Chapter 52 Chapter 52 Do you want to be ruined with me? ...
After Pei Jinguang's funeral, the entire Pingning Marquis Mansion closed its doors and declined all social interactions, but they could not refuse invitations from the royal family.
The old lady looked at Wu Jingxun, who had lost a lot of weight in just a short period of time. She was silent for a moment, then nodded and said, "The autumn hunt is an annual event. It just so happens that Erlang taught you how to ride a horse a while ago. When the time comes, you can go talk to the girls your age and relax."
Wu Jingxun knew the danger lurking behind this chrysanthemum-viewing banquet. She grasped the old woman's orange-peeled hand and said softly, "Grandma, don't worry about me. I will ensure that you live a long life for my husband, and I will naturally take good care of myself. Even if others want to wrong me, they will have to see if you agree."
These words made the old lady smile, and her throat felt a little itchy, and she couldn't help coughing.
Wu Jingxun reached out and patted her back gently. After she had recovered her breath, the old lady patted her hand and said, "Good girl, you've been so busy running around since I was sick. Look, you've lost a lot of weight. Cuiping, when you get home, you must cook some delicious food for Jingxun to nourish her. You'll be attending the banquet at the palace in a few days, so you must be refreshed and look your best."
Cuiping quickly agreed.
Wu Jingxun tucked the corner of the quilt for the old lady, gave her a few more instructions, and then left.
Before we knew it, autumn has arrived.
She was married into the Marquis of Pingning's mansion in the height of summer, when the trees were lush and green and the cicadas were unaware of the snow. But now the crabapple trees beside the moon gate had already withered, and even the flower beds and grass on both sides of the gravel path were no longer as vibrant as before.
It seemed as if the vitality of the garden disappeared with the passing of its owner.
Cui Ping saw Wu Jingxun staring blankly at the flowers and plants by the roadside. Wanting to cheer her up, she brought up Mantou's embarrassing incident yesterday: "Mantou went to nibble on the herbs my wife had planted, but they were surprisingly bitter. He yelped and retreated as soon as he bit into them. He wanted to go to the small pond to drink some water, but he was too impatient and fell in. He got soaking wet and didn't want us to touch him."
Yesterday, she helped the old lady take her medicine and rested in the side room. She didn't get to see Mantou's adorable yet miserable appearance. Listening to Cuiping's description, Wu Jingxun couldn't help but curl up her lips: "It suffered a loss once, so it won't be naughty again."
The lady's voice was soft and pleasant as always, but Cuiping was confused. Based on Mantou's intelligence, she always felt that such a thing would probably happen many times in the future.
The master and servant walked slowly on the bluestone road. Every road in Pingning Marquis Mansion was flat and spacious. Wu Jingxun walked on it, thinking quietly about the future.
"Madam, are you really going to move to Xuzhou?"
Passing through a moon-shaped gate amidst willows and flowers, the main gate of Luyun Garden came into view at the end of the path. Wu Jingxun looked at the white lanterns swaying slightly in the wind above the gate and hummed softly, "Do you think Xuzhou is bad?"
Cuiping was a little confused. It wasn't that Xuzhou was bad, but...
"My wife's family is all in Jinling. If you go to Xuzhou alone, you will have no one to discuss things with. I am worried." Ziping is calmer than her and she once learned the housekeeping and accounting skills from the maids in Wu Mansion. So Wu Jingxun handed the matter of transferring the house deeds in Xuzhou to Ziping.
By the way, she has been gone for half a decade.
Cuiping had also worried about the things she mentioned, but these things that had not yet happened could not outweigh her yearning for a new life without any restrictions.
It is always better to be free than to live in the belly of a puppet.
"There's still a year left, let's talk about it then." Since she had decided to move out of the Pingning Marquis Mansion, Wu Jingxun had never thought of settling down in Jinling or in places near the capital. By then, not only would her mother and brother easily come to visit, but there was also someone... who would probably come to cause trouble for her.
Perhaps it was not a good thing to think about someone behind their back. Wu Jingxun raised her eyelashes slightly and saw the young man leaning against the tree, his amber-like eyes looking straight at her.
It seems that I should do less talking about people behind their backs in the future.
