Ming Buxi
Chapter 26: Ming Bu Xi
Peng Zuoyang had no relatives or friends in Beijing, so he went through the wedding ceremony smoothly and no one came to disturb his bridal chamber.
Amidst the smiling congratulations of their servants, the newlyweds drank the wedding wine together, and then came the part that only the two of them could perform.
Peng Zuoyuan sat beside the bed, looking at her with sparkling eyes, and praised her, "Madam, you look so bright and charming today, which makes Xishan feel upset. Why don't you move this day forward?"
"Xishan, everything has its own destiny, and it's not too late today."
Cui Luan held his wrist shyly, her round eyes looking upwards, her emotions soft and delicate.
"This is the Cui family's dowry, as well as the land deeds and house deeds. My father transferred two-thirds of the family's shops to my name. Peng Xishan, I have never used you as a springboard for my Cui family."
Cui Luan showed her bargaining chips one by one. Although the Cui family was gradually declining and the girl could not become an official, she could still support the family in other ways.
His excessive silence made Cui Luan a little nervous. He tightened the square box in his hand and couldn't help but look at him.
"ha."
"Oh, I didn't prepare the same announcement. Will Madam blame me?"
Cui Luan laughed at his playful behavior and hit him lightly, "I'm serious."
Taking her hand, Peng Zuoyan's eyes were like water, calm and focused.
"Aluan, the honor of being the legitimate wife is what I give you and what you already have. In the Peng family, you are the master, and I will treat you as you treat me."
Cui Luan raised her lips and smiled, placing her palms against his chest. Her neck couldn't help but turn red when she felt the warmth of his body.
The night was dark in the early morning. The two people were in a deep sleep when they were awakened by a voice calling them.
"master……"
Caideng was on guard outside, carefully stopping Chang Er who was about to rush in, "Sir, please wait, the mistress and husband are still sleeping."
Peng Zuoyan was only wearing an outer robe, his bare chest exuding an air of excitement. "What's the matter?"
"Master, the one from the Four Circle Courtyard is missing."
Cui Luan, who was wrapped more tightly than he was, came over, placed his hands on his arms, and asked, "Xishan, what's wrong?"
"Someone's missing from the mansion. I'll go look for him. You continue to sleep."
Patting the back of her hand soothingly, Peng Zuoyan turned around, the atmosphere suddenly changing. He wrapped his clothes tightly around him and ordered, "Tell Changyi to follow the route we found. She can't have just disappeared for no reason. You stay here and investigate who's behind this."
"yes."
When Peng Zuoyuan arrived, Yi Huan was arguing with Chang Yi. Chang Yi had a stern face and was holding a long sword, blocking the path in the field.
"Ahuan, come here."
He was still wearing the crimson wedding gown he wore today, and his expression, which he had managed to suppress, was far from kind. Yi Huan had been knocked unconscious and thrown here, and she had just come to her senses from the shock and had not run a few miles when the sound of horse hooves caught up with her.
Yi Huan turned around and refused to go over. "You already have a wife, why are you still chasing me?"
"You are from the Peng Mansion, where do you want to go?"
Perhaps because she looked too helpless, Peng Zuoyan softened his tone and said, "When Cui gives birth to a child, I will also give you a child to rely on. You don't have to worry about having no one to rely on at home in the future..."
"No, this is not the life I want to live."
Yi Huan couldn't imagine this kind of polygamous life and asked in disbelief, "Why do you think it's so good?"
"Ah Huan, you are an ordinary woman of good family background. Being my second wife is the best choice. Be obedient. When Cui comes into the mansion, you just need to do your duty. I will handle the disputes in the harem accordingly and give you the greatest fairness."
"Are you very proud?"
Peng Zuoyan couldn't follow her words, "What?"
"Do you think that women should be jealous of you, hurting themselves and others for a little bit of your favor, fighting to the point of losing their lives, and letting their egos grow even stronger?"
"If you don't want to fight now, what about later? Ah Huan, people's hearts will change."
Yi Huan didn't want to think about the bad future, so he raised his voice and questioned, "If you hadn't taken it away by force, I wouldn't have to think about it. People's hearts are easily changed, but true love is hard to come by. Some people's true feelings will never change."
"You are so foolish and ignorant. You are seeing things from the perspective of a wooden or stone-man." Peng Zuoyan was so eager to refute that he didn't realize the reference in her words.
The example of Aunt Deng was clear to see. Everyone has weaknesses, and hearts are always biased. Peng Zuoyuan said earnestly, "If you have a child, without the status of a concubine, he will be a bastard for life. When that happens, won't you fight for him? Will you still be able to maintain your upright heart?"
"Are concubines no longer concubines? I am your lower wife, so does that mean he doesn't have a legitimate mother? Are children born to lower wives legitimate sons?"
