Chapter 52 052 If it works out, we'll still be husband and wife; if not, we can always...
Xiao Yu was not exiled but demoted. Even after being demoted, he was still an official and could still be transferred back to the capital after making achievements in the local area!
Overjoyed, Deng burst into tears. Luo Fu's expression softened, and Yang Yanzhen and Li Huaiyun both breathed a sigh of relief.
After the family was overjoyed, Xiao Hu couldn't wait to take his men to the Dali Temple prison to pick up his third brother. Xiao Lin's job as a member of the Imperial Guard was not easy to get rid of, so he had to go to work there first.
After wiping her face, Deng suddenly thought of a question and looked at her husband sitting next to her: "You just said that the third son is going to be the county magistrate?"
Xiao Rong's eyes twitched slightly, and he repeated to his wife, "Yizhou, Jianping County, Loujiang County, and further southwest is the Dian Kingdom."
Fortunately, he had fought in the south with the emperor when he was young. Although he had never heard of the small Loujiang County, he knew the approximate location of Jianping County.
Upon hearing this, tears welled up in Deng's eyes again. In recent years, the Yin Kingdom in Liaozhou could only guard against the Great Zhou and dared not send troops on its own initiative. The Dian Kingdom would send troops to Yizhou to plunder grain every few years. It was said that the county magistrates in the southwestern border area were frequently replaced because they were often killed by enemy soldiers from the Dian Kingdom! The Emperor actually sent her scholar son there. Could it be that he wanted to use someone else to do his dirty work?
Luo Fu only realized how dangerous the place Xiao Yu was going to was after hearing her father-in-law's words, and her heart, which had just relaxed a little, became heavy again.
Yang Yanzhen could only try to say some nice things to comfort his mother-in-law, brother, and sister-in-law: "Our Great Zhou is powerful. In the more than 30 years since its founding, the Dian Kingdom has never dared to provoke a war. It is only because the local generals of the Dian Kingdom are unable to control their soldiers that small groups of Dian soldiers often invade and cause trouble during the autumn harvest season. Four years ago, the Emperor sent Prince Qi and Duke Changguo to attack the Dian Kingdom. Although it ended in peace talks, the Dian soldiers have not made any further incursions since then. So Mother, you can rest assured."
Xiao Rong coaxed his wife, "Yes, the Dian Kingdom has few people and few soldiers. It's just that the mountains there are easy to defend and difficult to attack, like a tough bone with little meat. That's why the Emperor didn't attack the Dian Kingdom after he finished attacking the Wu Kingdom. The Dian Kingdom's emperor knows very well that he is no match for our Great Zhou. He suffered a great loss a few years ago and dares not send soldiers to cause trouble again. Besides, our third son is not an ordinary civil official who can't even kill a chicken. If it really comes down to it, I probably can't beat him even now."
Deng didn't believe her husband's nonsense; he was just trying to fool her!
Still on the verge of tears, Deng Shi glanced at her youngest daughter-in-law standing blankly to the side, and temporarily suppressed her maternal heartache, focusing on comforting the young woman. She hadn't forgotten that her daughter-in-law still held a divorce decree in her hand. Now that her youngest son had been demoted to such a remote and dangerous place, would her daughter-in-law go with him, stay in the capital and wait for him to return, or, seeing no hope, simply end the marriage?
Deng was feeling very uneasy, but she didn't dare to ask.
Luo Fu had no interest in socializing and said to her parents-in-law, "I have to go to my new post tomorrow, so I'll go back and pack my bags first."
Dali Temple Prison.
Xiao Yu has already received the official document from the Ministry of Personnel transferring him to Yizhou as the county magistrate, which includes a set of dark blue official robes and hats for a county magistrate of the eighth rank.
Hao Nian called over two other jailers to help carry the three large bundles that the Marquis's mansion had sent earlier, and escorted the top scholar, whose official career had been fraught with setbacks, to the gates of the Dali Temple prison.
The two jailers left after running their errands. Hao Nian, seeing that the Marquis's carriage hadn't arrived yet, stood outside for a while longer with the top scholar and asked curiously, "How far is the county you're going to take up your post from the capital?"
The map of the Great Zhou Dynasty was already imprinted in Xiao Yu's mind. He might not remember the name of every prefecture and county, but he remembered the prefectures around the Great Zhou's borders very clearly. So he smiled and replied, "About three thousand li."
Hao Nian's mouth dropped open. Let alone three thousand miles, he had never even been to a place a hundred miles away from the capital.
