Chapter 61 It's Not That Sentimental
After finishing their meal and returning to the East Courtyard, Yu Dan had a big argument with Jiang Ru'an.
The next morning, Yu Mingshu woke up and prepared to go to the East Palace to report for duty. Luo Yan hesitated for a moment before helping her put on her outer garment.
"I've been wearing this rabbit fur cloak for almost ten days now. Let's take it out to air it while the sun is out at noon today." Yu Mingshu pressed down on the other person's hand and picked out a gray fox fur cloak from the wardrobe.
Turning around, she noticed the hesitant look on Luo Yan's face and frowned, asking, "What's wrong? Did someone upset you this early in the morning?"
“Last night after dinner, Sanlang lost his temper with Jiang Niangzi. Jiang Niangzi cried all night and took Guyu back to her parents’ home this morning.”
Luo Yan poured out her heart, her words filled with worry.
"I saw that her eyes were still red and swollen when she left, it was terrifying."
Yu Mingshu paused in tying the ribbons, her brow furrowing slightly. "What was Sanlang's reaction? Did he go after him?"
“No.” Luo Yan sighed, “San Lang is also angry. He cursed Jiang Niangzi early this morning, saying that she was narrow-minded and caused trouble in the house. He has already gone to the academy.”
Neither of them is easy to deal with.
Yu Mingshu checked her appearance in the mirror before leaving for work. Before leaving, she reminded Luo Yan, "Let's not meddle in their business."
The Jiang family.
Jiang Si, who had been married for more than three months, returned home crying early this morning. Many neighbors saw her and came to ask her questions after noon.
Fearing that the family scandal would be exposed, Jiang's mother put on a fierce and menacing appearance and chased away all the onlookers.
In the afternoon, Jiang Ru'an's two older sisters, who had married out of the family, also returned. The four of them, mother and daughters, rushed into the house, closed the door, and asked the Yu family what was going on.
Jiang Ru'an felt deeply aggrieved and cried so hard that she could hardly breathe. She sobbed for a long time but couldn't utter a single coherent sentence.
The mother and daughter beside her could only vaguely make out a few words from her: "Sanlang," "eldest sister," "soft-hearted," and "unable to bear it." These few words alone couldn't form a coherent sentence or paragraph.
Jiang Erjie grew anxious and grabbed her younger sister's hand as she rubbed her eyes. "Fourth sister, stop crying! If you keep crying, you'll go blind! You should at least tell me clearly what kind of outrageous things Yu Sanlang has done!"
Seeing her youngest daughter crying like this, her eyes red and swollen like dates, Jiang's mother felt as if a thousand needles were pricking her heart, and a look of regret flashed across her face.
"Did Yu Sanlang bully you? His elder sister is currently a favorite of His Highness the Crown Prince and is riding high. When a man is riding high, he's bound to be a bit rude. When he comes, I'll have your two older brothers talk to him!"
Jiang Ru'an shook his head upon hearing this, while Jiang Sanjie, standing to the side, frowned deeply.
"What exactly happened? You want your family to stand up for you, but you can't bring yourself to speak up. If you keep acting like a mute, I'm not going to take care of you anymore!"
After being scolded by her third sister, Jiang Ruan finally stammered out what had happened.
The three women in the Jiang family looked at each other in disbelief. The second sister, Jiang, asked incredulously, "Just for such a small matter?"
Jiang Sanjie stood up speechlessly, shaking off the wrinkles in her sleeves. "You're really spoiled at home. Is it worth having a big fight with your husband over two lamb legs? And you even ran back to your parents' house early this morning."
When Jiang's mother heard her third daughter's outspoken words, she couldn't help but glare at her: "An'er has just gotten married and left her parents' home to go to a strange family. It's inevitable that she feels wronged. Don't be harsh with her."
Jiang Sanjie glanced back at her younger sister, who was being held in her mother's arms, felt a lump in her throat, and sat back down on the edge of the bed.
"How could I possibly be angry with my husband over a leg of lamb?"
Jiang Ruan wiped away her tears and said shrilly, "I just can't stand it. Why does the entire Yu family put the eldest sister first in everything? Sanlang is still young and studying at the academy. He works so hard, leaving early and returning late. He has to ask the eldest sister's preferences for what he wants to eat... I was clearly standing up for my husband, but he called me narrow-minded!"
At this point, the little girl couldn't stop crying again, feeling wronged.
Jiang's mother patted her youngest daughter's back and frowned, saying, "The Yu family is really muddle-headed. Their eldest daughter is already eighteen, and they still haven't found her a husband. It's inevitable that there will be discord between a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law living under the same roof."
"What's so hard to understand? Parents in the world will always have some preferences for their children. Some parents favor their successful children, some favor their youngest children, and naturally some parents favor their eldest sons and daughters."
