Chapter Thirty-Two [V] Brother-in-law Comes Looking for Me

Fearing that her mistress might worry because of a smallpox, Cui'e quickly reassured her, "Smallpox comes and goes quickly. Don't worry, Miss, it will be gone by tomorrow after a good night's sleep."

Li Jiaojiao slowly raised her hand and gently stroked the small, pinkish-red bump. After stroking it for a while, she moved her hand away and then moved it to her eyebrows, eyes, and nose.

This face has more than just a single pimple. The skin tone, the complexion, the eyes and brows... something seems off.

She used to have skin as white as snow, as delicate as a freshly peeled egg.

She used to be bright-colored, radiant, and full of energy every day.

How unlike now, with a worried look on her face, and even her complexion looking dull.

She admitted that she hadn't been sleeping well lately because of her younger brother's studies.

How could she not be anxious when her brother's plan to establish Xiaochun School had failed at the last minute?

If she harbored any resentment, she resented her second mother more than anyone else. But even with resentment, she couldn't lose her senses. Her mother, however, was quite cunning; she directly bribed people to poison the drinks her second mother sold.

If things had gone well, it would have been fine, but she messed things up.

Now, she has to clean up her mess again.

Li Jiaojiao did feel really exhausted lately and couldn't muster any energy.

I've really been feeling down lately.

Li Jiaojiao lazily put down the bronze mirror, not caring for her own complexion for the time being. She simply sent Cui'e to the front to listen in. Once her son-in-law returned home, Cui'e was to immediately inform her.

Cui'e immediately obeyed the order and went to carry out the task. Not long after, Cui'e returned.

"Miss, the young master just went home and is now in the master's study. He should be here soon."

"Okay." Li Jiaojiao replied, then thought for a moment before quickly sitting down at the dressing table. She quickly applied some rouge and powder to her face and then carefully drew her eyebrows.

Once her eyebrows were finished, Cui'e, who was keeping watch at the door, immediately said, "Miss, hurry up, the young master has already stepped through the door." After saying that, she stepped over the threshold and went out to greet him.

"Third Master," Cui'e bowed and greeted him.

Han Yue was unaware that his mother-in-law had gotten into trouble. He looked relaxed at the moment and asked when she came out to greet him, "Where's Grandma?"

“Grandma is inside,” Cui’e said quickly, “waiting for Grandpa to come back.”

Han Yue nodded and continued walking into the house.

At this moment, Li Jiaojiao had already dressed up carefully and was sitting quietly on the couch by the window, waiting for him.

Seeing him lift the curtain and enter, Li Jiaojiao immediately got up to greet him.

Han Yue is currently studying at the county school, which originally provided accommodation. However, since Han Yue's family lives in the county town and they have a car, making it convenient for him to travel back and forth, and since he has only recently gotten married and is still in the honeymoon phase, he leaves early and returns late every day and does not stay at the county school.

His mother feared that indulging in a life of pleasure would affect his studies, and hinted several times that he should move to the county school and only come home once every seven days. However, he had a good relationship with his wife and was reluctant to part with her, so every time his mother brought it up, he would step in front of his wife and politely refuse.

For him, the pleasures of the bedroom did not interfere with his studies. On the contrary, with his beloved wife at home to worry about, he was even more determined to study hard.

"How was your day at home? Did anyone give you a hard time?" Han Yue asked directly. Clearly, in his heart, his wife was the closest person to him since their marriage. If his mother and sisters-in-law were to make things difficult for his wife, he would definitely stand up for her.

Seeing him like this, Li Jiaojiao felt even more guilty. She lowered her head slightly and shook it gently.

"What's wrong? You don't look well," Han Yue asked with concern.

"How could you tell, husband?" Li Jiaojiao asked in surprise, quickly touching her cheek and frowning as she asked, "Does your face really look bad?"

"No." Seeing how concerned she was, Han Yue smiled and pulled her into his arms, saying, "No matter what, you are the most beautiful in my heart."

Li Jiaojiao gripped the handkerchief tighter, her mind completely elsewhere, preoccupied with matters of love. She stammered anxiously, "My...my husband, I..."

