Chapter 131

Waking up in the morning, Yueming found himself curled up in Yunkai's arms. He had woken up long ago but hadn't called her. When she opened her eyes, he kissed her forehead, rubbing their noses together: "Good morning!"

Yueming was still half-awake, half-asleep, and half-asleep, thinking that she and Yunkai were still in their mansion in Bangkok. Every morning, he would only get out of bed after rubbing his ears like this with her.

Yueming leaned on Yunkai's chest, crying silently. Yunkai felt the wetness on her chest and realized that this silly girl was sad again. He pecked her forehead and said sorry over and over again. Yueming cried for a while, pushed him away, climbed out of bed, and said with sobs: "I have to go and serve tea to the old lady."

Yun Kai felt deeply distressed when he saw her thinking about serving tea to her mother before she had even finished crying. He hugged her from behind while she was sitting on the bed putting on her shoes and whispered in her ear, "When things get a little more peaceful, I'll take you back to Bangkok to live for a while."

Yueming put on his shoes, stood up to change his clothes, and replied lightly: "Let's talk later!"

Looking at the figure disappearing behind the screen, Yun Kai felt very uncomfortable and thought sadly in his heart: Will she never believe what I say again?

The two walked through the corridor to the old lady's courtyard. Back at Yunxiang, yesterday's wedding was Yueming's first time stepping into the Tusi Mansion. The flowers in the mansion were still as fragrant as before, but Yueming felt as if she were in another world. The scenery before her was so familiar, yet so strange.

The Third and Eighth Madams had arrived early in Yin Tai's room, waiting for Yueming to serve tea. Thinking of Yueming, the girl with whom she had fought so fiercely, the Third Madam felt a mixture of emotions. Such a proud child, after all these twists and turns, had finally returned to her.

Seeing the two of them enter the house together, the old lady was in a trance for a moment. It was as if she had returned to the time when Yueming was staying at the mansion, and Yunkai brought Yueming to her place for breakfast.

The third young lady was very excited to see Yueming. When Yunkai and Yueming broke up, she cried sincerely because they could not be together as lovers. Yunkai asked her to help raise the raccoon slave, and she agreed immediately.

The eldest wife looked at Yueming with a bitter taste in her mouth. Her envy of Yueming had at least given her the consolation that she would eventually become Prime Minister Yun's concubine. No matter how favored Yueming was, she still had to kowtow to her. Unexpectedly, Yueming would eventually take the position. Today, the only person in the room who had the right to make her kowtow was the old wife.

Yueming was filled with mixed emotions as she looked at the room full of familiar faces. The only person she hadn't seen before was her cousin from Xincheng. As Ai Ye had said, she looked gentle and well-mannered, and seemed easy to get along with.

Before serving tea, Yueming wanted to bow to the old lady first. Tonglin was about to get a cushion when the old lady shook her hand and said, "Even the master has exempted you from the formalities, so there's no need for me to do so. We're all family, so it's easier to live a life with a loose set of rules."

Yueming's eyebrows jumped, and she felt that the old lady's words were a warning to her. Yunkai smiled at Yueming and said, "Why don't you thank your mother?" Yueming's mouth twitched when she heard it.

After offering tea, Yunkai went to see off the guests who were celebrating their overnight stay, leaving Yueming to talk to the old lady. As soon as he left, the atmosphere in the room suddenly became tense.

Yueming was a little surprised to see Se Manli missing. Given her temperament, even if she was sick and had only one breath left, she would crawl to find trouble with her, but she didn't show up. Yueming felt sorry for her; such opportunities wouldn't be common in the future.

The Third and Eighth Madams chatted for a few words before leaving. Before leaving, the Third Miss whispered to Yueyueming, "Where is Li Nu? I'll send her over to you later."

Yueming smiled and nodded.

Only Yueming and the old lady were left in the room, and the atmosphere became increasingly awkward. Yueming wanted to leave, but she couldn't! Were they going to be speechless like this from now on? She apologized to the old lady, "My wife was a little rude when you came to my house earlier. Please don't blame her. My wife just speaks her mind. That's just her temper. She didn't mean anything else."

