When the two arrived at Ziteng Garden, Li Suwan was still unconscious. Lady Li sat by the bedside with a worried expression and quickly said upon seeing Li Cen, “Master is here.”
Li Cen responded with a grunt, glancing at Li Suwan, and asked, “Has she not woken up yet?”
“Indeed,��� Lady Li said, full of concern. “I don’t know what happened; she fainted, and it’s truly distressing.”
Li Zhizhi, taking the opportunity, stepped forward with a guilty look and softly said, “It’s all my fault. I accidentally broke sister’s things…”
“What does that have to do with you?” Li Cen waved his hand and continued, “Suwan isn’t the type to get upset over a pen holder. How could she faint because of that?”
Li Zhizhi looked at Li Suwan lying on the bed, her eyelashes trembling almost imperceptibly. Her lips slightly curved, but she quickly regained her composure, saying, “Sister has woken up! Her eyes blinked.”
Upon hearing this, Li Suwan couldn’t pretend to be unconscious any longer. She slowly opened her eyes, feigned a dazed look, and called out, “Mother, brother…”
Li Zhizhi kindly reminded her, “Brother hasn’t come yet; you were just a bit confused, sister.”
Li Suwan felt like she was going to vomit blood from holding back her emotions. Her face turned extremely unpleasant, and Li Zhizhi quickly said, “It seems like sister isn’t feeling well again. Where is the doctor?”
Li Cen, looking pleased, said to Lady Li, “Zhizhi is indeed a good child. Look at how much she cares for Suwan.”
Li Suwan gritted her teeth and forced herself to say, “I’m fine…”
But Li Zhizhi didn’t care whether she was fine or not. She stepped forward, held her hand, and earnestly said, “Sister, it was all my fault. I accidentally broke your things, causing you to faint. If you have any grievances, just scold or hit me. I won’t say a word.”
Her palm was slightly cold, and Li Suwan felt like she had been bitten by a snake, making her shudder for a moment. She almost pushed her away, but with Li Cen and Lady Li present, she had to endure the chill and replied, “I… I don’t blame you.”
“Really?” Li Zhizhi widened her eyes, her clear gaze under the candlelight filled with surprise and joy. She asked, “Sister, have you truly forgiven me?”
Li Suwan wanted to tear apart that beautiful face, but reason told her not to. She forced a smile and said, “Yes, I forgive you.”
After a long ordeal, peace finally settled in the late hours of the night. Everyone dispersed, and Li Cen, who had to attend the early morning court session the next day, returned to the main courtyard. Passing by the back garden, he saw Old Wang carrying something hurriedly towards him and promptly asked, “What do you have in your hand?”
Old Wang explained, “In response to Master, it’s ginger soup.”
Li Cen asked with some surprise, “Who is the drink for?”
“It’s for the young lady,” Wang Pozi hurriedly replied, “Early this morning, the young lady woke up with a fever.”
Upon hearing this, Li Cen was taken aback, “If she’s sick, why didn’t she call for a doctor?”
Wang Pozi looked up at him and said, “I advised her, but the young lady refused. She said it’s just a minor illness and that ginger soup will make her feel better. She didn’t want to trouble the master and madam, fearing it would cause inconvenience for you all.”
Thinking of Li Zhizhi from dinner until just now, Li Cen realized she had shown no signs of being unwell or in any discomfort. Was she also trying to conceal her illness?
Wang Pozi sighed and said, “Miss Xiaoxiao is such a sensible child.”
Li Cen agreed, remembering Li Suwan’s obstinate and troublesome behavior. Comparing the two, Li Zhizhi seemed much better. His heart unintentionally leaned more towards her, and he nodded, saying, “Zhizhi is a good child.”
…
After a few more days, Li Suwan’s condition worsened. Rumors began to circulate within the household that the new Miss was incompatible with Li Suwan, and their destinies clashed, which meant Li Suwan would eventually be harmed by this clash.
As if following a pattern from a previous life, Li Zhizhi had anticipated this. However, Wang Pozi was furious and scolded, “This is outrageous! What incompatibility? Why not say that some people just have unfortunate destinies and cannot bear that much happiness? Blaming it on destiny clashes! Nonsense! They’ve brought this upon themselves and now they blame it on the rightful heir. Shameless!”
She cursed and threw water from a basin down the stairs, trying to dispel bad luck.
Two new maidservants stood nearby, afraid to make a sound, for fear of drawing the wrath of the old lady. At that moment, the window opened, and Li Zhizhi stood there, casually combing her hair and smiling. She said to them, “Why are you all standing there in a daze? Hurry and calm Grandma down. Prepare some tea to quench her thirst.”
One clever maid named Yulan went forward and took the basin from Wang Pozi’s hand, saying, “Grandma, please calm down. It’s not worth arguing with those gossipmongers.”
Another maid named Haitang quickly brought out a cup of tea. Li Zhizhi smiled and persuaded, “Grandma, have some tea.”
Wang Pozi held the tea and couldn’t help but cry and laugh, “Little Miss isn’t angry at all.”
“What’s the use of getting angry?” Li Zhizhi put down the wooden comb and sighed lightly, “Everything is beyond my control.”
She wasn’t that she wasn’t angry, but she had become somewhat numb to it all because it had always been this way. She had long grown accustomed to everyone valuing Li Suyun more than her.
…
Li Cen hired a tutor for Li Zhizhi, and she progressed rapidly in her studies. The tutor was very impressed with her, praising her several times and saying that he rarely encountered such a smart student.
