"Coming of age ceremony?" Jiang Shisen sat down, brushed off his robe sleeves, bent his index finger, and tapped the armrest occasionally.
Mrs. Xu was over thirty, well-maintained, and graceful. She dismissed the servants, personally poured tea for her husband, and replied softly, "Yes. It's Yushan's birthday on May 16th, and I'm planning to have her coming-of-age ceremony as well, to save trouble. Cough, cough, cough."
Jiang Shisen took the teacup but placed it on the table without drinking a single sip. He asked calmly, "Are you still not well?"
Mrs. Xu sat beside him, coughing several times with a handkerchief covering her mouth. She rubbed her forehead and frowned as she replied, "My throat hurts terribly, and I'm dizzy and my head is spinning. Alas, as I get older, my body is increasingly vulnerable to colds, and I always catch a cold."
Jiang Shisen smiled and said, "But when you told the servants to look for the banknotes just now, your voice was clearly quite loud, it didn't sound like you had a sore throat."
"You—" Xu was stunned, confused and uncertain. She carefully observed her husband's expression and explained, "I had taken medicine and was resting. When the servants reported that they were preparing for the Dragon Boat Festival, I asked the maid to open the box to get the silver, and that's when I discovered the banknotes were missing. I remember you never touching silver and money, so I mistakenly thought it was stolen. I had no choice but to struggle to get up and investigate."
Jiang Shisen suppressed his smile and stared at his step-wife for a long time without saying a word.
Mrs. Xu felt uneasy when she was stared at. After a moment's thought, she hurriedly asked with concern, "Did you go to the Guo family today and see Yushu? How is she? Oh, I've wanted to visit her for a long time, but I've been ill for a while now. I feel dizzy and dizzy after walking a few steps. Tomorrow morning, I have to go see her off no matter what!"
Jiang Shisen gripped the armrest tightly and asked instead of answering, "Xu, do you still remember what you said when you first met Yushu?"
"Ah?" Mrs. Xu was startled again, her palms sweating. She instantly understood where the stolen banknotes had gone. She gathered herself, trying to remain calm, and replied with a nostalgic air, "Of course I remember. That year in the garden, the nurse brought Yushu to me. She was less than two years old then, fair and tender, delicate as a piece of jade. She didn't cry or make a fuss, and was incredibly well-behaved."
Jiang Shisen's eyes were like torches, and he reminded her word by word: "At the beginning, you promised with your own mouth that you would treat Yushu as your own daughter."
Xu clasped her hands tightly under the table and nodded, "Yes, concubine—"
Jiang Shisen suddenly lost his patience and slammed the table, shouting, "Treat him like your own son! Treat him like your own son!"
"I think you don't understand what 'treat as your own child' means!"
"Yushu will be exiled to Xicang tomorrow morning. I don't know when we'll meet again. I'm really worried that she'll die in a foreign land due to her frail health. And yet you're only concerned with organizing Yushan's coming-of-age ceremony? And the Dragon Boat Festival?"
"Yushu nearly committed suicide. Do you have any conscience?"
Xu was terrified. She stood up in a panic, staggered back a few steps, and said nervously, "Let's talk it over nicely. What's wrong with you today? You're yelling and yelling. Be careful not to get yourself hurt."
Jiang Shisen panted heavily, slammed his fist on the table three times, and asked in a trembling voice, "If you don't want others to know, then don't do it yourself. Do you really think I don't know? Who is the head of the family? There is nothing big or small in the family that I don't know!"
"What do you mean?" Xu kept backing away until she was against the wall.
Jiang Shisen kicked over the stool, glared at his step-wife and asked, "Your eldest brother was promoted to Doctor of the Ministry of Justice last year. Did he tell you in advance that the Jingyang Marquisate was going to fall?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about." With tears welling in her eyes, Xu denied it outright, "How could my elder brother reveal court affairs to me? You have no evidence and are making false accusations!"
Jiang Shisen was furious, spitting out words through his teeth, and lowering his voice, he said, "That's because he knew you betrothed Yushan to Honglei! You've always been partial to your biological daughter, and as long as it wasn't out of line, I tolerated it. But I never expected that when you learned that the Jingyang Marquis's Mansion was about to fall, you didn't dare to cancel the engagement. In order to protect Yushan, you actually pushed Yushu into the fire pit!"
As he spoke, he took a few big steps, raised his right hand high, and with a loud and crisp "slap", he slapped his step-wife, who refused to acknowledge him, to the ground.
"Ah——" Xu fell down in a mess, was stunned, and covered her face and cried.
