The mellow voice landed beside her ear, seemingly filled with boundless tenderness.
Song Wanchu was stunned. This jade bracelet was made of the extremely rare and precious Nanshan jade.
Liang Yuzhou did have a piece of Nanshan jade in his possession. It was bestowed by the emperor five years ago when he followed his father to suppress bandits. He fought bravely and made great contributions.
It was said that Princess Lingyang had coveted this piece of Nanshan jade for a long time and had asked for it several times but to no avail.
When did he have that piece of jade made into a bracelet?
Song Wanchu couldn't quite tell what she was feeling at that moment.
Liang Yuzhou lifted her arm and admired it for a moment. "It fits quite well."
Song Wanchu came to her senses, took off the bracelet, and placed it in Liang Yuzhou's hand.
"What do you mean?" His tone turned a bit colder.
"My birthday has passed. There's no need for you, Second Master, to go to such trouble for me."
A belated gift and delayed love are the most useless things in the world.
Liang Yuzhou's face darkened, and his eyes were ice - cold and terrifying.
"Put it on." His tone was harsh. He rather roughly put the jade bracelet back on her wrist. "Go show it to the old lady early tomorrow morning so I can account for myself. Otherwise, the old lady will scold me for forgetting your birthday!"
Song Wanchu looked at the red mark on her wrist left by the rough handling and laughed silently to herself.
An expensive gift with an indifferent heart. This was truly his usual way of treating her.
She used to deceive herself, thinking that Liang Yuzhou was cold on the outside but warm on the inside. She had treasured the few gifts he gave her as if they were precious treasures.
She had mistaken his indifference for sincerity.
"After showing it to the old lady tomorrow, I will return it to you, Second Master."
She was determined not to accept his gift anymore.
Liang Yuzhou's arm was like an iron clamp, pinning her waist. His other hand pinched her chin, forcing Song Wanchu to look into his eyes.
"Song Wanchu, what are you up to?" He roared angrily.
Since they returned from the hunting ground, she seemed to have become a different person, like a hedgehog with its spines out all the time. Whenever he touched her slightly, he would be pricked and bleed.
Song Wanchu saw herself in his ink - colored pupils. Her face was calm, but there was deep sorrow hidden in her eyes.
"I'm not making a fuss. I just don't have any more illusions about things that don't belong to me."
She looked at Liang Yuzhou's furrowed eyebrows and forced a bitter smile. "There's someone else."
A fleeting and obscure emotion flashed across Liang Yuzhou's phoenix eyes.
"I and Yu Huiyan—"
"Concubine Song, are you in there?"
Outside the carriage, Yu Huiyan's voice suddenly rang out. "My carriage broke down. Can I ride back to the Duke's Mansion with you?"
Song Wanchu was still sitting on Liang Yuzhou's lap. She panicked and tried to get up, but she was no match for Liang Yuzhou's strength and was held down by her waist.
Those big hands even rubbed her waist restlessly a few times.
Just outside the thin carriage wall, Yu Huiyan stood there. Seeing that she didn't answer, she stepped forward and knocked on the carriage wall.
Song Wanchu didn't dare to make a sound. She pushed Liang Yuzhou around in a hurry.
Liang Yuzhou chuckled softly in her ear, and his hand became even more presumptuous as it kneaded upwards.
She felt a sense of shame as if she was being toyed with in broad daylight.
Her bright face showed a bit of anger. She lowered her voice and scolded, "Let go. We're on the street!"
"We're in a proper relationship."
Liang Yuzhou smiled wickedly. "What are you afraid of, Madam?"
The word "Madam" was drawn out in his deep and mellow voice.
A blush quietly crept up Song Wanchu's neck and face, and even her ears turned pink.
"Aren't you afraid that Miss Yu will be heartbroken if she sees this?"
Liang Yuzhou's eyes suddenly turned cold, and the little charming atmosphere in the carriage disappeared instantly.
Yu Huiyan knocked on the carriage wall persistently outside. The faint sounds coming from inside made her suspicious.
She seemed to have heard Liang Yuzhou's voice.
Could it be that Liang Yuzhou had left in a hurry after saying a few words to her father just to pick up Song Wanchu?
