Chapter 58: The Madam Discusses Marriage, Liang Ye Gets Jealous of His Younger Brother…
Mrs. Zhou grew angrier and angrier, and the angrier she became, the more she thought about it. Minghua quickly put her arm around her mother's shoulder and said through gritted teeth, "That's exactly what I meant. That's why I figured out that Xizhao's first time attending the Ouyang family's banquet was in early March. Mother, if you think about it carefully, Liang Ye had been secretly planning this for a long time."
Mrs. Zhou said, "Yes, he is a man of deep thoughts. Your father and I have been observing him closely these past few days and have seen some of his true nature."
Minghua followed up, "That's why you should think it over sooner rather than later. A man like that, with such a beautiful young woman in his house, her whole demeanor is unlike that of an ordinary maid. If our Rui'er marries him, do you think she'll have a good life?"
Mingrui frowned and complained, "Sister!"
Mrs. Zhou looked up at Mingrui: "Rui'er, logically speaking, you're not married yet, so it's not appropriate for you to hear these things. However, there are only the three of us here, mother and daughter, and no outsiders. Your sister's words are truly for your own good. Let me ask you this: do you want us to pick out a good man for you in the future, and you'll marry him without saying a word, no matter what kind of person he is, or do you want to make your own decision?"
Mingrui listened in a daze, her pink lips parted slightly, but she couldn't utter a single word.
Minghua laughed, "That's right. Those rules are important, but you can't ruin your whole life for them. Nowadays, the trend in the capital is to pamper and spoil daughters. No matter how much your parents choose for you, in the end, it still comes down to your own happiness. Listen to what we have to say, and think about it yourself." She changed the subject, "You saw that Miss Shanhe just now. She's literate, well-mannered, and her looks are no less than yours. Except for her low birth, she's outstanding in every other way. As for Liang Ye, he's been cold to our family for so many years, he must be resentful. Now he's asked Lord Ouyang for help so early, he might even know about the Xizhao incident. He's deep-seated and cold-hearted, that's his shortcoming."
Mingrui hurriedly said, "If that's the case, why choose him? There are plenty of other men in the world!"
"There are other benefits too, you should also consider them," Mrs. Zhou said. "You've been staying with your sister at the Su family these past few days, you don't know. Liang Ye is handsome and refined, gentle and polite, and handles matters with humility and thoughtfulness. Judging from these qualities, he's one in a hundred. I can tell that although he resents us, he's willing to save face, which is rare. There are many people in the world who can't hold their temper and won't even say anything polite. Such people can't be relatives with our family. The fact that Liang Ye is staying with us this time shows that he's a person who considers the bigger picture."
"He has no substance, what's the point of saving face? Mother praises him like that, but I think he's hypocritical and heartless."
“Silly girl, how many people in this world can truly have a good life? Take your eldest sister from the Meng family, for example. She was a Zhaoyi (a high-ranking concubine) in Yong'an Palace, how prestigious was she? Who could rival her status? Yet, she still miscarried in her first year in the palace. She was always healthy, how could she have a miscarriage? Your aunt only went to see her twice, and after the third visit, the palace wouldn't let her in anymore.” Madam Zhou continued, “And speaking of Liang Ye, he has one advantage: he has no elders to restrain him anymore, and the Liang family is almost extinct. He is the eldest son, and his younger brother is like that. In the future, won't he be in charge of the entire Liang family? After you marry him, you will be the mistress of the house, and you will be in charge of all the affairs of the inner quarters. You won't have to endure the rules of Old Madam Su like your sister did, and you won't have to suffer the temper of your in-laws.”
Mingrui slowly lowered her head, biting her lip, her voice softening slightly: "Mother said that his good qualities are those of a good husband, but not the kind of good qualities that come from wholeheartedly supporting each other and living a lifetime together."
"How can we not support each other and live a lifetime together?" Mrs. Zhou said anxiously.
“My mother said that appearances are important, but I still think that substance is just as important. It’s nice to talk nicely in public, but you can’t live your whole life just for appearances.”
Mrs. Zhou said, "Nonsense! What use is substance if you've lost face? With face but no substance, you can only suffer from his temper. Without face, not to mention the ladies outside, even the servants in the house can ride roughshod over you! Besides, how do you know you definitely have no substance? He only has one daughter, Shanhe, in his household. Although we say Shanhe is good, we can't guarantee she'll stay in his favor for long. Otherwise, why would His Majesty have three palaces and six courtyards? You're not bad yourself, how do you know you can't capture his heart!"
Minghua helped Mrs. Zhou up and said with a smile, "We shouldn't push Ruier too hard, after all, she's only sixteen. As long as we let her take a look, if she likes him, then we'll let her father and mother think through all the complicated details. If she doesn't like him, so be it, there are other candidates in Lord Ouyang's line anyway."
Upon hearing the words "Lord Ouyang," Mrs. Zhou sighed deeply and said angrily, "He has no manners or propriety whatsoever. If your brother and I hadn't humbled ourselves to beg him this time, he probably wouldn't have even come to pay his respects to us! Besides, it was their fault in the first place. No matter how outrageous Liang Shao is, he's still a child of the Liang and Shi families. If he marries a lowly slave, what will become of his career? How will he ever hold his head high? When Old Master Liang stepped down, he claimed it was due to old age and retirement, but wasn't it all because of these foolish things? I'll just say one thing: if your aunt and uncle hadn't died, do you think they would have agreed to Liang Shao marrying a slave girl?"
Shanhe, standing behind the pillar, paused, feeling a lump in her throat.
After Mrs. Zhou and her two daughters remained silent with their heads down for a while, and seeing that they had no intention of speaking again, Shanhe sniffed, took the newly copied scriptures and went over, curtsied and said, "Madam, these are the scriptures that I have just copied. Please take a look."
