Chapter 33 "Today, the son-in-law went to ask the young lady, about you and..."
Two days later, Li Yue arrived as expected; she was a beautiful woman with delicate features.
Yu An personally entertained them, instructing her servants to take good care of them. When Shen Qiulan asked her what Ji Jinghe thought, she gave her the usual answer, which finally made Shen Qiulan a little happier.
According to Shen Qiulan's wishes, the concubine-taking ceremony should be held before the end of the year to avoid further delays.
Yu'an dared not delay, so she chose a day when Ji Jinghe was present and led Baozhu to the study to look for him.
It was quite unexpected for Ji Jinghe to have Yu An come to him in person, especially knowing that she had come to measure his clothes.
"Why did you suddenly take my measurements?" he asked, knowing the answer already.
"I'll tailor clothes for you."
Yu An wondered why he would ask such a question. She looked up at him, and his dark eyes were filled with an unprecedented smile. It seemed that he really liked the Li family girl.
It's a pity about his relationship with Xu Jingshu.
Yu An thought to herself, when she heard a voice from above her head: "As the year draws to a close, I will have someone buy cloth and make clothes for the whole family. You should also hurry up and pick out a few nice pieces of fabric for yourself. Last time when I came back from Yuzhou, it was my fault that I asked you to send all those fabrics away."
He had been suspicious when he saw her send the things away that day, but Yu'an kept sending him away, making him forget about the reason. He only realized it after he returned.
No one else has it, but she does, which might cause some bad gossip.
Yu An carefully measured the distance between them, which inevitably brought them closer. As she listened to Ji Jing and Youyou talking, she didn't think much of it and said directly, "Master, you don't need to worry about me. I have clothes to wear. Just buy some for Shu'er and my mother-in-law. Although I'm in charge of the old lady, if you want to buy some for her, just buy them."
She was still pushing him away, and Ji Jinghe still felt uneasy, but thinking that she was still considering his feelings, he felt that there was no end in sight and he wasn't in a hurry.
Flowers always bloom again, and he and she always had good days.
"The relatives who came to visit were treated well. According to my mother's wishes, they will probably stay at our house for the New Year."
Ji Jinghe smiled slightly, "This year's Spring Festival is going to be very lively."
He has always been serious and never talks nonsense, but lately Yu'an has felt that he is talking more and more nonsense, especially in front of her, to the point that he is making conversation for no reason.
She frowned slightly, somewhat reluctant to respond, but still offered a perfunctory reply, "Miss Li will naturally stay at our residence for the New Year, and Aunt will naturally stay as well."
It seemed like casual conversation, but the tone was somewhat strange, and Ji Jinghe couldn't pinpoint what was wrong.
She wrapped her arms around his waist, her temples almost touching his chest. The silver bracelet on her wrist accidentally brushed against the jade belt at his waist, making a crisp tinkling sound. Her scent mingled with the refreshing sandalwood fragrance emanating from him, making the two of them feel that the surroundings were unusually small.
Seeing that she was struggling to reach her waist, Ji Jinghe reached behind him without thinking, took the two ends of the soft ruler from her hand, wrapped it around her waist, and showed it to her.
A mischievous glint flashed across Yu An's face. Pretending to be unharmed, she raised her hand to take the measurement and began to measure his arm length again.
"Three feet, got it?"
Yu An sighed helplessly, "...I know."
Baozhu: ...
"How about making the winter clothes a little looser?"
"I'll listen to you."
Yuan:......
It's not like she's taking a concubine.
Once the measurement was finished, they went back.
Baozhu held the piece of paper with the dimensions written on it, still hesitant: "Miss, are we really going to ignore this?"
Ji Jinghe is infuriating. How could he suddenly take a liking to his own cousin? Where did all these sisters come from...?
Yu An picked up the embroidery frame on the table, her face expressionless: "How can I stop the master from agreeing to something?"
Baozhu: "Miss Li has only been here for a day or two. We have no idea what kind of person she is. If she is like the Lin family, aren't we just inviting a wolf into our house?"
"In my opinion, the girl should observe him carefully before letting him in. Perhaps we should find a way to delay for a few days."
Seeing Yu'an shake her head in response, Baozhu anxiously urged again, "Miss, please think it over. This matter could be a big deal or a small deal. The young master feels guilty towards you. We should make good use of this guilt so that we can handle things in the future, right?"
After going through several twists and turns, Chu Xingjian left behind a secret letter, hoping that one day he could clear his name and the truth would come out.
If Li Yueru is reasonable, then everything will be fine; if not, then their lives in the inner quarters will surely be difficult, and they will have no energy to care about other things.
If one really wants to take a concubine, one should find one who is easy to manage and who is on their side.
Yu'an understood everything, but it was too late to back out now. The die was cast, and there was no way to stop it.
Baozhu: "The one who tied the knot must untie it. Why don't you try again, young lady? Just give your son-in-law any reason and postpone it until after the New Year."
Yu'an, who was wearing a thread, couldn't help but look at Baozhu a few more times after hearing her say that. "Who taught you to say such things?"
These were words she couldn't possibly utter; it was as if she had suddenly gained some insight.
Baozhu didn't care at all and was focused on persuading her. Yu'an didn't think much of it at first, but after hearing Baozhu say that, a slight sense of irritation arose in her heart.
