Chapter 20: I have no intention of divorcing my wife
In Ciyou Courtyard, Shen Yunshu, who had already dressed up, sat in the hall with her sleeves folded, waiting for Pei Huaian.
After they returned from Yunzhiyuan last night, Shen Yunshu wrote the divorce papers as agreed and gave them to him for safekeeping.
He went to sleep in the side room with the divorce papers in his pocket, leaving the bedroom to her.
She was worried about her third sister and had not slept all night. She got up at dawn to wash and dress, and had been waiting in the hall for more than two quarters of an hour.
Seeing that it was getting late, Shen Yunshu had no choice but to ask Tinglan to urge them.
Not long after, Tinglan hurried back, "Miss, I didn't see the Seventh Young Master in the wing room. I asked the maid who was cleaning, and she said someone saw the Seventh Young Master taking Qingwu out before dawn..."
Um?
Didn't we already agree on this last night? I even gave him the divorce papers. Why is he running away now?
Although Shen Yunshu was puzzled, she thought that they were just a fake couple after all. It was already unfair to him for her to delay him for a year for her own selfish reasons, and she had no right to discipline him.
"Never mind, it doesn't matter if he's not here. We can just go to the front yard and thank the elders ourselves."
At this time, the elders of the Pei family gathered in the flower hall. Because of the chaos of the bride exchange last night, except for the people from the second house, Old Lady Pei and the elders from the first and third houses did not sleep well. There was a layer of dark color under their eyes and they looked tired.
Shen Yunshu came alone and was inevitably questioned by the elders. After she answered truthfully, the elders looked at her with more pity.
"I'm sorry for putting you through this." Madam Pei took her tea, took a sip, and according to custom, gave her a piece of colorful satin. She then took her hand and put a translucent white jade bracelet on her wrist.
Other elders also brought out gifts for her. As her father-in-law, Pei Yuanzhou not only gave her a piece of floating brocade, but also a carved purple gold inkstone. The stone pattern of this inkstone is gorgeous, clear, smooth and strong, and it is a rare famous inkstone in the market.
After thanking the elders, the second wife led her to the side hall to meet the sisters-in-law in the mansion.
The Pei family was a small family, not particularly prosperous. The eldest wife of the eldest son had only one son and one daughter, and the eldest master of the Pei family did not take a concubine. The second master of the Pei family did take a concubine, but the second wife and the concubine each had two children. Aside from the unmarried daughter Yunying, the other two sons and one daughter were already married. The third master of the Pei family, Shen Yunshu's father-in-law, lost his first wife at a young age and never remarried, leaving him with only one son, Pei Huaian.
The eldest lady was not feeling well today and did not come to the flower hall. Now there were only two cousins-in-law and an aunt from the second room in the side hall.
Because the old lady had instructed in advance that no one was allowed to mention the matter of marriage exchange, the scene was relatively amicable. Shen Yunshu presented her embroidered works in turn, and the three sisters-in-law also presented hairpins and rings as return gifts. Then they sat down and started chatting politely.
Fang had not said a few words when he heard the maid from the flower hall come in and announce that the eldest son and the eldest young lady had arrived.
The side hall suddenly became quiet, and the three sisters-in-law turned their heads to look towards the main hall at the same time.
Although their faces were calm, there was still a mischievous look in their eyes as if they were watching the fun.
Shen Yunshu looked over worriedly and noticed that her third sister's eyes were red. She guessed that her eyesight was not good again.
Sure enough, as soon as she entered the flower hall, Shen Youran tripped over the low threshold, causing Pei Huaijin beside her to stagger.
Such impoliteness made the elders in your mother's house frown.
Pei Huaijin turned to look at her helplessly.
The elders had already expressed their displeasure, and as her husband, he couldn't add fuel to the fire. He could only pretend nothing had happened and help her straighten her hairpin, which had been knocked askew. He then explained to the elders on her behalf, "You Ran is a little nervous. Please forgive me, Grandmother, Father, and Uncles."
Because of the example of Shen Yunshu, who was well-mannered and graceful, the elders couldn't help but compare themselves with Shen Youran when they looked at her.
Indeed, Shen Youran was just as they expected. Whether it was bowing, offering tea, or talking to elders, she was far inferior to her sister.
The petite and timid girl standing side by side with the calm and steady Pei Huaijin looks like an unsuitable match no matter how you look at it.
Mrs. Pei didn't show it on her face, but she was actually very melancholy in her heart: This was the most promising child in their family, but he married such a beautiful wife. How could she not be a cause of regret?