The farthest place Xiao Yu has ever been is his father-in-law's home in Guangling County, Yangzhou. The round trip is roughly the same route he would take to Loujiang County, except that this route passes through more mountains and rivers, making it less convenient than going to Yangzhou.
Xiao Hu, riding a horse, and the Marquis's carriage appeared at the end of the street.
As he was about to leave, Xiao Yu cupped his hands in greeting to the young jailer: "Thank you for taking care of me these past few days. If I am able to return to the capital in the future, I will find an opportunity to have a chat with you."
Hao Nian smiled sheepishly. Lord Xiao gave him two silver ingots, which was nothing more than what he should do.
"May you have a safe journey and return to the capital soon after your promotion!"
After watching the Xiao brothers board the carriage, Hao Nianchao lifted the curtain and waved goodbye to the top scholar, sincerely wishing him a safe return to the capital. He just hoped the scholar would never come to the Dali Temple prison again, as a man of such high character should not suffer in such a place.
Xiao Yu smiled, lowered the curtain, and turned to face his brother's angry expression.
Xiao Hu: "Fine, we've been worried sick about you at home. The house was so quiet and lifeless during the New Year, and you even managed to get along with the prison guards while you were in jail!"
Xiao Yu studied him for a moment and said, "Brother seems to have lost weight."
Xiao Hu's anger immediately subsided. He glared at his younger brother and said irritably, "In previous years, the New Year was a time for drinking and eating heartily. This year, no one invited me out, and I wasn't in the mood to eat at home. It's no wonder I've lost weight. Ha, but you haven't lost any weight at all, unlike last time."
Xiao Yu couldn't help but laugh: "Madam prepared several pounds of dried meat for me, as well as meals that my mother would send over from time to time. I don't have to work or move around inside. If I hadn't entrusted the dried meat to Hao Nian for safekeeping and asked him to give me only three pieces a day, I might have gained a few more pounds."
Xiao Hu was stung by his younger brother's smile when he mentioned his wife. He tilted his head and muttered to himself, "A few pounds of jerky were enough to appease her, but little did she know that she didn't care about you at all. She always had a long face and was full of complaints about you."
He and his second brother also resented their younger brother for being foolish, but they felt more sorry for him. A person who couldn't stand even a little dirt on his clothes had to sleep on a straw mat in the prison cell.
Xiao Yu smiled upon hearing this: "It's only right. I would feel even worse if she didn't blame me. Besides, even though she did blame me, she still prepared dried meat and a cotton quilt for me, afraid that I would go hungry and cold."
Xiao Hu: "...Even if she doesn't prepare it, Mother will help you bring it."
Xiao Yu: "A mother is a mother, and a wife is a wife; they are not the same."
Xiao Hu began to worry that his younger brother might have gone stupid from being locked up in the prison for too long. He had never been like this before. His older brother had lent him nineteen taels of silver in several installments over eight years, and he remembered them all clearly. Why was he so easy to talk to with his wife?
"Could it be that my elder brother gave her a hard time?" After a moment of silence, Xiao Yu suddenly asked.
Xiao Hu: "...So what if we gave it to her? She treated us even worse, as if we owed her something!"
Xiao Yu: "I owe my wife a sense of security. If I am here, I will repay her. If I am not here, my elder brothers should take care of her on my behalf, instead of letting her be neglected and ostracized in her husband's family. Unless my elder brothers do not regard me as a brother in their hearts and also ignore my wife."
Xiao Hu got anxious and glared at his younger brother, saying, "We were born from the same mother. If we don't treat you as our brother, who will we treat as our brother? It's precisely because we love you that we can't stand how she doesn't care about you."
Xiao Yu: "The relationship between husband and wife is like drinking water; only the person drinking knows whether it is hot or cold. I say that my wife is good to me, so my elder brothers should not doubt it, unless you think you are smarter than me."
Xiao Hu: "..."
Who could be smarter than the third brother? Even if you combined the brains of the second brother and the father, you couldn't match the intelligence of the third brother alone!
The two brothers argued all the way, but finally arrived at the Marquis's residence.
Similar to when Xiao Yu was released from prison last time, his biological father mocked him, his mother was in tears, his two sisters-in-law comforted him gently, and his wife did not show up.
Knowing that he had one night to say goodbye to his wife, Xiao Yu spent the entire morning with his parents, nephews, and nieces until after lunch at Wanhe Hall, when his mother urged him to accompany his wife back to Shensi Hall.
