Rong Yuanyou stepped over the threshold and stood at the doorway, not moving further.
Four yellow sandalwood screens with intricate carvings blocked his view. Painted on the silk-covered screens were renowned landscape paintings, their grandiose presence seeming out of place in a young lady’s boudoir.
The silhouette of Gu Zaili, lazily sitting in front of a bronze mirror and drawing her eyebrows, was reflected on the screens. Her graceful figure seemed like a person from a painting.
Rong Yuanyou took only a glance before lowering his head and averting his gaze.
“Come in and talk,” Gu Zaili said, her voice carrying the fatigue of a long day’s work.
Rong Yuanyou refused, saying, “I’d better not.”
He heard Gu Zaili put down her eyebrow pencil and her gentle footsteps approaching. Although he kept his head down, his mind conjured up the image of her graceful steps, each one making his heart pound.
Gu Zaili stood by the side of the screen, one hand casually resting on it, smiling as she looked at Rong Yuanyou.
Rong Yuanyou squeezed his sleeves and raised his eyes to meet hers.
Gu Zaili had changed out of her overly formal makeup and dress, now wearing a peach-colored long skirt with a crimson half-sleeve outer garment. The ties at the front of the half-sleeve were not fastened, and the sides of the garment hung loosely on her body. She had washed off her heavy makeup and reapplied a simple, light touch, with a single red flower mark between her eyebrows.
She held a flat, round porcelain box with a red plum blossom design in one hand.
“Do you want to marry me?” Gu Zaili asked softly. She unclasped the porcelain box, dipped her fingertip in the lip balm, and elegantly applied it to her lips. Her lips pressed together, the vivid red spreading across them.
Watching her press her lips together, Rong Yuanyou suddenly felt a panic, his heart racing, searching for an escape but finding none.
“Yes, I want to marry you.”
Gu Zaili chuckled lightly. She handed the lip balm box to Jichun beside her and took a cloth to carefully wipe the excess lip balm from her fingertip. As she wiped, she said slowly, “Since you didn’t want to come in, you could at least close the door. It’s quite cold.”
“I just thought…” Rong Yuanyou swallowed the rest of his sentence, “it’s improper,” and turned to quickly close the door.
She was cold.
Gu Zaili sat down by the tea table near the screen and instructed Jichun to prepare tea. Then she said to Rong Yuanyou, “Young Lord, come sit.”
Rong Yuanyou walked over and sat down somewhat stiffly.
Jichun went out to fetch tea, leaving just the two of them in the room. From the incense burner on the zither table in the southwest corner of the room, a pleasant fragrance wafted through the air.
Rong Yuanyou lowered his eyes, thinking that after all these years, her preference for incense had not changed.
Gu Zaili rested her chin on her hand and lazily gazed at him. Rong Yuanyou had grown into a fine young man, shedding his childhood frailty. Gu Zaili couldn’t help but remember him as a child, the obedient little lord. She recalled his quiet nature and how he would blush when teased.
Gu Zaili suddenly smiled.
Rong Yuanyou grew anxious, meeting her gaze, and said hurriedly, “I came here sincerely. Don’t laugh.”
“Alright, I won’t laugh,” Gu Zaili stopped smiling and composed herself.
Rong Yuanyou sneaked a glance at her and suddenly stammered, “You, you… you’re still smiling.”
Your smile is beautiful, very beautiful.
Gu Zaili thought for a moment before saying, “Physical appearance is an illusion. All beauties will gradually age and become unattractive. Young Lord, you’re still young and should be more cautious about marriage. I am not a suitable match for you.”
Rong Yuanyou suddenly felt a pang of sorrow.
“Do you think I am infatuated with your appearance, driven by a momentary impulse?” he said. “It was because I was young back then that I could only watch helplessly as you got married, unable to say a word.”
Gu Zaili was surprised.
Rong Yuanyou steeled himself, looked into her eyes, and said solemnly, “I can’t change my age, but if you think I’m not mature enough, I can work hard to grow up and protect you.”
Gu Zaili shook her head with a laugh, “Young Lord, think it over.”
“When you were alive, I had not yet been born; I dare not delay any longer.”
Gu Zaili looked deeply at him, then picked up the teapot from the table, pouring a cup of the now-cold tea, and handed it to Rong Yuanyou.
“Have some tea,” she said with a smile.
Rong Yuanyou stubbornly turned his head away.
Gu Zaili smiled gently and did not lower the cup held out to him. She said, “Your eyes are red, and your face is flushed. Drink some cold tea to calm down. The maids will come in soon.”
Rong Yuanyou hesitated, his gaze evasive, but took the cold tea she offered.
The cold tea entered his stomach, spreading its chill from within. Even the burning silver charcoal in the room couldn’t dispel this cold.
Madam Rong and Madam Tao were chatting in the side hall. Madam Rong mentioned Rong Yuanyou and Gu Zaili’s situation briefly and did not elaborate. When Rong Yuanyou came out from seeing Gu Zaili, Madam Rong stood up to take her leave.
On the way back, Madam Rong looked at her silent son and asked with a smile, “Did she reject you?”
Rong Yuanyou shook his head, his expression somewhat blank. He said, “I don’t know.”
After drinking the cold tea Gu Zaili handed him, Jichun came in with a teapot. He silently drank two more cups of hot tea and left without further conversation.
Madam Rong smiled and leaned comfortably against the carriage wall. She was not surprised at all.
