Wen Congbai poked his head out and looked downstairs, a teasing smile on his face. "Hey, someone who's about to be a groom actually has the leisure to come out for tea?"
Liang Yuzhou narrowed his phoenix eyes slightly, clearly displeased.
He stepped up the stairs. Zhou Sheng put a silver ingot on the counter and followed suit.
He very consciously stood guard outside the door.
The elegant private room was filled with the curling aroma of tea, but it did nothing to soothe Liang Yuzhou's irritation.
Guo Yingnan (this character was mentioned in Chapter 4. He's the fourth son of the Marquis of Dingyuan and a close friend of Liang Yuzhou. If you've forgotten the relevant plot, you can look back.) just had to bring up the sore point. He teased with a laugh, "Judging from your expression, it looks like you've just come back from a graveside visit. You're about to be a groom again. From now on, you'll have a wife and concubines. Why aren't you happy?"
On normal days, Liang Yuzhou didn't really mind their teasing. Only good friends dared to say anything.
But the words "a wife and concubines" inexplicably grated on his ears.
The image of Song Wanchu's calm yet tearful face reappeared before his eyes.
The irritation that had been weighing on his heart only intensified. He silently drank three cups of tea before responding to Guo Yingnan.
"Ever since you got married, you've been eager to tell the whole world that you've found true love. You've been inseparable from your wife every day. How come you have the leisure to come out today?"
Liang Yuzhou hadn't seen Guo Yingnan for a long time since his wife had a miscarriage.
He had visibly lost weight, as if the child had been a part of him.
Wen Congbai jerked his chin at Guo Yingnan and said with a helpless smile, "You're one to talk. Yingnan was just complaining to me!"
As an unmarried man, how could he come up with any good ideas?
Guo Yingnan looked at Liang Yuzhou, his eyes lighting up. "Your wife also had a miscarriage. How did you comfort her and help her get over it?
Ever since Ning Yin had a miscarriage, she's been listless. She says she's let it go, but she cries secretly at night. I've tried everything to make her happy, but she just can't get over this hurdle!"
Liang Yuzhou's fingers tightened slightly around the teacup. It was as if a needle had pricked his heart, causing a dull ache.
Wen Congbai heaved a deep sigh. "A mother loves her child the most. How could she let it go so easily?"
He used to have a younger sister, cute as a porcelain doll, the apple of the whole family's eye. But unfortunately, she died of illness at the age of five.
His mother had turned white overnight and had almost cried her eyes out.
Suddenly, Liang Yuzhou felt as if a huge rock was weighing on his chest.
When he closed his eyes, all he could see was Song Wanchu's dejected look after the miscarriage.
It was as if a gorgeous peony had suddenly withered. Her life had faded away like a wisp of smoke, leaving only the fallen petals on the ground.
Wanchu had cried silently more than once while holding the tiger - head shoes and bellybands she had embroidered with her own hands.
He had seen all this.
He couldn't remember ever saying a single word of comfort to her.
He didn't even know if Song Wanchu would think of the child during those countless long and difficult nights.
Had she cried secretly?
During that period, he had devoted too much energy to investigating the bloody battle at Pingsha Pass. One shocking truth after another had been revealed before him. He had been surprised, angry, helpless, and sad.
He had only forgotten to accompany and comfort Wanchu when she needed him the most.
The peony he had sent her later was supposed to express his remorse, but now it seemed so ridiculous.
He had never experienced the coldness of her miscarriage, yet he had added to her pain during her most difficult time.
The knuckles of his fingers holding the teacup had turned white.
Maybe the slap he had received today wasn't unjust.
Noticing that Liang Yuzhou's mood was off, Wen Congbai quickly came up with an idea with a smile.
"Yingnan, why don't you accompany your wife to Cuizhuang in the eastern suburbs to relax?"
"What's there to see in the farmland?" Guo Yingnan wondered.
Wen Congbai said, "Cuizhuang changed hands some time ago. It's completely different now. The new owner is very shrewd. He's put up the sign of agritourism. Many families in the capital have gone there to pick fruits, soak in hot springs, sleep on heated kang beds, and eat game.
It's still summer now, and the business is booming. If it were winter, the business would be even better!"
Liang Yuzhou's heart suddenly tightened. "Cuizhuang changed hands?"
"I only heard about it recently." Wen Congbai didn't know that the previous owner of Cuizhuang was Song Wanchu. He shook his head regretfully. "Everyone knows that Cuizhuang is a feng shui treasure land. The previous owner just gave it up without hesitation. Even the hundreds of mu of fertile farmland around Cuizhuang were sold together!"
Guo Yingnan found it strange. "It's really rare to sell a large amount of farmland in a short period of time."
"Some people speculate that the previous owner must have been in urgent need of money, or else he was planning to leave the capital and never come back."
Wen Congbai commented as an outsider.
Liang Yuzhou suddenly stood up.
"What's wrong? You scared me!"
Wen Congbai choked on his tea.
"I'm leaving."
Liang Yuzhou left these three words in a hurry and rushed out of the private room like the wind.
"Liang Er has always been calm and steady. Why is he so jumpy today?"
Guo Yingnan felt that Liang Yuzhou was acting very abnormally today.
Wen Congbai slowly put down his teacup and pondered. "Who else could make him this nervous?"
Guo Yingnan showed a look of sudden realization.
They never expected that a casual chat among the three of them would lead to the Song family.
"Song Wanchu's family is very wealthy. Her maternal grandfather is a tycoon in the south of the Yangtze River. How could she be so short of money?"
Guo Yingnan was very confused, and Wen Congbai also shook his head in puzzlement.
Both of them thought that Song Wanchu sold the farmland because she was in urgent need of money.
No one thought of the other possibility.
Even though she was angry, there was no way she would leave Liang Yuzhou.
...
Nanzhi blew out the candle, and Suyue lowered the bed curtain.
"It's getting late, miss. Go to sleep quickly."
The two maids left the room, closing the door behind them.
It had been a bad day. Song Wanchu was physically and mentally exhausted. As soon as her head touched the pillow, her eyelids began to droop heavily.
Suddenly, there was a faint sound by the window.
In her own boudoir, Song Wanchu didn't have much sense of vigilance. She turned over and was about to fall asleep.
The bed curtain was suddenly pulled open. The moonlight poured in, and a tall and slender shadow fell on her.
To her astonishment, the person standing in front of her was Liang Yuzhou.
Song Wanchu was so shocked that she couldn't make a sound. After they stared at each other for a long time, she finally let out a breath. "Liang Yuzhou, what do you want?"
The man by the bed didn't say a word. His eyes were as deep as a dark pool, and his expression was unclear.
An aggressive and oppressive aura emanated from him, filling the entire room.
Song Wanchu had trouble breathing. She even had the illusion that he would pick her up on his shoulder and take her away by force at any moment.
She nervously hugged the quilt and shrank to the corner of the bed.
"The second young master of the Duke's Mansion, a gentleman of noble character, has actually started acting like a thief?"
His actions today were getting more and more outrageous. Song Wanchu was caught off guard and extremely confused.
After taking a bath, she looked much more lazy and casual than during the day. Her long black hair cascaded down naturally, and there was a hint of charm in the corners of her eyes and brows. Her bright and innocent eyes looked at him helplessly, as if wordless temptation.
Liang Yuzhou's Adam's apple rolled a few times. His voice was hoarser than usual. "Why didn't you tell me?"
This inexplicable question left Song Wanchu even more stunned.