The news of Li Tan’s return to the Li family spread quickly. However, this speed had little to do with Li Tan himself. To ordinary family members, he was merely an insignificant figure. What mainly drew attention was that Lin Cui had returned with him! His return was nothing special, but her arrival was shocking.
Why had she followed Li Tan back?
Had she acknowledged Li Tan as her husband?
The matter was discussed in hushed tones, spreading like wildfire, with several versions emerging. Idle servants speculated enthusiastically, while some self-proclaimed handsome young men made plans to approach Lin Cui for clarification.
This was naturally the surface reason. As for deeper causes, everyone understood them implicitly.
At Qing Suzhen, a pavilion in the front courtyard of the Li estate nestled against a rockery pond, Li Tan leaned back with half-closed eyes, comfortably enjoying the gentle breeze. Lin Cui sat opposite him, gazing bored at the rockery, occasionally stealing glances at Li Tan.
“Hey, what exactly are you planning to do?” Lin Cui asked, eyes fixed on the rockery.
“Returning home, besides looking around, what else could there be?” Li Tan replied casually.
“Hehe, you’ve been sitting here for two hours without moving. That doesn’t seem much like ‘looking around,’ does it?” she countered.
“What I do doesn’t seem to concern you much, does it?” Li Tan said indifferently, yawning comfortably from near-sleep.
“Hmph, you’re deliberately acting like this to show your displeasure with me?”
Lin Cui turned to look at Li Tan, her eyes suspicious.
“Your imagination is really vivid, but I don’t have that kind of spare time.”
Li Tan lifted his gaze, watching a flock of wild geese fly by.
“Well, you should at least give an explanation. I’ve been keeping you company all afternoon.”
Lin Cui grumbled discontentedly.
“Tsk, so troublesome. Well, I’ll tell you anyway.”
“Hmm?”
“This is a place my mother often brought me to when I was little.”
“Ah… wasn’t your mother deceased?”
“She left when I was six. It’s said she had an accident while traveling for business and has been out of contact ever since.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It doesn’t matter. I don’t blame you.”
Li Tan looked at his reflection in the pond, vaguely seeing a ghostly figure, but reaching out, he found nothing.
Lin Cui wanted to say something but couldn’t find the words, wanting to do something but unsure how.
Perhaps out of maternal instinct, she felt sympathy for Li Tan who had lost his mother at a young age.
Just then, Li Tan suddenly added coldly.
“Now you know, so don’t bother me anymore. You’ve been chattering nonstop since just now, it’s too noisy.”
Lin Cui’s lips twitched. Angrily stomping her foot, she said with resolve.
“Nothing but a dog’s mouth can’t produce elephant’s teeth. I won’t serve you anymore. Excuse me.”
As she said this, she made to stand up, but then thought, wouldn’t leaving like this exactly suit Li Tan’s wishes?
So she sat back down, arms crossed, head turned away.
Li Tan gave her a helpless look, just thinking it was about time to bid farewell to his father before leaving, when footsteps approached and suddenly several people appeared from behind. They were ordinary looking but dressed in fine clothes. As the saying goes, clothes make the man, and their attire added a touch of elegance.
Among them, a tall, thin youth resembling a bamboo pole frowned upon seeing Li Tan. Spotting Lin Cui beside him, his face immediately turned into a flattering smile as he stepped forward.
“Miss Lin, I am Li Tao. It’s an honor to finally meet you in person!”
His companions followed closely behind, yet none dared stand ahead of Li Tao, clearly showing the hierarchy.
Lin Cui seemed unwilling to acknowledge him, not even lifting her bottom, giving only a casual nod before turning her head away.
Li Tao stood there momentarily embarrassed, his mouth twitching in displeasure. Moments later, he emphasized with his unpleasant, even grating voice.
“I am the eldest grandson of the Li family’s chief elder.”
Lin Cui recalled the old man she had previously tried to avoid hiding in an empty room and remembered that Li Tao had been among those following behind at that time. However, this did not change her attitude toward him in the slightest. She still gave only a casual nod, not even bothering to look him in the eye.
Li Tao immediately lost face. His gaze shifted, noticing Li Tan sitting beside, equally indifferent, and his pent-up anger found an outlet.
“Li Tan, according to seniority, I am your elder brother. It’s fine that you didn’t greet me, but sitting there motionless, what kind of behavior is that?
Don’t you understand the concept of respecting seniors?”
Hearing the voice, Li Tan glanced at Li Tao indifferently. He remembered this person was his childhood “archenemy,” with constant conflicts and frequent provocations. If not for his status as the eldest son of the family head, he probably would have met a fate similar to Jiang Xin’s long ago.
However, to Li Tan, this former rival was now nothing significant, not even worth an extra glance.
Therefore, after hearing the provocative words, he truly only gave one look before ignoring him again.
This further enraged the other.
“Having married into the Lin family for only two days, now returning and disregarding family traditions, have you forgotten your surname?”
Li Tao’s grating voice rang out.
Upon hearing this, Li Tan’s eyebrows slightly furrowed.
Although this return had some unexpected incidents, overall it had been quite pleasant. Li Tan hadn’t expected someone to ruin his mood just before leaving, so he asked somewhat displeased.
“What do you want?”
“Shouldn’t that be my question?
If you still consider yourself part of the Li family, then kneel and apologize for your previous rudeness!”
Li Tao raised his head proudly.
Li Tan sneered twice, thinking about giving him a lesson, but before he could do anything, Lin Cui suddenly rebuked Li Tao.
“Putting Li Tan on his knees, where does that leave me?”
Li Tao’s body trembled. He suddenly recalled that Lin Cui was nominally Li Tan’s wife, and his face involuntarily turned grim.
Now, the Li family completely relied on the Lin family to resist the Liu family. If he offended Lin Cui at this moment, even as the chief elder’s grandson, he would certainly face severe consequences. More terrifyingly, his brothers would seize this opportunity to compete for the future family leadership.
“Hahaha, Miss Lin misunderstood. I was just joking, joking. I have something else to attend to, so please excuse me.”
Li Tao forced a few laughs, waved his hand, and left with his followers. The moment he turned around, the smile on his face turned sinister.
“Truly, wherever you go, you meet people like this.”
Lin Cui muttered unhappily a couple of times, seemingly recalling something, then raised her voice again.
“Don’t misunderstand me. I just dislike that Li Tao, that’s all. I’m not helping you out.”
Li Tan glanced at her and said.
“It seems I didn’t need your help anyway.”
Actually, he had planned to use this opportunity to cripple Li Tao and thus suppress the chief elder, but Lin Cui unexpectedly ruined his plan.
“I should go now. I’ll go say goodbye to my father one last time. You can wait here.”
Without waiting for Lin Cui to speak, Li Tan stood up and walked outside.
“Wait, I’m coming too!”
Lin Cui gritted her teeth angrily, hesitated for a moment, then shouted and followed after him.
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