Chapter 10: Brother-in-law is also a man "Can't you see that she is deliberately...
"Can't you see she's deliberately seducing you? Can't you see she's scheming to have others flirt with her so you'll save her? Can't you see that?" Yun Yang asked three times in a row, reaching out to stop him. "Not only are you not going with me to verify this, but you're leaving now?"
The wind from Qinghu Lake blew, and the young man's clothes fluttered gently, like a banished immortal, as if there was an insurmountable distance between him and her.
He glanced at her, meeting her youthful persistence, and said calmly, "What if you can see it? What if you can't? Get out of the way."
"You!" Yun Yang was so angry that he was incoherent. "Why are you like this? You, you can't leave!"
At this moment, several people came over with a man. Miss Wen looked up and her face changed instantly.
"Miss Yun is telling the truth. This man and Wen Mei conspired to deceive you." A sweet voice came, with a sense of superiority and pride. "Fortunately, he didn't get away."
"Your humble servant greets Her Royal Highness." Xue Yu bowed and saluted, seemingly showing no interest in the person the princess had brought with her. "Why is Your Highness here?"
"Just now, my maid passed by here and heard your quarrel. She reported it to me, so I went to the Qinghu Corner Pavilion. Sure enough, this man was hiding there stealthily. He confessed without much interrogation. It was indeed Wen Mei who conspired with him to stage a show, and the purpose was to let you, Xue Lang, save the beauty." Princess An Ning said.
After saying that, he looked at Yun Yang who was looking angry at the side and smiled, "Is this your wife's sister?"
Princess An Ning herself could not get her hands on Xue Yu, and she could not bear to see other noble ladies get him. So she thought that the enemy of her enemy was her friend, and she felt a sense of solidarity with Yun Yang.
"Yes, my sister-in-law Yunyang." Xue Yu nodded and said to Yunyang, "Greetings to the princess."
Yun Yang knelt down and said, "Greetings, Princess."
Princess An Ning stepped forward and helped her up. "You and I are about the same age, right? Xue Jin and I are good friends and I often come to visit her. Since you also live in the Xue Mansion, there will be plenty of opportunities for us to meet in the future."
"Your Highness, I have something important to attend to, so I will leave you for now." Xue Yu said.
"Go ahead." The princess smiled. "With Lord Xue serving the country, my father can rest easy."
In fact, Xue Yu and Xue Jin are of the same generation. Princess An Ning can talk and laugh with Xue Jin, but she always feels timid in front of Xue Yu.
He was only twenty-three, but he had already reached the second rank, a high position for a young age. Even the usually gloomy and unpredictable Crown Prince looked like a student in front of him... Xue Yu really gave people a sense of pressure that was not from his peers.
Only someone as stupid as Wen Mei would dare to play such a trick in front of him.
Xue Jin ran over breathlessly. Before he could figure out what was going on, he saw the princess smiling and saying, "This Miss Yun is not as annoying as you say. I think she is brave and resourceful."
Yun Yang was not very smart, but he roughly guessed the reason why the princess said that. He felt a headache at the moment. This brother-in-law was too annoying.
*
At night, Yun Yang lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep. His mind was full of fragments of what happened after he came to Beijing, which appeared one after another like a shadow puppet show.
When she went to the yamen to sue her "brother-in-law", the officials and yamen runners were obviously on Xue Yu's side. This was not only because officials protected each other, but also because they were all men. Men tend to empathize with each other and believe that once a woman gets married, she becomes their private property.
Find my sister and ask my brother-in-law to file a lawsuit.
During her time living in the Xue Mansion, she had indeed been living a life of luxury, so much so that she felt her sister had married into a very good family. But now Yun Yang suddenly hesitated. What was good?
Having a high family background, good looks, noble character, and rarely holding a high position, is that good enough?
It doesn’t seem to be…
Xue Yu is surrounded by many beautiful women, and what happened today will not be the first time nor the last.
Xue Yu is a cold person, and as a clan wife in the future, my sister will have to bear a lot of responsibilities alone.
Besides, does my sister like him?
Yun Yang has never had a crush on anyone, but she vaguely feels that if she were to get married, she must marry someone who would make her happy at the sight of him, and not feel blocked in her heart like when she saw Xue Yu.
It was clear that Wen Mei was the one who seduced Xue Yu first, but Xue Yu left without knowing the truth or going to the corner pavilion with her to sort things out.
What was he thinking? Was he blaming her for meddling in his affairs, or was he just used to other women throwing themselves at him?
What if Princess An Ning hadn't caught that man and revealed the truth?
He didn't believe her...
Yun Yang was filled with anger and resentment, and his heart felt like it was being scratched by a cat, and he held his breath.
After a while, she got out of bed, as if she had made up her mind. She took out the neat outfit she wore when she came in from the closet and quietly disappeared into the night.