It was a somewhat overcast day, and the afternoon sunlight was rather dim. Xiao Yu lagged slightly behind his wife by half a step, his gaze seemingly glued to her face. He had been separated from his wife for quite some time since he went to the four prefectures on official business, and now it had been almost half a month since they last saw each other.
Luo Fu knew that the person was looking at her, and she really wanted to glare at him and scold him, asking him what he was looking at. But when she thought about how he was leaving tomorrow to go to a place three thousand miles away and not knowing when he would return, Luo Fu didn't dare to look him in the eye at all, because her eyes would get sore!
Luo Fu quickened her pace and went to the Intermediate Court without looking back.
Xiao Yu, not forgetting that he had just been released from prison, still went to bathe and change clothes first. Chao Sheng served him beside him, adding hot water to the tub while shedding tears: "What Loujiang County? I've never even heard of it. Although I was envious that Qingchuan could accompany you to Yangzhou, you can't just take me to a place three thousand miles away without any preparation. In terms of wealth, can these two places compare?"
Xiao Yu: "...Then I won't take you. You can continue to wait at home."
Chao Sheng: "Why can't I go? If Qingchuan can go, so can I!"
Xiao Yu smiled, changed his clothes, and hurriedly went to the central courtyard. After entering the room, he found his wife lying on the canopy bed with her back to him, her shoulders trembling, and there was a faint sound of suppressed sobs leaking out.
Xiao Yu's legs felt as if they were filled with heavy lead, and he couldn't take another step, remaining stuck outside the canopy bed.
Luo Fu knew he was coming. She clenched her handkerchief, gritted her teeth, and said hatefully, "Now that things have come to this, I'm too lazy to even scold you. But I told you long ago that I'm cowardly and can't endure hardship. If you were ever demoted, I would never go with you. Now that your wish has come true, I've almost packed your bags. You can leave whenever you want, but don't expect to take me with you."
Every word she spoke was tinged with tears, which dampened Xiao Yu's heart as well. He strode to the bedside, reached out and embraced the weeping lady in his arms: "I won't take you, I won't take you. That place is too remote. Even if you want to come with me, I won't agree. No matter how reluctant I am, I won't agree."
He was more afraid of making his wife suffer than his wife was.
Having already started crying, and unable to hide it any longer, Luo Fu had no more scruples and beat her debt-collecting husband with both hands and feet.
Xiao Yu stood still as his wife hit him. When his leg was kicked out of place, he immediately moved back to its original position. Only when his wife was panting heavily, her hair disheveled, her palms red, and one of her socks kicked off, did Xiao Yu hug her again and ask cautiously, "So, will you wait for me to come back and rekindle our relationship, or will you be heartless and abandon me?"
Luo Fu turned her head and said, "No! I'm only eighteen, I don't want to live like a widow!"
Xiao Yu's heart skipped a beat, and his face turned pale. He wanted to ask her to stay, but he wasn't sure if she would come back, or when.
Does the lady really have to waste her best years waiting for him?
Luo Fu waited for a long time but no man came to coax her. When she turned around, she saw that Xiao Yu's face was even more unpleasant than when she was first frightened by him.
With a softened heart, Luo Fu offered a way out, pointing to the socks on the ground and saying, "Your feet are cold, pick them up and put them on for me."
Xiao Yu bent down to pick up the socks as if he had lost his soul, sat back down on the edge of the bed, and was about to hold his wife's fair feet when he suddenly remembered the rules of etiquette. If his wife was determined to leave, it would be an offense for him to touch her again.
He looked at his wife with a troubled expression.
Luo Fu glared at her: "What, you don't want me to wear it?"
Xiao Yu quickly looked away, grasped the lady's ankle and placed it on his lap, then put the white silk stockings over her feet.
Just as he had slipped the five plump and adorable fingers onto the ring, Xiao Yu suddenly recalled the scene when he first returned from prison, when his wife pushed him off the bed and became extremely wary.
At that time, his wife really wanted to divorce him, so she drew a clear line in advance.
Now, his wife even allows him to put on her socks.
Xiao Yu's hand stopped moving. After a moment, he grasped the ankle and lowered his head to kiss it.
If things work out, we'll still be husband and wife; if not, at worst, I'll get kicked or pushed by my wife again!
-----------------------
Author's Note: To be an imperial censor, one must be unwavering; to be a husband, one must be flexible and adaptable. [doge emoji]
100 little red envelopes, see you tomorrow~
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com