Before getting married, Guo Honglei saw Miss Jiang crying bitterly and tried to comfort her several times, but was always repelled by her silence and shrinking.
After getting married, although Guo Honglei had seen his wife cry, she was used to controlling her emotions. Even when she cried, she remained dignified and quickly regained her composure. She was tough and capable. Even His Royal Highness the Crown Prince praised her as "a woman who is as capable as a man."
At this moment, Jiang Yushu closed her eyes, her face was pale, she raised her hand and slapped her forehead hard, suppressing her tears, her whole body was shaking, immersed in anger and resentment, and she did not notice her husband's footsteps at all.
Guo Honglei was startled. He strode closer, sat down on the edge of the couch, and asked, "Why are you crying? What happened?"
"Well--"
"It's you." Jiang Yushu was startled and opened her eyes hastily. She stuttered and asked in panic, "Why, why did you come back so suddenly? Didn't you say you were busy in your last letter?"
Guo Honglei hugged her, stroked her back, and said apologetically, "I'm almost done with my work. I'm going home to rest for a few days. My wife has been wronged. I should have come back earlier."
Jiang Yushu lowered her head. She had been hastily wiping her tears, but when she heard this, she couldn't help herself and threw herself into his arms, crying loudly, sobbing, "I don't accept it!"
"I'm so dissatisfied!"
"They have no basis whatsoever, using fabricated rumors as evidence to not only impeach me but also remove me from office. Even more despicable is their malicious language and slanderous defamation of my reputation!"
"It's so infuriating! I, I'm almost mad to death!" Jiang Yushu was in tears and gritting her teeth. Her heart was burning with anger, and she couldn't control her rage.
It was the first time Guo Honglei saw his wife so sad and angry. He was a little at a loss for a moment. He subconsciously hugged her tightly, but then relaxed. He looked at her bulging belly and coaxed her clumsily, "Don't cry, don't cry yet. There is always a solution to everything. Calm down, let's talk it over."
"What exactly happened? Tell me, I'll find a way to get justice for you!"
"Don't cry, take care of yourself, and be careful with the child." He lowered his head, rubbing the other's red eyes with his rough fingertips, full of pity. "If your eyes swell up from crying, my mother will definitely scold me. She'll probably think I quarreled with you as soon as I got home."
Jiang Yushu sobbed, "No way."
"What happened? Can you tell me?"
"Yes." Jiang Yushu sobbed uncontrollably, resting her head on his chest. After a long moment of rage and a cry of injustice, she slowly calmed down. She bit her lip, sighed deeply, and pointed at the crumpled paper on the ground. "You'll know when you read the letter."
Guo Honglei helped her lie down and asked, "Who wrote this?"
"My two younger brothers, Mingcheng and Mingkang." Jiang Yushu's hair was disheveled, and strands of it clung to her tear-soaked face, which looked pale. "I asked them to find out some things."
Guo Honglei didn't rush to read the letter. Instead, he wrung out a handkerchief and wiped her face. He asked worriedly, "You cried so hard just now. Are you feeling unwell? Do you need a doctor?"
"No, no need. Doctor Fang just took my pulse this morning." Jiang Yushu's eyes sparkled with tears. She choked up for a moment and took deep breaths. "I'm fine. Just take it easy and I'll be fine."
After taking care of his wife, Guo Honglei dared to turn around, picked up the two crumpled paper balls, unfolded them, and read ten lines at a glance, frowning. After reading, he crumpled them hard, making the paper balls even more wrinkled.
"That's pure nonsense!"
"Spreading rumors and slandering innocent people is despicable!"
"Keeping this kind of thing will only cause trouble to others, so I might as well burn it." As he spoke, he decisively threw the paper ball into the incense burner. A puff of green smoke rose, and the letter turned to ashes in an instant.
"Oh——" Jiang Yushu was unable to stop it and watched the letter disappear in a daze.
Guo Honglei returned to the edge of the couch, his face sullen, and he said disapprovingly, "Mingkang is young, so it's not surprising that he's naive, but Mingcheng is old enough to get married, so how could he not be naive? If you knew it was a rumor, you shouldn't have told your sister specifically."
Jiang Yushu calmed herself down and explained in a hoarse voice, "You've misunderstood them. Actually, I was curious and secretly asked them to reply, risking being reprimanded by their parents."
"It's just rumors. It's not worth getting angry about." Guo Honglei raised his hand and smoothed her messy hair one by one.
Jiang Yushu was exhausted, frustrated, and muttered, "That's true, but I can't calm down. I always want to know what others are saying about me."
"Outsiders question and ridicule me for getting my official position thanks to my father and husband. I accept it. After all, my father is indeed a high-ranking official in the court, and you are indeed young and promising. Alas, I will just treat it as outsiders being jealous."
Guo Honglei said seriously, "I don't deserve it. Madam, you are too kind."
She paused at the interruption, looked up, pinched him softly, and said through gritted teeth, "But the rumors that I've been 'extilated,' currying favor with the rich and powerful, repeatedly using my beauty for benefits, and having sex with anyone,' etc., are pure nonsense!"
"Questioning their abilities isn't excessive, but questioning their character, how can one tolerate that? If I heard it in person, I absolutely could not help it and would really want to tear those villains' mouths to pieces." All the hardships and hard work of the years seemed to have been wiped out, and she happened to be pregnant and irritable, which made her so angry that her liver hurt.
“That’s really too much!”
Anyone can be a prostitute? Guo Honglei's face was as dark as water. "You've been slandered, and I'm more angry than anyone else. If we catch the ringleader of the rumor, just tearing his mouth apart won't be enough to vent my anger."
"Calm down, don't take the rumors to heart. Rumors stop at the wise," he consoled her. "The lady-in-waiting's contributions will be recorded in official history, immortalized through the ages. And those groundless rumors that cannot withstand verification will eventually vanish into thin air."
