Difficult to disobey
Haitang helped Yulan clean up the room. From now on, they would no longer live in the same room.
"I haven't told the East Courtyard about you and the Second Young Master." While Haitang was talking, she helped Yulan pack her things.
"No problem, there's no problem now."
Yulan took her luggage expressionlessly and walked out of the north courtyard. She didn't have much luggage, so it could fit in one box. She looked at the four treasures of the study and the pearl earrings that Liu Er had given her, and finally placed the earrings in the sandalwood box.
Finally, Bao Fu came to see her off and gave her a small bag of beads.
It was given to Concubine Yun as a reward when she was pregnant.
Yulan had initially disdained it, but now she happily accepted it. She glanced at the North Courtyard, which was completely different from when she first arrived. This was also her credit.
Bao Fu had lost weight, and Haitang had become more human. As for Liu Er... Yulan didn't want to mention it.
"It's good that Sister Yulan has left. The North Courtyard has become deserted, so it's not a bad thing for her to follow the Third Young Master to Fengqing Temple." Bao Fu said, with tears in his eyes, as he watched Yulan walk out of the North Courtyard.
Liu Er did not go to see her off. He did not even open the window. He just flipped through the pages of his portraits one by one. The last page was Yulan's painting of "Longevity as Long as the Southern Mountains", which was actually just a scribbled "turtle".
His breathing stagnated, and he felt a dull pain in his heart, as if a sword was piercing his body and soul, and he almost couldn't straighten his back.
After Bao Fu sent Yulan away and returned to his room to report to Liu Er, he saw Liu Er standing in front of his desk, hunched over and retching. Bao Fu immediately went forward to support Liu Er, but he was pushed away by Liu Er, falling flat on his face.
"roll!"
This was the first time Bao Fu saw Liu Er get angry. He didn't dare to say anything and rolled out of the house. When he reached the door, he remembered what Yulan had asked him to do.
He took a deep breath and went back in. He placed the sandalwood box on Liu Er's desk and said, "Yulan asked me to return this to you when she left."
The pearl pendant returned to Liu Er's hands. He stared at the delicate sandalwood box for a long time, speechless. He didn't dare open it, and eventually placed it with the other statues.
"Do we have to send him away?" That night, Liu San asked solemnly while standing at the gate of the north courtyard.
He was wearing a Taoist robe, and the night wind blew his clothes up, giving him a somewhat immortal look. In the dim darkness, Liu Er seemed to see an immortal descending to earth.
"Yes." Liu Er replied firmly.
"From what I know, Miss Yang is gentle and kind, and won't be difficult for anyone. If she really wants to stay with me as a concubine or a wife, can't she?"
"no."
"Okay. I'll take her away."
Life at Qingfeng Temple was a leisurely one. Liu San had a quiet, hardworking servant named Mobao by his side, and with him around, Yulan didn't need to be around to serve him daily. Every morning, she would practice with the other young Taoists and help the temple masters with odd jobs. Compared to her time in the North Courtyard, Yulan felt more at ease than ever, though she still occasionally missed the cramped courtyard.
She sat on the steps, looking at the bright moon hanging high in the sky, supporting her chin. The moonlight covered the steps one by one, stretching her shadow very long, so long that she could see the gate of Fengqing Temple at a glance.
I wonder how Liu Er is doing now?
To say she didn't blame him would be a lie. That person had made all the decisions without consulting her, sending her to Qingfeng Temple without even asking if she agreed. He'd said he didn't treat her like an object, but he didn't treat her like a person either.
What her mother said before was right. Those men were very arrogant and always thought they were doing something great. They believed that women could only be protected and cared for by them, but could not participate.
Liu San saw Yulan sitting on the steps from a distance. He placed a pot of freshly brewed tea in front of Yulan and introduced it, "Amber Light."
Yulan thought Liu San was funny and made tea for him in the middle of the night.
The tea held a pool of bright moonlight, the tea soup clear and limpid, sweet and smooth, completely different from the tea I'd tasted in the North Courtyard. Even the tea was sour and sloppy; no wonder Liu Er had developed such a temper. Yulan's nose tingled. She might have resented it, but it would be a lie to say she didn't care.
"Want to go down the mountain?"