Peng Zuoyan's patience ran out, and he approached with his hand outstretched. "Ah Huan, I allow you to keep your twisted ideas and opinions. This is the greatest freedom I can give you."
"Haha."
Yi Huan stood there sarcastically, knowing he couldn't escape, and cursed, "You beast in human form, you bastard. You're just a jerk, but you really can't be cruel? Do you think it's pleasant to live in such a miserable state?"
Hearing the change in the target of her last few words, Peng Zuoyan embraced her, patted her nonchalantly, and said, "You're so angry that you even scold yourself. Look how angry you are."
Peng Zuoyao returned to the main courtyard from the Siyuan Courtyard. Cui Luan hadn't gone to bed yet. He took Peng Zuoyao's hand and walked into the house. Cui Luan asked, "Did you find the person?"
"I can't escape."
Meeting her knowing look, Peng Zuoyang instantly decided not to say anything. The servant who took action could not stand the torture and confessed the name Cui Luan. Cui Luan, who gave the order, was looking at him with concern.
For the sake of the other party's face and the long-term relationship between the two families, he couldn't bring himself to say that.
Peng Zuoyuan shook his head slightly. Women in the world are very thoughtful, and he thought Cui Luan was not so complicated. Whether it was jealousy or the reorganization of the harem, he overestimated Cui Luan.
"The person who did it is dead. With Madam in charge of the household from now on, this kind of thing won't happen again, right?"
Cui Luan's face briefly turned pale, and he pursed his lips and said, "Definitely."
Peng Zuoyan gave her ample space, smiled, and took her to the bed, saying considerately, "You didn't sleep well after all the noise. Sleep a little longer."
"Okay, you're tired too, so take a good rest."
It was also by chance that the two met again. Cui Luan stopped Yi Huan, who had fled first, stared at her face and slowly approached her. Suddenly, he said, "I didn't expect that the person I met that day was you."
Thinking of Peng Zuo'an's surveillance of her, Cui Luan couldn't help but think in terms of protection. Otherwise, why didn't he clean up the backyard before discussing the marriage? Could someone who was in a momentary mood stay by his side for six years?
According to Peng Zuoyuan, Yi Huan was just a concubine who had been with him for a long time.
But what Cui Luan found out was completely wrong. Yi Huan made her feel a sense of crisis. If she didn't take action, she would become more and more uncertain about this marriage.
"Hello again, ma'am."
Cui Luan's dislike was written openly, "Let's not mince words. I was the one who tied you up, knocked you unconscious, and sent you out."
"Then what?"
Cui Luan stepped forward, looked her over, and said, "You knew then that I was a daughter of the Cui family and the future mistress of the Peng family. What did you want to say to me then?"
Yi Huan replied humbly, "Madam, I didn't mean to say anything."
"Why did you come back? Can't you run away?"
Yi Huan raised his eyes and asked, "Why am I running?"
"You don't want to stay here, and you keep saying you don't want to. Are you playing hard to get, or have you already forgotten the mother and son of the Chao family? I gave you an opportunity, but you couldn't seize it."
She even found out this?
Yi Huan was furious for a moment, but then he suppressed his anger and sneered back, "You're useless. You can't even handle something like this."
"Don't be complacent."
"Then you can't find out. It's not that I begged you to come back. It's that you didn't do it cleanly and wanted to clear the grass around him."
Cui Luan couldn't deny this statement, so he used something else to turn the tables and said, "If I were cruel, you wouldn't be alive today."
"Madam, when you sent me out that night, didn't you think I might die in an accident? I had no weapons, no money to keep me alive, and you left me alone in the wilderness. Did you think I was a house dog that could find my way back by smell alone? You would have let me die long ago."
Cui Luan accepted her dissatisfaction, acting as if it were a gift of grace: "Since I have done it, I am not afraid of your anger. Yi Huan, I am the mistress, and I am no different from a servant. You can only accept what I do."
If she died in the process, Cui Luan would be surprised and would say it was a coincidence.
But Yi Huan is not a concubine who endures her life. Although she has oppression on her shoulders, she refuses to accept her identity as a concubine.
There is nothing wrong with Cui Luan's behavior. For his own sake, the girls in the mansion were either helpless or proactive, and none of them was cleaner than the other.
Yi Huan had a thousand words to beg for mercy in her heart, but Cui Luan took the initiative to hurt her, and the victim had no choice but to tolerate it again and again. She felt uncomfortable and unhappy with the feeling stuck in her throat.
"It's my decision whether to do it or not."
The three of them rarely ate together, so Yi Huan was half-coerced into coming over. Cui Luan, who had arrived earlier, was sitting in the hall and was serving him by washing his hands.
"Aunt Huan, I order you to stand and serve."
Yi Huan turned around and accepted her embarrassment with an expressionless face.
Peng Zuoyan followed in, glanced at her, and without thinking anything else, just said, "What are you doing there? Aren't you coming to eat?"
