Chapter 15

Chapter 15

He didn't want to get involved, but the murmurs from the next room didn't stop and even seemed to intensify.

Eventually, it sounded like she was gritting her teeth, as if she were drowning, gradually surrendering to the struggle.

Feeling uneasy, Liang Yun finally got up to wake her.

Bathed in the pale moonlight streaming through the window, he saw tears cascading down her cheeks, each one slipping into her jet-black hair.

His attempts to wake her were in vain.

In her dream, she seemed to be grappling with something deeply distressing. She was terrified, her breathing heavy and labored.

Her lips quivered with fear.

Abruptly, she called out her brother's name.

Liang Ji, Liang Ji——

……

When Ying Shi jolted awake in shock, she suddenly noticed a shadowy figure standing silently close to her bedside.

The skeleton from her dream seemed to spring to life, lunging at her with menacing claws.

Liang Yun saw her eyes snap open, filled with panic. He seemed to be swept up in her emotions, instinctively taking a step back.

Ying Shi regained her composure and, recognizing him, let out a sigh of relief.

She hastily propped herself up on the edge of the bed, gradually sitting upright, smoothing the crumpled soft skirt back over her knees.

In her flustered state, she tried to press down the hem of her skirt but inadvertently exposed her bare feet.

Her feet were petite, the tops pale, the tips a soft pink, resembling a tender lotus root freshly plucked in summer. Her ankles were visibly swollen.

In her groggy state, Ying Shi was oblivious to the impropriety of being alone with a man late at night.

Liang Yun was the first to react, his brow furrowing as he silently stepped back.

Though awake, Ying Shi couldn't shake the lingering emotions from her dream. She had wept profusely, and now she couldn't stop sobbing, her nose seemingly blocked as she sniffled repeatedly.

Her speech was soft, reminiscent of the sticky rice cake that clings to your teeth.

"Did I disturb you with my sleep-talking, brother?"

Liang Yun's gaze fell on his boots, "No."

He had always been a light sleeper, a habit ingrained over the years, so it wasn't her fault.

"Are you feeling unwell?" Liang Yun asked her.

Ying Shi, hearing his cold and indifferent tone, shook her head somewhat confusedly.

She didn't want to talk about the nightmares she had just experienced, which were secrets she intended to keep forever.

"It was just a nightmare—"

As soon as she finished, Liang Yun said, "How is your foot?" Ying Shi was stunned, following his words to look at her leg—and saw, oh, her ankle was swollen thick!

In the murky darkness of the night, the unknown becomes even more frightening.

Ying Shi, realizing too late, said with lingering fear, "Brother, my foot seems to be in bad shape..."

Before she could finish, Liang Yun had already turned and strode out.

Dry branches were tossed into the embers, and soon, a faint flame flickered in the darkness.

In the quiet of the room, Liang Yun returned, holding the flame.

His face seemed frost-covered, his deep, prominent brow bone cold and solemn in the flickering light.

Liang Yun's shadow loomed like a beast in the darkness, gradually closing in until it completely engulfed the girl's petite figure.

The faint flame drew them closer, merging their shadows into one.

As he approached, Ying Shi felt an uncontrollable surge of fear and dread. She held her breath, leaning back bit by bit, trying to escape the shadow's grasp.

"I know a bit about medicine. If you're worried, I can cover my eyes."

Though frightened, Ying Shi didn't hesitate and quickly said, "It's fine. In urgent situations, we must act accordingly. Brother, go ahead."

Between a lame leg and her reputation, Ying Shi naturally knew which to choose, especially since it was just the two of them that day. If neither spoke, no one would know.

After speaking, Ying Shi lifted her skirt, exposing her entire foot.

Beneath the skirt was a section of her calf, pale as porcelain, glowing faintly in the dim light.

Her legs were slender and long, like jade bamboo, but the swollen redness around her ankle stood out.

Liang Yun's brow furrowed slightly, his gaze fixed solely on her injured ankle.

Though she knew he was examining her injury, his intense gaze made Ying Shi feel embarrassed.

She shyly curled her toes as Liang Yun took a silk handkerchief from his sleeve and placed it over her ankle, his cool palm following.

His fingertips pressed on the meridians at both ends of her ankle, moving down along the covered area.

Though he seemed gentle, only Ying Shi knew the strength in his hands.

His hand felt like an iron clamp, gripping her flesh, bringing tears to Ying Shi's eyes from the pain.

Ying Shi bit her lip hard, nearly drawing blood, and finally gasped softly in pain.

"Ah..." she gasped, pitifully trying to pull her ankle back.

Unexpectedly, Liang Yun held on tightly, and Ying Shi couldn't pull away.

Ying Shi's voice trembled, "Please, it hurts..."

He didn't let go, pressing on, perhaps half coaxing, half comforting her, "Tomorrow, once we leave the mountain, I'll find a doctor for you. Your injury is likely from the cold water at night, but it's nothing serious."

Ying Shi remembered his words from earlier, saying they would be out in a day.

But now? They hadn't even reached the foot of the mountain—

Now, her foot was swollen to such an extent, and every movement caused intense pain. Who knew if this was just another lie to comfort her?

The recent nightmare had consumed all her thoughts, and Ying Shi couldn’t calm down. She couldn’t help but imagine the worst-case scenario.

