Chapter 24 Chapter 24 The Beautiful and Widowed Daughter-in-Law
The mansion was hung with white curtains and the servants who came and went were all dressed in mourning clothes. There seemed to be an lingering sadness hanging over it.
"Madam, I know you and the eldest young master had a good relationship. Now that he's gone, you're definitely eager to go with him. But if you leave, what will happen to your parents?"
Jiang Wu opened her eyes and saw herself kneeling on the ground in mourning clothes, burning paper money. The strong smell of paper money made her tears fall one by one, and she could hear the maid's worried persuasion in her ears.
"Even if you're not hungry, Madam, you should at least eat something. You haven't eaten in three days."
"If you don't eat now, I'm afraid your body won't be able to bear it."
Jiang Wu, whose eyes were choked by the smoke and tears were streaming down her face, couldn't understand what she was saying. She only heard something about good feelings and leaving. After she stood up shakily, her vision went dark and her body went limp as she passed out.
When she woke up again, she found herself sleeping on the bed, with her maid crying beside her as if she was preparing her funeral.
Jiang Wu was just about to say something to comfort her when the beaded curtain swayed and a middle-aged man as tall as a jade mountain walked in. Even though he looked haggard, it couldn't hide his elegance and gentleness.
The man's eyes were red with guilt. "Wanniang, I know you and Rong'er have a good relationship, but you can't neglect your body."
"If you collapse too, how will I explain this to Rong'er and your parents later?"
The moment the man stepped into the house, Jiang Wu's mind was still confused, and she couldn't understand why this man who claimed to be her father had a face exactly like He Shiyan!
Jiang Wu, her fingers clenched on the bed sheet, opened her mouth, not knowing what to say, nor did she understand why she dreamed of He Shiyan.
It would be fine if she just dreamed about him, but why did he become her father? To be more precise, it would be more accurate to call him father-in-law.
"You should have a good rest first. If you have any problems, you can come to your father." He Shiyan endured the grief of losing his son and came to visit his daughter-in-law who fainted due to sadness in the mourning hall. When he was about to leave, his eyes went dark, his body went limp, and he fell uncontrollably on his daughter-in-law in front of him.
In a panic, he tried to get up, but his hand accidentally pressed on something soft. When he wanted to take his hand away, he accidentally pressed it a few more times.
"Daughter-in-law, I'm not, I'm not..." He wanted to explain, but he didn't know how to start, after all, his hand was still on it.
After being thrown onto the bed by her father-in-law, Jiang Wu had not yet reacted when she found that her father-in-law's hand was placed on her chest, whether intentionally or unintentionally, and he took the opportunity to pinch it twice.
In her dream, her body became extremely sensitive and shameful. She felt as if ants were crawling on every place he touched.
"Wanniang, I'm sorry for you. Just pretend what happened before never happened." When her cheeks were red with shame and she was about to speak, her father-in-law got off her in a panic like a child who had done something wrong, and then ran away with his ears red.
Only after he left did Jiang Wu blush and hurriedly put on her messed clothes.
He Shiyan left in a hurry without looking at the road and accidentally bumped into his second son.
The second son reached out to support his father just as he was about to fall, a look of worry on his face. "Father, why are you leaving so hastily? Did something happen at home?"
"Your sister-in-law fainted in the mourning hall, and I just went to visit her." How could the man with red ears dare to tell his second son about what happened before? He clenched his fist to his lips and was about to cough twice, but as soon as he raised his hand, his face flushed red.
Not long ago, his hand was feeling the elusive softness, and when he put it to his nose and sniffed it, he seemed to be able to smell the lingering fragrance that belonged only to her.
When the second son saw his father's face suddenly turn red, his eyes wandering and he left in a panic, the originally calm eyes froze into ice like a sharp sword.
When he looked up, he saw that everything was covered in mourning. It was obvious that someone in the mansion had just had a funeral.
At this time, Jiang Wu also found out her identity. She was the eldest daughter-in-law of the eldest son of the Lin family. She had a very good relationship with her husband, but her husband fell seriously ill and died shortly after the marriage, and she became a lonely and helpless widow.
Jiang Wu, who learned that she had inexplicably become a widow in her dream, bit her fingers and suddenly thought of the original three options. It was a rare smart thought.
