Chapter 64: Slavery
The Xue family must have offended Master Shi. He ordered that Yanru, Xue Jia and his wife be evicted from their original courtyard and moved to the Piyou Pavilion in the northwest corner of Daiyuan Garden.
As its name suggests, Piyou Hall is a secluded and quiet place, originally used to store groceries. Its comfort couldn't even compare to the chirping Yingyu Hall. Unfortunately, Sister An was wicked, claiming that the wing rooms of Piyou Hall were filled with large and valuable furniture, making them difficult to move. She demanded that they temporarily move into the side rooms. If they refused, she threatened to strip the Xue family of their management rights over the Shi family's business. Although Wang Xianyi and Xue Peng felt distressed, they struggled to make ends meet and dared not say anything.
What a shame and humiliation!
The fact that the Xue family offended Mr. Shi was another matter, but Yanru really angered her mother-in-law, Wang Xianyi.
In the world, only mothers are tolerant of their eldest sons. How could a mother-in-law take the side of her daughter-in-law? She was the mother, and her own eldest son, aside from being a little ugly, a little stupid, having difficulty studying, a little promiscuous, and a little clumsy in business, was, after all, a good child. Ever since marrying his new wife, he had become completely out of control, his absurd deeds becoming more and more shocking. It was clear that You Yanru was a worthless daughter-in-law. Her so-called talent for writing poems was only based on boasting, and she had no moral integrity. She could not advise her husband, but instead made him worse and worse. Sooner or later, he would cause a great disaster.
No wonder the old saying goes, "A good daughter-in-law doesn't marry into the family, and a daughter-in-law who does marry into the family is worthless." Recalling how Jinling Youshi had married her son without the permission of her parents or the matchmaker, disguised herself as a wealthy and famous lady, seduced men, deceived her son, and tricked the Xue family into falling for her scheme, Wang Xianyi couldn't swallow this anger and resorted to drastic measures: first, she confiscated Qixian's pawnshop account books and returned them to their original owners; then, she instructed the accountant to cut two-thirds of the share allocated for her son's household and give it directly to Xue Jia, not Yanru, for him to spend as he pleased; finally, she reduced the number of servants assigned to Daiyuan, even recalling Shanjuan to her side, leaving only a cook, a laundry maid, and Long'er to take care of Xue Jia's daily needs.
The servants packed up their belongings and left with a rumble. Yanru listened to the noise, filled with resentment and endless loss. After hundreds of days and nights as she married and more than a year of living here, she had only just learned that this garden wasn't hers, much less her husband's. With the exception of Long'er and Shanjuan, all the maids, servants, and cooks in Dai Garden had been transferred from Master Shi's staff. No wonder, when she first moved, she'd been curious about the lack of a housekeeper to take charge of the household. It turned out the housekeeper was her mother-in-law, Wang Xianyi!
It's useless to know the truth. Divorce? She dare not. She didn't have much valuable dowry when she came here. Yanru spent all the monthly allowance she got on buying this and that, leaving not a penny behind every month. Now her pockets filled with private money are shaking, and there is no sound. If she leaves the Xue Mansion, she will have no money to rely on, no place to go, no skills to rely on, and no way to make a living. Her parents will never allow her to go back to Jinling and eat for free. She is not yet twenty-five, and can still take the imperial examination. Tsk, Confucius and Mencius are more difficult to please than Xue Jia and Wang Xianyi. No! Could it be that she is really going to set up a stall to sell cone hats as Zheng Sirui said a few years ago?
Crazy! She might as well just kill herself by selling her labor to make a living!
Could she possibly be marrying again? In her twenties, several of her classmates had already had children. Moreover, she had already been married to someone else, so what young man would be willing to marry her? Oh, marrying an ordinary peasant wouldn't do. He wasn't worthy of her status as a goddess of painting, even worse than Xue Jia. Eating salted fish quenched her thirst. At least, under Wang Xianyi's protection, Xue Jia didn't have to suffer hardship. With her husband, she had no worries about food and clothing, no need to embroider and sell goods like her mother. After pondering it over and weighing the pros and cons, she couldn't help but want to keep Xue Jia company and prevent him from divorcing her. Life is a journey, not a return. Yanru was inconsolable, helpless. Sitting in the side room of the Piyou Pavilion, the light in her eyes turned into a needle, stabbing at Xue Jia's back again and again. She wished she could pierce him with a skewer, roast him on the stove like a bullfrog, and enjoy a refreshing drink.
