Chapter 56: Feigning Compromise
The couple clashed loudly, and Xue Jia stormed out. Yanru, feeling lost, leaned against the railing and got drunk. When she came to her senses, she realized she hadn't seen Xue Jia for three days.
Her husband, Long'er, and their carriages had vanished, leaving only Shanjuan to serve. The thin, long marks on her face, left by Yanru's fingernails, gradually scabbed over, fading from blood-red to a dark brown. They weren't injuries, but because of her fair complexion, they were striking. Shanjuan resented the fact that all girls cherish beauty, and since Yanru had lost her position with her legitimate master, she treated this so-called "wife" even more perfunctorily. The other servants, who usually followed Shanjuan's lead, ignored all orders from Yanru, except for the three meals a day.
There were as many as seven or eight servants in Daiyuan, but Yanru couldn't find anyone to talk to, and she felt extremely lonely. Without a carriage or horses, she couldn't leave. The vast garden had become a gorgeous cage, and she was a canary kept inside, her wings clipped long ago. Even if the cage door was wide open, she couldn't fly even a step away.
On the eighth day, she couldn't turn over or twist her back. On the tenth day, it was like a crack in the sky, the days and months were miserable. On the fourteenth day, Xue Jia still hadn't arrived, and Yanru was on the verge of madness. On the eighteenth day, she munched on the kitchen's pretentious meal: a bland broth, the meats without salt, the vegetables too salty. Her breath was like eating bitter melon dipped in coptis root. She had to force herself to calm down and think about her future plans: she had no one to rely on in the capital. Although she had two close friends, Zheng Sirui and Wen Yue, they were not blood relatives, so she couldn't rely on them completely. Since Xue Jia had only flattered her because of his fabricated claim to be from a prominent family and owner of an embroidery shop, why not try harder and create one?
Yanru's eyes rolled around, and the figure of her younger sister You Yanbao appeared.
I actually forgot about her! If I calculated carefully, Yanbao was about ten or twelve years old by now, and should be old enough to go to school. If I brought her to the capital, stuffed her into Guanyan Academy, spent three years or so hooking her up with a good family, and then at the end of the semester at fifteen, she'd be married off immediately into a wealthy family. Wouldn't that make me the sister of another wealthy lady, and related to this new family? Then, relying on Yanbao's slight favor, who would dare to bully me?
However, it was easy to bring Yanbao to the capital, as she could live with him in Daiyuan. But how to arrange for her to go to school was a real problem. When Xue Jia seized the jade bracelet from the Tian family, he swore to her that he would talk to Master Shi and arrange for Yanbao's enrollment. Yanru was so focused on the golden headdress that Master Shi had given her that she had no time to worry about her sister's studies. Now that she had such a quarrel with Xue Jia, it was estimated that...
Alas, Yanru slapped her thigh, hating herself for being too narrow-minded and regretting it.
Yanru was deeply troubled by this. Fortunately, though worries can be tormenting, they can also numb people. When one has something on his mind, he quickly forgets the passage of time. When the sound of horse hooves startled the birds in the garden, Xue Jia swaggered into Daiyuan. Yanru was stunned to find:
In the blink of an eye, a whole month passed and midsummer arrived quietly.
Xue Jia had grown darker and fatter, sprawled on the couch, boneless. A faint scent of wine and powder wafted from his sleeves. A sniff reminded her of how he had spent the night before in the brothels, embracing women, drinking and singing, intoxicated by the pleasures of the night. Even dogs would be enraged and bark incessantly at the smell of urine on their territory, let alone humans. Yanru hadn't seen her husband in a long time. Seeing his drunken appearance and stroking his emaciated face, she wished she could grind Xue Jia's bones into dust and mix them with her wine, so she could be happy too.
Yanru had endured a month of hardship and knew she had no power in the Xue family. She could only grovel and curry favor with Xue Jia in order to escape this predicament. She swallowed her anger and forced a smile, "My lord, you have missed me well these past few days."
Xue Jia groaned, kicked off his shoes, and stretched out his feet to shiver Yanru's legs. Yanru instinctively wanted to pull it apart, but considering her current situation, she endured it. Recalling the tricks she used to coax him when they were newly married, she pushed her tongue in and smiled softly, "My lord, your feet have some calluses. Let me trim your feet and make you feel comfortable."
Xue Jia closed his eyes, resting, and nodded his chin slightly. Compared to his face, his feet seemed slightly less ugly and repulsive. Yanru reached out and took out the tools from the shelf, half-holding his feet, carefully twisting the thick nails on several toes, trimming the extremely ugly corns:
“Drip—drip—drip—”
Xue Jia half-closed his eyes, watching his wife's servile fawning manner. He was delighted, nudging her chest and neck with his foot. Yanru half-received, half-rejected, teasing him with her foot, chuckling, "Sir, be careful, the scissors have cut you." He nearly had her taken to the authorities after Yanru's deception. However, after spending so much time in brothels and encountering so many beautiful women, he'd gotten used to it. Despite her numerous flaws, You Yanru's two key strengths—obedience and fame—were enough for him to manipulate her and work for his adoptive father.