Driven by suspicion, she couldn't help but reach out her hand towards the carriage curtain.
With a "swish", the carriage curtain was lifted from the inside, revealing Liang Yuzhou's handsome but cold face.
"Cousin..." Yu Huiyan's face paled. She felt a bit guilty but more angry.
Sure enough, cousin had gone to pick up Song Wanchu!
"Get in." Liang Yuzhou showed no expression on his face but still reached out his hand towards Yu Huiyan.
The already small space became even more cramped after Yu Huiyan got in.
Yu Huiyan looked at Song Wanchu. She looked normal, sitting upright beside Liang Yuzhou.
But there was a suspicious blush on her face.
Yu Huiyan tightened the hand hidden in her sleeve.
Seeing that Yu Huiyan didn't sit down for a long time and her eyes kept wandering between herself and Liang Yuzhou, looking as if she was searching for evidence of their affair, Song Wanchu gave up the seat beside Liang Yuzhou and sat across from them. Only then did Yu Huiyan sit down next to Liang Yuzhou.
She leaned on Liang Yuzhou's arm in a natural and intimate manner.
This scene made it seem as if they were the couple and she was just an insignificant outsider.
Song Wanchu found it an eyesore, so she shifted her gaze out of the window.
"Cousin, I didn't know you were in the carriage. I didn't disturb you, did I?"
Liang Yuzhou looked calm, showing no sign of emotion, but he took his arm out of Yu Huiyan's embrace.
"Huiyan, we're outside."
Yu Huiyan was stunned for a moment, then playfully stuck out her tongue. Her tone was light. "Thank you for reminding me, cousin. I really didn't expect that after I've been away from you for three years, I still haven't gotten rid of this bad habit. You should scold me more in the future instead of being so nice to me."
Her smile was innocent and pure, looking like a naive child.
But she was intentionally or unintentionally showing off how close their relationship was.
Liang Yuzhou couldn't bear to scold Yu Huiyan anymore. He slightly curved his lips.
That doting look in his eyes was a luxury that Song Wanchu had never been able to obtain even after trying her best for three years.
She let out a self - mocking laugh from the bottom of her heart.
Throughout the journey, Yu Huiyan seemed to have regarded Song Wanchu as transparent. She kept recalling the wonderful days when she and Liang Yuzhou were childhood sweethearts.
Liang Yuzhou didn't talk much, but he would smile cooperatively and give appropriate responses, looking completely immersed in the happy memories.
After half an hour of torture, Song Wanchu was so annoyed by the noise that she couldn't help but interrupt Yu Huiyan's cheerful voice.
"When are you going to propose marriage to the Yu family, Second Master?"
Yu Huiyan's laughter stopped abruptly. Liang Yuzhou stared at her for a moment, and anger appeared on his handsome face.
"It's not to your family that I'm proposing marriage. Why are you in such a hurry?"
Song Wanchu smiled faintly. "You and Miss Yu are reuniting, and good things are coming. I also want to do my bit for your marriage."
If she left with the concubine - releasing letter, there would be no obstacle between them anymore.
Liang Yuzhou stared at her intently, trying to find any sign that she was just saying angry words.
But Song Wanchu showed extraordinary calmness and generosity, looking more like a proper wife.
"With your current status, you have no say in my marriage."
Liang Yuzhou's tone was cold and heartless as he reminded her to recognize her own position.
In his heart, she was always just a concubine.
A wife should be respected, so he would remind Yu Huiyan not to be too intimate with him in public and always think about her reputation.
A concubine could be toyed with, so he would tease her without any scruples in broad daylight.
A surge of bitterness welled up in Song Wanchu's eyes. She turned her head out of the window, letting the cold wind blow away the tears from the corners of her eyes.
Suddenly, in her line of sight, a runaway carriage was galloping towards her carriage. Seeing that the carriage was out of control, the coachman simply jumped off the carriage to save his own life.
Before she could say a word, the two carriages crashed into each other violently. The carriage wall cracked, and the huge impact force sent Song Wanchu's body flying out of the carriage.
Instinctively, she shouted at Liang Yuzhou, "Second Master, save me..."