Jiang Shisen's face was gloomy, and he warned coldly: "If it weren't for the fact that you gave birth to two sons for the Jiang family, I would never forgive you. If you do it again, you will go back to the Xu family, and I will marry a new wife."
"I am the master of this family and I will not allow anyone to do whatever they want!" After saying this, he turned away.
Xu was left lying on the ground, crying bitterly.
A moment later, Jiang Yushan, the second daughter of the Jiang family, looked on with a pale face as she secretly watched her father walk away. She stood up from her hiding place and said to her personal maid, "You two guard the door while I go in and take a look."
"yes."
Jiang Yushan was so anxious that she rushed in with her skirt lifted. When she took a closer look, her eyes widened immediately. She quickly squatted down to support him and asked in panic, "Mom, what happened to you? Who hit you? Was it Dad? I saw him leave in a rage just now. I was so scared that I didn't dare to go up to greet him."
The corner of Xu's mouth was broken and bleeding. After being helped up, she fell onto a round stool. She hugged her own daughter and cried, "Shan'er, mother has offended your father so much for you!"
"What, what? Could it be that he knows?" Jiang Yushan was worried.
Xu nodded, her cheeks burning.
Jiang Yushan bit her lip, feeling upset and annoyed. "So what if I knew? Didn't the Guo family receive the death penalty? They were just exiled—"
Mrs. Xu covered her daughter's mouth and said with a headache, "Shut up! From now on, don't mention this matter unless you have to."
"Hmph." Jiang Yushan snorted coldly.
Mrs. Xu looked at her daughter and sighed, "You've been pampered since childhood, never having suffered the slightest hardship. I really couldn't bear to let you go—Alas, never mind, let's not talk about it. Fortunately, I was able to save you."
Jiang Yushan pouted and looked unhappy.
"Be careful these days and don't leave your room unless necessary, so as not to accidentally anger your father."
"oh."
"After this period of time, I will pick another young talent for you." Xu held her daughter's hand and taught and coaxed her again and again.
There was chaos in her mother's house, but Jiang Yushu was completely unaware of it.
At this moment, she was sitting on the bed, concentrating on dividing the silver bill into two parts, carefully stuffing them into the oilcloth purse, and handing one part to her husband.
Guo Honglei stood in front of the couch, refusing to extend his hand. "What my father-in-law gave you is your personal property. What are you giving it to me? Keep it for yourself."
"You know what? Don't put all your eggs in one basket." Jiang Yushu said seriously.
Guo Honglei raised his eyebrows slightly, "Eggs? Are you hungry?"
Jiang Yushu was stunned for a moment, then couldn't help laughing. She quickly suppressed her smile and answered seriously, "I'm not hungry. What I mean is: if all the banknotes were with me, if something happened, like losing them or getting robbed, they'd all be gone. But if we each kept half, it would be much safer."
"That makes sense," Guo Honglei said thoughtfully, looking down at his wife, whose skin was as white as jade. "But I've never been very careful with the money I carry with me. I'm afraid I might lose the banknotes like eggs. Who knows?"
Jiang Yushu was stunned for a moment, then sat up suddenly, reached out, and forcibly stuffed the purse into her husband's arms, solemnly admonishing him: "Second Young Master, please keep it. This is my personal property."
"What if I lose it?" Guo Honglei tossed the purse.
"Well... you decide." Jiang Yushu yawned, carefully put away the banknotes, moved to the bed and lay on her side. She pulled up the quilt and closed her eyes, pretending to be calm. She said softly, "Okay, no more jokes. Those banknotes are for travel expenses. Use them as you please. If you don't have enough, tell me."
In fact, she felt very embarrassed whenever Guo Honglei approached the bed.
Although they are a serious couple, they always feel uncomfortable as if they are "a single man and a single woman in the same room".
Guo Honglei threw the purse high in the air, stretched out his arm and grabbed it, saying sternly, "If you lose it, I will repay you tenfold! As for the money, don't worry. Although the Guo family has suffered misfortune, we are fortunate to have several kind-hearted relatives who have generously donated money. The day before yesterday, I asked my uncle to send someone to arrange for the post station in advance, so that my family can suffer as little hardship as possible."
"Really? That's great! But is that appropriate?" Jiang Yushu turned over and lay on her side.
"I just want the post station to supply food and water according to regulations to avoid deductions." Guo Honglei blew out the candle, lowered the curtains in the dark, got on the bed, lay on the outside, and covered himself with another quilt.
He keenly noticed that as soon as he lay down, his wife quietly shrank into the quilt, with only her nose and above exposed.
"Go to sleep. You have to get up early tomorrow."
