Chapter 15 Be a Little More Reserved
The next day.
With Baozan's help, Ye Mingzhu cleansed her face and applied face cream to make her skin more delicate. After thinking for a moment, she also applied some lip rouge to her lips.
Just as she was about to choose jewelry, Sheng Yunche walked into the inner room with a red lacquered wooden box and placed it expressionlessly on the dressing table in front of her.
She opened it and saw a beautifully crafted gold hairpin with butterflies and peonies lying inside the wooden box.
Pick it up, and the butterfly's wings flutter gently, so lifelike.
"A gift for me?" she asked, looking up.
"no."
Despite saying no, Sheng Yunche took the gold hairpin from her hand and put it in her hair.
Because he was not skilled at the movements, Jin Buyao accidentally pulled her hair, causing her to hiss softly in pain, which froze his movements.
They glanced at each other in the bronze mirror, and Ye Mingzhu couldn't help but lower her head and cover her mouth with a soft laugh.
Not only her, but Baozan and her maids also burst out laughing.
Feeling teased, Sheng Yunche frowned and pulled out a gold hairpin. Just as he was about to say something, Ye Mingzhu suddenly turned around and hugged him.
She wrapped her arms around his strong, narrow waist, rested her chin on his abdomen, and looked up at him with a smile in her bright, almond-shaped eyes: "Lord Duke, thank you."
"...?" Sheng Yunche said stiffly with a straight face, "Let go of me, put it on yourself."
"Hmm." Ye Mingzhu let go of him, inserted the gold hairpin into her hair in front of the mirror, and turned to ask him, "Does it look good?"
"reluctantly."
"Does the Duke have something to tell me?" Ye Mingzhu asked again.
Sheng Yunche said to Baozan and the others, "Go down."
Once everyone else was out of the room, he said in a deep voice, "I will have someone investigate the matter between Sheng Huai'an and Liu Rumei. You'd better not be lying to me."
"Yes," Ye Mingzhu replied frankly.
Sheng Yunche: "...Even if their scandals are exposed, I won't let them affect the East Mansion. Do whatever you want."
Ye Mingzhu smiled gently and hugged him again: "Thank you."
"You..." Sheng Yunche took a deep breath, raised his hands as if to pull her away but didn't, and said with no end to his anger, "Can't you have a little more self-respect?"
Ye Mingzhu deliberately retorted, "Why should I be reserved? You're allowed to pinch my earlobe, but I'm not allowed to hug you?"
Sheng Yunche paused, his phoenix eyes coldly fixed on her.
"My lord?"
"I'm going to my shift." Sheng Yunche finally pulled her away, coldly uttered a few words, and turned to walk out the door.
Ye Mingzhu looked out through the half-open window and soon saw Sheng Yunche's hurried departure, as if he were fleeing in panic. A gentle smile appeared on her lips.
Baozan walked in and asked curiously, "Miss, is the Duke apologizing to you?"
"Hmm..." Ye Mingzhu nodded, "It might be, or it might not be."
"Why do you say that, Miss?" Ruyi asked.
Baozan also looked confused.
Ye Mingzhu smiled again.
She thought she had found a way to get along with Sheng Yunche.
Even a sick and weak tiger is still a tiger, still a fierce beast, but... who says she can't be a beast tamer?
Ye Mingzhu picked up her pen and wrote a letter. She then took out the sachet she had taken from Sheng Huai'an and instructed Ruixiang: "Go to the Ye residence in person and deliver the letter and sachet to my parents. Ask them to study it as soon as possible and let me know as soon as they have any news."
"Yes!" Ruixiang immediately accepted the order and left.
Ye Mingzhu then instructed Baozan: "You know a little about medicine, so come with me to search around Linfeng Hall and see if there's anything strange or suspected to be poisonous in each room, just in case."
"Yes," Baozan replied.
After a period of busy work, Ye Mingzhu breathed a sigh of relief to find that there were no problems at Linfeng Hall.
...
At the same time.
West Mansion, Rongshou Hall.
With a grim expression, Madam Jia asked Sheng Huai'an, "You went to see Ye Mingzhu yesterday. What did she say? When will she clear up the rumors and restore my innocence?"
When asked by her, Sheng Huai'an replied with a headache and helplessness, "She left too quickly yesterday, and my son didn't have time to tell her."
"Didn't you have time to say it?" Madam Jia immediately became anxious. "Everyone outside is saying that I'm greedy, that I sold off her dowry and forced her to cry in the street. I don't even dare to leave this mansion anymore. I might as well just die in this house!"
"Mother, please calm down. We have all seen your character and would never misunderstand you. As for the rumors outside, I will go to Ye Mingzhu again as soon as possible and ask her to clarify things for you."
"..."
After talking for a long time, his mouth was dry, and Sheng Huai'an managed to persuade Jia Shi to calm down.
Before he could even catch his breath, Madam Jia complained again, "We're almost out of money, but your sister-in-law is still clinging to your brother's pension and won't let us use it for the family's expenses. I used to think she was a good person, but I never expected her to be so selfish!"
