Her voice was soft, and Xu Yunci tried his best to hear some other meaning in it, but in the end, he was going to be disappointed.
Xu Yunci reassured himself, telling himself that he couldn't rush things. If he did, he would only scare her. He could wait a little longer; there was plenty of time.
"When you're behind closed doors, it's all family, so it's fine. But since it's a banquet for everyone, it's not good to ignore them. Just send out the invitations, and whether they come or not is their business. At least no one will criticize your rules."
Li Shiyue nodded, about to say something, when Xu Yunci walked over first: "I'm going to find my grandmother, so I'll take you back."
As always, the two maintained a distance from each other. Even after expressing his feelings, Xu Yunci never made the distance between them uncomfortable.
Li Shiyue knew about this feeling, but she hesitated and never gave an answer. She even doubted that if she didn't like it, she could just refuse, but the thought of refusing made her somewhat unwilling.
Even Xu Yunci sensed this contradictory feeling; when Li Shiyue was by his side, especially when they were alone, she looked uneasy.
"You go first, I left some things with Fifth Sister."
Before Li Shiyue could speak, Xu Yunci had already turned around and walked back. His pace was so fast that Li Shiyue couldn't say anything. He turned into the bushes ahead and disappeared from sight.
When they returned to Chengyu Pavilion, Li Shiyue was still in a daze when Chunling hurriedly followed her back. Upon entering the room, she saw Li Shiyue staring blankly at the teacup beside her. Chunling suddenly stopped her hurried steps and hesitated before walking further in.
"girl......"
When Chunling walked up to Li Shiyue, she obediently lowered her head, looking exactly like she was admitting her mistake.
She couldn't very well say that Chang Shun had pulled her away, and that she and Chang Shun had watched over the two masters without gossiping or coming forward. She herself had been detained by the young master and questioned about many things, as if he were afraid that the young lady had been wronged recently.
Even though they had just met during the Mid-Autumn Festival, the young master seemed to have not seen the young lady for a long time. But does this mean that the young master is really good to the young lady?
Li Shiyue came to her senses and didn't dwell on where Chunling had gone: "Go find the things, I'll go to my cousin's place again, and then I'll go see my grandmother."
It was already past dusk when Li Shiyue left Xu Lingzi's courtyard. She entered Shousong Hall precisely at the appointed time.
"Young Miss is here. The old lady was just talking about her." Granny Chang's voice was soft, and her eyebrows showed a hint of joy.
"I just happened to arrive at the right time." Li Shiyue smiled slightly, untied her cloak, and walked inside. After passing the screen, she saw that Old Madam Xu was taking a nap on a wide wooden couch.
She leaned against a soft cushion, with round, soft pillows on either side, her hands holding prayer beads, and closed her eyes for a short rest.
Li Shiyue deliberately lightened her steps and didn't rush to sit next to Old Madam Xu. She walked to the window and closed it, leaving only a crack so that the autumn wind could blow in much less.
The window faced Old Madam Xu. Li Shiyue walked back quietly and was about to unfold a thin blanket when she opened her eyes before she could touch Old Madam Xu.
“You haven’t sat down properly since you came in. Sit here and let them do their work.”
Li Shiyue dodged Chang Mama's outstretched hand, spread out the dark blanket, and wrapped it around Old Madam Xu's legs.
“I’m used to doing these things, so Grandmother, please enjoy them. I’m afraid that once I get married, I won’t be able to serve you by your side every day.”
Madam Xu looked at her with some surprise: "What, you actually remembered the matter of getting married and no longer said you wouldn't marry?"
"It's not your fault. Seeing your father like that since I was little, I wouldn't want to marry someone like that either. Now that you say that, I can't let you marry far away. I really don't feel comfortable without you by my side."
“Then I’ll marry into my own family, and I can stay with my grandmother forever.” Li Shiyue’s voice was calm, but if you listened closely, you could hear a hint of nervousness.
Looking at her face, Old Madam Xu momentarily forgot to react. When she came to her senses, she took Li Shiyue's hand, her heart pounding in her throat: "You mean you have someone you like?"
Li Shiyue met Madam Xu's gaze and nodded after a long while.
“Grandmother, my cousin, the Crown Prince, says he is in love with me and wants to marry me as his bride.”
She always addressed Xu Yunci as "cousin," while she would use the order of seniority for others. But today, she specifically called him "the Crown Prince's cousin."
Madam Xu breathed a sigh of relief, surprisingly calm. It was good that it wasn't Xu Yunxu. Otherwise, if such a scene of brothers falling in love with each other were to play out in the Xu family, especially with Xu Yunci...
She knew her grandson's personality all too well; he was a man of his word, otherwise the family wouldn't have never pressured him to get engaged all these years.
"And what about you? What do you think?"
Li Shiyue wondered why Old Madam Xu was so calm. She showed no surprise at Xu Yunci's proposal to marry her, and even seemed to know what was going on.
But she didn't have time to think about that now. Along the way, she suddenly realized something very clear. Since she had to get married anyway, why couldn't she marry someone she knew well, someone who held power and influence, someone she could rely on?
"I have no idea."
Her truthful manner puzzled Old Madam Xu, who raised an eyebrow slightly.
“I dare not lie to my maternal grandmother. Whether it was before or after I entered the manor, the previous things had already happened, and I should hate them. But my cousin is different. He never mistreated me from the beginning, and even regarded me and my cousin as equally important. This made me feel that he respected me, unlike others who regarded me as a pretty plaything.”
"If we're talking about gratitude and respect, my heart is overflowing with gratitude. But as for liking someone, I don't know how long my feelings for my cousin will last—whether it's a few months, a few years, or a lifetime."
“If I easily agree and become my cousin’s wife, managing such a large Duke’s mansion, it’s one thing whether I can fulfill my role as the future matriarch of the Xu family. But what if my cousin meets someone he likes in the future? Where will I be then? I can’t share my husband with someone else. I don’t want to be like my mother, living alone in an empty room, spending every day in long waiting.”
"In the end, resentment will grow in our hearts, and we will grow tired of each other. Grandmother, this is not the life I want."
Li Shiyue lowered her eyes: "Jiaojiao doesn't want to deceive her maternal grandmother, but these thoughts have troubled me for a long time. I want to hide, but after seeing my cousin's glance today, wouldn't it be even worse if I just kept hiding?"
She was like a bewildered fawn wandering into the forest, and the panic in her eyes struck Madam Xu's heart.
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