Although dissatisfied, Madam Pei still handed over a white jade bracelet identical to the one on Shen Yunshu's wrist, and took the opportunity to teach her eldest grandson's wife: "As the saying goes, a righteous husband and a virtuous wife are the foundation of a successful family. Now that you are the eldest grandson's wife of our Pei family, you should work hard to improve your shortcomings and learn the virtues, words, appearance, and skills of a woman. Soon, you can help your mother-in-law manage the household..."
Because the eldest wife's daughter-in-law is weak, the household affairs are temporarily managed by the second wife's daughter-in-law. Mrs. Pei originally planned to slowly hand over the power of the household to the eldest wife after the eldest grandson's wife came into the family, but now this young girl is obviously not able to bear this responsibility.
Seeing that her eyes were red and swollen, and she was about the same age as her youngest grandson, Mrs. Pei still felt a little pity for her. She stopped her words of admonition and asked her to go to the side hall to recognize her relatives.
Shen Yunshu came to pick her up and asked her if her eyes were okay.
Shen Youran didn't want to make her sister worry, so she endured the stinging in her eyes and lied, "I'm fine. I've taken the medicine."
Shen Yunshu felt relieved.
The three sisters-in-law in the side hall stood up and called her "sister-in-law" with a smile. Their tone seemed warm at first, but in fact it contained a hint of ridicule.
Shen Youran pretended not to hear, acknowledged her relatives, and after exchanging gifts with them, she thought about just saying a few words and then finding an excuse to leave.
"Sister-in-law looks so delicate, calling her 'eldest sister-in-law' sounds old. I think it would be better to call her 'younger sister-in-law'..." The one who teased her was a younger sister-in-law from the second room. Shen Youran couldn't see her face clearly, but she felt that her voice was particularly harsh.
It would be fine if she was called that just because she was young, but Pei Huaian, the man she was supposed to marry, was also the youngest in the family, so the name "little sister-in-law" sounded like it had some other meaning.
"Sister-in-law is sister-in-law, how can there be a 'little sister-in-law'?" Shen Yunshu couldn't stand it any longer and refuted on her sister's behalf, "Rules are set up sincerely, and they cannot be cheated. Cousin sister-in-law cannot break the rules."
"Seventh sister-in-law, don't be so serious. We call our sister-in-law that because she is young..." Another sister-in-law smiled and said indifferently.
"That's right..." The girl from the second room also stood on their side.
Seeing her sister being verbally bullied by the other three sisters-in-law in an attempt to defend herself, Shen Youran stood up and said, "Since that's the case, all the brothers and sisters here are older than me. How about you all call me 'little sister-in-law' from now on, and I'll call you all 'sisters'? How about that?"
She had little education and could not express the profound principles that her sister spoke of, so she might as well muddy the waters and drag them all into it.
As expected, as soon as these words were spoken, the smiles on the faces of the sisters-in-law froze.
Seeing the tension build, the Second Lady quickly tried to smooth things over, "It was just a joke, how could you really call her that?" Then, changing the subject, she mentioned her mother-in-law. "Your mother-in-law fainted last night, and this morning she couldn't even leave her room. Since you're her daughter-in-law, you should go and pay your respects. Why don't you ask your three younger brothers and sisters to accompany you to Haitang Garden to pay your respects to your mother-in-law?"
Although Shen Youran wasn't very sharp, she did understand a bit. The Second Madam deliberately pointed out that the First Madam had fainted last night, probably because she couldn't accept the change of daughter-in-law. She also didn't even show up to pay her respects today, clearly showing that she didn't like her.
They all knew it, but they still used the rules to pressure her, forcing her to pay her respects to her mother-in-law, just to make her laugh.
As a daughter-in-law, she had no reason not to visit her mother-in-law when she was sick.
She was holding back her anger, thinking about how to politely decline their "kindness" when Pei Huaijin walked in and said to the Second Madam, "Second Aunt, I was just about to take Youran to see Mother, so I'll spare you the trouble of accompanying me, my brothers and sisters-in-law."
After saying that, he looked at Shen Youran and said, “Let’s go.”
Shen Youran was able to escape, and after a slight bow to the Second Madam, he followed Pei Huaijin out of the flower hall.
After walking a distance away, he asked, "Are you really going or are you just pretending?"
Pei Huaijin paused at this question and said, "Of course I'm really going."
