La ciudad solitaria cerró

Capítulo 14

“Since Madam Ouyang has said so, it would be my fault if I didn’t agree. Ha…” Leng Hao stroked his beard and laughed loudly, indicating that he agreed to her proposal.

"Thank you for your kindness, Commander!"

"Then I shall take my leave." Having achieved his goal, the show should come to an end. "Madam Ouyang, please wait!"

"Take care. I won't see you off then. I'll have Steward Fang escort you." With a wink, Steward Fang immediately obeyed and went to do so.

"Yes, young mistress!"

Upon receiving the news, Ouyang Tianyun sent Xiangmei to the villa and immediately rode back to the manor at top speed. He found the manor unusually quiet today; not a single servant could be seen from the gate to the main hall. What was going on? Could it be…? He dared not think any further.

"Young Master, you're back." Steward Fang, who happened to be passing by the hall, noticed that the young master had already returned.

"Uncle Fang, what happened in the village? Where is Leng Hao?" Ouyang Tianyun asked anxiously.

"Young Master, Leng Hao has already returned," Steward Fang replied.

They went back? Had what he feared really happened? Ouyang Tianyun thought painfully. He shouldn't have been so presumptuous as to think that the "Six Doors" wouldn't do anything to the Ouyang family, and he certainly shouldn't have left two helpless women in the manor. One of those women was his second brother's beloved wife, and the other was his wife. He couldn't afford to lose either of them! "How are Yin'er and my sister-in-law?"

"The eldest young mistress is chatting with the second young mistress at Heju, and I was just about to bring some snacks over." Steward Fang pointed to the tray he had just placed aside, which had several kinds of fruit and pastries on it.

"Casual chat?" Ouyang Tianyun jumped up, grabbed Steward Fang by the collar, and roared at him, "Explain yourself! What exactly is going on?"

"Young...Young Master, please...please let me go first, and let me explain slowly." What's wrong with this young master? Why is he so angry when he heard that the young mistress went to Heju? If the young mistress hadn't been released, they probably wouldn't have seen the sun rise tomorrow.

"Speak!" Ouyang Tianyun angrily shoved Steward Fang aside. What exactly happened? Leng Hao came and went, and the two of them were chatting in the room?

Steward Fang recounted everything that had just happened to Ouyang Tianyun, word for word…

"Is this true?" Ouyang Tianyun asked in disbelief. He knew from the last incident that she was more knowledgeable than the average woman, but he did not expect that she could handle such a difficult matter.

“Absolutely true!” Manager Fang affirmed.

"Where are the servants in the manor?" He hadn't seen a single person as he walked in.

"The eldest young mistress said that only she and the second young mistress are in the manor today, so there's no need for so many people to serve them. Apart from a few essential staff who are still working, the rest have all been sent to rest." Would the eldest young master be angry? Steward Fang secretly glanced at his master.

Ouyang Tianyun chuckled upon hearing this. He stood up, picked up the pastries that Manager Fang had placed on the table, and walked towards the door. "She's at Heju, isn't she?"

"Yes. Let me deliver it." Steward Fang immediately followed Ouyang Tianyun.

"I'll go! Uncle Fang, you should go and rest too." After saying that, Ouyang Tianyun quickened his pace and walked towards Heju. Right now, he really wanted to see her.

"yes."

Su Yuyin came out of Qin Yue's room, intending to chat with her a little longer, but seeing her tired appearance, she told her to rest early. What's wrong with this Steward Fang? Why did he take so long to get some snacks? Could it be that the estate didn't have any and he had to go out to buy some? She pondered as she walked…

Thump—

She bumped into a wall of people. "Ouch!"

"Are you alright?" Ouyang Tianyun freed one hand to support the swaying Su Yuyin. He had seen her walk out of Heju and headed this way from afar, and thought she had seen him too, so he was waiting for her to come over. He didn't expect her to bump into him!

He's back? Hearing Ouyang Tianyun's voice, she was startled and looked up sharply at the man standing in front of her. Was she seeing things?

"Why are you back? Didn't you go to 'burn incense' with Xiangmei?" The emphasis on "burning incense" was particularly egregious. What a foolish bunch! If burning incense and praying to Buddha could solve everything, why would she need to stay here wasting her time with them? She would have gone home long ago.

Ouyang Tianyun sensed the sarcasm in her words and mistakenly thought she was upset that he had left her there alone. Yes! It was his fault: "Uncle Fang told me everything that happened today. I'm sorry, it's my fault. I shouldn't have left you here alone."

"I don't know what you're thinking. You shouldn't have left the manor in a situation like today!" Does he have any sense of responsibility at all? "If Leng Hao were to fight us head-on, even if Uncle Fang is incredibly skilled, he probably wouldn't be able to hold out for long. What if Yue'er gets hurt? How will you explain that to your second son?"

"I'm sorry!" he apologized again, his eyes fixed on that earnest face.

"You should say that to your second son and Yue'er, not to me!" Su Yuyin waved her hand, intending to take a detour.

"Didn't you tell her?" Ouyang Tianyun frowned. What did she mean by "she"? Did she refuse to forgive him?

"Yin'er, wait!" He chased after her and followed behind.

"Is there anything else?" Su Yuyin turned around. Yin'er? Why is she calling me so affectionately?

"Could you... could you walk with me for a bit?" He didn't know if she would forgive him, and he didn't dare to ask.

"Go find Xiangmei. I don't want to wander around the courtyard aimlessly." Su Yuyin refused decisively. She rolled her eyes at the sky. Heaven knows that she had explored almost the entire Green Jade Manor in the past two months to kill time, and now she really wanted to leave the manor and have some fun.

“Mei’er didn’t come back with me. She… is at the villa with her parents.” Not wanting to hide anything from her, he gazed intently at her beautiful face.

"Oh? You've really taken good care of her. It seems you really love her." But the woman you love is only interested in the throne of the young mistress and your fortune that you could never spend in several lifetimes, Su Yuyin thought to herself.

"I..." He found himself unable to admit to her that he loved Xiangmei, perhaps because he was afraid of hurting her feelings, he told himself.

Su Yuyin ignored him and left on her own. She didn't want to have too much to do with the people, things, and events here. She didn't know if she could ever go back, and if she did, developing feelings would only cause more pain for both of them.

"Is being with me really that painful?" Ouyang Tianyun caught up with her, grabbed her arm, and roared at her with a gloomy face.

Why is he giving her that "abandoned husband" look? He should ask those questions to the women he's been with, not her!

"No," Su Yuyin denied. Seeing that he was about to get angry, she knew that stroking his beard at this moment would not do her any good. "I just don't want to wander around in the yard. If it's just going out for a walk, I'd be happy to accompany you."

So she was bored out of her mind. Yes, for more than half a year since he married her, he had never cared about her. He had neglected her for too long...

“Alright, let’s go to the market now.” Ouyang Tianyun chuckled, took his wife’s hand, and walked towards the door.

"Now?" Su Yuyin suddenly stopped in her tracks. "No way!"

"Why?" Ouyang Tianyun looked at her in confusion.

"We can't leave Yue'er alone in the village." She was worried about Qin Yue, and she had a responsibility to protect her until her husband returned.