Xue Jia waved his hand, pinched Yanru's butt, and said, "I told you, I'm not a sour person, nor am I petty. You Yanru, the past is the past, I won't hold it against you. I was busy a few days ago, so today I came to pick you up to go out for a walk. Shao Yanei and his new wife are coming to the pawnshop to visit. The woman has been learning painting since she was a child, and she specifically asked to see the Goddess of Painting. Hurry up, get ready, and follow me."
Yanru suddenly realized: What's the point of being busy? What does a fool even know about being busy? He had already forgotten her. If it weren't for the outsiders who wanted to see her, she probably wouldn't know how long she would be in jail. She gritted her teeth, not daring to say anything more. She decisively got up, dressed, and boarded the long-unseen carriage, galloping towards the city.
The pawnshop remained the same, nothing had changed, yet it seemed as if everything had changed. Perhaps to make the guests feel at home, Xue Jia had set up a special area in the shaded back room to store wine, making the pawnshop look more like a restaurant than a pawnshop. Tea was brewed, and fruit was prepared. Shao Yanei's carriage arrived slowly, and a beautiful woman with a plump figure and round figure descended. Shao Yanei smiled and said, "It's been a while since I've seen you two. This is my wife, Yang."
Xue Jia bowed and said, "Greetings, Madam Yang. It's been quite some time since we've had fun together. Why didn't you invite us to Shao Yanei's wedding? I prepared a lot of gifts, but I couldn't give them to you. They're all in my room now. Remember to take them when you leave."
Yang and Shao Yanei exchanged a smile, ignoring his boring question. She said to Yanru, "I suppose this is the legendary goddess of painting, Madam You? Seeing is believing. She is truly extraordinary."
Yanru, feeling proud, thought she had gained more face in front of her husband. She bowed and replied to his flattering words. The four of them entered the reception room, burning incense, drinking tea, and chatting about everything. Yang said that her marriage to Xue Yanei was arranged by her parents and the matchmaker. She had heard that Yanru and Xue Jia were in love before their marriage, and she was quite envious and wanted to hear their story. Yanru covered her mouth with her hands and giggled, patting Xue Jia: "Hahahaha, it's nothing, go ahead."
Xue Jia sat upright, his face dignified. "Alas, Madam Yang doesn't know this, but my wife and I, that boy Jinling, and our story at Guanyan Academy are quite legendary. It was about two years ago, when I didn't even know her yet. I was reading at home when a kite dropped from the sky. It had a picture of a girl on it, and I was struck by lightning—so beautiful, I thought she was a fairy fallen from the sky. Later, I went to Bu Yibo's garden, where I ran into her in person and fell in love with her instantly. We spent the entire day chatting about music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, as well as anecdotes from ancient and modern times, both Chinese and foreign. We discovered we truly had similar interests. What's the word for that?"
Yanru continued, "It's a shame we met too late."
Xue Jia scratched his head: "Yes, it's a pity that we met too late. Then, I invited her to the horse farm that I manage, and we got married there. Afterwards, I went to her house to propose marriage. Tsk tsk, she is not only the goddess of painting in the eyes of the great painter Ji, but also the goddess in my heart." After saying that, he took Yanru's hand and held it gently. The couple smiled at each other, with unspeakable affection in their eyes.
Yang exclaimed, "You two are truly in unison, like playing a zither, and in harmony, like playing a harp."
"Hehe." Xue Jia patted Yanru's thigh and said, "My lady, I just got some good wine. It's in the wine room. Go get some and we can have a nice drink with Shao Yanei."
"Hey!" Yanru responded and twisted her body to go out the door, thinking: You bastard, you have a bunch of people outside but you asked me to go, isn't it because they don't want to pay attention to you and just want to ask me about my business and talk to me? You sent me away to show off yourself, bah! The guys were busy in the front and the backyard was empty. Yanru pushed open the door of the wine room angrily, only to see a shelf inside with seven or eight wine jars on display. Clean wine cups, wine glasses, and wine ladles were placed in the small rattan and bamboo cabinets next to it. Yanru found a jar that looked the most expensive, opened it, and the aroma of wine with the scent of flowers filled her nose. She couldn't help but taste it. The sweet and spicy liquid rolled into her, and a warmth rose in her throat, dispelling the grievances that had accumulated and suppressed in her stomach. Yanru opened the rest of the jars and tasted them one by one. She was happy with every one of them, and she felt uncomfortable in her heart: "These are good wines, one sip less, I'll find a cheap one for them to drink, and I have to keep the expensive one for myself to enjoy."
Yanru sniffed all the jars; each one was a veritable nectar, and she couldn't bear to part with any of them. By chance, she found a single clay pot left by the door, labeled "Hua Diao Chen Gui Niang." Yanru lifted the lid and sniffed. A fermented blend of rose and osmanthus produced a refreshing aroma. She took a sip, her brow furrowed.
