After getting married, she spent every night alone in her room; when she asked for a divorce, he kne

Liu Yuansheng sat cross-legged on the cushion, patiently waiting for Xiao Jinghan to finish his meal. Then, she took out a handkerchief soaked in water and handed it to Xiao Jinghan so he could wipe his sweat.

Xiao Jinghan readily accepted the handkerchief, first wiping his face, then his hands, his expression one of complete ease. "Thanks." He handed the handkerchief back to Liu Yuansheng. "You two should go back now, it's too hot."

Liu Yuansheng pointed at Xiao Jinghan, meaning, "And you?"

"Me? I'll continue kneeling in the ancestral hall," Xiao Jinghan said nonchalantly. "Grandmother hasn't forgiven me yet."

Liu Yuansheng looked at Xiao Jinghan sympathetically for a moment, then stretched out her hand and pointed to the stools placed in the hall.

"A stool? Wait?"

Liu Yuansheng pointed again.

"Wait a minute?" Xiao Jinghan asked with a smile. "Wait for what?"

Liu Yuansheng patted her leg.

Xiao Jinghan pondered for a moment, "Wait for your knees? What? You want to kneel with me?"

Liu Yuansheng shook his head and pointed in the direction of Baohetang.

Xiao Jinghan turned around and glanced at him, then understood. "You're waiting for me to plead with the old lady?"

Liu Yuansheng nodded quickly.

Xiao Jinghan smiled. "Thanks, but please take good care of yourself. By the way, are you feeling better? Has Physician Xue come to check on your throat?"

Liu Yuansheng nodded, then shook her head.

Xiao Jinghan knew that Physician Xiao could not cure Liu Yuansheng's throat. He frowned slightly and said, "Don't worry about your throat. If Physician Xue can't do it, I'll ask another doctor to take a look at you."

Liu Yuansheng thought to herself that there was no rush, so she pointed to her neck and shook her head.

Then he changed his posture and continued kneeling on the mat.

Seeing that she showed no intention of getting up to leave, Xiao Jinghan asked in surprise, "Aren't you leaving yet?"

Liu Yuansheng did not react.

She really didn't plan to leave.

But staying in the ancestral hall, I didn't know what to do.

While hesitating, Xiao Jinghan suddenly said, "Since we have nothing else to do, how about this, I'll introduce you to my ancestors, okay?"

After saying that, Xiao Jinghan actually stretched out his hand and pointed to the memorial tablets, introducing them to Liu Yuansheng.

The two knelt in the ancestral hall and whispered to each other, unaware that outside the ancestral hall, the old lady who had secretly come to visit Xiao Jinghan was staring blankly at the memorial tablets.

Her eyes immediately reddened when she saw the memorial tablet of Xiao Jinghan's grandfather, Xiao Yuanding.

"Madam, please don't be sad. If your husband is watching from heaven, he would be sad to see you so distressed."

Granny Tian whispered to comfort the old lady, "Look how good the third young master and the third young mistress are! As the saying goes, forced marriages are never sweet. Rather than letting them dislike each other and harbor resentment, it's better to let nature take its course and wait for the day when things fall into place."

"I'm afraid I won't live to see that day," the old lady said, watching Liu Yuansheng's retreating figure. "You know, I've let that child's mother down."

"Everyone has their own destiny, and many things are beyond our control." Granny Tian helped the old lady's wheelchair up. "Old lady, let's go back. It wouldn't be good if they found out about us."

"Alright." The old lady looked deeply at Liu Yuansheng and Xiao Jinghan, wiped away a tear, and said, "Go back."

-

The next day, Liu Yuansheng went to Baohetang early in the morning to treat the old lady's leg ailment with the ointment she made herself.

After she left Baohe Hall, the old lady immediately ordered the end of Xiao Jinghan's punishment of kneeling.

July 15th, the Ghost Festival, has arrived in the blink of an eye.

Early in the morning, Xiao Xiuyan took Xiao Jingting, Xiao Jinghan and Xiao Jingzhuo to Daxiangguo Temple to participate in the Ullambana Festival and pray for the ancestors.

After returning to the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, the father and his three sons paid homage at the ancestral hall and burned paper money and paper offerings.

It was not advisable to go out tonight, but as night fell, Xiao Jinghan still ordered someone to drive a blue-curtained carriage and take Liu Yuansheng out of the mansion.

This was the benefit he promised to Liu Yuansheng.

