Out of Character

By the time they returned to the separate residence, it was nearly noon.

An Ziran summoned Qiulan and asked about An Yuzhi's condition.

"Young Master, Miss had an excellent appetite this morning and drank two bowls of porridge," Qiulan replied. Ever since returning from their outing two days ago, Miss's complexion had been poor, and she had eaten far less than usual at all three meals. Last night, she had only managed one bowl of porridge.

An Ziran had only asked casually, yet he received an unexpected answer. His steps toward the inner rooms immediately halted as he asked inscrutably, "When you saw Miss this morning, how was her complexion?"

Qiulan thought back for a moment. "Miss's complexion was quite good. Her cheeks were a little rosy, not as pale as they had been these past two days. That was why this servant had the kitchen make some extra porridge for Miss. Miss did not say anything, nor did she refuse it as she had before. She drank two bowls."

An Ziran nodded. "That will be all. You may leave."

Qiulan curtsied and departed.

After lunch, An Ziran returned to the study. Steward Su was inside grinding ink as he waited for him. Not noticing what was on his mind, he merely said, "Young Master, the ink is almost ready. Shall we draw up the dowry list today?"

The wedding date had not yet been completely settled, as they still needed someone to select an auspicious day. During this time, An Ziran needed to prepare the dowry list. An Yuzhi was the legitimate daughter, and she was marrying into a prince's manor, so the list could not be too meager. Losing face was a minor matter; if An Yuzhi was looked down upon after marrying into the manor, the An Family would be implicated as well.

He had already listed part of it when the account books had been delivered the day before yesterday.

The An Family were landowners, with the most land and quite a few shops under their name. Most were rice shops, with only a small number dealing in jewelry, cloth, and the like. Their business scope was not particularly broad. Given the An Family's circumstances, they were indeed reaching above themselves by aspiring to Prince Fu's Manor.

There was not much An Ziran could take out. Ever since making those two decisions, the An Family's assets had shrunk considerably. Their total monthly income was not even half of what they had earned while An Changfu was alive. An Changfu's three concubines had long harbored complaints, especially the second and third concubines. They had daughters, and when those girls married in the future, they would have to rely on the An Family for dowries. If the family assets shrank, their dowries would inevitably shrink as well.

However, they did not know that An Changfu had actually prepared dowries for his eldest and second daughters while he was still alive. Both had already reached marriageable age, but the matter had been delayed because Liu Meixiang became pregnant with An Ziming. An Ziran only learned of it from Steward Su after he began handling the An Family's account books. The second and third concubines knew nothing about it.

A sheet of red paper was spread across the desk, with the brush Steward Su had prepared lying beside it.

An Ziran sat down and picked up the brush. He plucked off the fine hairs sticking out from its tip, dipped it in ink, and began writing the dowry list.

After several months of practice, his handwriting had begun to take shape. Though it had yet to reach the level of a true master, his Ouyang style was already sharp and angular, vigorous yet slender, much like the man himself.

Whenever Steward Su saw the Young Master's handwriting, he wore a gratified expression. He knew the Young Master's former handwriting best—it had been so atrocious it made one ashamed, beyond all description. Now that he could finally write a decent hand, if the Master and First Madam saw it from the afterlife, they would surely be very pleased.

An Ziran suddenly set down his brush and stood up.

Steward Su was slightly surprised. "Young Master, what is it?"

"Rest for a while first. It will not hurt to draw up the list later." As An Ziran spoke, he seemed to recall something and added, "Go out and tell Qiulan to invite Miss to the study."

Steward Su did not ask further. He nodded and went out.

Qiulan moved quickly. An Ziran had only just finished the cup of tea Chunlan had poured when he heard several sets of footsteps approaching. Before long, An Yuzhi appeared in the doorway.

An Ziran looked at her. Just as Qiulan had said, An Yuzhi's complexion was rosy, nothing like that of someone ill. He could not help but feel puzzled. Since she was not sick, why had she lied that morning, claiming she felt unwell and refusing to accompany him to Prince Fu's Manor? He still remembered how An Yuzhi had looked when she said she wanted to marry Fu Wutian. The shy sweetness of a young maiden could not be faked.

"Brother, what did you need me for?" An Yuzhi walked up to him and asked proactively. After spending time together, she no longer carried the same trace of distance when speaking to her brother.

An Ziran set down the cup in his hand. "This morning, I discussed it with Prince Fu. He has agreed to take you as his consort, so you will not have to marry him as a secondary wife. At the latest, he will bring you into his household within a month. I will handle this matter properly, so you need not worry. Come by tomorrow. Your brother will give you some silver to buy pretty jewelry and dress yourself up. Prince Fu's Manor is, after all, part of the imperial family. We cannot let others look down on the An Family."

As he spoke, An Yuzhi's face grew paler and paler, all traces of her earlier delight gone. Her hands beneath the table twisted tightly together, though it was impossible to tell what had made her so uneasy.

An Ziran watched her without betraying anything. "Yu Zhi, aren't you happy?"

An Yuzhi startled awake. Seeing her brother looking at her with concern, she hurriedly pretended to support her forehead. "No, I'm very happy. Perhaps I haven't fully recovered yet. My head is a little dizzy."

"If you are unwell, return to your room and rest. We can discuss the rest in a few days," An Ziran said calmly.

An Yuzhi immediately replied, "Then this sister will take her leave first."

With that, she left impatiently.

An Ziran watched her retreating figure, his expression sinking slightly. He could tell An Yuzhi was lying. Though she had concealed it in time, that little bit of disguise was utterly useless before him. Her guilty, shifting gaze had already betrayed her. To get to the bottom of the matter, he summoned Qiao'er and Xing'er, the two maids who served An Yuzhi.

"Two days ago, when you accompanied Miss out, did anything happen?"

Qiao'er and Xing'er exchanged glances. Qiao'er replied, "In reply to Young Master, that day we accompanied Miss to a jewelry shop to buy jewelry. Nothing unusual happened."

An Ziran asked again, "Then did Miss seem any different from usual?"

Xing'er said, "One small thing did happen. When Miss came out of the jewelry shop and was going down the steps, she accidentally fell. But it was nothing serious. That was the only incident. She was perfectly normal otherwise."

Seeing that he could get nothing more from them, An Ziran dismissed them. From what the two said, it seemed nothing had happened during that outing. It could not have been at any other time, since An Yuzhi had not gone out again afterward and had remained properly at the separate residence. Perhaps it was pre-wedding anxiety?

For no apparent reason, he thought of this phenomenon that was rather common in the twenty-first century.

If that was the reason, An Yuzhi's unusual behavior could be explained. Perhaps that truly was it. A young girl's thoughts were always especially difficult to fathom; he could only think so.

There will be another update tonight. Today is the day to post branches—look at my starry eyes (☆_☆). Everyone, give me some support! And recommendation votes too; I'm climbing the rankings and need all your support!