*
Ji Jinghe was out on an inspection tour and happened to miss Zhang Yanche's wedding banquet. When he returned to the court and saw him again, the other party was already beaming with health.
"Impressive, Brother Ji. You've completely overturned the King of Chu's plans with this one move." Zhang Yanche nudged Ji Jinghe with his elbow, hands in his pockets.
An official appointed by the imperial court to conduct an inspection was nearly silenced by a local wealthy merchant because he did not want to collude with him. Upon further investigation, he discovered that a prince was also involved, evading taxes and undermining the foundation of the country.
With the old, neutral ministers in the court submitting impeachment memorials one by one, it seems unlikely that the King of Chu can recover his position.
Ji Jinghe dismissed it: "At the critical moment, he brought it upon himself."
Once this matter was exposed, the King of Chu had utterly disgraced the Emperor, causing the Emperor, whose health had just begun to improve, to fall ill again.
Zhang Yanche sighed, "The Xia family made a bad bet this time. That old man probably didn't expect that fortunes would turn around like this. In just a few months, you've gotten your revenge for his complaint."
If the Xia family hadn't used coercion and bribery to intimidate Chu Xingjian's steward, Ji Jinghe wouldn't have almost lost his head.
Having finished his business and left the palace, Ji Jinghe no longer wanted to discuss these matters.
Despite the freezing weather, Zhang Yanche remained shameless and hitched a ride home in Ji Jinghe's spacious carriage.
Ji Jinghe looked him up and down, his face showing disdain. Zhang Yanche saw his expression clearly and said firmly, "Tsk, what are you looking at? This was made for me by my wife."
Zhang Yanche had a "Do you even have that?" expression, which would normally be unacceptable to Ji Jinghe, but today, it somehow gave him a hint of provocation.
Ji Jinghe raised his hand and placed the sachet from his waist onto his lap, his silence speaking volumes.
This once arrogant and indifferent son of heaven has finally come to "compete" with love. Zhang Yanche could only laugh when he saw his little act. "Brother Ji, you've finally met your match..."
Ji Jinghe sat calmly in the car, his face expressionless, as if it were all perfectly normal.
Zhang Yanche teased, "So even iron trees can bloom one day. Why didn't you do this sooner? You'd probably be a father by now."
Ji Jinghe was too lazy to reply and impatiently closed his eyes. Zhang Yanche's every word and action today somehow got etched into his mind, popping up from time to time, making him restless and uneasy.
He clearly didn't lack anything. The day she came to the study to measure his clothes, wasn't that her way of personally tailoring clothes for him?
After much thought, Ji Jinghe couldn't help but walk towards the half-acre courtyard, usually using trivial matters as an excuse to "inquire" about the situation.
Yu An also began to find it strange. As soon as she sat down on the couch and picked up the embroidery board, this person seemed to smell it and arrived right on time, and even chose to sit on the other side of the couch.
She pretended not to care at first, but his occasional glances up and down at her were really distracting.
"hiss"--
Yu An was in pain.
"What's wrong?"
Before Yu An could react, Ji Jinghe reached out and grabbed her hand, took a handkerchief and wrapped it around her injured finger. After a couple of moments, he took it off and the bleeding stopped.
Getting pricked by needles was a common occurrence for Yu An, and she never took it to heart, unlike Ji Jinghe who took it so seriously. She was also not used to his unwarranted closeness.
She casually withdrew her hand and continued her needlework without saying a word.
"I've noticed you've been doing these things a lot lately," he said, seemingly casually, without really knowing what he wanted to ask.
Yu An gave a soft "hmm," trying her best to keep herself calm and not say anything about sending the person away.
She pondered carefully what Baozhu had said to her that day, and it was indeed true.
She stayed precisely because she needed the title of the young mistress of the Ji family; to put it bluntly, she now depends on Ji Jinghe.
Whether it's his money or the convenience of his official position.
The road ahead is long, and she couldn't bring herself to say that she absolutely didn't need Ji Jinghe. Since he was willing to ease tensions, why should she put herself in such a difficult position and make things look bad for both of them?
She was seeking revenge, and she was also seeking the convenience that Ji Jinghe could provide for her.
Ji Jinghe suddenly remembered something, "I received news yesterday that Zhuo'an will be back in about a day or two. I have already arranged accommodations for him. You don't need to worry about Mother; I will handle that."
As he spoke, he stood up and placed a candlestick in the distance on the small table. "Be careful not to hurt your eyes. I still have some things to take care of, so I'll be going now. Get some rest."
It wasn't until he was about to leave that Yu'an noticed the sachet he had put back on his waist.
She thought she would throw it away or give it away like the orchid, but unexpectedly it's still here...
Looking at the candlestick in front of her, Yu'an's thoughts wandered and couldn't be brought back until a door opened, pulling her back to reality.
Baozhu brought in a basin of hot water and saw the book on the small table. She knew that the man had come again and had just left.
Yu'an noticed Baozhu sneaking up on her and immediately became wary.
“Miss, Caiqi from Jianjia Pavilion just came to give me a message. She said that the young master went to ask you about your relationship with the young master of the Pei family today…”
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Author's Note: Zhang Yanche: (Laughing heartily) [Laughing and crying]
Ji Jinghe: *rolls eyes*
Ji Shu: I'm talking to my sister-in-law [eating melon emoji]
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