northernbook Chapter 194 Jade Bracelet
Chapter 194 Jade Bracelet
The women, with their graceful figures, sang and danced, accompanied by the crisp, clear sounds of the brightly colored gongs. Their movements were both uniform and lively, eliciting cheers from time to time.
There was some distance between the center of the lake and the courtyard house on the shore, which might be difficult for an ordinary person to see clearly, but Xue Yunting had excellent eyesight. There were nine women in total, with Le Xi in the very center.
Le Xi was a talented singer and dancer from a young age. After entering the palace as a musician, they were both busy with their own lives and sometimes they would just pass each other by. The news of his marriage must have already reached Qinzhou.
Le Xi said that coming to Suzhou was a coincidence, but Xue Yunting was not one to believe in coincidences. Just like his relationship with Duan Mingzhu, it seemed like a coincidence to outsiders.
The song and dance performances were followed by acrobatics, with eight acts each night. After leaving the stage, Le Xi didn't continue watching with Su Wuming and the others; instead, she took a painted boat back to the small courtyard house.
Xue Yunting watched Le Xi come ashore. Sitting on the rooftop, he couldn't see the lakeside path. Xue Yunting guessed that Le Xi had gone back to her room, so he flew down to the lakeside path and saw Le Xi leaning against the back wall.
Le Xi was wearing a bright red performance costume, made of a light and airy material, and holding a connecting pole in her hand. Their eyes met, and Le Xi shook the connecting pole, her voice crisp and clear: "It's really cold today."
Xue Yunting subconsciously looked towards the small courtyard in front, hesitated slightly, then took off his coat and draped it over Le Xi's shoulders: "You didn't even bring clothes because it's cold?"
Looking at Xue Yunting's actions and expression, Le Xi suddenly asked, "Are you afraid of her?"
Xue Yunting was taken aback: "Afraid of whom?"
Le Xi said, "Duan Mingzhu."
Xue Yunting said seriously, "Call her sister-in-law."
Le Xi said, "What if I don't call out?"
Xue Yunting said, "Tomorrow I'll go to Jingzhao Manor with Wuming, and you go back to Qinzhou. If your parents ask, just say I'm done with my work and will take her back."
Le Xi glared at him: "Take her back? Are you serious? Marrying a wife requires three letters and six rites, and an eight-bearer sedan chair. How can you take her back like this? What kind of decorum is this?"
Xue Yunting said, "Her health isn't very good, and she can't handle too much exertion. We'll hold the proper ceremony after she gives birth."
Le Xi said, "But I heard that she..."
Xue Yunting interrupted her: "Don't listen to hearsay."
Xue Yunting walked forward, and Le Xi followed a step behind him. The two walked to the back door, and Xue Yunting stepped in first. He whispered to Le Xi, "Stay away from her and don't provoke her."
Le Xi pulled her coat tighter around herself: "What's there to be afraid of? What can she do to me?"
Xue Yunting didn't argue with her, but simply said, "Go to bed early tonight, don't catch a cold."
Le Xi raised her hand slightly, revealing a red jade bracelet on her wrist. Her voice held a hint of petulance: "Now that you're married, give the bracelet back to me."
Xue Yunting said, "I will see you out of Suzhou tomorrow morning."
Le Xi walked past Xue Yunting and went back to her room with a cold face. Xue Yunting stood at the back door for a while before slowly walking back.
The window in the room was open, letting in a little light from the lanterns along the lakeside path. The bed curtains were drawn low, obscuring the view inside. Xue Yunting didn't turn on the light; he went to close the window and went to bed in the dark.
The bed was still cold, and Xue Yunting suddenly remembered that he had forgotten to put a hot water bottle in it. Xue Yunting unbuttoned his inner garment, exposed his chest, and pulled Duan Mingzhu into his arms.
Duan Mingzhu seemed to stiffen for a moment, then nestled softly against his chest. Perhaps it was just Xue Yunting's imagination, but Duan Mingzhu's hand was groping against Xue Yunting's chest.
Xue Yunting held her hand and whispered, "Can't you sleep?"