Yanru lamented, exhausted by the constant blows. She stood up, went straight to her bed, sank into the thick quilt, and fell asleep. In her dream, she transformed into a butterfly, soaring across the long river of time. She returned to Qiushui Academy, pushed Zheng Sirui aside, searched for a handkerchief in the rose garden, and encountered Lu Zhiling. She returned to the small courtyard beside the academy and begged Ji Mingxiu to give her the painting with his seal. She returned to the day she met Brother Wen Yue at Tiekan Temple and acted dignified and elegant. She returned to the night she said goodbye to Liu Xiang, put her arms around his waist, which was as slender as a spring willow, and told him that she was beginning to miss him... Yanru wanted to dream while she was awake, and when she did, she sought pleasure in the illusion, and then let the illusory joy paralyze her waking self, over and over again.
The sun rises and the moon sets, the stars shift, in and out of dreams, awake or unconscious, Yanru can no longer tell. When she opens her eyes again, she pushes her husband, who is snoring loudly beside her, away from the pillow and sits back on the stool facing the door in the side room. Gazing out from the distance, she suddenly notices that the flowers in the Zhufang Courtyard are in full bloom, the bamboo leaves in the Chucui Pavilion are plucked and tender, and the pond has thawed, its water flowing again.
Spring has come, and everything in Daiyuan has revived, but You Yanru has aged two years.
"You Yanru, You Yanru, get me some water." Xue Jia woke up and called out to her from behind, asking her to come over and quench his thirst. He then added, "My godfather and his family had dinner here yesterday. I haven't had such a good meal in a long time."
Yanru complained, "My adoptive father has had business problems over the past two years, and the money he allocates to our family has been reduced. If we want to have a good meal, we have to wait for him to come to Daiyuan to entertain guests."
"Business has its ups and downs, that's normal. What are you yelling about? It's bad luck! I'm glad you had an extra meal." Xue Jia was dissatisfied with Yan Ru's pickiness. "There are still a lot of delicious dishes left over from last night. Tell the chef to heat up the rest and we can have breakfast."
Yanru responded, opened her clothing box, and pulled out a dress that mimicked fashionable satin styles but was made of linen. Wang Xianyi hadn't given her money for clothes in over six months, yet she and Xue Jia still had to attend banquets. Wearing old clothes from years ago would surely draw ridicule from snobs. Yanru devised two compromises: one was to buy only those with novel styles and inexpensive materials, aiming for something eye-catching and unusual; the other was to mobilize her connections at the pawnshop to find pawned dresses of older styles, but made of genuine silk. Despite the slight loss of face, she managed to keep her timidity to herself, a lady from a humble background.
As Yanru put on her clothes, she said, "Tell Long'er to take me to Guanyan Academy today. I'll go see Yanbao."
Yanbao? Xue Jia pursed his lips. Two years had passed, and Yanbao was nearing puberty, completely shedding her childish innocence and blossoming into the graceful beauty of a young woman. Shao Yanei, blind and henpecked, had lost Yanbao as if nothing had happened. Every time Xue Jia thought of it, he could not help but beat his chest, feeling sorry for him and hinting, "Why don't I go too?"
As soon as her husband lifted his butt, Yanru guessed what he was going to fart about. Not wanting him to follow her, she walked back to the bedside, massaged his back and shoulders, and coaxed him in a roundabout way, "Oh, oh, oh, only girls are allowed into Guanyan Academy. If you go, you'll have to wait for me outside in the sun. How tiring. Sir, just have some tea and snacks in the pawnshop and wait for me."
That made sense. Xue Jia yawned. He watched Yanru squat on the ground, smiling as she massaged his sleep-numbed legs. He casually touched Yanru's chin. She bent her hand, stuck out her tongue, smiled coquettishly, and meowed like a kitten.
Xue Jia smiled and shook his head, "I like puppies." Yanru understood, tilted her head, and barked twice, "Woof woof." Suddenly, something in Xue Jia's body swelled rapidly. He dragged Yanru onto the bed, turned her over, and pinned her down. Yanru's hair fell back, completely revealing her face, which was as swollen and black as a steamed bun soaked in water, devoid of color. Her habit of giggling with her tongue stuck out didn't add to her charm, but instead emphasized the drooping corners of her eyes, making them look even more hollow and lifeless.
Staring quietly at his wife's tired and ugly appearance, Xue Jia lost all interest. He turned over from her and said indifferently: "Okay, pack up and take you out of the city." He tapped his shoes and scratched his armpits, feeling sorry that Yanru's face was gradually withering. It was indeed not as beautiful and youthful as the beauties in the brothels and theaters.
