Chapter 40 Chapter 40 Jinjiang First Release (Edited)
Chapter 40
Before returning to the city, Su Li told Wei Zhiyan that after they fell into trouble, thanks to the help of the farmer's wife, she and the eldest son were able to have a house to live in and food to eat.
She wanted to ask Wei Zhiyan to ask Cui Jue to give the old lady some reward money.
After saying this, Su Li pulled out the jade pendant, which had been warmed by her arm, from her sleeve and handed it to Wei Zhiyan. She smiled and said, "Brother Wei, please return this jade pendant to the eldest young master and tell him to say... I will return the jade intact to Zhao, and we are both clear of all debts."
Two days later, the group returned to Jianye capital.
Prince Jing died in an assassination attempt on Wutong Mountain. Emperor Xuanning was extremely sad and cried in the palace. In his grief, the emperor became ill due to anger and was bedridden.
The king is seriously ill in bed and cannot attend the court early in the morning.
Prince Jing's funeral was presided over personally by Crown Prince Li Fuyun, and the princes and ministers, headed by Cui Jue, assisted the crown prince and supervised state affairs.
Because Prince Jing was only a prince, not the Holy Crown Prince, in order to mourn Li Zhang, Emperor Xuanning issued an edict to the world, ordering the emperor, his ministers, and the people of the capital to wear crowns and plain clothes for a month, and also banned marriage and music for a month.
At the beginning of April, after the great mourning period was over, the people stopped mourning and Emperor Xuanning ordered the imperial eunuch to go to the Wudong Cui family to deliver a marriage decree, which was to marry Princess Chonghua Li Muyao to Cui Jue, the eldest son of the Wudong Cui family, in order to establish a friendly relationship between the two families.
Previously, officials from the Imperial Observatory had checked the birth dates of Cui Jue and Li Muyao, and found that they were a perfect match made in heaven. Therefore, when the marriage decree was sent, the ceremonial officials also selected several auspicious wedding dates for the princesses to be born for the elders of the Cui family to choose from.
The emperor's orders could not be disobeyed, and the aristocratic families maintained a superficial peace with the royal family. Although Mr. Cui disliked the royal family's decision to act first and report later, he did not refuse. As the old patriarch, he naturally had the right to decide the affairs of the aristocratic families.
After obtaining Cui Jue's consent, Mr. Cui set the wedding date on June 20th, which was a good day for late summer in the Liyue month when wild animals were hiding in the mountains.
It was only the beginning of June, and the lotus flowers were just beginning to bloom, their pink petals and yellow stamens emitting a faint fragrance. In the Cui family's lotus pond, lotus stems of varying heights stood upright. Qiu Gui would occasionally pick a large lotus pod, pick open the green lotus seeds with a skewer, peel them, and mash them into lotus seed paste, which she would use to make steamed cakes for Su Li to eat.
Ever since returning from the trip to Wutong Mountain, Cui Jue has been busy assisting with the funeral and banning entertainment in the capital, so Su Li has not been summoned by Aunt Huirong to serve her in bed.
In May, Wudong Cui began to get busy with the eldest son's marriage. The courtyard was filled with jewels and precious treasures. The stewards all had happy faces as they helped pack up the boxes and delivered the betrothal gifts prepared by the noble families into the palace to show their care for the bride.
Although the princess was of a descendant, it was a blessing from the Cui family that she could marry into the eldest branch of the Wudong Cui family. The Cui family did not think that the act of marrying her with courtesy was an insult to the Li Dynasty. Instead, they felt that the princess of the Li family should be grateful and happily prepare for her marriage.
After all, the wedding ceremony was planned and organized by Cui Jue himself, which shows that he values his wife very much. He will treat Li Muyao with courtesy in the future and they will have a harmonious relationship.
Su Li looked at the pieces of silk for making wedding dresses being sent to Shuyue Pavilion, and her heart remained calm.
She calculated the days and found that two or three months had passed since she last had sex with Cui Jue. It was a good time to diagnose a pregnancy.
Lin Yin not only helped Su Li to deal with Wang Po's affairs, but also got a medicine for her from a wandering doctor. This medicine can forcibly suppress a person's pulse and breath, pretending to be a slippery pulse of a woman who is pregnant.
