"When will the young master be coming back..."
Those eight simple words sent Ling Chuxia into a daze. She pursed her lips, unable to come up with an answer, because she truly had no idea when Shi Che would return. He always came back if he wanted to and stayed away if he didn’t.
Seeing that something seemed off about Ling Chuxia, Sister Hua’s eyes conveyed a hint of confusion, prompting her to ask again, "Young Madam?"
Ling Chuxia quickly snapped back to reality. Her lips parted slightly as if she wanted to speak, yet she didn’t know what to say. However, considering that Sister Hua lived there, it was impossible to hide her and Shi Che’s circumstances from her, so she didn’t bother coming up with any excuse. Speaking softly, she said, "I... I don’t know when the young master will come back."
Sister Hua at first seemed not to comprehend the meaning of her words, her eyes brimming with even greater doubt. She was about to ask more, but then something seemed to click. She hesitated for a second and then her eyes widened in surprise, "Young Madam, you mean... you’ve never known if the young master would return home or not?"
Ling Chuxia felt quite embarrassed, her cheeks blushing, yet she still nodded, "He’s usually very busy and seldom comes home."
Sister Hua’s brow furrowed deeply as she asked, "How often does the young master usually come home?"
Chuxia’s gaze fell slightly, her fair cheeks reddening even further. After a pause, she finally answered, "Well... sometimes a few months... sometimes half a year..."
Sister Hua was at a loss for how to express her shock. Although she had always been aware that the relationship between the young master and Young Madam wasn’t very good, she had never imagined it to be so severe. No wonder Young Madam had been unable to get pregnant for so long. How could she, when her husband was never home?
It took Sister Hua quite a while to recover her voice, "Then... Young Madam, do you keep in touch with the young master often? Have you asked him to come home more?"
Ling Chuxia immediately shook her head, without even a second’s thought, as if it were the most natural response, "The young master is very busy, I wouldn’t disturb him."
Not only did Sister Hua’s eyes widen, but her mouth also gaped open as though it could fit an entire egg, so shocked that she even forgot to be respectful, speaking bluntly, "Young Madam, aren’t you... being too derelict in your duties as a wife?"
Being a wife, no matter how virtuous one tries to be, shouldn’t be , right? Unable to see her own husband even once in fifteen days or half a month, could she truly stay calm and not worried in the slightest?
"I, I’m derelict in my duties?"
Ling Chuxia had never expected Sister Hua to arrive at such a conclusion. For three years, she had behaved properly, virtuous and demure, fulfilling the role of a wife without causing Shi Che any trouble or annoyance. How could that be considered derelict?