After preparing the footbath for An Jing, Xiao Changyi dried off her feet with a clean towel, then helped her put on socks.
He didn’t let An Jing put on shoes but instead carried her toward the bed, letting her lie down for a while.
An Jing, heavily pregnant, found lying down to be quite comfortable. However, for the sake of the child’s better development within her, she would occasionally get up to stand, sit, or walk around, as a form of light exercise.
Moreover, lying still all the time was uncomfortable for her as well.
No matter what An Jing did, Xiao Changyi was always there by her side.
An Jing was lying on her side in bed, smiling as Xiao Changyi covered her with a quilt. After tucking her in and kissing her, Xiao Changyi went to pour out the water in the basin.
As soon as Xiao Changyi had emptied the basin, Meng Zhuqing arrived.
Meng Zhuqing had come to deliver a letter, but this time it wasn’t one from the Emperor of Xiyun or Su Chengyu; it was from Prime Minister Li.
Prime Minister Li had never written to Xiao Changyi before. This was the first time, but Xiao Changyi showed no surprise or curiosity. He took the letter expressionlessly and then asked Meng Zhuqing to leave.
After seeing off Meng Zhuqing, Xiao Changyi went back into the inner room.
As soon as he saw Xiao Changyi, An Jing, who was still lying on her side, asked, "I think I heard Meng Zhuqing’s voice. What did he come for?"
"To deliver a letter. It’s from Prime Minister Li," Xiao Changyi sat down by the bed and then opened the letter to read it with An Jing.
In the letter, Prime Minister Li mentioned that Li Wuyu had once again left home secretly, claiming that she was coming to find them. He also talked about Li Wuyu’s unruly yet well-intentioned nature and asked for their tolerance in case she inadvertently offended them and urged them not to blame his daughter, Li Wuyu.
This letter clearly showed Prime Minister Li’s helplessness with his daughter Li Wuyu, as well as his concern for her.
Looking at the date at the bottom of the letter, An Jing noticed that it was written over half a month ago, which meant—
"Husband, if Wuyu came on horseback, then she might be arriving here soon, right?"
Three days later, Li Wuyu arrived in Hecheng County.
However, she didn’t seek out An Jing, her master, first, but instead went to the Wang Family in high spirits to find Wang Youbao.
As she was nearing the Wang residence on horseback, she saw Wang Youbao and a girl in orange clothes laughing and walking briskly out of the Wang family home together.
There was actually a maidservant dressed in green clothes beside the girl in orange, but Li Wuyu ignored her, focusing only on Wang Youbao and the girl in orange laughing together.
Even though she was on horseback, and would likely be noticed with a little attention, Wang Youbao didn’t see her at all. He continued to walk and laugh with the girl, heading in the opposite direction from where Li Wuyu was.
Li Wuyu felt a surge of jealousy at that moment.
"Wang Youbao!" Li Wuyu shouted in Wang Youbao’s direction. Without waiting for any response, she turned her horse around and, whipping the reins, rode away.
Wang Youbao heard someone shouting his name in a familiar voice. He stopped immediately, turned around, and just caught sight of Li Wuyu riding away, which made his heart skip a beat, filled with guilt and panic.
Even though he didn’t understand why he felt guilty, nor why he was panicking.
The girl in orange also turned around to look but, since Li Wuyu was dressed as a man, she naturally assumed Li Wuyu was male. Seeing Li Wuyu riding off, she asked softly, "Brother Youbao, who was that man? Why did he run off as soon as he called your name?"