Mrs. Zhou glanced at it briefly, praised her thoughtfulness, and then told Shanhe to go back and copy it. Shanhe turned to leave when Mrs. Zhou suddenly called out to her, "Hey, Shanhe, aren't you also surnamed Xue?"
Shanhe's heart skipped a beat, and she gritted her teeth and said, "Yes, my surname is Xue."
Mrs. Zhou nodded and instructed her to continue copying the scriptures. Shanhe walked towards the side room, but heard Minghua say leisurely, "Same surname, same servant, but that one is lucky to be the second mistress."
Mrs. Zhou chimed in, "Don't mention that. Since we want to mend our relationship with the Liang family, your father and I will still find a way to make Liang Shao divorce his wife after some time."
Mingrui sighed, "Mother, they've been married for almost three years, how can you be such a bad aunt?"
Mrs. Zhou sighed, "I'm doing this for the good of the brothers. Even if they can't divorce their wives, they should at least demote Xue to a concubine and find a better match for Shao!"
Shanhe pursed her lips, focusing only on walking forward, not daring to listen anymore.
Back in her room, she gripped her pen tightly, but her heart was no longer at peace. The pen tip hovered above the blank paper, and Shanhe stared blankly into space. She had long been accustomed to this lowly status, but when others openly spoke of their contempt for her, her heart still ached terribly. By the time Shanhe finished copying the remaining scriptures, it was already afternoon. When she returned, her wrists trembled so much she couldn't even hold chopsticks, and Miao'er had to feed her spoonful by spoonful.
After dinner, Liang Ye still hadn't returned. Granny Wei brought back a brand-new bamboo-carved sandalwood brush, which was remarkably similar to Liang Ye's. Both brushes were carefully packed in brocade boxes, and Granny Wei personally handed them to Liang Ye upon his return home.
He hadn't returned yet, so Shanhe went to keep Qingyue and Miao'er company. She saw Miao'er squatting on the floor, spreading paper on the bed and drawing. Shanhe stood behind her, watching, and admired Miao'er's vigorous strokes and exquisite composition. Seeing that Miao'er was struggling, she took Miao'er's hand to help her. Just as one painting was finished, Caiping suddenly pushed open the door, frowning, and said, "Wife, it's so late, why are you still here? Master just came back and is asking about you."
Shanhe had no choice but to get up and go over.
Qingyue choked up, "My wife, will you be back tonight?"
"No, I don't think so," Shanhe said softly.
"My wife, I'm the one who's made you tired." Qingyue bit her lip. "You should have just killed me back then."
"Don't talk nonsense! If you die, I won't live either!" Shanhe turned around and smiled at her. "Don't worry, the master treats me well now. When I was young, I had good food, a good place to sleep and clothes. Isn't that better than sharing a big dormitory with the two of you? I'm doing well, so you're just worrying. Just focus on recovering and don't make me take care of you anymore. That's the right thing to do."
Meanwhile, Liang Ye had just finished bathing and was sitting in a grand chair, rubbing his temples and closing his eyes to rest. He had drunk quite a bit of wine tonight, and his mind was still hazy. He didn't care what Wei Mama and Cai Xiang had said.
Shanhe entered the house and, seeing his condition, sat down to the side.
Hearing the noise, Liang Ye reached out his hand to her: "Come here." He paused, then asked, "Where did you go?"
"In Qingyue and Miao'er's room."
He pulled her into his arms: "Didn't I tell you where we should sleep tonight?"
“I just talked to them, I know I’ll be back.”
Liang Ye looked up at her, his gaze lingering for a long time before pulling her to sit on his lap and resting his head on her slender shoulder: "I'm a little tired today."
Shanhe said calmly, "Then you should rest early, sir."
Liang Ye remained silent for a moment before continuing, "Don't you want to ask me who I met during the day, what the Wenhua Hall looked like, and what His Majesty's majesty was like?"
Shanhe smiled gently: "Tell me when you have some free time, Master."
"I'll be very busy next time, and I might not be able to take care of you."
"This is a good thing; the old man's wish is about to be fulfilled."
Liang Ye fell silent again. He stared at her, his eyes unfathomable. After a long while, he finally said, his lips pursed, "Yes, that's a good thing. I'm busy with things outside, so you won't have to deal with me anymore, right?"
Shanhe understood his implied meaning and was about to explain when she felt his arm suddenly tighten around her, rendering her unable to move.
Liang Ye sneered, "Whether I'm tired or not, whether I'm exhausted or not, I haven't seen you care much. But Ah Shao's letter, just a few words, made you both laugh and cry!"
Shanhe froze, and the next moment, he swept her up by her legs and lifted her into his arms. The strong smell of alcohol hit her face, enveloping her in a drunken haze. She struggled to get down, but his grip tightened. Not only that, he looked down at her coldly and said, "You thought that since I wasn't coming back tonight, you were planning to stay in that room, weren't you?"
"You think you can rest easy now that Ah Shao has reported that he's safe, right?"
He walked toward the canopy bed, his voice growing increasingly agitated: "You're absent-minded all day long, and I have to coax you to even smile. But your eyes lit up when you saw that letter, because it was written by Ah Shao, and every word touched your heart, didn't it? Hmm?"
He threw Shanhe onto the huge four-poster bed, and a sharp pain shot through her back, making it impossible for her to straighten up for a moment. She tried to struggle to get up, but he pressed her down heavily. Liang Ye grabbed her wrists with one hand and lifted them above her head, while the other hand held her chin, forcing her to look directly at him: "Speak! Pretending to be mute again, huh?"
The overwhelming smell of alcohol mixed with his usual agarwood incense sprayed directly onto Shanhe's face.
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Author's Note: I'll probably add an extra chapter with some nutrient solution lately [glasses]
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