Chapter 63 Common Feelings of Qinghe People
The person departed from Beijing in early August.
They traveled light, bringing very little with them, including themselves. Apart from Shu Yun and a few maids who served them closely, everyone else stayed in the capital. Chen Jingsheng did not come along either.
Yan Ning said that the matter he was sent out to investigate had recently made some progress, and he was always leaving early and returning late.
She asked what exactly happened, but Yan Ning wouldn't say.
He had a secret, which she had told him before. It was a secret and couldn't be told, which was fair. Since no one from the government office was involved, it shouldn't be anything serious, so she didn't ask any more questions.
The two places are far apart, and Cui Jia made it clear that she wanted to arrive before the Mid-Autumn Festival, so she didn't dare to linger on the way, just like when she came from Dongwu that day, she was always rushing on her journey.
However, whether she was inherently averse to the trip or something else, Li Yunru did not have a good time along the way. She was dizzy and lightheaded, vomited from time to time, and sometimes even developed a fever. None of them were serious illnesses, but they were very torturous.
Although Yan Sheng was there, and he was skilled in traditional Chinese medicine, they were traveling light and didn't bring much medicine. It only provided some relief and couldn't cure the problem completely.
Yan Ning felt heartbroken seeing this, so she slowed down her journey. She could have arrived two days earlier, but she didn't reach Qinghe and enter the main city until noon on the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival.
When the carriage arrived at the Cui family's gate, a group of people were already waiting outside.
Cui Shu, the eldest son of the Cui family, led the way and went forward to greet them.
"Changjun, Xianjun, Sister Asheng."
People clasped their hands in a fist and bowed to them.
Li Yunru was feeling unwell and leaned listlessly on Yan Ning's shoulder. Her voice sounded weak and she didn't know what they were saying or doing. She only nodded reluctantly out of politeness, following the sounds.
Yan Ning greeted the others on her behalf and explained the situation. Then she said to Cui Shu, "I would like to ask my brother to find a doctor to come and take a look at me."
"Of course."
Cui Shu agreed, and Yan Ning picked her up, leading her into the mansion by members of the Cui family.
This lack of restraint drew various reactions from the crowd, especially from Madam Cui, whose face turned extremely grim. She privately approached Yan Ning and reminded him that this was outside, and even more so within a prestigious and strictly regulated family, where such a lack of decorum was unacceptable.
Yan Ning, unaware of anything amiss, said, “Mother, Liyang is my wife. She traveled a long way to come for me and is not feeling well. It is only natural for me to take care of her and it is not considered improper.”
Madam Cui was so angry that she couldn't speak. In the end, she could only say, "Whatever you want, your maternal grandfather is old and frail. Don't act like this in front of him at today's banquet, or people will have something to say about it."
She looked at Liyang, who was lying on the bed, pale and vomiting, and said, "If she continues like this later, she shouldn't attend the banquet tonight. She should stay in her room and rest."
Actually, Cui was a little annoyed with Li Yunru for coming over. She was already causing trouble, and she was so useless, full of ailments, making her child worry so much about her and forgetting the rules.
After what happened today, I wonder what others will think.
Yan Ning said, "The doctor just came to check on me and said there's nothing seriously wrong, just some water and soil incompatibility. After taking the medicine and sleeping for half a day, I'll be fine. I'll be there on time tonight and won't spoil the banquet."
"Um."
Thus, Cui could not say anything and left.
Before long, the Cui family's servants brought over the medicine after it was brewed.
Give it to me.
Yan Ning took the medicine, walked to the bedside, helped Li Yunru sit up, and coaxed, "The medicine is ready, let's drink it and then go to sleep."
"good."
He blew on the medicine to cool it down and fed it into his mouth, one sip at a time. The bitter taste of the medicine spread in his mouth, and Li Yunru couldn't help but frown. The bitter taste also made her more alert.
She asked, "Was Mother here just now?"
"Um."
Yan Ning didn't want her to know what her mother had said, so she lied and said, "Mother knew you weren't feeling well, so she came to check on you."
Li Yunru's mind was still hazy at the moment, and she couldn't tell whether what she said was true or false. She could only say, "Mother is too kind. It's my fault. Alas."
She sighed, "I don't know why, I wasn't like this before."
Yan Ning leaned close to her to comfort her, "This illness comes on like a landslide, but recovers slowly like pulling silk; no one can explain it."
"I know, but it's not easy for you to come all this way. If I do this, I'm afraid it will cause you trouble again. Others will have something to say."
Don't overthink it.
He blew on the medicine to cool it down and put it into Li Yunru's mouth, saying, "You insisted on coming even though you were not feeling well, which shows me and both families the respect and dignity you deserve. No one will say anything because you were sick."
Who would point fingers at someone suffering from illness?
No way!
Logically speaking, no, but he forgot that Li Yunru's existence was an obstacle to the marriage between the Cui and Yan families, which was a different matter.
Young ladies rarely go out. Cui Wan and Cui Yuan didn't go out to greet them earlier. One of them was serving medicine to her grandfather, and the other was helping the mistress prepare for tonight's Mid-Autumn Festival banquet.
The current matriarch of the Cui family comes from a collateral branch of the Yan family and is Yan Langzhu's cousin. After Cui Wan's mother passed away, Cui's father originally wanted to elevate Cui Yuan's mother to the position of principal wife. After all, the Wang family is a powerful clan, and the legitimate daughters are all well-mannered and proper. Although her status is a bit lacking, it is acceptable to lower the requirements when remarrying, so it is not a big deal.
Cui Wan refused, crying and making a scene. Her other legitimate children also had objections, so the matter was put aside. Later, it was suggested that Cui Daoyan's widowed sister, who was currently without a suitable match, might be able to be brought together.