Yulan lowered her head and looked at the tea in her hand for a while, and finally nodded slightly.
"Go down the mountain and buy some things for me tomorrow. Anything you like will be fine." Liu San gave Yulan a silver ingot.
Fengqing Temple is nice, but everyone is busy with their own things and no one pays attention to idle people.
For example, Yulan, who was just returning home with a sullen face, no one cared where she had been or who she had met. Even if she were to stand at the entrance of the main hall and throw a tantrum, only the young Taoist priest would tell her to shut up.
Liu San asked her what she had bought, but she didn't answer. She simply returned the silver and went back to her room. Before leaving, she seemed to be hesitant to speak, leaning against the doorway and looking back for a moment, but ultimately lowered her head and said nothing. Liu San didn't ask further questions, because he had heard a few days ago from the Yang family members who came to pay their respects to the Immortal that their second daughter had made an appointment with the second son of the Liu family to go to the market today.
The strong wind shook off the dead leaves on the branches, leaving only bare twigs. It turned out that winter had arrived.
The North Courtyard, in winter, seemed even more desolate than usual. Even though Bao Fu and Haitang were diligently tending the grounds, it could never quite reach the vibrant blooms of the past. Liu Er, holding his hand warmer, gazed at the desolate scene, still gazing at the moonlit gate, hoping and waiting. But the person he longed for never showed up, and so he made himself sick.
"Aunt Haitang." Bao Fu respected Haitang and didn't dare to call her by her name. "How do you think we can get through this? A few errand boys were transferred away today. We have more and more work to do, but we get less and less in return. Even the charcoal is cut back. The good ones have to go to the master. This is all we have."
"Didn't we get through it before?" Haitang rubbed her hands towards the faint flame in the charcoal basin.
"How can it be the same? It's hard to go from extravagance to frugality." Bao Fu was talking when he suddenly realized that Haitang was assigned by the East Court. He exclaimed, "Aunt Haitang, you won't abandon me too, will you?"
Haitang rolled her eyes at him and ignored him, just pushing him away and putting her hand closer to the charcoal fire.
The next day, Haitang went to the East Courtyard to ask for more charcoal. With Liu Er so ill, they couldn't run out of charcoal. She wasn't greeted by Aunt Qingfang, but by her goddaughter, Huaxiu. Seeing Haitang as a close friend, Huaxiu covered her face and smiled, but she explained that charcoal wasn't enough in the North Courtyard, or even the East Courtyard.
The East Courtyard doesn't have enough charcoal? Haitang didn't believe it. She thought it was just some excuse from Madam, who was used to making things difficult for the North Courtyard. But she didn't want to make things difficult for Huaxiu, who worked under her, so she went to find Butler Liu herself.
Seeing that it was a servant from the North Courtyard, Housekeeper Liu naturally didn't look happy. He said directly, "Things are different outside now. It's good to have charcoal. If there is not enough, you can go out and buy it yourself."
Come on, who is willing to pay money for the master?
Haitang felt a little deflated and went back to the North Courtyard to see Bao Fu coming back with a basket of coal.
"Where did it come from?"
"I bought this outside, so I can't let anyone in the other courtyard see it." Bao Fu said with a sneaky yet smug smile, "If Sister Yulan were here, she would definitely say I'm a fool. But everyone has to use this charcoal fire."
"How much?" Haitang remembered what Butler Liu said and happened to ask about the price.
"Don't tell me, I don't know what's going on now. Everything is much more expensive outside. I used all the beads I saved to exchange for this small basket. It can be used for ten days at most." Bao Fu complained a few words and felt that his life was getting more and more difficult. He really should go to Fengqing Temple to worship someday.
In Fengqing Temple, Yulan also noticed that there were more refugees asking for porridge when they were distributing it recently. At first, she thought it was because of the coming of winter, but it was not until she found that there were many refugees speaking with foreign accents that she realized that something had happened somewhere.
Aunt Chuanfang also came these days, but she brought some food and clothes, and closed the door and talked to Liu San for a few words.
Aunt Chuanfang was from the East Courtyard and had no connection to the North Courtyard. But when Yulan saw her, she thought she was from the Liu family. She couldn't help but ask about Liu Er, but then she thought back to the scene she'd encountered at the market that day when she came down the mountain. She couldn't help but feel wronged, and inwardly she hated herself for not living up to her expectations.
