Chapter 16

Lin Que was serious.

After returning from the Li family, Lin Que punished Nanny Liu and Steward Wu and no longer helped Nanny Zhao force Li Mu to manage the household.

Lin Que also called Nanny Zhao and questioned her. Afterward, she cried and knelt at Li Mu’s feet, repeatedly assuring her that she only wanted Li Mu to hold the household management power for her good and had no intention of using Li Mu to control King Yan’s entire residence.

Nanny Zhao was Li Mu’s person, and Lin Que let Li Mu decide whether to keep her or send her and her contract back to the Li family.

If sent back to the Li family, they would surely sell her.

Li Mu knew Nanny Zhao had no such intentions. Lin Que deliberately scares her and lets Li Mu play the role of a good person.

Li Mu patted Nanny Zhao’s shoulder, telling her not to be afraid, and said, “Stay.”

“Thank you, Consort, thank you for your kindness,” Nanny Zhao repeatedly kowtowed in gratitude, and Li Mu couldn’t stop her.

After that, no one forced Li Mu to manage the household anymore. However, every now and then, the residence’s account books, along with the pigeon loft information that Li Mu needed to review daily, were sent to her study. The stewards would also report major events in the residence to her, keeping her informed.

Li Mu initially thought that reviewing the pigeon loft information would be time-consuming. However, once she started, she realized it was similar to browsing social media before she transmigrated. Some even came with illustrations, simple and easy to understand. She could quickly go through the day’s information during breaks from reading, writing, or exercising and even request the pigeon loft to find related old news based on keywords mentioned in the reports.

With this influx of information, Li Mu’s understanding of this era gradually became clearer and more comprehensive. The fear and resistance brought by the unknown also became less intense than initially.

…

“Young Master, I’ve brought it.” In a courtyard named Baiyu Zhai in King Yan’s residence, a servant named Xuanfeng returned with two palm-sized scrolls. If Lin Qiwu were there, she would recognize these as the scrolls used for archiving pigeon loft information.

Lin Yan’an, who was writing something, put down his pen and asked, “Why did it take so long?”

Xuanfeng placed the scrolls on the table and complained, “I went at an inconvenient time. They were organizing the information to be sent to the consort, so I had to wait for a long time.”

Lin Yan’an didn’t say anything, but Xuanfeng was dissatisfied, “The pigeon loft people are too good at currying favor. They used to prepare whatever you needed first.”

Lin Yan’an replied, “How come I didn’t know that?”

Xuanfeng: “Huh?”

Lin Yan’an: “Isn’t the pigeon loft supposed to prioritize my father, then my grandmother and uncle, and then me?”

Xuanfeng: “But, but…”

Lin Yan’an’s smile remained, but it didn’t reach his eyes, “If one day my aunt needs the pigeon loft, I should still be behind her. Moreover, now it’s not my aunt, but my mother. It’s only natural for the pigeon loft to prioritize her over me. Do you understand?”

Xuanfeng lowered his head, “Understood…”

Lin Yan’an reached for the scrolls, and Xuanfeng quickly handed them over, even untying the straps for him.

Seeing the dissatisfaction on his face, Lin Yan’an decided to address it directly, “What do you want to say?”

Lin Yan’an was always lenient with his servants, and Xuanfeng, being young, couldn’t help but mutter, “Even a fool has likes and dislikes. The King loves the consort, but she is so cold to you. Once they have their own children, where will you stand in this residence?”

Lin Yan’an listened quietly, then completely dropped his smile and said calmly, “If you think that way, you won’t need to stay by my side in the future.”

Xuanfeng was startled and immediately knelt down, “Young Master! No, I was just talking nonsense. I won’t dare to do it again, Young Master!”

Lin Yan’an: “Go and receive your punishment.”

Xuanfeng quickly left, fearing that Lin Yan’an might change his mind and expel him from the residence if he delayed.

Lin Yan’an unrolled the scroll, but his thoughts were elsewhere. His father had taught him that not all suspicions needed to be voiced. No matter how reasonable or well-founded, some thoughts should remain unspoken.

So, he only sent Xuanfeng to receive his punishment without saying anything more.

What could he say? That his father was kind to his mother? It wouldn’t matter if his mother were just an ordinary girl, even if she were a fool. But if someone was manipulating her with ulterior motives, this kindness and indulgence might turn her against them or make her reveal her true intentions. His father’s kindness to his mother was genuine, but the underlying test was his own suspicion. Regardless of the outcome, it wasn’t a bad thing for the residence and there was no need to say it out loud.

Lin Yan’an refocused on the scroll, but before he could read much, a ball flew in from outside, hitting the inkstone and splattering ink all over him.

“Oh no! How did it end up in Baiyu Zhai? Run, run, run! Don’t let him catch us!”

“That ball was a gift from my fourth brother.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll ask Steward Wu to get it back for you later.”

Lin Yan’an got up and looked out the window. He saw his younger aunt, two years his junior, running away with a girl about her age.

Soon after, Steward Wu arrived. Lin Yan’an, still in his ink-stained clothes, smiled and asked, “What ball? I don’t know anything about it.”

Despite Steward Wu’s efforts, he returned empty-handed.

