Glimpse into a Hundred Faces (22)
"What is it?" Yun Yanqiu asked.
"Hmm? Didn't Xiao Zhao tell you?" Yunmu's surprised gaze shifted between the two of them.
Zhao Huai-ren was taken aback, then chuckled and scratched his head: "Something unexpected happened earlier, and I didn't have time to tell you."
Yun Yanqiu's gaze instantly turned into icy blades, piercing Zhao Huai Ren's heart and making him feel extremely guilty.
"Oh dear, it's your brother-in-law who's in charge now, and he manages quite a few people under him." Yunmu slapped open the frozen air, glanced at Zhao Huai Ren sideways, and said with a hint of admonition, "I didn't realize before that our little Zhao was so capable."
“Auntie…” Zhao Huai Ren’s smile froze on his face, and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.
Yunmu stopped talking nonsense and her lips curled up: "Little Zhao, Ayu is stubborn. She says she doesn't mind, but as her mother, I still have to remind you that if Ayu suffers even the slightest grievance because of your so-called alliance leader, don't blame me and the old man for disowning you as our son-in-law."
Zhao Huai-ren straightened his back abruptly and said solemnly, "Understood."
Yun Yanqiu silently averted his eyes. Seeing this, Yun's mother immediately resumed her loving expression, leading the two into the house to rest and ordering a maid to serve this year's new tea. Yun's mother wanted to sit down and catch up with her son whom she hadn't seen in a long time, but the wedding banquet was pressing, so she had to leave in a hurry, leaving Yun Yanqiu and Zhao Huai Ren looking at each other in bewilderment.
“Um, I didn’t tell you before…” Zhao Huai Ren hesitated before he could finish speaking, but Yun Yan Qiu interrupted him: “I’m here to attend the wedding, I don’t care about anything else.”
Zhao Huai Ren felt inexplicably relieved, but then he remembered what Wu Shao had told him before he left. After thinking for a moment, he continued, "Actually, it doesn't matter if I tell you. It's just that I formed an alliance with a group of friends I know."
"Um."
“Haven’t the demonic cultivators become even more arrogant lately? I thought that even rogue cultivators need to band together for self-protection, so I…”
"oh."
Zhao Huai-ren was speechless at this perfunctory response: "Brother, you're really not interested? You could at least ask me a couple of questions!"
Yun Yanqiu picked up his teacup, blew on the rising steam, and said slowly, "So you invited my master to the wedding banquet because you wanted to recruit him?"
“…I did indeed intend to do so,” Zhao Huai-ren confessed. “However, he is the senior I respect most, and naturally I would like him to attend such an important event in my life.”
“He won’t come.” Yun Yanqiu said with certainty, “Don’t you know what kind of person Yun Yuxi is? Master must also know that he is not liked by her.”
Zhao Huai-ren immediately felt like a quail with its neck being choked. After a long while, he managed to stammer out, "So, what are you going to say to your sister?"
"say what?"
"What else can I say? I should at least offer a few words of congratulations..."
The porcelain cup slammed heavily onto the table, splashing tea everywhere. "If she doesn't apologize, I have nothing to say," Yun Yanqiu's voice was as cold as frost.
Zhao Huai-ren was speechless upon hearing this, and could only keep chugging down his tea. He suddenly realized that the cold war between the siblings was far more complicated than he had thought.
As expected, that night, Yun Yuxi returned home after trying on her wedding dress. The moment she bumped into Zhao Huai Ren, her face lit up with a smile. She was about to call out "Huai Ren," but when her gaze fell on Yun Yanqiu behind him, the corners of her mouth immediately tightened into a straight line. The siblings looked at each other silently, neither of them taking the initiative to speak to the other.
Caught between his wife and his brother, Zhao Huai-ren was sweating profusely and barely breathing. Yun's parents were also helpless, but both were their children, and it wouldn't be right to take sides. After several unsuccessful attempts to mediate, they could only talk to the siblings separately, letting their stubborn children do as they pleased.
Two days before the wedding, Yun Yanqiu was called by his mother to help out, and he bumped into Yun Yuxi in the courtyard. He turned to leave, but Yun Yuxi stopped him: "Did Mother send you?"
Yun Yanqiu paused, turned around, and looked at her hesitantly.
"Help me find my things now that you're here," Yun Yuxi ordered casually, opening the door and stepping into the dusty room.
