Xu Yunci returned quickly, and Li Shiyue was somewhat surprised to see him: "So fast? Didn't they say the prefect of Huayuan County wanted to see you? I thought it would be a while before you arrived."
"Ignore them for now. I'll just say I want to accompany my wife on a tour and apologize at the prefect's mansion another day."
Li Shiyue had some doubts, but Xu Yunci didn't seem to be faking it. After spending half a month in Huayuan County, they explored the surrounding area thoroughly. In the end, Li Shiyue was exhausted and refused to go out again.
Huayuan County is located in the south and is a veritable water town. This time of year is the liveliest. Li Shiyue went out early in the morning with Xu Yunci, her eyes not even fully open yet.
A faint glimmer of dawn appeared on the distant horizon, and the streets were packed with pedestrians.
Xu Yunci specially booked a private room in the teahouse, with the window open, facing the street below and the bustling crowd.
Li Shiyue had lost count of how many times she had yawned, tears welling up in her eyes as she stared blankly downstairs.
"What's going on here? Is there some kind of commotion?"
If there's nothing lively, and someone goes out before dawn, sitting in a teahouse amidst the bustling crowds on the street, she'd surely think Xu Yunci must have suffered some kind of shock, and his head must be completely out of control.
"Today, the lotus-picking girls of Huayuan County are out in force. I've heard of the lotus-picking girls of Jiangnan, but I've never seen them in person, so I thought I'd bring you here to see them."
Xu Yunci turned her head and looked at her with a smile, pushing the pastries next to her over, in a rather ingratiating manner.
Li Shiyue found a more comfortable position. If this chair was comfortable, it was much more comfortable than the bed in that house.
She was used to sleeping in the Duke's mansion's bed, so she couldn't sleep well in the new bed, not to mention that there was someone bothering her every day, preventing her from resting early.
Thinking of this, Li Shiyue looked at Xu Yunci with a mixture of anger and resentment, then turned her head away without taking the pastries from the plate.
Oh no, I've made someone angry.
Xu Yunci chuckled, and as soon as he looked up, he saw the person sitting opposite him waving at him. It was the person from the prefectural governor's office whom he had declined after arriving in Huayuan County a few days ago.
Li Shiyue was in a daze. The wooden chair she was sitting on had a larger backward curve and was higher than a regular chaise lounge. It was covered with a soft cushion. At this moment, she was supporting her chin with one hand and was about to close her eyes again in a daze.
Chunling stood to the side, unable to suppress a chuckle. The young lady used to be someone who never slept in. But since marrying the young master, she's been sleeping in much more late, and she's gotten quite plump.
Although the weather in Jiangnan wasn't cold, the air was still somewhat damp. Chunling found something to cover Li Shiyue with, moving very quietly so as not to disturb her.
Li Shiyue closed her eyes, but couldn't help opening them a crack: "If the lotus-picking girl appears, you must call me."
Xu Yunci smiled helplessly, squeezed her palm, and leaned down with tenderness in his eyes: "Okay, I'll call you."
When Xu Yunci looked up again, his gaze met that of the Prefect of Huayuan County, who was sitting in the teahouse across the street.
The prefect of Huayuan County was a portly man with a wisp of beard. When he met Xu Yunci's gaze, he pinched the cheek of the woman beside him and raised his wine cup to Xu Yunci.
His gaze was actually fixed on the woman who seemed to be asleep in Xu Yunci's arms; this must be the Zhou family lady that his subordinate had reported.
The subsequent events seemed quite grand, but upon returning to the mansion, Li Shiyue had no recollection of them whatsoever. She only remembered that the lotus-picking girls were dressed in ethereal, fairy-like attire, as if they were celestial beings descended from the heavens.
However, Xu Yunci did not stay for long before leaving again.
After sleeping for a while in a daze, Li Shiyue got up and Xu Yunci had not yet returned.
Xu Yunci didn't investigate anything these days, instead dragging her around to play everywhere, as if he had forgotten what he came to Huayuan County for.
What worried Li Shiyue more than this was why Xu Yun, who had resigned from the prefectural governor's office, had not yet returned.
It wasn't until close to dinner that Chang Shun returned, presumably to get down to business.
Chang Shun was followed by a servant, whose eyes kept looking around as he walked in.
Li Shiyue withdrew her gaze, raised her hand and swept the teacup beside her away, which shattered on the ground with a "crack".
Her delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly, her face showing displeasure: "Where is my husband? What's wrong? After being in Hong Kong for so long, you've already learned to stay out all night? You can't stand staying at home, you prefer the ones outside."
After she finished speaking, she snorted coldly, her almond-shaped eyes filled with anger. She stood up, still seemingly not satisfied, and threw the round fan in her hand away.
"Since you're not coming back, don't ever come back."
After saying that, he stormed off to the backyard with Chunling and Liandong.
Chang Shun and the unfamiliar servant looked at each other in bewilderment. Chang Shun looked at the teacup at his feet, scratched his head awkwardly, and muttered to himself, "My lord doesn't come back by himself and drinks too much. Why is my wife taking her anger out on me?"
The servant looked around, unsure whether to smile or not, his expression somewhat unnatural.
Looking around, it wasn't just the broken teacup beside the two of them. When Li Shiyue returned to the inner quarters, she also casually tossed aside a vase. The vase looked to be in excellent condition; if it were in the prefectural governor's mansion, it wouldn't be something that could be smashed so easily.
It's clear that the Zhou family is truly wealthy; the fact that this thing could break so easily didn't surprise Chang Shun and the others, as if it happened frequently.
The servant couldn't help but chuckle: "Just as Young Master Zhou said, your lady has a bit of a temper."
Chang Shun sighed, as if he had found a kindred spirit. As he walked out with the servant, he complained, "That's right. You have no idea how much trouble my husband has been with my wife these past few days. He has to coax her whenever she is unhappy."
"What can we do? He married this woman himself. If it were anyone else, they wouldn't have received this treatment."
The servant smiled but didn't say anything, and quickened his pace as he left the mansion.
Chang Shun withdrew his gaze, lowered his head, and sighed, concealing the sarcasm in his eyes.
Li Shiyue returned to the inner courtyard, but Lian Dong was a little slower. When she caught up, Li Shiyue and Chun Ling had already drunk a cup of tea.
“I saw it with my own eyes. Chang Shun and that servant returned to the prefect’s mansion. That servant must be from the prefect’s mansion.”
Li Shiyue nodded and put down her teacup: "Since they are from the Prefect's Office, they must be here to gather information. They must be planning something. Be on your guard tonight and don't give anything away."
Xu Yunci really didn't come back all night. The courtyard seemed quiet, with only a few lamps lit, and the light was not obvious.
Fortunately, the night was quiet, but Xu Yunci was not seen the next day. Instead, Chang Shun returned first.
"So this is another case of not going home?"
Li Shiyue sat on a wooden chair, her beautiful eyes filled with anger, glancing at the people standing in the prefectural governor's mansion under the corridor.
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