Shocking news?
Jiang Yushu answered subconsciously: "What 'shocking news'? Tell me quickly!"
"Want to listen right away?" Guo Honglei said with a smile, his eyes bright as stars.
Jiang Yushu was eager to understand the situation, "Yes."
"I'll tell you right away!"
The next moment, there was a "splashing" sound of water, two people squeezed into the bathtub, and the hot water overflowed.
"Ai?"
"Stop it! The water's overflowing! It'll be hard to clean up later. The maids will laugh at us."
"You're too big to fit—"
…
In a moment, Guo Honglei firmly grasped her from behind and asked slowly, "Who said there's no room? Isn't this just right?"
After pushing and shoving for a while, the beauty shrouded in candlelight and mist had skin as white as cream, rosy and smooth, and a figure that was so graceful that he couldn't take his eyes off her.
Jiang Yushu was panting, her forehead wet with sweat. As she lowered her head to retrieve the handkerchief, she bent slightly—and for a moment, they were pressed against each other. She froze, then, determined to discuss business, picked up the handkerchief and moved around behind him. She said with concern, "You've ridden home from Yongzhou. It's a long journey, so your back must be sore. Come, sit still, don't move. I'll wipe your back and give you a massage."
"oh?"
"Strange, what day is today? There is such a good thing?" Guo Honglei raised his eyebrows with a flattered look, and stretched out his strong arms and placed them outside the edge of the bucket to make it easier for his wife to rub his back.
Jiang Yushu couldn't help laughing, wiping her lips one by one, and said angrily: "Is it so surprising? It's just a piece of cake." If I don't divert your attention, you will definitely come to bother me and we won't be able to talk about business.
"It's unprecedented, how can I not be surprised?" Guo Honglei said happily, "Thank you, ma'am."
Jiang Yushu reminded her, "Keep your promise! Tell me the shocking news right away."
"Hmm... if I had known earlier, I should have taken this opportunity to ask for a few more favors." Guo Honglei closed his eyes and enjoyed the back rub. He said seriously, "I've been riding for days, and my back is really sore and I feel uncomfortable all over."
Jiang Yushu paused, feeling anxious, and suddenly twisted the man's back!
"Hiss~" Guo Honglei turned his head and met a pair of bright eyes.
Her slender white thumb and index finger extended, slowly pinching a firm muscle, as if to twist it, full of menace. Jiang Yushu's shoulders were exposed above the water as she asked word by word, "Will you tell me?"
"Brutal torture?" Guo Honglei smiled, then his face hardened, as if he would rather die than yield. He said solemnly, "Madam, you are so rude and demanding. Please forgive me for not obeying your order!"
"you--"
Their eyes met, and Jiang Yushu was the first to lose her composure. She burst into laughter, resting her forehead on his back, and asked earnestly, "Then, Second Young Master, Second Master! What do you want in exchange for 'obeying'?"
"Come closer."
Jiang Yushu followed his instructions and leaned over to whisper some conditions to Guo Honglei.
“…Be serious!”
"Could it be that Madam doesn't want to hear the news? Well, I've run errands in vain."
"Can we change to other conditions?" Jiang Yushu's face flushed, and she didn't know whether it was because of the heat or embarrassment.
Guo Honglei teased her deliberately, raised his head and replied sternly, "No."
The couple bargained and muttered for a long time. Jiang Yushu was helpless and finally pinched him twice. Her face flushed and she said viciously: "Okay! This is just this once, and it won't happen again."
"It's a deal!" Guo Honglei's eyes were full of smiles, and he looked refreshed. He calmed down, gradually put away his smile, and said seriously:
"After the morning break, I followed your instructions and quietly sent someone to intercept the escorts, hoping to find out more about what was going on. However, they adhered to the rules of the trade and refused to reveal any information about their employer. As a last resort, I personally spoke with the escort leader for half an hour before I finally got a rough idea of what was going on."
Jiang Yushu listened attentively, rubbing his back intermittently, and urged him, "Thank you for your hard work. What's the result? What did the escort leader say?"
