To calm down (repair)
Taking advantage of this free time, she finally found a chance to calm down, and her previously pounding heart gradually returned to peace.
When Dou Yanxun turned around again, he saw that the person beneath him had a strangely solemn and tragic expression on their clean-cut face...
Her thick, raven-feather-like eyelashes trembled slightly. After being stared at by him for so long, she could no longer pretend and had to slowly open her eyes.
What entered his eyes was a pair of wet, misty eyes.
A mix of trepidation and fear lingered, yet inexplicably mixed with a resolute determination akin to a warrior cutting off his own arm.
...He seemed very afraid of him.
He suddenly felt a little dazed, recalling the dark alley on the night of Qixi Festival a few months ago, where it was clearly the same person whispering seductive words to him.
When Lin Xu stood in front of her, his figure was mostly hidden by the dim light and shadow. He was such a petite and thin person, but his words were full of fearless courage. If he hadn't been more observant, he might not have been able to detect the timidity that he couldn't hide in his eyes.
He really wanted to ask her then, was she afraid of him?
If you're afraid, why do you always follow him, cling to him, and even cause a huge uproar just to marry him?
This person is truly a rare contradiction in the world.
His mind raced, and before he knew it, a smile had crept onto his lips, but it was fleeting.
A slight hesitation flickered in Lin Xu's eyes. After a moment's hesitation, she finally spoke:
"My lord... is something making you happy?"
Dou Yanxun snapped out of his daze and looked at her intently again.
A hint of mockery slowly surfaced in his eyes.
What's there to be happy about... He's someone who doesn't deserve to be happy in this world, and he deserves to suffer endless torment. He's just a lonely reed drifting with the waves. Even if he spends the rest of his life, there may never be anything to be happy about for him again.
Dou Yanxun tugged at the corners of his lips, released his grip on her wrists, and slowly moved his hands up to stop beside her slender, snow-white neck.
There was an extremely thin thread woven from red and gold, which was very conspicuous in the night. He simply stretched out his finger and gently hooked it, and pulled out the thin thread.
He noticed several plump, gleaming red glass beads interspersed among the silk threads, and the bottom of the rope was tied into an exquisite concentric knot, with a heavy object hanging below it. He held the object in his hand and examined it closely, finding it quite familiar.
It was a jade pendant that was in no way inferior to the luster of the moonlight.
He stared blankly for a moment before slowly speaking, his voice as calm as ever.
"Why do you carry this with you all the time?"
Lin Xu pursed her lips, her voice very soft, as if afraid of breaking the silence of the night.
"...This jade pendant was given to me by my husband, so naturally I must cherish it."
Dou Yanxun examined the jade pendant, which had always been his personal ornament. He had taken it off and given it to her after they had just gone through a life-or-death experience at Fu Qing's place. Looking back on it now, he couldn't help but feel that it was abrupt, and even he himself didn't know why he had done such a thing that day.
Time flies, and he had long forgotten about the matter. He never expected that she would re-thread the rope and take such good care of it, even wearing it close to her neck.
This time, it was his turn to be stunned.
Dou Yanxun put the jade pendant down. It had been hanging close to Lin Xu's slender neck for a while, and after being taken out for a long time, it had regained its own temperature. When it touched her skin again, it felt a chill.
She unconsciously shrank her neck, but a smile couldn't be suppressed from creeping up the corners of her eyes. "Come to think of it, this is the first time my husband has ever given me something."
She added, "Xu'er is actually... very happy."
Dou Yanxun's words caught in his throat. He propped himself up and sat up, remaining silent with his back to her.
"You've only just married into the family."
After a long while, she heard Dou Yanxun reply with a very puzzling remark. She didn't understand his implied meaning and couldn't help but ponder it.
...Does he mean they have a long future ahead of them, and he will give her even more things in the future?
She thought for a moment and said:
"Actually, I don't covet the gifts from my husband, nor do I want him to go to any extra trouble. I just want..."
