Chapter 40
Chapter 40
He wanted to sympathize with others and share their misery, but in the end, the young couple moved away together and he was still the only one who was miserable.
Zhou Kuang looked the same as last night, looking awkward. He walked up to greet the two men. The mynah bird in front of the door probably heard the familiar voices and imitated them: "Thank you, brother, thank you..."
This somewhat broke the awkwardness. Zhou Kuang turned around and scolded with a smile, "Why don't you call me Third Master?"
In the past, before Xie Shao got married, several people often came to the garden. Xie Shao treated them with good wine and delicious food. Rich people are all masters, so several people called him the Third Master behind his back.
Myna gave him face and immediately opened his voice: "Third Master, Third Master..."
Zhou Kuang went forward and teased the lovable beast. Just as he was about to step into the house, he was stopped by Xie Shao, "Let's talk outside."
Things are different now. The east room has been occupied by someone else. The young lady lives there and no outsiders can be allowed to enter her own room... wouldn't the truth be exposed if they enter?
Before they got married, they played and fought with each other, and even slept in the same room. Now that he is married and has a wife to accompany him, it is naturally inconvenient for him to go in again.
Zhou Kuang came to his senses, turned around and walked down the steps.
Xie Shao brought people to the pavilion on the rockery by the lake. When they looked up, they could see the Half Moon Bridge on the lake. The beautiful scenery of the lake made people feel good and they could talk calmly.
The important point is that there is a rockery behind it, which is convenient for someone to put an ear.
Sure enough, the young lady was very satisfied with his arrangement. She winked at him from a distance. No one knew how she did it, but she opened one eye and closed the other, and bent one corner of her mouth upwards with force. Her movements were extremely fast, and the glances she sent were not innocent at all. Xie Shao's heart skipped a beat, and the strand of black hair from yesterday seemed to tickle his heart again. He quickly turned his head away and stopped looking at the young lady who was quite naughty.
Wen Shuse's overtures were not responded to. Although he was a little disappointed, he didn't take it to heart: "My dear, please stay with the prince for a while. I'll go see Madam Ming."
Ming Wanrou arrived at the Xie Mansion at the right time. As soon as she got off the carriage, she began to back out and turned to ask the maid beside her: "Is this appropriate for me?"
The maid comforted her, "Don't worry, Madam, the Second Madam is here."
As soon as Wen Shuse was mentioned, Ming Wanrou calmed down. She went up to the doorman and told him where she was and asked him to help pass the message. The doorman smiled and said, "Madam Ming, please come in. Master Zhou has entered the mansion a moment ago, and the Third Madam is waiting for you."
When I heard the name, I started to get nervous again.
But now that she was here, she couldn't go back. She nervously stepped into the mansion. As soon as she stepped onto the corridor, she saw Wen Shuse. As if she had seen a savior, she stepped forward and grabbed her hand, "He, is really here."
Wen Shuse said otherwise, "I'll wait for you."
Ming Wanrou became more and more nervous. She took a deep breath and held her tightly. "Jiaoxian, why don't we just forget it? Since he said it was a misunderstanding, I believe him. I don't know what to say if we meet again. It's too embarrassing."
Wen Shuse cursed him for being useless, "Your eyes were swollen from crying the night before yesterday, and you got better with just one word from someone."
Ming Wanrou said with a bitter face, "I am too embarrassed to see anyone."
"Then you are wrong. It's not you who is ashamed to face others, it's Prince Zhou." Wen Shuse encouraged her, "Don't you want to know what his secret is?"
This concerns her future life, so how could Ming Wanrou not want to know? She had been thinking about it all the way in the carriage. He had said so much that day, and yet he still said it was a misunderstanding. So what exactly was the misunderstanding?
It’s not that I don’t believe him, but what if... Ming Wanrou hesitated.
"Let's go." Wen Shuse pulled her. "With me here, you're not afraid that he will eat you. Today is your last chance. If you have any concerns or questions, just ask them. Don't ruin your life because of shame."
That’s right, it’s a matter of a lifetime and can’t be taken lightly. She still has to arrange an engagement with Gaoxian.
Ming Wanrou was forced to do something she was not prepared for. She followed Wen Shuse and didn't know how many circles they had gone through. After passing through the rockery, she saw the pavilion in front of her.
The two gentlemen in the pavilion also saw the young ladies coming in.
The bright morning light fell on the two of them. Rosa was wearing a short shirt and a tube top and a long skirt that dragged on the ground. The colors were bright, and the scenery in the yard instantly came alive.
Otherwise, why would people say that the young lady is a beautiful sight?
The young lady started winking at him again, and Xie Shao tactfully walked down from the pavilion.
