Chapter 23: Suspicion. How Did That Bracelet End Up on A-Yue’s Wrist?

On the way, Shen Ji bought some incense, candles, joss paper, and some fruit offerings. The two then headed east.

After leaving the city and riding for a while longer, they finally arrived at the Su family’s burial ground.

Su Zhenyue knelt before her parents’ graves, while Shen Ji tactfully withdrew to a short distance away.

Su Zhenyue had already said everything she wanted to say to her father that night in the Apricot Grove a few days ago, and now she didn’t know what else to say. As she burned the joss paper, she prayed for her parents’ blessing for everything to go smoothly.

The wind in the outskirts was strong, feeling like a knife against her face, stinging slightly.

Su Zhenyue’s voice was extremely low. “I will be fine, don’t you worry. I will definitely be fine…”

The young woman’s soft yet stubborn voice was carried by the wind to Shen Ji’s ears. He watched her in silence, his heart filling with even more pity.

After paying respects to her parents, Su Zhenyue paid respects to her paternal grandparents. Once the incense had burned down, she turned to Shen Ji. “Cousin, thank you so much for today. Let’s head back.”

Without waiting for Shen Ji’s reply, Su Zhenyue walked toward him. As she did, she feigned an accidental slip of her foot, her body lurching to the side.

Just as she was about to fall, Shen Ji reacted swiftly, instinctively reaching out an arm to support her.

As it happened, he caught her by the waist.

A waist as supple as a willow branch, slender enough to be encircled by a single hand.

Shen Ji froze, feeling the tips of his ears grow hot.

Su Zhenyue, for her part, fell right into his arms, thinking to herself, Doesn’t physical contact like this deepen feelings quickly?

If she took this opportunity to express her insecurity and her desire for an official status sooner, wouldn’t it be perfectly logical?

At this thought, Su Zhenyue gazed at him, her eyes shimmering, her voice soft and alluring. “Cousin, I…”

That one look was all it took. She saw her own reflection in his pitch-black eyes.

Wait a minute. Dressed in men’s clothing, with a sallow, yellowish face—it looked strange no matter how she looked at it.

This was really not a good time to confess her feelings.

Su Zhenyue forcibly reined in the tide of affection. She used his support to stand up straight, took a step back, and resentfully changed her tune. “I’m fine. My foot just slipped.”

To match her male attire today, her boots were also in a men’s style, a little too large and not a perfect fit.

Therefore, Shen Ji did not doubt her excuse. He only frowned slightly, a little concerned. “Are you really all right?”

“I’m really all right,” Su Zhenyue said, shaking her head firmly. Forget it, she thought, I’ll find another chance next time.

With their respects paid, the two started on their way back.

Because of her strange attire, Su Zhenyue had to temporarily abandon her plans to deepen their bond. Since the opportunity to go out today was rare, she decided to use the return journey to earnestly ask for pointers on horse riding.

It was a gain of a sort.

Along the way, they encountered no assassins, nor was her identity discovered. The two returned to the Jing An Marquis Estate without a hitch.

Su Zhenyue first went to Qingfeng Courtyard to change back into her own clothes and wash off her disguise before hurrying back to the West Wing Courtyard.

The moment she entered the courtyard, Nanxing rushed to greet her. “Miss, Old Madam Wen is looking for you.”

“The Old Madam?” Su Zhenyue was startled, thinking, Could it be that my secret trip out was discovered?

That shouldn’t be possible. She had been very careful the entire way.

“Yes, she said for you to go over at once.”

“Did she say what it was about?”

Nanxing shook her head. “She didn’t say.”

Since the Old Madam had sent for her, Su Zhenyue could not refuse. She checked her reflection in the mirror and had Nanxing inspect her as well. After confirming that there was nothing amiss, she set off for Chunhui Hall.

…

Old Madam Wen, having grown older, felt the cold more keenly, and the charcoal fires in Chunhui Hall burned brightly.

Seeing Su Zhenyue enter, Old Madam Wen’s face broke into a benevolent smile, and she ordered someone to bring her a seat.

Su Zhenyue’s heart was filled with apprehension. After murmuring her thanks, she managed to sit down.

“I didn’t call you over for anything important. Tomorrow is the Laba Festival. The family hasn’t gathered in a long time. Although we are currently in national mourning and cannot hold banquets or play music, there’s no harm in the family sharing a meal. I was just thinking that you fell into the water last time and haven’t fully recovered, so there’s no need for you to force yourself to attend…”

Su Zhenyue secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

So it was about this. She had almost forgotten that this episode was also in that long dream.

