Chapter 98: Have you found your indenture?
The mistress left quietly, and no one in the house knew, because that very day Li Yue'er had the maids pack their things, creating the illusion that she was going to the estate with the mistress for the New Year.
Although Magistrate Lu was an excellent local official, Li Yue'er was still afraid that there were people in the yamen who were loyal to the imperial court.
If someone in the household were to say to outsiders that the mistress is not at the Qu residence, and that person were to report this to the imperial court, what would happen if the court took action against the Qu family ahead of time?
At that time, there will be no need to find a tax item to slowly squeeze the Qu family dry. Just charge them with treason and you can take down the Qu and Zheng families along with all the merchants, big and small.
Therefore, Li Yue'er was very cautious and only took her confidantes to the estate. This way, even if the mistress did not show up, others would only think that they were newlyweds who were enjoying their honeymoon and were being affectionate at the estate.
When Li Yue'er saw off the mistress in the early morning, she had a smile on her face. First, she told her that she would keep everyone in the Qu family in check and would not hold her back. Then, she coquettishly told her to take care of herself while she was away and not to miss her too much.
As the story drew to a close, tears welled up in Li Yue'er's eyes without her noticing. It was only when her mistress's warm palm gently wiped away her tears that she realized she had shed tears because she was so reluctant to part with her mistress.
She thought she was putting on a good act.
Even if it's hard to let go, the things that need to be done still need to be done.
The mistress left with Dansha and Linmu.
Because Lin Mu was accompanying her on this trip, Li Yue'er specially brought Aunt Qiu along to the estate for the New Year, so that Aunt Qiu wouldn't feel lonely during the New Year, and also to prevent others from discovering that Lin Mu was not at the Qu residence because the mother and son couldn't spend the New Year together.
When Li Yue'er went to the academy to pick up the people, the headmaster and his wife had to stay at the academy, and the people also had children who needed to reunite during the New Year, so they couldn't stay at the estate with them. Therefore, Li Yue'er only brought her mother and younger sister.
It was the same familiar route I took every time I went out, and the same places I frequented, but there were two fewer people with me.
Teng Huang's eyes were still red and swollen from crying, but he smiled and comforted her:
"It's not like the head of the family and Dansha have gone out before, so it's fine. Don't worry, we'll still celebrate the New Year as usual. Besides, with Dansha gone, no one will disturb my sleep at night, which is great."
Li Yue'er blinked at Teng Huang's expression, "Do you really think it's pretty good?"
Teng Huang glared at her playfully, then stopped laughing, lowered his head, and tugged at his fingers. "Of course it's fake. Dan Sha and I have hardly ever been apart."
Her voice was tinged with a slight sob, but she didn't say she was reluctant to part with Dansha. She just muttered, "Without Dansha, I can't even warm my bed at night."
She was afraid that her mistress would be upset, so she pretended to be relaxed to cheer her up.
Li Yue'er reached out and pulled Teng Huang into her arms, her head pressed against Teng Huang's, and gently stroked her arm, saying, "I can't warm the bed either, neither of us..."
Fujiki glanced at her suspiciously.
Li Yue'er smiled slyly, "Let's bring two more hand warmers, that way we won't be cold when we sleep."
Gamboge, "..."
Li Yue'er pinched Teng Huang's cheek, feigning ignorance, and asked, "What are you thinking? Do you think I want to sleep with you?"
She was cold-sensitive and afraid of the cold, and Teng Huang was a restless sleeper. If they slept together, she would freeze to death at night because Teng Huang would roll away her blanket.
Besides, the mistress is extremely jealous; if she finds out later, she will definitely be unhappy.
Li Yue'er didn't want to make her jealous.
Teng Huang pushed Li Yue'er away and sat by the window, sniffling and saying in a huff, "I don't want to sleep with you either. I've only ever slept with Dan Sha. I'm not used to sharing a bed with someone else."
She was very meticulous. "Xiao Xing'er doesn't count. She's a child, and she's warm like a hand warmer."
Just then, her younger sister came over and climbed onto the carriage using both her hands and feet. Teng Huang immediately pulled her in front of him, rubbed her chubby little face, and chuckled, "Little Xing'er, we meet again."