After the Rong family left, Madam Tao quickly sent for Gu Jianli. She had no ideas of her own and wanted to know what Gu Jianli thought. Most of the guests had already left, but a few remained, talking with Gu Jingyuan in the study. Madam Tao couldn’t consult Gu Jingyuan, so she turned to Gu Jianli.
“Did your elder sister say anything after the Young Lord left?” Gu Jianli asked.
A little maid replied honestly, “No, I heard from Sister Jichun that the young lady is now reviewing the accounts of the manor. At the end of the year, there are a lot of matters to attend to, whether it’s the estates or the shops.”
“Jianli, what do you think about this marriage?” Madam Tao frowned. “The Chen family is no good. Your sister has been hurt once. If she is to marry again, we must be extra cautious and not let anything go wrong…”
Gu Jianli thought for a long while before saying, “Today, my elder sister told me that she finds her current life very good. It’s a freedom she hasn’t experienced in years. She realized that a woman’s life outside the deep confines of a mansion can be so carefree and easy…”
Gu Jianli hesitated.
“So, I think it doesn’t matter if the young lord from the Rong family is good or not. What matters is what my sister thinks.”
“Can she remain unmarried for the rest of her life?” Madam Tao was a bit bewildered. She was used to her role and found it hard to accept her sisters’ way of thinking.
A little maid came in to report that the guests with Gu Jingyuan had left the mansion. Madam Tao immediately stood up, intending to discuss the matter with Gu Jingyuan and let him decide.
Gu Jianli returned to her room, thinking about her sister’s situation.
As she stepped over the threshold, Ji Wujing happened to come out from the west wing. He had just bathed and was wearing Gu Jianli’s pink dress.
Gu Jianli was momentarily stunned before saying, “Didn’t I bring you some clothes to change into?”
Ji Wujing glanced at her, his tone unfriendly, “Can’t I wear yours?”
Gu Jianli shook her head, “It’s not that I don’t like you wearing women’s dresses, it’s just that my clothes are too small, and you won’t be comfortable.”
“It’s fine. I’m just wearing it for a while; I’ll take it off when I go to sleep,” Ji Wujing replied casually.
Gu Jianli didn’t say anything more, thinking that she should finish sewing the dress she was making for Ji Wujing and give it to him. It was almost done.
After freshening up, Gu Jianli hurriedly extinguished the lamp and climbed into bed from the foot. She was indeed exhausted after a busy day.
She should have gone to see her father to ask about the assassins today, but Gu Jingyuan was entertaining guests in his study until late, likely dealing with her sister’s matters. Gu Jianli decided to ask her father about it tomorrow.
In the darkness, Ji Wujing turned over and pulled Gu Jianli into his arms. As she reached out, she found that Ji Wujing had indeed undressed completely.
She asked, “Why do you like wearing women’s dresses so much, Fifth Master?”
“I don’t particularly like it,” Ji Wujing replied offhandedly.
Gu Jianli frowned, dissatisfied with his answer.
After a while, Ji Wujing yawned, buried his face in the crook of her neck, and lazily said, “Your clothes smell nice.”
It’s not that he liked wearing women’s clothes; he just liked the faint fragrance on her clothes.
Gu Jianli was stunned, her heart beating faster. She blushed slightly at Ji Wujing’s casual remark. She moved back a little, not wanting him to notice. The darkness concealed her slightly unnatural expression.
“Gu Jianli, why are you squirming like a worm?” Ji Wujing’s tone was impatient.
Gu Jianli stopped moving and let Ji Wujing hold her. She pressed her face to the top of his head and softly said, “In twelve days, it will be my birthday. Since you don’t remember your own, how about celebrating with me from now on?”
Ji Wujing didn’t respond, already asleep.
Gu Jianli didn’t say anything more. Even in the pitch-black darkness, she kept her eyes open, lost in thought.
In the blink of an eye, she had been by his side for nearly a year.
In a daze, the scene of their first meeting appeared before Gu Jianli’s eyes. She still remembered the resolute feelings she had at that time, the terror in her heart as she looked at the man on the bed, and then shaking her head, thinking the bedridden man’s appearance was too bewitching…
As fragments of their time together surfaced, Gu Jianli slowly blinked, thinking of those past moments, and gradually fell asleep.
The next morning, Gu Jianli and Ji Wujing went to the front hall to eat. Gu Jianli noticed her father’s stern face. She glanced at Madam Tao, who looked at Gu Jianli and shook her head.
Gu Jianli understood. Her father must have disagreed with her sister’s marriage to Rong Yuanyou.
Just as this thought emerged in her mind, a servant came in to report that Rong Yuanyou had arrived.
When Rong Yuanyou entered, he saw that breakfast had just been served and hadn’t been touched yet. He breathed a sigh of relief and said in a clear voice, “This time, I came to the capital with a chef from my hometown. This morning, I had him prepare some special breakfast dishes from our hometown to let the Prince have a taste.”
Gu Jianli sipped her tea, gazing at Rong Yuanyou who was pretending to be calm. She vaguely remembered that a few years ago, she had once casually mentioned to Rong Guanyin her curiosity about southern cuisine.
Gu Jingyuan eyed Rong Yuanyou sideways.
When Rong Yuanyou used to stay at the manor as a child, Gu Jingyuan praised him repeatedly and often asked Gu Chuan to take him as an example. But now, looking at him again, he found him quite disagreeable.
As the exquisite southern dishes were brought out one by one, Gu Jingyuan lost his appetite. He put down his chopsticks, looked at Ji Wujing, and said irritably, “Come, accompany me to cut ice and fish!”
Ji Wujing glanced at him and then went back to leisurely eating his fish porridge, uncooperatively saying, “It’s cold.”