As she spoke, Sister Jiang poured a cup of tea and handed it to her younger sister, saying, "My younger sister is just spoiled by our parents; she can't stand the slightest grievance."
“The Imperial Censor Yu passed away early, and Madam Wu is in poor health. In the early years, the Yu family was managed by this eldest daughter of the Yu family. It is only right that Third Brother Yu respects his elder sister.”
Sister Jiang spoke in a solemn tone.
"You treat Miss Yu like a sister, which is why you feel wronged because she is favored by her family. There's an old saying that an elder sister is like a mother. If you treated Miss Yu with the respect due to your parents-in-law, would these trivial matters still be worth worrying about?"
Jiang Ru'an complained, "Isn't it enough that I have to serve my mother-in-law? Do I have to treat her like an elder?"
Jiang Erjie wanted to say something more, but Sanjie beat her to it.
"I ask you, how does your mother-in-law, Wu, treat you? Has she ever made things difficult for you or caused you any distress?"
“No, not at all,” Jiang Ruan said. “My mother-in-law doesn’t like to meddle in things, and she doesn’t usually find fault with me. She stays in the yard all day, occasionally having tea and chatting with the neighbors, Madam Zhang and Madam Su.”
"Since Madam Wu has never mistreated you in the slightest, and Yu Sanlang has not done anything out of line, why did you throw a tantrum and run back to your parents' home? Have you thought about how you plan to handle this?"
"Anyway, if my husband doesn't come to pick me up today, I will definitely not go."
"What if he doesn't come? Will you just give up on life?"
Jiang Ruan fell silent.
Sister Jiang and her mother exchanged a glance and sighed.
…
As evening fell, Yu Mingshu rode her horse home from the capital. The wind whistled past her ears, and light snowflakes clung to her temples, freezing two patches of red on her fair cheeks.
Upon arriving home, he dismounted and stepped over the deep and shallow footprints in front of the door. He then saw Wu Qiuniang pointing at Yu Dan and berating him in the hall.
As her daughter's figure drew closer in the distance, Wu Qiuniang stopped talking and sat down to drink some tea.
Yu Mingshu, puzzled, patted Yu Dan on the back of the head and asked, "What have you done to make Mother angry again?"
"I didn't!" Yu Dan could only cry out his innocence.
“He had a fight with Ru’an last night and sent her back to her parents’ home. I told him to bring her back before curfew, but he refused to go…” Wu Qiuniang complained to her daughter angrily.
“Did I say something wrong about her?” Yu Dan said, dissatisfied. “My sister works hard in the Eastern Palace, and she doesn’t even get a break during the New Year. Yesterday, she finally got to have a family reunion dinner, but she had to make a fuss by being sarcastic and unpleasant.”
“She was standing up for you,” Wu Qiuniang said. “Even if she has a thousand faults, you shouldn’t have scolded her like that and hurt her feelings.”
Yu Dan pursed his lips and remained silent, turning around to face the door and staring at the gray-white snow outside the courtyard.
Yu Mingshu's gaze lingered between her mother and her younger brother; in truth, she wanted to side with Yu Dan.
Wu Qiuniang had suffered from the discord between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law when she was young, and she had been caught in the rain herself, so she did not want Jiang Ruan to follow in her footsteps.
But Jiang Ru'an was clearly not a submissive wife; she was a competitive and temperamental girl.
We can't let Wu Qiuniang suffer from her mother-in-law's mistreatment when she was young, and then suffer from her daughter-in-law's mistreatment when she is middle-aged, can we?
"Newlyweds always have disagreements; it's good to let them each cool off for a couple of days."
Yu Mingshu sat down next to her mother and said, "Mother, I have something I'd like to discuss with you."
Wu Qiuniang took a sip of tea and stared at her intently. Yu Dan also suppressed his emotions and turned around to wait for her to continue.
“Since I was transferred from the Bureau of Scriptures to the Crown Prince’s side, my shifts are no longer fixed. If His Highness the Crown Prince has urgent business, it’s common for him to work overtime until curfew. In that case, Yongning Ward is still too far from the Eastern Palace.”
"so……"
Yu Mingshu lowered his eyes, hesitated for a long time, and finally spoke up, "So I plan to find a new house near the East Gate of the Imperial City and move there myself, so that it will be more convenient for me to enter and leave the East Palace."
Wu Qiuniang was startled. She glanced at her youngest son and they exchanged a look. Both of them were a little flustered.
"Sister, you're saying you want to move out now, is it really not because of Jiang Ru'an?"
Yu Mingshu remained silent for a moment, without denying it.
“I want to move out. Besides the fact that Yongningfang is far from Donggong Road, this is also a consideration. When I live at home, she thinks I'm in the way, and I think she's too nosy. It would be better if we lived separately so that everyone could have some peace and quiet.”
