Chapter 24 Snow on the Green Mountain Yesterday's events were excessive; let's not repeat them in the future...
After another bath, it was already late at night. The previous time had really gone too far, and her groin was still very sore. Seeing his absent-minded appearance, she gave up her desire to tease him and fell into a drowsy sleep.
Jiang Yunjin has been exceptionally busy these past two days, leaving the residence early in the morning.
As Cui Yiluo walked towards Old Madam Jiang's courtyard, Lilan whispered, "Miss, I heard that the eldest young master was scolded by the old lady when he paid his respects this morning. Her voice was so loud that it could be heard outside the house."
Jiang Yunjin was out of the city all day yesterday; what could he have done to warrant such a reprimand from the old lady? Could it be…?
Upon entering the courtyard, she saw Minggu, the old lady's trusted confidante, blocking the doorway. When she saw Cui Yiluo arrive, she said with a forced smile, "Please wait a moment, Madam. The old lady is taking her medicine."
As if afraid that Cui Yiluo would leave first, she added, "It will be ready soon. The old lady asked you to wait outside."
Why is no one allowed inside when medicine is being administered? Anyone with eyes can see that Old Madam Jiang is deliberately keeping Cui Yiluo out of the picture; it seems the old lady truly dislikes this new wife. The maids standing outside the door, following Minggu, couldn't help but show a hint of contempt.
Cui Yiluo simply smiled and agreed, and actually stood there in the sun. Although it was already September, standing in the sun for a long time was still very uncomfortable.
Seeing Cui Yiluo standing upright without bending her back even slightly, Minggu couldn't help but show a hint of surprise.
Cui Yiluo stood there for about half an hour before the door slowly opened. Minggu gestured for her to enter, saying, "Please, Madam."
Inside the room, the old lady was sitting on the couch, her face ashen. The maids and servants standing beside her were all keeping their eyes down, not daring to utter a sound.
The atmosphere inside the room became extremely somber.
Cui Yiluo bowed with a normal expression: "Greetings, Grandmother. Yiluo greets you."
The next instant, the ebony staff slammed heavily onto the ground with a loud thud, and Old Madam Jiang shouted sternly, "Kneel down!"
Cui Yiluo straightened her skirt and knelt down, her voice calm and neither humble nor arrogant, saying, "Granddaughter-in-law doesn't understand."
The Jiang family values etiquette and face above all else. The fact that Old Madam Jiang spoke so harshly and sternly shows that she was extremely angry. Seeing that Cui Yiluo, though kneeling down, did not admit her mistake, she was even more furious, her face trembling with anger.
Madam Jiang gave a heavy, cold laugh: "Shenzhi returned home late last night after working hard on official business. As his wife, you didn't appreciate your husband's hard work outside. You dragged him around fooling around so late. Tell me, shouldn't you be punished?"
Sure enough, the commotion from last night reached the old lady's ears.
That's why Old Madam Jiang scolded her beloved grandson, but in the end, she still held a grudge against her.
"Now that you're married into the family, I didn't want to hold a grudge against you for what happened before. Cui, we both know perfectly well whether Shenzhi married you because he was drunk. Shenzhi has always upheld proper etiquette since childhood, but some people not only use this to climb the social ladder, but now they want to destroy the etiquette he upheld. I wonder what their intentions are?"
Old Madam Jiang's words struck the ground with heavy force, her gaze fixed intently on Cui Yiluo in the hall below.
Cui Yiluo stood up straight, saying, "My daughter-in-law is completely devoted to her husband, and everything she does is for his good."
Her tone was firm, and her expression was resolute, as if she were truly revealing her true feelings.
Madam Jiang remained unmoved, coldly saying, "Now that you are Shenzhi's wife, you should understand the principle of shared honor and shared loss. If he suffers a loss, you will not fare well either. If you don't hold your position as the young mistress of the Jiang family well, there are plenty of people who want to sit in it and are more qualified than you. Today, for Shenzhi's sake, I will let you off the hook for now. You will stay in the Buddhist hall and copy the family rules three times before leaving, to learn properly what etiquette and rules are. If what happened yesterday happens again, it will not be so easily overlooked as it is today."
