Chu Lian blanked out. She was in a daze as she looked at herself in the mirror, her mind drifting far away.

In the few days after their wedding, she could tell that He Sanlang had no kind feelings at all for her. In fact, his indifference might even be to the point of hatred, although she didn’t know where that hate had come from.

According to the novel, they had only seen each other a few times before the wedding, and they had been practically married blind.

As a main character, her looks were top-class, and she hadn’t run into any scandals before the wedding. Rightfully speaking, it was hard to expect much from two strangers who had suddenly found themselves married to each other. Any sort of feelings should be out of the question; however, there shouldn’t have been any animosity, either...

But as fate would have it, everything was different from what Chu Lian had expected. Not only was He Sanlang totally different from the novel’s male lead, he seemed to hate her quite a lot.

Chu Lian was fine with that, since she was currently the female lead and she could use her foreknowledge to her advantage. However, she also wasn’t the original ‘Chu Lian’, and she couldn’t possibly fall in love with Xiao Bojian.

She was part of House Jing’an now. After spending a few days in this family, she liked everyone except He Sanlang and she wanted to continue staying in this family. However, that meant that she had to consider the relationship between her and He Changdi.

Even if they couldn’t be a loving couple who grew old together, they could still stop fighting each other. They could become normal friends who wouldn’t hold grudges or interfere with each other’s business.

She could live happily in the Jing’an Estate as a layabout. If she was bored, she could cook some delicacies and earn some money. After two years, if He Sanlang wanted children, she could even help him find a concubine or two to birth some heirs to carry on his family line.

Thus, this bowl of snow fungus and lotus seed porridge was actually a white flag and a sign of peace from Chu Lian to He Sanlang.

The two of them had to live under the same roof. There were still two or three more years before disaster would strike the Jing’an Household. Before that, the two of them were still considered husband and wife after all. They couldn’t possibly continue hating each other and fighting everyday!

Even if he could go on with a life like that, she couldn’t.

Chu Lian had made such careful plans, but she hadn’t ever considered that He Changdi might have completely misread her actions and misunderstand entirely. Even now, He Sanlang was still sound asleep, thinking that he had stolen her breakfast!

“Third Young Madam, what would you like to eat this morning?” Mingyan came in to ask.

Chu Lian was pulled away from her thoughts. She glanced outside and saw that the sun had already risen; it was already getting hot so early in the morning. In this scorching summer, it was easy to become listless and lose appetite. Chu Lian’s thoughts churned in her head and she suddenly thought of the clear, cooling raindrop mochi.

Just as she was about to speak up, a maidservant ran in to report.

Senior Servant Gui finished doing up Chu Lian’s hair and furrowed her brows. She turned to look towards the rash maidservant and said, “What happened? What are you doing, forgetting your manners?”

The maidservant’s head lowered, but she didn’t dare to delay her report. “Third Young Madam, momo, Senior Servant Liu from Qingxi Hall sent someone over with a message. She asked Third Young Madam to head over to Qingxi Hall as soon as possible.”

Chu Lian frowned. A message from Senior Servant Liu?

Senior Servant Liu was one of Matriarch He’s most trusted servants. Her words were almost equivalent to Matriarch He’s. Something big must have happened since she had sent a message in such a hurry.

Chu Lian quickly tidied up her dress and brought Xiyan and Fuyan over to Qingxi Hall with her. Before stepping out of the courtyard, she recalled He Changdi and asked, “What about my husband? Is he still sleeping?”

Senior Servant Gui shook her head. “I sent a maidservant over to look. The study was already cleaned up and there was no one inside. Perhaps Young Master is in the main study in the outer court.”

Chu Lian nodded. “Momo, send someone over and ask him to head to Qingxi Hall too.”

“Understood.”

When Chu Lian reached Qingxi Hall, everyone else in the Jing’an Estate, excluding the bedridden Countess Jing’an and He Changdi, were already there. Even the rarely seen Second Young Master, He Changjue, was present.

The moment she entered the parlour, everyone’s gazes turned onto her. If she wasn’t reading them wrongly, those eyes were clearly filled with sympathy and guilt.

TL Note: Quick announcement! I realised that I had to change the terms for ‘Lady Liu’ and ‘Lady Zou’, due to the connotations of English titles. Lady xxx implies that xxx is their husband’s surname, ie. Lord Liu, Lady Liu. However, that’s not the case here. Countess Jing’an’s maiden surname is Liu, so she should be Madam Liu. She may also be referred to as Lady He. Madam Zou may also be referred to as Lady He, due to her husband also being a Lord He.

Lady Liu -> Madam Liu

Lady Zou -> Madam Zou