Li Xing'er looked helplessly at her sister. Li Yue'er smiled and patted her head, signaling her to be patient and sacrifice her cheek to coax Teng Huang.
Seeing that Teng Huang had finally become lively again, Li Yue'er breathed a slight sigh of relief.
There were many people going to the estate this time, and Li Yue'er had to arrange everything. In addition, her mother, Aunt Qiu, and Sister Su kept her company during the day, and Xiaoxiao, Tenghuang, and Xing'er kept her occupied. She simply didn't have time to think about anything else.
Only at night, when everyone else is asleep and Li Yue'er is lying in bed alone, does she miss her mistress especially.
Even though the bedding was brought from the Qu residence and still carried the scent of the mistress of the house, she couldn't stop thinking about it. Afraid that Xiao Mei, who was on night watch, would hear her crying and cause everyone to worry the next day, she would bury her face in the pillow and secretly shed tears.
The person she was riding and entwining with last night is now someone she can't hold. The contrast between the two is what makes this kind of loss the most painful.
Especially since the mistress might be in danger this time she goes out.
Perhaps because she had read too many storybooks, she was always afraid that something might happen to the mistress, and she was worrying and scaring herself unnecessarily.
Unable to sleep lying down, Li Yue'er wiped away her tears, covered her eyes with a cool handkerchief, lit an oil lamp, got up, and started organizing her storybooks to keep herself occupied and distract herself from her longing for her mistress.
She has been extremely busy for the past six months, and with her mistress by her side, she hasn't had time to write stories. The few pages in the box were written when she was living in the academy before her marriage and had nothing to do.
Li Yue'er took the storybook out of the small box in the trunk, intending to see where she had left off last time. However, after flipping through only two pages, she blushed with embarrassment and anger, gritted her teeth, stomped her foot, and shouted, "Qu Rong!"
The mistress had somehow read through what she had written and had even carefully revised a few details for her.
Li Yue'er was so angry she wanted to bite her!
Why is she looking at this so closely?
Li Yue'er's face was so red it was almost steaming; she didn't want to think about her anymore, she was just too angry to care.
Li Yue'er held the small box, subconsciously avoiding placing it on the bedding, because the mistress was clean and disliked having other things on the bed and the quilt close to her body.
Just as she was about to grab something to put under her pillow, she suddenly remembered what her mistress had written in her storybook. She angrily placed the small box on her mistress's pillow, saying, "So you can be so clean!"
She took out the paper and realized that the mistress hadn't changed many things, but every stroke she made was added to the shameful sentences, as if she could accurately find that spot every night.
Li Yue'er sorted through the papers one by one until she found a line of words written by the mistress on the other side of the last paper:
My wife, Saiyue.
Those four simple words slowly brought tears to Li Yue'er's eyes.
That familiar handwriting, flamboyant and unrestrained, yet it contained tender words of love, revealing pride and ostentation.
Li Yue'er's tears started falling again. Afraid of getting wet the writing on the paper, she quickly wiped her tears with a handkerchief, complaining in a low voice, "Why didn't you praise me to my face?"
She already wanted to be the mistress of the house, and now she wants it even more.
Li Yue'er didn't want to inquire about the mistress's whereabouts from outsiders. She only asked Shi Yi, who traveled between the county town and the village, to find out about the new army.
For example, where did the new army advance to, and what was the imperial court's attitude?
After the New Year, on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, Shi Yi brought a great commotion:
The emperor is dead.
The Emperor is about sixty-eight years old this year, older than the old lady. The old lady is still alive, but he is dead.
To die at such a chaotic time is tantamount to the collapse of the already unstable backbone of the court!
Li Yue'er was so surprised that she raised her hand to cover her mouth. In fact, she was very excited and happy, but she couldn't show any smile on her face. She just frowned and asked in a low voice, "How did he die?"
Shi Yi said, "It is said that the prince forced him to abdicate, and he was so frightened that he died."
There is a crown prince in the Eastern Palace. It is clear that the inaction of the emperor and the crown prince has given the other princes an opportunity. They took advantage of the chaos to stage a coup, wanting to kill the crown prince and make the emperor replace him. They thought that with a new emperor and a new situation, they could boost morale, appease the people and merchants, and make them feel that there is still hope for the court, and that it would not be in the current state of infighting.