Han Yue was burying his face in her neck when he noticed her evasive words. He looked up and asked, "What's wrong?"

From this angle, she was looking down at his face. And being so close, his handsome features and striking eyebrows were deeply reflected in her eyes.

"My mother came to see me today," Li Jiaojiao said timidly.

Upon hearing this, Han Yue's interest immediately waned, and he sat up straight, his voice still gentle.

"Did Mother come here for something?" he asked.

Thinking about what her mother had done, and the danger her mother would face if she didn't ask Sanlang to solve the problem... she couldn't help but shed tears.

"Mother... Mother has encountered some trouble." Then, she told her husband everything her mother had done.

Han Yue's expression grew increasingly grim as he listened, until finally, all smiles vanished from his face, and his expression turned ashen.

He clenched his jaw and pressed his lips tightly together, clearly displaying his intense anger.

Li Jiaojiao didn't dare to look at him, but cautiously observed his expression, and continued to plead for her mother: "Mother is confused, but she was also confused by anger. You put so much effort into Zong Ge'er's matter, but in the end it still didn't work out. Second Mother intercepted it, and Mother hates Second Mother in her heart."

Li Jiaojiao cried as she spoke, "I know this has caused you trouble again, and I've already talked to my mother about it. But what's done is done, and we can't just ignore it." Li Jiaojiao was heartbroken, especially seeing Han Yue's grim expression.

Han Yue was furious; he had absolutely no tolerance for his mother-in-law's stupidity and malice.

How stupid must a person be to commit such an evil act?

But because of his wife, Han Yue couldn't vent his anger and could only suppress it.

After enduring for a while and calming down, Han Yue said, "This matter is not difficult to resolve. I will go to Second Aunt and hope she can be lenient. As long as she can let it go and not file a complaint, the matter will be resolved."

Li Jiaojiao was happy to hear that he had agreed to help. But when he said he was going to find her second aunt, she became uneasy again.

"You're going to find Second Aunt?" she asked, her face full of worry. "But how could Second Aunt possibly agree?"

"How will you know if you don't try?" Han Yue retorted. His face clearly showed impatience.

Seeing that his wife seemed frightened by his impatience, Han Yue calmed down a bit and patiently explained, "No matter what, Second Aunt is still surnamed Li and has the blood of the Li family flowing in her veins. This matter was wrong of Mother-in-law, so we will definitely have to apologize to Second Aunt when the time comes. If we can resolve it this way, that would be the best outcome."

She also wanted her mother to apologize to her stepmother... Li Jiaojiao bit her lip tightly, looking like she wanted to say something but couldn't.

In the end, she still pleaded for her mother, saying, "Husband, Mother is an elder. I'm afraid she won't agree to apologize to a junior like Second Aunt. Isn't there any other way? Can this be resolved without going through Second Aunt?"

Han Yue could roughly guess what she was thinking, and he was even angrier inside, but he held back and only asked his wife, "Then what do you suggest we do?"

Li Jiaojiao hesitated, thinking that things had already come to this point, so what was there that couldn't be said? So she simply said, "Husband... you have now passed the provincial examination with top honors, and you are currently enjoying great success. Even the county magistrate is looking at you with new respect. So, if you could go to the county magistrate and plead for Mother, perhaps... perhaps this matter could be resolved."

Han Yue didn't speak, but just stared at his wife with a stern face.

At that moment, a thought suddenly flashed through his mind: In his wife's eyes and heart, was he, her husband, more important, or was her family more important?

Han Yue ultimately didn't want to think too badly of people, especially his bedmate.

So, after his anger subsided, he forced himself to calm down and continued to patiently explain: "I am just a scholar. In the whole county school, who isn't a scholar? My status is not enough to impress even the successful candidate Weng, let alone Magistrate Hong. If I really go to plead for him, and Magistrate Hong is an impartial enforcer who doesn't show any leniency, then my future prospects might not be so smooth."

Seeing that the matter was so serious, Li Jiaojiao immediately said, "Of course, your future is the most important thing, my husband. We will do as you say and go and ask Second Madam. At that time, I can also apologize to Second Madam on behalf of my mother."