Wu Jingxun was somewhat surprised to find that she was not as tense as she had been in the past few days. Perhaps it was because she had already thought of a way out for herself - the wife of the Duke, or the wife of the Crown Prince. These empty titles were just the glory that Madam Tong hoped she would get, but she was already tired of dealing with them. Continuing to study medicine in a quiet little town like Xuzhou, maybe she could even open a clinic in the future. Just thinking about it, Wu Jingxun felt that such days were too wonderful.
Why should she worry about whether Pei Huaiguang would continue to pester her? Just as his obsession came out of nowhere, maybe one day he would wake up and naturally lose interest in her.
Wu Jingxun thought optimistically. When she walked in front of him, her face was as cold as a lotus on a snowy mountain. She simply nodded and said, "My uncle is here too."
Although he got the divorce letter from the old lady, Wu Jingxun was not going to mention it in front of Pei Huaiguang.
Without the relationship between uncle and sister-in-law, I'm afraid he will become even crazier.
Pei Huaiguang straightened up, not disguising the almost naked plundering intent in his gaze: "I heard that my sister-in-law is going to buy a house in Xuzhou? Why didn't you tell me about such a thing?"
Wu Jingxun knew that he was most likely helping some important person and must have his own power, but she didn't expect that he would still be willing to send people to keep an eye on her.
"You hired someone to keep an eye on me?"
Her eyelashes were charming, and when she looked at him straight, there was no trace of coquettishness. Pei Huaiguang could only read her displeasure and disgust at being offended.
"I'm not watching you." Pei Huaiguang shook his head. The people he sent to protect her happened to find her personal maid leaving the city with a small entourage. Worried that something happened to the maid and that she was sad, Pei Huaiguang allowed his men to continue following her.
Unexpectedly, there was some news that I didn’t know whether to be surprised or happy.
"You are going to Xuzhou. Don't you want to wait for me?" Pei Huaiguang stepped forward, but saw that Wu Jingxun was not in a hurry, and there was not even a trace of red on her jade-like face. She even had the mind to signal the maid whose eyes were almost popping out to leave first.
Cuiping naturally refused, for she was afraid that her delicate and pitiful wife, who was as pretty as a flower, would suffer in front of this beast in human skin who was worse than Pei Erlang!
"You go first and watch over the people for me."
Wu Jingxun lowered her voice. Cuiping was anxious and panicked. She also knew that if someone saw such a scene, the widowed and beautiful elder sister-in-law and the young and aggressive younger brother-in-law... Oh, it would be terrible!
Cuiping stamped her feet and went over to keep watch.
Wu Jingxun retracted his gaze and raised his eyebrows slightly at Pei Huaiguang, who looked unhappy: "When did I say I was willing to wait for you?"
Eyes are another way of reading minds. These eyes that were always foggy some time ago are now clear. Perhaps there are still a few clouds gathering for rain, but Pei Huaiguang can see that her calmness at this moment is not a pretense of strength.
And it seemed that he had truly accepted and let go of Pei Jinguang's death.
Pei Huaiguang didn't know whether to sigh for himself, feel sad for his brother, or worry about the bet between the two of them.
It seemed like no one could get into her heart.
"Are you planning to give up everything in Jinling, go far away to Xuzhou, and leave everything behind?" Pei Huaiguang spoke a little quickly, and his tone seemed to have returned to the time when the two first met. He spoke in a strange Jinling Mandarin. Wu Jingxun didn't find it funny at the time, but was just curious about where he had lived before.
The vast grassland nurtured his unrestrained and unrestrained temperament.
“Actually, sometimes, I envy you.”
This nonsensical sentence made Pei Huaiguang frown and look at her intently.
Wu Jingxun continued to talk to himself, "You just do whatever you want to do, seemingly never considering the consequences. But I'm not like that. I'm always hesitant, so I can't do anything well, and it makes those around me anxious."
Pei Huaiguang was silent. It seemed that she didn't need to respond at this time.
"Here, I always think of you, brother. Life like this is too sad and too depressing. I have to change my environment and can't keep indulging in grief." Wu Jingxun hasn't forgotten his evil thoughts yet. Knowing that he can't change them, he can only say more lies to hurt his heart and bring him back to the right path.
Pei Huaiguang withdrew his previous sympathy for Pei Jinguang.
