After Rebirth, My Aloof Husband Can Hear My Inner Thoughts [Transmigration & Rebirth] - Chapter 31

The cool summer night breeze whispered through, like a mischievous cat peeking through the bed curtains before running away.

Lin Shengshen stood before the bed curtains, grasping the wildly fluttering patterned fabric. She lowered her lashes, tilting her head as she looked at him. “Xie Zhizhou, what exactly do you mean?”

Xie Zhizhou remained silent.

Lin Shengshen continued, “I’ve already said plenty today. Did you not listen to any of it?”

Xie Zhizhou wanted to reach out to pull Lin Shengshen, but his hand stopped mid-air. “Lin Shengshen, just for fifteen minutes. Can’t we?”

Lin Shengshen shook her head, resolute. “No.”

Xie Zhizhou stood up, his voice faint yet somewhat muffled. “Fine.”

Seeing him like this, Lin Shengshen inexplicably felt a pang of pity. A moment later, she frowned and shrugged—no wonder he looked pitiful; it turned out she had appeared so wretched back then…

It was the second year after her marriage to Xie Zhizhou. Logically speaking, having been forced to keep her distance for so long, she should have given up long ago. Yet on her birthday that year, she foolishly let hope resurface.

It was raining heavily that day. She waited behind the camellia tree near the front courtyard study, peeking out stealthily.

She desperately wanted to see him.

Xie Zhizhou didn’t return until dusk, his brow furrowed as he strode briskly toward the study. Yuan Qing followed behind, holding an umbrella.

“The matter of the Imperial Consort’s miscarriage has been pending for half a year. His Majesty’s outburst today suggests someone is pulling strings behind the scenes. Prince Su… probably can no longer sit still.” He seemed troubled by something.

Yuan Qing wiped the rain from his face haphazardly. “Young Master, you should eat something first.”

Xie Zhizhou ignored him, stopping at the study door and turning to instruct Yuan Zhen: “Yuan Zhen, go to Lin—”

His gaze fell upon her.

His eyes were like wood soaked in icy water—heavy and cold.

“What are you doing here?”

Lin Shengshen shifted her numb legs, slowly approaching under Peilan’s protective umbrella. Tentatively, she said, “Husband… today is—”

Before she could finish, Xie Zhizhou interrupted, “Go back.”

It was a commanding tone.

Lin Shengshen’s heart sank, but she still struggled to speak. “I—”

“Go back,” he interrupted again.

“Can we not have a meal together today? I prepared a full table of dishes.”

“No.”

“Alright.”

Surprisingly, Lin Shengshen didn’t feel particularly disheartened—after all, this was expected. But being watched by so many eyes, she couldn’t help but redden her eyes.

She silently prayed for Peilan to lower the umbrella further, preferably enough to shield her completely.

Xie Zhizhou’s voice came through the rain once more. “Lin Shengshen.”

She turned around immediately, her eyes lighting up.

“These days, do not leave Tangli Residence.”

Lin Shengshen vaguely thought she saw a flicker of pity on his face, but it quickly vanished into the dense curtain of falling rain.

Her eyes dimmed.

She opened her mouth but ultimately said nothing more. Nodding, Lin Shengshen turned and left.

Only later, when her brother was imprisoned and the Lin family declined step by step, did she learn that Xie Zhizhou had received news of Lin Xunen’s wrongful imprisonment that day.

Yet even if she had obediently stayed in Tangli Residence, news of the Lin family still reached her through Concubine Jin’s gossip.

During her long illness, Lin Shengshen often recalled that scene.

She comforted herself: At least there was no argument, and she left with dignity, didn’t she?

But now Lin Shengshen realized that even saying “alright” after being rejected and walking away couldn’t be considered dignified.

Otherwise, why would she now perceive a sense of wretchedness in Xie Zhizhou’s retreating figure?

Xie Zhizhou said nothing more and didn’t sleep. Instead, he took a lamp to his desk to read, his eyelids lowered, expression calm. Under the warm yellow light, his face appeared softer than its usual sternness.

Lin Shengshen frowned, an inexplicable bitterness lodged in her throat like a fishbone—unswallowable, unremovable.

Later, she came to understand: perhaps Xie Zhizhou hadn’t been making things difficult for her that day. He merely didn’t want her to be devastated by the news of Lin Xunen’s imprisonment. He had already foreseen the Lin family’s impending doom.

Was he trying to keep it hidden until the matter was resolved, or simply unwilling to endure her desperate pleas and tears?

Lin Shengshen didn’t know.

But whichever it was, there should have been a more dignified approach—things should have been clearly explained.

Lin Shengshen patiently explained, “Lord Xie, I know you’ve been troubled by my meeting with Wen Lingzhou at the Clear Saint Temple, to the point of developing some obsession. Rest assured, our marriage was decreed by His Majesty. I’m not foolish enough to stir up gossip and bring about my own ruin.”

