Kiyomi Tsuki et son renard

Chapitre 77

But then he retorted, oblivious to the danger, "One hundred taels a month, as long as you're by my side, I'll give it to you."

She threw a punch at his eye, but he caught her fist, held it in his palm, and laughed, "I knew it, you're jealous of my beauty!"

The next day, Xiri went to see Minglu listlessly and absentmindedly.

Minglu asked, "Is Brother Yu settling in well here?"

She blurted out, "I can't get used to living here!"

This answer surprised him, and he asked, "Why can't you get used to living here?"

Xi Ri secretly scolded herself for being too impulsive. The words had already been spoken, and she couldn't not answer. After a moment's hesitation, she replied, "The maids in Third Brother's house blush when they see me, the servants in Third Brother's house are green with envy when they see me, the head chef in Third Brother's house brandishes a cleaver the first time he sees me, and even Fourth Brother, who lives in Third Brother's house, runs away as soon as he sees me. Third Brother, tell me, how can I get used to living here!"

Hearing this, and seeing that she seemed to make a lot of sense, Minglu chuckled softly...

Xi Ri sighed inwardly, secretly adding: "Third Brother, if you could kick Xiao Mingzi out... I might be able to get used to living here." But these words were only spoken in his heart.

In the blink of an eye, Xiri had spent many days in the Prince's mansion. In her spare time, she could freely enter and leave the mansion, and could often go back to see Tian Shuang and Tian Yong. Occasionally, she would also return to the Tian residence.

During this time, Long Ming received countless benefits in the Ming Prince's Mansion. Everything Ming Lu gave Xi Ri was the best—food, toys, and daily necessities. Unfortunately, almost none of it reached Xi Ri's hands. It was all secretly confiscated, embezzled, hidden, or even abandoned by Long Ming's servants.

What a pity! What a pity!

Although she had noticed something, she couldn't do anything about it, nor did she want to. Those things were irrelevant to her; only one thing always bothered her. Every time she thought of it or saw those four pieces of paper, her heart ached.

She even tried to test them while wearing a mask, but the result was the same: they weren't looking at people, they were looking at banknotes.

Several times, unable to contain herself, she yelled at Long Ming to return her 40,000 taels! This always earned her a reply from him: "What's the rush? We still have thirty-three years." Each time she heard this, she felt a strange unease, unsure whether to be happy or continue to be angry. In the end, she simply stopped paying attention.

Time flies, and a few more days have passed. With the Mid-Autumn Festival approaching, she should find some time to go home for a night. After these few days of careful recuperation, Minglu's health has improved a lot, and he can walk around outside, which makes Xiri very gratified.

In recent days, Fu Jin has appeared at the Ming Prince's residence again, but he has consistently avoided seeing her. Xi Ri wondered, could it be that Fourth Brother is afraid of seeing Xiao Mingzi?

Xiao Mingzi has been acting strangely these past few days, often leaving without a trace, sometimes not even seen for a whole day. If this continues, it will definitely arouse suspicion. We can't keep making up the excuse that he's going out to do things for himself...

Her residence, Sunset Garden, was peaceful and undisturbed except for two maids who regularly came to tidy the house and prepare meals. She could freely enter and leave the Prince's mansion, and besides staying by her third brother Minglu's side, she often returned to the old residence to exchange news with Tian Shuang and Tian Yong. Days passed by in this normal way, and gradually, she no longer strongly resisted living in her third brother's mansion.

Since learning that Tian Shuang and Tian Yong's plan to visit the old princess at Dafosi Temple had failed, Xi Ri did not blame them. Instead, she felt relieved. Although Tian Shuang's plan failed because of Suo Ge's sudden appearance, she did not add another crime to her list of deceiving her third brother.

But Suoge... she no longer wants to think about him when he is mentioned again.

In the backyard of the Prince's Mansion, a pond of water lilies gradually withered, and the chill and desolation of autumn always brought a touch of melancholy.

In her spare time, she would occasionally take walks around the mansion with her third brother. His improved condition gave her a lot of confidence. Her only worry now was how to ask her aunt, the Empress Dowager, to dissolve her engagement with her third brother. However, because she was unsure of herself and had thought it over, she still didn't have a definite answer. She could only wait for the right opportunity to avoid making a mistake that would backfire and not only fail to break off the engagement but also implicate her third brother or make things even more complicated...

However, since her third brother didn't want to marry her, she was determined to stick to her decision for the sake of both him and herself.

