"Miss."
"Hmm?"
"Donât look at the current gap between the teacher and Senior Zhu, but... they werenât always like this." Xu Changâan thought about the paintings Li Zhibai had shown him.
In the past, Zhu Tongjun was as cold and distant as a celestial woman, her face never adorned with anything superfluous.
In contrast, Li Zhibai as a young lady from a noble family always remembered to adorn herself.
So, itâs hard to say who is stronger.
Xu Changâan intended to say this, but before he could speak, Yun Qian interrupted him.
"The past? Are you talking about bygone matters?" Yun Qian shook her head, looked seriously at the young man in front of her, and said calmly, "The past doesnât matter."
"Eh?" Xu Changâan instinctively felt something was off about Yun Qianâs seriousness, but couldnât pinpoint what it was, so he hesitated slightly.
Yun Qian closed her rouge box.
If at this moment, she were to see her husband from the past, what kind of scene would it be?
She had witnessed the vicissitudes of life and the passing of time... few things could annoy her now.
No matter in what form the men of the past appeared, even if only in dreams, if such a thing truly occurred, Miss Yun would be annoyed, and in her anger, who knows what she might do.
The first thing, perhaps, would be to completely erase him before that "previous man" could even approach or see her.
Is this heartless?
No.
Because now, she is a woman named "Yun Qian," exclusively the wife of "Xu Changâan," and not belonging to anyone from the past.
Only the era when her husband entered the world could interest her.
So, the past holds no significance here with Miss Yun.
Only when Yun Qian dies, when the name Yun Qian loses its meaning, can these pasts be considered treasures for Miss Yun returning to the main entity.
She turned to look at Xu Changâan, pursing her lips painted with rouge.
What she and her husband were like in the past does not matter; she only values now, only values the present.
"The past doesnât matter." Yun Qian repeated, calmly asking, "Now, whoâs better at adorning between Miss Li and Miss Zhu?"
"Miss, youâre asking me... I donât know, after all, Iâm not familiar with such things." Xu Changâan avoided Yun Qianâs gaze, speaking honestly.
Even though instinctively he felt that brothelâs Zhu Pingniang might be more skilled, to him, Li Zhibai and Zhu Pingniang were on the same levelâa level compared to which neither can match Miss Yun.
So, he wasnât sure who was truly better.
"You donât know, so I still have to see for myself." Yun Qian shook her head, thinking this was a question her husband just couldnât answer.
Because she couldnât distinguish between Zhu Pingniang and Li Zhibai.
Could it be her assumption was wrong?
The main wife wasnât Li Zhibai nor Zhu Pingniang, but someone else?
Shi Qingjun.
Yun Qian suddenly thought of the woman who met her husband under the moon, lost in thought.
Shi Qingjun currently had almost no interaction with Xu Changâan, but in terms of identity, it seemed only this girl could completely suppress Zhu Pingniang and Li Zhibai, making them sincerely submissive.
Yun Qian suddenly turned around, staring at Xu Changâanâs waist.
Because she seemed to have discovered something.
"Miss." Xu Changâanâs eye twitched: "What are you looking at."
"This." Yun Qian pointed at Xu Changâanâs waist.
Two accessories were hanging there.
One was a sachet she used to tie her hair, the other... the Glazed Jade gifted by Miss Shi.
Speaking of which, it was because Xu Changâan wore this Glazed Jade that this sachet for the hair came into being.
"Jade?" Xu Changâan said somewhat nervously: "I told Miss, this is a token given by a senior on the mountain, a memento meant to be worn, to accelerate the progress of cultivation."
Xu Changâan didnât know if it was useful, but anyway, his cultivation speed now compared to before had improved by leaps and bounds, so he got used to wearing it.
"I know." Yun Qian nodded.
The power of habit is massive, and it applies to her as well, like her being pampered with her husbandâs snacks on the island, reading books written by her husband, creating an addiction she couldnât break now.
She was contemplating that Miss Shi.
This place is Qing Province, she is the Lord of Qingzhou.
Shi Qingjun seemed absent, just a bystander.
