Exclusively for the Marchioness – CH 037

Chapter 37

The path from the mountain to the town at its foot was not far.

Du Lingjing watched the Marquis descend. He walked with incredible speed, and although she wanted to follow, she could not keep up at all. They reached the bottom of the mountain in no time.

Throughout the journey, he had not said a word to her. Occasionally, his gaze would drift back to her, but it was only a fleeting glance, not even enough for her to exchange a whispered word with him before he looked away.

Du Lingjing was at a loss. Now that they had reached the town, she saw officials, Imperial Guards, and what appeared to be servants from the Marquis’s Mansion from the capital all surrounding him, awaiting his instructions.

She did not want to disturb him. She glanced at him from afar and saw Tingjun seeing off the physician who had come to treat Hu Tinglan’s injuries, and then she walked over.

She asked how her Brother Hu was doing. “He’s covered in old wounds and new ones. He still has to go to the capital to cooperate with a thorough investigation, so he might not get any rest.”

Hu Tingjun sighed as well; then, feeling the wind was too strong in front of the door, she pulled Du Lingjing towards the courtyard where they were staying.

“The physician just said that Brother’s injuries are healing, but lately many people are getting sick from wind-cold. Brother’s condition makes him even more susceptible. He’s already seriously injured, and now he’s caught a cold. Not to mention traveling, even though Shao Boju was captured, Brother is still very distressed. How will he recover from all these injuries?”

Not to mention Hu Tinglan, Du Lingjing saw that Hu Tingjun’s eyes were red, and she sighed several times when Shao Boju was mentioned.

Du Lingjing could not comfort her in this situation, so she could only take her hand. “No matter what, it’s a blessing that you escaped from Scholar Shao’s clutches safely. Do not think too much about it.”

Hu Tingjun understood. She longed for her youngest daughter day and night, wishing she could fly to her side. She also worried about what would happen if she and her husband, Guo Ting, did not survive, and the child was still so young.

Her eyes welled up with tears, but now everything was settled. She could not help but look at Du Lingjing. “Thank you, Jing-niang. Without you, we probably would have had a much harder time escaping.”

Du Lingjing shook her head. “Why are you thanking me?”

Hu Tingjun smiled, but noticing the coldness of her hand, he cautioned her, “Be careful too. Since autumn turned to winter, the temperature has dropped sharply. Catching a cold can be painful or even fatal.”

Du Lingjing, of course, understood the danger and said she would wear more clothes the next day.

However, noticing her friend’s sudden increase in attention, her voice softened, “Speaking of which, the person we should thank most is actually the Marquis.”

If Lu Shenru did not intend to handle this matter impartially, they might escape Shao Boju’s clutches, but they would not escape Lu Shenru’s grasp either.

Du Lingjing never expected him to come personally, nor that he had already planned how to handle the situation beforehand, and most importantly, that he truly intended to help her rescue people; even after the Earl of Rongchang’s affair, he had not changed his promise to her.

She did not speak for a moment, and Hu Tingjun squeezed her hand.

“Just now, what did you say to the Marquis?”

At the mention of this, Du Lingjing felt embarrassed.

“He… would not speak to me.”

Hu Tingjun blinked.

The room was quiet, the newly lit charcoal fire crackling softly, unlike the Marquis’s Mansion. Du Lingjing had never encountered anyone who refused to acknowledge her or speak to her. She lowered her eyes, sighing with a mixture of melancholy and helplessness.

Hu Tingjun had a round face and, after months of hiding, had lost a lot of weight, making her large eyes appear even more striking. Beneath her willow-leaf eyebrows, they blinked, gleaming with a lively light. Her bright eyes made the person beside her, lost in thought and melancholy, seem even more dazed.

She chuckled, “Jing-niang, the reason he’s not talking to you is that he’s angry.”

Du Lingjing could tell too. “Really that angry?”

So angry that he would not even speak to her.

Hu Tingjun said there had been some mishaps involved. She carefully analyzed the situation for Du Lingjing.

“Think about it,” she said. “We asked him for help first, and he agreed. Then, after the Earl of Rongchang’s affair, you felt he was not on our side and left on your own. But the Marquis himself had no intention of harming us. He had no intention of hurting us; he was even willing to sacrifice his own interests to help us, or rather, help you. Yet you doubted him. How could he not be angry?” She said it was not just anger. “There is also hurt, was there not?”

Hurt?

Du Lingjing could not help but picture his somber eyes…

Hu Tingjun said it was not entirely her fault. “You’ve only been married for two months, and it was all arranged by imperial decree. How easy is it to completely trust someone after only two months?”

Besides, that was the Marquis of Yongding. Moreover, in Jing-niang’s heart, Jiang Jieyuan was probably still there.

