The sky turned dark, the dusk enveloped all around, inside the ancestral hall of Duke Shun Mansion, the candlelight was dim, casting a cold and dark shade on the plaques.
Ning Suxuan carefully tore apart the pages of the copied scriptures in her hand, one by one, and tossed them into a copper basin.
The flas leapt high, licking the pages.
"I forgot to ntion, the eldest son of Duke Zhongyong got married so ti ago."
"They have only this one son, so the celebration was grand, with almost half of the officials in Shangjing attending the festivities. That night, Duke Zhongyong drank and drunkenly ntioned you again."
"After you had your accident, he spent these years deducing countless solutions for the unfinished chess ga you left him. Yet, with every move he made, it felt as if he was personally severing the last thread of hope."
Her fingertip hovered mid-air, hesitating to fall.
"They say that chess is like life, and he originally thought this endga was a dead end from the start."
"Yet on the day of Gui Zhi’s marriage, the white piece rolled half an inch before him, revealing a flaw. When the black piece struck again, suddenly the whole board ca alive, only to fall into a deeper dilemma the next mont."
Her tone was unhurried, as if recounting a family matter.
"Duke Zhongyong regrets that he can no longer drink with you."
"I regret it too."
"When Gui Zhi got married, all senior family mbers were absent."
"Although the daughter-in-law doesn’t ntion it and doesn’t feel wronged, I always feel she was not treated well."
Ning Suxuan, wearing an ill-fitting n’s style ring, gently touched the cold characters carved on the plaque, sandalwood ashes falling on her plain dress, much like the paper money fluttering at the mourning hall that year.
She murmured softly.
"You said when you left, Da Jin would have a wise ruler. Now Gui Zhi wants to accomplish this task."
"My husband..."
"Ensure his safety at all costs."
"Do not let him... follow in your footsteps."
The last of the scriptures burned out, leaving the ancestral hall suddenly silent.
A sudden breeze passed by, causing the candle shadows to flicker.
Ning Suxuan raised her eyes.
She saw a wisp of blue smoke rising gracefully, hovering like a silent response from an old friend.
Leaving the ancestral hall, Ning Suxuan went directly back to the main courtyard.
"Gui Zhi hasn’t returned yet?"
"Replying to the mistress, the General returned an hour ago. The Young Madam specifically went to the kitchen to hurry the al."
Ning Suxuan nodded slightly.
"But..."
Ning Suxuan paused slightly: "What?"
"There were a few nourishing dishes, and after the dishes were removed, this servant saw that there wasn’t much left of the tonic soup inside."
Gui Zhi usually doesn’t like drinking broth.
Ning Suxuan’s brow furrowed deeply.
Could he be injured?
Each ti he returned triumphantly from the frontier, unless the injuries and scars were on the face, neck, or hands where they could be seen at a glance, he never ntioned any other issues.
He hadn’t returned for several days, and last night it was too dark to see anything.
Feeling uneasy, Ning Suxuan said, "I’ll go and check."
Inside the room.
The lights were bright.
Yu Tingwan was covered in sweat, both exhausted and annoyed, grunting.
"I..."
"Shh."
Yu Tingwan was about to express dissatisfaction.
"Mother is here."
Yu Tingwan: ???
Her eyes betrayed her guilty conscience like a thief.
But after a long ti, not hearing anything outside, she thought Wei Zhao had deceived her.
Yu Tingwan couldn’t control her shivering. Her eyes sparkled with tears, and her pale, tender arms weakly pushed away.
She heard Ning Suxuan knocking on the door outside.
"Gui Zhi."
The door was locked, it couldn’t be opened easily.
Thick-skinned Yu Tingwan felt sha for the first ti, her whole body burning with discomfort, not daring to move.
This feeling was indescribable.
She held her breath, not even daring to breathe.
Yet Wei Zhao didn’t care at all, wrapping his arms around her and picking her up.
She couldn’t withstand it, her pupils dilated, and she covered her mouth tight.
Afraid that people outside might know what they were doing.