The marriage was a perfect match, and it also solved their current predicament. So, they hit it off immediately, and Yan married into the family and became the mistress of the house.
The man had no children of his own, but he treated all the children as his own. He especially loved and cared for Cui Wan, who had lost her mother at a young age. Over the years, the two of them had become like a mother and daughter.
Hearing this, she snorted coldly and said sarcastically, "Heh, you're quite the actor! You were so powerful in Dongwu before, giving your second brother a hard time, but now you're as weak as a willow in the wind in Qinghe. You're really good at acting, switching between roles so smoothly!"
"These people from commoner families are petty and narrow-minded. They're good at using these little tricks to make their husbands run around in circles!"
Her first marriage was also a prestigious one, to a man from the Geng family of Yingchuan. The two families were well-matched, and they were young couples. Initially, they were very much in love. However, less than two years later, he was seduced by a woman from a commoner family, and eventually died on her belly.
This resulted in her being childless and being sent back to the Yan family.
Therefore, what she despised most were these commoner women, who were all illiterate fools who only knew how to use seductive tricks to bewitch people!
She instructed Cui Wan, "You are a legitimate daughter of a noble family, you must not imitate the behavior of these commoners."
Ke Ren added, "You must seize this opportunity to firmly grasp Sanlang's heart and not let that commoner girl outshine you!"
With a faint smile on her face, Cui Wan fiddled with the offerings for the moon worship and obediently replied, "I understand, Mother."
She wouldn't!
No matter how loving they are, after this period of time, let's see how they can still be loving!
After Cui Wan finished her work, she returned to her own courtyard and instructed Zhu Xiang to send several servants to visit Yan Ning and the others' courtyard more often to spread the word, but to try to let only Madam Li hear about it.
Having been with her for many years, Zhu Xiang understood people's intentions and immediately made the arrangements.
After giving these instructions, she ordered the other servants to come and help her with her washing and dressing.
She and Yan Ning had some friendship, and since she was now in the Cui family's territory, she should go and visit them to show some hospitality.
After finishing her makeup, Ren Fang was walking towards Qingwu Courtyard when she bumped into Cui Yuan, who was coming out of Old Master Cui's courtyard to serve medicine.
She had also heard about it.
The two were about the same age, and the man had been betrothed to a young man from the Dong family in Hedong at a young age. The Dong family had a corrupt family style, and the young men under them were all outrageous. However, since they occupied the Hedong area, no one dared to say anything.
Which daughter would truly want to marry someone like that? Everyone has their own agenda, especially since the family arrangement is unfair. This legitimate daughter even got to marry the outstanding young master of the Yan family, which only fuels jealousy.
Hearing these rumors circulating outside, I feel delighted, and my words, whether sarcastic or veiled, are full of confidence.
She said, "That Yan family boy is indeed my grandfather's prized student. He is the husband my grandfather arranged for my sister. He is so considerate. Just now when I came back, I passed by Qingwu Courtyard and saw someone personally feeding medicine to that Li woman. The two of them are so loving that it is truly enviable. I just don't know if he will treat my sister like this in the future. If there is any case of favoring a concubine over the wife, that would be a huge scandal. If she can't even keep her husband's heart, she is not even as good as a commoner's daughter. She might as well just kill herself!"
Hearing her sarcastic remarks, Cui Wan felt an intense urge to slap her and tear her mouth apart, but she couldn't do that. All the relatives were gathered at the Cui family residence, and if she were thrown into disarray by someone's antics, things would be disastrous.
The woman replied with a smile, "Third brother is a considerate and affectionate man. I know this better than I do, since I've been through it myself. You don't need to worry. As for you, I heard that Madam Dong has come to our house several times to urge us. I'm afraid it's time to make a decision. Otherwise, who would have thought that the old man might not make it and delay you? That would be bad."
"you!"
Everyone knows that Cui Yuan's marriage was arranged to bring good luck to the Dong family patriarch.
They reportedly arranged for a concubine's daughter from a collateral branch of the Wang family to marry into the family, but it seemed that wasn't enough. They wanted to add to the joy, so they set their sights on their youngest son, Shibalang, and that's how they arranged his marriage.
She had never met that Eighteenth Prince; he was said to be a spoiled brat, completely pampered by his family.
She didn't want to get married, but the Dong family kept urging her. If it weren't for her mother protecting her, she would have left the Cui family long ago and become a Dong family woman.
Cui Wan's words were like a knife stabbing into her, and Cui Yuan's eyes immediately turned red.
Actually, she didn't want to say such hurtful things. After all, a woman's marriage is always a gamble, and she has no say in it at all. But Cui Yuan was blind and insisted on comparing her to Li Shi, provoking her to this extent. She couldn't tolerate it!
Cui Wan said coldly, "There is an order of seniority and respect. I am the elder and you are the younger. You should show me more respect in the future. If you speak rudely again, I'm afraid next time it won't just be a matter of giving you a few words of advice!"
Cui Yuan was a spoiled child, completely ignorant of such matters. When she got excited, she would argue without thinking about the consequences or how to end the argument. Naturally, she couldn't win the argument and was scolded. In the end, she could only run away with red eyes.
As Cui Wan watched the person's departing figure, her face turned completely cold, and she gritted her teeth, cursing bitterly, "Idiot!"
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Author's Note: I've finished updating to meet the word count for today's rankings. I'll be taking a two-day break. The update time has changed; the next chapter will be updated around 6 PM on Thursday. Ah! 300 followers! That came a little faster than I expected. I only dared to dream about finishing this chapter before it arrived. Thank you to everyone who added this to their collection! Love you all!
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