At first, Li Cen was skeptical and tested Li Zhizhi’s knowledge. He found that although she was learning basic subjects, she could remember everything he taught without mistakes or omissions. Li Cen never expected that this girl who grew up in the countryside had such talent. His fondness for her grew even stronger.
On this day, as usual, he finished checking Li Zhizhi’s schoolwork when he suddenly heard Lai Zhizhi say, “Father, please send me back to the countryside.”
Li Cen was very surprised and asked, “Why are you suddenly saying such a thing?”
Li Zhizhi lowered her eyes, looking somewhat sad, and replied, “When I returned to the mansion, my elder sister’s health deteriorated. It must be because my destiny clashed with hers and harmed her. So, please, father, send me away.”
“Nonsense!” Li Cen said with a wry smile. “Who told you such absurd things?”
Li Zhizhi murmured softly, “They all say so…”
“They?” Li Cen asked sharply, “Who are these people?”
Li Zhizhi hurriedly shook her head, and no matter how much Li Cen pressed for answers, she refused to say anything more, only insisting on going back to the countryside.
Seeing her like this, Li Cen vaguely guessed what was going on and couldn’t help feeling a bit angry. Even though he didn’t particularly like this daughter at first, after spending these days together, he had become somewhat satisfied with Li Zhizhi. This satisfaction had been growing day by day.
Li Cen hadn’t heard the rumors inside the house, but he could guess a thing or two. Although he didn’t meddle in the affairs of the inner house, he would never allow malicious rumors to spread without taking action.
He comforted Li Zhizhi, “Elder sister has always been frail. She’s just ill, and she’ll recover after some time. What does it have to do with you? As for the clashing of destinies, it’s even more absurd. Don’t bother yourself with these baseless claims; I will handle it.”
Just then, Lai Xingzhi entered from outside, his expression not very pleased, especially when he saw Lai Zhizhi. His eyebrows furrowed tightly, and his eyes showed a hint of hostility. He asked without politeness, “What did you say to Wan’er?”
This question seemed to come out of nowhere, and Lai Zhizhi was momentarily unable to react, showing a bewildered expression. However, she saw Lai Xingzhi’s face full of disgust as he said, “So there really are people like you in this world—deceptive and untrustworthy, truly shameless!”
Still feeling somewhat confused, Lai Zhizhi hesitated and asked, “Brother, are you talking about—”
Lai Xingzhi interrupted her, displeased, saying, “Don’t call me brother!”
Lai Zhizhi didn’t argue with him and instead looked at Lai Cen, saying, “I presume… the Eldest Young Master has some misunderstanding about me.”
Lai Cen couldn’t help but furrow his brows and asked, “You came in with such hostility; how did Zhizhi offend you?”
Li Xingzhi pursed his lips and explained to his father, “I went to see Wan’er just now and found her packing up her things, planning to move out of Ziteng Court and vacate her spot for someone else.”
When he mentioned the last three words, there was a hint of gritted teeth as he stared at Li Zhizhi and said, “She clearly said with her own mouth before that she wouldn’t compete with Wan’er for that courtyard. Now she’s going back on her word, making Wan’er move out while she’s still ill. Don’t you know she hasn’t fully recovered yet? How can you be so selfish?”
It turned out he came to defend Li Suwan. Li Zhizhi found it somewhat amusing, but she didn’t show it. She merely lowered her eyes slightly, and her long eyelashes trembled as if she were quite distressed. She stammered, “I-I didn’t…”
“Still won’t admit it!” Li Xingzhi, seemingly enraged, pointed at her and said, “You just can’t get along with Wan’er. If you dislike her so much, why did you come back here? Are you here just for the benefits of the Li family?”
“That’s enough!” Li Cen slammed the table and scolded, “You’re becoming more and more unreasonable!”
Li Xingzhi finally fell silent, and Li Cen’s brows furrowed tightly. “Didn’t I tell you to focus on your studies and not meddle in other matters? Why did they come to you again?”
Li Xingzhi defended himself, saying, “Wan’er is my sister, and I’m just concerned about her…”
Li Cen retorted displeasedly, “Just because you’re concerned about her, does that give you the right to slander others indiscriminately?”
Li Xingzhi was momentarily taken aback. “What slander?”
Upon saying this, he subconsciously glanced at Li Zhizhi. Li Cen replied, “The other day, I asked Zhizhi if she wanted to move to Ziteng Court. The courtyard is spacious enough for two people, and having Wan’er as a companion would be good for her. However, Zhizhi didn’t agree and said Wan’er was sick and needed rest, and that she was fine living in Shuyue Chamber. So, I dropped the matter. Tell me, who told you that Zhizhi wanted to move to Ziteng Court?”
Li Xingzhi opened his mouth but was speechless. Recently, he heard that Wan’er’s condition had worsened, so he took the opportunity to visit Ziteng Court today and saw Wan’er packing her things. When he asked, the servants all eagerly told him that Wan’er was moving out to make space for Li Zhizhi.
Upon hearing this, how could Li Xingzhi endure it? He immediately rushed over in a fit of anger, but he never expected that it would be a misunderstanding.
Li Xingzhi, for the first time, was at a loss for words. “I…”
Before he could finish, Li Zhizhi suddenly spoke up, interrupting, “Father, I just remembered that there’s something else I need to write. I’ll go back first and not disturb you and Eldest Brother.”
Anyone could tell that it was a feeble excuse, but Li Cen changed to a gentler tone and said, “Sure, you may go.”
Li Zhizhi didn’t look at Li Xingzhi and left quietly. Watching her slender figure disappear at the doorway, for some reason, Li Xingzhi couldn’t help but recall that she had just addressed him as “Eldest Brother” instead of “Brother.”