Chapter 20 "Is Yuanyuan so vengeful?"
Cui Xintang was taken aback, then raised an eyebrow and asked, "Really?"
Meng Yuanxiao nodded seriously, "That's right. That time I secretly came to the Cui residence to find you, you didn't say a word with a stern face, and immediately sent me back to the Meng residence."
He often visited the Meng residence, but never invited her to the Cui residence. Occasionally, she would say she wanted to visit him at the Cui residence, but he would never pay attention.
But the more he forbade her to go, the more curious she became.
One day, she went out to play with her second brother. Her second brother was having too much fun with a few playboys and didn't care about her. She shook off her second brother and ran to the Cui residence with Hongshao.
She wanted to give Brother Tang a surprise, but when Brother Tang saw her, he had a stern face and looked displeased. He took her hand and left, sending her back to the Meng residence.
That day, her second brother searched everywhere for her but was nearly scared to death. When he finally crawled back to the Meng residence in a panic, his father grabbed a stick and gave him a severe beating.
When her second brother was being disciplined by their father, Tang's brother held her hand and watched from the side.
That day, her second brother was beaten so badly that he screamed, and she was so frightened that she covered her eyes and dared not look. After that, she never dared to go to the Cui residence again.
She always remembered what happened that day. Her brother Tang was very silent that day and didn't say a word to her. She also happened to see that there were faint bruises on his arm that day.
She thought he must have been beaten by Lord Cui, just like her second brother.
At that time, she knew that Brother Tang and Lord Cui had a cold relationship, but why did Brother Tang not seem to be close to his mother-in-law either?
She looked at Cui Xintang with a puzzled and inquisitive gaze. Cui Xintang glanced at her helplessly and squeezed her hand. "Yuanyuan, are you so vengeful?"
He meant he didn't want to talk about it anymore. Meng Yuanxiao pursed her lips, deciding not to ask any further.
We set off early the next morning, at daybreak.
Meng Yuanxiao was woken up early by Cui Xintang. Still half asleep, he was helped by Hongshao to get dressed and wash up. He then ate some breakfast haphazardly. He only became more awake when it was time to get into the carriage.
Just as he was about to get into the carriage, he caught a glimpse of the folding fan at Cui Xintang's waist, which was clearly not the one she had given him.
Meng Yuanxiao was a little annoyed. "Brother Tang, didn't you say that you would only use the folding fan I gave you from now on?"
Cui Xintang was giving instructions to the servants in the mansion when she was taken aback by the question.
He took off his folding fan, glanced at it, and paused before saying, "I had too much to do this morning. Qingzhu took care of these things for me. Perhaps he overlooked something."
Qingzhu, standing to the side, said, "...Young Madam, it was indeed my oversight."
Meng Yuanxiao knew perfectly well that the two of them were working together, and she frowned, persisting, "Then what about the folding fan I gave you?"
"...Perhaps it's in the study. Shall I send someone to change it now?"
Meng Yuanxiao nodded, "Mm."
Cui Xintang: "..."
Before he could speak, a servant rushed over and said, "Young Master, the officials in charge of the yamen are already waiting outside. Shall we set off?"
Cui Xintang seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, her phoenix eyes smiling as she looked at Meng Yuanxiao.
What could Meng Yuanxiao say? She was furious and didn't even look at him again. She lifted her skirt and got into the carriage by herself.
She was sullen the whole way, and no matter how Cui Xintang tried to coax her, she wouldn't talk to him.
Accompanying him were two officials from the Ministry of Revenue, as well as guards and servants. That evening, upon arriving at the post station, Cui Xintang discussed matters with his companions. When he returned to his room, Meng Yuanxiao had already gone to sleep.
Perhaps she was tired from the day and was sleeping soundly, so Cui Xintang did not disturb her.
But when he woke up the next day, the person was even more unwilling to talk to him.
At noon, the group rested by a river. The guards and drivers watered the horses, while Hongshao helped Qingzhu start a fire to cook hot soup.
