Chapter 81: Old Matters
She was already standing before the door, so why ask whether she was allowed in? As if she could still drive him away?
Song Hemei did not immediately pull him inside. Instead, she first glanced out toward the courtyard. Though it was somewhat an act of covering up, only seeing that no one was outside could set her mind at ease.
But Yu Yeqing did not seem intent on maintaining the false courtesy for long. He stepped forward, his tall figure pressing down on her, and Song Hemei unconsciously retreated two steps back. This gave him just enough space to step inside, and he even turned back to close the door behind him.
Only a single lamp remained lit inside the room, casting flickering light and shadow over the person before her. Song Hemei swallowed. "How did you get here? Did you run into anyone along the way?"
The Shao residence was unlike the Song residence—they had not deliberately reduced their household staff. Since it was an official's mansion, young male servants were sent out on rotating night patrols.
"Chunhui guided me here."
Song Hemei's lips parted slightly. She thought to herself that Chunhui had once again taken the liberty of guessing her intentions… but when it came to matters like this, she couldn't really get angry about it.
Still, she crossed her arms in front of her and squinted at the man before her. "If she called you, you came just like that? What if someone found out?"
Yu Yeqing lowered his gaze to look at her. "I don't understand. Since you're seeking an amicable divorce, why are you afraid of him knowing? And why did you come back to the Shao residence?"
Song Hemei did not answer him immediately. She paused for a moment, then deliberately asked, "Ah, if I don't come back to the Shao residence, where would you have me stay?"
Yu Yeqing stepped closer to her, his expression serious. "I will take you away. I can also rent a courtyard house for you."
His words sounded passable, but upon closer thought, they were still not quite satisfying to her.
She put on a stern face, her tone carrying a hint of displeasure. "What, are you planning to set me up as your mistress? Rent a courtyard house and have me live there, waiting every day for your favor?"
Yu Yeqing had never considered this angle. He was stunned by her words.
He fell into deep thought, his whole demeanor turning unusually grave. Whatever he was thinking, when he looked at her again, he said solemnly, "Tomorrow I will send a letter to the Song residence. Once I have handled my official duties, I will personally visit your parents."
This time, it was Song Hemei's turn to be stunned. Her lips moved for a long while before she found her voice, asking in surprise, "What are you visiting them for?"
"To propose marriage."
There was not a hint of jest in Yu Yeqing's words. "As long as you are willing, I will go to the Song residence to propose. My parents are deceased, and I only have my aunt as an elder. She will not interfere with my marriage."
Every word spoken in his firm tone entered her ears, striking her heart until it softened.
Song Hemei felt the burning sensation on her face threatening to rise again. She quickly turned her back to him and said softly, "That's more like it. But you don't need to talk to my parents. They are very stubborn and probably won't agree to me marrying a second time."
She walked slowly to the desk. Somewhat shy, she idly fiddled with the account books she had just gathered.
When she spoke again, her voice was very low, almost a murmur. "There's no rush to talk about this now. When it really comes to that point, we can let Jilang handle it."
Was that an agreement?
Yu Yeqing's mind went momentarily dizzy—something he had never dared to imagine before.
Then an immense joy surged through his veins. Each step he took forward seemed to echo the wild beating of his heart.
The slender and delicate silhouette of the person before him was bathed in the warm, soft glow of the candlelight, much like that night three years ago when the pearl had fallen. But unlike then, now he finally had the right to step forward, stand behind her, and reach out to touch her shoulder.
"May… may I hold you?" His deep voice carried a hint of trepidation.
Song Hemei felt that his question was unnecessary. Since he had already entered her room, what was a hug? Even if she said no, if he insisted on holding her, she couldn't stop him anyway.
But since he asked again, and she delayed in answering, he also delayed in making a move—leaving no room for her feminine coyness, her reluctance that invited pursuit.
She let out a soft sigh, turned around to face him, and proactively raised her arms to encircle his narrow waist, pressing her cheek against his chest. "Come on, hold me."
Yu Yeqing froze for a moment, but then he pulled her tightly into his embrace. Bowing his head, he brushed his cheek against her temple and hair. The sensation of her face and the warmth of the person in his arms made him realize more clearly that everything before him was real.
"Pack your things. I'll take you away tomorrow."
Song Hemei was momentarily speechless. "There's no need to be in such a hurry, is there?"
Yu Yeqing did not answer.
He did not want her to remain in another man's home, even if that man had been her husband for three years.
He also did not want her to have any more ties to the Shao family; they were never a good match for her.
Song Hemei felt that insisting on staying a few more days would be a mood-killer. She reached behind her on the desk, grabbed an account book, and waved it. "Even if I leave, I can't go empty-handed. He even promised me good farmland today."
Yu Yeqing raised his hand to grasp her wrist, pressing her down onto the desk. "I have also saved up some family wealth over the years. I can certainly be more generous than the Shao family. You don't need to care about what he gives you."