So those three options actually let her choose different identities and then severely abuse and humiliate those three despicable men in her dreams.
If she had known this, she wouldn't have tried to learn even one more word on the black option. The problem now was that she was a widow, so how could she humiliate her father-in-law, He Shiyan?
You can't take the identity of a widow.
At this moment, the maid's voice came from the knock on the door: "Madam, the master wants you to come to the study. He wants to discuss some matters after the eldest young master's burial."
Jiang Wu shook her head and decided not to waste her time thinking about it. Before leaving, she did not forget to admire her beauty in the mirror.
Sure enough, she looked so beautiful even in plain clothes, but her eyes were swollen from crying and looked like two small walnuts.
He Shiyan had called her over to make arrangements for the aftermath of his eldest son's death. To cover up the awkwardness, he hadn't stepped out from behind the screen since she'd entered. Instead, he spoke to her through the screen, "This time, Rong'er is unworthy of you. Your father called you over to ask for your opinion."
"You are still young, and I don't want to be that evil person and waste your life. I will give you two choices. One is to continue to stay in the mansion and be loyal to Rong'er. From now on, my sons of the Lin family will take care of you for the rest of your life. Or I will send you home, and when you find a husband of your choice, I will adopt you as my daughter and add to your dowry."
Jiang Wu had to admit that this father-in-law really cared about her as a daughter-in-law. Even though it was in a dream, Jiang Wu didn't want to be a widow for a man she didn't know, even if that man's father-in-law looked like He Shiyan.
“Daughter-in-law…” Before Jiang Wu could finish his words, he suddenly felt a dull pain in his chest and it became difficult to breathe as if something hard was stuck in his throat.
He Shiyan, who hadn't heard any further news, turned around and saw his daughter-in-law behind the screen clutching her chest and having difficulty breathing. He ignored the previous embarrassment and walked out, "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
"Wait a minute, I'll go find a doctor for you now." He Shiyan was really worried that something would happen to his eldest daughter-in-law in the study right after his eldest son left. How would he have the face to explain to his eldest son after a hundred years?
Just as he was about to walk out, his hand was held by a soft and boneless little hand. His long eyelashes drooped and what caught his eyes was the woman's white waves that were rising and falling due to discomfort.
And not long ago, he experienced with his own hands how good the soft touch that was difficult to grasp was.
Looking up, I saw those slightly open cherry lips, and I could feel how soft and sweet they were without even kissing them.
"Daddy, my chest hurts so much. Can you rub it for me?" An untimely voice suddenly sounded in his ears.
"No need. My daughter-in-law probably has an old illness. She will be fine after some rest." After saying this, Jiang Wu found that he was looking at her strangely. When she was about to ask, he suddenly put his hand on her chest.
"Since you have chest pain, your father learned some medical skills in his early years, so I can help you take a look."
Feeling the softness in his palm, He Shiyan looked at the woman who was nominally his master's wife, and now became his daughter-in-law in his dream, and was seducing him with her clumsy means. He could not deny that he felt a hint of interest, and even his hand stopped at her chest and pressed it lightly.
"Oh, that hurts somewhere."
"If my daughter-in-law doesn't tell me, how would I, as a father, know?"
Now it was Jiang Wu's turn to be scared. No, what on earth was he doing?
Did he forget that I am his daughter-in-law? And where should he put his hands?
"Father, sister-in-law, what are you doing!" Just as the temperature in the study was rising, the tightly closed door was suddenly pushed open.
He Shiyan woke up from his dream with an unsatisfied feeling, and even the palms of his hands seemed to linger with the unique peach blossom fragrance that belonged to that woman.
He was not ashamed of having this dream, but it was a pity that it ended too early.
Ji Xiao, who had been feeding mosquitoes in the bamboo forest in the back mountain for most of the night, broke the nearest bamboo with a grim face. At first, he could still convince himself that she would come later, but after he didn't know how many mosquitoes he had fed, he finally confirmed that the woman would not come at all!
Jiang Wanwan, you are really great!
You'd better not get caught by him after daybreak!
Xie Ji brought her to the temple for a short stay, hoping to use the tranquility of Buddhism to suppress the filthy and turbid dream. However, he did not expect that this time Ji Xiao was no longer in his dream, but there was a prince.