"Madam, you're right. Yushan did leave home without permission from her father-in-law. It's easy to imagine that no elder in the world would let their daughter travel to the frontier to visit relatives unless absolutely necessary."
"Why did she run away from home?" Jiang Yushu stared at her.
Guo Honglei frowned. "I'm not familiar with my employer's personal affairs, but judging from the implication, it seems to be about marriage. Yushan was unhappy with her marriage and argued with her parents. In a fit of anger, she impulsively left home."
"Ah?" Jiang Yushu frowned and said nothing, as if she was thinking about something.
Guo Honglei briefly explained, "According to the escort leader, Yushan revealed her identity from the outset, hiring guards in the name of the Jiang Mansion. The escort agency initially had no idea her employer was a woman, so they simply followed the agreement and hurried on their journey. But a few hundred miles from the capital, they were suddenly surrounded by a group of servants, claiming to be searching for someone. Yushan didn't want to go home, so she doubled her reward. A generous reward inspired a brave man, and the escorts managed to break free from the servants, continued north, and risked their lives to find our home."
Jiang Yushu pinched the wet handkerchief and sighed, "Jiang, sister, you are so brave. You are lucky enough to have found Heqin safely. The elders must be very angry!"
"There's something even more shocking." Guo Honglei moved his back, indicating that he should continue wiping.
Jiang Yushu understood, rubbed it a few times, and asked in surprise: "This is already amazing, what else is there? Tell me quickly!"
"After dinner, I went out. After talking with the escort leader at the inn, I passed by the government office on my way home and ran into Zhuang Song. He told me that the government office had sent word that the court was concerned about Yongzhou. The emperor had appointed two officials from the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works as imperial envoys to inspect the reconstruction of Yongzhou."
Guo Honglei smiled happily, "Among them, the Ministry of Works has nominated my father-in-law. He was ordered to come to the frontier and has already arrived in the provincial capital. He will probably reach Heqin soon."
"What?"
Jiang Yushu was stunned. "My father is here too?"
"Yes." Guo Honglei turned around and stretched out his fingers to smooth the wet hair that was sticking to her cheek.
“Oh my god…”
"Oh my God!" Jiang Yushu came back to her senses and gasped repeatedly, "I can't believe it! My father actually came to Xicang?"
Guo Honglei nodded. "My father-in-law is going to Yongzhou and is just passing through Xicang. After many years of separation, we finally have the chance to meet. Are you happy?"
"Happy, of course I'm happy." Jiang Yushu was stunned.
Guo Honglei took the handkerchief and pushed her around with one hand. He gently rubbed her back and said soothingly, "Don't worry. I'm home and will do my best to entertain your father-in-law. However, the details will depend on the arrangements made by the imperial envoy. If they're not in a hurry to leave, I'll invite your father-in-law to stay with me for a day or two as a token of my filial duty."
Jiang Yushu was absent-minded. "Okay, good idea. I'll do as you say."
"So we can infer that Yushan left home first, and her father-in-law went out afterwards according to the emperor's order, so the two of them went one after the other." Guo Honglei speculated.
"It should be."
Jiang Yushu patted the rim of the bucket, cheered herself up, and thought to herself, "Father's arrival has just solved our problem. When he finishes his inspection of Yongzhou and returns to the capital, he will naturally take Yushan with him. The imperial envoy has guards to escort him, so I'm sure nothing will go wrong!"
"That's right." Guo Honglei nodded in agreement, "So, you don't have to worry about your sister, your father-in-law will discipline her." He accidentally used a little too much force with his hand.
Jiang Yushu felt a pain on her back and curled up in pain. "Hiss, be gentle! You can't compare to my back-rubbing skills."
"snort."
"Didn't you say you would 'rub my back and then press it'? You rubbed it for a while and then stopped. You didn't press it at all. Instead, you twisted it several times." As he spoke, Guo Honglei pressed his chest against hers, wiping it with his left handkerchief and stroking it slowly with his right palm. His warm breath sprinkled on her ears.
