Chapter Twenty-Five: The Rainy Season
The rainy season in Nanhang always seems particularly long.
After that day, Yun Yao's residence in the camphor garden changed from the nursing room next to the master bedroom to that secluded and luxurious bedroom.
And that place became the lady's favorite home.
On every dreary, rainy night, the lady would visit that place.
The lady, seemingly recovered, was full of energy. She didn't have the weariness and despondency that people her age would have. Instead, she was like a female eagle taking flight again, or a peony blooming vibrantly anew.
She reveled in the sweet spring of youth.
As for Yun Yao, he became the most popular and sought-after person in the Camphor Garden. His wife's affection for him grew day by day. In the Camphor Garden, or rather in the entire Cuiwei Villa, no one dared to order him around or talk about him to his face anymore. Instead, everyone became kind and friendly to him.
Even the previously arrogant butler Cheng would smile warmly at him. He even had servants around him to serve and flatter him.
But none of this mattered to Yun Yao. The only thing that gave him some comfort was that he now had greater freedom than before. He could freely enter and leave the Camphor Garden without leaving Cuiwei Manor, and he could also obtain more information about the outside world.
On his first day away from the Camphor Garden, Yun Yao dismissed his servants and went alone to Lanfang Courtyard with an umbrella. He had arranged to meet Xing Yu there.
Putting away her wet umbrella, Yun Yao sat in a secluded pavilion in the backyard of Lanfang Courtyard. The sky was dark all around, and raindrops splashed on the stone eaves of the pavilion, making a lonely, empty sound.
After a short while, Xing Yu appeared. Before he even entered the pavilion, his voice rang out: "Oh my, look who this big shot is! He actually remembers a nobody like me. I thought Young Master Yun had completely forgotten about me!"
Xing Yu ran into the pavilion, brushed the raindrops off his clothes, and plopped down opposite Yun Yao.
However, Yun Yao did not respond to his words.
Yun Yao stared blankly at the pattering raindrops outside the pavilion, concealing the pain in his heart, but he couldn't help but whisper, "This rain makes my heart ache..."
Xing Yu was taken aback, thinking that Yun Yao was complaining about the long rainy season.
“You’re still as spoiled as you were when you were a kid,” Xing Yu snorted. Looking at the continuous raindrops, he thought for a moment and then agreed, “But this rain is really annoying, it never stops, and the clothes won’t dry.”
Seeing that Xing Yu was still the same as before and his attitude towards him had not changed, Yun Yao finally showed his first faint smile in days.
Yun Yao looked her friend over and asked softly, "How have you been lately?"
Xing Yu chuckled and said, "I'm fine, but you, Yun Yao, what happened to you in the camphor garden? You've changed a lot in just a few days."
"Xing Yu, have I disappointed you...?" Yun Yao lowered her eyes and asked in a low voice.
Xing Yu wanted to say something sarcastic, but seeing Yun Yao's pitiful state, he kept quiet. He was silent for a while, then helplessly comforted her, "There's nothing more to say now. You've had it tough too, being by the Madam's side is like walking on thin ice, not something an ordinary person can do. You should be careful and take good care of yourself."
Yun Yao glanced at him, half teasing and half serious, and asked, "You said you'd take me out of the manor, does that still stand?"
Xing Yu's eyes widened instantly upon hearing this: "Do I want to die?" He said irritably, "You are Madam's person now. Do you think I would let you go if I didn't value my life?"
He glanced at Yun Yao, whose expression was somber, and couldn't help but advise, "There are countless people outside desperately trying to squeeze into the manor. For them to even see the Madam is an impossible task. In this respect, you've already surpassed so many." He then added jokingly, winking, "I've heard that the Madam dotes on you greatly and stays at your place every night..."
Yun Yao's face was expressionless, even somewhat wooden: "I had no choice."
Xing Yu was taken aback for a moment, then sighed, "If word gets out that you've said this, I don't know how many people will call you Versailles."
He then asked curiously, "Are you alright in the camphor garden? How is Madam treating you? You seem so unhappy, it makes me suspect that Madam is abusing you, but how could that be? She is Madam."
Yun Yao glanced at her gossipy friend and replied calmly, "Whether it's good or bad, I can only accept it."
Xing Yu was now certain that Yun Yao wasn't like the others who thought gaining the wife's favor was a windfall. He sighed, patted Yun Yao's shoulder reassuringly, and advised, "Yun Yao, things have come to this, we should try to be more open-minded, then life will be easier."
"Oh, right," Xing Yu remembered what he wanted to tell Yun Yao today, and he quickly said, "I asked around and found out that you didn't tell me last time. I didn't know you were in such a bad situation. Your scumbag father really knows how to ruin his son!"
Xing Yu recalled the findings of his investigation and felt even more sorry for Yun Yao. He hadn't expected that after Yun Yao's maternal grandmother passed away, her mother also died, leaving her only father, who was imprisoned for a crime, which implicated him as well.