"But the eldest lady probably doesn't want to see me," she thought he said this on purpose to help her get out of trouble, but she didn't expect to misunderstand him. Shen Youran rubbed his eyes, thinking only of going back to apply medicine as soon as possible. "Since she is sick, I'd better not go over and make things worse. I'll formally meet her another day, okay?"
"It's just a formality, you don't have to be nervous."
"But I'm afraid I'll make a mistake..." Her eyes were almost half blind now, and she had already made a fool of herself in the hall just now.
"Since you know you can make mistakes, you should be more careful in what you say and do."
Pei Huaijin was very dissatisfied with her performance in the flower hall just now, but he was reluctant to show it in front of his elders. Now that she brought it up herself, he couldn't help but say a few more words.
"Sitting, standing, walking, every gesture, every movement, must be done with proper manners and moderation. Your etiquette is not well learned. I will hire a female teacher to teach you etiquette and the four virtues of a woman, as taught by my grandmother: virtue, speech, appearance, and accomplishment..."
Shen Youran had been unwilling to learn those things when she was still in the boudoir. Now that she was married, she had to learn them again. Naturally, she felt very resistant: "Instead of painstakingly cultivating me, it would be better for you to divorce me and marry someone else..."
Pei Huaijin frowned and said, "I have no intention of divorcing my wife. Don't say such things again in the future."
Shen Youran pressed the corners of her lips and followed him to Begonia Garden in a depressed mood.
*
In the bedroom of Begonia Garden, Madam Zhu was sitting on the bed with a headband on her head, sighing.
After returning from Chunxuan Hall last night, Zhu had been feeling chest tightness and shortness of breath, and she hadn't slept all night. Her face was pale, her eyes were dull, and her head felt like it was being pulled by something.
The person serving medicine by the bedside was Zhang Mama, the housekeeper of the courtyard. She used to be her maid who came with her as a dowry, but now she helped her manage the people in the courtyard and often made decisions for her.
After the girl from the Meng family left, the only person Zhu could confide in was Mother Zhang.
"Madam, things have come to this, you should be more open-minded," Mother Zhang advised gently, "After all, the third daughter of the Shen family comes from a very good family. If she is docile, you can teach her carefully in the future, and sooner or later she will be able to show her worth..."
"When it comes to docility, who can compare to Wanxin?" Zhu held her forehead and spoke weakly. "Besides, her father is well-known in the capital for doting on his children. How could a girl who grew up so spoiled be docile?"
"So, Madam, you must act like a mother-in-law from the very beginning, making her respect you and obey you, so that you can discipline her later..."
Zhu sighed, agreeing with Aunt Zhang's words: "If the eldest daughter of the Shen family married in, why would I have to worry about this..."
As the two were talking, a maid came in and announced that the eldest son had come with his new bride to pay his respects.
Zhu exchanged glances with Mother Zhang, and then Mother Zhang went to open the door.
The partition door was pushed open, and the newlyweds walked in one after another.
Her son was as handsome as ever. Zhu's eyes swept over him and were quickly attracted by the snow-white person beside him.
She was wearing a scarlet silk dress with a palm-wide hibiscus sash. She had a slender waist and a delicate figure, and her skin was glowing white, as if she brightened up the room filled with the smell of medicine.
Zhu had never seen Shen Youran before, but she saw that Shen Yunshu was pretty and thought her sister must be a good-looking person as well. However, she never expected that this Miss Shen San was even more beautiful than her sister. The red at the corner of her eyes, stained with tears, made her look even more charming.
She folded her hands in front of her, lowered her brows slightly and saluted her, looking obedient: "The daughter-in-law pays her respects to the mother-in-law."
For a moment, Zhu seemed to understand why her son insisted on marrying off. After all, with such a beautiful face, it seemed that any shortcomings could be forgiven.
Zhu was momentarily stunned, but quickly recovered: "Marry a virtuous wife, not a pretty one. If a wife isn't virtuous, how can she serve her husband? A useless woman like this, who can neither manage the household nor assist her husband, is she being married off as a lucky charm?"
Even though she had many grievances in her heart, as the elder, Zhu couldn't get angry when the other party was innocent, so she responded indifferently: "No need to be polite, we are all family from now on."
Then he signaled to Mother Zhang to take out the gift.
Mother Zhang turned and brought a mahogany tray, on which lay a red envelope and a jade-green bracelet. Shen Youran raised her hand to pick up the red envelope and then reached for the bracelet, but suddenly the tray was withdrawn. Her hand was empty, and the bracelet fell to the ground with a crisp sound of shattering jade.
