14 Refined Lady Sister-in-Law × Beautiful and Delicate Patient 14

After the Cold Clothes Festival came the Lower Yuan Festival.

As an ordinary office worker in the 21st century, Xin Yi had never truly experienced such an ancient festival. The ones she heard of most often were the Mid-Autumn Festival and New Year's Eve, and if not those, then Valentine's Day and Christmas.

Before this, she hadn't even really heard of the Lower Yuan Festival—she only knew that on the night of the Zhongyuan Festival, it was best to stay home and not go out.

A Ying was happily braiding her hair and said, "Tonight there’s a family banquet at the mansion. The Marquis will even invite an opera troupe to perform excerpts. It’s bound to be lively."

"Madam, this pink hairpin you wear suits you so well; it makes you look even more radiant. Not only will the Marquis be unable to take his eyes off you, even I find it delightful to look at," she added.

Xin Yi’s mind was elsewhere; she caught only half of what was said and replied perfunctorily at the end.

She didn’t care about the banquet at all.

What troubled her most was that she hadn’t seen Shen Rujie for several days straight.

She had thought that with an 80% goodwill baseline, their relationship wouldn’t exactly leap forward, but at least it should be warmer than before.

Yet, it seemed he was deliberately avoiding her. She dressed carefully every day and braved rain or shine to pretend to read in the pavilion, but she never even caught sight of him.

Frustrated, Xin Yi wanted to storm up to him and grab his collar, demanding, "What’s your problem? I’m not your favorite little treasure anymore, am I?"

"Don’t do things if you can’t face the consequences. If you have the guts, do again what you did to me in your dreams!"

Of course, she only dared think this in her mind. If she really did that, her current image would be completely shattered.

Shen Rujie would probably think she was possessed by a ghost, babbling nonsense.

Xin Yi sighed deeply.

The system comforted her, “Host, don’t be too impatient. You have to give him some time to adjust. After all, you just—cough—did those things in the dream; he might be too embarrassed to face you.”

Xin Yi was even more annoyed. She had prepared herself, so what was there to be embarrassed about?

All those early mornings and late nights spent dressing up were wasted, like throwing seductive glances to a blind man.

What she didn’t know was that someone had seen her and silently watched for several days.

But that person was not Shen Rujie—it was Shen Gui.

For some unknown reason, he found himself uncontrollably thinking about her.

At first, it was once or twice; then three or five times; then more and more frequently.

Eventually, he realized with complexity that he thought of Xin Yi more often than he did of Zheng Wu recently.

He felt a vague resistance in his heart, but his feet were honest, unconsciously leading him to places where she was.

Every time, when he came to his senses, he would find he had been silently watching her for quite a while.

This belated awareness unsettled him.

It also planted a strange resentment in his heart when he noticed Xin Yi was getting a bit close to his younger half-brother.

Especially on this day, when the entire Marquis Mansion was preparing for the evening banquet.

---

He stepped out of the study and passed through the courtyard, where he saw a servant carrying a large wooden box.

The shopkeeper of the cloth store had personally delivered several pieces of clothing made from the finest materials, instructing to hand them carefully to the Second Young Master Shen of the noble household.

Shen Gui accepted the box with a dark expression, lowered his eyes to open it, and found a silver note with Xin Yi’s name signed on it.

His face grew even darker, and the knuckles gripping the edge of the box turned white with anger.

Though the servant didn’t understand the situation, he was perceptive enough to notice the Marquis’s displeasure.

Seeing his expression sour, the servant immediately knelt down, “Master… I think the shopkeeper must have been mistaken; these clothes may not be for the Second Young Master! Please don’t be angry, Master. I will return them to the shopkeeper at once and tell him not to send such gifts again!”

Shen Gui said nothing, only crumpling and tearing the silver note with a cold sneer in his voice, “No need to send them back. Give these clothes to the beggars on the street. Winter is coming soon; at least let them have some warm coats.”

---

The weather had grown cold recently, and night fell quickly after the hour of the dog.

Fortunately, the mansion was lit with palace lanterns everywhere, casting a warm and inviting glow.