Unexpectedly, after so long, her first words were to ask him to do chores? Yun Yanqiu was amused and annoyed. She stood at the door with her arms crossed, watching the figure inside bent over and busy at work, and couldn't help but raise an eyebrow: "You really don't have anything to say to me?"
"What?" Yun Yuxi asked without looking up.
Yun Yanqiu was stunned for a moment, then said with hidden anger, "Yun Yuxi, is it so hard to apologize?"
"You were in the wrong in the first place. How can you use your own brother's death as an excuse?"
Yun Yuxi froze, sighed heavily, and propped herself up to look at Yun Yanqiu: "I'm sorry."
"Even if you want to..." Yun Yanqiu was suddenly stunned, unable to believe her ears, "What did you just say?"
"I'm sorry," Yun Yuxi said again, her sweat-dampened hair clinging to her pale cheeks, her gaze calm yet firm. "You're right, I was just too proud."
"You..." Everything happened so suddenly that Yun Yanqiu was caught off guard and froze on the spot. Yun Yuxi glanced at him, then bent down and continued searching.
Her search for the item was not smooth; she had to straighten up and catch her breath every time she bent over for a short while.
Yun Yanqiu saw this and finally went up to him: "What are you looking for?"
"Those lotus-patterned longevity locks from when I was little," Yun Yuxi said, panting, but a smile played on her lips. "Mother insisted on carrying them with me when I went out for the ceremony. People who didn't know better would think it was for my grandson's one-month celebration..."
Yun Yanqiu thought for a moment about the approximate appearance of the longevity lock, then squatted down to help her search. They hadn't searched long when Yun's mother rushed in, flustered. Seeing Yun Yuxi kneeling beside the box, covered in sweat, she hurriedly helped her up: "Oh dear, you silly girl, I only told you to stay outside, not to do anything!" As she spoke, she bent down to brush the dust from her daughter's knees, and said sternly, "Go wait outside!"
Yun Yanqiu stared blankly as his mother pushed and pulled him out of the house, then met her angry gaze. Yun's mother closed the door, glaring at her foolish son and scolding, "It's one thing for Xiao Zhao to be stupid, but you've followed suit!"
"Me?" Yun Yanqiu hadn't seen her mother so angry in a long time. She blinked and didn't even know what she had done wrong.
Yunmu was exasperated. She stomped her foot and pretended to slap Yun Yanqiu on the head: "Can't you tell your sister is pregnant?! Even if you two are still arguing, you can't let her work in this kind of house!"
Upon hearing this, Yun Yanqiu froze on the spot. Yun Yuxi was pregnant?!
"But aren't they not married yet?"
This question truly stumped Yunmu. She suddenly realized that this boy had left home at a young age, and she hadn't taught him anything in this area. She didn't know how to answer for a moment.
Yunmu coughed awkwardly twice: "Anyway, if you see your sister doing heavy work, you have to stop her no matter what, you hear me!"
On the wedding day, firecrackers were set off at the entrance of the winery, followed by the deafening sound of gongs and drums and joyous music. Neighbors peeked out to witness the Yun family's happy occasion. Guests arrived in droves, offering gifts and congratulations, almost wearing down the threshold.
Yun's parents stood at the door, greeting each arriving guest with a bow and then arranging for a waiter to greet and guide them. The courtyard was piled high with aged wine sealed with red paper, the wine jars stacked like small mountains, each jar tied with a red knot, just waiting for the guests to take it away.
In the wedding hall, a large red "囍" character was pasted in the center, and a pair of dragon and phoenix wedding candles were placed on the offering table in front of them. The flames flickered gently, and the candle wax meandered down, forming full amber on the candlesticks.
Yun Yanqiu stood blankly in the corner, seemingly detached from the world, devoid of any spirit. Ye Yingying perched on his head, looking down at him and sighing inwardly. Ever since she learned that Yun Yuxi was pregnant, he had remained in this wooden state. Those who knew him were all too busy, and those who didn't dare approach him to disturb him, leaving him leaning against the wall, motionless, as quiet as a statue.
Just as the bride and groom were about to enter, Yun Yanqiu suddenly heard a voice call out, "Brother Yanqiu!" He slowly turned his head, his frozen expression finally softening slightly: "Why are you here?"