Sheng Huai'an was extremely worried, but he knew he couldn't go against Jia Shi any longer, so he could only say, "It's because your son is useless and can't share your burdens."
“How can you blame yourself?” Madam Jia quickly said, “You’re already tired enough from studying. These trivial matters should be the woman’s concern.”
Sheng Huai'an took out several silver notes from his purse and reassured her, "Son has five hundred taels of silver here. Mother, take it for emergencies."
"How can that be? We can eat coarse food and wild vegetables, but you can't skimp on your expenses while you're away."
"..."
After much effort, he finally persuaded Jia to accept the money. When Sheng Huai'an came out of Rongshou Hall, his face showed obvious signs of exhaustion.
Cheng Fu, who was following behind him, didn't dare to breathe too loudly, for fear of upsetting him.
Back in his study, Sheng Huai'an downed a cup of cold, strong tea in one gulp, then began to look around the curio cabinet, trying to see what items were suitable to sell.
The five hundred taels he just gave to Jia was from the sale of an antique. He originally intended to use it to buy medicine for Liu Rumei from Ye Mingzhu, but now that he had given it to Jia, he would have to find another way to pay for the medicine.
My sister-in-law's illness can't be delayed any longer; it's okay to sell her possessions.
After much deliberation, Sheng Huai'an rolled up a famous landscape painting that was hanging on the wall and put it in the painting box.
I bought this painting for 1,200 taels of silver. Even if I sell it cheaply, I should still get 1,000 taels, which should be enough to support me for a while.
He handed the painting box to Chengfu: "Take it to the pawnshop secretly and pawn it immediately. Bring the money back as soon as possible; I need it urgently."
"Yes." Chengfu rolled his eyes, accepted the order, and left.
Sheng Huai'an stood at the door of the study, sighing deeply with heartache.
After waiting for a full hour, Chengfu only brought back eight hundred taels of silver, saying that he was in a hurry to pawn it and the pawnshop had lowered the price.
Sheng Huai'an stared at the few thin banknotes for a long time, then sighed helplessly.
He counted out five silver notes and gave them to Chengfu, instructing him, "Go to Linfeng Hall in the East Mansion and find Ye Mingzhu. Tell her I need to buy medicine, and come back quickly."
"Yes." Chengfu accepted the order again.
...
The sunlight outside was intense.
Ye Mingzhu's room, however, was quite cool.
The bronze tripod-shaped ice chest in the corner of the room, decorated with lotus scrolls, was filled with ice and emitted a cool breeze. Two maids were fanning the room, creating a comfortable and refreshing atmosphere.
As she was loosening the soil around the Bizhu flower, Baozan suddenly rushed to her side and whispered, "Miss, someone from the West Mansion has come and says they want to buy medicine from you."
"Oh?" Ye Mingzhu was somewhat surprised. "So fast?"
She thought Sheng Huai'an would delay for a few more days, but it seems he truly loves Liu Rumei and can't bear to see her suffer any more.
Fortunately, she was prepared.
She had Baozan pack up the fifteen packets of Chinese medicine she had prepared earlier, and then she found a clean porcelain bottle, put a flour ball in it to pretend to be a longevity pill, and stuffed them all into the bundle.
When Baozan returned with the gifts, she smiled when she saw the five hundred taels of silver notes.
"Miss," Baozan asked, "you gave Sheng Huai'an flour dumplings. If they don't work, will he come knocking on our door and cause trouble?"
"No," Ye Mingzhu said with a smile, "because the medicine is real."
"What? There's no 'child gu' in these flour dumplings, so they're not longevity pills."
"That's why I said the medicine is real," Ye Mingzhu explained with a smile.
Liu Rumei's cough was caused by falling into the water and catching a cold when she was young, which was not cured. She was also exposed to cold winds several times during her pregnancy. It was not a serious illness.
The reason she didn't get better was because the medicine she was taking was fake.
When the West Mansion ran out of money, Jia Shi, in order to save on the mansion's expenses, was reluctant to cut back on her son's allowance, but also unwilling to cut back on her servants' allowance and ruin her reputation. So she secretly cut back on Liu Rumei's allowance.
When she bought medicine for Liu Rumei, she only wanted to spend as little money as possible, even wishing she could spend no money at all. As a result, she naturally couldn't buy any good medicinal materials, and sometimes the medicine was not as advertised.
It's no wonder Liu Rumei's illness can't get better if she keeps taking fake medicine.
Now, she's going to use Liu Rumei's illness as an excuse to save Sheng Huai'an money, and she's giving him genuine medicinal herbs.
After all, only when Liu Rumei took her medicine did it work, so Sheng Huai'an would come to her door to beg for help, and suffer heavy bleeding time and time again.
As for the Zi Gu, do they even deserve it?
She was also looking forward to seeing how Sheng Huai'an, who was desperate for money and had been driven to desperation by financial difficulties, would react when she revealed that Jia had given Liu Rumei fake medicine.
Can one still maintain the refined and elegant demeanor of a scholar?
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