Chapter 521 Spoiled and Willful Wife VS Cowardly and Fearful Husband 13
Nighttime, in the study.
Jun Yu lowered his eyes and stared at the still-wet ink annotations on the ledger. His wolf-hair brush hovered in mid-air, not falling for a long time. His knuckles unconsciously tapped the sandalwood table, making a muffled sound.
Jiang Zhiyi leaned against the bookshelf, holding a yellowed scroll in her hands, engrossed in reading it, unaware that she had been standing there the whole time.
She came over tonight intending to disturb Junyu and distract him from his important business.
But at that moment, her mind was already absorbed by the storybook, and she completely forgot about it.
Jiang Zhiyi hadn't expected that Jun Yu's study would contain so many storybooks, ranging from fantasy tales to tales of talented scholars and beautiful women... a wide variety of genres, all of which she had never seen before, and were quite novel and interesting.
She was holding a small silk booklet embroidered with twin lotus blossoms. When she opened it, it told the story of a famous courtesan from Jiangnan and a down-on-his-luck scholar.
Su Lian'er was originally the daughter of an official, but her family fell into decline and she was sold to a brothel. She was exceptionally talented, proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and quickly became famous for her beauty, becoming a sought-after courtesan in the Jiangnan region.
The down-on-his-luck scholar, named Liu Fu, went to the capital to take the imperial examination. Having run out of money, he worked as a laborer in a brothel.
The two became acquainted because of this.
Liu Fu often met with Su Lian'er. Su Lian'er didn't care that he was penniless; instead, she often took out her own money to help him study and encouraged him to pass the imperial examinations.
Su Lian'er meticulously prepared soups for Liu Fu and mended his tattered clothes; Liu Fu, in turn, painted for Su Lian'er and told her strange tales from books.
Not long after, Liu Fu bid farewell to Su Lian'er and went to the capital to take the imperial examination.
Before leaving, Su Lian'er's eyes welled up with tears. She gave Liu Fu her personal jade pendant and urged him to return safely.
After Liu Fu left, Su Lian'er waited anxiously, staring blankly at the bright moon by the window every day, hoping for news of him.
However, as the days went by, Liu Fu disappeared without a trace, as if a stone had vanished into the sea. She asked around everywhere for information about Liu Fu's whereabouts, but to no avail.
Just when she was almost in despair, she finally received news of Liu Fu—he had passed the imperial examination with flying colors and had now married the daughter of a powerful official in the court.
When Su Lian'er learned of this, she was struck dumb. She couldn't believe that Liu Fu could be so heartless. She cried day and night, her mind in a daze, yet she still clung to a sliver of hope that Liu Fu would change his mind.
In order to see Liu Fu, she spent a lot of money to bribe the servant in his mansion, and finally got a chance to meet him.
At the agreed-upon teahouse, Liu Fu turned his head away, his expression completely changed, and said coldly, "Lian'er, things have come to this. Our statuses are now vastly different, and there is no possibility left. You should just forget about me."
After returning to the brothel, Su Lian'er fell seriously ill. Soon after, on a bleak and rainy night, Su Lian'er died in despair…
Liu Fu, though he had achieved his wish of living a life of wealth and luxury, often saw Su Lian'er's sorrowful face in his dreams, and felt very guilty.
Years later, his wife gave birth to a daughter, whom he named "Liu Silian".
Jiang Zhiyi was furious. She reached out and tore the storybook to shreds, stomping on it under her feet. She was stunned for a long time.
She continued flipping through the pages, and unexpectedly found the next chapter of the book, which had a different ending—Su Lian'er was brought back to life and returned to the time before she met Liu Fu…
She was completely absorbed in watching.
After an unknown amount of time, Junyu finally put down his wolf-hair brush and rubbed his sore neck.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jiang Zhiyi leaning against the bookshelf, her head tilted to the side, her hair falling over her shoulder...
He was about to ask her why she hadn't gone to rest yet, but then he saw her suddenly burst out laughing, her eyebrows curving into crescents, just like peach blossoms blooming in spring.
"What's making you so happy?" Jun Yu asked, his voice softening unconsciously.
Jiang Zhiyi did not respond.
Junyu walked to her side and asked again.
Jiang Zhiyi then came to her senses, turned around with the storybook in her hand, and said with dissatisfaction at being disturbed, "So you have so many treasures hidden in your study. I thought you only looked at account books all day."
She waved the booklet in her hand, "These are all mine from now on!"
Junyu stood up and walked closer, his gaze sweeping over the storybook in her hand.
He acquired these items by chance and then casually placed them in a corner of the bookshelf, never expecting that she would find them.
"They're just some idle books." He turned his face away and reached for the booklet in her hand. "It's late, you should get some rest."
Jiang Zhiyi nimbly dodged, hiding the storybook behind her back. "No, I haven't finished reading it yet."
She then looked at the mountain of account books on his desk. "Don't be lazy! I know you haven't finished the accounts yet."
"The tax on grain transport has increased by 20% this month," Jun Yu suddenly said, explaining why he had lost interest in continuing to read earlier.
He couldn't help but complain to her: "The new edict issued by the Ministry of Revenue claims to be aimed at replenishing the national treasury, but in reality it's making things difficult for merchants. I wonder how much they've embezzled from it..."
He closed the ledger, looking troubled.
Jiang Zhiyi took the book in her hand and gently moved it to the table.
Jun Yu added, "Nowadays, there are factional disputes in the court, and merchants are caught in the middle, making it more and more difficult for them to make a living each day."
He stopped halfway through his sentence, his gaze falling on the new pearl hairpin at Jiang Zhiyi's temple.
Never mind, I won't say anything more to her.
She didn't understand either, which only made her worry.
Jiang Zhiyi seemed to notice his gaze, and unconsciously touched the beaded flower, asking curiously, "Do you also know about matters of the court?"
She had assumed he was only good at keeping accounts.
Jun Yu was reluctant to speak, but noticing the curiosity in her eyes, he changed the subject: "Now that the First Prince and the Crown Prince are vying for power, and the First Prince has always been on good terms with the Minister of Revenue, I'm afraid..."
The eldest prince?
Is this matter related to Pei Chengze?
Jiang Zhiyi immediately turned to look at him, slamming the book heavily on the table, causing the candlelight to flicker. "You're not allowed to talk about him like that! Brother Chengce is a good person who cares about the common people and is upright and honest. How could he get involved in such a sordid matter?"
Her almond-shaped eyes widened, her face full of protectiveness.
"Brother Chengce?" Upon hearing this address, Jun Yu's expression darkened instantly, his eyes fixed on her flushed cheeks. "I wonder when you became so familiar with the prince of the court?"
“We’ve known each other since childhood!” Jiang Zhiyi wasn’t afraid for him to know. “Brother Chengce and I grew up together and were very close. When we were young, we would catch fireflies and break willow branches together… If it weren’t for that imperial decree of marriage, I might have married him instead of you!”
"What did you say?" Jun Yu asked with a stern face.
“I’m saying, if it weren’t for the imperial decree, I should have married Brother Chengce, not you, you idiot who only knows how to keep your head down and calculate!” Jiang Zhiyi’s voice was crisp and sharp as she looked up at him, her eyes full of provocation.
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