Even in the dream, their relationship was that of a newly widowed daughter-in-law and a father-in-law who had been widowed for many years.
Each one of them is challenging his moral bottom line and refreshing his three ethical views.
Even if it's a dream.
So much so that he was no longer sleepy after waking up, and when it was daybreak he immediately called Gao Lang to ask about the whereabouts of the prince.
"Where is His Highness?"
Gao Lang, who had gone to inquire, returned with the reply: "Something happened in the palace. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince left in a carriage early in the morning."
"Did anything unusual happen before Your Highness left?"
Gao Lang shook his head, "I just heard that His Highness left in a hurry."
Compared to the dark circles under their eyes, Jiang Wu slept soundly.
Because the ointment he gave me was effective, my legs, which were so painful yesterday that they felt like they didn't belong to me, were able to get out of bed today. Apart from a little soreness, there was no other major problem.
"There are only vegetarian dishes in the temple. I wonder if you are used to eating them."
"No need, vegetarian food is also delicious. My grandfather and I couldn't even eat vegetarian food in the village before." What Jiang Wu didn't say was that the vegetarian food in Yuanyin Temple was delicious and she liked it very much.
Xie Ji put down his bamboo chopsticks and was about to say something, remembering that the Jiang family had been practicing medicine for generations and that their family wealth could not be so meager. When he heard a loud noise outside the yard,
Before Xie Ji could call for help, a graceful figure like a solitary orchid in a valley walked in.
Shen Tingxue, who could sense her master's indifference towards her, didn't dare sit next to him and hug his arm like before. Instead, her eyes reddened, and she bowed awkwardly, suppressing her grievances and saying, "Master, I heard there's a very effective marriage tree on a mountain not far from Yuanyin Temple. It's said that as long as two people with the same heart go there and write their vows by hand, the Moon Goddess will bless them to love each other for a lifetime."
After returning home last night, Shen Tingxue was still brooding over his rejection of her. Logically, she could clearly feel that her master had her in his heart, but he just kept it to himself.
But she thought of the movie "Chasing Wife at the Crematorium" she had seen before. The master must have discovered his feelings for her, but because of his worldly status, he suppressed and restrained himself, and tried to use other women to distract him from his feelings. He did the same even when he rejected her yesterday.
Since the master wanted to suppress his feelings and said that he didn't like her, she would do as he wished and keep a distance from him. She wanted to see how long he could endure it before he would pinch her waist with red eyes and say that he regretted it.
Xie Ji, who didn't refuse or accept the offer outright, had the maid bring a stool for her after she bowed. After his wife finished eating, he asked her, "There are two acacia trees growing together on a small cliff in the back mountain. There's a huge rock next to the acacia tree, like a sign of a husband returning home, so it's named Acacia Cliff. The scenery at Acacia Cliff is quite nice, and the terrain is open. Standing at the peak, you can overlook the surrounding mountains. Would you like to join us, Madam?"
Jiang Wu, who was taking the green tea to help digestion, nodded hurriedly and was about to go.
But on the way to Xiangsi Xuan, he met Ji Xiao, who was squatting nearby with an aura so low that it could kill people.
After Ji Xiao learned that they were going to Acacia Cliff, he shamelessly followed them, "Since you are all going to Acacia Cliff, how can you leave me behind?"
Then he looked at Jiang Wu, who had a guilty conscience, with a sinister look on his face, and said with a purported smile, "Madam, do you think what I said is right?"
Jiang Wu, who wanted to play dead, laughed bitterly and perfunctorily, "It's good to go together. It will be more lively with more people."
The huge acacia tree was hung with prayers for a happy marriage and love. Some business-savvy people even set up stalls not far away to sell marriage cards. Some had their own cards written, while others offered for people to write their own cards with.
Jiang Wu took the blank marriage card and scratched her head, not knowing what to write. She could only come closer shamelessly, "Husband, what did you write?"
"I don't believe in these." Xie Ji's eyes fell on the marriage card in her hand, which was not written. Thinking of her study attitude of working hard for three days and drying the net for two days, he could roughly guess what she wanted to do.
"Did you forget how to write a certain word?" This gave her some face.
Jiang Wu never knew what it meant to quit while she was ahead. She only knew how to get closer and closer. Her eyes, which should have been shrewd, were clear. "Husband, you know I don't know many words, so could you please help me write?"
