Departure and Return to the Bride's Home
Lin Yi didn't sleep well. She had hoped a night's rest would restore some of her energy, but it was clear that Qiu Qingye's body couldn't adapt to such strenuous labor so quickly. When Lin Yi woke up, she felt completely exhausted.
Xueya, on the other hand, got up very early in the morning and seemed to have recovered better than her.
"Xueya, come for a walk with me."
Although my whole body was still sore and weak, there's an old saying that 'the less you move, the less energetic you become,' so I had to walk despite the pain in order to regain my strength.
She and Xueya helped each other to the main courtyard, where they happened to run into Xie Chengnan and Cang Xie doing their morning exercises.
Cang Xie was... moving bricks one by one. Yes, he really was moving bricks. He was moving discarded bluish-white bricks from one end to the other, and then from the other end to this end.
Xie Chengnan was aiming an arrow at a straw target in the courtyard. The young man stood tall and straight, his five fingers taut over the bowstring, which vibrated with each taut note. As soon as the arrow left the bowstring, it went straight for the bullseye, and with a whooshing sound, it hit the bullseye with a "bang".
Xie Chengnan nodded in satisfaction, then turned around and met the eyes of the two uninvited guests.
In the same courtyard, the two were full of energy, sweating profusely, while the other two looked listless, like eggplants wilted by frost.
The contrast between these two pairs of masters and servants is striking.
"Good morning," Lin Yi said softly, still feeling a bit weak.
"Miss Qiu, Miss Xueya, good morning." Cang Xie quickly put down the stone bricks and greeted them in return.
Xie Chengnan put the bow and arrows back into his pouch and looked at Qiu Qingye suspiciously. Seeing her pale and exhausted expression, she looked more like a patient recovering from a serious illness than Xueya.
Are you really sick?
"Yes. I'm sick from exhaustion," Lin Yi said weakly.
Xie Chengnan raised his eyebrows slightly: "Don't tell me, it was me who made you sick from overwork."
"How could that be?" Lin Yi's tone was low, as if she was really exhausted, and her voice sounded somewhat aggrieved. "Have you cleared all the weeds in your other yards? If not, let me do some cleaning and I'll go this afternoon."
Xie Chengnan gritted his teeth. Qiu Qing had said the same thing, so how could he not understand? "So you were waiting for me here all along."
Lin Yi lowered his eyes helplessly, looking utterly innocent: "I'm being sincere, I don't understand what you're saying."
"Ha, would Miss Qiu really give me her heart? I'm afraid I'm not worthy of that."
Seeing that Xie Chengnan was about to lose his temper, Xueya quickly interrupted the two: "My lord, Miss is still ill, she didn't mean that."
Cang Xie also spoke up, advising, "Young Master, it's time for breakfast."
"Um?"
Cang Xie immediately changed his words and said, "My lord, let's have a meal."
Xie Chengnan nodded: "Okay, let's go."
The atmosphere at the dinner table remained extremely strange.
On the round table were a plate of meat buns, three bowls of porridge, six eggs, and a small dish of side dishes.
Two young masters from the Xie family and their anxious guard, Cang Xie, sat on one side of the table. On the other side sat Miss Qiu and her maid, Xue Ya.
There were five people but only three bowls of porridge.
I wonder which two people are destined not to get a drink.
Xie Chengfeng was completely oblivious to the eerie atmosphere and slurped up a bowl of porridge.
The remaining four people did not make a move for a moment.
Lin Yi was the first to move. She naturally placed a bowl of rice porridge in front of Xueya and pushed another bowl to Cang Xie's side.
Cang Xie seemed to be scalded by the steam from the porridge bowl, and suddenly pulled his hand back. Then, he hesitated and pushed it towards Xie Chengnan's hand.
Lin Yi didn't mind that his good intentions were not appreciated. He picked up a meat bun and put it into Xueya's bowl. "You're still young and growing. Eat more." Then he picked up an egg and placed it next to Xueya's bowl.