This feeling was very much like being caught cheating, sothing shaful.
Skilled in martial arts, Wei Zhao moved soundlessly to the washroom without a hurry, carrying her.
"Go out!"
But the instigator leaned close to her ear, speaking softly in a tone only she could hear.
Very malevolent.
"Shh."
"Don’t make a sound, this is dignified?"
Yu Tingwan: ???
You scoundrel.
After a while, Ning Suxuan heard no sound from inside.
"Mistress, perhaps the General has gone to sleep."
No way.
She knew her son.
He was always very alert, even to the smallest of movents. There’s no way he wouldn’t respond.
Yu Tingwan never went to bed so early either.
At this hour, she’d be comfortably leaning on the golden rocking chair in the courtyard eating bird’s nest, asking if she wanted a bowl too.
Ning Suxuan chuckled, "Perhaps considering his wife has been cooped up at ho for days, he took her out for so air."
Yu Tingwan didn’t know how she made it through that night.
She certainly didn’t dare to yell at him loudly.
Nor did she have the strength to punch Wei Zhao hard a couple of tis.
After he wiped her body clean and laid her on the soft bed, she turned her back on Wei Zhao, not wanting to see him.
Wei Zhao, oblivious to the danger, turned her over.
Yu Tingwan endured the soreness, slowly and with difficulty flipping back to face the wall.
Her shoulder was gently nudged, and Wei Zhao turned her over again.
Yu Tingwan turned, and he kept turning her back.
No one spoke, and after a few rounds.
She was too tired to move anymore.
The firelight gently danced, casting a translucent hue over the canopy, a layer of rosy mist surrounding the two who locked eyes on the bed, creating a hazy pattern on the brocade quilt.
Yu Tingwan’s dark hair partly scattered, the tear mole under the corner of her eye particularly distinct in the candlelight. The bedding piled around her waist revealed a section of snow-white neck.
She always felt she’d missed sothing.
But couldn’t rember what it was.
He leaned on one hand on the pillow, a strand of her hair entwined around his fingers.
"Continue?"
An inquisitive tone.
Yu Tingwan uttered two words, "Provocation?"
Wei Zhao: "I thought you liked it."
Like hell!
I clearly don’t want to see you!
She inford him, "You’re done for."
Wei Zhao: "I heard."
Not to ntion, he felt nostalgic after so long without being hamred.
Yu Tingwan: ???
Wei Zhao considered her energy level.
He hugged her into his arms, "Sleep first."
Regain energy.
Wei Zhao: "I’ll wait for you tomorrow."
Yu Tingwan felt a block in her throat, trapped. She had a blank face, but couldn’t hide the earlier spread of rouge hue.
"Don’t owe up."
Not the slightest bit intimidating.
Wei Zhao laughed, "Thirsty?"
After all, she had shed quite a bit of water.
It wouldn’t have mattered if he hadn’t ntioned it, but now she indeed felt thirsty.
Yu Tingwan: "Mm."
Wei Zhao: "Where’s the Deer Blood Wine?"
Yu Tingwan: ???
He slowly sat up, eyes reflecting a flicker of small flas, flickering like a dormant beast.
"I’ll pour you a cup."
Yu Tingwan felt a full-body rush at the ntion of Deer Blood Wine, especially in that area.
"No...no need."
Wei Zhao: "What are you nervous about?"
"I won’t drink it."
The next morning.
From the courtyard ca the shrill cries of the green crow.
Fu ng, annoyed by the noise, lunged at the crow and caught it in its jaws when it flew low.
"Ha."
The green crow sneered, "You trouble-making little imp."
Fu ng: ?
For a mont, it considered swallowing it whole.
But felt disgusted.
Ning Suxuan had always preferred tranquility, and despite the noise outside, she had long grown accustod to blending into this clamor.
She shook her head helplessly.
Using chopsticks, she picked up a spring roll and placed it on Wei Zhao’s plate.
She sensed a direct gaze staring at her.
Just now digging into her food, Yu Tingwan suddenly looked up.
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