Remarriage (1v1, H) - 14
Only when the carriage lurched forward did Lu Xiniang lift the curtain for a last look.
A knot of silk sleeves fluttered at the gate; red-rimmed eyes followed them down the lane.
She sat back and felt the small book Luo-shi had pressed into her sleeve: Secrets of the Jade Chamber.
In the rear courtyard her sister-in-law had whispered, cheeks pink, “Study it well. It’s far better than the wedding-night pictures. A happy bed keeps a happy home.”
Cui-shi had lingered outside the screen, yet heard every word.
She had squeezed Lu Xiniang’s hand and added, “You’re stubborn like your father; always needing to win. I worried you’d clash with the duke. Today I see you’ve learned softness. Listen to your mother-in-law and all will be well. As for the rest—leave it to us.”
Riddles wrapped in silk.
On her own third-day visit, Cui-shi had lectured only on filial piety and modest deportment.
Not one word about beds or books.
The difference stung.
Yuexiang was Cui-shi’s flesh, born early because the lady had exhausted herself nursing a sickly niece.
Lu Xiniang had grown up believing every mother’s love came barbed with lessons.
She had raised Chong-ge’er the same way—straight-backed, perfect, ready to stand alone.
Only now did she discover love could sound like “my heart-liver” and feel like arms that never wanted to let go.
The carriage rattled past the bamboo grove that had swallowed her old courtyard.
Tears welled again.
Wang Chong watched her swipe them away.
“No one chains you here,” he said quietly. “Say the word and visit whenever you wish.”
She wasn’t sure he meant it.
Her gaze drifted to the embroidered curtain.
Suddenly she spoke, fingers worrying the jade ring at her waist.
“Your Grace… that bamboo used to be Aunt’s rooms. I remember Lanping roasting bamboo shoots for me when I visited the duke’s mansion. Funny how memory sneaks up.”
She forced a brittle smile, eyes pleading:
Tell me where Lanping is. Tell me she’s safe.
Wang Chong flicked a glance at her; his brows drew tighter.
After a long silence he said, “I’ve had men hunting for Lanping-mammy all this time. If she still draws breath, we’ll find her.”
He had questions for the woman himself.
Lady Qin had loathed every soul the dead aunt left behind.
She’d banished Lanping to a distant farmstead, never dreaming the nurse would vanish within a month.
“Lanping…”
Lu Xiniang’s head snapped up, panic leaping to her tongue.
She almost cried the name aloud.
His cold stare pinned her.
Only then did she realize she had dropped the honorific.
Chong-ge’er let it pass, but the damage flickered between them.
She forced a brittle laugh.
“I mean Lanping-mammy. She’ll be all right, surely.”
He gave a flat “Mm,” face unreadable.
Lu Xiniang searched for a hint (anger? suspicion?) and found nothing.
If even he didn’t know where Lanping had gone, the trail was colder than she feared.
Her painted smile cracked.
The carriage rolled on, the air inside thick enough to choke on.