Chapter 48 "Things I've given away, I..."

"No!" Meng Yuanxiao said defiantly, "Mingyue isn't my husband, why should I need her to stay with me?"

Cui Xintang: "..."

Meng Yuanxiao felt wronged, but thought it was pointless. She sniffed and said in a muffled voice, "Brother Tang, you go ahead, don't worry about me."

After saying that, she didn't look at him again, turned around and strode back into the room, slamming the door shut with a "bang".

Cui Xintang stood outside the courtyard gate, watching her figure disappear. He wanted to go back and coax her, but after hearing the sound of the door slamming, he didn't go in.

Qingzhu was startled by the sound of the door slamming. He glanced at his master's expression and waited before carefully saying, "I have already sent someone to Yunping County as you instructed, Master."

Cui Xintang withdrew her gaze and gave him a cold look.

A layer of cold sweat broke out on Qingzhu's forehead. He knew what his master meant, and hurriedly said, "Master, don't worry. I have already given instructions. In addition to settling things over there, I also want to have someone give Young Master Lin a good meal and keep a close eye on him."

After saying that, Qingzhu hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Master, what about the Lin family?"

"Leave it to air out." Cui Xintang said these two words, glanced at the courtyard again, and walked away.

Qingzhu was stunned for a moment, then quickly followed.

As the carriage drove out of the Cui residence and just exited the alley, Qingzhu spotted a carriage flashing by ahead, which looked like the Lin family's cloth shop.

In the blink of an eye, the carriage had turned onto the main road and headed in the other direction.

The Lin family's cloth shop was in business, and they often delivered cloth and clothing to various mansions, so it wasn't unusual to see them on the road.

Qingzhu hesitated for a moment, fearing that her master would be annoyed, so she didn't say anything.

He couldn't help but think to himself that the Lin family was getting increasingly audacious.

He could guess how Lin Yu's letter ended up in Princess Langyue's hands, so how could his master not guess?

It must have been Lin Yu who wrote the letter, describing his situation in Yunping County and complaining to the Lin family that his master no longer cared about him.

Miss Lin tried to see her master several times, but he refused. She didn't dare to say anything to the First Madam, as it would be useless anyway, so she set her sights on the Princess.

Lin Yu must have subtly mentioned something in his letter to the Lin family. Miss Lin was certain that her master was wary and dared not let Lin Yu fall into the hands of the princess.

That's why Miss Lin set her sights on Princess Langyue, hoping to use the princess to pressure her master into continuing to take care of Lin Yu.

Fearing that his master would find out, he deliberately had Steward Lin come to his door that day and cause a scene in front of the young mistress.

Miss Lin was always gentle and kind in his presence, and he always thought she was a smart and tactful person.

Therefore, whenever the Lin family encountered problems, they would seek help from his master, who would then send him to handle them, and he would spare no effort in doing so.

He had no idea that Miss Lin was so audacious as to plot against his master.

However, it's not entirely surprising. Miss Lin isn't as simple-minded as the young mistress. Before the Lin family's troubles, Miss Lin had used her master quite a bit to scheme for herself and the Lin family.

When the Lin family first arrived in the capital, Miss Lin got engaged to her master, which led to her being ridiculed behind her back by many noble ladies in the capital.

There were quite a few noble ladies who were fond of his master back then.

Miss Lin remained calm and ignored the noble ladies, focusing instead on currying favor with the First Madam and thus humiliating them.

And back then, Lin Yu called his master "brother-in-law" everywhere, which was probably also Miss Lin's idea. After all, with Lin Yu's blockhead, how could he have come up with such thoughts?

However, the Lin family must have had ulterior motives to test us like this.

His master couldn't be bothered with these things, but to bring the matter of Yunping County to the princess's attention would be to offend his master.

Nobody likes being schemed against, especially not his master.

Meng Yuanxiao sulked alone in his room for a while before sending someone to the main courtyard to inform them, and then took Hongshao to the Zhang residence to play with Zhang Mingyue.

Upon meeting, Zhang Mingyue said, "Yuanyuan, why haven't you come to visit me in so long? Yesterday I thought you would send me an invitation and ask me to go watch the martial arts champion parade together!"

After saying that, she stuck out her tongue again, "I did want to go find you, but last time I went to the Cui residence to ask you to go out and play together, I ran into your mother-in-law, and she didn't seem very happy about it, so I don't dare to go find you anymore."

Meng Yuanxiao frowned, also somewhat displeased.

She said, "You can come whenever you want in the future, don't worry about others, or you can send me an invitation and I'll come find you."

“Okay,” Zhang Mingyue agreed casually, then added, “By the way, Lu Erlang passed the imperial examination, Yuanyuan, have you heard?”

"Really?" Meng Yuanxiao was indeed unaware of this. She had not seen Lu Erlang since returning from the manor, nor had anyone mentioned him to her.

"Yes, I heard she did quite well on the exam and can get into the Hanlin Academy!" Zhang Mingyue said.

"Oh." Meng Yuanxiao replied with little interest.