This indirectly shows that what the matriarch and her family were doing had a certain effect.
Li Yue'er dared not tell anyone about her joy during the day, but at night she clung to her mistress's nightgown and rolled around on the bed for a long time.
She had been waiting for news from her mistress until after the first month of the lunar year, when her mistress, who had been away from home for almost two months, finally sent her a letter!
The mistress actually took the initiative to write her a letter!
Li Yue'er excitedly opened it, only to find that there was only one word written on it:
install.
There wasn't even a "Don't worry" message.
Li Yue'er, "..."
Li Yue'er looked at the letter over and over again, but no matter how she looked at it, she could only see the same single word.
But it is indeed the mistress's handwriting.
Gambo tapped his chin with his finger, frowning as he asked, "Why aren't there any other words? Do I have to soak it in water or heat it up in front of an oil lamp to make them appear?"
Li Yue'er, "..."
Let's see what else we need to do.
The fact that the mistress could send a message back proves that everything is fine and she is not afraid of being found out about what she has done. If that's the case, why hide the contents of the letter?
Li Yue'er angrily threw the letter on the table, "She clearly doesn't want to talk to me and is too lazy to bother with me."
Just like in his reply to Qu Ming's letter, he kept his words as concise and to the point as possible.
It's one thing for Qu Ming to act like this, but they're a married couple. Shouldn't they write more in their letters? They haven't seen each other for almost two months. Doesn't she have anything to say to him?
Seeing that Li Yue'er was angry, Teng Huang even forgot that Dan Sha hadn't written him a letter.
When the mistress was angry, Teng Huang dared not respond to her angry words, so she looked up at the roof beam to avoid being caught in the fire at the city gate.
Li Yue'er was angry for three moments, then silently reached out and retrieved the letter. Seeing Teng Huang looking at her, Li Yue'er blushed and tried to save face, saying, "Let's wait and see when she comes back."
She missed him so much that she wanted to cry every night, and she couldn't bear to hear anyone mention her. But he was so good to her, sending back only one word in his letter. It was all for nothing!
At this moment, Teng Huang nodded repeatedly in agreement, thinking the same thing. He would wait until Dan Sha returned and settle accounts with her properly!
This wait lasted for more than a month.
In March, as spring arrived, the new army captured the capital, and the surname "Jiang" replaced "Yang" as the imperial surname, thus settling everything down.
The mistress also returned with Dansha and Linmu.
Upon receiving the news, Li Yue'er personally went out of the city to greet them.
She stood beside the carriage at the ten-mile pavilion, the plain white veil covering her head lifted by the spring breeze, which she then pressed down with her hand.
The roads outside the city were mostly muddy and sandy. Li Yue'er hadn't thought much of it before, but now she had become more particular about it, having learned from her mistress. She would always wear a hood to protect herself from the dust when she went out, lest the dust kicked up by the carriages as they sped past her today, getting on her face.
Although she is not afraid of aging and losing her beauty, she still cares a lot about her face.
Teng Huang was even more excited than her. She said she wanted to settle accounts with Dan Sha, but her eyes were fixed on the front. When one of the carriages drove towards them, Teng Huang turned her head instantly and said with certainty, "Mistress, it's the head of the family's carriage. They're back!"
The driver was none other than Lin Mu.
Rattan Huang lifted her skirt and jogged toward the carriage. Li Yue'er subconsciously followed to greet her, but when she thought of the one-word letter her mistress had sent her, she forcibly pulled back her toes and stood there demurely and gracefully waiting.
She wasn't in a hurry. She wasn't the same Aunt Li she used to be. Now she had the confidence to control the mistress of the house.
The carriage slowly came to a stop as it approached. Teng Huang quickly pulled out a footstool from the back of the carriage and stood by, looking up at the carriage.
The first thing to come out was cinnabar.
As soon as Dansha stepped off the carriage, Teng Huang rushed towards her and hugged her tightly, his arms around her shoulders and neck. With a tearful and aggrieved voice, he asked, "Why did it take you so long to come back? I missed you so much."