Yu Dan's eyes immediately welled up with tears.
"Is my older sister going to separate from me?"
Yu Mingshu looked at him for a long time before saying, "We are bound by blood. No matter where I move to, you will always be my brother."
Yu Dan's lips moved slightly, still touched, when he heard his elder sister continue:
“But Miss Jiang is different. She is a daughter-in-law who has married into the family and is not familiar with any of us. The closer we are to each other, the more isolated she feels. As Miss Jiang’s husband, you have an obligation to take care of her feelings and soothe her anxieties.”
Yu Dan got angry again, "Am I not understanding enough for her? What kind of wife in the world dares to show disrespect to her mother-in-law and elder sister in her husband's home!"
Yu Mingshu said seriously, "Sanlang, I advised you to be careful about marriage back then, but you chose the life you have now."
Wu Qiuniang hesitated, then said, "In the end, it was my oversight. I didn't expect that Sanlang and Miss Jiang's personalities would be so incompatible..."
“It’s impossible for a couple not to argue. How to work things out is up to you two,” Yu Mingshu said, holding her mother’s hand and looking at Yu Dan.
"Whether or not we bring Miss Jiang back, when we bring her back, and who gives in first—I have no say in any of that. And don't expect to push all the mess onto your mother. From now on, whenever you two quarrel, I'll take her out to live with us, so she won't have to suffer with you two."
Yu Dan felt as if the sky had fallen.
What happened to our perfectly good home? How did it turn into this mess?
The three of them finished their meal in silence. Wu Qiuniang sighed and asked, "Mingshu, tomorrow is your birthday. Would you like to eat at home or book a table at Fengyanglou Restaurant?"
Yu Mingshu put down her chopsticks and paused for a moment while wiping her mouth.
"Tomorrow afternoon, I will accompany His Highness the Crown Prince to the West Market. I don't know when I will be back. When I return, please have Luo Yan cook a pot of longevity noodles. We can skip the banquet."
Wu Qiuniang sighed and glanced at Luo Yan behind her.
"Okay, whatever you say."
…
Shangzhou.
The army led by He Zheng rested overnight in the suburbs, waiting for dawn to march at full speed towards Chang'an.
Under the moonlight, a cold wind swept by, startling birds into fluttering their wings and moving to their nests, while their chirping filled the sky. The sand and gravel on the ground trembled, dust scattered, and the shadows of the treetops swayed slowly.
The soldiers behind him huddled around the campfire for warmth, sharing a single baked flatbread in small groups. He Zheng sat on a boulder, his gaze fixed on the distant horizon.
Jing Hong stood to one side with his sword in his arms. When he saw a deputy general approaching, he took a step back.
"General He, what are you thinking about?" The deputy general came over and handed He Zheng half a pancake.
He Zheng lowered his eyes and immediately noticed that the edges of the flatbread were charred black by the fire. The lieutenant smiled awkwardly and quickly tore off the small piece of charred bread.
"What time should we arrive in the capital tomorrow?" He Zheng took the cake and took a bite.
The lieutenant said cheerfully, "General, this is your first expedition. You've been away from the capital for half a year. Are you homesick?"
"It's not that dramatic."
The lieutenant pursed his lips and said no more.
What he was thinking was that since passing Xiangzhou, General He had been traveling almost non-stop, and the time it took to reach Shangzhou was more than two days earlier than originally expected.
If it weren't for longing to go home, why would one be so eager to return?
Jinghong said, "We will travel at full speed early tomorrow morning and arrive in the capital in less than two hours. Young master, go to the Taiji Hall to meet the Emperor first, then return to the manor to see the Earl and his wife. You should be able to return to Yongning Ward before dinner."
I won't miss Miss Yu's birthday.
He didn't say it aloud.
He Zheng remained noncommittal, hastily finished half a pancake, brushed the crumbs off his hands, and jumped off the boulder.
"Everyone loves moon-gazing so much? Go back to sleep."
The deputy general and Jing Hong looked at each other and shrugged.
…
On the seventeenth day of the first lunar month, the West Market was bustling with activity as caravans from all over gathered there with rare and exotic goods to hold an auction.
Liang Yuanjun, along with Yu Mingshu and Yang Leyi, disguised themselves as merchants and sneaked into the auction venue.
Yu Mingshu and Yang Leyi exchanged a glance and immediately knew what they looked like.
Both of them wore gorgeous pink dresses embroidered with gold flowers, their hair styled in exaggerated high buns adorned with dazzling gold hairpins, and their temples embroidered with fresh flowers larger than fists...
Their current persona is that of the beautiful concubine of the wealthy businessman Yuan Jun.
Yu Mingshu had initially worried that Liang Yuanjun bringing two women to such a place would be too conspicuous. However, upon entering Fuhua Tower, he discovered that in the private rooms upstairs, every wealthy merchant was surrounded by beautiful women, each with one on each side.