Meng Yuanxiao got off the carriage, stretched his limbs, and looked up to see Cui Xintang standing a little distance away, discussing matters with someone.
Perhaps he had been watching her closely, for when he saw her get off the carriage, he looked at her from afar and smiled at her, even though he was listening to someone report something.
The carriage was bumpy, so Cui Xintang instructed people to put the soft benches together and lay down a thick, soft blanket so she could rest whenever she was tired.
However, this made the space inside the carriage somewhat cramped, as he was tall and couldn't stretch out properly, so he didn't often stay in the carriage and spent most of his time riding horses outside.
Meng Yuanxiao was still angry with him, and since he hadn't coaxed her last night, she didn't want to talk to him anymore. She turned around and went to rest under a tree a little further away.
Hongshao was worried that she would be hungry, so she lit a fire and baked a sesame seed cake until it was crispy and fragrant. She wrapped it in oil paper and brought it to her. She also laid a clean cloth on the exposed roots of the tree so that she could sit and eat the sesame seed cake.
Meng Yuanxiao sat under the tree, warming his hands with a sesame seed cake. Just as he was about to take a bite, a dirty face suddenly appeared in front of him.
She was startled and almost dropped the sesame seed cake in her hand.
She steadied herself, only to find a child standing before her, about five or six years old, dressed in rags, with dark eyes that stared out of place on his thin face, staring intently at the sesame seed cake in her hand, swallowing hard.
Meng Yuanxiao paused for a moment, then handed over the sesame seed cake in his hand.
Without saying a word, the child snatched the sesame seed cake from her hand and began to wolf it down.
Meng Yuanxiao was about to get up when she looked up and saw five or six people standing a little further ahead. They were all dressed in rags, looked sallow and thin, but their eyes were gleaming as they looked at her.
She swallowed hard, hurriedly stood up, and ran towards Cui Xintang without thinking.
Just as Cui Xintang was about to go looking for her, he saw her rushing towards him in a panic, her small face pale with fright and her nose covered in fine sweat.
Cui Xintang frowned and looked up to see several ragged refugees fighting over a piece of sesame seed cake. A child nearby cried out, "My sesame seed cake!" and tried to snatch it, but was kicked to the ground and cried his heart out.
Cui Xintang's heart sank. He looked down at the person in his arms and asked gently, "Is something wrong?"
Meng Yuanxiao shook her head, her face pale.
Cui Xintang patted her back gently, then turned and instructed Qingzhu to take some cakes to the group.
Qingzhu agreed and took a few unbaked flatbreads over.
Perhaps driven by hunger, the refugees snatched the flatbread from Qingzhu's hand and, disregarding its hardness and inedibility, began to wolf it down.
Qingzhu asked a few questions, and after the group finished eating their pancakes, they still refused to leave, staring intently at Cui Xintang and the others.
They clearly want more.
Qingzhu, however, did not indulge them. He was quite skilled and served as both a servant and a bodyguard to Cui Xintang.
Seeing that the men wouldn't leave, he placed his hand on the long sword at his waist and whispered a few words.
The refugees saw the long sword at his waist and their faces showed fear. Although they were unwilling, they left after all.
Once the refugees had gone some distance, Qingzhu strode back and whispered, "Master, I asked around, and they said they came from Yunping County."
Cui Xintang paused and glanced in the direction the group had left.
Just then, a gust of wind blew up, and he summoned Hong Shao, instructing her to fetch a cloak for Meng Yuanxiao.
Hongshao quickly brought over a cloak, and Cui Xintang reached out to wrap it around Meng Yuanxiao's body.
Meng Yuanxiao knew he had something to ask Qingzhu, so she ignored him and went to drink hot soup with Hongshao.
Cui Xintang watched as she walked to the side, took a bowl of hot soup from Hongshao, blew on it, took a small sip, and then looked away at Qingzhu.
