The Exiled Life of the Noble Girl

Li Mingwei was lying on the bed, quietly admiring Liu Yizhu as he dressed in front of the mirror. This was the fifth outfit he had tried on. Liu Yizhu turned to look at her, his eyes sparkling with anticipation.

Unfortunately, the only response he received was a big yawn from Li Mingwei. She pulled the blanket over herself and slowly closed her eyes. He had woken her up early just to have her help him pick out an outfit? This was simply cruel.

"My dear..." Liu Yizhu sat on the edge of the bed and gently nudged her. "Please, can you take a look at it one more time?"

Today was his first time visiting the Li family, and he couldn't afford to make any mistakes. If he could win over his mother-in-law, that would be even better.

"Whatever." Li Mingwei could barely keep her eyes open, her voice tinged with drowsiness. "It's not like we're in a rush. Let me sleep a little more, okay?"

"But..."

Seeing the disappointment on his face, Li Mingwei reluctantly propped herself up and carefully examined his outfit. "I think the third one looks the best."

"Alright, I'll change back to that one then."

Li Mingwei pulled him into an embrace, and they both collapsed back onto the bed. She tiredly rested her head on his chest. "Once you've chosen, let's sleep a little more. It's still early, and you've already met my grandparents and parents. There's nothing to be afraid of."

Liu Yizhu gently brushed a strand of her hair, unable to stop himself from caressing it. He had met them before, but the situation was different now. He felt more nervous than he did during the Spring Examination.

What if...

He didn't dare to think about it.

Feeling Li Mingwei's breath slowly stabilize, he didn't dare to move, closing his eyes to rest as well. He had gotten up a bit too early today, causing his anxiousness.

Knock, knock, knock!

"You two still haven't gotten up? Don't you know what you need to do today!"

The knocking and Old Lady Wang's urgent calls woke Liu Yizhu up. He covered Li Mingwei's ears, shifted her position, and then opened the door to find his mother, dressed up in a floral and brocade fashion.

"Mother, you're..."

"What's wrong with you? You're usually not like this." Old Lady Wang was about to scold him, but when she saw that he was already dressed, she held back, sounding displeased. "You've gotten up, but you're still not coming out to eat. Hurry up and get ready, we need to leave soon!"

Liu Yizhu gathered his thoughts and carefully examined his mother's makeup. He couldn't help but suppress a smile. "Mother, your face, what's that?"

Old Lady Wang touched her cheek, slightly embarrassed. "It's Ah Xiu's doing. She came early this morning and insisted on dressing me up. I think it looks a bit strange, but she said it looks good."

Looking into her eyes, Liu Yizhu couldn't help but nod. "It does look nice."

It's just that...

Perhaps he wasn't used to seeing his mother dressed up this way. Ah Xiu must have followed Li Mingwei's instructions. If she said it looked good, then it must be true.

Old Lady Wang's face lit up with a satisfied smile. She played with her hair, pulling out a hairpin to show him. "See, it's golden. She said it was a gift for me. Do you know how much it's worth?"

She peeked into the room, then gently pulled Liu Yizhu a few steps outside. With a sigh, her brow furrowed. "You'd better not stray too far from me. If I do something wrong, you'll need to remind me."

"Mother, there's no need to worry. You've already met Mingwei's grandparents and parents. Her father is quite approachable." f𝗿𝐞ewebno𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝐨m

"Approachable or not," Old Lady Wang said, "I still feel a bit..."

Her worries were not eased by Liu Yizhu's reassurance. She was nervous, but she couldn't afford to stay behind. As the mother, she couldn't let others laugh at her for not attending such an important event.

"Alas..."

She released Liu Yizhu's hand. "Go get ready and come have breakfast. I'll go tidy up the gifts in the front."

"Alright."

Liu Yizhu returned to the room, finding Li Mingwei leaning against the bed, still looking drowsy. He went over and gently rubbed her face to wake her up. "I'm going to change. You should get ready too. Dressing up takes you a while."

Li Mingwei knew he was referring to the morning of the Spring Banquet. She explained, "It won't take that long. I'm just going home, not going out."

Since it was just a small gathering for her sister's birthday, they didn't invite any other guests, so there was no need to be too formal.

However, it was still her sister's birthday, so Li Mingwei had made a simple effort to dress up, rather than going back home completely bare-faced, or she would be scolded.

As Li Mingwei walked out, she encountered the maids carrying the gifts. She raised an eyebrow. "Mother has a lot of money, buying so many things."

"Is that a lot?" Liu Yizhu asked.

"Isn't it? We didn't even receive this many gifts when we got married."

Liu Yizhu shook his head. By rights, there should have been even more, but this was all he could afford with his first year's salary as an official. He could only promise to make up for it later.

"I'll make it up to you in the future when I've earned more."

Li Mingwei smiled and nodded. She didn't really need the extra gifts, but his thoughtfulness meant a lot to her.

After breakfast, Old Lady Wang hurried them to leave. She handed the child to Liu Yizhu and went to sit in the other carriage with the maids.

"Mother, you're..."

Liu Yizhu looked back, seeing the carriage was quite empty. Why was she rushing to sit somewhere else?

"Don't call me. Your mother is hiding from you."

"Hiding from me? Why?"

"Who knows."

Ever since Liu Yizhu had told his mother about Li Mingwei's situation, she had been somewhat distant. Previously, she would bring food herself, but now she always had the maids deliver it. Whenever they encountered each other in the garden, she would quickly turn and leave, claiming to be tired and needing to rest.

Liu Yizhu guessed his mother must be feeling a bit guilty, so he didn't call out to her again, just letting the driver depart.

This time, Li Mingwei's return home was different. The carriage stopped directly in front of the main entrance. Li Mingwei, supported by Liu Yizhu, waited as Ah Xiu escorted Old Lady Wang to the front, then she followed behind.

Li Yi soon came out to welcome them, and Old Lady Wang greeted him, then clasped Li Langyue's hands.

"Mother-in-law!"

Li Langyue was accustomed to her warmth and kindly received her. She introduced the man beside her as Li Mingwei's father, Zhang Dezhi.

Old Lady Wang was about to kneel down, startling everyone. Zhang Dezhi hurried forward to support her, this wouldn't do at all.

"You're too polite."

Liu Yizhu stepped forward to hold his mother, whispering, "Mother, what are you doing?"

Old Lady Wang's face flushed slightly, unable to speak. Li Yi smiled and invited them to the front hall.

She deliberately fell back a few steps, pretending to hug the child, and quietly asked Li Mingwei, "Didn't the book say we're supposed to kneel before a high official? Did I kneel incorrectly just now?"

Li Mingwei held back her laughter. "Mother, if the official is your son-in-law's father, you don't need to kneel."

"Oh, I see." Old Lady Wang inwardly scolded herself for forgetting that detail.

While she didn't need to kneel, Liu Yizhu did. Once they were seated in the front hall, he knelt in the center, and Ah Xiu presented him with three red envelopes. Liu Yizhu then formally greeted the three elders, fulfilling the betrothal rituals.

He returned to his seat next to Li Mingwei and secretly passed the envelopes to her.

"Why are you giving these to me?"

"To let you squeeze them, just like you did on our wedding day when you refused to let go."

Li Mingwei glared at him, realizing he had witnessed that.