Chapter 25 025 "Sneaking around like that, are you trying to scare me to death?...
When Xiao Yu was imprisoned, Luo Fu didn't get a good night's sleep. She couldn't help but think about all sorts of terrible or fortunate possibilities. Now that Xiao Yu was back, it was like a gust of wind that blew away all those chaotic thoughts that no longer needed to be kept. The person who had been tense for too long suddenly relaxed and fell into a deep sleep as soon as she touched the bed.
In the front yard, Xiao Yu couldn't sleep for a long time.
In fact, he hadn't slept well for a single night in the prison. All the answers he gave to Emperor Yongcheng were the truth. The straw mat in the corner, where there was no sunlight, was cold and damp. Even if Xiao Yu wrapped himself tightly in his outer robe, he would always wake up from the cold. When he woke up, Xiao Yu would miss the warm quilt at home and miss his wife, who was always petite and soft and always wanted to sleep close to him.
When Xiao Yu wrote that essay during the imperial examination, he was prepared for punishment, exile, and even beheading; he was also prepared to part ways with his family. The emperor was more often wise than cruel, and he shouldn't hold a grudge against the entire Xiao family. Xiao Yu wasn't too worried about his family's safety; his parents were being looked after by his elder brother and sister-in-law, and they would recover in time. Only his wife, who had happily married him and shared five months of loving marriage with him…
During those days, Xiao Yu thought most about his wife, wondering what would happen to her if he couldn't go back.
Will she spend her life in tears, remaining a widow for him at such a young age, or will she leave the Xiao family after a period of grief?
Xiao Yu could understand either of them: in the former case, he felt guilty towards his wife and felt sorry for her; in the latter case, he wished her a happy remarriage while feeling guilty.
This is the worst possible outcome. Of course, Xiao Yu would prefer to return to his wife's side and live a loving and harmonious life together until old age, never leaving each other.
Fortunately, the emperor pardoned him.
On the way back home, Xiao Yu felt relaxed. He had expected his father's angry scolding and his mother's concerned tears. In his mind, his wife would rush to him with tears in her eyes to check if he was injured. After checking, she might be angry at him for being so bold, but that anger wouldn't last long. Soon she would continue to ask about his situation in the prison cell, and when she heard that he was eating cornbread and sleeping on a straw mat, she would feel sorry for him with teary eyes...
Xiao Yu's wife had always been beautiful and gentle, tender and delicate. However, after their reunion, his wife did not give him any of the tenderness he had expected.
"I'm afraid when I see you, afraid I'll have nightmares about being beheaded along with you..."
His wife's cold words echoed in his ears again. Xiao Yu turned over and let out a long sigh into the dark room.
So his wife was frightened. She was only seventeen years old and was afraid that no matter what crime she committed, she would be punished the same as her husband.
Xiao Yu tossed and turned, not knowing when he fell asleep. He woke up in complete darkness, picked up a lamp to check the water clock, and saw that it was almost dawn. He then washed up with the clean water prepared in the inner room, changed into a brocade robe, and when it was finally light outside, Xiao Yu immediately went to the central courtyard.
There is a gate between the two courtyards, and Ping An and four head maids take turns opening and closing this gate.
This morning it was Green Pearl's turn. She was only fifteen or sixteen years old. When she pushed open the door, she was startled to see the man's figure across from her. She took a few steps back, her face pale, and almost cried out.
Xiao Yu: "...Is Madam awake?"
Green Pearl, whose soul had returned to its place, quickly suppressed her fear, glanced at the window of the main room, and shook her head, saying, "Not yet. Madam hasn't slept well for several nights. She's been looking forward to your return for so long, she'll definitely have a deep sleep."
Xiao Yu remained silent, signaling the maidservant who was quietly cleaning the courtyard to continue her work, and then quietly went to the inner room.
The faint morning light stopped at the window, and the area around the canopy bed, which was hidden by four screens, was still dark and hazy. Xiao Yu lifted the two layers of gauze curtains and carefully sat down on the edge of the bed.
His wife lay facing outwards in bed, her long hair disheveled. Perhaps she had slept well that night, for her face had finally regained the rosy glow Xiao Yu was familiar with. However, her thin cheeks did not recover so quickly, making her look somewhat unfamiliar to Xiao Yu.
It was his fault for making a plump girl lose weight.