She paused, her voice inexplicably choked with emotion. Dou Yanxun couldn't see the expression on the person behind him, but he could hear her soft, gentle voice, like the murmuring of spring water, as she spoke softly in the otherwise silent surroundings:
"Xu'er only wishes that her husband eats well, dresses warmly, is happy, and is safe and healthy every day. Besides that, Xu'er really has no other wishes."
Dou Yanxun's figure was half-hidden in the dim edge of the light and shadow. By the light of the few remaining candles, she could clearly see his figure tremble slightly.
Sparks crackled and popped from the stove, followed by a rich aroma that filled the air. The warmth was intoxicating, giving one an unexpected sense of happiness and peace.
Dou Yanxun frowned, stood up and casually straightened his wrinkled clothes. He strode towards the door, but quickly stopped.
"You don't need to prepare dinner anymore."
Before she could speak, he turned around and looked at her through the light filtering through the black lacquered lattice door inlaid with gold-plated glass, leaving her with a nonchalant remark.
"If there's nothing to do at the yamen, I'll come back soon."
.
A few days later, the scene was already that of late autumn, desolate and cold. Everywhere was sparse and chilly. The golden osmanthus in the courtyard had only been shining brightly for a few days before it was stripped away overnight with the desolate wind. Lin Xu, however, was gradually getting used to life in the Dou family mansion.
The Dou family mansion was quite large, but the number of people in the household was not large. Dou Huaisheng's wife, Bai, was the head of the household and held real power. Now over forty years old, she took good care of herself and often practiced vegetarianism and Buddhist chanting, so she lived a very peaceful life.
There were two other concubines in the mansion. One, Concubine Guo, lived in Yufang Garden, not far from the main hall. She rarely went out. The other, Madam Zhen, was said to have been a maidservant who had served the master in her early years. She came from a humble background, which explained her gentler appearance. Lin Xu had only briefly met her in the back garden, and had no further interaction with her.
The most glamorous and valuable members of the Dou family today are Dou Yanzhou and Feng Daizhu, the eldest son of the main branch. Although Feng Daizhu has only been married for a short time, she has already given birth to Dou Huaisheng's eldest grandson. The child, Langge'er, is fair-skinned and very clever, and has been extremely popular with Dou Huaisheng and Bai Shi since birth.
Dou Zhen is the youngest legitimate daughter in the household. Like Dou Yanzhou, she was born to the Bai family and is the highly respected Third Miss among the servants. She lives alone in Ningyue Tower by the Half Moon Bridge in the back garden. As she is now a companion to the princess, she needs to go to the palace or the Princess's residence every day to serve her. Since Lin Xu married into the family, the two have not had a chance to have a proper conversation.
She and Dou Yanxun lived in the most secluded courtyard within the mansion.
Before marriage, Dou Yanxun also lived alone in the Huiya Residence in the courtyard.
The courtyard of the villa was surrounded by ancient trees and was quite spacious. It was also far from the main hall and other places, so it was rather cold and boring. However, after she got used to it, she began to appreciate its tranquil and peaceful atmosphere.
As a son born out of wedlock, Dou Yanxun's birth mother was merely an unfavored concubine who died young. It was something she had long anticipated that he would be treated so poorly in the household.
The servants of the other courtyard were either old or weak, and even though their clothes were made of good materials, they were outdated and old-fashioned compared to the servants of Zhengyuan Courtyard and the main house.
She even noticed that there were no maids in charge of the villa, except for the most senior Granny Chang, who could be considered the person in charge. All these arrangements indicated that Dou Yanxun was being treated coldly in the mansion.
Fortunately, although she was pampered from a young age, she never had the habit of being picky. When she was at her most mischievous, she would often roll around in the mud by the river or climb trees to catch crickets and get all dirty. She had long since stopped caring about material things such as food, clothing and daily necessities.
Moreover, the Lin family had put on a grand wedding for her, with sixty chests of dowry filled with gold, silver, and jewels, as well as deeds to houses and land, and even the gifts from her coming-of-age ceremony, and the dowry left by Liang Shuangyu before her death, all of which were brought in. She knew perfectly well that her father was afraid she would be mistreated in the Dou family after she married into the family.