The old lady said with a pleasant face, "You worry too much. I don't take it to heart. If you look up, you marry your daughter; if you look down, you marry your wife. Your family also loves and respects you."

Yueming nodded and smiled, "In a family like ours, we speculate and weigh everything. My wife's straightforward nature, while unsuitable for the times, does save us a lot of trouble. Living with constant speculation is tiring. When things are discussed openly, life becomes more open and bright."

The old lady nodded in agreement. "Yes! A family living with suspicions about others' thoughts will only lead to disunity. It would be better to talk it out face to face and save trouble."

"Right! Right! Right!" Yueming clapped her hands. "That's exactly what I mean. If you want to argue, do it face to face. Don't feel wronged if you don't mention it now."

The communication between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law was very successful. Tonglin was confused. After Yueming left, he quietly asked the old lady: "What kind of riddle is this, Madam Yueming?"

The old lady picked up her tea, blew away the floating leaves, took a sip, and smiled. "She promised me that it was over and she wouldn't bring up the past." She sighed and said, "Yueming is a good child and has a good character. If those bastards hadn't forced us to be orphans and widows, she and I would have been as close as mother and daughter."

Once there is a gap between people, they can no longer get closer. No matter how smiling you are on the surface, there is always a thorn in your heart.

Coming out of the old lady's yard, Ai Ye saw Yue Ming looking tired and asked with concern, "Miss, there's nothing to do now. Do you want to go back and take a nap?"

"You should call me Madam," Yueming corrected her and added, "You won't be laughed at if you go back to your room and sleep in on your first day of marriage. Why don't you just stroll around the garden?"

As they strolled along, the servants greeted her and said, "Mrs. Yueming."

Strolling through the courtyard under the scorching sun in August and September wasn't exactly pleasant. Tired from walking, I settled on a chair in the corridor to rest. Ai Ye noticed Yue Ming's forehead was sweating from walking, so she went to the kitchen to get her some tea. Yue Ming pulled a handkerchief from her waist and wiped her forehead, sniffing the sweet scent of osmanthus flowers. Suddenly, she longed for her stepmother's sweet-scented plum soup, preferably iced. How refreshing would it be to drink a glass of cold plum soup on a hot day?

Just as she was daydreaming, a man in military uniform came towards her. He didn't shy away from her, but walked up to her and greeted her warmly, "Mrs. Yueming."

Yueming stood up and responded, "You are..." Judging from the man's age, Yueming guessed that he was the new garrison commander in Mengning. She had heard Captain Du mention that a classmate who had graduated from the same military academy as him had been assigned to Mengning.

The man introduced himself: "My surname is Liu, I am stationed in Mengning and hold the rank of captain."

Yueming extended her hand towards him: "It turns out to be Captain Liu. I've heard of your great name for a long time."

Captain Liu also extended his hand and shook Yueming's hand, smiling and saying, "Youjie must have mentioned me to you, so don't be so polite by calling me by my nickname. You're Youjie's junior, so call me senior too!"

"Then you don't have to call me Madam Yueming, just call me your schoolmate!"

As the two were chatting, Ai Ye returned with a tea tray. Yue Ming instructed Ai Ye to pour tea for Captain Liu. Captain Liu waved his hand and said, "Next time. Meng Ning has a lot of things to deal with with me. If your Han Tusi hadn't gotten me drunk last night, I should have gone back."

Since he had important matters to attend to, Yueming did not try to persuade him to stay. She said goodbye with a smile: "Senior, please come often!"

After Captain Liu left the garden gate, Yueming frowned and ordered Ai Ye, "Go and find out which courtyard Captain Liu stayed in last night?" The Tusi Mansion had strict rules and would never allow an adult man to live in the inner courtyard. They certainly wouldn't allow an outsider to wander around the garden.

When Yunkai returned to the courtyard, Yueming was having lunch. He was surprised to see him: "Why are you back now? Don't you have guests to entertain? Have you eaten yet?"

A maid came forward with a copper basin to wash Yunkai's hands. As he wiped them, Yunkai said, "How could I have eaten with those people? I drank so much that I was full. Qiangba and Lao Ben held me up, and I took the opportunity to slip away under the pretext of being too drunk."