Qi Rongting suddenly appeared before them, his face beaming with joy: "How could I not come to Brother Zhao's wedding banquet? Besides, the bride is Sister Yu Xi! Brother, what a wonderful coincidence!"
Yun Yanqiu's heart skipped a beat, and her face instantly fell.
"Brother Yanqiu, what's wrong?" Qi Rongting asked, puzzled as to why he looked so worried about such a great thing.
"No...it's okay..." Yun Yanqiu took a deep breath and calmed himself down as the bride and groom entered.
The two of them turned to look at Zhao Huai-ren, who was dressed in red. He was beaming with joy and his smile was incredibly radiant.
The bride's head was covered by a red veil, her face appearing and disappearing through it. Yun Yanqiu gazed at his elder sister's figure, his expression unconsciously becoming serious. Qi Rongting, unfortunately, threw another stone into his heart: "Speaking of which, Brother Zhao always said that my sister-in-law was just a mortal, but seeing her today, doesn't she have some spiritual power?"
Yun Yanqiu's heart tightened, and she wished she could cover his mouth: "Don't talk nonsense."
"Hey, I didn't..." Qi Rongting wanted to argue, but the moment he met Yun Yanqiu's gaze, he suddenly shivered. Although Qi Rongting didn't understand what was going on, his intuition told him that if he continued, he might get beaten up. He immediately fell silent and quietly sized up Yun Yanqiu, trying to understand the reason for his sudden reaction.
At this moment, Yun Yanqiu's mind was in turmoil. His gaze was fixed on Yun Yuxi, and upon sensing her spiritual energy, his brows furrowed involuntarily. Could this really work? A question suddenly popped into Yun Yanqiu's mind. Although Zhao Huai Ren was a decent fellow, Yun Yuxi wasn't a cultivator. He hadn't thought things through earlier because he was in a fit of pique, but now that he knew Yun Yuxi was pregnant, her connection with Zhao Huai Ren couldn't be severed so easily.
Yun Yanqiu didn't dislike the two getting married, but he was inexplicably worried...
Just then, Yun Yanqiu suddenly saw Yun Yuxi lift her red veil herself. She looked up and gazed at Zhao Huai Ren, her eyes filled with smiles, her gaze sparkling like stars, and the corners of her rouge-painted lips curving into a beautiful arc that left anyone speechless.
The turmoil in Yun Yanqiu's heart instantly subsided, and all his doubts sank to the bottom of his heart.
So Yunyuxi can smile like that too—
By the time he realized what was happening, everyone had already moved outside to eat. Zhao Huai-ren finally had a chance to chat with Yun Yanqiu and Qi Rongting for a few minutes. After a few rounds of drinks, Qi Rongting, slightly drunk, teased, "Brother Zhao, you're lying! Your wife clearly has cultivation; I bet she's at least at the Foundation Establishment stage!"
"Oh dear, when I told you before, it really wasn't there, but later she kept pestering me to teach her some cultivation methods, and I never expected it to actually work!"
"What method is so amazing? Brother Zhao, you've been keeping a low profile!"
Upon hearing this praise, Zhao Huai Ren couldn't help but chuckle twice, but unexpectedly, he was met with a barrage of questions from Qi Rong Ting, who even asked Yun Yan Qiu to explain what had happened. After several unsuccessful attempts to refuse, the groom glanced at the two of them and beckoned them closer. He then quietly whispered the method in their ears.
Qi Rongting had just come of age and was already completely drunk, so much so that he couldn't understand what this method meant.
Yun Yanqiu heard everything clearly. He was stunned at first, but after realizing what had happened, his face turned bright red, and he roared, "You bastard! How dare you teach her such a method!"
The commotion was so loud that everyone turned to see what was happening. The bride's younger brother was chasing the groom all over the courtyard, kicking him whenever he caught him. Zhao Huai Ren didn't dare to fight back and could only beg for mercy. Qi Rong Ting tried to break up the fight but couldn't stop Yun Yan Qiu from getting so angry that he almost drew his sword.
The bride, seeing this, didn't stop them. Leaning against a pillar, she chuckled softly, her fingertips unconsciously tracing her still-flat stomach. The red lanterns under the eaves swayed in the wind, casting long, long shadows of the three chasing each other. Years later, when people mentioned Yun's Winery, they invariably thought this scene was the most lively.
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