Cui Luan met Yi Huan's gaze. The latter sat down to eat in silence without saying anything. Cui Luan was surprised that she did not take the opportunity to complain.
The dinner table was a little too quiet. Peng Zuoyan used a serving chopstick to pick up some food for Cui Luan and greeted him softly and affectionately.
Cui Luan looked at it shyly, and the warm sunshine in his heart was real.
Yi Huan's movement of stretching out his chopsticks was interrupted by the sea bass sashimi covered with sauce in front of him. He stopped his chopsticks in disgust. Ha, is he playing the role of a water-keeping master? Yi Huan didn't respond, put down the small half bowl of corn rice in front of him, and picked up other dishes.
Peng Zuoyan stared at her with a frown, and after she had picked up a dish, he picked up another one for her. The bowl was piled high with dishes. Yi Huan picked up her chopsticks speechlessly and glared at him in dissatisfaction.
The latter smiled and turned the tables, saying, "Which one do you want? I'll pick them all up for you."
Yi Huan moved back a little and said, "Yunhu, retreat." Following the warning from Peng Zuoyan, Yunhu hunched his shoulders and moved forward, quickly retreating between the two men.
On the contrary, Cui Luan, who was closest to Peng Zuoyan, felt awkward and like an outsider because of their interaction.
In the deeper study, Chang Yi came over with a wax-sealed letter in his hand, "Master, something has happened."
"What's going on?"
"Changzhou Yongchuan."
Is it Nalan Han? Taking the letter, Peng Zuoyang opened it and said, "Tell me in detail."
"After the county magistrate withdrew with our consent, the Yu family intended to marry into the family. Nalan Han delayed for over a year, and suddenly relented. Unexpectedly, he killed Yu Wu on their wedding night. The Yu family intended not to report the matter and secretly kill him in prison. After passing on your order, he died on the way to the capital."
Peng Zuoyuan moved his fingers and said a few words. Nalan Han's position as county magistrate was like a fire stick. The Nalan family regarded him as an abandoned son, and the Yu family tried to humiliate Nalan Han, who had no official position.
Nalan Han held on for two years, and was found dead in a prison van while being escorted to the capital, in an apparent suicide.
Peng Zuoyan didn't care how she survived, but only asked, "How did she die?"
"The coroner's autopsy said the patient's qi was exhausted and his qi and blood were severely depleted. He concluded it was suicide."
"Where's the body?"
"People from Jingzhao Prefecture and the Ministry of Justice have gone there, and the body is at the Ministry of Justice."
The original intention of escorting Nalan Han was to keep him under observation, but who knew something might happen on the way? Peng Zuoyuan was a little impatient and said firmly, "The palace has ordered that not a single word be passed to the Siyuan Courtyard."
"yes."
The candlelight flickered on his tough profile. No third person would see the words on the letter. As for the dead protagonist, Peng Zuoyan's eyes were fierce and cold as he looked at him from afar.
Nalan Han, you'd better die cleanly, without even a ghost showing up.
"Don't... hold on, Han!"
Yun Hu heard her nightmare voice and quickly came over to pull aside the bed curtain. He wiped the sweat off her face with a handkerchief and whispered to her, "Auntie, you're having a nightmare."
"you……"
Taking her outstretched hand, Yun Hu replied, "The maid is here."
Yi Huan shook his head, brushed her away and sat on the edge of the bed. In the dream, Nalan Han died beside her, saying to hold on, just like Mai Zhou. Yi Huan saw Nalan Han close his eyes with his own eyes.
"What time is it? Where is he?"
Yun Hu looked up in surprise. This was the first time that Auntie had asked about the eldest son's schedule. She quickly replied, "It's five minutes past midnight now. The eldest son has returned to the main courtyard."
The uneasiness from the dream still lingered in her mind, and Yi Huan couldn't sit still or fall asleep. However, it was only a little after eight o'clock, and she had to get to the bottom of this matter.
"Please tell her that Aunt Huan wants to see the eldest son."
The maidservant reported the news, and Caideng went in to report: "Madam Huan from the Siyuan Courtyard has come, and she said she wants to see the son-in-law."
"Yeah." Are you planning to leave her alone?
Glancing at his indifferent expression, Cui Luan placed his hand on his elbow, shook it, and said, "Perhaps there's something important going on?"
"No matter how big the matter is, how can it be more important than our meal? Don't think about irrelevant things. Come, let's eat."
Peng Zuoyuan did not want to argue with Yi Huan about Nalan Han at this critical juncture, so he just ignored her and waited for the Ministry of Justice and Jingzhao Prefecture to make a decision.
Cui Luanming observed the absent-minded person, and his right hand held the chopsticks, and his movements became slower and slower. He felt a little unbalanced in his heart. The people from Siyuanyuan were indeed one of them who could affect his emotions.
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