Xin Yi was supported by A Ying as she arrived at the pavilion and took a seat at the banquet.

Her seat was beside Shen Gui, with Shen Qianqian and several former concubines of the old Marquis nearby.

Xin Yi glanced around but saw no sign of Shen Rujie.

The system teased, “Host, don’t bother looking. For a grand and lively family banquet like this, Shen Rujie isn’t qualified to attend. No matter what reunion festival it is, he’s always excluded.”

So every year during this time, he stayed alone in the courtyard, celebrating by himself and eating by himself.

Perhaps, for him, the festival itself held no meaning—he neither received more care nor kindness on that day, nor did anything worth celebrating happen.

Although Xin Yi had guessed this, the moment still felt bittersweet.

Shen Rujie’s life seemed even worse than she had imagined.

Though it was his own home, he lived as a dependent.

He had brothers, but no true siblings; he had a place to live, but no one who genuinely cared for or accepted him.

By the shimmering lakeside embankment, the palace lanterns glowed warmly.

The banquet soon began, and the opera excerpts were performed. Everyone seemed quite happy.

Only Xin Yi felt disinterested.

The dishes before her did not suit her taste, and she did not enjoy the opera.

After a short while, weariness overcame her.

Shen Gui was completely different. He had initially planned to stay briefly, then leave for the manor in the outskirts of the capital to see Zheng Wu.

Unexpectedly, when he caught sight of the delicate profile beside him, slightly bowed, he could not bring himself to rise. Instead, he added two more opera acts and settled in to watch.

Xin Yi was unaware of his thoughts; her mind was preoccupied with other matters.

---

After enduring for about half an hour, she weakly clutched her chest and leaned on A Ying, softly saying she felt unwell and wanted to rest in the courtyard.

Shen Gui, naturally, did not force her to stay and frowned as he watched her be supported away by the maid.

Only after the banquet fully ended did he rise and head toward Xin Yi’s separate quarters, intending to check if she was seriously ill.

Unexpectedly, just as he stepped into the yard, a young maid quickly blocked his way.

The maid was poor at lying and, under his questioning, stammered with obvious panic, “Madam… she has already gone to rest.”

Shen Gui’s suspicion grew; his tone hardened, “It doesn’t matter if she’s resting. I just want to take a quick look. I won’t disturb her.”

But before he finished speaking, the maid, now pale as death, knelt with a thud and pleaded, “I deserve to die. Please forgive me, Master. Madam… she is not in her room.”

“Just now, Madam said she felt sorry seeing the Second Young Master so lonely and wanted to bring him some cakes and sweet porridge. But it’s only to thank the Second Young Master for seeking medicine in Youzhou. Please Master, don’t be angry with Madam!”

---

The moon was bright, and the wind rustled through the bamboo.

Xin Yi carried a small colored glass lantern as she passed through the dim courtyard and arrived at Shen Rujie’s door.

Seeing the light on inside, she breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, someone was there; otherwise, she would have wasted her excuse to slip away from the banquet. Smiling gently, she pushed open the door.

Inside, the young man seemed to have heard her footsteps long ago. When he turned and saw her face, he was not very surprised but was slightly stunned for a brief moment, perhaps two or three seconds.

“Sister-in-law… why have you come?”

Xin Yi placed the glass lantern and food box on the table, naturally moving closer to him, then noticed the damp ends of his jet-black hair and the collar of his inner garment soaked with moisture.

She reached out to touch his cheek and then his hand—indeed, they were cold.

He seemed to have just taken a cold bath.

At her approach, his raven-black eyelashes fluttered slightly.

The moment she touched him, he involuntarily squinted his phoenix-like eyes and shuddered, pressing his pale thin lips tightly together.

Xin Yi had originally wanted to say, “I came to bring you some cakes.”

But when she looked into the young man’s handsome face, full of nervousness and color, her thoughts changed.

The words twisted on her tongue and became, “Second Young Master, let’s leave the mansion.”

She lifted her lovely face and smiled gently at him, “You take me out of the mansion, and we’ll go see the lanterns of the Lower Yuan Festival.”