The day the old lady ordered him to stop kneeling as punishment, he asked Liu Yuansheng how he wanted to repay her. Liu Yuansheng thought for a long time but couldn't come up with a solution. Ying'er, however, said that Liu Yuansheng wanted to eat at the banquet of Yanchunlou.

This is clearly a lie.

However, Xiao Jinghan did not expose Ying'er because Ying'er had made a great contribution to bringing him food and deserved to be rewarded.

Xiao Jinghan agreed, and Liu Yuansheng nodded as well. But Liu Yuansheng did not expect that Xiao Jinghan would keep his promise on the Ghost Festival.

Upon arriving at Yanchunlou, Ying'er, whose scheme had succeeded, ate with great relish, while Liu Yuansheng had little appetite and kept looking out the window toward the river, where many people were releasing lotus boats to commemorate their deceased loved ones.

She was so engrossed in watching that she didn't even notice Xiao Jinghan putting down his chopsticks and bringing his wine glass closer.

"What are you looking at?"

A faint aroma of wine enveloped Liu Yuansheng, bringing her back to her senses. She looked at Xiao Jinghan beside her.

Xiao Jinghan smiled faintly, his eyes carrying a hint of intoxication and a sorrow that he wanted to express but couldn't.

Liu Yuansheng knew that Xiao Jinghan was in a bad mood.

Today is July 15th, the anniversary of his mother's death.

Her mother-in-law, whom she had never met, the wife of the Duke of Zhenguo, chose to drown herself in a lake on the Ghost Festival several years ago.

After that, every Ghost Festival, Xiao Jinghan would have a big fight with his father because the Duchess of Zhenguo committed suicide after learning that Xiao Xiuyan had secretly arranged for a mistress outside the home and that the mistress was pregnant.

How could Xiao Jinghan not hate his own father for driving his mother to her death because of a mistress?

He had a huge argument with Xiao Xiuyan, and I heard that they even kicked down one of the doors of the ancestral hall. Fortunately, the old lady appeared in time and stopped the father and son from causing a scene in the ancestral hall.

Liu Yuansheng could understand Xiao Jinghan's feelings, and even felt that Xiao Jinghan was more sad than her, because he had been loved and cared for by his mother, unlike her, who had never experienced a day of maternal love.

A sense of melancholy, like a merciless hand, dragged her into endless darkness. She took a deep breath, remembering that Xiao Jinghan was still beside her, and tried to cheer herself up. She raised her arm, pointed to the Zhenliu River in the distance, and then nodded her head.

Xiao Jinghan understood, "You want to release river lanterns on the Zhenliu River, right?"

Liu Yuansheng nodded.

"Okay, I'll take you there."

Xiao Jinghan finished his drink, glanced at Ying'er who was still enjoying her meal, and asked, "Have you finished eating?"

Upon hearing this, Ying'er hurriedly stuffed the chicken wing in her hand into her mouth, wiped the grease off, and said, "I'm done!"

"Okay, let's go."

Xiao Jinghan put down his wine cup and was about to leave with Liu Yuansheng when Liang Yuheng and Feng Liangcai appeared outside the private room. "Brother Xiao? What a coincidence! You're also at Yanchun Tower."

"You two are here too?" Xiao Jinghan greeted them with a smile. "Where's Yan Ji?"

"Yan Ji had family matters to attend to and did not come out."

As they talked, they glanced into the private room and were overjoyed to see Liu Yuansheng there as well.

"Sister-in-law is here too! Hello, sister-in-law!" Liang Yuheng greeted Liu Yuansheng with a smile and a cupped-hand salute.

"Sister-in-law, I am Feng Liangcai." Feng Liangcai introduced himself to Liu Yuansheng warmly. "I introduced myself to you last time we met, but it has been so long that you have probably forgotten, so I will introduce myself again."

Liu Yuansheng looked at the two of them and smiled.

Her smile immediately made Feng Liangcai blush. He looked around nervously, scratching his head. Xiao Jinghan glared at him and said to Liu Yuansheng beside her, "I'm going to say a few words to them. You wait for me outside."

Liu Yuansheng nodded, bowed slightly to the two of them, and left with Ying'er.

"Take care, sister-in-law!"

"Sister-in-law, watch your step!"

Feng Liangcai and Liang Yuheng chased after her, watching the white figure gradually disappear into the distance, and sighed, "Sister-in-law has such a good temperament."

Liang Yuheng: "Yes, this is probably what celestial fairies look like."

Xiao Jinghan kicked the two of them away.

He glared at the two men, "Get your eyes shut and your drool out! Otherwise, I'll gouge your eyes out!"