When I woke up early in the morning, it had been snowing heavily all night. Standing under the eaves, I saw that the branches in the yard were covered with a thick layer of snow, and the snow in the yard had gradually piled up to several inches high.
Lian Dong rubbed her hands together as she walked in, beaming with joy, and said, "A timely snow promises a good harvest; it seems this year will be a lucky one."
The wind and snow continued, and Li Shiyue sat cross-legged on the wooden couch, waving her hand and calling out, "Come in and warm yourself by the fire."
Chunling, sitting to one side, said, "With the end of the year approaching, every room and courtyard is bustling with activity. The Sixth Miss even sent someone to say that she wants to take the young lady to build a snowman once the snow stops."
Lian Dong smiled and sat down on the footstool: "Then the young lady should wear more clothes. It's cold in the twelfth lunar month in the capital, and even colder in the first lunar month. The wind is biting, and it wouldn't be good if she caught a cold."
Located in the far north, the winter winds are biting cold. If you don't wear enough clothes, the cold wind will seep through your brocade and make you feel chilly.
Li Shiyue was reborn and adapted relatively quickly this time, except that she was afraid of the cold.
As they were talking, Qiu Fan, who was supposed to be waiting outside, walked in. She was younger and had the appearance of a girl from a modest family.
She came in without looking up or glancing around, placing her hands in front of her: "Miss, Third Master is outside."
Xu Yunyang?
The smile on Li Shiyue's lips vanished instantly: "What's he doing here?"
Since Meng Zhuo set an example, the rule of separating men and women has been established. It is really against the rules for a young man to be in the courtyard of an unmarried woman.
Chunling subconsciously looked at Li Shiyue, fearing that another "Meng Zhuo" might appear.
Qiu Fan shook her head: "Third Master came by himself, saying he wanted to apologize to the young lady. I told him that men and women should be different, so Third Master just asked me to come in and announce his arrival."
Li Shiyue got up and looked around, vaguely seeing the tall figure standing under the eaves through the closet.
Lian Dong and Chun Ling couldn't sit still either, so they followed behind Li Shiyue and lifted the curtain for her.
As she walked out of the room with her maid, Li Shiyue had no intention of inviting a young man into her house. If word got out and it ruined her reputation, wouldn't that be doing the right thing for some people?
The plaque of Chengyu Pavilion hangs high overhead, and the corridor extends all the way to the courtyard gate.
Li Shiyue had just finished her mourning period a few days ago, and with the end of the year approaching, she was wearing a white jacket with a light magnolia pattern on it. The fur on the collar and cuffs, along with the silver-white ruyi patterned skirt on her body, made her look as white as the snow in the courtyard.
A simple red sash adorned her waist, highlighting its slenderness. With a perfectly appropriate smile on her face, she stood at the doorway and politely greeted, "Third cousin."
But in his heart he thought to himself, "Does Chengyu Pavilion look so desirable? First Wei Shi, then Xu Yunyang came along."
This was the first time she had worn brightly colored clothes since entering the manor. Before, when she was still in mourning for Madam Li, she usually wore white or light blue-white, and rarely wore such bright colors.
Moreover, the sixteen-year-old girl was in the prime of her life.
"cousin."
Xu Yunyang's eyes held undisguised amazement, and his gentle smile stung Li Shiyue's eyes.
Li Shiyue's hands were tightly clasped together in her sleeves, her smile unchanged: "I wonder what brings you here, Third Cousin? Please forgive me, but men and women should keep to themselves, so let's talk here."
Xu Yunyang took it as the young lady's modesty. With a gentle face and eyes full of tenderness, he looked at her and said, "The New Year is approaching, and the capital is bustling with activity. This morning, after finishing my shift, I passed by a vendor's stall and found this jade hairpin."
After saying that, Xu Yunyang took out a jade hairpin from his wide sleeve. It was carved with a begonia flower pattern and inlaid with several small white beads for decoration.
"My cousin loves jade ornaments the most. I remembered that, so I came to bring you some as soon as I entered the manor. Look, do you like them?"
The sunlight after the snowfall was exceptionally dazzling against the azure sky. Xu Yunyang opened his palm, and the jade hairpin lay there, gleaming brightly.
It must be said that Xu Yunyang is very good at thinking things through. If it were an ordinary girl, she would definitely like it and love it to death.
But Li Shiyue knew Xu Yunyang's true colors. Her gaze remained calm as she glanced at him and smiled, "It is quite beautiful. Third cousin, you've put in a lot of effort."
Xu Yunyang was somewhat surprised by her reaction: "Does my cousin not like it?"
His palm remained open. Li Shiyue glanced at the jade hairpin and then looked away: "It's not that I don't like it, it's just that it's against the rules."
“Although my cousin and I are cousins, we are still different men and women, and the jade hairpin is not something that can be accepted casually. If my third cousin insists, it would be better to wait until New Year’s Eve and give it to each of the sisters in the family in front of our maternal grandmother, one for each of them, so as to avoid gossip.”
“I heard from the servants that my second aunt is also looking for a wife for my third cousin. If my sister-in-law finds out, she might be jealous of me, her cousin.”
"Even if my third cousin doesn't consider me, he should at least consider his future sister-in-law."
Li Shiyue quickly separated herself from Xu Yunyang, and Xu Yunyang's gentle smile froze: "My cousin is avoiding me."
Li Shiyue lowered her eyes and remained silent. She felt that she had made herself very clear: men and women are different, and these behaviors were not in accordance with the rules. If others were to find out, it would be considered a secret affair.
Besides, she knew exactly what kind of person Xu Yunyang was; in her past life, he had used similar petty tricks to gradually win her over. Now that she was reborn, how could she be fooled by such trivial matters?
Xu Yunyang withdrew his hand, gripping the jade hairpin tightly. His gentle expression froze, his smile lingering on his face, a hint of stiffness appearing on his warm features: "I don't know what I did wrong that my cousin is avoiding me like this. If it were my second brother, would my cousin act the same way?"
"Whether it's my cousin, the Crown Prince, my third cousin, or any of my other cousins, the difference between men and women is the same. My cousins care about me, but I cannot break the rules."
Li Shiyue raised her eyes, her expression revealing nothing unusual, but her tone was even more distant than before: "I remember all the kindness my cousins have shown me. If I break the rules because of this kindness, that would be my fault."
“I have received your kind offer, Third Cousin. If you insist on giving it to me, I will accept it. If Grandmother asks, I will tell her the truth.”
"Please rest assured, Third Cousin, Yan Yan knows what she should and shouldn't say. She will never utter a word that is detrimental to you, Third Cousin, nor will she let your sister-in-law feel jealous in the future."
As soon as she finished speaking, Li Shiyue stretched out her hands, as if to take the jade hairpin.
However, when she looked up and saw Xu Yunyang's expression, she couldn't help but feel delighted.
Li Shiyue's words, though seemingly a retreat, left Xu Yunyang feeling a surge of anger. He had intended to convey the meaning behind giving her the hairpin, but it was clear she was feigning ignorance.
If she had happily accepted it, he would have been confident of marrying her when they met Old Madam Xu. But she pretended to be oblivious, accepting it and even making up reasons for him. Even if she had accepted it, the jade hairpin would have been completely useless to him.
He could see Li Shiyue's clear eyes and beautiful face. She raised her hands, a faint, aloof smile playing on her lips as she quietly gazed at him. The tightness in his chest was unbearable, neither rising nor falling.
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