Xie Zhizhou lifted his gaze to look at her.

How could such a charming and adorable person utter such heart-wrenching words?

She didn’t even call him Young Master Xie anymore, only Lord Xie.

Lin Shengshen assured him, “From now on, if Wen Lingzhou and I have any dealings, we’ll try to communicate through letters and avoid frequent meetings.”

Wen Lingzhou again…

They had grown up together for years in Lizhou as childhood sweethearts—their bond must be different, right?

Xie Zhizhou choked up, opened his mouth but ultimately said nothing.

He lowered his head and resumed reading, but after a few lines, he grew even more restless. Phrases like “hearts linked as one” and “day after day” felt like wooden thorns scraping harshly over his skin, embedding themselves deeply, so that even the pulse of his veins tugged with pain.

Perhaps in their past life, his bond with Lin Shengshen had already reached its end. Now that Lin Shengshen had been reborn with her memories, it was precisely to shake him off.

If this life ended, could he be the one reborn with memories in the next?

At this thought, Xie Zhizhou felt a stirring of eagerness.

He suddenly felt that Lin Shengshen was right—he must be going mad.

Seeing that Xie Zhizhou remained silent for a long while, Lin Shengshen lay back down on the bed with relief. After tossing and turning a couple of times, she felt thirsty and poked her head out from the bed curtains to reach for the teacup on the small table.

At first, she couldn’t reach it, so she leaned out a bit more and finally got hold of the cup. Lin Shengshen slowly took two or three sips, set the cup back, and lay down again inside the bed curtains.

The patterned curtains rustled for a moment before settling into stillness.

Xie Zhizhou withdrew his gaze, his mind filled with the image of Lin Shengshen stretching her arm to reach the teacup. It was such an ordinary action, yet it was so endearing.

He and Lin Shengshen had already missed their past life; he didn’t want to miss this one, nor any of the lives to come.

“Miss, have you retired for the night? Something’s happened with Shopkeeper Zhu!” Baidou’s voice sounded outside the door.

Lin Shengshen nearly leaped out of bed. “What happened? Did you arrange for the people I asked my brother to send earlier?”

Baidou pushed the door open. “It’s done, but… now Shopkeeper Zhu is refusing and begging you to spare her husband.”

Lin Shengshen clenched her fist. “What about Yuan’er?”

“She was just tied up by her father and put into a small sedan chair when our people rescued her.”

“Good.” Lin Shengshen steadied herself. “Help me get dressed. I’ll go there.”

“Miss, it’s so late… Why not let me take some people and go instead?”

Lin Shengshen shook her head. “I’ll go myself.”

After dressing, Lin Shengshen pushed the door open to leave. Xie Zhizhou suddenly strode to her side and draped a thin robe over her shoulders.

“It’s cold at night. Wear this.”

Lin Shengshen turned her head and saw that Xie Zhizhou was already fully dressed.

Before she could ask, Xie Zhizhou took her hand and walked out with her.

[Forget it, it’s the middle of the night. It wouldn’t be convenient for me to lead a group alone anyway. Having him along might help me put on a show of authority.]

Xie Zhizhou felt somewhat relieved.

Zhu Yu lived in an inconspicuous single-courtyard house in Chatang Alley.

By all accounts, Baoxiang Tower had given her substantial dividends over the years, so she shouldn’t have been living in such straitened circumstances.

However, her gambling-addicted husband had shown no restraint over the years. After losing all the family’s assets, he sold off their farmland, then later disposed of a small quadrangle residence, forcing the entire family to squeeze into this cramped, low-roofed house.

The two servants sent by Lin Xunen were burly men who handled Zhu Yu’s husband as easily as catching a chick.

Baidou stepped forward with a lantern to illuminate the man’s face. The two servants swiftly bound him, gagged him, and threw him to the ground before stepping forward to bow to Lin Shengshen.

“Young lady, we’ve captured him.”

Lin Shengshen nodded, then noticed neighbors from nearby houses peeking out curiously. She signaled Peilan with her eyes.

Peilan led several household servants to shoo the nosy neighbors back inside.

Lin Shengshen circled the small sedan chair before asking, “Shopkeeper Zhu, what are your thoughts?”

Zhu Yu wiped her tears and replied, “Young lady, please spare him just this once.”

Lin Shengshen laughed in exasperation. “Do you know what he intended to do?”

Zhu Yu only wept without answering.

“It seems you knew.” Lin Shengshen nodded, feeling disappointed by her lack of resolve. “Wan’er is so young. How could you bear to see her sold as a concubine?”

Zhu Yu shook her head. “A girl must marry when she comes of age. Though she’d be a concubine, it’s to a wealthy family. She’d live a comfortable life.”