Ming Wanrou also met Zhou Kuang's gaze. Unlike the panic and unfamiliarity from last time, she saw that the other person's eyes seemed to be mixed with thousands of emotions, and hesitant, extremely complicated. She was stunned for a moment and stepped back subconsciously, but Wen Shuse supported her on the back in time.
There is no way to escape, so you can only move forward.
"Third Young Master." Ming Wanrou lowered her eyes and greeted Xie Shao who was walking down. Her footsteps were as heavy as a thousand gold coins. She moved into the pavilion step by step and bowed to the young master in front of her, "Young Master..."
The person has already been seen, and everyone else has to stay away.
Turning back into the rockery, Xie Shao walked in front. Wen Shuse saw that he was walking in a hurry and had no intention of stopping. He was stunned for a moment and called him softly, "Are you really going to leave, my dear?"
Xie Shao paused, turned back and squinted his eyes, "What else, stay and eavesdrop on other people's conversations? Miss, haven't you heard that a gentleman should not listen to or see anything indecent."
Of course she had heard of it, so she didn't believe that he wasn't curious: "Then, my dear, please go. I'm not a gentleman, I'm a young lady. I don't want to know what the prince's hidden illness is. I'm just afraid that the two of them will have a disagreement and a conflict, and I have to stop it in time."
Xie Shao:.......
After a while, another person came over to the rockery where the young lady was lying.
The young lady turned her head and looked at the awkward young man, her eyes calm, "You can listen if you want to, I won't laugh at you."
The two of them had been standing there awkwardly for quite some time in the pavilion.
They had just met in the gouache shop, and they had never expected such a scene to happen. They had learned a lesson from their mistakes, and they would never be as anxious as they were last time. They had to talk slowly. Zhou Kuang pointed to the stone bench in the pavilion and called to the young lady in front of him, "Sit down first."
Ming Wanrou hurriedly shook her head, "I'm not tired, Prince, please sit down first."
Zhou Kuang wasn't tired either, so let's just stand.
After thinking about how to start, I decided to just ask directly: "The day before yesterday, I ran into Madam Ming in the gouache shop and we talked for a few words. Did Madam Ming have any misunderstandings about me?"
There are misunderstandings, and they are not small.
But Ming Wanrou couldn't bring herself to say such a thing, so she quickly evaded the question: "The prince said it was a misunderstanding, so it was a misunderstanding."
Zhou Kuang:......
Seeing that she didn't believe him, Zhou Kuang didn't care about the rules and etiquette, and suddenly took a step forward towards her. Ignoring her panic, he clarified: "The unspeakable secret that night that I mentioned that day was not me..." Seeing that the young lady in front of him seemed to have been frightened by him, he didn't say those two words after all, and said: "It's me who has sleepwalking."
Then he explained: "The symptoms don't occur often, but only occasionally. I was worried that Lady Ming would be scared, so I wanted to explain it to her before the wedding. Unexpectedly, she misunderstood my meaning..."
It turned out to be sleepwalking. Ming Wanrou had heard of it before and didn’t think it was scary. However, “The prince said that, I…” it was hard for her not to misunderstand.
Zhou Kuang did not sleep well last night, thinking that he had not yet married, but his future wife already treated him as a eunuch, and he wanted to find her immediately to explain things.
Now that she had met him and explained everything clearly, she still seemed to be in doubt and blurted out in a hurry: "Whether I lied to you or not, you will know on our wedding night. I will definitely not let Madam Ming down."
A bold statement was shouted out in a loud voice.
It seemed as if he had regained all the face he had lost before and washed away all the shame. He took a deep breath and was almost proud of himself. Poor Ming Wanrou, her face was already red and she almost ran away.
Next came Prince Zhou, who came down from the pavilion and passed by the rockery in a hurry without stopping.
When there was no more noise in his ears, the man who was hiding behind the rockery walked out sideways. He turned around and looked at the young lady inside. She was already stunned and her face was red.
Zhou Kuang's words were indeed too fierce, and even those who were eavesdropping were affected, so, "Young lady, please don't listen to indecent things in the future."
After the fact, who was the one who took the initiative to approach him? Wen Shuse was annoyed: "Sir, don't be jealous of others. Just do your duty well and you can always live a good life."
Before he could react, the young lady came out from behind the rockery, calmly pushed away the dazed man in front of her, held up her skirt with her hands, stiffened her neck, and walked faster and faster.
That back view doesn't look like he did anything good.
The man behind him finally came to his senses, his voice was quite gnashing, and he even called her by her name, "Wen Shuse, what do you mean."
What hidden illness was that? It was just a nocturnal syndrome. It was all the prince's fault for not explaining half of his words clearly. Ming Wanrou cried all night and caused a bunch of people to worry for two days, and in the end it was all a misunderstanding.
After this incident, their marriage became a done deal, as solid as it could be.
