Chapter 107 Cause and Effect (Part 5) Of all the scenery in the world, none compares to the person before your eyes…
Li Yunru thought so, but Yan Ning didn't respond, and in the end, the matter was left unresolved, so they simply moved on for the time being.
The two got up and ate something, but they couldn't sleep for a while, so they sat in the yard for quite some time.
The next day, the group packed up and left Langya, but did not return to Jiangzuo. Li Yunru took Cui Wan to the capital.
...
In the early autumn of July, when the sun was at its hottest, Li Yunru stepped into the territory of Shangjing.
Before entering the capital, she sent letters to her brother, sister, and Shu Yun. Before even entering the city, she saw a large group of people waiting for her ten miles away.
"elder sister."
She got off the carriage and threw herself into the arms of the Lady of Huayang County. The lady seemed to have anticipated her move and had been waiting with her arms outstretched. When she rushed over, she hugged her tightly.
"It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back," Li Jing said, choking back tears. Everyone around her had tears in their eyes. Shu Yun's tears fell silently, like beads from a broken string.
Qin Zhan said, "Your older sister has been unable to sleep since receiving your letter. She keeps asking when you will arrive in the capital. As soon as she heard that you were entering the capital, she couldn't wait any longer and insisted on coming here to welcome you."
Li Yunru smiled, "My older sister loves me the most."
Sitting inside the carriage, Cui Wan looked at the scene before her, feeling quite uneasy.
She, a noble lady, ended up being abandoned by everyone and rejected by her family and husband's family. But Li Shi... she was clearly a barbarian, yet she was always protected. In the palace, she had the love of her parents and relatives, and in the Yan family, she had Yan San to protect her. Even when everyone thought she was dead, they still remembered her!
Cui Wan didn't understand why this was happening.
What is it about her that makes her inferior to the person in front of her?
Zou Ping saw her red eyes staring in Li Yunru's direction and roughly knew what she was thinking. He hated her, but later he realized that no matter how much he hated her, it was never enough to show that he loved her enough.
But she was a swallow in the sky, and he was mud beneath her feet. When the swallow was tired, it temporarily landed on him and rested for a while. He then had delusions and suffered the consequences. Now that he has seen through it all, he has less resentment. People say, "If a woman lowers her pride and looks at all things in this world, she will be treated the same way."
In his eyes, Cui Wan was no different from Lady Liyang. Both were exceptionally beautiful, and she was even more talented than others, proficient in poetry, literature, etiquette, music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. However, perhaps it was this talent that made her resentful and unwilling to accept her fate, leading her astray.
Cui Wan rolled her eyes at the person.
She hated this tactless servant. She had bought him from the slave market, so he should be her man, loyal to her to the death!
She had a good relationship with him, which was a favor she had done for him. But he didn't know the rules and tried to take advantage of her insignificant self, forcing her to finally take action against him.
There's nothing wrong with that. His life originally belonged to her, and when the time came, she took it back. He should be willing to die for her; that's what a true loyal servant does.
He was unwilling to accept this, and luckily escaped with his life. Now he is still helping Yan San and Li Shi, causing her all this trouble.
She hated him to death!
I hate Yan San and Li Shi so much!
These words were like knives, causing her pain. Cui Wan turned her head away, ignoring them.
...
After exchanging pleasantries, Li Yunru followed her sister into her carriage, and Shu Yun went along as well. Yan Ning stayed with Qin Zhan and her brother, and the group headed into the city together.
The Junfu Mansion in Huayang County had prepared a banquet well in advance to welcome them and wash away the dust of their journey.
This night was not the Mid-Autumn Festival, but it was a night of reunion. Everyone tacitly avoided mentioning the past or Cui Wan, simply gathering together and staying up all night.
Three days later.
Only then did everyone begin to take Cui Wan's matter seriously.
Li Jinghe asked her, "What do you plan to do with her?"
"Of course, kill him!" Qin Zhan was a rough man who didn't know many words. Now in the capital, he only held the position of a fifth-rank military officer, but he was content with it. He went to work every day and came back to spend time with his wife and children. He was happy and didn't have many ulterior motives. He said what he meant.
Li Jing was exasperated with her clueless husband and slapped him, saying, "What nonsense are you spouting!"
She said, "I bought a lot of sweet cakes that my sister likes with Tang Ji. They should be arriving soon. Go and take a look for me and bring them back."
The man made an excuse to send Qin Zhan away before saying to her, "That's just how your brother-in-law is, don't take it to heart."
"I know."
Li Jinghe said, "The matter of Lady Cui is indeed difficult to handle. Killing her would be the most satisfying way to settle the score, and it would be justified to repay a life with a life. However, she is Yan Sanlang's cousin and they are related by blood. It is fine for you two to be in love now, but who can say for sure what will happen in the future? If a life is taken between you, it will be difficult for you to be together again."
Li Yunru said, "I'm not worried about that. Yan San said he would let me handle it and he wouldn't have any objections. I trust him."
"So what are your thoughts?"
Li Yunru: "I plan to place her at Shu Yun's hundred-acre estate for a period of time."
She had already planned this out in Langya; otherwise, she wouldn't have traveled all the way back to the capital.
Shu Yun listened with delight.
"Is the princess serious?"
“Of course it’s true,” Li Yunru replied. “I’m not just putting her with you, I’m also asking you to raise her properly!”
