldn't help but ask curiously, "The general seems to be very happy."
Qingniang noticed it, and Li Yan naturally noticed it too. As for why she was happy... she probably had a vague guess in her mind.
But then I felt that the guess was rather absurd.
She naturally wouldn't share these thoughts with Qingniang, but Qingniang asked with concern, "Why did the general suddenly become happy?"
Li Yan smiled and casually asked, "Isn't it good that he's happy?"
Qingniang then stood over, raised her hand, and gently massaged Li Yan's shoulders and back.
"Of course it's good that the general is happy. I feel that... the general values you more and more these days." Although Qingniang was young, she was not stupid. She could naturally tell whether someone valued another person or treated her well.
Li Yan was quite free today and was willing to continue the conversation with Qingniang about this matter: "How do you know?"
Qingniang: "I can tell." Qingniang couldn't explain it in detail, but she felt that the relationship between the general and the master was different.
"You can even read..." Li Yan smiled and glanced at her before pointing to a spot, "This area is sore and swollen, could you give it a good massage?"
"Where?" After Qingniang found out the exact location, she immediately increased the pressure and began to massage more carefully.
Qingniang was quite strong, and Li Yan, in her previous life, was fond of massage and frequented physiotherapy and wellness centers, so she knew a bit about it. Therefore, under Li Yan's careful guidance, Qingniang made considerable progress in massage techniques after diligent study and practice.
Qingniang's skillful hands moved across Li Yan's shoulders and neck, each pressure hitting the right spot, making Li Yan feel incredibly comfortable and blissful.
"So comfortable, so comfortable... Qingniang, your skills are getting better and better. Oh my, just right, right here, oh oh..." Li Yan felt a mix of soreness and pleasure in her shoulder. Because Qingniang's skills were so good, she let out some strange soft moans.
At that moment, Xue Yi, who had returned, was walking in the courtyard when he suddenly heard such a strange sound coming from inside the house, and he abruptly stopped in his tracks.
Then, with a furrowed brow and a lingering curiosity, he slowly continued walking forward, little by little.
Although Xue Yi had never actually engaged in sexual relations, he was, after all, a man in his twenties who had been to the battlefield and the capital. He was used to seeing many things between men and women, and even between women and men.
I remember that Princess Chaoyang in the capital had that kind of convenient habit.
When Xue Yi first heard about this, he found it utterly unbelievable and couldn't believe it. But later, he gradually got used to it.
But if other people have special fetishes, that's their business. But if such a thing really happened to his own wife... He had already reached the door, and before he could even knock on it, he withdrew his hand.
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