Su Li used this medicinal food to pretend to be pregnant and escape from Cui's house before Cui Jue's wedding.
Wudong Cui wants to marry the princess, and Li Muyao regards her as a thorn in her side and will definitely not be happy about Su Li living in her family home.
In this case, after the doctor diagnosed her with pregnancy, Su Li proposed leaving the mansion and returning to her second house in Lanhe County. Mr. Cui naturally felt relieved and was overjoyed. And Cui Jue was such a thoughtful person, and he loved Li Muyao, so he would definitely not deliberately anger his new wife and try to stop Su Li.
By then, Qiu Gui would have lost her slave contract and could leave as soon as possible, and Su Li would take the opportunity to escape to the countryside, where she could meet up with her grandmother, who was escorted out by Lin Yin, and leave Jianye together.
At that time, Su Li's fake body note will come in handy. She can go anywhere and be herself freely.
Victory is in sight, and Su Li can finally regain her freedom.
Su Li breathed a sigh of relief. She wore a veil to cover her face, left Cui's house, and met Lin Yin in the agreed teahouse box.
We met today to get the fake pregnancy powder.
At the last moment, Su Li did not want to expose Lin Yin, so as not to be discovered by others. Therefore, she did not let Lin Yin deliver the medicine to the Cui family, but made an appointment to meet outside to conceal her whereabouts.
In the secluded box, Su Li took off the gauze curtain, revealing a peach-cheeked face covered with fine sweat. She stretched out her hand to fan the air and said with a smile: "On a hot summer day like this, it's better to sit down and eat ice and watermelon."
No matter how many times he sees Su Li, Lin Yin will be stunned by the woman's appearance. He is just grateful to Su Li in his heart and regards her as the kindest woman in the world. He has no other improper thoughts. Because Su Li calls him "Brother Xiaoyin", he also regards Su Li as his own sister in his heart.
Hearing this, Lin Yin smiled and said, "Sister, you're absolutely right. It's better to eat melons. Next time, I'll buy you some melons from the farmers."
"Okay." Su Li held a cup of tea, took a sip comfortably, and raised an eyebrow to ask, "Xiao Yin, have you prepared what I asked you for?"
"Of course I've prepared it." Lin Yin handed the powder to Su Li, "But this medicine can only smooth the pulse for three days. If you want to be absolutely sure, please take it with caution."
"I understand." Su Li knew what was going on. In order to hide her escape from others, she should take the medicine in the days when she was about to leave Cui's house. In this way, if the doctor diagnosed her with pregnancy, she could take the opportunity to deceive Mr. Cui and escape.
Time is running out, and Su Li must complete the task of "leaving the house and going to the countryside" in one go within three days.
It would be best to choose a time when Cui Jue is busy organizing his and Li Muyao's wedding ceremony, and is too busy to spare any time.
Everything is ready, only the east wind is missing. Fortunately, after two months of recuperation, Su Li's leg injury has healed and will not hinder her escape.
However, there was a faint scar on the side of Su Li's fair leg, which was unsightly. Cui Shunying would burst into tears every time she saw it: "If Sister Su is disliked by her husband's family because of this scar, then I really deserve to die!"
After hearing this, Su Li was at a loss whether to laugh or cry. She patted the little girl's shoulder and gently reassured Cui Shunying that she would be fine after some rest.
Su Li said this, but in her heart she was thinking that she had no plans to get married and was not afraid of her husband's family finding fault with her. What's wrong with having one scar? She wouldn't be afraid of getting a few more.
Su Li and Lin Yin said goodbye.
After she came out of the teahouse, she put on her veil and carefully stepped onto the carriage.
Su Li left first, and Lin Yin knew that she was gone, so he left right after her.
Little did they know that although the two of them thought their whereabouts were secretive, this scene had actually been secretly monitored for a long time.
In the dark alley, a carriage with green curtains was parked quietly against the wall.
The curtain of the carriage was half lifted, letting out a faint and elegant scent of grass and trees.
Inside the car, a man in white clothes as white as snow, with a handsome face, sat upright in front of the table. The memorial from Chen Zhengyan in his hand stopped at the sentence "Nanjiang Zhu family, revealing the reason for the incident", and did not turn the page for a long time.
Cui Jue put down the document, summoned Wei Zhiyan, and said in a cold voice, "Go after the man who was traveling with Madam Su, capture him... and then... kill him."
