Back at the Jing’an Estate, Chu Lian was currently lying in bed in Songtao Court. She flipped over and sighed in relaxation. She had completely forgotten about the fact that she had sent He Sanlang a bunch of blank pages.
When the main steward had personally come over to ask for Songtao Court’s portion of the letters for He Sanlang, Chu Lian had asked if He Changdi had sent any replies back. The steward had hemmed and hawed for a long time before revealing that the young master hadn’t sent a reply.
Chu Lian had rolled her eyes on the spot. She had then entered her study, folded up a few pieces of blank paper and given them to the steward.
An eye for an eye. He Sanlang had to dream on if he thought she would send him letters when he hadn’t replied to hers!
Meanwhile, He Sanlang didn’t realise that it was his own fault that he had gotten a blank reply.
Laiyue was guarding his young master’s door. He listened to the pacing footsteps of his young master and wondered as he pricked his ears, ‘Is Third Young Master so happy that he got a letter from Third Young Madam that he can’t sleep?’
It wasn’t until fifteen minutes later that He Changdi finally managed to calm his anger. He sat back at the table and tore the rest of his letters open.
After reading through them, his brows started to furrow together.
It hadn’t been as peaceful as he thought back at the capital.
That wicked woman Chu Lian alone had done quite a lot.
She had actually gotten a title for herself, and had even been personally named by the Emperor. She had gone to the palace’s Mid-Autumn Banquet with Grandmother. Even Old Duke Zheng’s recovery had something to do with her. Furthermore, she was going to open a restaurant, and it was actually the one that Grandmother had long given up on.
For some reason, He Changdi started to remember the joking words that Laiyue had used earlier today.
“Third Young Master is rising up the ranks so quickly. Maybe Third Young Master will become a general in a few more months and Third Young Madam will become a titled noble wife!”
It was a matter of pride and glory for a husband to earn a noble title for his wife through his own hard work and achievements. However, that woman had somehow managed to earn a noble title for herself without him playing any part in it.
He shouldn’t even care, but for some reason, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of dissatisfaction with himself.
He Sanlang swore in his heart that he definitely had to become a high-ranked official in the future. He was going to get a first-ranked noble title for her and beat that stupid honoured lady name. He was going to let the whole world know that she was He Sanlang’s wife, and not some rubbish Honoured Lady Jinyi.
Immersed in his rage, He Sanlang didn’t realise that his feelings about Chu Lian had changed from wanting to divorce her, to working hard in order to get her a first-ranked noble title…
Of all these letters, Prince Jin’s letter contained the most details. After reading everything, He Changdi eventually managed to restrain the tumultuous feelings in his heart and think.
He finally realised why he had mysteriously gotten a promotion.
After finding out that it was all thanks to Chu Lian, He Changdi didn’t even know how to name the emotions sitting inside his heart right now. All he knew was that the only thing he wanted to do now was to grab that wicked woman and sit her down before him so he could question her on what she was trying to do.
In the murky depths of his mind, something was slowly starting to change.
Was she really trying to help him?
Why?
Wasn’t Xiao Wujing the one she really liked?
He Changdi was completely confused and disconcerted.
He took in a deep breath. By the time he managed to settle his thoughts, half of the night had already passed.
He personally changed the room’s candle and adjusted the wick before sitting back at the table and taking out a sheet of paper. Perhaps due to calming himself down earlier, his writing wasn’t as wild and crazy like the scribblings on the last letter he had sent. This time, he set his brush to paper with firm and forceful strokes.
It was only when the first light of dawn started creeping up from the east that He Sanlang laid down on his bed, exhausted.
There were three envelopes on the table. The one on the bottom was the fattest and probably contained about seven or eight pieces of paper inside. On the outside of the envelope were the words: ‘To my dear wife, Madam Chu’.
In the blink of an eye, it was already the first of September.
It was already deep autumn. The weather was also starting to cool down, especially in the early morning and night.
The best thing to do during this kind of weather was to stay in bed all day.
It wasn’t too cold or too hot. There was a slight warmth encasing the room, making it very comfortable. Chu Lian was wrapped up in a soft brocade blanket, half of her porcelain white face and flushed red cheeks peeking above the hem of the blanket. Her breaths were long and even, indicating that she was in deep slumber.
When Senior Servant Gui and Xiyan entered the room, this was the scene that greeted them.
The corners of Senior Servant Gui’s eyes twitched. She personally drew aside the curtains of the bedchamber and sat by the bed.
She gently shook Chu Lian twice. “Aiyah, my dear Third Young Madam. Look at how late it is, how do you still have the mood to sleep?”
Chu Lian rubbed her sleep-laden eyes and asked in a careless manner, “What time is it?”
Senior Servant Gui’s expression was about to turn dark. “Third Young Madam, it’s already the time of the dragon.”
“The time of the dragon?” Then that was only about 7:30 in the morning in modern terms. Chu Lian shut her eyes, wanting to go back to sleep.