After hesitating for a long time, he just watched Aunt Chuanfang walk out the door.
Liu San saw Yulan staring at the gate and asked her what she was thinking about.
Yulan simply turned her head away and said vaguely, "I was wondering why Madam Qin didn't come to see the Master in person?"
"Mother is busy with my eldest sister's affairs and may not have time to take care of me."
"Miss Liu is sick?" Yulan didn't know about the two marriages, so naturally she had no idea what Madam Qin was busy with.
"It's just a girl's little thing."
Liu San sighed deeply and returned to the main hall, burning a few sticks of incense for someone unknown. The sight of the curling smoke helped him calm down and concentrate.
When Aunt Chuanfang came, she only said a few things: first, her parents were fine, second, her sister was fine, and third, the one in the north courtyard was dying.
"Is he almost dying?" Liu San looked up at the statue in the Sanqing Temple and murmured softly.
He had been to the gates of hell, and being alive was a blessing, so he didn't dare to be greedy. But whether to fight or not was not something he could decide.
The door to Shiliuju was locked, and Qingpu Garden, along with it, became an inaccessible courtyard. The small Buddhist temple was sealed tightly by the masons. Master Liu looked at his masterpiece with satisfaction and said bluntly, "How dare this bitch threaten me? Didn't she want to go on a hunger strike? So I granted her wish. Do you really think you're some powerful person?"
"Someone come here——Liu Zhongze murdered his wife——"
This sound came from the walls of Qingpu Garden. The parrots in Jinlan Courtyard immediately understood and imitated it. Ning Hua was startled from his sleep and hurriedly called out Qiuyan's name.
Qiuyan hurried over, saw the dark circles under Ning Hua's eyes, and heard the parrot imitating the human voice, and immediately understood what was going on.
"Aunt, we can't get involved in this matter." Qiu Yan was unusually calm and even comforted Ning Hua.
"That……"
Before Ning Hua could even ask, Qiu Yan raised her knife and cut off the sound.
In an instant, I was silent.
Fan Ninghua stared wide-eyed at the blood on the scissors, the bird's head on the ground, then at Qiuyan, frozen on the couch, speechless. She opened her mouth, but found herself speechless. Perhaps soon, she would never be able to speak again.
"Aunt, I've changed. I won't gossip anymore."
Qiuyan knelt on the ground with her head lowered, wiped the blood off the scissors with her sleeve, and presented them respectfully with both hands.
Ning Hua huddled on the bed, not daring to speak or look directly.
It was freezing cold in Jinlan Courtyard, and she wanted to go home, back to her home in Lujiang.
Master Liu preferred red, so she changed the bed covers to a crabapple-red quilt embroidered with gold thread. Before she knew it, the bedclothes had grown damp and sticky, carrying an undeniable stench of blood. Her lower abdomen leaped strangely, then with a rumbling sound, a heaviness and pain washed over her. She blacked out, and lost consciousness.
The doctor arrived quickly, bringing out basin after basin of blood from the room. Concubine Xiang sat slumped at the entrance to Jinlan Courtyard. Now the steward of the Liu household, these minor matters naturally fell under her care, without requiring Master Liu to intervene.
Master Liu touched her face and said gently, "Mrs. Fan is not doing well. Thank you for your hard work. I will definitely find a good husband for our Ruqing in the future."
It's Ruyan. Xiang said with disdain in her heart.
"And there's a good wife." Aunt Xiang touched her belly, raised her eyebrows slightly, lowered her head shyly and said, "It's already three months, and the doctor said it's a boy."
Mr. Liu was overjoyed and hugged Concubine Xiang, saying bluntly: "You are the most considerate. If you starve that old woman to death, you will be the mistress of the Liu family."
"Madam is just angry for a moment, Master, please don't really do anything cruel."
"If she surrenders, I will spare her life." Master Liu spat a few times in the direction of Shiliuju with disdain and hugged Aunt Xiang in his arms.
The closest relatives and the most distant relatives are husband and wife.
As soon as Aunt Chuanfang came down from Fengqing Mountain, Huaxiu hurried up to find her.
"Aunt Chuanfang! Something happened!"
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