It turns out that he is the most pitiful one.
Pei Huaiguang wasn't worried about letting him go. What he was worried about was... "But I will miss you."
The stubborn and eccentric boy rarely spoke his inner thoughts so bluntly. As soon as he finished speaking, not only Wu Jingxun was stunned, but even Pei Huaiguang's earlobes were stained with a faint blush.
"But I will miss you. Very much." Pei Huaiguang repeated it again in a soft voice. The originally clear boyish tone had become slightly low for some reason, and when it fell into people's ears, it gave people a tingling and shuddering feeling.
Wu Jingxun was also startled by his sudden bluntness, and she subconsciously took a step back.
It had been raining continuously for some time, and a thin layer of moss had grown on the edges of the bluestone slabs. She was not paying attention, her foot slipped, and she fell into a slightly cool embrace.
He seemed to be cold all the time.
Somehow, the first thought that came to Wu Jingxun's mind was this.
Pei Huaiguang tightened his grip on her waist, reluctant to let go: "Are you scared silly?"
Wu Jingxun pinched him expressionlessly, tightening this acupoint, which hurt the most.
As expected, the handsome young man frowned in pain, but still did not let go. He just lowered his head and looked at her: "You haven't answered my question yet."
"Uncle, what do you want me to answer?" Wu Jingxun turned her head away unhappily. She didn't want to look him in the eye. "I just moved to Xuzhou."
Just move to Xuzhou?
Pei Huaiguang's voice was a little muffled: "From Jinling to Xuzhou, riding non-stop would take more than a day."
Wu Jingxun's heart moved.
He said this, so I guess he had checked it in advance.
So... has he also seriously considered going to see her after she moves to Xuzhou in the future?
Wu Jingxun clearly didn't want to get into trouble. Once the matter between her uncle and her widowed sister-in-law got out, the Wu family and the Pingning Marquis Mansion would become the topic of conversation on the streets, which was a situation she didn't want to see.
"There are many beautiful and well-tempered girls in Jinling. You really don't have to look far away." Wu Jingxun held his arm with a light but firm force that made Pei Huaiguang let go unconsciously.
"I'm not someone worthy of your affection. Wendusu, you didn't return to Jinling to be ruined with me, right?"
This was the first time she called his name, but what she said was still words of rejection.
Pei Huaiguang said nothing, his thin lips tightly pursed, watching her figure gradually disappear into the distance.
When Cuiping saw Wu Jingxun coming over, she first looked at her face and body to see if there was anything wrong, and then turned around and glared at Pei Huaiguang several times.
Who would have thought that Pei Erlang would have such a rebellious thought!
"Cui Ping, let's go back."
The lady's voice was still calm and gentle. Cuiping quickly responded, looking away, and muttered, "Madam, I want to move to Xuzhou now."
Jinling is a place that hides too many sad stories of women, not to mention that there is Pei Huaiguang who may explode at any time.
Cuiping was really worried.
Wu Jingxun listened to her words, smiled, bent down and touched the steamed bun that rushed to greet her: "You've gained weight again."
Mantou kept whining and wagging his short tail.
Seeing that Wu Jingxun was not worried at all about what happened just now and still had the mind to play with Mantou, Cuiping stamped her feet, rushed into the house and began to think about how to pack the boxes.
"Woo woo?" The master is about to throw the ball!
Wu Jingxun didn't move for a long time. Mantou was so anxious that he stepped forward and nudged her with his head, but a few small dents appeared on his full and fluffy head.
Mantou's eyes were full of confusion, but he still stopped making noise obediently, letting his owner, whose mood suddenly turned bad, hold him and keep quiet for a while.
A few days later, it was the autumn hunting season.
According to the custom of previous years, Wu Jingxun asked Cuiping to pack a few more clothes. When he saw the simple lily of the valley silver hairpin, he paused, but still picked it up and pinned it into his black hair in front of the bronze mirror.
This was the first time she had appeared in such an occasion since Pei Jinguang's death. Facing such a noisy occasion, she subconsciously felt resistant and tired.
When he saw Princess Changyi and Prince Rong sitting under the bright yellow tent, Wu Jingxun subconsciously wanted to pinch the lily of the valley beads swaying gently under the hairpin.
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