Jiang Yushu said "hmm".
After that, the two never spoke again.
It was not until the middle of the night that Guo Honglei was suddenly woken up by a slap!
Everything was silent, and the bright moonlight filtered through the window screen. In the dim light, he felt a delicate white hand crossing his chest, and the owner of the hand had kicked the quilt to the end of the bed. It was a cold night, and she curled up beside him out of the cold.
Guo Honglei lifted his quilt and gently covered the person next to him.
In her dream, Jiang Yushu felt warmth and subconsciously moved closer, unknowingly sticking to a strong body.
Guo Honglei's whole body was tense, he restrained himself secretly and did not move.
The next day, Jiang Yushu moved, rubbed her eyes blankly, and saw her husband's shoulder in front of her. The two of them were squeezed in the same quilt!
What's going on?
Where's my quilt? Did I accidentally kick it off again in the middle of the night?
She had never been so close to a member of the opposite sex before. Her heart was pounding like a drum. She got out of bed quietly, dressed quickly and left the inner room.
On the bed, Guo Honglei opened his eyes, his gaze was clear and bright.
Outer Room
Jiang Yushu sat down on the embroidered cushion and just picked up the comb when there was a knock on the door. The voice of Cuimei, the maid who came with her as a dowry, came: "Young Madam?"
"Come in."
The door was pushed open, and Cuimei and Xiaotao were both holding warm water, handkerchiefs and other things, each serving their respective masters.
"Miss, did you sleep well last night?"
Facing the personal maid who deeply understood "her", Jiang Yushu replied gently: "Not bad."
"Alas, young lady, you have suffered so much!" Cuimei skillfully served her by washing and combing her hair. She whispered, "On the day of your wedding, you were confused and did something foolish. The old lady was very angry and immediately sent the servants to follow the nanny to learn the rules. It was not until last night that she allowed the servants to continue to serve you."
Jiang Yushu asked softly, "Where are the others?"
"The old lady said they were not smart enough and asked them to continue learning the rules." Cuimei complained.
"Oh, it's my fault for doing something stupid and causing you to be scolded." Jiang Yushu sighed, but thought to herself: Fortunately, there is only Cuimei. If the four dowry maids were gathered together, I would be afraid that I would be exposed.
At 2:02 AM, the sky gradually brightened.
There was a huge crowd at the gate of Marquis Jingyang's mansion, including criminals who were about to be exiled and relatives and friends who were seeing them off.
Jiang Shisen whispered, "After reading the letter, Mr. Lu, despite his illness, rushed to see His Royal Highness Prince Ning overnight. I accompanied him and offered my support. But I don't know if Prince Ning would be willing to help."
"I am very grateful to my father-in-law for his hard work!" Guo Honglei bowed.
"Since our two families are related by marriage, it's only natural. Don't be so formal." Jiang Shisen glanced at the sky, handed a bag of silver and copper coins to his daughter, and said, "Take this for your travel expenses."
"Thank you, father."
Being exiled to a frontier frontier means separation from one's family and may also mean death.
Jiang Shisen tossed and turned last night, unable to sleep all night, his eyes bloodshot, and he earnestly advised: "The road to Xicang is long, be sure to take care on the way. No matter what, you must always live well."
"Yes." Jiang Yushu knelt down on her knees, holding the money, tears welling up in her eyes. Guo Honglei knelt down without saying a word.
The couple kowtowed to Jiang Shisen in a very proper manner.
"Father, I don't know when I'll be back. I'm sorry I won't be able to serve you and mother during this time." Jiang Yushu's eyes were filled with tears. She felt sad for the original owner, but also for herself. "You and mother must take care of yourselves. I'll repay you for raising me when I return."
"Please take care of yourself, father-in-law."
"Okay, okay." Recalling his cruel and selfish step-wife, Jiang Shisen felt even more guilty towards his eldest daughter. His voice trembled as he bent down to help the young couple up, choking with sobs as he said, "Your father is in the capital, well-fed and well-clothed, and in good health. You don't have to worry, just take care of yourselves." After a pause, he urged, "Yushu, give the money to your mother-in-law. You're still young and don't know how to manage a household."
Jiang Yushu nodded and handed the gift to her mother-in-law. However, Wang was reluctant to leave with her family and had no time to care. She waved her hand and asked the maid to accept it on her behalf.
The next moment, the officer in charge of escorting the prisoner raised his hammer, struck the gong with a clang, and shouted:
"Three quarters past midnight, the time has come!"
"Everyone and everyone in the Guo family must set off immediately. Travel fifty miles a day and reach Xicang within two months!"
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