When she heard he was drinking at noon, Ai Ye had just cooked her some chicken soup with Acanthopanax senticosus, a nourishing and cooling soup. She asked Ai Ye to pour him a bowl and advised, "If you have nothing to do this afternoon, take a break. You must be exhausted these past few days."

Yunkai wanted to tease her with a dirty joke. "I didn't do anything last night, so how could I be tired?" But he was afraid Yueming would get angry. He scooped up some soup with a spoon and put it to his lips to cool it down, then changed the subject. "The person who carried your sedan chair yesterday was Zhao Chang. Did you recognize him?"

Yueming smiled and shook his head. "Before, if you hadn't specifically asked the elephant servant to lead it out separately, I couldn't tell it apart. Yesterday, when it was covered in red and stained, I couldn't recognize it at all. Elephants aren't like cats or dogs, which are easy to identify because of their different fur colors."

"I heard that the expeditionary force entered Burma and was so frightened by the Burmese war elephants that they dared not move. When Commander Liu arrives in Burma, I plan to lend him Prime Minister Yun's war elephants."

Hearing him mention Captain Liu, Yueming wanted to share her concerns from that morning, but then she felt they were just her own unfounded speculations, groundless and unfounded, shattering someone's innocence. She swallowed her words and chewed a piece of ham. Suddenly, she saw Yunkai staring at her in a daze, his face filled with astonishment.

She asked curiously, "What's wrong?"

Yun Kai was at a loss for words. She used to avoid eating any fatty meat. Even when eating braised pork, she would bite off the fat and throw it into his bowl, leaving the lean meat to herself. But just now, it was just ham, used to enhance the flavor of the stir-fry. The fat was sandwiched between the skin, and there was only a little lean meat. The chopsticks were greasy when he picked it up. Seeing her put it in his mouth without a second thought, his heart felt like it was being pricked by a thorn. She had lightly mentioned the shortage of supplies in Tengchong and the hardships she had endured, but she had inadvertently revealed it.

Yun Kai forced a smile and said, "It's nothing. I just remembered that I met your uncle leaving just now. I was so drunk that I forgot to ask him and my aunt to come and say goodbye to you."

Yueming said nonchalantly, "It's okay. Dad said he'll take me to Lishengmeng to see Grandpa when he returns home in three days. My uncle said he's sick and can't even get out of bed."

Yun Kai nodded: "Okay, I'll go with you then."

Yueming looked at him curiously and asked, "Are you free to go?"

Yun Kai drank his soup and said calmly, "Well, I have to go give your grandpa some reassurance."

Her aunt had already told her about what had happened to Li Shengmeng, and she could only sigh. Perhaps it was a change in her mindset, but she felt that her previous fixation on her uncle's rise to power had been childish and selfish. Back then, she had wanted to leverage Li Shengmeng's influence to gain a firm foothold in the Tusi Mansion. Having her own uncle as the head of the household was surely far better than having someone from the next family who resented them. Taking advantage of Yunkai's love for her at the time, and her cousin's ill intentions towards him, she spoke harshly, infuriating Mrs. Tao to the point of rage.

The position of headman is within her reach, but the family is no longer a family. If she says that the current situation of the Tao Mansion has nothing to do with her, it would be really shameless.

Seeing her stunned, Yun Kai thought she was suspicious of a change in her uncle's status, so he explained, "Lisheng Meng is also your natal family. Having your uncle as the head will only benefit you. We should take advantage of our wedding as a simple visit to relatives to comfort your grandfather and reassure him. If he's reassured, he'll delegate power. One Meng cannot have two people in power or two voices."

Yueming knew that he had misunderstood, but she didn't know how to explain it, so she could only nod and say, "I understand. Let's eat!"

Yunkai's excuse to leave made things difficult for Qiangba and Laoben. They drank until their faces were red and their veins were swollen, but they still had to hold their backs and see the guests off. After seeing off the last guest, Mengmeng Tusi, Feng Xiaosai appeared from nowhere like a ghost and said with a smile, "Thank you for your hard work, gentlemen."

Lao Ben stroked his dizzy forehead and cursed, "You damned bastard, why didn't you wait until we left before coming out?"