A few days later, they heard about the bride's wedding dress. Madam Zhou from the royal palace personally agreed to it. The Ming family only needed to prepare the dowry, and everything would go smoothly. Wen Shuse no longer had to worry about it.
Instead, she was worried about her brother. She heard from the maid of the Wen family that "the third young master seemed unhappy and angry the last few times he came back."
Wen Shu was extremely surprised. Everyone knew that her brother Wen Huai was the most gentle among the several young masters of the Wen family and he had never lost his temper.
Where does the anger come from?
The maidservant added, "The Third Young Master treats the old lady well at home, but every day when he comes back from the government office, he has a gloomy face. I guess his duties are not going well."
Wen Shuse thought to himself, his face is already dark enough, if it gets any darker, what would he look like?
She didn't know much about the government office's affairs, so if she wanted to find out, she had to rely on Xie Shao. Ever since the two of them got involved in the trivial matters of Madam Ming and Master Zhou, they seemed to have become more familiar with each other.
After waiting for someone to come to the shift, Wen Shuse immediately went to the west wing with a plate of rice cakes in his hand. "My dear, the food will take a while. Eat a piece of rice cake first to fill your stomach. I made it myself."
Xie Shao had just washed his hands and turned his head to look. He couldn't help but raise his eyebrows. The sun was rising from the west and he finally remembered what he had said.
As a result, the young lady put the rice cake on his table, came over and asked with a smile: "My dear, can I ask you something?"
It turns out he has other intentions.
Xie Shao sneered, "Why, Madam Ming wants to cancel the engagement again?"
If this man gets beaten in the future, it must be because of this mouth. Wen Shuse said that he was fine and asked directly: "Brother, did you encounter any difficult cases during your first duty?"
Xie Shao was about to tell her about this, but seeing that the young lady looked eager to learn, he suddenly didn't want to let her have her way. "Difficult things happen every day. Wen Huai has been to school after all. If he hadn't insisted on going to sea, he would have joined the township tribute. What can't he do as a mere military officer?"
We are both low-ranking officials, so who are we making fun of?
Wen Shuse grumbled in his heart, but his expression remained unchanged. "Brother has been away for many years and is not familiar with Fengcheng. I heard from the people in the mansion that he didn't look very well when he returned in recent days. Brother has always been a steady person and rarely behaves abnormally like this. If you don't know, I will ask the eldest master tomorrow. Brother works under him, he should know clearly."
Before Wen Shuse could get up, the man in front of her asked again, "Is it because of the recent case at hand?"
Wen Shuse raised his head with a strange look on his face: "My dear, you know this again?"
"I just heard about it too." Xie Shao moved his butt a little, his expression was calm: "Young lady, do you want me to eat the rice cake first, or ask about your brother's news first?"
After all, she came to ask for help. Wen Shuse pushed the plate in front of him and said politely, "My dear, eat first."
So, the man opposite elegantly finished two pieces of rice cakes and drank a cup of tea before he said slowly, "It's a long story."
The young lady took a deep breath and was about to have a fit, but the young master spoke slowly again: "The eldest son of the Li family at the north alley went to the capital to take the imperial examination five years ago. He fell in love with the fourth lady of the Yu family, who was a writer in the capital, at first sight. Not long after, the fourth lady married into Fengcheng and had a son and a daughter. Originally, the Li family had hoped that the Yu family could help them, but a year ago, the Yu family was involved in a corruption case and was dismissed from office. Seeing that his career was hopeless, the eldest son of the Li family sought another way out and took in a new concubine, who was the eldest wife of the owner of the Fengcheng gambling house. The fourth lady was so angry that she fell ill. The eldest son of the Li family not only did not restrain himself, but also proposed a divorce. The fourth lady could not take either of the two children with her. The maidservant beside the fourth lady was not convinced and beat the drum for her master. Your brother did not agree to a divorce in the case he took, so the new concubine of the Li family went to the government office every day to pester him."
It’s really long.
Wen Shuse was so shocked that he fell backwards, "There are actually such unfaithful people."
This was not the end. Xie Shao said something even more shocking: "The aunt said that if your brother doesn't agree, she will go to the Wen family to be your sister-in-law."
Wen Shuse's eyes widened and he gasped in anger, "How can this woman be so shameless?"
Unexpectedly, his brother encountered such a troublesome thing just after taking office. Wen Shuse could not sit still. Once he was blackmailed by these flies, given his brother's personality, he would definitely not know what to do.
He hurriedly asked Xie Shao: "What about now? How is the progress now?"
There was no progress. Both sides were wasting time and neither side was willing to give in. The situation was causing a lot of uproar. Today, the matter even reached the ears of Mrs. Zhou, who was also present and happened to hear it.
Wen Huai must be extremely worried.
Wen Shuse was stunned for a long time before he came to his senses, "Don't the people above care?" These people were clearly bullying his brother because he was a new official.