Seeing her reaction, Han Yue felt somewhat relieved. At least, in her heart, his future was more important than her family.

"I'm going to find Second Aunt." This matter cannot be delayed, and he has to go to the county school tomorrow during the day, so he can only go during this time.

Li Jiaojiao hesitated for a moment, but ultimately decided to go along.

"My husband and I are together."

She had dealt with her stepmother before and hadn't gotten the better of her. Although she didn't want to provoke her again, she had no choice but to go because it involved her mother.

Han Yue also felt that it would be better for her to go with him, since it was getting late and it wouldn't be appropriate for her brother-in-law to go to see his sister-in-law alone.

Han Yue immediately ordered a car to be prepared. By the time the car reached the entrance of Tongye Hutong, the sky had already turned a dark blue.

Li Yan still planned to set up her milk tea stall today. Firstly, the Wang family from the countryside had already delivered the milk this morning, and she couldn't return it. Secondly, she had already taken the matter to court last night, and everyone knew it wasn't her fault. Besides, she had taken good care of the customers who had drunk her milk tea, sending them to the clinic and paying their medical expenses.

She thought it shouldn't affect her business.

Aunt Xue was worried and insisted on going to the stall with her daughter-in-law. Li Yan couldn't persuade her otherwise, so she agreed.

When Han Yue and his wife arrived, the family of four was having dinner in the main room.

Hearing the knock, Xu Ge'er ran faster than he spoke, already in the yard. His voice came through: "I'll open the door." When he opened the door and saw the unfamiliar man and woman, he froze.

He didn't recognize the man, but he had met the woman just a few days ago.

Xu Ge'er's mind worked very quickly, and he immediately greeted the two people outside the door: "Aunt Li, Uncle Li."

Li Jiaojiao followed beside her husband Han Yue without saying a word. Han Yue quickly looked the boy up and down, then asked with a gentle smile, "Are you Xu-ge'er?"

Xu Ge'er nodded respectfully: "That's right."

This was Han Yue's first time meeting Xu Ge'er. Although young, he was polite and respectful, far superior to his brother-in-law, Li Zong. Judging from his appearance, he was only a year or two older than Li Zong. They were similar in age, yet their personalities and character differed greatly. It's said that you can tell a person's future from the age of three, and now that they were both seven or eight, their current personalities were pretty much set in stone.

Considering that he was a student personally accepted by Scholar Weng, Han Yue assumed he was exceptionally talented and learned. Therefore, Han Yue had a good first impression of him.

"I heard you were personally accepted as a student by Elder Weng, that's really impressive." Han Yue praised with a smile, "Xiaochun Academy is hard to get into, and it's rare for Elder Weng to appreciate a child like you. Xu-ge, you've already succeeded halfway."

Hearing this, Li Jiaojiao felt somewhat uncomfortable.

Praising Xue Xu is tantamount to belittling Zong Ge'er.

After all, Xue Xu had snatched the spot at Xiaochun Academy from Zong Ge'er.

Xu Ge'er was very modest. He cupped his hands in a gesture of respect and said, "Thank you for your kind words. Xue Xu does not deserve them."

Just then, Li Yan's voice rang out in the courtyard: "Xu-ge'er, who is it?"

Xu Ge'er then called out to those inside, "It's Aunt Li and Uncle Li." He then made way for the two of them to go in and talk.

Not long after Xu Ge'er finished speaking, Li Yan and the other two came out of the house.

Li Yan never expected that Han Yue would come looking for her.

I had met the female protagonist Li Jiaojiao in the book before, but this time, it was the first time I met the male protagonist Han Yue in the book.

Under the dark blue sky, the man, dressed in an indigo robe, was tall and slender. Even a cursory glance revealed that he was just as described in the book, like a gentle breeze and a bright moon, or like a green cypress in the forest.

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Author's Note: Ta-da! The first meeting between the male protagonist and the female protagonist of this story~~~

It's almost the end of the month, Hehe, please continue to ask for some watering! [kiss]