Feng Xiaosai spread his hands and said, "I'm busy too! The master got drunk and I had to take him back to rest, and I was thinking about the feast you two had prepared. I was so busy that I was dizzy."

Lao Ben said angrily, "What are you going to do? I've been drinking all morning, and you're still going to drink? I'm not going. I want to go home and sleep."

Qiangba put his arms around his neck and stopped him from leaving: "The wine is a little rough today, you have to accompany me to have a few more sips." After saying that, he winked at Feng Xiaosai, and the two of them dragged Lao Ben in together.

Qiangba drank while looking at the furnishings of Feng Xiaosai's room, smacking his lips and saying, "I said before that you were a loser. You refused the official position offered to you by the master. You are really cunning. Look at you! A guard room is even more luxurious than my main room."

Feng Xiaosai raised his wine glass and said with a smile, "You make it sound like I'm not going to be the boring one just to enjoy the comforts of the mansion. I know my own worth. I'm a servant, so I'm not worthy of standing with you to discuss important matters. I've been serving our master since I was a child, so this is the only job I know how to do."

After hearing this, Lao Ben sneered, "Our master is surrounded by stubborn people!"

They both knew who he was referring to. Qiangba patted him on the shoulder and said, "Do you think you're the only one who thinks that? Yesterday, when the Buddha was tying the line between the old master and Yintai, Master Bao from the Eighteenth Tribe had a face as red as if he had eaten a bitter melon. He probably thought the same thing."

Feng Xiaosai looked at Lao Ben and smiled, "Master Lao Ben, have you forgotten the fight you had before Master and Yin Tai got engaged? Did Master's beating shake off your delusions?"

Lao Ben said dejectedly, "I'm just discussing the matter at hand. I have no other intentions."

Feng Xiaosai sneered, "You all laugh at me behind my back, saying I'd rather be a servant than a Lord Lang, saying you're stupid. But I can say with all my heart that I, a servant, am a hundred times more loyal than you Lord Langs. Miss Yueming did suffer considerable injustice earlier, but wasn't it the headman and you Lord Langs who forced her to endure it? You all eat the Master's salary and enjoy the wealth and splendor he bestows upon you, but deep down you all want to control him and oppose him. You have no idea what loyalty to the Master entails. Miss Yueming is a sensible person. She knows that every wrong has its perpetrator and every debt has its creditor. She knows exactly who the bad guy is!"

Lao Ben's veins bulged at this, and he pounded the table, saying, "I didn't. I hadn't even been admitted to the government office at the time. If I had been there, I would have argued with those people and wouldn't have been easily manipulated by them."

"Laoben." Qiangba scolded, "You've drunk too much!"

Feng Xiaosai sneered, "Are you the only one who knows how to be a hero and save a beautiful woman? Our master gave up his position as chieftain for Miss Yueming, preferring the kingdom over a beautiful woman. Ask yourself, could you do that? If it weren't for this family, for the people of Yunxiang, they would have been living happily elsewhere long ago. How dare you criticize Miss Yueming for being stubborn? You really don't appreciate the master's kindness! You and the master have been fighting since you were young. The first thing the master did when he became chieftain was to send you to the government office and entrusted you with such an important task as lobbying the headman's office. I didn't expect you to secretly think he was a loser."

"I didn't," Lao Ben defended. "I just don't understand why she came back after suffering so much humiliation."

Feng Xiaosai snorted and laughed: "Money can't buy her happiness, why do you have to worry about it? Our master is willing to sacrifice his life for her, how many men in this world can do that?"

Seeing the atmosphere getting increasingly heated, Qiangba smiled and said, "Xiao Sai, ignore him. He's drunk and talking nonsense!"

Feng Xiaosai smiled faintly, his expression returning to normal. "Don't worry, I'll say what I said today, and I won't repeat it in front of the master. I just want you gentlemen to recognize your own status. If you go against the master, you will force him to teach you to be obedient. You and our master have been playing cats and dogs together since childhood, so you know his temper best. When the master is soft-hearted, he is as soft as a mess, but when his heart is hard, even Buddha riding Anuman cannot subdue him."