Hu Tingjun could not help but ask her, “Your affair with Jiang Jieyuan—he knows about it, right?”

Du Lingjing nodded, saying she knew. “I’ve also spoken frankly with him.”

Hu Tingjun was startled to hear that she had spoken frankly with him. It was already taboo for a bride to have feelings for someone from her past, and this old friend of hers dared to speak so frankly.

Jing-niang was indeed that kind of person; she always treated others with the purest of intentions. However, the person opposite her was the Marquis of Yongding, a truly powerful minister far beyond the likes of Shao Boju.

She could not help but ask, “Then… how has the Marquis treated you since the marriage?”

Du Lingjing replied, “Very well.”

She said “very well” almost without thinking. Hu Tingjun blinked; it seemed he was no less kind than Jiang Jieyuan had been.

Hu Tingjun had personally witnessed how gentle and humble Jiang Jieyuan was and how much he cared for Jing-niang. That Marquis was so decisive and ruthless; his power and influence were unparalleled. He was completely different from Jiang Jieyuan. Yet, his treatment of Jing-niang was no less than that of the previous man…

Unfortunately, Jing-niang still harbored the lingering shadow of the previous man. However, the imperial decree had already decreed the marriage; the shadow of the previous man could not be retained, no matter what. The person before her was someone she should cherish even more.

Given Jing-niang’s temperament, reasoning with her would likely be of little use.

Hu Tingjun bluntly said, “According to you, it’s no wonder the Marquis is angry and heartbroken, refusing to speak to you. You should apologize to him properly.”

Apologize properly? Du Lingjing also wanted to do that. She could not help but ask, “He will not even speak to me; how can I apologize?”

That was the key.

An apology, of course, had to be tailored to his preferences.

Hu Tingjun lowered her voice further. “Then how are things between you two on ordinary days? I mean, when no one else is around.”

When it was just the two of them? Du Lingjing did not know how to answer the question, so she thought for a moment.

“The Marquis is quite considerate. If I wake up thirsty at night, he will get up before me and pour me a cup of warm tea.”

This was the first thing that came to Du Lingjing’s mind.

Back in her hometown of Qingzhou, whether it was Qiu-Lin or Ai-Ye serving her in her room at night, she usually could not bear to wake them and would get dressed and go downstairs herself.

But since marrying him, she had not gotten up by herself…

Her words made Tingjun pause in surprise. Tingjun’s mind went blank. The powerful Marquis of Yongding, the Marquis whom everyone tried to curry favor with, was personally serving their Jing-niang? Tingjun could not imagine it, but looking at her friend, she felt incredibly proud of her Jing-niang!

“Then the matter of apologizing is simple,” Hu Tingjun said, already understanding the situation.

She said to Du Lingjing, “No need for a formal apology, just apologize. The Marquis usually takes care of you, so today it’s a little different; you should show him some consideration, too. Even something as simple as offering him tea or grinding ink will ease his anger and hurt feelings.”

Du Lingjing frowned slightly. “Is that all?”

He had helped her so much, and all he wanted was a few words and a cup of tea?

Was that not too light?

She thought about how, in order to find them, he had first opened the Guilin Tower for her and then personally come to Baoding.

But he seemed to have everything, and what could she offer him?

It seemed that not being a burden to him was enough…

As she was pondering these thoughts, Tingjun suddenly interrupted her.

“Do not overthink it. If you trust me, just be proactive and serve tea and water.”

She then added, “Remember, do exactly what they’ve always done for you. I guarantee the Marquis will not be angry with you tomorrow!”

She spoke with absolute certainty.

Du Lingjing found it inexplicably amusing.

Could the Marquis really be so easily persuaded, as she claimed?

But she herself had no other choice.

She said, “I understand.”

Soon after, she left the courtyard where the Hu siblings were staying and went back to her own quarters to change into clean clothes.

As Qiu-Lin helped her restyle her hair and change her clothes, she could not help but think about how the Marquis had actually come in person. Otherwise, how could her young lady have come down the mountain so safely, with only a dirty hem and not a single hair lost?

Ruan Gong reminded her today that the most important thing for those who followed the young lady was to see her doing well.

She had initially thought that no matter what, the Marquis could not compare to the Third Young Master, and given that it was an imperial decree, the young lady was extremely unwilling.

But now it seemed… Qiu-Lin called to Du Lingjing, “Madam, please stay at the Marquis’s place tonight. Ai-Ye and I will pack the luggage and settle everything there.”

Since she had to apologize, Du Lingjing figured she would not need to return tonight. She nodded in agreement but glanced at Qiu-Lin a few more times.

That person had truly helped her a great deal this time; even Qiu-Lin’s attitude had changed.

