Chapter 33: Twilight Encounters

Chapter 33: Twilight Encounters

The sunlight slanted, as if it could illuminate every speck of dust in the air.

The rosy-orange glow of the sunset enveloped his tall and slender figure. As Liang Yun walked towards her, his robes and sash fluttered, like a figure from an ancient painting.

For a moment, Ying Shi thought Liang Yun was looking at her.

Ying Shi wasn't sure—was he looking at her, or at the swaddled baby in her arms?

His gaze was deep, elusive, and impossibly distant.

Ying Shi's expression shifted multiple times, and she suddenly felt her palms grow sweaty, the child in her arms growing heavier.

Liang Yun was quite tall. When he slightly bent down to take the crying child from Ying Shi's arms, his shoulders leaned towards her like the slope of a green mountain, and for a moment, the light in Ying Shi's eyes dimmed.

In an instant, dark clouds blotted out the moon.

Liang Yun was a walking paradox. At first glance, he seemed cold, rigid, and reserved, like the pristine snow atop a high mountain. Most people found him intimidating, something Ying Shi had noticed during the funeral procession.

Over time, Ying Shi gradually discovered that, at his core, he was gentle, tolerant, and mature.

He possessed an extraordinarily broad mind.

Liang Yun held the child with far more ease than she did.

They say children are the purest beings in the world, and this might indeed be true.

Ying Shi watched as the baby, who had been wailing moments before, gradually quieted in Liang Yun's arms.

"Oh..."

The child blinked his round, dark eyes, curiously gazing at the handsome face so close to him, babbling words that were incomprehensible to anyone.

Ying Shi looked at him, then at the child in his arms, and for a moment, she felt a strange, almost magical feeling.

His expression was serene and gentle, showing no trace of impatience at being hastily called to hold the child—instead, it was as if...

As if he were the child's long-lost, tender, and scholarly father.

"Oh! This girl is truly shameless! Knowing how handsome Duke is, she stops crying the moment he holds her!" Suddenly, a woman quipped.

The others chimed in.

The ladies turned to the matriarch and joked, "My son has held his own child many times, yet he's always awkward, like a statue when the child is in his arms! But Duke is different, young as he is, he's already a general and a minister, and even holding a child for the first time, he looks so natural!"

Ying Shi stole a glance at Liang Yun.

She caught a glimpse of his slight discomfort, his jaw tense.

Liang Yun holding the child was clearly just a gesture, a formality to please the matriarch and avoid her nagging.

The swaddled baby was in his arms for barely a moment. He paused to look at it briefly, and almost as soon as the child released Ying Shi's hair, Liang Yun handed the baby back to the young mistress of the Duke's residence.

Everything happened so fast that Ying Shi was stunned.

Ying Shi stood there, still dazed, when the young mistress of the Duke's residence apologetically reminded her, "My child is misbehaving, messing up your hair. Please go and tidy up."

Hearing this, Ying Shi touched her loosened hairpin and took the opportunity to excuse herself. She stood up and said, "I'll go and freshen up."

As dusk approached, it was getting late; the evening banquet was about to start.

Ying Shi needed to redo her hair and change her clothes, as the collar of her dress was soaked with the baby's drool, which embarrassed her greatly.

Worried she wouldn’t have time to return to her own courtyard to change, Ying Shi asked Xiang Yao, who was quick on her feet, to fetch clean clothes from the garden.

She and Chun Lan waited outside the main hall for quite a while. When Xiang Yao left, she was dressed simply and elegantly, but when she returned, she had rolled up her sleeves, showing a swollen red bump on the back of her hand, and tearfully complained to Ying Shi.

"It’s been raining every day lately, and the ponds and ditches are teeming with golden-winged insects—they’re everywhere and terrifying. I was careless and got bitten by one. What a nasty bug! It stings and itches like crazy!"

Chun Lan, seeing this, said, "It’s late summer—the worst time for venomous insects. Why did you take a shortcut near the ponds and ditches, where no one goes? Now look, who else would it bite but you?"