Judging from the sound, it was broken into at least three parts.
Mrs. Zhang in front of her screamed: "How could the young lady be so careless? This is the bracelet that the lady carefully selected..."
Shen Youran was stunned for a moment, then raised his eyes to look at the other person: "Why did you take the tray back before I could hold it firmly?"
Her eyes were stinging and always filled with tears. She couldn't look at people intently, and her gaze was soft.
This gives people the illusion that she is easy to bully.
Mother Zhang didn't argue with her, but what she said was unpleasant: "Yes, since the young lady said it was my fault, then it is my fault..."
Then he knelt down facing Zhu on the bed and said, "I broke the gift that Madam gave to the young Madam. Please punish me."
Zhu stretched out her hand vaguely: "You have served me for many years and have always been steady and prudent. How can I blame you? Get up."
The implication is that it's not her fault.
Turning her gaze slowly towards the delicate figure, Zhu said slowly, "Brother Jin's daughter-in-law, are you not satisfied with the gift I prepared for you?"
Shen Youran usually doesn't like to use her brain, but that doesn't mean she is stupid. Moreover, she has long been certain that the eldest lady will not like her, so her brain is particularly sharp today.
"It's not that I'm dissatisfied with your gift, it's you who are dissatisfied with me, right?" Although she didn't see the bracelet clearly just now, green jade is not the best quality jade, and she knew it was not a top-quality item from the sound of it breaking.
Madam Pei didn't like her, but she still gave her a white jade bracelet of the best quality. However, her mother-in-law "carefully selected" such an ordinary bracelet and deliberately broke it. It was obvious that she didn't mean to give her a sincere gift.
She has been enduring it since she was in the flower hall. The elders of the Pei family treat her differently, and the sisters-in-law bully her openly and secretly. She has suffered more grievances today than in the previous sixteen years. Even when her father married his stepmother Wei, it was with her approval. Although the stepmother was not very close to her after she came into the family, she never made her unhappy. Now even an old servant of the Pei family dares to make trouble for her. Isn't it just because he takes advantage of the fact that the eldest lady doesn't like her?
She is just white, not made of dough. If a tiger doesn't show its might, do you think it is a sick cat?
Zhu Shi was astonished that she had dared to contradict her, and her expression suddenly changed: "You...how dare you speak to me like that?"
Shen Youran was so angry that she didn't recognize any relatives, not to mention that the other party was a mother-in-law whom she had just met. She mercilessly exposed the other party's hypocrisy: "Then why did you allow the old servant to bully me?"
"It's none of Madam's business," Madam Zhang was about to stand up, but quickly knelt back down. "It's all my fault. I accept the punishment. Madam and Young Madam, please don't let me ruin your relationship..."
Her tactic of retreating to advance didn't work in front of the straightforward Shen Youran. Instead, Shen Youran took advantage of her and said, "Since you admit it's all your fault, how are you going to compensate me for breaking the gift my mother-in-law gave me?"
Mother Zhang: “This…”
Shen Youran narrowed his eyes and saw a hint of green on the other person's hair. It should be a jade hairpin. He pulled it off without saying anything and threw it to the ground without even looking at it.
The sound of the jade hairpin breaking was clearer and more pleasant than the sound of the jade bracelet breaking just now.
Shen Youran finally let out his anger: "You broke my things, so I broke yours too. This way, we're even!"
The hairpin on Mother Zhang's head was pulled out, and half of her bun was scattered. After a cry of "Ouch", she knelt on the ground. I was frightened by her stubbornness for a moment.
"You..." Zhu had never seen such a girl before. After being shocked, she was immediately out of breath and pointed at her tremblingly, "You are rude?"
Shen Youran no longer had the humble and submissive demeanor she had when she came in just now. Her delicate face was filled with indifference: "If you think I'm rude, then ask your son to divorce me..."
Zhu's pale face turned blue with anger, and she couldn't help but vent her anger on her son: "This is the good wife you insisted on exchanging for..."
Before he could finish his words, he fainted without catching his breath.
The room suddenly became a mess.
Pei Huaijin went forward to check on his mother's condition. Shen Youran initially thought that he was pretending, but when the doctor came and said some bad things after taking her pulse, and then took out silver needles to prepare for acupuncture, Shen Youran realized that he was really angry with her and fainted.
She leaned over and tugged at Pei Huaijin's sleeve: "I, I didn't mean it..."
The other party moved his wrist, and the sleeve slipped from her hand. His brows furrowed into a ravine: "You go back first."
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