Could Liang Yun have been deceiving her all along? If her injury wasn’t treated promptly, would her foot become permanently disabled?

She had only just regained her health, but before she could do anything else, she was summoned to attend the funeral procession, and then she faced a series of misfortunes along the way! It all took her by surprise!

Now, perhaps she was even worse off than in her previous life.

At least in her previous life, her legs and feet were intact!

In this life, when Liang Ji returned with his cherished wife and children, she was powerless to do anything about it, and instead, she became a pitiful invalid in everyone’s eyes...

The more Ying Shi dwelled on it, the more pain and fear consumed her. The pent-up negative emotions and relentless nightmares finally caused her emotions to overflow uncontrollably.

In the dim candlelight, a faint glimmer appeared.

Liang Yun looked up and saw the person before him, who had just stopped crying, now with tears welling up again.

In the dim light, he could even detect the saltiness of her tears.

Liang Yun paused, thinking he had pressed too hard and hurt her, so he released his grip entirely.

"Once the bruise fades, it’ll be fine. See if it still hurts?"

But Ying Shi simply hung her head, silently weeping and ignoring him.

For the first time, Liang Yun faced someone who didn’t respond to his questions and only wept.

A lady from a noble family, now a married woman, shouldn’t be as emotionally unstable as a child, crying at the drop of a hat and not answering questions, right?

He was her brother-in-law, and there was a hierarchy of respect to uphold. Her failure to answer his questions was extremely disrespectful.

Liang Yun felt a rare flicker of anger. But then, he tentatively understood why she was acting this way—

She had just whispered her brother’s name in her dream...

Perhaps she had dreamed of Shun Gong and was now overwhelmed with sorrow and grief?

She had lost her husband young, and now her temperament was simply more unpredictable. How could he blame her for that?

Sure enough, in the silence, Liang Yun suddenly saw the girl raise her head, her wet gaze directly meeting his eyes.

She sniffled, her dark eyes reflecting the flickering firelight: "Brother, do you know how much I used to like Liang Ji?"

As she tilted her chin up, her waterfall-like black hair slid along her rosy cheeks to her snow-white neck, her thick lashes adorned with glistening teardrops, trembling with each blink.

"I thought I was keeping my marriage vows, keeping my promise to marry my beloved, even if it was just a corpse... even if people secretly mocked me, I didn’t care."

At least she was a person of her word.

At least, when they were young, Liang Ji was very, very good to her.

Liang’s father and Ying Shi’s father were close friends, and when Liang’s father was alive, he took great care of Ying Shi. The Liang family fulfilled this marriage promise, which seemed mismatched to outsiders.

Ying Shi thought she should be a person true to her conscience. How could she remarry after Liang Ji’s death?

"He swore to me before he left, saying he would only marry me in this lifetime, and asked me to wait for him. He said he would return victorious and marry me with a grand ceremony. What does it all mean now? What does it mean? I often think at night that I might as well be dead, it would be cleaner, and I wouldn’t feel sad or afraid of being humiliated..."

In both lifetimes, she never understood why something that started so sweetly could suddenly take such a sharp turn for the worse.

Maybe the heavens couldn’t stand to see her happy.

Liang Yun wanted to tell her to stop dwelling on the past, but he wasn’t good at comforting people, so he just stood there, stiff and expressionless.

“Sister-in-law, try to hold back your grief.” After much thought, the inarticulate Liang Yun could only manage this sentence.

“Shun Gong is gone. You shouldn’t let yourself get lost in grief. From now on, it’s important that you and mother work together to keep the third branch strong.”

Just as the sadness was reaching its peak, Ying Shi was about to cry again, ready to pour out all her frustrations and tell Liang Yun about everything she’d sacrificed.

She wanted him to understand how much the Liang family owed her, so he could make up for his brother’s mistakes.

But who could’ve guessed that Liang Yun’s insensitive words would ruin the mood Ying Shi had built up?

What does he mean—‘it’s crucial that you and mother support the third branch together’?

Ying Shi’s sobs caught in her throat, and she stopped crying.

“How am I supposed to keep the third branch together? Mother doesn’t even like me…” She clenched her teeth, deliberately provoking him.

Liang Yun, missing her sarcasm, spoke like he was lecturing a child: “If you’re sincere with mother, she’ll eventually be sincere with you too.”

In the darkness, Ying Shi took a deep breath, trying to calm herself.

They say Liang Yun had endured a lot under Wei’s harsh treatment when he was younger.

And now he’s talking about reconciliation? Guess he really does have a big heart!

Too bad she wasn’t like him—not some noble man with a heart that big!

Maybe sensing Ying Shi’s anger, Liang Yun added, “Grandmother’s fair. If you’re treated unfairly, go to her.”

Ying Shi stayed quiet, then asked, “Grandmother’s not well. I can’t bother her with this all the time, can I?”

Liang Yun fell silent again.

Every conversation with Ying Shi seemed to make him think hard.

“Don’t worry. Now that Shun Gong’s gone, I’ll look after you for him.”

In the darkness, Liang Yun’s voice was quiet but heavy with meaning.

“Since you married Shun Gong, to me, you’re like… a sister.”