"I hope so. Alas, with such a bad reputation, how can I hope to be remembered for eternity? I only seek a peaceful and stable life in this world."
Guo Honglei was incredibly patient. Their foreheads touched as he soothed her, "Actually, you've been implicated. The key lies with your father-in-law. He's trying to get promoted to the next level, and he has many rivals, neither of whom are willing to give in. I've already started making inquiries, and I'll let you know as soon as I have any news."
"Um."
Although relatives and friends often cared about and asked about the troubles that had occurred in recent months, they were unable to help. Jiang Yushu had no one to vent her troubles, and the grievances that had been suppressed for a long time were finally vented and she gradually calmed down.
"Ahem," she said, feeling guilty. "I'm sorry, I've implicated you. Those villains slandered me and you at the same time."
Guo Honglei remained calm and composed, speaking in a resounding voice, "Rumors are not to be tolerated. Those villains are like rats, always gossiping secretly and never seeing the light of day. Our reputation will not be affected by such people!"
"Yeah, that's right." Jiang Yushu breathed a sigh of relief for some reason and stopped sobbing completely.
"You're pregnant, so avoid getting angry. It's harmful to your health." He carefully placed his hand on her belly to test her. "I heard it's twins. The children will have company in the womb, playing day and night. They must be much happier than a single baby."
Jiang Yushu burst out laughing. "The children are happy, but I feel miserable! One mouth has to feed three bodies, and even when I don't have an appetite, I have to force myself to eat. I'm afraid the two little ones will starve."
"How is that possible? It will definitely go smoothly and safely!"
Guo Honglei was both expectant and worried. He kissed his wife's forehead and said, "No one can do this for me. I have to trouble you and suffer once more."
"I'm happy with it!" Jiang Yushu regained her composure and thought to herself: Living in such an era, I can't let Ye'er be an only child. Regardless of whether this baby is a boy or a girl, we will be three siblings when we are born. When we grow up, we can take care of each other.
After crying and talking for a while, Jiang Yushu accepted the reality and forced herself to cheer up.
A few days later
Wang was old and had little energy to take care of the household chores, so she sent someone to deliver a few account books and told her second daughter-in-law to look through them when she was free and be prepared to take charge of the household affairs.
Cuimei and Xiaotao were busy running around, one arranging the four treasures of the study, while the other made tea and provided support.
"Don't worry, I can walk by myself without any help."
Jiang Yushu sat down slowly and sighed: "Housework, housework!"
"The Third and Fourth Masters haven't married yet, so of course you'll be in charge of the household chores." Xiao Tao laughed happily.
Cuimei relayed, "The old lady said there's no rush. Just take a look at it and get familiar with it when you have time."
Jiang Yushu perked up, "Okay! I'm free anyway, so I'll take a look and familiarize myself with it." As she flipped through the account book, she said, "My eldest sister-in-law used to take care of the housework, and I was often away on business, so I never paid much attention. But now I have to pay attention."
"Madam is very smart and taking care of the housework is no problem!" Cuimei served tea.
Jiang Yushu couldn't help laughing. "You have more confidence than me. Frankly speaking, I don't have much experience in housework."
"Don't worry, take your time."
As a result, this "familiarity" lasted until noon.
When Guo Honglei returned from outside, he opened the door and heard his wife say, "Second Master is really amazing!"
"oh?"
Guo Honglei raised his eyebrows in surprise, put his hands behind his back, walked closer, and sat down next to her. Cuimei and others immediately tactfully left.
"I heard you praising me as soon as I walked in. I'm flattered. What are you busy with?"
Jiang Yushu put down her pen and said, "Account book, I'm thinking about housework!"
"Stop wasting your time and take a break." Guo Honglei closed the account book, picked up a piece of paper, examined it for a few seconds, and asked in confusion, "What is this...?"
"Your income for the whole year."
"What?"
Jiang Yushu sighed deeply. "Today, I carefully calculated: you have the title of lieutenant and a thousand households, two salaries, plus the maintenance silver, annual festival rewards, victory rewards, etc., last year you made more than 8,000 taels!"
"And I don't even have eight hundred taels." Moreover, he was suddenly expelled from the court and became unemployed.
She sighed inwardly, grasped Guo Honglei's right palm with both hands, shook it, and shook it vigorously, saying with a smile: "Thanks to the Second Master's ability, the family has no worries about food and clothing. You've worked hard! But don't work too hard, rest when you need to, and balance work and rest."
There's no man in the world who doesn't love to be praised by his wife. Guo Honglei smiled, his eyes bright as stars. He let her hold his hand and whispered, "What's the difference between husband and wife? What's mine is yours. If I get a promotion, my salary will also increase, so that you can live a glorious and leisurely life as a noble lady."
Jiang Yushu was startled. "Madam Leisurely?"
"Yes!" Guo Honglei said solemnly, his eyes fixed on her. "From now on, you can just stay home and relax. You don't have to worry about your livelihood, and you don't have to run around in the public eye."
"Ah? This, this..." Jiang Yushu's smile gradually faded. She thought deeply, and had already made a plan in her heart: Even if I don't become an official, I will still be able to continue studying agriculture!
After staring at each other for a moment, Guo Honglei suddenly sighed and said helplessly, "I knew you wouldn't be happy. If I deliberately concealed it, you would definitely be very angry."
Jiang Yushu was stunned for a moment and asked hurriedly: "What are you hiding? Tell me quickly!"
The author has something to say: Insomnia, late night bug hunting, have a nice weekend, little angels, I have something to do tomorrow, maybe I will update later, or make up for it the next day, so I would like to inform you (づ￣3￣)づ╭? ～
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