"I, um..." Jiang Yushu's breath was disordered. Her back was pressed against the other's chest. It was not only hot, but almost burning. She said in a trembling voice: "Bring me the handkerchief. I'll help you wipe it and massage it right away!"
"No need."
The hot water in the tub sloshed, and Guo Honglei felt so hot that he clutched the tub's rim with both hands. Then, he leaned over and whispered, "The conditions just now—"
"I forgot!" Jiang Yushu tried to cheat, "I forgot everything, everything!"
Guo Honglei said seriously, "It's okay, I remember it. Come, I'll teach you."
There were bursts of "splashing" sounds of water, mixed with gasps of surprise and soft pleas for mercy. The flickering candlelight illuminated the hazy shadow behind the screen.
At the same time, guest rooms
"Miss, it's getting late, do you want to rest?" Xiaoli made the bed and Xiaoxi packed the luggage.
Jiang Yushan sat by the window, feeling sad. She couldn't help but open the window a crack and look across to the east wing, wondering: Is the light still on? Is he still awake?
"Miss——" the maid poked her head out.
Jiang Yushan quickly closed the window and replied irritably, "I know! You keep nagging me all day long, it's giving me a headache."
The maidservant shrank her neck and dared not say anything more.
Jiang Yushan couldn't help but glance towards the east wing. She pounded her forehead in pain, bit her lip, and thought:
Why? Why on earth did it come to this?
Humph, what ability does my sister have? Is she worthy of being a female official?
Back then, my mother was so foolish that she wrongly advised me to give it up. My sister got the advantage for nothing, and I am still without a place to go.
Unreconciled.
Jiang Yushan was extremely unwilling to accept her fate and suffered for several years, often unable to sleep at night. She developed crow's feet from worry at a young age and lost her mind due to worry. She fled the capital at all costs and would rather die than marry the "old, fat, bald" Xia Zhenyun.
But, what should we do now?
Although she had no idea, she was determined not to compromise herself and not to marry Xia Zhenyun - only a man like Mr. Guo was a good match for her!
At this time, neither Jiang Yushu and his wife, nor Jiang Yushan, knew that Xu's mother and son had also come to the border!
Because all the officials were in awe of the imperial envoy, no one dared to openly discuss the fact that Jiang Shisen brought his family with him. Therefore, when the Xicang government office reminded the Heqin county office to prepare for the reception, it did not mention Xu's mother and son at all.
The next morning
Wang was used to it. After listening, she nodded and said, "Since you have official business, go and get busy."
"Well, I'll go home as soon as I finish my work!" Jiang Yushu was preparing to go to the yamen.
Wang Qiaozhen was peeling chestnuts and eating them. As if joking, she said to Liao Xiaodie, "You don't know, our Yushu is a very busy person, running around everywhere. She's not home for most of the year."
"Alas, having an official position means having to do things. It's not as free as ours." Liao Xiaodie said softly, praising, "Those who are capable should do more work. Yushu is a heroine. I can't even compare to you."
Jiang Yushu quickly said modestly, "No, cousin, you're too kind. I really don't deserve it."
Humph, are you mocking your sister-in-law for not being as good as your brother-in-law? Wang Qiaozhen knew it well and ignored Liao Xiaodie.
"You guys chat, I'm leaving first."
Wang waved her hand in agreement.
Jiang Yushu left the main room, walked down the stairs in a hurry.
The morning light was bright. When passing by the west wing study, the sound of reading could be heard. Guo Hongzhe and Guo Hongxuan were studying hard, while Gong Yipeng was teaching his daughter and Guo Yu "Thousand Character Classic".
Jiang Yushu withdrew her gaze from the study and walked forward briskly. Suddenly, she found Guo Honglei holding a child under the rockery tree, and Jiang Yushan was right next to him. The sister-in-law and brother-in-law stood side by side, smiling charmingly, and reaching out to the baby.
The author has something to say: Next, it all depends on Mr. Guo's will to survive [doge]
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