Shu Yun knelt down excitedly, "This servant thanks the princess for her trust!"
"This servant will do her best and will definitely avenge the princess!"
Li Yunru helped her up and told her that she didn't need to be so reserved anymore. She even referred to herself as a servant, saying that her contract was no longer in her possession and that she was not a servant girl. There was no need for them to act like this anymore.
She was just asking someone for a favor.
"that is."
Li Jinghe echoed, "You little girl, now you manage a hundred-acre manor on your own, and you're quite capable. Many noble families in the capital get their fruits and vegetables from you. You're a person of status now, so don't always refer to yourself as a maid. It sounds too formal."
Shu Yun shook her head frantically with her swollen nose, "No, this servant will always be the princess's servant. Without the princess, I wouldn't be where I am today. No matter how the world changes or how my status changes, this servant will always be the princess's person!"
She was just a lowly maid.
Without the princess, she would have died long ago, on some night who knows how many years ago. Without the princess, she would never have been able to acquire those lands or obtain the deeds in her entire life...
Even before the incident, the princess was thinking of her, considering her needs and making proper arrangements. How could she possibly forget this kindness just because time has passed and her status has changed?
She will always belong to the princess!
I would go through fire and water for her if she needed me!
...
Li Yunru threw Cui Wan directly onto the country estate. Looking at the endless fields, Cui Wan angrily cursed, "Li family, you've gone too far!"
She doesn't swear!
That's the downside of being a young lady from a wealthy family; she even lacks a good vocabulary for insults.
If it were a farmer's wife, when she got really angry, she'd put her hands on her hips and spew out all sorts of nasty words—that would be really damaging. Just one sentence is like tickling an itch; it's pointless.
Li Yunru didn't take her seriously at all, saying, "Just stay here and do your job. I'll come back to check on you every few days. As for when you can leave, that depends on your performance!"
After she finished speaking, she told Shu Yun to take good care of the person, and then left in a sedan chair.
Cui Wan's vision went black as she looked at everything before her.
It wasn't that she hadn't seen places bigger and wider than this before. Back in the Cui family, before Yunying got married, she helped her stepmother manage the household accounts and would also go to the countryside estate to check on things and collect rent. But she never had to go into the fields herself; she just walked along the paddy field ridges. Now she was being asked to do all that herself…
Looking at his fair hands, he felt them trembling.
Li Yunru is really bullying people too much!
This is even more painful than killing her!
That's why Li Yunru chose to do this. What she was most proud of was her status as a noble lady from a prestigious family, and everything she knew and learned, including her etiquette and upbringing. What Li Yunru wanted to do was to kill all of that!
What's so great about being able to write poetry and sing lyrics!
If someone can't distinguish between grains, doesn't work hard, and can't even support themselves, they're nothing more than a pathetic parasite!
...
As Li Yunru left the manor, Yan Ning was waiting at the crossroads early in the morning. It was early autumn and the weather was quite hot. He stood under the shade of a tree, dressed in coarse linen clothes, yet tall and elegant, his demeanor unchanged.
What are you doing here?
"I heard it from my sister, so I came to take a look."
Li Yunru did not consult with Yan Ning about her handling of Cui Wan, and she avoided him, not wanting anyone to know.
It wasn't that she was afraid of his opposition, but as her elder sister said, the two of them were related by blood, and she didn't want him to get involved and give others another chance to criticize him.
"You must be exhausted."
He handed her the bamboo tube of iced drink. Li Yunru got off the sedan chair, took the drink, and took a sip.
Seeing this, someone took a handkerchief and helped wipe the sweat from her forehead.
The two looked at each other but said nothing.
Looking at the green hills and clear waters of the suburbs, Li Yunru said, "It's been a long time since my husband has taken me out to play. Why don't we walk around a bit more today before going back?"
"OK."
He took her hand and said, "Then today, let's use these mountains and rivers as our canvas, our feet as our brushes, and our eyes as our ink, and slowly walk and paint the scenery of this suburb."
Li Yunru really enjoyed these moments when there was no one to disturb them, just the two of them. So she did walk very slowly along the way, stopping from time to time to rest.
For her, she was a rough person, ignorant of poetry and literature. When these beautiful landscapes came into her view, she could only say, "They're so beautiful!" These few words were enough to describe it.
The real beauty is the people around her.
She wanted to cast aside everything worldly and ask him to stay a little longer, and even a little longer.
Yan Ning was the same.
Of all the beautiful scenery in the world, none compares to the person right in front of you.
He just wanted to keep walking with everyone like this, and even hoped that this road would have no end.
However, in this world, these are nothing but empty dreams.
Just as the two had walked a few miles and were enjoying themselves, a little boy came running up to them in a hurry.
It was a strange little child they didn't recognize, but he was coming from the direction they were heading.
They were definitely coming towards them.
The child was incredibly fast; what was just a tiny dot gradually became clearer, and before long, he was in front of the two of them.
"My lady, my husband," he said, panting, "the county magistrate's sister wants you to go back immediately and come to her residence!"
"What happened?" Li Yunru asked. "Did something happen to my sister?"
The boy said, "No, I don't know either. Anyway, the county magistrate said to return quickly."
Seeing this, the two had no choice but to change their plans and hurriedly return to the city. However, before they could even sit down at the county magistrate's residence, Li Jinghe said, "Something has happened. Ah Xun just came and said that the crown prince is dead!"
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