Zhang Mingyue was still somewhat resentful about what had happened earlier.

She said angrily, "I heard that matchmakers have been flocking to the Lu family to propose marriage lately, practically wearing down the threshold. Ha, didn't he tell me he already had someone he loved? I want to see if he can marry the person he loves, or if he'll eventually give in and marry someone else."

Meng Yuanxiao: "..."

The two strolled around the streets for half an hour before arriving at a restaurant. Once inside a private room, Zhang Mingyue asked, "Yuanyuan, didn't you say you wanted to run a cloth shop? How's that going?"

Upon hearing the name of the cloth shop, Meng Yuanxiao lost his desire to speak.

Zhang Mingyue said, "My mother owns a cloth shop, which she plans to give to me as part of my dowry. So, she has entrusted the shop to me these past few days. If you want to open a cloth shop, I can ask the shop manager to help you."

Meng Yuanxiao was surprised, "Mingyue, you own a cloth shop?"

“Yes,” Zhang Mingyue said, “I didn’t have the final say in the cloth shop before, but now I do. Just let me know whenever you need anything.”

A thought suddenly flashed through Meng Yuanxiao's mind, but she quickly suppressed it.

After thinking for a moment, she said, "We'll talk about it another time."

Normally, when they go out to play, they would play until the afternoon, and only go back when they were both tired.

But before Cui Xintang left today, he said he would come back early to be with her, so after leaving the restaurant and wandering around for a while, Meng Yuanxiao went back.

Upon returning to the Cui residence, Cui Xintang had not yet returned. Instead, a servant reported that Steward Lin had arrived and was waiting for her in the front hall.

Meng Yuanxiao had no idea that Steward Lin was so shameless as to have the nerve to come and see her.

Heh, this time I won't be waiting for Brother Tang.

Upon arriving at the front hall, Steward Lin immediately stood up, bowed, and greeted the young mistress.

Meng Yuanxiao said, "Manager Lin is not a member of the Cui family, so there's no need for this. What brings Manager Lin here today? Is it to return the money?"

Manager Lin chuckled twice, "Young Madam, we've come to return something, not money. Our cloth shop just received a new batch of fabric, and we can't come up with the money right now. We'll have to wait until next month."

After saying that, she took out a wooden box from her bosom, opened it, and placed it on the small table next to Meng Yuanxiao. "This old servant is here today to return this on behalf of Miss."

The wooden box was only a few inches square, slightly larger than a palm. Meng Yuanxiao was taken aback when he saw the jade bracelet inside.

The bracelet is emerald green and translucent with excellent clarity, making it clear at a glance that it is quite valuable.

Steward Lin said, "This jade bracelet was a gift from the First Madam to our young lady. When the two families broke off the engagement, this bracelet should have been returned to the Cui family, but at that time, this was the only valuable thing our young lady had left."

"In desperation, the young lady hid the bracelet, thinking that if she could return to the capital one day, she could sell it and use the money to make a living."

"After returning to the capital, thanks to the First Madam and the Eldest Young Master for remembering our old friendship and taking good care of us. After Miss found the bracelet, the Eldest Young Master married you right away. If the bracelet were returned, I was afraid that you would misunderstand, so it has been delayed."

"I saw you and the eldest young master last time. After returning, I reported what you and the eldest young master had said to Miss. Miss was very ashamed and instructed me to shamelessly find an opportunity to return the bracelet to the Cui family."

"It was a gift from the First Madam, and it should have been returned to her. However, the Eldest Young Master instructed that in the future, he should report directly to you, Young Madam, and not bother the First Madam. So today, this old servant will return the bracelet to you..."

Meng Yuanxiao stared at the bracelet on the small table, lost in thought for a moment. She didn't hear a word of what Steward Lin said afterward.

After Steward Lin finished speaking, she said, "I understand. Steward Lin, you may return now."

As soon as Steward Lin left, Meng Yuanxiao couldn't help but tear up. She sat in the hall for a moment, stunned, before instructing Hongshao to take the things and return to the backyard.

When Cui Xintang returned, it was already dark. He pushed open the door and saw Meng Yuanxiao had changed into his nightgown and was leaning against the couch, reading a storybook.

He walked over and glanced at the storybook in her hand; it was still the storybook of the Martial Arts Scholar.

He reached out and pinched Meng Yuanxiao's cheek, amused, and said, "Haven't you seen enough yet?"

Meng Yuanxiao didn't even raise her head, turning her face away from his hand.

Only then did Cui Xintang notice that her eyes were slightly red, as if she had been crying.

He paused, about to speak, when he caught a glimpse of the jade bracelet on the small table beside him and stopped.

The room fell silent for a moment. Cui Xintang's gaze fell on the bracelet, and she couldn't help but frown.

"This was delivered by Steward Lin this afternoon. He said he wanted to return it to his mother. Brother Tang, when you have time, please take it to your mother," Meng Yuanxiao said.

"...Manager Lin is here?"

"Hmm." Meng Yuanxiao didn't even look at him.