Cui Jue didn't ask for the reason and directly ordered the young man to be killed without any investigation. Such arbitrary and reckless behavior surprised Wei Zhiyan.
He hesitated, "What if this person is a distant relative of Madam Su, such as a cousin... wouldn't it be inappropriate for me to just draw my sword?"
Cui Jue thought about the two of them coming together earlier, and a sense of annoyance welled up in his heart... To secretly meet with a man from outside her family, Su Li had gone so far as to cover her head and face with a veil, concealing her presence from others. How could she be a distant relative or concubine if she was so furtive? Even if she was visiting relatives, she could have simply summoned the Cui family to pay her respects, but she had chosen to go alone. Who knew what she was doing in the teahouse?
Especially the sincere and honest expression on the man's face, and the trust he showed when he looked at Su Li's back, which was inexplicably unpleasant.
Cui Jue's face was calm, only his slender finger bones tapped lightly on the table, making a tapping sound.
Each sound was louder than the last.
It was not until a quarter of an hour later that Wei Zhiyan came back to report.
"Master, Master... I lost him. This man turned out to be a skilled martial artist!"
The knocking sound suddenly stopped.
A moment later, a very light sneer came from the carriage.
Cui Jue frowned and remained silent for a long time.
-
It was already evening when Su Li returned to Cui's house.
On a hot summer day, she had been running around outside all day and when she returned to Mudong Pavilion, she was covered in sweat.
The thin shirt was stained with sweat and stuck to Su Li's thin back, making her feel uncomfortable all over.
Before Su Li could tell Qiu Gui to prepare hot water for bathing, Aunt Huirong suddenly came to visit.
"Madam Su, the eldest master is summoning you to Shuyue Pavilion."
After hearing this, Su Li was stunned. She calculated the date and asked in a low voice: "Auntie, did you hear it wrong? Today is the third day of June, not the middle of the month..."
Since it was not the day of the adoption, why did Cui Jue summon her to Shuyue Pavilion?
If it were in the past, Su Li could still think that Cui Jue treated her differently, but after Cui Jue and Li Muyao's wedding date was set, Su Li's hesitation had long since disappeared. She knew that Cui Jue's previous tenderness in the farmyard was just a whim... He treated her as a funny toy, so how could she take it to heart?
If that's the case, why did Cui Jue summon her for no reason before the marriage?
Or maybe, he endured for several months and did not dare to take another concubine, which made Li Muyao feel disappointed, so Cui Jue wanted to use her to relieve his stress before the marriage?
Su Li frowned quietly. She pressed her aching lower back and refused in a low voice: "Aunt, I calculated that my period should be coming soon. My lower back is a little sore. But today is not a day for pregnancy. Would it be inconvenient for me to serve you..."
Su Li's menstruation was actually very regular in the first two months.
She knew that pregnant women would bleed during their periods in the first three months of pregnancy. Similarly, women in the early stages of pregnancy may not even be aware of it and may experience morning sickness. She would then ask a doctor to diagnose her pulse to confirm whether she was pregnant.
However, to be on the safe side, Su Li deliberately concealed the date of her pregnancy and did not tell the doctor that she had already had her period in the previous two months.
After hearing this, Huirong looked puzzled as she looked Su Li up and down. Seeing that the young lady was indeed a little pale and her legs and feet were weak, she thought for a moment, then lowered her eyebrows and said, "The eldest son is the patriarch of the Cui family. His words are like divine decrees. No one in the family can disobey. Madam Su, please don't make things difficult for me."
At this point, Su Li no longer wanted to argue with Cui Jue. After all, whether she could escape successfully in the future depended on the kindness of this eldest prince, and she must not let him interfere.
However, since she had to pretend to be pregnant, she couldn't have sex with Cui Jue. The fetus was in an unstable position during the first three months, and if Cui Jue had sex without any obstruction, wouldn't that give her away?
Forget it... If Cui Jue insisted on asking for it, Su Li would also put aside her pride and help him get it out.
Su Li clenched her palms and bit her lip secretly: "I know, Aunt Huirong, please allow me to change into a new dress before coming back. I am sweating and it will not displease the eldest master."
She lowered her head and looked submissive, extremely respectful, and would never spoil the interest of this noble young master.
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