Xing Yu said embarrassedly, "I misunderstood you at first. I thought you were like other people who wanted to climb the social ladder... I've found out that your mother's old friend must have colluded with your father to lure you in."
Yun Yao looked at Xing Yu in surprise. He didn't know how much Xing Yu knew, but he couldn't help but defend his father, saying, "I did it voluntarily, my dad..."
"Come on, I've seen plenty of scumbags. I could tell something was fishy about this. Your scumbag father has ruined you..." Xing Yu interrupted Yun Yao impatiently, saying with a hint of disappointment, "You're just too soft-hearted and too sentimental! If your father really cared about you, you wouldn't be here right now."
Yun Yao fell silent, then murmured, "My father, he... he used to be very good to me..."
Xing Yu sighed, glanced at his watch, and knew he had to go. Without thinking twice, he suddenly rushed forward, gave his friend, who was still feeling melancholy, a big hug, and said loudly, "Yun Yao, no matter what, you still have me! Although I may not be able to do many things for you, you can come to me if you have any problems. At least you'll have someone to talk to."
Yun Yao was startled, but upon hearing his words, she smiled. Even in this gloomy, rainy weather, a rare ray of warm sunlight seemed to filter through.
...
With a slightly improved mood, Yun Yao returned to the Camphor Garden. Unexpectedly, as soon as he entered the garden, an attendant was waiting for him at the gate. The attendant told him that the lady was waiting for him in the study in the flower hall.
Yun Yao sighed inwardly. He could only agree and then followed the servants.
In the study, the lady was looking at an ancient scroll in front of the bookshelf. Yun Yao walked in quietly, just as a group of attendants came out carrying a large stack of documents. Yun Yao glanced at one of the documents and seemed to see the seal of a certain bureau in the central city of the north stamped on it.
Yun Yao didn't dare to look too closely, but she vaguely thought that the lady had recovered, and that the northern central city was the territory that the lady had originally controlled...
Before he could think further, he heard his wife's smiling voice: "Yun'er, you've come."
Yun Yao looked up and saw a lady dressed in plain clothes standing in front of the bookshelf, smiling at him.
"Madam, are you reading a letter?"
Upon hearing this, the lady sighed softly and said, "Yun'er, you've come at the right time. These scrolls were originally a set, but I only found the first half. The second half is probably on the top of this bookshelf. I'd like to go up and look for it myself. Why don't you help me hold down the ladder?"
Since it was rare for Madam to be in such a good mood, Yun Yao didn't say anything that would spoil the mood, such as telling the servants to go up and find it. He simply responded and found the ladder as Madam requested.
The lady climbed the ladder and found the books she wanted. She seemed very happy and smiled at Yun Yao, who was still holding onto the shelf below, saying, "I remembered that they were here. If we let those who don't know them look for them, wouldn't they mess up the other ancient books that are displayed?"
Yun Yao also looked up, exchanged a smile with his wife, and said, "Yes, who else knows the location of these books better than you, Madam? You are a true book lover."
The lady took a few steps down the ladder, but didn't go all the way down. She had Yun Yao catch the scroll she had just found, and as the boy was about to look up and say something after catching it, the lady suddenly leaned down and kissed his bright red lips.
Yun Yao was stunned. He felt the lady's cool lips and her moist, slightly urging sucking. Yun Yao closed his eyes and slightly parted his lips... and so, beneath the bookshelf, a passionate and lingering kiss took place.
Yun Yao was actually very conflicted. He thought that if he could just spend time with his wife discussing poetry, painting, and enjoying the fragrance of ink, it would be an idyllic life. He truly respected his wife and was grateful for her kindness to him, even developing an uncontrollable affection for her. But all of this was different from the secret, forced burning desire he had endured on those rainy nights. Those experiences he couldn't recall seemed like an abyss, greedily and mercilessly devouring the young man's heart.
Yun Yao didn't know how to separate these two feelings. He hated those rainy nights, yet he couldn't ignore his wife during the day. Sometimes he felt like he was repeating the same mistakes, and other times he craved a moment of peace and tranquility. He felt like he was being torn apart.
In the quiet space, the sound of water stopped abruptly. The lady finally released Yun Yao, looking at the boy's moist, slightly red eyes, and smiled gently: "Yun'er, why are you crying?"
Yun Yao wiped her eyes in embarrassment and said in a low voice, "Madam, please don't make fun of me."
The lady raised her hand to stroke the boy's cheek, as if recalling some unspeakable moment. Her gaze instantly turned deep and unfathomable. "Yun'er is always so prone to tears..."
She gazed at the boy's beautiful face, flushed like the sunset, and whispered ambiguously, "If you feel unwell, you should tell me, okay?"
Yun Yao gritted his teeth. He couldn't stand the atmosphere any longer, so he suddenly turned around and walked towards the desk with the books in his arms. "Madam, let's continue reading the books."
Behind him came the lady's soft, ambiguous laughter.
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