Inlaid With Jade - Chapter 36

Chapter 36 
Rouge
  
Li Heming was the first person to leave home after being slapped by his wife on the second day of his marriage. He deserved this slap; if he had threatened Lin Yu less in the past, Lin Yu would not have thought he would do something awful again, and this slap would not have landed on his face. 
  
Lin Yu didn’t feel good about hitting him. After Li Heming left, she waited for him at home for half the night, but he didn’t return. It was cold at night, so she finally couldn’t bear it anymore and fell asleep anxiously under Zelan’s persuasion. 
  
When Lin Yu woke up the next day, she asked Zelan if Li Heming had returned. 
  
While helping Lin Yu change her clothes, Zelan replied, “Not yet. I asked the gatekeeper last night and this morning. They said that when Master left yesterday, he rode away in a hurry and never came back; they even didn’t hear the sound of horse hooves.” 
  
Zelan only knew that Li Heming suddenly went out again last night. She didn’t know why, so she couldn’t help asking Lin Yu, “Madam, did you and Master quarrel?” 
  
Lin Yu didn’t plan to tell Zelan she accidentally slapped Li Heming. He was arrogant and definitely wouldn’t want others to know. 
  
She thought briefly and said, “It should be… not.” 
  
“Why did Master leave soon after he came back? You two just married, but he’s not at home.” Zelan complained, shook her head like an old woman with two husbands, and sighed, “This is not good.” 
  
Her appearance made Lin Yu feel both amused and worried. After thinking for a while, she asked Wenzhu to prepare a carriage and went to the Northern Office to pick him up in the w*t rain that had not dried last night. 
  
However, perhaps she was unlucky, or Li Heming didn’t want to see her for now. The guards at the door told her that Li Heming was not in the office, and they didn’t know where he went. So, Lin Yu had to wait outside the Northern Office, but after more than an hour, she didn’t see Li Heming’s shadow until it was dark. After nightfall, the weather was cold, and finally, she had to return alone. 
  
Li Heming seemed to disappear after he left and did not return for two days. On the morning of the 30th day of the twelfth lunar month, Lin Yu wrote a letter, sent Wenzhu to deliver it to the Northern Office, and then returned to the Lin Mansion alone. 
  
It was not a good thing for a bride to return home alone. Lin Zhengqing and Lin Jing did not attend the court that day. They greeted Lin Yu at the door with Wang Yueying. However, they were stunned when they saw Lin Yu alighting the carriage alone. 
  
The two elders experienced many hardships and remained calm, but Lin Jing could not. He asked, “Where is Li Heming?” 
  
Lin Yu would naturally not tell him in front of the servants that she had annoyed him. She touched her nose and found an excuse, saying, “The Northern Office was in urgent need, and he could not leave, so I came first. He will come when he is done.” 
  
Although she said so, she believed she would not see Li Heming today. 
  
Lin Zhengqing and Wang Yueying knew that this was not the case when they saw Lin Yu touching her nose. When she was a child and lied to avoid responsibility, she looked like this.
  
Lin Zhengqing and Wang Yueying both guessed that their daughter might have done something wrong, but Lin Jing didn’t care whether it was his younger sister’s problem or not. He frowned and said, “He is the leader of the Northern Office. Is he busier than Father? He doesn’t even have time on New Year’s Eve?” 
  
He was complaining, but Lin Yu responded with a “hmm.” 
  
Lin Jing looked at Lin Yu in disbelief. He never thought she would turn sides to Li Heming after only three days of marriage. He looked at her dissatisfiedly: “What are you saying? Are you partial to him?” 
  
Lin Yu blinked innocently: “He is my husband.” 
 
Lin Jing gritted his teeth: “I’m your brother!” 
  
Lin Zhengqing and Wang Yueying saw that the two siblings seemed to be quarreling, and they didn’t say a word to persuade them, just pretending that they were blind and couldn’t see. Lin Zhengqing put his hands behind his back and asked someone to take the pen and ink that Lin Yu gave him into the study so that he could try writing. Wang Yueying also turned around tacitly, gathered her sleeves, and told the kitchen to prepare lunch. 
  
Lin Jing and Lin Yu argued over a few meaningless words. Finally, Lin Yu’s words, “Where’s my sister-in-law?” reminded him of something, so he hurriedly asked someone to prepare horses to go out. 
  
Qin Mei’an felt unwell for the past two days and rested in her room to recuperate. This morning, she said she wanted to eat the chestnut cake sold in front of the Bell Tower. Lin Jing originally planned to buy it after meeting Lin Yu, but he almost forgot about it because of the quarrel. He took two steps, stopped again, turned back, and asked Lin Yu unhappily: “Do you want chestnut cake?” 
  
Lin Yu smiled: “Yes.” 
  
Lin Jing “hummed” and walked away with his hands behind his back. 
  
Lin Yu guessed that he might not see Li Heming today. Unexpectedly, after Lin Jing bought cakes and returned to the house through the rockery, he saw Li Heming walking towards Lin Yu’s yard. 
  
His flying fish suit was indeed eye-catching. Others felt fear when they saw it outside, but Lin Jing felt disgusted when he saw it in the Lin Mansion. 
  
Li Heming heard footsteps behind him, turned around, and saw Lin Jing walking towards him with two oil paper bags. He called out indifferently: “Lord Lin.” 
  
Li Heming’s mouth couldn’t say anything good. He was married to Lin Yu, but he didn’t call him ‘brother-in-law’; instead, call him Lord Lin. He deserved to be disliked by Lin Jing. 
  
Sure enough, Lin Jing’s fire in his heart rose as soon as he heard it. He stepped forward and grabbed Li Heming’s collar: “There were so many people watching on the day of the bride’s return, yet you let Qiqi come back alone. You went to great lengths to marry her. Was it to humiliate her?”

This sentence was harsh, but it made sense. A bride returning home alone would be a joke no matter where she was, especially in the capital city where people’s words were feared. However, Li Heming didn’t have a good temper. He frowned and stared at Lin Jing, saying sternly, “Let go!”

He looked at the white on his fingers and recognized it as women’s rouge. Disdainfully, he said, “Why do you, a grown man, put powder on your face?” 
  
Li Heming looked at him coldly: “What does it have to do with you?” 
  
Lin Jing stared at his face carefully, narrowed his eyes, and said, ‘Oh,’ in enlightenment. The knot in his heart that felt unfair for Lin Yu was suddenly untied. He said coldly: “Lord Li learned some messy style to put powder on his face. Is it to cover the slap marks on his face?” 
  
Li Heming did not deny it when he was exposed but sneered at him: “Lord Lin knows a lot; it seems you had been slapped a lot.” 
  
His words choked Lin Jing, making him unable to speak. Li Heming didn’t want to argue with him, so he walked into Lin Yu’s yard.