As he watched, Xiao Yu, who hadn't slept well for several nights in a row, was actually brought to sleep by his wife's long, regular breathing. After confirming that there was enough room for him to lie down, Xiao Yu took off his shoes and slowly lay down on the bed with his back to his wife.
The third young master of the Xiao family was indeed tall and strong. How could a man weighing over 100 pounds press down on the bed without making a sound?
When Luo Fu opened her eyes, she saw a huge figure. Instinctively, she shoved the figure away!
With a "thud," by the time Luo Fu sat up wrapped in the blanket, the person had already rolled one and a half times on the ground, revealing a bewildered and astonished face.
Luo Fu: "...Sneaking around like that, are you trying to scare me to death?"
Indeed, Xiao Yu, who was acting suspiciously, couldn't refute it. Although his wife had pushed him quite hard, it was his fault for frightening her. So, ignoring the pain in his elbows and thighs, Xiao Yu stood up, straightened his robes, and solemnly apologized while observing his wife's expression: "It's my fault for not informing her. I was too impetuous and startled my wife."
When Luo Fu first married into the family, she was very fond of Xiao Yu's elegant and gentlemanly demeanor and his gentle and polite husband. But now she understood very well that Xiao Yu was both polite and had a troublesome heart that dared to scold even the emperor. As long as this troublesome heart remained, Xiao Yu's outward good looks and polite manners were all fake and of no use except for deceiving people!
"I already said we'd sleep in separate rooms. Who let you in? You've read so many books, how can you trespass into a woman's private quarters like that?" Luo Fu pulled the blanket up to cover herself more tightly, her eyes clearly looking at Xiao Yu as if she were a spoiled tyrant bullying a respectable woman.
Her eyes and actions were full of disdain, and her reprimands were even harsher. Shame made Xiao Yu subconsciously retreat to the doorway of the canopy bed, first lowering the gauze curtains there, and then saying through the curtains, "I was wrong, I, I just missed Madam so much, that's why..."
Halfway through his sentence, Xiao Yu was startled. They were husband and wife, so why was his wife treating him like an outsider?
Luo Fu merely sneered, "Think of me? Did you think of me when you spoke so frankly and defied authority? Did you think of me when you were thrown into jail, that I might also be imprisoned because of you?"
Xiao Yu lowered his head in dejection.
He didn't respond, and Luo Fu scoffed again: "If you haven't thought about it, it means that I, as your wife, have no weight in your heart at all. If you have thought about it, it means that you value your own advice more than mine. In short, I am dispensable to you, so why do you come to me again?"
Xiao Yu: "No, my wife is more important than Mount Tai in my heart. If she were ever in danger, I would risk my life to save her. However, the Xiao family has received great favor from the emperor, and I have also learned the way of loyalty to the emperor and serving the country. If the emperor makes a mistake that endangers the country, I have no choice but to remonstrate."
Luo Fu: "So many high-ranking officials in the court couldn't see that the Emperor was wrong, but you did. You're really amazing. Even the Left Prime Minister should step down to you, right?"
Xiao Yu smiled wryly: "The Left Chancellor and other officials may have seen it, but they dared not speak out for fear of being punished."
Luo Fu was even angrier: "The Left Prime Minister is afraid of death and also afraid of implicating his family. Aren't you afraid? Fine, you're not afraid of implicating me, but I'm afraid of being implicated by you. You're such a gentleman. Don't come near me for now. Once things have calmed down, write me a divorce agreement and we'll go our separate ways!"
Now that the entire capital is focused on the Xiao family, who have committed a serious offense, it would be too conspicuous for her to leave so soon after Xiao Yu's return.
Divorce?
Xiao Yu lifted the gauze curtain and stepped back into the canopy bed, looking at his wife on the bed in disbelief: "You want a divorce?"
She gently wiped his face before the imperial examination, and she held him tightly in her arms, so why did they suddenly want to leave?
He was wrong to make his wife worry, but he came back safe and sound. Why is she still so afraid that she wants a divorce? Were all those tender words fake?
Xiao Yu could accept that his wife had no choice but to leave after he was convicted, but he could not accept that there was no peace in the house. His wife had decided to leave because she was worried that he would implicate her again. This would make it seem like her previous gentleness and consideration were fake, and that she had no feelings for him at all.
