Chapter 34 Grievance
As soon as she reached the front door and was about to push it open, she heard a man's voice coming from inside the house, and the smile on Xiao Yu's face instantly froze.
With her fingers clenched tightly together and a sense of grievance in her heart, she took a breath and pushed open the courtyard gate. At that moment, the two people standing in the courtyard looked over at her.
It really was that neighbor man.
Xiao Yu glared angrily at Song Luoning, then turned around with a sullen face and drove the oxcart into the side yard and tied it up.
A pair of eyes were fixed on the arched doorway. After a slight hesitation, he slowed his pace and approached slowly, standing close to the wall. Song Luoning's voice was not loud, but Xiao Yu still heard her say to the man, "Then I'll trouble Brother Chen to make the trip. You can keep this."
What did Song Luoning want him to do? And what did she want him to keep?
Xiao Yu was anxious and, disregarding the risk of being exposed, peeked out. She saw Song Luoning hand one tael of silver to the man. The man declined for a moment, then smiled sheepishly at Song Luoning. Without further hesitation, he accepted the silver and left.
"..."
That smile was so glaring in Xiao Yu's eyes.
Heh~
Song Luoning is so generous. What did he do for Song Luoning that he gave her so much at once? Xiao Yu felt terrible.
Anxiety churned within me.
Xiao Yu gritted her teeth and tried to comfort herself.
So what? Song Luoning gave me a thousand taels of silver before. How could a mere one tael of silver compare to her?
At this moment, Song Luoning also saw her, and the corners of her lips curved up. She stepped forward and said, "You must be tired today. Why does my husband look so pale?"
Xiao Yu choked, his gaze fixed on her, secretly annoyed.
At this point, shouldn't Song Luoning take the initiative to confess?
"What's wrong?" Song Luoning had already walked up to Xiao Yu, her hands clasped over her stomach, her fingertips slightly curling and then relaxing under her wide sleeves: "Did something happen?"
"That person just now..." Xiao Yu bit her lip, considering her options carefully before making up her mind. If she wouldn't tell, she would have to ask him herself: "What's your relationship with him? Why did you give him money?"
His tone suggested he had suffered a great injustice.
Song Luoning looked up and saw her expression. She sighed without saying a word. If this lecherous man found out, he would definitely cause a scene. He had finally behaved himself for a few days. She wondered how he would bother her again in the future.
However, there was no point in hiding this matter. Song Luoning lowered her eyes, a trace of sorrow flashing across them: "Luoning has been away from the capital for some time now. I really miss Father and don't know how Father and my brothers are doing now, so I asked Brother Chen next door to help send a letter to the post station."
Delivering a letter?
Xiao Yu was stunned for a moment.
So all these times I've seen him have been to help Song Luoning deliver messages?
If it were any other reason, it would be fine, but this reason makes me even angrier. I go to the county town every few days, can't I deliver the letter for her?
Do we really have to use someone else?
"If my wife wants to send a letter home, I can go myself. Why bother others?" Thinking of the previous times, he felt a lump in his throat. Song Luoning simply didn't trust him.
It was understandable that I didn't believe in myself before, but what about now?
They had already established a relationship, so why was Song Luoning doing this?
Xiao Yu grew angrier the more she thought about it, and her eyes welled up with tears. She forced herself to hold them back.
What happened to the trust we were promised?
Song Luoning pursed her lips, feeling a bit of a headache. She knew this would happen, and seeing her like this, she felt flustered.
"My lord, you work so hard every day. I don't want to trouble you with such a small matter."
“How can it be considered troublesome? When I go to the county town, I can also take it to the post station for you. It’s convenient along the way, and you don’t need to pay me.” Xiao Yu argued that the young lady could do things herself, so why bother others? Song Luo Ning’s thinking was wrong.
Song Luo Ning pursed her lips, and after a long while, remained silent.
Seeing that she seemed to have taken it to heart, Xiao Yu's grievances dissipated, and she decided to stop while she was ahead: "Last time I saw that you really liked the pastries from that pastry shop, so I brought some back with me. Try them." With that, she turned and walked to the oxcart, took out the large and small bags, and waved them in front of Song Luo Ning.
"Also, the tables and chairs we ordered have been made and should be delivered today. I saw that he had a nice soft couch, so I bought it too. You can lie down and rest on it when you get tired of reading," Xiao Yu said.
Song Luoning nodded, agreeing to let her have her way.
However, having such a soft couch is not bad.
Feeling relieved, Xiao Yu stepped forward and took Song Luoning's hand.
Song Luning: "..." It seems my peaceful days are coming to an end again.
......
After lunch, Xiao Yu began cleaning the new house. Soon after, there was a knock on the door, accompanied by a rough male voice: "Is Brother Xiao home? I'm Carpenter Chen."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yu put down the broom in her hand, hurriedly opened the courtyard gate, and stood outside the gate. The man had a kind face and smiled at her: "It's all done. Come and take a look. Once you've seen it, I'll carry it inside for you."
Xiao Yu walked to the oxcart and glanced at it: "Why is this all? Where are the rest?"
The middle-aged man's dark face was etched with wrinkles: "I can't pull that much at once. Take a look at these first. They're all made of the finest rosewood, just as you requested."
Xiao Yu carefully examined the planks, then picked up a perforated panel from the car. Her fingertips traced the grain of the wood; the surface was smooth and slightly cool to the touch. She put the panel down and pointed to the other planks and pillars of varying sizes and shapes, asking in confusion, "What are these...?"