The ball was a gift from Li Yunxi’s brother, and she refused to part with it. Lin Qiwu, too afraid to go to Baiyu Zhai alone, sought Li Mu’s help.

Lin Qiwu had a plan, “Sister-in-law, just stand there. If he doesn’t give it back, I’ll tell my brother he disrespected you!”

Li Mu was curious about what Lin Yan’an had done to make Lin Qiwu avoid him like the plague. In the book, they seemed to have a strained relationship on the surface, but their actions showed a deep understanding and cooperation, with one digging the pit and the other pushing people in, one silencing and the other burying the bodies.

There was a plot where Lin Yan’an faked his death, and only Lin Qiwu, among those unaware, believed he was alive because she hadn’t seen his body. Later, when Lin Yan’an heard that Lin Qiwu had died in the palace, he rushed back to the capital to retrieve her body. Seeing her corpse, he nearly collapsed and coughed up blood. So, Li Mu always felt that Lin Yan’an’s ending was too abrupt. He wouldn’t have let the protagonists off so easily if he cared about his family. The logic didn’t add up.

Li Mu was dragged to Baiyu Zhai. The boy seemed to know Lin Qiwu would seek Li Mu’s help and didn’t resist. He handed over the ball, still stained with ink, matching the ink stains on his clothes, and explained, “Mother, forgive me. This ball hit my inkstone, ruining my writing and dirtying my clothes. I was so angry that I kept the ball.”

Lin Qiwu felt guilty, but remembering how Lin Yan’an had teased her since childhood, she became defiant and shouted, “I’ll have Auntie compensate you with one!”

With that, she grabbed the ball and tried to run off with Li Yunxi.

Unusually quick, Li Mu grabbed the slower Li Yunxi, pulling both children back like a vine.

Squatting down to their eye level, Li Mu seriously told them, “You need to apologize.”

Li Yunxi, not familiar with Lin Yan’an and having no grudge, obediently said, “I’m sorry.”

Lin Qiwu refused to apologize. Lin Yan’an waited a moment, then with a forgiving smile, told Li Mu, “It’s okay, Mother. I’m no longer angry. It’s fine if Auntie doesn’t apologize.”

This only made Lin Qiwu angrier. She turned to Li Mu, fearing she would force her to apologize like everyone else did when Lin Yan’an used this tactic.

But Li Mu nodded to Lin Yan’an, indicating she understood. Then, she stood up, signaling the matter was over, and left with Li Yunxi and Lin Qiwu.

Lin Yan’an: “…”

Lin Qiwu: “…!”

Exactly! If he said he wasn’t angry and didn’t need an apology, then there’s no need to apologize!

Lin Qiwu’s steps became light and joyful. She swung Li Mu’s hand as they walked. At the door, she made a cheeky face at Lin Yan’an.

After retrieving the ball, the maid washed off the ink with water from a nearby tank and dried it before returning it to Li Yunxi.

Li Yunxi and Lin Qiwu thanked Li Mu and ran off hand in hand to play, with several maids chasing after them.

After Li Mu married into King Yan’s residence, Grand Princess Zhaoming moved the children’s classes from her residence to King Yan’s residence, where Li Mu, who rarely went out, could help watch over them.

Li Mu didn’t feel much difference with this change. The children spent more time in class and loved playing around King Yan’s residence during their free time. They only came to Li Mu’s place to do their homework, much like they did at the Li residence.

In the evening, Lin Que returned with a pot of night-blooming cereus, asking Li Mu to watch it bloom with him.

Having had no nighttime entertainment for a long time, Li Mu was interested in staying up to watch the flower. The kitchen prepared plenty of snacks and drinks, and they watched from nine until dawn. The atmosphere was mostly natural silence, with occasional sounds of cracking watermelon seeds. Lin Que would talk, and Li Mu would nod or shake her head, sometimes responding to avoid making him talk alone.

As the flower wilted, Li Mu knew it was time to sleep. Fearing she wouldn’t fall asleep without preparing, she thought of the nuptial wine from their wedding night.

Since then, Li Mu had wanted to try drinking a glass of wine before bed. Initially unsure how to ask the maids, she finally did, only to be told there was no wine in the residence.

Li Mu realized the reason: Lin Que loved wine but couldn’t drink it due to his health.

This was something Li Mu read in the book. In the book, Gu Chi always brought wine to commemorate King Yan. In memory, Gu Chi visited King Yan in January of the year he died, finding him drinking wine and admiring the snow. Gu Chi wouldn’t let him enjoy the view or drink, insisting he recover before going out in the cold. At that time, King Yan said something poignant: “If I die without recovering, wouldn’t I regret it forever?”

And he did die that December.

Li Mu thought poor health meant no wine, but it shouldn’t affect her.

So, taking advantage of the nice evening, she told Lin Que, “I want to drink wine.”

Lin Que, somewhat listless, replied, “There’s no wine in the residence. Mother doesn’t allow it.”

Li Mu looked at him, and Lin Que said, “How about letting your maid buy some tomorrow, saying you want to drink? Steward Wu shouldn’t stop her.”

Li Mu hesitated, sensing a trap.

Sure enough, Lin Que added, “For the sake of our marriage, could you share a pot with me?”

Li Mu pretended not to understand, turning her head to give him a side profile.

A polite refusal.