With no other way left, Xi Ying has to follow wherever his wife was going.
As Li Rui stepped inside the carriage, he also followed her inside and sat on the front seat of her. Her maids Li Hua and Li Mei sat behind her.
The carriage started moving and Xi Ying looked at his wife. He thought that he would get to know about their destination from their talk, but his wife and her maids were sitting silently inside this carriage.
More time passed, but no one spoke a single word.
Today, Xi Ying got to know that his wife does not talk much which was a very surprising thing for him. Because from his point of view, every feminine species in this world can't sit calmly and this silent. Even Princess Wenling with whom he was rumored to be in love talked too much. This was the reason he can never spend his time after a certain limit in their company.
Looking at his wife, he didn't know why he remembered his mother.
On realizing that his thoughts were wandering away in not so good direction, Xi Ying looked away from his wife's face. Looking outside from the carriage, he looked in the direction their carriage was going. He made a guess of the stopping place.
And he was right.
After a few minutes, the carriage stopped and someone announced that they had reached. As everyone went outside, he knew that, in the end, he would need to go unless he wanted to be pulled by that invisible force again. Hence, he came out of the carriage.
Xi Ying was standing outside the Li Mansion, the place where his wife has spent seventeen years of her life. The Place he has never visited till now.
And never in his dreams, he had thought that his first visit to Li Mansion would be like this.
Li Rui went inside the Li Mansion with her maids, Li Hua and Li Mei.
The invisible Xi Ying with stiff steps walked inside. He didn't why but he was feeling somewhat guilty. This guilt was making him feel very awkward as it was the first time he felt this feeling.
He still couldn't believe that he was not visible to anyone. But as they approached the entrance and as the waiting housekeeper and maids welcomed Li Rui inside the Li Mansion, it became easy to digest the fact that he was invisible because he was ignored again.
But he found himself comfortable because of this as he went inside. It no longer bothered him when he was being treated like air.
As they walked inside, the Li family greeted them in the outermost hall.
Li Rui firstly greeted her mother. Before she could bow her head, she was held by her mother, Yi Jie.
Yi Jie held her daughter's hand and looked at her face closely. Looking at her daughter from head to toe, her eyes were filled with unshed tears.
" My child, It has been so long since the last I saw you. You have become so thin. "
Li Rui smiled at her mother's words.
Yi Jie's voice choked at the end of the sentence. The rumors going around the city were heard by her also. Looking at her weak and thin daughter, who was smiling as if nothing affects her, she didn't know how to comfort her.
The unshed tears in her eyes started to fall.
"Mother, don't cry. It's all my fault. From now on, Rui will visit Mother occasionally alright? Now stop crying. If father got to know then he will blame me for making his wife upset. "
At the mention of her husband, Li Heng, Yi Jie laughed. She held her daughter's hand and made her sit beside herself.
Nanny Liang looked at the brightness in her mistress's eyes and finally felt happy.
"Miss, since you have come, please ask mistress to take care of her health. Since General Li and the Young Master have left for the borders, Madam doesn't take care of her body even a little bit. "
The old maidservant complained about her Mistress.
General Li had ordered her if he did not see Yi Jie in the same condition he was leaving her, Nanny Liang would be heavily punished. Even though she has been with Yi Jie since her childhood, General Li had not been merciful to her.
As much as she was glad to see General Li's unconditional care for her mistress at that time, she was also worried about herself now. Because Yi Jie has lost weight recently. She knew it was because of those rumors about Prime Minister Xi and First Princess Wenling. She also knew that her mistress was worried about Li Rui as the brightness in her eyes that was lost returned as soon as Li Rui came to meet her.
"Is it true mother?"
Li Rui looked at her mother for an answer. But her mother avoided her eyes.
"I just missed you. Don't worry about me. I will take care of myself from now on. Alright, leave all this, How is Xi Ling? Why didn't you bring him?"
Before Li Rui could answer, someone else spoke.
"First Aunt, I don't think Elder sister can answer this question of yours."
The person speaking in the mid of the conversation of mother and daughter was Li Caihong who was sitting on the right of her mother, Li Hong.
The Li Clan had three sons and hence three madams.
Li Hong who was also First Madam Li was the wife of the eldest Li Brother, Li Qiang and the pair had two daughters, Li Na and Li Caihong, and one son, Li Chen.
Sitting beside her mother, Li Caihong had a sympathetic smile on her lips.
Yi Jie frowned at Li Caihong's words and Li Hong looked at her daughter in worry. This daughter of hers sometimes didn't know what to speak or whatnot. Sitting on the other side of Li Hong, Li Na who was also Li Caihong's elder sister, looked at the unfolding play with great interest.
Li Caihong and Li Na have never liked this second household in their family. The fact that their father, Li Qiang was the eldest but their father's younger brother, Li Heng got the position of General, had never sat well with them.
The attention and the glory of this position which should have been theirs since childhood was given to Li Rui and her brother, Li Diu.
"This child, Caihong, you should not interrupt your elder sister like this. " Li Hong reprimanded her daughter gently.
"Mother, I was just trying to make it easy for Elder Sister. What can she say to First Aunt? She can neither lie nor speak the truth. I have heard from someone that Prime Minister Xi doesn't allow the sister to meet Xi Ling. "
Looking at Yi Jie's frown getting deeper, Li Caihong hid her smile and looked at Li Rui with concern.
"It's okay Elder Sister, we understand. In the circumstances in which Lord Xi married Elder Sister, it is understandable that he would keep the child away. "
As soon as she completed her words, the whole courtyard went silent. No one has ever talked about that incident after that day. It was such a shameful day for Li Clan that everyone wanted to behave as if nothing happened at all.
Even Xi Ying who was looking at everything didn't like Li Caihong's words. He looked at Li Caihong with cold eyes.
He could see that Li Caihong was trying to humiliate Li Rui. Even though his relationship was not good with Li Rui, she was his wife.
And no one can look down on her.