Yet, thinking carefully, perhaps she was the one following Xu Changâan all along, because... this Jade Pendant was crafted by Shi Qingjun herself, containing a trace of her Heart Yuan, and Xu Changâan carried it closely, almost without separating from it.
So perhaps Shi Qingjun was the true one in charge?
At that moment, a chill ran down Yun Qianâs neck, making her shiver, as she noticed Xu Changâanâs lightly mischievous successful smile.
"What are you daydreaming about." Xu Changâan asked.
"..." Yun Qian, being watched by Xu Changâan, felt the lingering warmth on her neck and couldnât help but lean slightly away from Xu Changâan.
She calmly said, "Do you have any snacks?"
"Weâre about to eat soon, hold on a bit, havenât you eaten quite a lot just now?" Xu Changâan blinked.
"Snacks." Yun Qian stared at Xu Changâan.
"... Yes, yes, I canât be missing those." Xu Changâan shook his head, but he couldnât resist the young ladyâs request and took out a sweet bag and placed it in front of Yun Qian.
Of the same style as the one given to Zhu Pingniang.
Yun Qian unwrapped it, placing a green fruit candy into her mouth, savored the slightly sour-sweet taste, and sighed softly after a while.
In the past, sheâd eat some snacks while reading, hoping it would make her a little smarter.
Now she realizes, that was just an illusion.
Eating sweets couldnât make her smarter, only more greedy for treats.
"Things related to you, I can never understand or see clearly." Miss Yun sighed.
Xu Changâan clicked his tongue.
Not just about snacks?
What was this all about?
Yun Qian rewrapped the snacks and handed them to Xu Changâan before taking his hand.
Her eyes could see everything in the world clearly, whether it was something that had happened, hadnât happened, or things people couldnât comprehend; it was all so clean and clear.
Yet, even with the boost from snacks, such eyes still couldnât see clearly who would be Xu Changâanâs main wife if she didnât appear.
Otherwise, where would she find the need to worry.
In the end.
As long as any matter or person got involved with her husband, it would no longer be something she could interfere with or grasp.
Thus, entering the world would be meaningful to her.
But thereâs one thing Yun Qian understood very well, that Shi Qingjun compared to Li Zhibai seemed even less like a woman, and only under Xu Changâanâs influence did Shi Qingjun just begin to exhibit a hint of womanhood, reaching a level of... appreciating flowers aesthetically.
Under such circumstances, even if Shi Qingjun ended up being the main wife, the matter of rouge was unrelated to her now.
So, it still came down to choosing between Zhu Pingniang and Li Zhibai.
"Itâs getting late, letâs go meet that Miss Zhu."
Yun Qian intertwined fingers with Xu Changâan, only for Xu Changâan to let go, leaving the young lady startled as she looked over.
But saw Xu Changâanâs conflicted face.
"Miss... I suddenly remembered something."
"What is it?"
"Senior Zhu, she will get jealous, what should we do." Xu Changâan was at a loss.
When Yun Qian mentioned rouge, he remembered.
The teacher eagerly taught Miss Yun how to apply makeup and called her "Ms. Yun" repeatedly... as soon as rouge was mentioned to Yun Qian, he couldnât hide it from Zhu Pingniang; it was impossible to hide.
Though Yun Qian kept calling her "Miss Li" now, in front of the teacher, she followed the teacherâs request and addressed her as "Ms. Li."
No doubt, once Zhu Pingniang realized how much Li Zhibai liked Yun Qian...
She would definitely be jealous.
The problem was, he still needed to ask for Senior Zhuâs help... making her jealous of the young lady would be unwise.
Still, if this matter were intentionally concealed, it would only cause more trouble later when it came to light.
Xu Changâan thought over and over, abandoning the idea of instructing Yun Qian not to respond to Zhu Pingniang about the Li Zhibai topic during the banquet.
He couldnât bring himself to have the young lady lie or deceive.
So... heâd better find another way to make Miss Yun less noticeable.
As long as Miss Yun was not too apparent, the seniorâs jealousy might not be too intense.
Looking at Yun Qian carefully treated beautiful makeup, Xu Changâan quietly murmured.
"Miss, remove your makeup."
"...?"