Song Hemei couldn't help but marvel: they said three years as a clean county magistrate yielded a hundred thousand silver taels. An official in the capital was indeed different—in three years, he had saved up so much wealth. No wonder her father was doing everything possible to have Jilang take the imperial examinations.
But she was resolute in her thinking: "That's different. What's yours is yours; what's his is his. Wouldn't it be letting him off too easily to just walk away like this?"
Her hand resting on his back gently stroked him. "There's no rush for now. Besides, it will take Madam Zhang some time to come. No matter what, we were mother and son for a while. I need to entrust Lianzhu to her before I can feel at ease."
Yu Yeqing was silent for a moment, as if making a decision. "Then take him with us too."
Song Hemei: "…Why would you take him away! Didn't I already tell you? He is not your child."
"I know." Yu Yeqing's words now carried a hint of obsession. "It doesn't matter whose he is. I can treat him as my own."
If she hadn't detected the absence of alcohol on his breath, Song Hemei would have thought he had come after drinking.
She raised a hand to his shoulder, pushed him back slightly, and leaned her own waist backward to look him in the eye. "What's wrong with you? Do you enjoy raising other people's sons? The Shao family will raise their own child. Even if you did take him away, they would fight you to the death over their only male heir."
Yu Yeqing looked down at her, silent for a long while. There was a hint of pity in his eyes. "So if you're with me, it will inevitably mean separation between you and your child."
Song Hemei thought for a moment, then could only nod.
Her relationship with Lianzhu was not merely that of mother and son. After three years together, she had raised him personally. Certainly, there was reluctance, but as for seeing him often in the future, she felt it was better not to.
The matters of the Shao family had nothing to do with her, and she was unwilling to be bound by that night soaked in blood. But whenever she saw Lianzhu, the chilling sensation of that night would creep up her spine, impossible to shake off.
She said sincerely, "Lianzhu is indeed very attached to me, but he is still young. There will be many new things for him to remember. In at most a year or two, he will have completely forgotten me. That's fine too."
She lowered her eyes, her long lashes veiling the trace of melancholy that could be seen in them.
Yu Yeqing felt a tightness in his chest. The hand that had been holding her wrist interlaced his fingers with hers, his thumb gently stroking the back of her hand.
"You carried him for ten months—that was not easy. Giving birth was also dangerous. I saw the state my mother was in when she gave birth to Minglian. She—"
"Wait a moment."
Song Hemei interrupted him and gave him a strange look. "He is not my biological child."
Yu Yeqing was suddenly stunned. His pupils trembled, and even his breath seemed to stop.
Earlier, when he had asked about Lianzhu's biological father, she had not been explicit. For one thing, it involved a human life, and passing off a concubine's son as the legal heir was a grave offense. For another, she did not wish to reveal her situation to him, lest she appear too pitiful and be looked down upon.
But she had always felt that this inclination to conceal was somewhat self-deceiving. If he had thought about it carefully, he would have found the clues. It was easy to guess who Lianzhu's birth mother was.
Yet, seeing him like this, it seemed he had never really thought it through.
Song Hemei couldn't help but find it amusing. She blinked at him. "How can you be so dense, Young Master Yu? Have you forgotten Cao Lingchun, who knelt at the Shao residence gate? Didn't you notice that if Lianzhu were my child, then the Shao family should have two children now?"
Yu Yeqing gradually came to his senses. Seeing the person before him teasing him with a smile in her eyes, his breathing grew heavier. "You… why did you never tell me about this?"
Song Hemei said matter-of-factly, "You never asked, did you?"
Yu Yeqing's throat bobbed. "Then why did you have a threatened miscarriage at the inn outside Changzhou?"
Song Hemei's unvoiced guess now had an answer from his words.
She narrowed her eyes. "So the midwife you called for was indeed your doing, wasn't it? It was a fake pregnancy all along, just to give Lianzhu the status of a legal heir. I never intended to have someone experienced in childbirth come, so they wouldn't see that Lianzhu didn't look like a premature baby. The midwife you summoned nearly ruined everything."
Upon hearing this, Yu Yeqing stared at her with deep eyes, silent for a long time.
Song Hemei realized belatedly that perhaps her words had been a bit too ungrateful.
She was still angry that Yu Yeqing had come back and even brought a midwife, yet refused to see her. But upon careful thought, at that time, he thought she had ordered her brother to kill him. Setting aside old grudges temporarily was already a sign of his kindness.
She coughed lightly, squeezed his hand that was interlaced with hers, and raised a smile at him, trying to gloss things over. "But if I had really gone into premature labor in that place, you would have saved my life. I'll remember that kindness of yours… But you really don't understand me well enough. Since Shao Wen'ang deceived me, why would I risk my life to bear him a child?"
As soon as she finished speaking, she sensed a heat emanating from Yu Yeqing.
The next moment, the arm around her waist tightened, lifting her directly onto the desk.
Before she could react, his lips pressed fiercely against hers, capturing her lower lip and gently biting it.
It wasn't very painful, but the warning was unmistakable.
He was clearly angry, his voice so deep that her heart raced along with it. "Remember my kindness? Then how should you repay me?"
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