Thinking about these things, something she was not really good at, and remembering Tingjun’s “advice,” she went to the courtyard where he was staying.

When she arrived, Lu Shenru was talking to someone in the corridor.

Several letters arrived from the capital. He opened two and gave direct instructions, but he needed to reply to the others personally.

However, just as he finished speaking about the first matter, he noticed a skirt fluttering into his line of sight.

He stood still, continuing to listen to the report about the capital.

An early plum tree grew in the corner of the corridor; the colder the weather, the more buds it seemed to hold.

The messenger finished his report, noticing that the Marquis before him seemed to be listening attentively, occasionally offering a comment, but his gaze seemed to subtly drift past the budding branches of the plum tree, landing on the pale pink skirt of the lady on the other side of the courtyard. The skirt swayed in the wind, like a plum bud about to bloom, its delicate beauty already unfolding.

Lu Shenru’s gaze lingered for a few moments, but seeing her look up, he quickly looked away, as if he had not noticed her at all.

Du Lingjing waited for him for a while, but seeing that he was only talking to someone and did not even look at her, she had no choice but to lift the curtain and enter the room first.

The man’s gaze lingered for a few moments on the hem of her skirt as she moved.

Once Du Lingjing entered the room, she asked Qiu-Lin to bring tea. Qiu-Lin thought she was feeling chilled and wanted some hot tea to warm herself, but she told her to just put down the tea and prepare an extra teacup. Qiu-Lin quickly did as she was told and then hurriedly retreated before the Marquis entered.

The man finished giving his instructions in less than a quarter of an hour and turned to walk into the room.

As soon as he entered, Du Lingjing looked at him.

This time, the man glanced at her, but his lips were pursed, and his expression remained subtly somber as before. He sat down at the table without saying a word.

Chong-An presented several letters and a few memorials from the palace, then quickly left. He silently perused them.

Du Lingjing waited until the room quieted down slightly before rising.

Lu Shenru also saw his wife stand up and walk towards him.

He continued to open a letter, examining it carefully without moving, when he noticed her approaching with a cup of tea.

She displayed no affectation or ingratiating manner, simply placing the teacup on his desk with her slender, delicate hands and speaking softly and slowly to him.

“My Lord, please have some tea.”

After speaking, she did not leave immediately but stood by his desk, quietly awaiting his response.

Her sleeve brushed against his desk, seemingly touching his heart and softening it.

He refrained from looking at her, offering a slightly indifferent “hmm” as a response, and took a small sip of tea.

The tea in Baoding had somehow become so sweet; with just that small sip, the sweetness instantly spread throughout his mouth.

Lu Shenru, of course, knew the sweetness was not from the tea itself. He restrained himself, taking only that one sip before setting the teacup down, seemingly unintentionally placing it a short distance away.

She remained standing by his table. Du Lingjing did not leave, but seeing his indifferent response, she secretly felt that Tingjun’s method was probably not going to work.

The man slightly raised his eyes, glancing at his wife, and saw that she seemed to be about to leave. He pursed his lips, placed the opened letter aside, and picked up a blank sheet of paper for a reply from the other side.

However, just as he took the paper, he saw the slender hand that had just served him tea now, with long, white fingers, pick up his ink. “Let me grind the ink for you, Lord Marquis.”

She poured water into the inkstone, rolled up her sleeve with one hand, and began grinding the ink for him with the other.

She had changed into a clean, light pink pleated skirt and a white jacket with silver trim. She ground the ink for him, round and round, carefully spreading the hard ink in the clear water of the inkstone.

Lu Shenru felt a strange, indescribable feeling.

When had she ever given him such treatment?

He pursed his lips, remaining silent. He dipped his brush in her ink, looking at the letter from the sender, wondering what merit this person possessed to receive ink ground by her own hand and to reply to the letter.

After the ink was ground, she did not linger at his desk. He watched her turn and leave, but she did not go far. She picked up a book and sat down at the table under the window directly opposite his desk.

Just like at home, he would often take his official documents and return to the main courtyard to keep her company while she revised her books. This time, however, it was his turn to sit at the desk, while she kept him company by the window, reading…

He knew he was unlikely to get angry; she must have received some guidance from a wise person.

A cup of tea, an inkstone, a few words, quiet reading to keep him company…

The man closed his eyes.

It was getting late. Even the most important matters could wait until tomorrow.

About half an hour later, he had finished his work. He gave Chong-Ping two instructions at the door, and when he returned to the room, she had already washed up, placed her books on the table, and was wearing only a plain undergarment. She sat on the edge of the bed, looking at him.

This time, she did not speak, only slightly tilting her head to see if he was finished.

Du Lingjing’s heart pounded.

He had not spoken to her all night. Had Tingjun’s method failed?