“A comfortable life?! Married to a sixty-year-old man—what kind of good life could that be? Why don’t you tidy yourself up and offer yourself instead?!”

Zhu Yu shook her head in horror. “No! That’s not right! It was supposed to be a young gentleman. How could it be a sixty-year-old man?”

Wan’er, dressed in new clothes, sat dumbfounded in the grassy patch, her eyes vacant.

Lin Shengshen stepped forward to help Wan’er up.

Zhu Yu seemed to suddenly understand. She lunged at her husband, hitting and scratching him with all her strength.

“You said she’d be married to Squire Yu’s son! How could it be for Squire Yu himself? Wan’er is still so young! How could you bear to do this?!”

After being beaten fiercely for a while, the gag fell from Zhu Yu’s husband’s mouth. He cursed furiously, “What does it matter who she becomes a concubine to?! Squire Yu pays more, so of course I’d choose him! You wretched woman, how dare you hit me!”

In a flash, before anyone realized it, Zhu Yu’s husband had secretly cut the ropes with a sharp object. He sprang up and violently choked Zhu Yu’s neck!

Before Lin Shengshen could react, Wan’er beside her screamed and rushed forward, desperately grabbing her father’s hair while her other hand threw a handful of medicinal powder in his face.

An intense, pungent odor instantly spread. Zhu Yu’s husband howled in pain, completely enraged as he madly grabbed Wan’er’s arm. “You little bitch!”

He was about to strike Wan’er!

Lin Shengshen instinctively rushed forward to pull Wan’er away.

Zhu Yu’s husband could no longer see clearly, the stinging pain on his face driving him completely mad as he flailed wildly.

Just as he was about to grab Lin Shengshen, Xie Zhizhou strode forward and punched him squarely in the chest.

Zhu Yu’s husband spat blood and flew backward, landing flat on the ground. The pain in his face combined with the agony in his chest made him feel as if his bones were shattered. He curled up, moaning in pain.

“Yuan Qing, tie him up again and secure him at the county office entrance.” Xie Zhizhou stepped forward, grasping Lin Shengshen’s shoulders and examining her closely. Only after confirming she was completely unharmed did he release his grip.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye. Zhu Yu finally caught her breath, weeping and repeatedly calling out “Wan’er, Wan’er.”

Wan’er picked up the now-empty small porcelain bottle from the ground, wiped it clean with her sleeve, and handed it to Lin Shengshen. “Sister Lin, thank you so much today. This immense kindness, I will surely repay you.”

Then she walked to Zhu Yu’s side, her breathing still uneven, and patted her back gently. “Mother, he will never be able to hit you again.”

She didn’t shed a tear.

Lin Shengshen was still shaken, lingering in the aftermath of fear. She had never been in such peril before. Everything happened too quickly, leaving her no time to think.

[If I encounter such a situation again in the future, I must carry a self-defense weapon.]

She glanced at Zhu Yu and Wan’er again, her emotions too complex to find the right words. She could only sigh softly and say, “Baidou, take some people and clean this up.”

With that, Lin Shengshen lowered her head and began to leave. After taking just two steps, she suddenly remembered something and whirled around, grabbing Xie Zhizhou’s hand.

She saw that the section of his three middle fingers near the palm was already mangled and bloody.

Earlier, Zhu Yu’s husband had been covered in medicinal powder on his chest, and when Xie Zhizhou punched him, a significant amount had gotten on his hand!

This powder was highly irritating to the skin, causing excruciating pain upon contact.

“You got the powder on you!”

Xie Zhizhou didn’t even furrow his brow, merely nodding as if he felt no pain at all.

“Let’s go quickly! Back to the residence!” Lin Shengshen paused, then corrected herself, “Back to the Xie residence!”

The Xie residence was closer, and the wound needed immediate treatment and medication.

The carriage raced along, jostling violently inside. Lin Shengshen’s tea spilled quite a bit. She used a handkerchief soaked with the last of the tea to wipe Xie Zhizhou’s wounded fingers over and over.

Xie Zhizhou’s gaze remained fixed on Lin Shengshen. When she focused on a task, she became completely absorbed, her mind clear of all distractions at that moment.

Her fingers were soft, like high-quality silk, steadily cradling his injured hand.

Her movements were gentle, using a silk handkerchief embroidered with hibiscus flowers to meticulously wipe away the remaining powder from his fingers.

Her breath, warm and soft, fanned over his hand.

Yet her actions were also efficient. After quickly finishing the cleaning, she set his hand down and began mentally listing the medicinal ingredients she would need once they returned to the residence.

[Forsythia, dandelion, skullcap, lithospermum…]

Lin Shengshen was truly remarkable.

Xie Zhizhou’s heart felt as if a fine drizzle was falling, creating endless ripples.

“Lin Shengshen.”

“Hmm?”

“My hand hurts a lot.”

He extended his injured hand toward her again.