After lunch, Xu Yining had no interest in returning to her room. The palace had been massive, but every inch of it was soaked in politics. This place, though smaller, gave her something far more valuable; freedom.
She stepped outside through the hallway behind the dining area. The sun was warm, the air quiet. A neat garden stretched out before her, lined with stone paths, flower beds, and a small koi pond. A little farther, she noticed a glass structure; the greenhouse.
She strolled through the garden, her steps relaxed. The palace gardens were manicured but suffocating. This one, while modest, felt peaceful.
More than anything, she was free.
No emperor. No eunuchs. No bitter-faced concubines scheming. Just her and open space.
From the original Xu Yining's memories, she understood this world gave women choices. They could work, travel, live on their own terms. No one expected them to sacrifice themselves for marriage or lineage.
That was exactly what she planned to do.
And thankfully, this now husband of hers had no interest in coming home. That suited her perfectly. She could eat what she wanted, go where she wanted, wear what she liked.
As for that teenage brother-in-law of hers, she smirked to herself, if he didn't behave, she would just straighten him out personally.
Walking by the pond, she hummed lightly. Unbeknownst to her, several servants peeked out from windows and hallways. Most of them had barely seen her outside her room. Since the wedding, she had locked away herself in her room or if she was not in her room, she was out.
Now, watching her walk gracefully in the garden with a soft smile on her face, they were stunned. Her long hair, delicate features, and composed expression made her look like someone from a historical drama. She didn't just look beautiful; she looked untouchable.
The butler walked by silently, giving a stern glance at the distracted staff. Everyone snapped back to their duties, though whispers continued in the kitchen.
Xu Yining wandered for nearly two hours, through the greenhouse, around the lotus pond, and along the stone walls of the inner yard. Eventually, her hunger returned.
As the sky darkened into early evening, she made her way across the backyard path that led back into the living room. That's when she noticed movement behind one of the trees.
She stopped.
She saw someone hiding behind the tree.
Her eyes narrowed as she moved closer, step by step, without alerting the person. The figure didn't move until she was just a few feet away.
Then he turned, spotted her, and bolted.
Xu Yining reacted instantly. She chased him down the paved path, reached out, grabbed the strap of his bag, pulled him back with one hand and caught his collar with the other.
With a firm twist and a practiced pivot.
He hit the ground with a loud thud.
"Ehhhhhh… ahhh, that hurts," the boy groaned, eyes squinting in pain.
The nearby servants who were already sneaking looks at Xu Yining saw the scene and what they saw left them frozen.
Their quiet, delicate-looking mistress had just body-slammed their young master into the ground. Neatly. Efficiently. And without breaking a sweat.
"Xu Yining, what are you doing? Why did you throw me to the ground? You… you just wait, I'm going to complain to my elder brother!" Li Zixuan growled, his voice pained and humiliated.
He couldn't believe this. He, a young man in the prime of his teenage pride, had been thrown onto the ground by Xu Yining. The servants saw it. How could he lift his head in this house ever again? His image, his dignity, all gone. Crushed in one throw.
Xu Yining crouched beside him, now looking properly at his face. With a faint smirk, she said calmly, "Oh, it's you, little brother in law. I didn't recognize you. But you really shouldn't sneak around like an assassin. Even though I'm the mistress of the house now, I have no problem letting you live here so don't sneak in like a thief next time. Just use the main gate."
Li Zixuan's jaw dropped.
Little brother in law? Her house?
An assassin and a thief?
He was fuming.
He didn't even want to be near her. The only reason he had tried to sneak into the house from the backyard was because the driver had casually mentioned that she came down to eat lunch today. That terrified him.
This mad woman had tortured his peace for the last two years.
He still remembered when she couldn't stalk his brother or couldn't reach him because of his bodyguards, she turned to him and since then he has became a victim of her insanity.
The last time she stalked him, it had ruined his only date with the girl he had crush on for years. The girl never spoke to him again after Xu Yining popped up and started blabbering and crying.