"Even though I can do it for you, you still have to write the marriage declaration yourself to show your sincerity." After Xie Ji finished speaking, he noticed that his wife's face immediately fell, just like the cabbage wilted by the frost in winter.
Compromising, she took the marriage card from his hand and said helplessly, "What do you want to write?"
"Ah?" She really didn't know what to write because she didn't even know what poetry was.
"Just tell me what you want to ask for. It doesn't have to be about literal love between men and women." As soon as the words fell, Xie Ji's face turned ugly when he thought of his dream, and he almost crushed the marriage card in his hand.
It seems that if I want to completely eradicate the dream, I have to wait for Master Wu to come back.
When he said that, Jiang Wu immediately thought, "Just write good health and all the best."
Xie Ji did not write for her, but asked her to hold the brush, and then he held her hand and guided her to write what she said, "Good health and all the best."
Jiang Wu's hand was held in his broad palm, as if completely wrapped inside, and as he wrote stroke by stroke, he didn't notice at all that the two of them were extremely close. From a distance, it looked no different from her being held directly in the man's arms.
Ji Xiao, who was about to pick up his brush to write, watched the scene with bloodshot eyes, and the pen in his palm broke into pieces.
The boss beside him cried out in pain, "Ouch, how did you break my pen?"
"Okay, it's just a brush." Ji Xiao, who was annoyed by the noise, threw a piece of silver over and the boss immediately fell silent.
Until he let go of his hand, Jiang Wu looked at the written words in surprise, looking left and right, and was really satisfied: "Did I write this? I am so amazing."
Xie Ji did not hide his praise, "Yeah, very impressive."
Unwilling to be completely ignored, even though she knew he was deliberately avoiding her, Shen Tingxue finally decided to give him a way out. She raised her hand and said delicately, "Master, I sprained my hand. Can you help me write too?"
Xie Ji did not refuse, but picked up the pen and asked, "What do you want to write?"
Chen Tingxue's eyes were shy, and she held out her hand, wanting to speak but not speaking. "I wish to be a pair of wings in the sky, and a pair of branches on the ground."
After she finished speaking, Xie Ji immediately rolled up his sleeves and picked up a pen to write, completing it in one go.
After writing it, I handed it over and said, "OK."
This also successfully made Shen Tingxue jealous to the point of almost distorting her face. She didn't understand how he could be so hypocritical. "Master, you hold her hand and write, why can't you hold my hand and write? Doesn't Xue'er have an important place in your heart?"
"She is my wife, so she is different from others." Xie Ji frowned with surprise, not understanding why the disciple who used to respect his teacher and abide by the rules had become such a unreasonable person.
Wife wife.
If that bitch's grandfather hadn't been holding a favor in return, the one who would be Master's wife now should be Shen Tingxue. Master, knowing that he hated that bitch, why did he still use her to provoke himself? Wasn't he afraid that he would end up in the crematorium after chasing his wife?
"So what if she is your wife? I am your disciple, and I have been with you longer than she has." Shen Tingxue's voice rose uncontrollably and she reached out to pull his sleeve with aggrieved expression, tears falling on her eyelashes, about to fall, making people feel pity for her.
"Master, how can you abandon Xue'er after getting married? You said Xue'er will always be your most important family member."
"Love isn't something that's determined by the length of time. If we really count by time, the people I care about most, besides my parents, should be Gao Lang, my colleagues, and the housekeepers and maids in the mansion."
Gao Lang, who is secretly setting up a marriage plan for himself:?
Shen Tingxue, whose palms fell empty, instantly exploded with anger, “How can they compare with me? I am not the same as them at all.”
"Didn't you say that the importance of a relationship should be calculated based on the time spent together?" Jiang Wu felt that her logic was really that of a bandit. The strangest thing was that she would defend her and even be fierce to Shen Tingxue's husband for it.
But she soon realized that he must have returned to his family for a short time because of guilt.
After returning, Jiang Wu, who had a bumpy and uneasy journey, met the maid from yesterday as expected. The place she was asked to go was the bamboo forest in the back mountain as mentioned yesterday.
And this time, she really lived up to the saying that you can escape the first day, but you can't escape the fifteenth.
If she didn't go, who knew if he would really think that she was out of control as in the dream, and listen to Song Jinye's words and abduct her to destroy her innocence.
