Since arriving in the capital, Liu Yizhu had been feeling uneasy. When reading, he would become distracted, and Zhong Liangyu noticed that his brow was constantly furrowed, which made her rather worried as he had never been like this before.
"Are you tired?"
Liu Yizhu shook his head.
Zhong Liangyu sighed and turned to Tang Jue, "Ask the steward Tang if there's any good place nearby for us to go out and take a stroll, to freshen our minds."
Tang Jue widened his eyes, "You want to go out? A few days ago when I suggested going out, you said you wanted to read. Now you're telling me you want to go out again. I'm not going!"
"You..." Zhong Liangyu pinched the bridge of her nose. Couldn't he see that Liu Yizhu was out of sorts?
She sighed patiently, "Reading is important, but we still have a long time ahead, and continuously reading like this is dull."
She said this for Tang Jue to hear, but also for Liu Yizhu.
Whether Tang Jue took it in or not was unknown, but Liu Yizhu understood. He stood up, indicating he wanted to go out for a walk. For this, he even returned to his room and changed into the clothes Li Mingwei had prepared for him. At home it didn't matter, but he couldn't embarrass her by going out looking disheveled.
When he reached the main gate, he found the gatekeeper was absent. He looked around and didn't know which way to go, thinking he should go to a lively area where he could ask for directions.
Liu Yizhu hesitated for a moment and noticed a carriage stopped diagonally opposite with a coachman seated on it. He was about to approach and ask, when a young woman came from the side, carrying groceries and appearing to be a local resident. He quickly approached and greeted her politely.
"Excuse me, Miss, do you know if there are any families with the surname Ming living nearby?"
The young lady glanced at the well-dressed Liu Yizhu, lowered her head shyly, and said softly, "Surname Ming?"
"Yes."
She pondered for a moment and shook her head, "I live just ahead, and I haven't heard of any Ming families around here. You should ask elsewhere, Sir."
Liu Yizhu was disappointed. He was about to ask if there were any teahouses or taverns with many people around where he could inquire when something flew and struck his back. He was hit so suddenly that he staggered for a moment and lost his balance.
After steadying himself, he turned and caught a glimpse of a hand pulling down the carriage curtain, the color of the arm and clothes indicating it was a woman.
The coachman looked at him sympathetically before promptly leaving with the carriage.
Liu Yizhu picked up the bundle from the ground and opened it to find a few volumes of literary works. He instantly recalled the young lady in the box who had left a message threatening to hit him.
He thought to himself, "Oh no."
Based on her attitude, she clearly disliked him now. He had just arrived and already offended someone from Li Mingwei's family. How could this happen?
The steward Tang and the gatekeeper came rushing out looking for Ah Xiu, but only saw Liu Yizhu standing at the gate.
"Master Liu, what happened?"
"Nothing."
Liu Yizhu rubbed his still aching back and decided not to go out anymore, returning to his room in frustration.
Ah Xiu in the carriage was also indignant. She had just praised him for looking presentable enough for their young lady, and he immediately went to flirt with another young woman. She couldn't let him off!
Liu Yizhu hadn't thought of it that way at all. He was just asking for directions.
He returned to the courtyard, and Zhong Liangyu peeked out, "You're back so soon?"
"I bought some books. Are there any bookstores nearby?"
Liu Yizhu shook his head, looked down at his clothes, and said with a headache, "Is there something wrong with my attire? Is something not right?"
Tang Jue nodded and stroked his chin, "It's not quite right."
"Really?" Liu Yizhu hurriedly straightened his clothes and asked, "What's wrong with it?"
He must have worn it incorrectly.
"Next time you go out, don't wear this outfit again, especially when you're going out with me."
Liu Yizhu's heart sank. So he had worn it improperly and embarrassed himself.
Tang Jue said solemnly, "You're too attention-grabbing in this outfit. I haven't even married yet, and you're going to steal all the young ladies' attentions from me."
Liu Yizhu...
So there was nothing wrong with his clothes, but how had he managed to offend someone just by going out? It seemed he should refrain from going out altogether, as that was where he made mistakes.
"Liangyu."
"Yes?"
"Come in and take a look at my back."
Liu Yizhu went inside, and Zhong Liangyu followed closely. He removed his clothes and exposed his back to her, "How is it?"
"This..." Zhong Liangyu saw a red patch on his back and touched it gently, "There's a bit of broken skin here, and some swelling."
"Broken skin?"
"Just a little, no bleeding, so that's good."
Nevertheless, she called for Tang Jue to fetch the steward Tang and bring some medicine. Then she asked Liu Yizhu, "You were only out for a short while. How did you get injured?"
And on the back, like he had fallen backward?
Liu Yizhu shook his head, not wanting to talk about it.
They must be from the same family, to hit him so viciously.
However, when he wrote the letter, he didn't tell Li Mingwei about his injury, only that he didn't know what he had done wrong to offend someone, and wanted to ask her if she knew the reason so he could make amends the next time they met.
Unfortunately, Li Mingwei's reply didn't mention it at all, not even the young lady, leaving Liu Yizhu disappointed as he folded the letter and put it back in the drawer.
She still didn't want to tell him anything.
His gaze fell on the books nearby. Perhaps he could only learn the truth after passing the imperial examination next spring.
He sighed and looked out at the darkening sky, lighting a candle. He might as well focus on reading.
Li Mingwei awoke from her sleep in a daze, her head feeling groggy. She dressed and sat at her desk, watching the snowflakes fluttering outside the window, a chill running through her heart.
Old Lady Wang knocked and entered, calling her to eat. Seeing the sweat on her forehead, she frowned, "What's wrong with you?"
To be sweating on such a cold day.
"Nothing, just a dream."
"What dream?" Old Lady Wang grew concerned. "Don't tell me you dreamed something happened to Liu Yizhu!"
Li Mingwei shook her head. It was and it wasn't. She had dreamed that Ah Xiu went to Ji'an Alley every day, and her mother found out. Her mother gathered people to surround the estate and did something to Liu Yizhu...
She shuddered, not wanting to recall further. Her mother might get angry, but she wouldn't go that far. Her grandfather wouldn't allow it either. She was just being paranoid.
"It's nothing. Let me eat," Old Lady Wang said as she started to leave, but Li Mingwei called out to her.
"Mother."
"Yes?"
"Mother, how long after giving birth can a woman have another child?"
Old Lady Wang pondered, "After the first month, I think. Cui Cui's mother got pregnant with her second child just two months after giving birth to her first. I accompanied her to see the doctor then, and he said it was too soon, not good for her health, but she didn't want to terminate it, so she went ahead with it."
Seeing Li Mingwei remain silent, she laughed, "What's the matter? Don't tell me you don't want to have children anymore. You can't even get pregnant right now with Liu Yizhu away."
"Mother..." Li Mingwei's face darkened. "Haven't you noticed I've been feeling sleepy again recently?"
"Ah?" Old Lady Wang's heart raced. Her son had been gone for nearly two months, and this was happening?!
