Cultivation Begins with Caring for Sister-in-law

The nighttime wind was strong, accompanied by the unceasing chorus of insects in summer. Liang Xue didn't hear the whispers of the two people inside the room.

Unlike Chen Mo, Liang Xue was still aware of propriety. Without barging in without a greeting, she noticed the light was still on inside the room and called out softly again, "Aunt Ning, are you asleep?"

Inside the room, Ning Wan looked anxious, but she dared not shout, whispering, "Are you crazy?"

She didn't expect that at this hour, Chen Mo would still be so rash.

"Don't be afraid. As long as you don't respond, Xue'Er will think you're asleep and will probably leave in a bit," Chen Mo held the beauty tightly. At this moment, he wasn't thinking about anything else, only wanting to immerse himself in this moment.

Ning Wan's delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly; her heart bashful, as her crystal-clear eyes seemed to glare at the young man in annoyance. However, her body's instincts only let her bite her lip, hoping it would be just as Chen Mo said.

"Not here?" Liang Xue muttered, walking up to the room and knocking on the door, "Aunt Ning, I'm coming in."

"Wait a moment."

There was finally a response from inside the room.

"Aunt Ning, you are here. Why didn't you reply when I called earlier?" Liang Xue asked.

The sound of splashing water came from inside the room.

"I... was taking a bath, how was I supposed to reply to you," Ning Wan said.

"Oh." Liang Xue retracted her hand from the door. Not knowing Ning Wan well, she didn't detect anything unusual from these few words.

Ning Wan was soaking in the tub, and the water inside was now only slightly warm. Luckily, it was summer, so she didn't feel cold. She glared at Chen Mo, who was still staring at her from the couch; her cherry lips moved slightly, but no sound came out.

Chen Mo, however, understood her meaning, to quickly get dressed and hide.

Yet Chen Mo thought it was unnecessary for Liang Xue to know; it didn't matter.

After all, that day would come sooner or later.

But seeing how anxious Ning Wan looked, as if about to cry, Chen Mo sighed, dressed quickly, and hid in the wardrobe as she wished.

Seeing this, Ning Wan breathed a sigh of relief but didn't completely relax.

To prevent Liang Xue from discovering anything unusual, the best way was to send her off.

Ning Wan deliberately made the sound of bathing water and then said, "Xue'Er, why are you here so late?"

"Couldn't sleep, wanted to chat with Aunt Ning," Liang Xue said.

"Let's talk tomorrow morning if there's anything. It's very late now, and I'm still bathing."

"No rush, I can wait until Aunt Ning finishes bathing."

Ning Wan: "..."

You're not in a hurry, but I'm about to die from worry.

"I just started bathing, and every time I bathe, it takes me over half an hour. Let's talk tomorrow," Ning Wan said.

"Then I'll just talk to you outside the room; I'm really bored."

"Okay."

Thus, the two chatted aimlessly for more than three quarters of an hour.

Liang Xue wasn't foolish and could hear the evasiveness in Ning Wan's words, "Aunt Ning, aren't you finished bathing yet?"

"Not yet, this water... it's so comfortable soaking in it that I don't want to get out, and I'm a little sleepy," Ning Wan almost blurted out the words "please leave."

Liang Xue: "..."

"Then take your time soaking, Aunt Ning. It's late, I'll go rest," Liang Xue said.

"Okay."

Without any words of staying, Liang Xue frowned slightly and left.

After Liang Xue left, Ning Wan finally breathed a long sigh of relief.

"I was suffocating," Chen Mo said, opening the wardrobe and gasping for air.

Ning Wan was somewhat annoyed, "It's all your fault. If Xue'Er finds out, how am I supposed to live..."

"Too similar," Chen Mo replied.

Ning Wan: "..."

So reminiscent of An Niang, her demeanor, her tone.

Chen Mo recalled the first time with Han Anniang. She was also afraid that others would know about her and him.

Now, Ning Wan was the same.

"Aunt Ning, with how you are now, who would know you've been married, just like a young girl," Chen Mo laughed.

Hearing this compliment from Chen Mo, Ning Wan glared at him playfully. When she spoke, her voice carried an incredible charm and softness, "It's getting late, you should leave."

Ning Wan truly didn't dare let Chen Mo stay overnight.

The back courtyard was only so big.

If the servants and his other women saw him coming out of her courtyard tomorrow morning, what would they think...

Perhaps it was because Liang Xue had come, but looking at Ning Wan's charming face, with her delicate skin and rosy cheeks, Chen Mo felt a desire to tease her again.

"Aunt Ning is irresistible. I won't leave tonight," Chen Mo said.

With a deep yearning for this young man, Ning Wan's jade-colored cheeks blushed like the clouds, her heart was a mix of anger and even more shame and annoyance, "Isn't this enough, hurry up and leave. If your other concubines find out, who knows what they'd say about me seducing you."

"Isn't that the case?"

"You..."

Ning Wan glanced around and picked up a towel nearby, throwing it at Chen Mo.

...

After Liang Xue left Ning Wan's courtyard, she didn't return to her own courtyard, as she had said earlier she couldn't sleep.

So she wandered aimlessly around the back courtyard, thinking she would return to rest once she got tired.

She didn't go looking for Chen Mo.

Because there was no need to guess, she knew which sister's room he was in.

Even if he wasn't, if she went looking for him on her own, and he found out, he would think she was interested again.

At this moment, she ran into Qing Dance, who was up in the night.

Qing Dance couldn't distinguish between the second and third madams, and whenever she encountered Han Anniang and them, she uniformly called them madam.

"Madam," Qing Dance bowed slightly after recognizing Liang Xue's face.

Liang Xue, having nothing to do, casually asked, "If I'm not mistaken, your name is Qing Dance, you follow Aunt Ning, right?"

"Yes, madam," Qing Dance nodded respectfully.

"Aunt Ning is bathing, aren't you attending to her?" Liang Xue asked.

"The first mistress hasn't finished bathing?" Qing Dance blurted out instinctively.

Liang Xue: "???"

If she remembered correctly, Aunt Ning said she had just started bathing. So how come from Qing Dance's side, it seemed Aunt Ning had been bathing for a long time before she even arrived?

Qing Dance considered that the Marquis and the first mistress' relationship was ambiguous, and since Liang Xue was one of the Marquis' women, they would all be sisters in one household in the future, this wasn't really a secret.

So she revealed what she knew to Liang Xue.

"Mo Lang went to see Aunt Ning..." Liang Xue's heart skipped a beat.

...

To confirm her suspicions, Liang Xue gathered her courage and first went to find Han Anniang, discovering Chen Mo wasn't with her.

She continued to look for the Xia Sisters, and Chen Mo wasn't with them either.

After that, she successively went to find Nangong Ru and Yi Shiyin, also finding he wasn't there.

There was only one answer.

Liang Xue was shocked, her mind flooded with countless emotions.

She was aware of Ning Wan being abandoned by Liang Song and the Ning Family.

And knew Ning Wan had been considered "dead."

So this result wasn't entirely unacceptable to her.

It was just too sudden, she needed some time to process it.