"Young master, watch your step." Yang Leyi adapted well to her new role, leaning on Liang Yuanjun's shoulder and speaking softly.
Liang Yuanjun stopped and waited for Yu Mingshu to catch up, then reached out and put her arm around Yu Mingshu's waist.
Yu Mingshu had never been in such close contact with a member of the opposite sex before, and her whole body stiffened for a moment.
But she soon realized something was wrong. Perhaps His Highness the Crown Prince had never practiced martial arts. His physique was far less robust than He Zheng's, and even his arms were soft.
The Crown Prince, like his mother, loved incense. When you were close to him, you could always smell its fragrance, which made you restless.
The waiter at Fuhua Restaurant, who had never seen Liang Yuanjun before, approached him warily, "Young master, our auction does not accept outside guests. Do you have an invitation?"
Liang Yuanjun gave a wink, and Yang Leyi immediately pulled out an invitation and slapped it on the servant's shoulder.
"Are you blind? You don't even recognize our Young Master Yuan? This is the sworn brother of Manager Gu from the Liangzhou Chamber of Commerce!"
The waiter glanced at the seal on the invitation and hurriedly apologized in a flustered manner: "I'm so sorry, so sorry! I was blind! Young Master Yuan, please go to a private room..."
Yu Mingshu played the role of a taciturn, aloof beauty, letting Liang Yuanjun embrace her and lead her into a private room.
The servant thought he had made a mistake by not recognizing the distinguished guest, and to express his apology, he served Liang Yuanjun a table full of his signature dishes and wine.
Liang Yuanjun leaned back in her chair, fanned herself, squinted at him, and after a long while uttered a single word: "Get lost."
The servant hurriedly retreated.
Yu Mingshu silently moved the wine pot further away and poured the Crown Prince a cup of tea.
Seeing her reserved demeanor, Liang Yuanjun couldn't help but laugh and said, "Relax, just think of it as a day out for some fun."
The Crown Prince is not a dissolute playboy who squanders his money. He is a workaholic. Why would he come to an auction to show off during working hours?
Neither the Crown Prince nor Yang Leyi said anything, and Yu Mingshu knew in his heart that they were here to work.
There were footsteps outside the door. She held the teacup to Liang Yuanjun's lips, but after trying for a long time, she couldn't quite grasp the essence of his charming demeanor. She could only say in a strained voice, "Young master, please have some tea."
Liang Yuanjun nearly choked to death.
Asking the top scholar's daughter to play the role of a merchant's beautiful concubine was indeed putting her in a difficult position.
Fortunately, the auction started soon.
The second floor of Fuhua Restaurant features an open-plan design, with the passageways to the private rooms on the outer perimeter, while the windows face the lobby on the first floor. At this moment, everyone's attention is focused on the food counter on the first floor.
Bidding noises kept coming from the surrounding cubicles, and Yu Mingshu vaguely sensed something was amiss.
The auctioned items were not particularly rare; some of the jewelry and jade were even inferior to those in the Mingyu Pavilion in the East Market, yet the surrounding auctioneers still bid exorbitant prices.
"Congratulations, Young Master Deng, on winning a top-quality garnet pebble from Tangzhou!"
"Congratulations, Young Master Wang, on winning a piece of Qingtian stone carving from Rujiang!"
"Congratulations, Young Master Sun, on winning a bushel of Ninghai's finest pearl!"
The person in charge of calling out the names was a woman in her twenties. Her face was covered by a light veil, so her appearance could not be seen. All that could be seen was that her voice was loud and melodious, and she seemed to have a background in singing.
Two servants removed the sold pearl and replaced it with a dark, gleaming lump of iron.
The woman laughed and said, "The next treasure is the quenched meteorite iron produced in Shanzhou."
"This meteorite was unearthed in an extremely cold region. It is incredibly hard. If a skilled metalworker is found to forge and refine it, it will surely become a divine weapon in time."
Upon hearing this, for some reason, the surrounding private rooms suddenly fell silent.
Seeing the silence from the audience, the woman immediately had someone bring her a kitchen knife, a sword, and a dagger.
"Everyone, watch closely."
As soon as the woman finished speaking, the man next to her took a kitchen knife and slashed fiercely at the meteorite.
The meteorite still gleamed coldly, but the cleaver that could cut through bones was now dull.
The man then used his sword and saber to strike the meteorite, with remarkably consistent results. The meteorite remained unharmed, while the sword and saber broke one after the other.
The room remained silent.
Liang Yuanjun suddenly looked at Yu Mingshu: "You like this lump of iron?"
Yu Mingshu was taken aback, only then realizing that he had been staring at the meteorite for a long time.
"no……"
Before she could finish her denial, Liang Yuanjun had already raised the sign in her hand.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com