"Damn it, whether you get married or not, you have to spend money to have fun."
Arriving at Guanyan Academy, it happened to be lunchtime, and Yanru stubbornly stayed in her sister's room, eating and drinking with her. Yanbao complained, "When other students' families come over, they either bring prepared meals or take them out for an hour to eat. But you're the only one who never brings anything and instead fights with me for food."
"It's all my fault that you're able to study here. What's wrong with me eating a few mouthfuls of your food?" Yanru devoured three small dishes, like a famine-stricken refugee in the imperial kitchen. Xue Jia, idle and with nothing to do, would often find himself in the kitchen, tinkering with all sorts of bizarre and indescribable foods, transforming the inedible into something edible and the edible into something inedible. Last month, he stir-fried fish scales with ginger and garlic. Last week, he hollowed out wild pears and used them as a vessel for fish stew. Three days ago, he scrambled eggs with black plums and hawthorns. The day before yesterday, Wang Xianyi finally managed to bring them some milk, but Xue Jia poured half of it into a chicken stew and drank the other half right in front of Yanru, leaving her nothing. Yanru was like Shennong, tasting not her husband's food but the suffering of the world, a bitter taste that dulled her tongue. Those who used to be picky about food and never tired of fine food, now think the food served at Guanyan Academy is the most delicious food in the world.
Yan Ru devoured her food, spitting everywhere, and her eating manner was ugly, as if () had transformed into a human form, half of which turned into her brother-in-law Xue Jia, and the other half turned into her sister, sitting beside her and wolfing down the food. This made Yan Bao lose his appetite. He put down his chopsticks, stood up and picked up the bag that Yan Ru had brought with her: "What is this?"
While still asking, she had already untied the ties—she revealed several jackets with gold-embroidered collars. Yan Bao asked curiously, "Aren't these your old clothes? Why did you bring them here? Are you giving them to me?"
Yanru shook her head and lowered her voice: "Don't dream every day. When you have time, find a pawn shop and help me pawn these."
This is ridiculous! Yan Bao burst into laughter: "You and your husband run a pawnshop, so why do you have to sell things in other people's pawnshops?"
"What do you know? I have to find out the market conditions and see what other pawnshops' methods and interest rates are." This was certainly just talk. In fact, she didn't have much spare money, and Xue Jia was unwilling to buy her new shoes and socks, so she could only secretly sell a few pieces of clothes to make ends meet.
It was embarrassing to have no money, and Yanru had to swallow her anger.
This is the business of the family. Yanbao looked at the fabric on her sister's body, saw through it but didn't say anything. She folded the things for her and stuffed them into a camphorwood box.
"Yanbao, Yanbao!" Coincidentally, there was a knock on the door. The two sisters looked over and saw a classmate standing at the door, a playful smile on his lips. Seeing Yanru there, he waved and called her over, whispering a few words. Yanbao's cheeks immediately flushed, and she threw away a perfunctory greeting and rushed out. The hairband on her head fluttered in the wind, like a green-winged white butterfly on a spring day.
The young girls thought they had concealed their secrets, but Yanru had already caught on to their conversations. She could hear the classmate teasing her younger sister:
"Yanbao, Liu Xian is outside the academy and has brought you some preserved fruit. If you go buy some preserved fruit, you might even get along with the young man in the preserved fruit shop. Tomorrow I'll pick out a soy milk shop, a tea shop, or a bun shop and go there every day and every night."
Liu Xian...Liu Xian...Liu Xiang, Liu Xiang.
Yanru shuddered, dropped her chopsticks, and followed him out. She reached the blue brick wall beside the academy's main gate. Through the decorative fan-shaped window, she saw Yanbao and a tall, thin young man in blue standing beside a large rock. Their movements were restrained yet intimate, their eyes and eyebrows filled with joy, both filled with the tenderness of young love.
Liu Xian...Liu Xian...Liu Xiang, Liu Xiang.
Her chest felt like a bottomless abyss, her heart sinking, her legs weak, her fingers limp. Yanru suddenly remembered a time just like this, by this same boulder, when a handsome man in a green robe had stood waiting at the academy gate for an entire afternoon, carefully wrapping a gift of mulberries from a classmate and giving it to her when she returned from a trip.
Why, why, why am I the only one who has ended up in this situation?!
The sea of hatred was hard to fill, and Yanru dug her nails into her fists.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