He had worked hard for months to get that date. And in just ten minutes, Xu Yining destroyed it all. She wouldn't stop talking. She wouldn't stop crying. His crush thought he was cheating. And just like that, the girl he liked was gone.
Since that day, he had avoided her like the plague but somehow she had a superpower and would pop out of nowhere in front of him again and again.
He had done everything to avoid her. But when she married into the Li family and moved in, his nightmares returned.
She would cry every time she saw him and go on and on about his brother.
And when he complained to his brother, his brother had the audacity to say, "She's your sister in law. Treat her with respect."
Sister in law my foot.
And why wasn't his brother coming home if he respected her so much?
Why was he stuck living with this crazy woman while his elder brother conveniently never returned home?
But he couldn't say these things out loud. If he did, his brother would block his bank cards. So he endured.
And now this mad woman dared to throw him on the ground.
"Who is your little brother in law? How dare you call me that!" he shouted.
With a slight tilt of her head, she smirked. "Listen, little brother in law. I don't care if you complain to your brother. I don't love him…well anymore. But since I'm still married to him, and I'm your sister in law, you better not talk back to me. And if you do, I'll spank you every time you talk back to me."
She raised her hand.
Li Zixuan's body flinched on its own. He shrank slightly.
But she only patted his head, very gently.
"Are we clear, little brother in law?" Xu Yining said politely maintaining that smirk on her face.
Li Zixuan jumped to his feet without answering and ran toward the house. At the doorway, he turned around and shouted, "I'm not your little brother in law!"
Then he disappeared upstairs like his pants were on fire.
In his room, he slammed the door, locked it, and fell onto his bed.
"Ahhhhhhh… I'm so embarrassed. I've lost all my respect. How will I live now?"
He pulled at his hair. He couldn't believe she had scared him like that.
All the servants had seen it too. His miserable state.
He was the young master of the Li family. His pride had been shattered. His reputation ruined. And it was all because of that crazy woman.
Downstairs the servants could barely keep from laughing as they returned to their chores.
Xu Yining, on the other hand, walked back with a satisfied smile. She liked how scared he looked. That brat was disrespectful, and as his elder, she had every right to correct him.
Dinner tasted especially good that night.
Later, she sat in front of her vanity, inspecting the skin care products spread before her. From her memories, she understood these were modern items used to maintain one's youth and skin glow.
She opened each one, applied them carefully, and ended with a sheet mask across her face. Then she lay back on the bed, the laptop open in front of her, watching videos on skincare.
She was impressed.
This era's inventions were truly a wonder.
A buzzing sound interrupted her thoughts. She fished out the source from under her pillow, a small rectangular box called;The phone.
She picked up the call.
The moment it connected, a sharp voice burst out.
"Yining, what the hell is wrong with you? Why aren't you picking up your phone since morning? Look at the number of times I've called. When will you take your job seriously? I'm trying my ass off to get you projects, but when will you actually work?"
Xu Yining winced. The device was too loud. She pressed a button and placed it on speaker.
"Tell me the work and I'll do it," she said calmly.
Silence.
She stared at the screen, wondering if it had broken. She hit the rectangular box a couple of times to make it work again.
Finally a few seconds later, her assistant responded.
"Are you serious? You're actually going to work this time?"
"I am," Xu Yining replied.
"Alright then. I've arranged an advertisement project. You'll be working with a famous male actor. If this goes well, your face will be everywhere in the nation. Please be at the Lauden Hotel tomorrow by seven. Do not mess this up."
"I'll be there. And stop yelling, you'll get wrinkles and your face will turn ugly and old" Xu Yining added, wanting to share the information she had just heard in one of those skincare videos she had seen before the call.
On the other side, her assistant, Chen Xin, sat speechless. Wrinkles? Face will turn ugly and old? Yes, that could happen and it will all be because of this girl.
For four years, she had watched this spoiled girl skip out on one job after another. Now she wanted to act calm?
Back in the room, Xu Yining placed the phone down and smiled.
To talk with someone through a box. To see the world through another. This era was strange, but fascinating.