—On her wedding night, she was neglected by her husband. He never stepped into the bridal chamber again for several days after the wedding, leaving the new bride to return to her parents' home alone. She defied her parents and left home for her lover. In the end, the new bride returned to her parents' home. —These things have spread even to the other residences in Jiangcheng. Does this woman have any sense of being a discarded wife?
He didn't know why his elder brother had suddenly brought her here, or what had happened between them, but it was clear that his brother still cared about Yue Ji. He understood Bai Mo's character; if he cared about Yue Ji, he wouldn't have any feelings or promises towards Ning Xian. So—did he care about her? Even if not for her as a person, but only for her status?
Bai Yan suddenly stopped and stared at Ning Xian in front of him—perhaps his plan hadn't completely failed, but he just needed to change his approach.
"Hey, what are you doing standing there? Come over here, I don't have any money on me!" Ning Xian called out to him, and rudely went into the jewelry store. Bai Yan gave an ambiguous smile and followed him in.
Inside the shop, Ning Xian was looking at a tray of jade jewelry. He leaned closer to her, lowered his head, and whispered in her ear, his voice carrying a hint of ambiguity, "Sister-in-law, have you found anything you like?"
“It’s alright,” she said, picking up a piece of jade and holding it up to her waist. She then realized with dismay that she wasn’t wearing her usual clothes at all; the pinkish-purple dress didn’t match the color of the jade at all. “…It doesn’t seem quite right.”
“These are not suitable for my sister-in-law,” he pushed aside the jade tray, pointed, and said to the shopkeeper, “Please bring these over for me to take a look at.”
He picked out a honey-colored cat's-eye ring with a fine sheen. "Do you like this, sister-in-law?" Though he asked, he had already gently pushed the ring onto her finger. The cool skin brushed against Ning Xian's finger, seemingly intentionally, yet unintentionally. Ning Xian didn't seem to mind, seemingly unintentionally raising her hand to avoid his touch, looking at the cat's-eye ring against the light, and smiled, "Thank you, I'll take this one. I'll have Bai Momo pay you back later."
Chapter Forty-Three: The Bai Brothers
"This is for you, consider it a gift from me to my sister-in-law."
Ning Xian glanced at him, then took the cat-eye jewelry off her finger and tossed it back into the jewelry tray. "Looks like this still doesn't suit me." She stopped looking at it, turned around, and left the jewelry store.
Bai Yan still took the cat's eye ring, left the silver coins, and followed them out.
He wasn't afraid of her rejection. She had rejected him once, twice, three times, four times, but what about more? A young and beautiful bride, neglected by her husband, lonely in her empty room—how long could she keep refusing? He had patience. As long as he could see Bai Mo's expression when he saw his wife and brother having an affair, it would be worth waiting for.
How could Ning Xian not see through her obvious intentions? She wanted to have an affair, but not with him. —Why bother climbing over the Bai family's walls when she was already stuck there?
Although she no longer bought anything, Ning Xian still strolled through the market with great interest. Bai Yan followed beside her, casually offering recommendations and suggestions, but no longer mentioning giving her gifts. He only instructed the shopkeepers to deliver anything she liked to the Bai residence after she left. That's all there is to pleasing a woman.
After their rounds, it was already late when Ning Xian and Bai Yan returned home. Bai Mo found neither Ning Xian nor Bai Yan there. After asking the servants, she learned that Ning Xian had woken up and Bai Yan had taken her out. She thought to herself that Bai Yan was really reckless; Ning Xian had been drugged and unconscious for so long, and he had only just woken up and was already taking her out. Especially since this sister-in-law and brother-in-law were so unconcerned about appearances, what would people say?
"Young Master, the shop assistant from Yu Cui Zhai says there's some merchandise coming."
"Young Master, the shopkeeper has delivered the cloth that the Second Young Master bought."
"Young Master..."
Bai Mo stared in astonishment as the goods being delivered gradually piled up into a small mountain. The shop assistants were still waiting to settle their accounts. After a moment of silence, he asked, "What's going on?"
"Reporting to Young Master Bai, these are goods ordered by the Second Young Master, who said they were to be given to Madam Bai."
