The Dreamer in the Spring Boudoir

Chapter 186: A foolish woman

It would have been fine if it had been an ordinary painting, but the people in the painting had been Nie Sangyu, the heir, and the marquis. Liu Hanyun had already been brooding over the fact that Xia-shi had been abruptly sent away. It was only reasonable to assume that the marquis had chosen Haohao as his heir more or less because of his affection for Haohao's mother. And so, it didn't make sense that the heir's mother would be sent away.

Liu Hanyun had originally been thinking that it was because Xia-shi was unbearably vulgar, and the marquis was worried that Xia-shi would become a hindrance to the heir in the future. Thus, he had sent her away. However, a terrible conjecture had popped up in her mind after seeing this painting.

Back then, Nie Sangyu had given birth to a toddy kitten after a full-term pregnancy, and the circumstances around the parentage had been unclear. Later on, the marquis had brought Xia-shi to the estate along with a baby that would have been about the same age as Nie Sangyu's baby. Could it be that Haohao was actually Nie Sangyu's son?

Shocked by this line of thought, Liu Hanyun reflexively glanced at Wen Wan. Back then, everyone had said that the marquis deeply loved Wen Wan and not Nie Sangyu. So, he wouldn't have troubled himself over Nie Sangyu to that point, right?

But, if Haohao wasn't Nie Sangyu's child, why would the marquis have chosen a random peasant woman's child as his heir? Even when she had brought up several times about changing the position of the heir to Xi-er because he was the main wife's son, the marquis had never been swayed by her words.

Her heart sank, and she glanced at Wen Wan, who was still racking her brain over the painting.

In a quiet voice, Liu Hanyun said, "Since this painting was in Teacher Ji's room, it means that he's very special to the marquis."

Wen Wan furrowed her brow. The uneasiness in her heart grew even stronger. How much space did she still have in Ning Yuxuan's heart? She had endured that the children occupied his heart. After all, she would have children of her own in the future. But, Wen Wan really couldn't accept that she would have to share Ning Yuxuan's favor with a man.

---

As Wen Wan was walking back from Liu Hanyun's Courtyard and passing through a covered corridor, she happened to see the marquis coming back with Teacher Ji.

"I forgot to give you back the bag from last time." Ning Yuxuan tossed a small bag to Ji Man. "Keep good care of it. It might even save your life."

Ji Man accepted the bag and felt the bag for the concentric knot items. They were still there. She awkwardly laughed before putting the bag into her sleeve. "Thank you, marquis."

Ning Yuxuan stopped walking and looked at her as he said, "Go back to Haohao. He hasn't had his lessons today."

Ji Man nodded and turned around to go to Haohao's room. Ning Yuxuan stood in place without moving until her figure had disappeared through the moon gate.

Wen Wan's eyes reddened as she watched them.

A long time ago, before they had gotten married, he would escort her home every day. He would stand at the entrance and watch until she closed her door. When Ning Yuxuan was in love with someone, he really would be very gentle and considerate. Her previous arrogance and willfulness had been the product of him spoiling her too much.

But now, it had been a long time since she had seen this gentle side of him directed towards herself. Instead, he had turned around and was giving this gentleness to someone else while having her watch by the sidelines. The pain from this type of torture was truly worse than dying.