Seeing Xie Chengfeng staring longingly across from him, Lin Yi picked up another one for him, saying, "Big brother, you should eat too."
Xie Chengfeng ate the steamed bun with relish, his mouth glistening with oil.
Xueya swallowed hard and asked, "Miss, can I eat this?"
"Eat up, there's nothing wrong with eating this. Eat more."
Upon hearing this, Xueya abandoned her reserve and began to wolf down her food.
Lin Yi casually picked up a steamed bun and took small bites, eating with considerable elegance.
Xie Chengnan watched coldly. Despite being uninvited, the master and servant acted as if they were family. They were eating with great relish; couldn't they tell this was breakfast for three?
Xie Chengnan finally lost his temper, slammed down his chopsticks, and the bottom of the bowl hit the table with a dull thud.
Xueya was so frightened that she stopped talking, but seeing that the eldest son and young lady of the Xie family were still unmoved, she felt at ease and took another bite.
Xie Chengnan's face darkened: "Doesn't the kitchen send you food? You have to come here to freeload."
“They always bring it over in a lunchbox, and the food doesn’t taste as good after being cooked in it,” Lin Yi said matter-of-factly. “Besides, since we’re already married, what’s done is done, and we should still eat together. Otherwise, if other people find out, they’ll think we’re not getting along, and we’ll just be giving them something to gossip about.”
Xie Chengnan sneered: "So, according to you, does that mean we have to stay together every night from now on, sharing the same bed, in order to show that we are of one mind as husband and wife?"
"No need for that." Lin Yi knew that Xie Chengnan didn't like him, so he was just saying that.
"Heh." Xie Chengnan gave a forced smile and twitched the corner of his mouth.
After a while, as if he suddenly remembered something, a wicked smile appeared on his lips. "What Madam says is true. Judging by the days, it's time to go back to my parents-in-law's home and visit them."
Lin Yi's hand holding the chopsticks suddenly stopped. She had thought a lot since coming here, but she had never thought about how to deal with Qiu Qingye's parents. As someone who had usurped Qiu Qingye's place, it was one thing to exchange barbs with these unrelated people, but if we really talked about it, she was the one who had taken Qiu Qingye's place. Calling her a murderer wouldn't be an exaggeration. She really didn't know how to face those parents who loved their daughter so deeply.
Xueya, on the other hand, was overjoyed to hear that she could return to the Qiu family mansion: "Really, Miss? We can go home now!"
"Hmm." Lin Yi picked up a piece of pickled radish with his chopsticks, put it in his mouth, chewed it absentmindedly for a couple of bites, and then swallowed it whole.
According to Anguo's custom, newlyweds must return to the bride's home to visit her parents on the sixth day after their wedding, a custom known as "returning to the bride's family."
When the groom returns to his bride's family home, he will prepare gifts and accompany them to express his respect and gratitude.
Although the wedding ceremony between Qiu Qingye and Xie Chengnan was lavish and grand, many noble ladies in Mingzhou City were waiting to see Qiu Qingye make a fool of herself. The reason was simple: they felt that given the current state of the Yong'an Marquis's mansion, Xie Chengnan simply couldn't afford a decent return gift.
Lin Yi wasn't aware of these things, but after spending time with Xie Chengnan these past few days, she realized that no one knew better than her just how much the Xie family had declined. Suddenly, she felt a little sorry for Xie Chengnan.
This enormous mansion has absolutely nothing.
The food and lodging were ordinary; they were self-sufficient.
To put it bluntly, they can't afford good food, good things, or to hire servants.
There were no snacks to satisfy their cravings, no entertainment to relieve their boredom, and very few people to chat with. The number of people in this mansion, including Lin Yi and Xue Ya, could be counted on two hands.
There was no steward to handle purchasing, accounting, and all the important and trivial matters of the household. There were no guards or maids, as is common in wealthy families.