"Young Master Bai, this is a gold and jade carving made of the finest yellow jade, symbolizing a happy and harmonious marriage for the whole family. The Second Young Master is truly generous to Madam Bai..."
"Madam Bai is so beautiful, she's sure to bring good fortune to her husband and the family. The second young master is truly blessed!"
"Yes, yes, but I didn't know when the Second Young Master would be getting married. I'm so ignorant that I couldn't come to offer my congratulations..."
"..."
Bai Mo's face darkened bit by bit—"My second brother is not yet married."
"Never? That Madam Bai..."
"Oh, so she's not married yet. She must be the second young master's betrothed. The two of them are truly a perfect match!"
"Yes, yes, the second young master is really devoted to his fiancée..."
Bai Mo's face grew increasingly dark, and the crowd gradually sensed something was amiss. Someone cautiously probed the dark-faced man: "Could it be that the Second Young Master and that young lady are not yet engaged? It's alright, such a beautiful couple, they'll be together sooner or later..."
"She is not Bai Yan's wife, not his betrothed, and not the woman he is about to be engaged to!"
"Uh... well..."
"She is my wife." The dark-faced man spoke each word clearly, leaving the shopkeepers and staff dumbfounded.
Where is the family's honor?! Where is its decorum?! This disgraceful second son!
Bai Mo was pacing around in the courtyard when Ning Xian and Bai Yan stepped through the gate one after the other.
"Wow, what's this?" As soon as I entered, I saw a huge pile of things in the yard. This carving looks familiar? Isn't the mark on this box from the shop I went to today?
"That's exactly what I wanted to ask, Second Brother, what are all these?" Bai Mo walked over with a dark face, subconsciously standing next to Ning Xian, distinguishing the distance between Bai Yan and him and Ning Xian.
Ning Xian looked up and couldn't help but exclaim "Wow!" again. "Bai Mo, you've gotten so much darker in the last few days!" Seriously, her face was almost as dark as the bottom of a pot. She found it funny and even forgot to question him about bringing her out.
Bai Yan looked at Bai Mo's dark face with a nonchalant expression and said casually, "Naturally, it's a gift I gave to my sister-in-law. Thank you for paying for it, brother. I'll reimburse you from my account later..."
"Take it back! If you're willing to offer a congratulatory gift, your sister-in-law and I will gladly accept it, but not this wasteful and extravagant display of wealth!"
"I just saw that my sister-in-law liked it, and what's a little money if I want to make her happy?"
"Don't blame it on me." Ning Xian looked up at the sky, ignoring the ambiguous smile Bai Yan was giving him.
"Second brother! Be careful!"
Based on Ning Xian's pitifully limited understanding and knowledge of Bai Mo—he was angry. Her dark face turned pale, her expression tense, her beautiful figure rising and falling with her breath—she stared at Bai Mo for a moment, making him somewhat puzzled. Ignoring the fact that he was still angrily scolding his younger brother, she smiled brightly and said to Bai Mo, "Hey, I've been looking at your brother all day, and now that I've come to see you... I find you're not so bad after all."
Bai Mo was taken aback, and Bai Yan was also taken aback. He pointed to himself—implying that he was just a annoying brat? This woman wasn't even as old as him, yet she really thought he was her sister-in-law? He frowned as he looked at Bai Mo, who was teasing him and seemed a little flustered and unsure how to respond. He didn't want to see these two have a chance to build up a good atmosphere.
"Stop...stop fooling around. Remember to bring your attendants next time you go out. Don't go out alone with your second brother and give people something to talk about..."
Ning Xian shrugged. "I thought you'd become less annoying, but you're still just as boring." She casually picked out a set of white jade carved flower jewelry from the pile of gifts, waved it at Bai Mo, and said, "I'll take this. Anyway, you paid for it, right? You can take whatever you want from the rest."
Watching Ning Xian toss the jewelry box back to her room, Bai Yan pondered for a moment. She seemed like a very casual woman, without any taboos or etiquette, yet she was impossible to approach, leaving no opportunity for anyone to take advantage of her.