Luo Fu noticed the growing hurt in Xiao Yu's eyes, the grievance of having given her heart to the wronged man. This suddenly reminded Luo Fu of this foolish scholar who dared to speak out against his superiors, who had once confronted the renowned Duke of Dingguo for the sake of his wife, who came from a humble background.
Luo Fu is perfectly justified in the divorce, but emotionally...
Turning her face away from Xiao Yu's silent questioning, Luo Fu said softly, "Yes. I'm not as brave as you. I'm afraid of being beheaded, afraid of going to jail, afraid of living in constant fear because I don't know when you will commit another act of insubordination. You are a gentleman, you have your ambitions, please understand my cowardice and let me go."
Her tone was calm and even, her face gentle yet overly rational.
Having received the answer, Xiao Yu lowered his eyes and turned away, wanting to be a gentleman and grant her wish. However, his mind was filled with the scenes she had left behind over the past six months: Luo Fu sitting by the bridge at the village entrance, curiously looking at him; Luo Fu blushing outside the inn, asking him if he really wanted to marry her; Luo Fu trembling with nervousness on their wedding night; Luo Fu unconsciously snuggling into his arms while fast asleep; Luo Fu filled with joy because he had topped the provincial examination...
Xiao Yu didn't want to let the girl behind him go. Besides, if she left, her remarriage would never be as smooth as her first marriage, and her future days might not be better than if she stayed by his side.
"The Emperor has not forbidden me from taking the exam again. If you are willing to wait, I will pass the imperial examination in three years..."
"After you pass the imperial examination, if you feel that the emperor is wrong, will you still speak out against him?"
Xiao Yu smiled bitterly: "You overestimate me. I am also afraid of death and implicating my family. The Emperor has told me that I will be loyal to my duty and offer advice, but offering advice is not the same as committing treason. This is the Emperor's third Northern Expedition, and I only have this one chance to make the Emperor take my advice seriously. Moreover, nearly two hundred newly appointed scholars are watching. If the Emperor really punishes me, it will be to extinguish the loyalty of all scholars in the country who dare to offer advice."
He's straightforward, not stupid. He only has one life, and Xiao Yu will cherish it.
Luo Fu: "...So, you're saying you chose to take the imperial examination because you knew the emperor wouldn't punish you due to his reputation?"
Xiao Yu didn't think much about it at the time. When the emperor asked him how to revitalize the country, he wrote an article in a moment of inspiration, worried only about whether it would implicate his family. Later, when he was imprisoned, the emperor delayed in sentencing him, and only then did Xiao Yu begin to ponder the emperor's intentions.
Luo Fu breathed a sigh of relief. Xiao Yu really dared to scheme against the emperor. He was really asking for trouble. The founding emperor was sixty-six years old. He had spit out more saliva than Xiao Yu had drunk water.
"Say what you will, I'm afraid of you..."
"Madam, please don't be anxious. The results of the palace examination should be released today. In previous years, the candidates who participated in the palace examination will only be re-ranked and will not be disqualified. The Emperor will decide today whether to punish me by expelling me or by never allowing me to take the exam again. You and I can wait for the results before discussing whether to divorce."
Xiao Yu hurriedly interrupted his wife.
Luo Fu thought about it and agreed, and even had a new idea pop into her head.
If Xiao Yu is punished and never allowed to take the exam again, it means he will never be an official in his life. If he is not an official, he will never have the chance to offend the emperor. He will just be the third son of a marquis's family, who can give his wife and son a total of twenty taels of silver a month. If the family is divided in the future, Xiao Yu will at least be able to get a five-courtyard mansion in the capital plus hundreds of acres of land.
So, it seems that a stinky bun can turn into a delicious bun again?
Xiao Yu had no idea what his wife was secretly thinking about. After returning to the front yard, he called Qingchuan over and told him to wait outside the examination hall to see the results.
Qingchuan exclaimed in surprise, "Young Master, you still have a chance?"
Xiao Yu: "...Check if my name is there." Or if my name is marked with an X, with the note "Never to be re-examined."
At the main gate, Xiao Rong and his two sons were also preparing to set off for their duties.
Xiao Hu still held onto hope: "Father, should we send someone to the examination hall to check the results?"
Xiao Rong laughed, a particularly ferocious laugh: "What are you looking at? Aren't you embarrassed enough?"
He dared not even dream of passing the imperial examinations after cursing the emperor!
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Author's Note: Haha, 100 little red envelopes! See you at the second update tonight!
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