Duan Mingzhu said, "I slept in too long today."
Xue Yunting took her hand in his and gently stroked the bracelet on her wrist: "Tomorrow we're going to Jingzhao Manor. Jingzhao Manor is not like Chongming Island. You must remember to stay with me at all times."
Duan Mingzhu said, "Okay."
Xue Yunting was a man of few words; after giving his instructions, he prepared to sleep. Duan Mingzhu pulled her hand away but started to get restless again. Xue Yunting frowned in the darkness: "Stop fooling around."
Duan Mingzhu was very obedient. She hugged Xue Yunting's strong, thin waist from his undergarment to his back and said, "Yunting, you haven't been to a brothel in a long time."
Xue Yunting said, "You remember this matter more clearly than I do."
Duan Mingzhu said, "My aunt once said that a wife should regard her husband as her heaven. You are my heaven, so of course I have to remember that."
A wife's world revolves around her husband? If any other woman said this, even Le Xi, Xue Yunting might believe it to some extent. But coming from Duan Mingzhu, it seemed utterly untrue.
Xue Yunting was a little sleepy, so he patted Duan Mingzhu's shoulder and said, "I'm sleepy, go to sleep."
Duan Mingzhu opened her eyes in the darkness, a smirk playing on her lips: "A wife should regard her husband as her heaven"—it's ridiculous that such words could come out of her mouth.
Duan Mingzhu fell asleep very late, so she naturally woke up late the next day. Xue Yunting wasn't in the room. She pushed open the door, her clothes disheveled and her hair loose, and found the courtyard empty.
Duan Mingzhu immediately panicked and called out, "Yun Ting, Xue Yun Ting..."
The maid on duty at the gate immediately ran over upon hearing the noise: "Madam, Young Master Xue and the others have gone to the market and will be back soon."
Duan Mingzhu usually had good control over her emotions, but this time she suddenly became furious and said angrily, "Tell him to come back. If he doesn't come back within an incense stick's time, I will drown myself in the lake."
The little girl stared at her blankly, as if she hadn't understood what she was saying.
Duan Mingzhu said, "I am a guest of Qingchuan Inn. If I die here, the reputation of Qingchuan Inn will be ruined. What are you waiting for? Go and call him back."
The little girl stumbled and fell out of the courtyard, almost bumping into the gate. She looked up and saw Xue Yunting and Nianyao coming over.
The young girl, lacking any guile, immediately shouted, "Young Master Xue, the young mistress wants you to come back quickly, or she will drown herself in the lake!"
Xue Yunting rushed over, taking three steps at a time, but before he could even speak, Duan Mingzhu raised her hand slightly, and a jade bracelet smashed into several pieces in front of Xue Yunting.
Xue Yunting was stunned, and Nian Yao, who had followed behind, was also stunned. Duan Mingzhu ignored them completely and turned back to her room.
Duan Mingzhu waited a while but Xue Yunting didn't come out, so she went to the door and saw him picking up the broken pieces of the jade bracelet. Duan Mingzhu's expression was arrogant, and her tone was sharp: "Something worthless, and you're still reluctant to part with it?"
Xue Yunting was holding several broken pieces of jade bracelet in his hand. Upon hearing this, he threw them down heavily, shattering them into pieces that could not be picked up.
Xue Yunting slowly stood up, staring at Duan Mingzhu. He clenched his fists, trying his best to control himself.
Duan Mingzhu sneered, "What? You want to fight? Then go ahead and hit me. Anyway, I'm of no value to you now, so you wouldn't care if I died, right?"
Seeing the situation turning sour, Nianyao quickly stepped between Xue Yunting and Duan Mingzhu: "Mingzhu, let's talk this out. Don't throw things. This bracelet looks... it should be quite valuable..."
Duan Mingzhu asked, "Sister, is the bracelet I broke today any different from the one I usually wear?"
Nianyao didn't usually wear these kinds of things and hadn't paid attention to them. But when Duan Mingzhu mentioned it, she suddenly remembered that Duan Mingzhu usually wore a red jade bracelet, while this one was a green jade bracelet.