After asking the groom at the stable, I learned that Xue Yu's carriage was going to Qinglong Temple on Qingquan Mountain.
Qingquan Mountain is located in the suburbs of Beijing.
Yun Yang paid some money and asked the groom not to tell anyone that she had seen her. She took a horse, mounted it, and left the mansion without saying anything.
The night is dark. After leaving Anding Gate and walking south for ten miles, you will reach Qingquan Mountain.
The nighttime forest was quiet yet eerie, with the occasional strange cries of birds and beasts making it particularly unsettling. Yun Yang couldn't help but feel a little regretful. Why did he have to come to him tonight to have it all sorted out? Dad and Mom were right. I really need to change my impatience.
Yun Yang had never been to Qingquan Mountain before. The dense forest was pitch black at night, making it almost impossible to see anything. Fortunately, the old horse knew the way and did not lead her into a dead end.
A cold wind blew, rustling the leaves. The horse suddenly neighed, bringing with it a gust of cold air. The birds in the dense forest were startled and scattered all at once.
The next moment, the slender white hand holding the fire spear suddenly tightened, and the long stick fell to the ground, stirring up a cloud of fallen leaves.
That was not a cold wind, but a hidden weapon coming towards him!
Yun Yang's body was as fast as lightning. He jumped off the horse using a long stick as a fulcrum. The long stick flashed like a snake, and in a few strokes, it knocked the hidden weapon that was almost close to his face to the ground. The pointed spear was tied with a fiery red silk, flashing a threatening cold light in the dark night.
“Who are you!” she shouted angrily, disappearing into the half-human-high grass nearby. “Show yourself if you have the guts. Stop playing tricks!”
Before she could finish her words, someone suddenly grabbed her arm and pulled her behind a tree.
"It's me." Xue Yu said in a deep voice, "Don't make a sound, just follow me."
Yun Yang paused as a gust of wind blew past her ears. She saw a bone-white folding fan flying out with a sharp force, knocking two hidden weapons flashing with cold light to the ground. Before she could react, Xue Yu pulled her away quickly into the valley.
She followed him, walking through the overgrown forest. After walking for a long time, Yun Yang's feet became numb, but Xue Yu's steps were still calm and steady.
He said nothing, and she confronted him in silence. The two of them walked silently in the mountains and forests for half the night.
Yun Yang couldn't help himself, and asked anxiously and accusingly, "What's wrong with you? I've been walking for a long time, why can't I get out?"
Qingjun's tall figure stopped. Yun Yang didn't look up and almost bumped into him, feeling even more angry.
How could he be hunted down? Why didn't he return home so late at night after visiting Qinglong Temple?
Also, after walking for a long time, I saw the sky turning crab-shell blue. Can I still get out of this barren mountain?
"Why are you here?" Xue Yu asked.
"I came to see you," Yun Yang said matter-of-factly. "Tell me, do you not believe me today? Did you see that Miss Wen was trying to seduce you?"
Xue Yu was silent for a moment, looking at Yun Yang who was resting against the tree. "Whether I believe it or not, whether I see it or not, the result will not change."
"What do you mean?" Yun Yang asked.
Xue Yu lifted up the hem of her skirt and sat on the boulder, silent for a moment. "What if Miss Liu, Miss Wang, or Miss Zhang did this again tomorrow or the day after tomorrow? Can you keep an eye on them?"
Yun Yang frowned slightly and looked up at the person on the boulder blankly.
From Xue Yu's perspective, he could see her disheveled hair and her face, which had been scratched by branches at some point. Her shoulders were thin, and she looked like a small lump as she leaned against the tree.
Still young, still small.
And it's all sincere, all for my sister.
Xue Yu swallowed the cold words that were about to come out of his mouth and said slowly, "Since I am engaged to Yun Jia, I will not have any affairs with others. Whether it is Miss Wen, Miss Liu, or Miss Wang, they can't change the fact that I am married, and I will not take a concubine."
"Besides, how do you know I can't handle Wen Mei? Wen Mei has been coveting me for more than a day or two."
"Then...what if it's a princess?" Yun Yang looked nervous.
Xue Yu smiled and said, "So what if she's a princess? If I had wanted to, I would have married her the year I became the top scorer in high school. Why wait until now?"
Hearing this, Yun Yang finally showed a relieved expression.
Xue Yu lowered his eyes and his gaze fell on Yun Yang's relaxed shoulders.
She was raised too naively by the Yun family, to the point of being spoiled.
She actually dared to leave the house alone and ride a horse to the mountain to look for him in the middle of the night, just to ask him whether he believed her.
He even asked him if he was going to marry the princess... Didn't he know that a noble family like the Xue family, especially one with his status, would never have an affair with a member of the royal family?