She had been helping her mother and grandmother with housework at home since she was a child, dealing with daily necessities such as rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar and tea. She was an expert in cooking and could decisively guess that the choking drink was not a thirst-quenching wine, but a cooking wine to remove the fishy smell and enhance the flavor.
Yanru hatched a plan: "Those two seem spoiled and pampered, and they've tasted everything good. They're not going to miss out on this from our pawnshop. I'll just take it and trick them into drinking it." She poured the wine and slid back to the guest room, smiling sweetly, "We have so many fine wines in our room. It took me a long time to choose this one."
Shao Yanei asked, "Oh? I smell a strong aroma, but it doesn't seem to be of the highest quality. What's the meaning?"
Yanru said, "Indeed. I think this bar is very, very like me. It looks clear and has a sweet taste, but after drinking it, you'll find that it's very... very strong. It's very similar to me. I appear gentle and quiet on the outside, but I'm actually very strong and decisive."
Xue Jia didn't know what it was, so to show off, he pretended to agree: "Yes, it really is. It tastes good and sweet. It's very much like my wife."
"Oh!" Yang was moved by Yanru's flowery words and ordered her maid to pour a cup. She drank it with bright eyes. The spicy taste choked her throat and her eyebrows twisted into a ball: "Ah! It's so spicy!" Poor lady, for the sake of etiquette, she had to swallow everything in the cup and forced a smile: "Well, not bad!"
Yanru smiled and said, "Yeah, it's really delicious."
Seeing his wife's expression, Shao Yanei quickly signaled the maid to pour tea to wash Yang's throat. She dared not drink any more, but took a sip and pretended to agree with a few nice words, saying that she had official business to attend to that night and would meet her superiors, so she could not be drunk. But Xue Jia took the Shao couple's insincere compliments seriously and started drinking on the spot. The four of them had their own ulterior motives and pretended to be nice for a cup of tea. Shao Yanei felt bored and made a move to leave. After getting on the carriage, Shao Yanei put his arm around Yang and said, "What do you think of meeting the goddess of painting today?"
Yang laughed, "Before I got married, I saw the paintings in our collection. I thought she was some otherworldly fairy. Her temperament is indeed remarkable, but after all, she's just an average-looking woman, not as beautiful as Ji Mingxiu's own wife. I guess the spirit in the painting is just Ji Mingxiu wearing her skin and putting his own soul in it."
Shao Yanei said cheerfully, "She's so proud. Teacher, disciple... Hahaha, Xue Jia is such a cuckold. Hey, if he really wasn't ordinary, how could they get married? And still talk about Ji Mingxiu all day long? I told you, he's just an ordinary person, but you didn't believe me and insisted on coming to see for yourself."
Yang said, "Everyone has their own character and demeanor. Whether they are vulgar or not is beyond discussion. She is too frivolous. An unmarried girl, a scholar at that, who just met a man once and then went on a long journey with him... Tsk, tsk, tsk. And this Xue Jia, he looks considerate, but how can a man order his wife around to serve guests in front of outsiders? How petty. My husband, please avoid associating with them in the future."
Shao Yanei coaxed, "Madam, you're being overly suspicious. If it weren't for Mr. Shi's honor, I really wouldn't want to have such close contact with Xue Jia. Madam, just treat him as a monkey from Flower-Fruit Mountain, keep him by your side, and entertain yourself from time to time."
After seeing the guests off, Xue Jia called on his servants to clean up the mess on the table. There was no need to rush back to Dai Garden tonight; they could stay at Xue's residence in the city. Yanru seized the opportunity to flatter him, saying she'd been bored for a month at Dai Garden, and coaxed Xue Jia into letting her use his carriage for a trip. Xue Jia, content with his banter with the nobleman, wanted to visit the brothel to see his lover, and wished Yanru weren't around. With a wave of his hand, he granted her permission.
It was late, and Zheng Sirui sat bored in the storeroom, clacking away on her abacus. There was a tax bill, and the data in the ledger was clear and well-documented. But after three days of calculations and research, she still couldn't figure it out. It was like being in the wilderness, with landmarks and directions marking the ground, matching the map in her hand. The dots were right, the lines were right, but because they were so clear, they didn't make sense, and she felt like she was in the deep fog of the night, unaware of it.
She has always prided herself on being good at math. She used to be very good at checking accounts for her classmates' families. She could even scoop water from a dish and see the bottom at a glance. Why did she do something so strange this time?
Just as she was immersed in it, the clerk outside suddenly knocked on the door, startling her:
"Master Zheng, someone from your residence has sent a message saying that Madam You, the new bride of the Xue Mansion, is waiting for you."
[Mumbling]: Zheng Daren’s anti-gang and anti-corruption subplot is about to be released!
Yanru's feelings towards Xue Jia are very complicated and cannot be simply defined as "love" or "not love", but I had a small setting when I was creating it, I don't know if you have noticed: Yanru called Ji Mingxiu "Xiulang" and Liu Xiang "Liu Lang", but she never called Xue Jia "Xue Lang".
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