Ying Shi saw the redness on Xiang Yao’s fair hand spreading and said with concern, "I’ll get you some mint ointment later. It’ll soothe the itch and reduce the swelling—you’ll feel better in a couple of days."

As the three of them—master and servants—talked, they headed to a secluded guest room to change, but they nearly ran into Liang Zhi as he was leaving the guest room.

They quickly stepped aside to avoid each other.

"What’s Second Master doing here?" Ying Shi asked Liang Zhi with a look of surprise.

This area, separated from the front courtyard by a hanging flower gate, was already part of the inner courtyard. On an occasion like this, even the women seldom came here. Why would Second Master, a man, not be with the guests in the front hall but come here unnoticed? No wonder the old lady had sent people to search for him earlier—he was nowhere to be found in the front courtyard! Could it be... that Second Master had been here all along?

A hint of suspicion crossed Ying Shi’s face.

Liang Zhi glanced at his black boots and waved his hand. "A few people in the front courtyard were making a racket, trying to get me to drink. I couldn’t get drunk before the banquet even began, so I had Ling Ji and the others take over. I came here for some fresh air."

Ying Shi hid her true feelings and, recalling the earlier scene at the old lady’s courtyard, said, "The old lady was just asking about you—she’s been waiting for a while. Now that you’re here, you’d better hurry over."

Liang Zhi was surprised but nodded to Ying Shi. "I was held up. I’ll head over now."

With that, he headed to the old lady’s courtyard.

Ying Shi watched Liang Zhi walk away, her brows furrowing deeply.

She took three steps in two and walked straight into the room where Liang Zhi had just been resting, pulling open the light curtains on both sides. She saw that the doors and windows were tightly closed, and the thin quilt on the bed was neatly laid out.

Everywhere, it didn’t seem like there was anything to hide...

However, the further Ying Shi walked inside, the more unpleasant her expression became.

She searched around the room and saw that the incense burner was empty; clearly, no incense had been burned in this room.

That’s not right...

But when she met Liang Zhi at the door earlier, they were standing right in the wind, and a gust of wind blew towards Ying Shi, carrying a very distinct fragrance. The moment she entered this room, she also smelled the same fragrance that she had noticed on Liang Zhi.

Ying Shi had always had a keen sense of smell, and this fragrance made her feel very uncomfortable. She raised her sleeve to cover her mouth and asked Xiang Yao to open the window to let in some fresh air.

"Perhaps some ladies had burned incense here earlier," Chun Lan muttered.

Hearing this, Ying Shi became alert.

That fragrance was clearly not the usual scent of Second Sister-in-law. Not to mention anything else, just the fact that Xiao Qiongyu was now pregnant, she was so cautious and careful, not even daring to drink too much tea, how could she use heavy incense?

Ying Shi didn’t want to rashly suspect Liang Zhi based solely on her own suspicions, but now... there were clearly only two possibilities.

This scent couldn't have been something Liang Zhi brought back from outside last night—it must have been picked up either from the maids in the mansion or from the young ladies who arrived today.

Liang Zhi always seemed so dignified and upright—could he really lack any sense of propriety or shame? On his grandmother's birthday, he was fooling around with a woman in the backyard?

Ying Shi found it hard to believe.

If he really wanted to fool around, why not choose any other day? How foolish would he have to be to cause such a scene on his grandmother's birthday? But then—what else could it mean?

Seeing Ying Shi not changing her clothes but instead frowning and sniffing around, Chun Lan and Xiang Yao couldn't help but feel nervous.

"Madam, is something wrong?" Chun Lan asked.

Ying Shi suppressed her suspicions and shook her head: "It's nothing. Let's find another guest room to change."

After changing her clothes, before Ying Shi could ponder the matter further, the sound of gongs and drums echoed from the front yard.

The birthday banquet had started.

...

As the sun set, guests began to take their seats in the banquet hall.

The Liang mansion was ablaze with light and bustling with activity.

The flower hall was adorned with lanterns and colorful tassels, and the windows and doors were decorated with various palace lanterns. The garden was filled with exquisite silk flower lanterns, creating a dazzling and intricate scene. Everywhere, lights reflected off each other, and the air was filled with music.