She was an outsider, so she had never planned on participating in the Jing An Marquis Estate’s Laba family banquet anyway.

Thus, Su Zhenyue readily agreed. “I was just about to tell you, Old Madam. The anniversary of my grandmother’s passing is approaching. My grandmother was a devout Buddhist, so I was thinking of copying a few volumes of sutras to show my filial piety. I really cannot attend the family banquet.”

“Good child, your grandmother didn’t dote on you for nothing when she was alive.” Old Madam Wen was very pleased and patted her hand lightly. “Rest assured, the Gu family will absolutely not treat you poorly. I’ve spoken with the Marquis about having him find an opportunity in the future to formally adopt you as a goddaughter.”

—In truth, Su Zhenyue had attended the Gu family’s banquets in previous years. But this year was different. Old Madam Wen did not want her to have any more contact with Gu Yuanchen, nor did she want her to meet Chang Le Princess.

“I know the Old Madam dotes on me,” Su Zhenyue said, appearing exceptionally well-behaved.

Old Madam Wen was even more satisfied, but she also felt she owed the girl. She ordered her head maid, Jialan, to bring a pair of bracelets she had worn in her youth to reward Su Zhenyue. She then kept her for a bit of conversation before letting her leave.

The jewelry was in a style popular decades ago and was somewhat outdated. But it was crafted from pure gold and was quite heavy.

Su Zhenyue liked it at first sight—even if she didn’t wear it, exchanging it for silver would last her a long time.

Unfortunately, she was already wearing a specially made bracelet on her wrist and didn’t have a purse with her. So, she tucked the bracelets from the Old Madam into her sleeve pocket for the time being.

Actually, what the Old Madam said about having the Marquis formally adopt her as a goddaughter was not just to placate her. After all, that was what happened in that long dream. After the imperial edict for her marriage to Yuan Ye was issued, the Marquis and Marchioness of Jing An became her adoptive father and mother.

She had married far away to the Shu region in her capacity as the adopted daughter of the Marquis of Jing An.

Leaving Chunhui Hall, Su Zhenyue was still thinking about the events of her dream.

She had only taken a few steps when she came face to face with someone.

With a handsome face and a cool, detached air, it was none other than the Heir Apparent of the Jing An Marquis Estate, Gu Yuanchen.

At their sudden encounter, Su Zhenyue froze for a moment, then lowered her gaze and moved to the side to avoid him.

Gu Yuanchen, however, stood his ground, his eyes narrowing slightly.

By his count, they had not seen each other for over two months. Thinking of what had happened before, it felt like a lifetime ago.

Suddenly, with a rip, her sleeve pocket tore open.

Caught completely off guard, Su Zhenyue felt a weight on her arm. The pair of pure gold bracelets shifted inside her sleeve and fell to the ground with a clang, rolling off in two different directions.

In an instant, embarrassment and shame flooded her heart.

With no time to think, Su Zhenyue hurriedly bent down to pick up the bracelets.

Just as she picked up one, the other was snatched up by a long, slender hand.

Su Zhenyue instinctively pulled her hand back and looked up at the hand’s owner.

“Here.” Gu Yuanchen looked at her quietly, his face devoid of much expression.

Su Zhenyue pressed her lips together and reached out to take it. “Thank you.”

Gu Yuanchen shook his head, then gave a bitter smile. “A-Yue, when did we become so distant?”

A pang of sorrow struck Su Zhenyue’s heart, but she pretended not to hear and had no intention of responding.

—Since they were to make a clean break, it was better to be thorough.

Fearing another accident, she didn’t use her other sleeve pocket. Instead, she simply pushed up her sleeve, slipped the pair of bracelets directly onto her wrist, and walked away quickly.

She walked so fast that she completely failed to notice Gu Yuanchen’s astonished gaze.

Long after she had disappeared from sight, Gu Yuanchen’s brows remained tightly furrowed.

Just now, when A-Yue was putting on the bracelets, he had unintentionally seen the bracelet she was already wearing on her wrist.

It was golden, ostentatious, and garish, with a peculiar design that was a complete mismatch for her temperament, yet it looked familiar, as if he had seen it somewhere before.

Where was it?

Why couldn’t he remember?

A sudden cold wind blew past. A chill ran through Gu Yuanchen, and he abruptly recalled the time he went to see Shen Ji last month.

At Qingfeng Courtyard, upon seeing him approach, Shen Ji had quickly stuffed a piece of golden women’s jewelry into his sleeve.

It was this bracelet!

He remembered it clearly; there was absolutely no mistake.

But how could the bracelet Shen Ji had hidden in his sleeve now be on A-Yue’s wrist?