Cui Xintang's expression darkened. After a moment of silence, he said, "Didn't Yuanyuan want it?"

"When did I say I wanted it?" Meng Yuanxiao finally looked up at him.

She pressed her lips tightly together, but her eyes still welled up with tears. "I don't want anything that's already been given away!"

"..."

Meng Yuanxiao looked at him, feeling indescribably wronged, and tears welled up in her eyes. "Why did you say you didn't know about this bracelet when I asked about it that time?"

Cui Xintang raised her hand to wipe away her tears, but Meng Yuanxiao avoided it.

Cui Xintang's hand froze in mid-air. After a moment of silence, he said, "I really didn't know when my mother gave the bracelet to Miss Lin. By the time I found out, the Lin family had already run into trouble, and I had no way to ask for it back."

“When Yuanyuan asked about it last time, I was afraid you would be unhappy, so I said I didn’t know. This is a bracelet left by my grandmother. If Yuanyuan likes it, she can keep it. There’s no need to return it to her mother.”

"I don't want to!" Meng Yuanxiao said defiantly.

Cui Xintang frowned even more deeply. He looked down at her for a moment, then glanced at the bracelet and said, "If you don't want it, just put it away, or throw it away."

After saying that, her tone softened a bit, "Yuanyuan will be happy to wear the bracelet that Brother Tang gave her."

From the moment Meng Yuanxiao saw the bracelet, she felt extremely wronged and upset.

But the bracelet was given away by her mother-in-law, not by her brother-in-law Tang, and she didn't want to make a fuss about it.

Besides, Miss Lin was originally the woman Brother Tang was going to marry.

So even though she felt wronged and upset, she thought that when Brother Tang came back, she could explain things to him properly and coax him, and then he might not hold it against her.

But she wouldn't take the bracelet either; she wouldn't want something that wasn't given sincerely.

She didn't care about her mother-in-law; all she cared about was that her brother-in-law, Tang, loved her.

But when Tang-gege finally returned, he saw the bracelet and didn't feel sorry for her. He just gave a dry explanation and didn't even have the patience to coax her. It was as if she was being unreasonable.

He either didn't know, or didn't want to think, about what she cared about.

This feeling was like punching cotton, completely defusing all the bravado she had been holding on to, and it was truly meaningless.

Meng Yuanxiao felt increasingly aggrieved as she thought about it, and tears streamed down her face like broken beads.

After a brief standoff, Cui Xintang gave in first. He sighed softly, raised his hand to wipe away her tears, and gently comforted her.

"It was Brother Tang's fault, Yuan Yuan, don't be angry, okay? Yuan Yuan doesn't need to covet other people's things. If you don't want this bracelet, just throw it away. If there's anything you want, Brother Tang will give it to you."

Meng Yuanxiao pursed her lips and looked at him. After a long while, she suddenly asked, "Brother Tang, how is the matter between Yunping County and the Xu family?"

"Didn't you promise me that you would get back everything that belonged to Ye Shi and Wang Dalang and return it to Niu Niu? But we've been back in the capital for so long, why hasn't anything happened to the Xu family?"

She suddenly asked this question, her tone full of doubt. Cui Xintang frowned. "Didn't I say that we are not allowed to meddle in court affairs?"

Meng Yuanxiao ignored his words; tears still clung to her long eyelashes, and her chest felt heavy.

"Actually, Brother Tang, you didn't report the matter of Yunping County to the Princess truthfully, did you?"

Cui Xintang's tone was slightly helpless, "Does Yuanyuan think that Brother Tang is tired of having his head hanging on his neck for too long?"

"Isn't that right?" Meng Yuanxiao sniffed and sneered, "If what the Xu family did were exposed, Lin Yu wouldn't be spared either, so Brother Tang, you kept those things the Xu family did a secret."

She stared intently at Cui Xintang with her almond-shaped eyes, and seeing that he remained silent, her heart sank even further.

Cui Xintang was silent for a moment, then suddenly said, "So that's why Yuanyuan insisted on going to the banquet at the Princess's residence on New Year's Eve?"

Meng Yuanxiao pursed her lips and did not answer him.

She truly didn't believe him. Ever since she learned about the Lin family's affairs, Yunping County, and the Ye family's matters, she had refused to trust him.

So on New Year's Eve, she knew that the women of Xu Taifu's family would also be attending the banquet. So even though she was nervous about going to the banquet alone, she still wanted to see the Princess's attitude towards the Xu family and find out more.

However, at the banquet, she not only failed to find out anything, but also saw the Princess and Madam Xu chatting and laughing happily.

She was disappointed when she returned.

Her silence was an admission.

Cui Xintang rarely showed a cold expression in front of her, "Does Yuanyuan know what she's doing?"

Meng Yuanxiao was stunned for a moment, and then tears started falling down her face again.

Cui Xintang didn't try to appease her. "You can do whatever you want with the Lin family's affairs, but you're not allowed to get involved in the affairs of Yunping County and the Xu family anymore. Do you understand?"