Qingzhu carefully reported what she had just asked, and finally said, "Master, they are traveling along this official road, and I'm afraid they will arrive outside the capital in a few days."
“It’s alright,” Cui Xintang said.
"Should we send someone to accompany us?"
“No need,” Cui Xintang hesitated for a moment, then asked, “Did anyone say where in Yunping County?”
Qingzhu: "They said it, that it's Fengshui Town under Yunping County."
Fengshui Town.
Cui Xintang noted down the name and then ordered, "Send someone on horseback to Fengshui Town to investigate."
Besides Qingzhu, he naturally brought other people with him, but it was not appropriate to travel with them, so he secretly followed them all the way.
Not only was Meng Yuanxiao frightened, but Cui Xintang was also a little scared. So when he was talking to Qingzhu, his gaze kept falling on Meng Yuanxiao.
After agreeing, Qingzhu quietly withdrew and soon disappeared.
Cui Xintang stood there for a moment, then walked towards Meng Yuanxiao.
Because of this incident, when they rested, Meng Yuanxiao dared not stray too far from Cui Xintang, but she did not speak to him. She just followed him like a little tail, and Cui Xintang indulged her.
When they arrived at the post station that evening, Cui Xintang pulled him into her arms and said helplessly, "We're going to the countryside this time, and it will be quite a journey. Yuanyuan painted this fan herself; how could you bear to take it to the countryside and ruin it?"
Meng Yuanxiao was stunned. So he knew it was her who painted the fan?
Cui Xintang chuckled and said, "The umbrella is painted with crabapple trees, cows, and sheep. Besides you, who else would paint these on a folding fan?"
The painting on the folding fan, with just a few strokes, vividly depicts cattle and sheep, and when paired with a tree full of crabapple blossoms, it creates a beautiful scene that combines elegance and popular appeal.
If it were something else, he might not have been able to recognize it as Meng Yuanxiao's work.
But his name contains the character "棠" (Tang), and he was born in the Year of the Ox, while Yuanyuan was born in the Year of the Sheep. So, only she would think of this?
He had never seen anyone paint cattle and sheep on a folding fan.
After saying that, he picked her up and carried her to the bed. "Your husband deliberately didn't say anything to tease you, but who knew Yuanyuan would be so easily amused?"
Meng Yuanxiao immediately calmed down.
She calmed herself down shortly after getting into bed.
Having slept in the carriage during the day, she wasn't sleepy. After thinking for a moment, she rolled into Cui Xintang's arms, nestled against him, and asked, "Brother Tang, why didn't you give those refugees the baked flatbreads you had prepared? Or, why didn't you just give them some money?"
Cui Xintang was already sleepy, but she stayed awake, afraid that she would fall asleep before her and upset her.
Upon hearing this, he raised his hand and pressed her head down, kissed her lips, and said, "We have many people and guards, so we have nothing to fear."
“But other carriages and pedestrians pass by this official road every day, and not everyone is accompanied by guards, or they travel in groups of two or three. If those refugees are allowed to develop ambitions and taste the benefits, they may become even more wicked and harm the pedestrians.”
Meng Yuanxiao blinked; she hadn't thought of that.
"Were you scared?" Cui Xintang asked.
Meng Yuanxiao didn't speak. She was indeed frightened, and besides feeling lingering fear, she also felt a little sad.
That place wasn't far from the capital, and she never expected to encounter refugees there.
After thinking for a moment, she asked, "Why did those people become refugees?"
Cui Xintang paused for a moment, then said, "Perhaps it was a natural disaster, such as the drought three years ago, or perhaps it was due to other reasons, or perhaps it was caused by their own greed."
After saying that, he noticed her eyes were fixed on him intently, clearly wanting to ask more. He couldn't help but chuckle, looking at her softly and asking, "Aren't you sleepy?"
Meng Yuanxiao's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly shut her mouth, snuggling into his arms without saying a word.
A note from the author:
----------------------
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com