The middle-aged man explained, "These are for the bed, I'll pack them up for you later." He craned his neck and glanced at the yard, saying, "No problem, I'll help you carry them in. I'll have to go back and fetch them a couple more times."
Xiao Yu nodded, stepped aside to make room for her, and said, "I'll help you move it."
The middle-aged man waved his hand: "No need, I'm used to doing these jobs. You just lead the way."
Xiao Yu didn't say anything more. He walked ahead and opened the courtyard gate. When he saw Song Luoning come out, he went up to her and pulled her to stand aside: "Let's go see if you need anything else in a bit."
“There are outsiders here.” Song Luoning patted her hand.
He just couldn't shake his habit of being physically abusive, and no matter how much she got angry, the lecherous man continued to do as he pleased.
Xiao Yu glanced at the middle-aged man behind her: "I'll go help him."
Song Luoning nodded.
Xiao Yu quickly moved a chair over and helped her sit down, saying softly, "Sit here and wait a while."
Before he could say anything more, the middle-aged man asked, "Where are you moving to?"
Only then did Xiao Yu notice that the middle-aged man was already standing at the door.
Pushing open the door leads to the main hall, with east and west rooms on either side. Xiao Yu chose the west room as her bedroom, as it had better lighting than the east room. When the house was built, the west room was also given a relatively larger area.
She converted the east room into a washroom.
The two carried the things into the house together, and the middle-aged man began to hammer and tinker with the pile of wooden planks of different shapes. Before long, the six-poster bed was basically assembled. The bed canopy and railings were decorated with exquisite openwork carvings. The overall structure was ingenious, simple and elegant.
The soft couch was placed under the window, along with a small carved table. The wardrobe was also in the same color scheme and needed to be installed on-site. Xiao Yu couldn't help with that, so he hurriedly went to the kitchen to boil some water, brought in a bowl, and poured him a bowl.
He watched from the sidelines.
The next batch will all be finished products; we can just move them in and arrange them properly.
"Brother Xiao, please check if this is all there is?" the middle-aged man said.
Xiao Yu smiled and said, "Wait a moment, let me let my wife see if we need anything else." He then quickly left the house and helped Song Luoning back in a moment later.
Upon entering the hall, one is greeted by a wall of bookshelves. In front of the bookshelves, two-inch-high wooden planks are raised in staggered layers. On the planks are placed a low couch and a low table, where one can sit and read, or rest on the low couch if one gets tired.
A hint of approval flashed in Song Luoning's eyes.
"My lady, this is our bedroom." Xiao Yu led her to the west room, where the layout and furniture design were all her ideas.
Song Luoning glanced around and saw that the layout of the bedroom was very reasonable, the materials were the best, and the style was exquisite. Although it could not compare to the grandeur of the Prime Minister's mansion, it had its own unique charm.
"Not bad, it doesn't look like anything is missing."
Xiao Yu raised an eyebrow, a hint of boasting in his voice: "That's right, I designed all of these myself and had them made by the carpenter."
Song Luoning smiled slightly, stared at her, and asked, "Where is my husband's room?"
Xiao Yu was taken aback and blinked. Wait, shouldn't they be living together? They've already built a new house, does Song Luoning still want her to sleep on the floor?
What are you thinking? You're not stupid.
Xiao Yu decided to play dumb and said to the middle-aged man waiting to the side, "This is enough for now. I'll come to you if I need anything else."
The man scratched his head and chuckled, "Then let's settle the payment first, it's two hundred taels of silver in total."
"So much?" Xiao Yu was a little surprised. To hire a carpenter in the village to make furniture for so much money? Was he trying to scam her? She couldn't afford that much money herself.
The middle-aged man said, "Making ordinary furniture wouldn't require this much. All the wood you've ordered is the best quality. You can ask around if you don't believe me. I'm the cheapest place I have."
Hearing the man's words, Xiao Yu knew he was in the wrong, so he tugged at Song Luo Ning's sleeve and said pitifully, "Wife." He blinked his eyes repeatedly.
Luo Ning sighed and took out two hundred taels of silver notes from her sleeve and handed them to the middle-aged man.
The middle-aged man received the silver note, glanced at Xiao Yu, and shook his head. He had originally thought Xiao Yu was a good man, but it turned out he was a henpecked husband.
He took the silver note and turned to leave.
The furniture is ready, the house is dry, and Xiao Yu plans to move into her new home tonight.
"We're moving into our new house soon, shouldn't you invite your mother over for a meal?" Song Luoning asked.
"Hmm?" Xiao Yu looked at Song Luo Ning in surprise. After a moment's thought, it seemed that there were similar rules in her world. He didn't expect that it was the same here. Xiao Yu squeezed Song Luo Ning's hand, leaned closer, and said affectionately, "Thank you for reminding me, my wife. I'll go right away."
Song Luoning glared at her.
Xiao Yu smiled apologetically, "My lady, don't be angry, I'll go right away." With that, he walked out.
"Hey." Song Luoning tugged at her sleeve: "Remember to buy some groceries." She took out two taels of silver and handed it to her.
"My wife is so thoughtful." Xiao Yu smiled at his wife, took her hand and kissed it.
Luo Ning's body stiffened for a moment, but she quickly reacted. She was already used to these things and had developed an immunity to them. Her cheeks flushed slightly, and she glared at her again.
Xiao Yu grinned foolishly, took the silver and went out the door, where he was met by Chen Ziyi who was rushing over.
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