"Cui family, do you submit?"
Cui Yilu bowed and simply said, "Yes."
Seeing Cui Yiluo's calm and composed demeanor, Old Madam Jiang frowned unhappily, feeling even more displeased. However, to protect her grandson's and the Jiang family's reputation, she could only deal with the matter as it was for the time being.
"In a few days, His Majesty will be taking the royal family to Guanghua Temple to offer incense, and prominent families will also be accompanying him. In a few days after that, it will be the Empress's birthday. Remember, now you are not only Shenzhi's wife, but also the young mistress of the Jiang family. In the future, you must not disgrace the Jiang family in any occasions you attend. In the next few days, I will send someone to teach you proper manners and keep your mind at bay when you are out in public."
Old Madam Jiang's words were extremely blunt, and the maids and servants standing to the side were all curious about Cui Yiluo's reaction. However, the expected embarrassment did not appear on the woman's face. Instead, she calmly replied, "Granddaughter-in-law understands."
After all the reprimands had been given, Cui Yiluo, being completely unyielding, would only agree no matter what was said. Seeing Cui Yiluo made Old Madam Jiang feel distressed, so she immediately had someone take her to the Buddhist hall to copy the family rules.
Inside the Buddhist hall, incense smoke curled gently, and the Buddha statue stood majestically overlooking all living beings. The maid who had brought her silently placed a very thick book of family rules on the table, and before leaving, she said earnestly, "What happened today is enough for Madam to know. Does Madam understand the old lady's meaning?"
This was to tell her not to tell Lan Hui, and even more so, not to tell Jiang Yunjin.
Cui Yiluo responded, and having received her affirmative answer, the servant woman strode away.
Lilan knelt on the cushion with Cui Yiluo, and clicked her tongue as she looked at the family rules that were a foot high: "Miss, the Jiang family rules are so thick, when will we ever finish copying them? Why don't you let me copy half of them for you?"
Cui Yilu shook her head, picked up the ink stick and slowly began to grind the ink. "The old lady wants me to copy the family rules, so she will definitely look through them carefully and won't let me do it for someone else."
Lilan was even more furious upon hearing this: "How could the old lady say such things to the young lady? When the young lady attended those small banquets, all the ladies and noblewomen liked her very much and never felt that the young lady had done anything impolite. The old lady is clearly prejudiced against the young lady. Why did the young lady agree that the second madam would definitely protect her?"
Cui Yiluo looked at the ink gradually thickening in the inkstone, "No matter what, the old lady is still the eldest in the family. Neither my aunt nor Jiang Yunjin would go over the old lady's way for my sake."
Moreover, Old Madam Jiang is shrewd and capable, and had long seen through her feelings for Jiang Yunjin. Now she naturally dislikes her even more. However, she was right about one thing today.
She truly wanted to destroy Jiang Yun's strict adherence to etiquette, completely and utterly.
By the time she finished copying the family rules three times, it was already dusk. Although Old Madam Jiang disliked her, the Jiang family, which valued its reputation, would not do anything despicable. She could give her the cold shoulder, but she would not mistreat her. Lunch was delivered as usual, and the portion and dishes were no different from usual.
Upon returning to Jixuezhai, I asked the servants and learned that Jiang Yunjin had not yet returned.
Cui Yiluo frowned slightly. Jiang Yunjin was still on his honeymoon these past few days, so it was impossible for him to be looking for her on official business. What was he busy with? She suddenly remembered what the old lady had mentioned earlier: that in a few days she would be going to Guanghua Temple with the emperor to offer incense, as well as for the empress's birthday celebration.
However, now that she is known as Jiang Yunjin's wife, those people are somewhat wary of her. When she was Jiang Yunjin's nominal cousin, he would protect her for the sake of the person behind her. Now, he would be even more unwilling to let anything happen to her, otherwise it would damage the Jiang family's reputation.
Cui Yiluo's heart calmed down.
The moonlight was like a ribbon. It was past midnight when Jiang Yunjin returned to the mansion, but after returning, he went straight to the study.
