Sunlight edged the dark green, weighty curtains with a fringe of gosling yellow.
A young woman was semi-reclined on the wide window sill, carpeted with a soft Egyptian rug. She relished a book in her hands. Her long hair fell down her graceful shoulders like glossy silk, appearing opaque and translucent as the sunlight passed through it. Her semi-visible, porcelain-white face was hidden in the shadows.
Suddenly, a series of knocks sounded. Fu Hanyan looked up abruptly, the sunlight landing perfectly on her nearly transparent skin, accentuating even the tiniest fuzzy hairs and faint veins.
"Come in," she squinted slightly, seemingly upset over her moment of leisure being interrupted.
"Young lady, the young master just called," began Aunt Qin, looking at her, puzzled, as Hanyan's attention stayed on the book. "He said...he has important business at the company today and won't be able to accompany you for your side door visit."
"Oh." Hanyan barely made a sound, before submerging herself back into her book.
Aunt Qin stared at her, wondering what she meant by that 'oh'.
"Young lady, the mistress is very angry. She says she'll call the young master herself and insist on his return..."
"No need." Hanyan finally looked up, her large cotton robe cloaking her fragile frame and weak body. She slowly smiled, "I'll tell mother that I'm going back by myself today."
"Young lady, isn't this improper? It's against the rules!"
"Mingxiao said the company is busy, right? Let's not bother him then. It's just a homeward visit, not a big deal. Besides, rules are made by people, they are not set in stone."
Hanyan lightly chuckled, closing her book, "Aunt Qin, I'll change clothes. Could you please arrange for the car?"
"Aye." Aunt Qin, seeing Hanyan's calm demeanor indicating no signs of anger, breathed a sigh of relief, closed the door, and left.
Hanyan slowly stood up, walked to her closet, and opened it. Her fingers gracefully skimmed over the row of clothes like gliding over piano strings. Again and again, her eyes gradually became vacant.
She had been married for three days, and he was only present for one minute on their wedding night before disappearing, and he had not returned since. His mother comforted her by saying that he was merely too busy to spend even a moment’s pause, but being as astute as she was, how could she not understand?
He was simply repulsed by her, loathed her.
However, it was fine this way, respecting each other as if they were both made of ice wasn't a bad thing. All she wanted was a humble abode to shield her from the wind and rain, a cup of tea, a good book, and tranquility. Anything else was of no importance to her.
With these thoughts in mind, she couldn't help but smile slightly. She collected herself, changed into a bright yellow dress, applied a bit of makeup to hide her dark circles, chose a small beige handbag, and went downstairs.
Her mother-in-law looked somewhat uneasy, but it was she who ended up reassuring her with a smile. The servants were busy preparing well-organized gifts and loading them into the car. She didn't bother to watch, she merely said goodbye to her mother-in-law and got into the car heading towards the Fu family.
On the way, although she tried hard to keep herself calm, she still broke out in a fine sweat. The Fu family’s sisters weren’t easy to get along with. This time when she returned alone, she’s sure to face their jeers and sarcasm. Although she was prepared, she couldn’t help feeling a bit nervous.