The person in charge is none other than the eldest son of the Xie family.
Before Xie Shao could answer, the young lady sighed, "So we are not a family. After all, there is still a layer of separation between us. Once the son-in-law of the Wen family is replaced, the elder brother has also transformed into the brother-in-law of the young master."
After spending some time together, Xie Shao had already figured out the young lady's routine. He glanced over and anticipated that something bad was going to happen.
As expected, the young lady said, "Sir, lend me a few men tomorrow. I don't believe I can't stop that unreasonable woman."
Whatever she wants.
With her small body, she still wanted to fight with others? She probably hadn't seen the lady in the gambling house yet. She was even bigger than her. Not to mention her, she looked tiny in front of her.
And he disdained to deal with such vulgar people.
"no."
"My dear, don't you want to help me? If that woman blackmails your brother-in-law, don't blame me then. You will have to call her sister-in-law."
Xie Shao: ...
The young lady took advantage of the situation and swore to her, "I promise not to start a fight first. If she makes a scene, I will report her to the authorities and sue her for defiling the reputation of an official appointed by the court. Is that okay?"
Wen Huai has indeed had a headache these days.
He arrived at the yamen early the next day, intending to call the eldest son and his wife of the Li family to persuade them in detail.
As soon as I entered the door, I heard the eldest son of the Xie family say that the fourth lady had withdrawn the lawsuit and agreed to divorce the eldest son of the Li family. They might be approaching the city gate now.
Wen Huai was stunned: "Gone? She agreed to divorce and doesn't want the child anymore?"
There are too many such things, and after seeing them so many times, she has become numb. Xie Heng shook his head, "If the Li family doesn't release her, what else can she do? You have been tired these days, so go back and rest first."
Wen Huai stood there for a while, then suddenly turned around and chased after him towards the city gate.
Wen Shuse left the mansion at dawn today. His carriage stopped in the alley in front of the government office. He dozed off while staring at the gate.
After finally seeing Wen Huai enter the government office, before he could wake up the man beside him, he saw him rush out in a hurry, climb onto the horse's back, and quickly ordered the groom: "Hurry, catch up."
The man beside her was sleeping soundly, totally unprepared, and fell headfirst. This time the young lady was quick to catch him, and said, "Wake up, man."
Wen Huai chased all the way to the city gate, and finally stopped the fourth lady of the Yu family. He said to the people inside through the carriage window: "Madam, you can wait for two more days. I will definitely give you an explanation."
The fourth lady of the Yu family didn't expect him to catch up, so she got off the carriage in a hurry and bowed to him: "Thank you for taking care of me these days. I should have informed you before leaving, but I really didn't want to cause any more trouble, so I didn't bother you."
Wen Huai didn't mind these, he just asked: "Can you really bear to give up?"
The fourth lady of the Yu family lowered her eyes, as if she was trying to hold back the tears in her eyes. After a long while, she said, "The soldier has already run into trouble because of me. How can I make him suffer again? I have decided to leave Fengcheng and return to Dongdu."
Wen Huai straightened his spine and said, "As long as the Fourth Lady insists, I can get justice for you."
The fourth lady of the Yu family shook her head and smiled bitterly: "What is justice? It was me who insisted on marrying into the Li family. Now I have suffered this fate, which is just my own fault. I should bear it alone, and I must not implicate innocent people. I have made up my mind, please return from joining the army."
After saying this, without waiting for Wen Huai to persuade him further, he turned around and returned to the carriage.
Wen Huai didn't move for a long time as he watched the fourth lady of the Yu family leave the city gate. He didn't expect that his first job in his life would be so frustrating.
He didn't know how long he stood there. He turned around dejectedly. When he looked up, he saw a young lady standing in front of him, looking at him with sympathy.
Wen Shuse heard it all and consoled him, "Brother is a good official."
Wen Huai:......
"Why are you here?" Wen Huai was listless and had no time to pay attention to her. "Where's Xie San? He doesn't care about you and lets you hang out all day."
No matter what, she had pulled him out of bed and he was taking a nap in the carriage.
"Brother, have you ever heard that good is rewarded with good and evil is punished with evil? If the fourth lady of the Yu family returns to the East Capital, she might live a better life than she does now." Wen Shuse was about to persuade him a few more times when a voice suddenly came from behind him: "Jiaoxian?"
The voice was too familiar. The two were stunned and turned around at the same time. They saw a carriage coming in from the city gate and a pitch-black head poking out of the mullion window on the side of the carriage.
Compared with the face Wen Huai had when he first came back, it was even better.
Wen Shuse stared at the black old man in front of him, identified him, and said in astonishment: "Father?
Woohoo, I still haven't written the plot yet, next chapter~ (One hundred red envelopes for the treasures.)
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