Over this period of time, Xi Ri had come to know all of Ming Lu's wives, among whom the most favored were Madam Ru, who had entered the household last, and Madam Lan. As for the other wives, Xi Ri rarely saw them because her third brother seemed to dislike them quite a bit.

But Xi Ri knew in her heart that each of her third brother's wives was beautiful, around the same age as herself, and no less beautiful than Madam Lan and Madam Ru. But if her third brother didn't like them, what good were their beauty?

Sometimes I think about myself, and if she were to leave, I wonder what would happen if she were to return home, or if she were to return to her former life. I wonder if she would be able to return home safely, or if she would be able to return to her former life.

Xi Ri only considered this point briefly before giving up on it. She had once hoped that her future husband would only dote on her, even though she knew it was just wishful thinking...

On a bright autumn day, golden leaves drifted down into the woods. Minglu sat leisurely in a wicker chair under a tree, covered with a thin blanket, looking languid. He watched the falling leaves, listened to the music, and occasionally smiled gently. He looked very elegant.

As Lady Lan listened to the music, she gradually became somewhat entranced. Suddenly, she took light steps and began to dance gracefully in the woods. To anyone who saw her, it was an extremely pleasing sight. Even the music she had always been proud of paled in comparison to the dreamlike autumn scenery and the beautiful woman.

Madam Ru stood behind Minglu, carefully peeling an orange in her hand...

Such a life would actually be quite pleasant, if she weren't Tian Xiri.

Occasionally, she would still think of that elusive 40,000 taels. When she first received it, she had to admit that the excitement was unbearable. But after a few days, the joy of acquiring such a huge fortune gradually faded, and she no longer really cared about the 40,000 taels. In fact, she had her own ways of dealing with Long Ming's obstacles, as long as Long Ming didn't really intend to destroy her family's bank.

She knew that sometimes she intentionally indulged herself with Long Ming like this... indulging her true nature, not hiding her joy and anger. While feeling angry, helpless, and furious with him, she also felt a strange sense of relief. It seemed... she could show him her most authentic self without any worries... It turned out that he was someone she could trust.

For the past few days, he had been rarely around. When she saw him each day, although he still wore his usual carefree smile, she didn't miss the occasional flashes of worry and his rabbit-like eyes. She knew he had his own things to deal with, and she knew something must have happened these past few days. Thinking of his identity, and his words from last night, she suddenly felt a little afraid… what if he really left…

I still remember his joking remark last night: "If I were to leave, would you miss me?"

She deliberately feigned indifference and scoffed at it.

He smiled, but said, "How about coming with me?"

She turned her face away and stopped looking at him, as if he were talking to himself.

She thought he would continue to say something, but unexpectedly, he also fell silent, just staring at her quietly, lost in thought.

Thinking of the look in his eyes back then, my heart began to feel uneasy. With him around, nothing seemed particularly special, but if he were really gone…

All good things must come to an end. They had no connection whatsoever. If he was leaving, what reason did she have to keep him here?

She has her own life, and so does he...

If he leaves, if he really leaves...

The Mid-Autumn Festival hadn't arrived yet, but the continuous autumn rains of the past few days had made the weather increasingly chilly. His farewell came suddenly, yet it was also expected.

She should probably be overjoyed, because no one will cling to her, control her, or scare her anymore; no one will climb onto the roof at night to complain that they can't sleep and want to look at the stars; no one will steal her food, toys, or belongings; and no one will make her worry about being discovered from morning till night...

But he's leaving, really leaving, suddenly, in a hurry...

She didn't know why she had come to see him off, why she had accompanied him all the way to the city gate, or why they hadn't exchanged a single word the entire way. All she knew was that when he saw the two attendants waiting in the distance, he finally turned his horse around and smiled at her… At that moment, his smile blurred in her eyes.

Whether intentionally or not, he launched into a long, rambling monologue, but she paid no attention. Her heart felt like a rope being twisted tightly, until… after his endless rambling, his final words, “I will be back as soon as possible,” jolted her awake, as if unleashing some well-hidden emotion within her… and it was unstoppable.

So, he's coming back, not gone forever... Then... why does she look so dejected, so reluctant to leave... why does she look like she's been abandoned?! And he even smugly calls it seeing off a lover... Bah... Since he's coming back, why is she here to see him off?! Go, go quickly! Go quickly!

"Don't you have anything to say to me? All you do is look at me with teary eyes. If you keep acting like this, I'm not leaving." He put on a troubled look, but his eyes were damn bright and sparkling.