Cui Yiluo summoned Lilan: "Send someone to ask when the young master will return to his room."
After a while, Lilan came to report: "The eldest young master said that he still has official business to attend to. If the madam is tired, she can go to bed first and there is no need to wait for him."
He was always engrossed in official duties, and Cui Yiluo, upon hearing this, did not think much of it and went straight to the bathroom to wash up.
Then she took the book she hadn't finished reading last time and started flipping through it on the couch in her bedroom. She gradually became engrossed in it and read most of it before Cui Yiluo suddenly came back to her senses and glanced at the sky.
It was already late at night, and Jiang Yunjin still hadn't returned.
Cui Yiluo picked up the candle scissors and began fiddling with the wick of the red candle. Could he still be bothered by what happened in the bathhouse last night? After all, Old Madam Jiang had scolded him this morning, and someone as disciplined as him couldn't possibly accept it so easily.
With that thought in mind, Cui Yiluo used the candle scissors in her hand to extinguish the red candle.
The huge room suddenly darkened, with only the bright moonlight shining through the double happiness symbol, which had turned dark red in the night, and falling on the woven carpet.
After a long while, the door was gently pushed open, and then the sound of suppressed water came from the bathroom.
The mattress beside me sank slightly, and the scent of bamboo wafted over with the warm, moist air.
Cui Yiluo turned around and hugged Jiang Yunjin, causing him to stiffen slightly. He was still not used to her touch, but he resisted her fiercely during sex.
Her voice was soft and gentle, making one's heart melt: "My husband."
In the darkness, he seemed to frown slightly: "Did Grandmother punish you today?"
Cui Yiluo gave a soft "hmm" and didn't say anything more.
"I'm sorry." His brows furrowed even more. His grandmother had clearly agreed to it today, yet she still punished her. His eyes turned cold.
After a few breaths, he added, "What happened yesterday was a bit too much. Don't do it again in the future."
In the darkness, Cui Yiluo couldn't help but sneer. Could this really be done according to the rules? How utterly rigid and boring.
Although she had seduced him yesterday, he didn't hold back in the bathtub afterwards, becoming even more unrestrained than on their wedding night. Wasn't he enjoying himself more by disregarding all rules?
Her voice tinged with grievance: "Is my husband blaming me?"
“I don’t blame you.” He said in a very serious tone.
"Alright, go to sleep." His deep voice sounded again, and then he took her hands off him. Except when they were doing that, he always avoided her touch, even though she had just felt his burning reaction.
His attitude was indifferent. Yesterday, he was tempted to break his vow, and Cui Yiluo knew when to stop and didn't want to make trouble for herself.
After her honeymoon, Jiang Yunjin returned to her post in the capital. She would definitely not see him before she finished her shift during the day, and the old lady Jiang's people taught her manners the day after she was punished.
Cui Yiluo had studied palace rules before going to the capital, but the people sent by the old lady were not genuinely teaching her the rules; they were merely giving her warnings while keeping an eye on her.
Not only could she not see Jiang Yunjin during the day, but he also went straight to his study after returning home late at night, and would only return to his room to rest half an hour after she had extinguished the candles.
The canopy bed in his room was very large, and although he and she lay on the same bed, they were an arm's length apart.
Although they were husband and wife, they didn't see each other all day, nor did they exchange a single word; they were worse than strangers.
For several days in a row, it was the same. At night, she occasionally went up to hug him, but he refused her every time, and he returned to his detached and aloof demeanor.
Even the servants in the courtyard gradually noticed something amiss, and the maid who taught her manners must have reported the matter to the old lady. That's why the old lady had softened her expression when she paid her respects these past few days.
He said he didn't blame her, but he was clearly avoiding her now.
I deliberately avoided contact with her and avoided intimate acts with her.
Author's Note: He fled, she chased; he couldn't escape even with wings. [Poor thing]
All sorts of creative plays have been prepared for xql [poor thing]
[Heart] Thank you to the lovely people who watered the nutrient solution: Caijin x1, Mubeizhi x1
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