"Then will you wait for my sister patiently?" the little girl asked tentatively.
She squatted on the ground, head tilted back, nervous and uneasy, staring at him blankly, as if his answer was really crucial.
Xue Yu's eyes were clear and solemn. "Yes. I will wait for your sister to return."
Yun Yang's eyes curved up, revealing an innocent and satisfied smile. As the morning glow rose, her delicate and fair face was brighter and more dazzling than the morning glow.
Xue Yu's lips curled up slightly, "Let's go."
As Yun Yang stood up, he saw Xue Yu step on empty air and unexpectedly rolled down from the boulder.
"Brother-in-law!" Yun Yang blurted out.
On the other side of the boulder was a hillside. Perhaps because Xue Yu went up the mountain before having dinner, he was already dizzy after all the effort. Then he stood up suddenly, and his head was so dizzy that he lost his direction and fell down the hillside along the boulder.
Fortunately, the slope was not steep. Yun Yang ran down in two steps and just grabbed his sleeve. They both stopped at the valley.
When yin and yang intertwine, the faint morning light sweeps across the earth little by little, creating a golden haze.
Xue Yu brushed the dust off his robe and looked at Yun Yang, who was panting beside him. "Are you okay?"
"I, I'm fine." Yun Yang said, naturally reaching out to help him. "Brother-in-law, how about you? Are you hurt?"
The man who used to be as aloof and dignified as an immortal banished from heaven now had messy black hair and leaves stuck in his hair, which made his slow and methodical movements of cleaning himself look even more ridiculous. Yun Yang burst out laughing.
Xue Yu didn't understand what was going on, so he asked seriously, "What are you laughing at?"
But a broken head?
"Who is chasing you? Why are you always being chased?" Yun Yang stopped laughing.
"Evildoers." Xue Yu summarized it simply. "The Crown Prince was deceived by them and cast a golden body for the Buddha statue. I came up the mountain to deal with this matter before the current emperor finds out."
"So those people wanted to kill you before you could resolve this?" Yun Yang asked. "Did you have time to resolve it? It's hard to recast the golden body once it's already been cast, right?"
The jade-like young man curled his lips into a smile, with an unbridled and cold demeanor, but his tone was calm, "I destroyed it."
"...ruined? You destroyed the cast Buddha statue?" Yun Yang was surprised.
Even she knew how treasonous it was to destroy the golden statue and the Buddha statue, especially for a scholar-official like Xue Yu who followed the orthodox path, had been taught by great Confucian scholars since childhood, believed in Buddhism, and was most obedient to the rules of the world. How could he do this...
Xue Yu remained calm and asked, "What else can we do? How can we make it in time?"
Yun Yang exclaimed, it was indeed too late to recast or modify it.
But this is too unorthodox, too rebellious, and too inconsistent with his style of doing things...
"Come on, I'll help you up." She looked dazed and reached out to help him.
Xue Yu stood up and took a breath of cold air.
"What's wrong?" Yun Yang asked with concern.
Xue Yu pulled his arm back from her grasp and placed it on his leg. "He must have twisted his ankle when he fell just now."
"It's okay, it's okay, I hope you weren't bitten by a poisonous snake." Yun Yang breathed a sigh of relief and took his arm again. "Come, put your hand on my shoulder, I'll help you down the mountain."
Xue Yu couldn't help but frown and looked at the girl who was just at his shoulder.
At this time, regardless of the intimacy between men and women, she must still be growing and small, so how could she support him?
"You can't help me. Just rest here. Someone will come to find me." Xue Yu said, "Or you can go down the mountain first and ask someone to come up."
"How could I abandon you, my brother-in-law, and go alone?" Yun Yang said, "What if I leave and some bad guys catch up and take you away? No, we have to go together and return together. Don't worry, hold on to me. I can support you. I can even support my father. You're so thin, you're not as heavy as my father, are you?"
"I'm not thin." Xue Yu denied.
Yun Yang frowned, turned around and looked him up and down seriously, and said sarcastically, "I have never seen a man more ethereal than you. Come on, stop wasting time and hold me up."
The girl's fluffy black hair brushed his chin, making him feel itchy and he wanted to scratch it.
Xue Yu closed his eyes, pursed his lips and sighed, then held Yun Yang's shoulders and did not refuse again.
She was much stronger than he had imagined. One of his legs was paralyzed and half of his body was almost leaning on her, but her lower body was very stable and her body did not shake. She dragged him all the way to the official road.
In the dim morning light, beads of sweat oozed from the girl's fair forehead, but she said nothing.
The two of them were very close, and his profile would uncontrollably brush against the top of her head and her forehead, and the warm and smooth touch felt like a feather.
At first he pulled hard to avoid touching her, but Yun Yang turned around and smiled. That smile was clear and bright, and had nothing to do with romance or men and women.