The flower hall was set with over a dozen tables, the main hall with another dozen, and the women's area behind the inner ceremonial gate had seven or eight tables.

Ying Shi returned to the women's seating area, where Madame Wei, Lady Xiao, and two young ladies surrounded the old lady to present their birthday gifts. Ying Shi also had someone present the gift she had bought earlier.

After presenting the gift, she sat at the table idly for a while.

At that time, there were already many operas, dances, and even many official households who kept groups of dancers and musicians for entertainment during leisure times.

However, the old lady didn't care for such things, and on such occasions, Madame Wei and Lady Xiao would never bring them out for entertainment. Therefore, tonight, only a troupe had been invited for the old lady's birthday, along with a display of fireworks.

Ying Shi sat next to Xiao Qiongyu, and their table was mostly filled with cold dishes, which Xiao Qiongyu hadn't touched.

The acrobatic troupe that Madame Wei had hired at great expense was incredibly skilled. They flipped and flew around, balancing water jars and porcelain plates, performing tricks that dazzled the audience and drew loud cheers from the guests.

Ying Shi watched the acrobatics with half-hearted interest.

As she nibbled on a piece of melon, she heard Xiao Qiongyu instruct a maid to take clean clothes to Liang Zhi at the front.

Unfortunately, the place was packed, and Xiao Qiongyu's maid searched for Liang Zhi several times without success. After the fireworks, the men of the Liang household were supposed to come forward to write congratulatory couplets and pay respects to the old lady, so Xiao Qiongyu was understandably anxious.

"It's getting late, and Second Master is probably reeking of alcohol. If the old lady sees him like that, she'll scold me for not taking good care of him..." Xiao Qiongyu frowned, her tone somewhat gloomy.

Hearing this, Ying Shi quickly said, "My maid just saw Second Master in the front yard. Sister-in-law, just give his clothes to her, and she'll take them to the front yard for you."

Xiao Qiongyu had been married for two years and had already learned many household duties from Lady Xiao. While Ying Shi could still run around and chat, Xiao Qiongyu hadn't had a moment to spare.

Seeing Lady Xiao beckoning her over again, she could only hand Liang Zhi's clothes to Chun Lan and go over with her maid to listen to Lady Xiao's instructions.

Ying Shi promptly instructed Xiang Yao, reminding her: "Before the fireworks at the back mountain, hurry and find Second Master. Make sure he changes his clothes to avoid reeking of alcohol and disturbing the old lady, which would get his wife scolded by his mother!"

"Yes," Chun Lan said, her eyelids twitching.

...

At the first quarter of the Xu hour, the banquet was in full swing when suddenly a "bang" echoed through the dark sky, and a crimson spark exploded in the night.

The fireworks brought the evening banquet to its peak, with various instruments playing in turn, and the guests clinking glasses, creating a festive and lively atmosphere.

Seizing the moment of excitement, Ying Shi ran out. She, Chun Lan, and Xiang Yao went to the corridor and found and secured the most secluded spot early.

When the first firework rose, she quickly looked up, her clear eyes fixed on the dazzling fireworks rising from the back mountain.

The fireworks intertwined with the splendor of the banquet, causing her lips to curve into a gentle smile.

The bright moon cast its brilliant light over the night.

The fiery trees and silver flowers blended together, and the iron locks of the star bridge opened.

The lantern trees glowed with a thousand lights, and the flower flames blossomed in seven branches.

The bursts of fireworks illuminated the night, making it brighter than day.

Amidst the sea of fragrant dresses and hair ornaments, Liang Yun spotted her with a single glance.

In the soft glow of the dim lights, the girl with a smile on her lips looked utterly charming.

In that moment, despite the noisy surroundings and the constant bursts of fireworks in his ears, Liang Yun could clearly hear the beating of his own chest.

Ying Shi, across the sea of people, met Liang Yun's gaze. The night seemed to dull her senses, making her reactions slower.

She gazed into those deep eyes for a long time before remembering to smile at him and look away.

As soon as Ying Shi shifted her gaze, she heard the howls and wails from the back mountain—