At noon, in the dining hall of the Prince of Zhenbei's Mansion.
When Shu Bai stepped into the hall, the Prince of Zhenbei and his wife were already seated in the main seats.
The table was laden with delicacies, their aroma filling the air.
"Father, Mother," Shu Bai bowed, his voice slightly hoarse.
The princess immediately asked with concern, "What's wrong with your throat?"
"I choked on water last night."
Li Yuheng was floating behind Shu Bai when he heard this and immediately chimed in with a cheeky grin: "Yeah, yeah, you drank a lot of water."
Shu Bai added with a cold laugh, "I won't drink it anymore."
ha?
"That won't do! Water is the source of life; without drinking water, you'll turn into a withered kitten."
Moreover, how could Shu Bai refuse to drink the water that the male lead personally fed him?
This is practically a challenge to his authority as a "young lady" ghost!
Shu Bai calmly sat down, as if he hadn't heard anything.
Li Yuheng stared intently at the back of his head.
Very good, man.
You've successfully caught my attention again.
It seems the water service last night wasn't thorough enough.
We must intensify our efforts tonight to ensure that Shu Bai fully understands.
Not a single drop of the water given by the male lead can be wasted.
Li Yuheng snorted softly and turned his head to glance at a bowl of rice with three incense sticks stuck in it.
It's obvious that this seat was reserved specifically for himself.
He nodded in satisfaction, lifted his robe, and gracefully took his seat.
The Prince of Zhenbei and his wife exchanged a glance. The princess coughed lightly and smiled gently: "Xiaobai, is that... Miss Li, your wife, also here? Is she satisfied with the Prince's residence?"
Shu Bai paused slightly in her chopsticks, then looked up with a normal expression: "Mother, he is sitting next to me."
He turned his head to look at the empty seat next to him and smiled: "Madam, Father and Mother are asking you questions."
Li Yuheng was studying which way to start eating the bowl of fragrant rice to be in line with his "young lady" status when he heard this and suddenly looked up at Shu Bai.
Madam?!
Hmm... Madam...
Hello, madam! Wonderful! Absolutely fantastic!
It's simply one of the most beautiful names in the world!
As Li Yuheng's lips uncontrollably rose, Shu Bai's lips drooped at a visible speed.
One rises, the other falls, creating a stark contrast, as if the total amount of expression shared by the two is conserved.
Seeing that Shu Bai's expression was somewhat subtle, the Prince of Zhenbei immediately asked out of curiosity, "Son, what did my daughter-in-law say?"
Shu Bai nodded to himself, then turned to his parents with a perfectly measured look of pity: "I forgot to tell you, Father and Mother, that Madam... cannot speak."
Li Yuheng's lips froze instantly.
“She has been like this since she was a child, and it is not intentional neglect. Yesterday, she communicated with me mostly using sign language, so her responses were a little slow. I hope her parents will understand. She just said she was very satisfied.”
Upon hearing this, the Prince of Zhenbei and his consort immediately showed expressions of understanding, and their gazes toward the empty seat were filled with sympathy and tolerance.
The princess quickly said gently, "It's alright, it's alright. We were just too anxious. Daughter-in-law... just 'tell' me slowly, there's no need to rush."
Li Yuheng: "..."
He instantly dropped his joking expression, adopting a serious one, resting his left hand on his forehead, and turned his face to face Shu Bai.
“Li Yuheng”.
He called out his own name first, which indeed drew Shu Bai's attention.
Shu Bai raised an eyebrow slightly, waiting to see what he was really up to.
Li Yuheng still propped his head up with his hand, his face stern, and said solemnly, "Don't let your wife say these things."
Before he could finish speaking, he quickly turned his head to the other side, his back to Shu Bai, and placed his right hand on his other temple. His expression instantly became helpless yet indulgent, and his voice softened: "Fine, I'll talk to him next time."
He then turned his head back, propped himself up with his left hand again, his brows furrowed, his expression even more serious than before, even revealing a hint of disappointment, and emphasized, "Take this seriously! Do you hear me?"
Finally, he turned his head away again, his back to Shu Bai, his right hand on his forehead, his tone perfunctory with a hint of barely perceptible grievance, and muttered in a low voice, "I heard you, I heard you... so nagging."
Shu Bai looked at the back of Li Yuheng's head, which was turned away from him, and couldn't help but laugh.
He reached out and gently patted the dark hair.
Li Yuheng was still immersed in the self-directed and self-acted drama of marital discord when he was patted on the shoulder, causing his shoulder to stiffen.
“Although Madam cannot speak,” Shu Bai explained to her parents, her eyes glancing at the back of Li Yuheng’s head with just the right amount of teasing, “she is thoughtful and has a lively personality. Just now she used gestures to tell us that she deeply felt her parents’ love and was very warm inside. It’s just that she is shy and a little bashful.”
Upon hearing this, the Prince of Zhenbei stroked his beard and nodded, looking at the empty seat with loving eyes: "It's alright, it's alright, we're all family, just be at ease."
The princess was very considerate and quickly instructed the maid, "Go quickly and bring up some snacks that the young mistress might like."
Li Yuheng slowly turned his head back, his face showing no trace of grievance.
He slowly raised his hand towards Shu Bai, spread his five fingers, and then slowly bent each finger one by one until only his index finger remained. He then shook it from side to side towards Shu Bai.
Little Shubai, that won't do!
Shu Bai picked up her teacup, took a sip, and, using her sleeve to conceal it, silently made a face at Li Yuheng: "Childish."
Although the Prince and Princess Zhenbei could not see Li Yuheng, they could clearly see the incredibly vivid expression on their son's face.
The princess secretly tugged at the prince's sleeve under the table, giving him a smug look.
The Prince of Zhenbei nodded slightly, stroking his beard, his eyes full of satisfaction.
He spoke gently to the direction he assumed his daughter-in-law, saying, "Daughter-in-law, no need for formalities. Just make yourself at home. I'll have to take good care of Xiaobai from now on."
He thought to himself, "This Master Li is indeed living up to his reputation. It makes a difference when the horoscopes match. Look, in just one night, his son's chronic illness seems to have improved by seven-tenths!"
…
That night, the moon was dark and the wind was high.
A blurry white figure flashed by the lotus pond in the back garden of the Prince of Zhenbei's mansion, accompanied by faint sobs.
Two night patrol servants happened to pass by. One of them rubbed his eyes and asked in confusion, "Just now... did something float by?"
The other person shuddered: "Don't, don't talk nonsense! The young master is in the manor, what kind of filthy thing would dare to come here?"
Before the words were finished, the white figure reappeared from behind the artificial hill, this time even closer, and the distorted, blurry facial features and the long tongue dragging on the ground could be clearly seen.
"Oh my god—a ghost!"
The two were terrified and fled in a panic, even throwing the gong on the ground.
Similar scenes occurred one after another over the next few nights.
Either the dishes in the kitchen would break on their own for no reason, or the horses in the stables would whine in the middle of the night. Even worse, a maid claimed that her ankle was touched by a cold hand when she got up in the middle of the night.
For a time, panic gripped the Prince's mansion, and rumors spread like wildfire.
"Wasn't it said that the young master has an extremely yang constitution, making him immune to all ghosts? How come the manor is haunted?"
"Could it be... brought by the 'ghost bride' that the young master married?"
Shh! Watch your words! You're asking for trouble!
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