Besides the two young masters of the Xie family, there was only a cook, a dishwasher, an old woman who took care of Xie Chengfeng, and Cang Xie who would mend wherever needed.
Lin Yi, a young man from the materialistic 21st century, had only been here for a few days and was already going crazy from being cooped up.
As far as she knew, Xie Chengnan, as the youngest son of the Xie family, had also enjoyed a period of wealth, luxury, and pampered life. However, the good days were short-lived. After his parents passed away, the heavy burden of managing the Xie family and taking care of his elder brother fell on that child's shoulders for ten years.
Now the child has grown into a handsome young man. Although his personality is a bit unruly and capricious, he is still heartbreaking to see.
Lin Yi thought that she and Xie Chengnan didn't necessarily have to hate each other. In the original book, Xie Chengnan had a happy childhood, a bitter and lonely youth, and only began to show his talent after coming of age, but then disappeared from the book like a fleeting flower. The book didn't describe Xie Chengnan's ending, but at the end of the book, after everything had settled, there was a description—
"The long-turbulent Da'an finally found peace, just as its name suggests. As dawn broke, the light of new life shone on every corner of Mingzhou City, bathing the entire city in a golden glow. Under this golden light, within the palace walls, brocade and flowers bloomed, and red silk was laid out on the ground as the new emperor ascended the throne. Outside the palace walls, songs and dances filled the air, markets were open, and the emperor and his people rejoiced together. But in the shadows where the palace walls met the outside world, a figure stood silently, draped in a black cloak, completely concealed in the darkness. He simply stood there quietly, as if all the clamor had nothing to do with him, just as it had always been, and would always be."
The author did not specify who this mysterious and solitary cloaked figure was, but Lin Yi felt that it was Xie Chengnan.
His life was uneventful yet full of hardships. In the early stages, he was just like Qiu Qing, only there to create difficulties for the male protagonist. In the later stages, he enjoyed a period of glory but then quickly perished.
He and Qiu Qingye are essentially the same kind of person. They simply exist for the sake of the protagonist and the plot. In online novels, cannon fodder supporting characters are worth less than paper.
Now, Lin Yi is Qiu Qing. Since they're both cannon fodder in the book, why make things difficult for each other?
Therefore, while sitting in the carriage, Lin Yi no longer deliberately antagonized Xie Chengnan. Even when faced with Xie Chengnan's sarcastic remarks, she patiently endured them.
The Xie family was short-handed, so the driver was Cang Xie, a mere laborer. Lin Yi, Xue Ya, and Xie Chengnan sat together inside the carriage.
The carriage wasn't much bigger than a sedan chair, and it was quite cramped for three people to sit in it.
Xueya and Lin sat together on one side, and to save space, Xueya hugged her arm.
Ever since learning that Lin Yi had taken care of her tirelessly all day, the little girl became increasingly bold. And this boldness, fueled by Lin Yi's overt and covert favoritism and pampering, gradually escalated into reckless behavior.
Lin Yi didn't mind. Modern people are more open-minded than people in ancient times, and it's common for sisters to hug and cuddle.
But Xie Chengnan on the other side didn't see it that way.
He remembered that Qiu Qing also cared most about the distinction between master and servant. Although he had never witnessed it firsthand, everyone in Mingzhou City knew of her ruthless methods of punishing servants.
He narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing the two of them. Was it simply that the rumors were all unreliable, or was there something else going on?
Lin Yi felt his gaze and returned a questioning look. Then, seeing that he was still staring at her without moving, she gave him a gentle smile.
Then, she saw Xie Chengnan shudder.
Lin Yi turned to Xue Ya and whispered, "Am I scary?"
Xueya hugged her arm and shook it affectionately: "How could that be? Miss is the kindest and most approachable person."
Lin nodded: "I think so too."
Xie Chengnan's eyes widened, then he closed them again. How could he see a ghost in broad daylight? To hear someone describe Qiu Qingye as kind and approachable? Perhaps they got up too early and hadn't fully woken up yet.
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