Before coming to the back mountain, Ji Xiao took a bath, changed into new clothes, and burned some incense. He didn't dress up especially for her, but he just felt too hot after sweating in the front.
If she dared to stand him up again this time, he would go straight to her and ask her what she wanted to do.
As he paced back and forth in the pavilion, getting impatient and about to catch the woman who tried to stand him up again, a peach-colored figure that danced like a mountain goblin was running towards him stealthily.
Before he could gather his emotions and start accusing someone, the dew-soaked peach blossom flew into his arms, her voice soft and tender as if it contained a hook, "I was sick a while ago. Why didn't you come to see me? Don't you like me anymore?"
Jiang Wu knew that he was definitely looking for her to find her and ask for an explanation, so she would just act like a villain and make the first move to complain.
"How can I not be worried? I'm always thinking about when you'll get better." Ji Xiao was not lying. When he heard the news that she was sick, the first thing he thought of was disbelief. He thought it must be a self-torture trick she learned from somewhere.
Although I know she is lying, but what if?
He didn't really care about her, he was just afraid that if she really died of illness, Xue'er would have to bear the name of a second wife for the rest of her life after she married in. Even if she wanted to die, she would have to bear the infamy before she died.
"Being able to have the prince's concern, all the grievances Wanwan has suffered for so many days are nothing." Jiang Wu looked at the man whose face showed concern but who actually had a black heart and wanted to harm her, and suddenly smiled, but tears rolled down from the corners of her eyes as she smiled.
"Prince, you don't know how scared Wanwan has been these past few days."
"Wanwan is so scared. What should I do if I can't see you again?"
Juan'er couldn't help but worry when her lady said she wanted to rest but actually went to the back mountain alone without telling her, so she thought of following her so that she could help if anything happened to her.
I never thought that I would see my wife being held in the arms of a strange man. I was so horrified that I held my breath and covered my mouth.
Moreover, she could tell at a glance that the man holding the lady was not the Prime Minister. You know, the Prime Minister was much taller and slenderer than the average man, and his posture was as straight as a bamboo.
The master is so good to the lady, how could the lady do anything to let him down!
Juan'er's heart was pounding, so she covered her mouth and didn't dare to make a sound, let alone turn around and leave if they found out.
Shen Tingxue, who was irritable today, bumped into her as she hurried past. When she was about to vent her anger on her, her eyes turned with a smile, "Juan'er, where are you going in such a hurry?"
Juan'er didn't even dare to raise her head when her name was called, fearing that she would reveal the mistress's shocking secret. She just lowered her head and stammered, "My lord, I suddenly feel a little unwell, so I need to go back and rest."
"It's so hot today, I really need to get some rest." Chen Tingxue mentioned it casually, "But why did you come back alone? Where's Sister Jiang? Isn't she with you?"
Fearing that the princess would find out, Juan'er felt so guilty that she wanted to be buried in the ground. "Madam, please rest in the house."
"Really?" Shen Tingxue's voice rose, luring her into his trap step by step, "But I just came out of the courtyard where Sister Jiang lives, and found that Sister Jiang was not there at all."
Then she sighed softly, "Juan'er, I treat you as my sister for your own good. I don't want you to do anything stupid that would bring trouble to your family."
"The maidservant..." Juan'er, who was about to throw out what she had seen earlier, suddenly bit her tongue in pain after realizing something. "Madam is not in the room. She may have gone out. The maidservant remembered that she had something else to do. Please excuse me and leave first."
Shen Tingxue stopped trying to stop her, but took out a handkerchief and handed it to her to wipe her sweat, sighing softly, "I've already told you to just call me sister when you see me in private in the future. And Sister Jiang is really something, asking you to run around in such hot weather. If it were me, I would definitely not want you to work so hard."
"Sister Jiang isn't in the room. I don't think she sneaked out to meet someone she shouldn't have." Shen Tingxue, who said this, carefully watched her expression change. After seeing her face turn pale and ugly in an instant, she added lightly, "Of course, I was just joking."
And her reaction perfectly pleased Shen Tingxue. As expected, she guessed that the bitch would not be able to stay quiet.
What she had to do now was to make her master discover the fickle nature of that bitch and use her to highlight her own purity.
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