Besides Zhu Ling, Qing Mo, and Rong Wei taking care of her daily chores, there was also the experienced Granny Qin managing all the trivial matters. As for Zhou Qi and Zhou Quan, they would often stroll back and forth in the courtyard with their large knives at their waists when they had nothing to do. So it seemed that she didn't need to worry too much.
.
On this rare sunny day, Lin Xu woke up early, finding the bedside empty as usual. She ate breakfast sleepily, then stood on the veranda playing with the parrot for a while before feeling bored. So she sent Qingmo away, telling her to lead the other maids in playing shuttlecock in the courtyard.
She was wrapped in a thick, fur-trimmed cloak, embroidering patterns under the eaves while glancing at the maids playing. It seemed that only with their constant laughter could this quiet courtyard have a semblance of human life.
In a short while, she had embroidered several petals and leaves.
Granny Qin came over and took a look, and couldn't help but praise, "Miss is so clever, your embroidery skills are getting better and better."
She then recalled the day Dou Yanxun was injured, and the embroidered handkerchief she used to bandage his wounds. She even received a slap in his face because the design was not to her liking.
Granny Qin was very good at praising people, often making them feel like they were basking in a spring breeze and so proud they lost their bearings. Thinking back to how excited she used to be when she heard a single compliment, Lin Xu made up her mind that from now on, she would only take half of Granny Qin's praise at most, and believe only a third of it.
The courtyard was unusually lively, with several maids gathered around, their faces flushed, clapping and cheering for the maid in the green dress in the middle.
But then he saw that the girl had her hair tied in lively double buns and looked very clever. She was none other than Nongyu, whom he had asked about her name a few days ago.
Looking at her now, one can see that she is very agile, flipping forward and kicking backward, changing the way she kicks the shuttlecock in all sorts of ways. She is very flexible and never lets the shuttlecock fall to the ground.
The maids grew even more excited, chanting in unison: "One hundred and eleven, one hundred and twelve, one hundred and thirteen..."
Nongyu also raised her head and kicked the shuttlecock high into the sky. The shuttlecock flew straight into the sky and then fell down rapidly.
Just as it was about to land, Nongyu leaped up, intending to catch the shuttlecock, but a silver figure appeared out of nowhere and snatched it away with lightning speed.
Upon closer inspection, everyone saw Feng Daizhu wearing a snow-white fox fur cloak with silver trim, kicking the shuttlecock she had snatched with great enthusiasm.
The young maids hurriedly lowered their heads and respectfully bowed to Feng Daizhu, saying, "Greetings to the young mistress."
Feng Daizhu, however, appeared quite enthusiastic, her movements nimble, the shuttlecock flying up and down beneath her feet without any hesitation. Her face beamed with a bright smile, a smile that dispelled any gloom. Moreover, her agility was remarkably sharp, in no way inferior to the skillful Nongyu from before.
As she kicked the shuttlecock, she looked in Lin Xu's direction and laughed brightly:
"No wonder this courtyard has been so lively all the way here. Turns out you've been keeping yourselves entertained all this time. Why don't you two give it a try?"
Lin Xu stood up, smiled, and gave a slight bow, saying:
"I hope my elder sister-in-law is well."
Feng Daizhu waved with a smile, but continued kicking the shuttlecock. Although she had just given birth, she was in excellent shape, and her current activity made it impossible to tell that she was a mother. Her movements were light and agile, and her cloak fluttered as she moved, drawing applause and cheers from the maids watching.
She kicked the shuttlecock dozens of times, but it never touched the ground. Perhaps Feng Daizhu was tired, so she gently flicked it, and the shuttlecock landed steadily in the hands of the little maid next to her.
She straightened her robes, looked up at Lin Xu, and clapped her hands cheerfully, "It's been a long time since I've played around like this. I couldn't help myself for a moment. Please don't laugh at me, sister-in-law."
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