Cinnabar: "Me too."
She used both hands to hold Teng Huang tightly, and for a moment she couldn't free her arms to help the head of the family.
So not only did no one help Qu Rong get off the carriage, but after she got off, no one rushed over to hug her tightly and say they missed her terribly.
Qu Rong clearly hadn't expected Li Yue'er to stand at a distance and not come forward to greet her, which left her feeling rather bewildered and slightly embarrassed after getting out of the car.
If she had known Li Yue'er wasn't coming, she wouldn't have gotten out of the car.
Qu Rong pursed her lips, stood by the carriage, and first looked at Li Yue'er standing next to the carriage, then at Dansha Tenghuang embracing beside her, and then silently looked at Li Yue'er again.
Qu Rong, "..."
Only three months after they separated, Li Yue'er changed her mind and stopped being affectionate towards her.
The couple looked at each other from a distance, neither of them taking the initiative to come forward, making the scene a little strange for a moment.
After wiping away her tears, Teng Huang offered the head of the household a way out, saying, "The mistress has been thinking of you. Knowing you were coming back today, she waited for you long ago."
Qu Rong breathed a sigh of relief, not only because she had found a way to take the initiative to go over, but also because Li Yue'er must still like her, which was why she was willing to go out of the city to welcome her.
Qu Rong changed from the original carriage to her own carriage.
Gamboge and Cinnabar sat on the outer carriage shaft, one on each side, holding hands and speaking softly through the trees.
Compared to the outside, the carriage was quiet.
Qu Rong glanced at Li Yue'er, then at her again. Seeing that Li Yue'er was still wearing the cumbersome hood and wasn't speaking to her, Qu Rong pursed her lips and asked softly, "Have you found your contract?"
Is this distant and indifferent attitude a sign that he wants to divorce her?
Li Yue'er asked in confusion, "Why would I want to find my indenture?"
It's good that we didn't find it.
Qu Rong then reached out and tried to place her palm on the back of Li Yue'er's hand, which was resting on her lap.
They had only been apart for two months, and she was cautiously probing when she wanted to be intimate with her.
Li Yue'er's heart ached, her eyes burned and her nose stung, but she still deliberately turned away, "You don't miss me, why are you touching me?"
Qu Rong looked at her.
Li Yue'er's tone was very resentful. Through the light veil of the hood, she glared at her with wide eyes, "If you missed me, why was there only one word in the letter?"
Li Yue'er complained, "You're too lazy to even write 'Don't worry'."
She deliberately didn't write "Don't worry".
Qu Rong roughly understood what Li Yue'er was angry about. Her tense body relaxed immediately, and she didn't rush to take Li Yue'er's hand. Instead, she slowly told her, "I hurt my hand when I was writing this letter to you."
Li Yue'er was indeed stunned, then she yanked off the hood that was in the way, bent down to take the mistress's hand, and examined it thoroughly, asking, "Where are you hurt? How did you get hurt?"
She was very anxious.
The more urgently he inquires and the more concerned he is, the more it proves that he cares about her.
Qu Rong took the opportunity to pull Li Yue'er, who was completely devoted to her, into her arms, turned her head and kissed the lips she had longed for for so long, her palm resting on the back of Li Yue'er's head, pursing her lips and grinding them back and forth.
Li Yue'er gritted her teeth in anger and refused to respond.
Qu Rong was incredibly patient, gently probing. Li Yue'er finally gave in, wrapping her arms around Qu Rong's shoulders and responding to the kiss.
Despite their close relationship, Li Yue'er was still angry.
The so-called hand injury of the mistress was just a slight burn from the candlelight when she was distracted while lighting the lamp; no blisters even formed.
Li Yue'er realized that she just didn't want to say she missed her in the letter.
So after getting off the carriage, she left her mistress behind and ignored her completely.
Qu Rong wasn't in a hurry, and followed leisurely, going wherever Li Yue'er went.
As long as the indenture is not found and there is no divorce, other quarrels are nothing to Qu Rong.
————————
Head of the household: She's making a fuss because she still likes me. (He then calmed himself down.)
Moon: [Melted]
The videos will be posted on Douyin and Xiaohongshu. My account ID is in my column [shy].
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com