Xue Yu thought that she was still young and didn't understand the differences between men and women.
"Thank you very much," he said.
Yun Yang sat in a deserted teahouse beside the official road, panting softly and wiping the sweat off his face. "What are you talking about? You're my brother-in-law, how can I ignore you?"
Xue Yu raised an eyebrow, "If it weren't for your brother-in-law, would you not care?"
Yun Yang thought for a moment and said seriously, "We have to take care of it. We can't just stand by and watch someone die."
Xue Yu looked at the girl, whose face was dyed light pink by the morning glow. Her face was rosy and beads of sweat were oozing from the tip of her nose. She looked so full of vitality and so sincere.
Something in my heart changed quietly at this moment.
What is vulgar and what is noble?
Is a lady from an aristocratic family who follows the rules, is surrounded by jewels and jade, and is proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting noble?
So what if you don’t know the paintings of famous artists? Being reckless and frank is not vulgarity, but sincerity.
This kind of sincerity is more precious than many things in the world.
"Aren't you a high-ranking official? Why are you always in danger? Why does a wealthy family like the Xue family need you to work so hard on government affairs? Why do you still want to fight for power?" Yun Yang asked puzzledly.
"People don't live just for power and wealth." Xue Yu brushed off the dust and leaves on his clothes and looked at the sky in the distance, dyed a bright golden color. "If that were the purpose, I would have had it when I was born. The Xue family has lasted for hundreds of years, supporting the emperor's orthodoxy and enjoying tributes and preferential treatment. We must shoulder the responsibilities that come with it."
Yun Yang stared at him blankly. She never expected that he would answer her, and answer so seriously.
It's not for power and wealth...
There are many things in this world that are more important than power and wealth, such as morality and conscience.
She looked at the man who was covered in dust but still looked noble and impressive, and suddenly understood why the Xue family members in the clan school admired him. She also understood that he was completely different from the young men she had met.
"Then you have to be careful." She whispered, lowering her head and tugging at her collar.
I helped him down the mountain and worked up a sweat. Now that the sun was rising, his clothes were sticking to his body, feeling sticky and uncomfortable.
Xue Yu's expression turned serious and he looked away.
"Tighten your collar," he said. "Even if it's hot, you shouldn't act like this in front of men."
"Aren't you my brother-in-law?" Yun Yang was stunned.
"Brother-in-law is also a man." Xue Yu said.
Once again, I lament that the Yun family raised their daughter to be too naive.
His words were full of pressure, and Yun Yang subconsciously pressed his hand on the collar and whispered, "I just loosened it a little, nothing is exposed..."
"It's not okay if you don't reveal anything. If you loosen your clothes, people will think your nanny is negligent in her duties. They will look down on the Yun family and you as well." Xue Yu said, raising an eyebrow. "You've been in the Xue Mansion for some time. Have you observed the women there?"
Yun Yang frowned and recalled. Indeed, the women in the mansion had rules for their actions, sitting and lying down. Even someone like Xue Jin would not do anything else when she got hot while playing with the maids. She would just sit quietly for a while and wait for the sweat to subside. Even the posture of wiping the sweat with her hand was elegant, and she even covered it with a handkerchief to avoid being seen by others.
"It's not that my parents didn't teach me well, it's that I was disobedient." She explained in a low voice.
"What did you say? Speak louder." Xue Yu said.
Yun Yang groaned and raised her voice. "I said, it's me who refuses to be disciplined. My parents can't control me. It's not that they don't care about me, nor is it that the maid in the mansion didn't teach me well. Have you seen my sister? My sister is not like me. My sister is elegant and graceful..."
"Okay, Yunyang, let's not talk about your sister, let's talk about you." Xue Yu glanced at her and said slowly, "When you speak, hold your head high and be confident, then no one will look down on you. Besides, who says that disobeying discipline is a bad thing? Who stipulates that women must be elegant and well-mannered?"
"You're fine like this, except... don't pull your collar in front of men."
It’s so strange. I clearly wanted to discipline her, but how did it end up being comfort?
Xue Yu lowered his eyes and saw a hint of surprise flash across the little girl's black and white eyes.
He avoided her sight, stood up, and nearly fell down. Yun Yang rushed forward to support him as if waking up from a dream, and couldn't help but look at his funny and contrasting appearance.
He glanced at her sideways and said, "Just a little further on we'll reach the government post station. They'll send someone to take us back home."
Yun Yang nodded, lowered his head and said nothing.
She was rarely so quiet. She supported him all the way and talked incessantly about her life with her sister Yunjia in Youzhou. Why was she silent now?
Xue Yu leaned forward slightly and glanced sideways, catching a glimpse of the little girl with the corners of her lips curled up, obviously smiling.
Suddenly I felt that all the worries were gone and my mood became cheerful.
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