Chapter 132
On the third day after their wedding, Yueming returned to her parents' home according to Han Chinese custom. Yunkai went to the old lady and told her to take advantage of the opportunity to visit the old man in Lishengmeng. Thinking of Lishengmeng's current situation, the old lady sighed and agreed. She also asked Tonglin to pack some medicinal herbs for Yunkai to take with him.
Two cars drove towards Lishengmeng, with Du Song and his guards following on horseback. Cars were much faster than carriages. The last time she went to Lishengmeng, she had stayed overnight at an inn. This time, she arrived in the evening, just in time for dinner.
My uncle and aunt brought my cousin and her brother to greet us at the gate. After not seeing my cousin for a few years, she had grown up! My aunt told her that because she had married into the Tusi family, several families had come to propose marriage.
It's not uncommon for a family to rise to prominence when a man achieves success. Yueming smiled and said, "Then my aunt will have to carefully examine my sister."
She wanted to see the old man and Mrs. Tao, so she asked, "Where is Grandpa? Can't he get up and get dressed? Why isn't even Mrs. Tao here?" Not only did these two elders not show up, but none of the old man's family members came out either.
My aunt smiled meaningfully and said, "There has been some unrest at home in recent years. My father-in-law built a Buddhist temple for my mother-in-law so that she can concentrate on chanting Buddha's name and pray for the family."
Yueming was silent. In the inner house, the east wind always prevailed over the west wind, or vice versa. The eldest wife's most important supporter was forced to eat vegetarian food and chant Buddhist scriptures. How could the rest of the family jump around? Although she knew that if the eldest master became the head of the family, the second wife's life would not be easy, but Yueming still felt it was unbearable.
Mr. Tao and Lan Yingde were very cordial in their greetings, but he still felt a bit reserved towards his chieftain's nephew and son-in-law. He had nothing to say but, "You must have been tired after a long day's journey. Let's eat first!"
Lan Yingde waved his hand and said, "The father-in-law was unable to attend the wedding of the young couple, so this time he specially asked them to come and see him. How can we think about eating first when we haven't even gone to greet the elders?"
After entrusting Mrs. Lan to his aunt, Mr. Tao took the Lan family's father, daughter and new son-in-law to meet the old man.
Lan Yingde had initially assumed that Tao Tou Ren's absence was due to a grudge he held for his eldest son's fate. This incident fueled the Lan family's cold, silent reaction, believing Tao Tou Ren to be deeply resentful of both him and his son-in-law. But upon reaching Tao Tou Ren's bedroom, seeing his haggard face lying on the bed, the curtains covered with talismans drawn by witch doctors, and the sour, herbal odor that filled the room, he realized that Tao Tou Ren's health was truly failing.
Mr. Tao Er came forward and called out to Mr. Tao who was lying on the bed: "Dad, Dad, my brother-in-law and Yueming are here to see you, and the master is here too."
Taotouren opened his eyes slightly. Yueming knelt beside the bed and whispered, "Grandpa, I'm here to see you. Are you feeling better?"
Lan Yingde also called out "Father-in-law." He sat down beside the bed, picked up the potter's arm, and felt his pulse. After taking a few beats, he frowned.
Tao Tou Ren looked at the father and daughter with a complicated expression. Every misfortune in the family was linked to them. If he hadn't given in to greed and allowed the second son to lead the caravan given by Lan Yingde to run the salt trade, the family would have been able to live in perfect order. The eldest son wouldn't have been so desperate to seek help from the second son, causing such a disaster. Han Yunkai was even worse. Because he felt guilty about Yue Ming and insisted on helping the second son, he dug a huge pit for the eldest son to fall into.
Hateful as he was, what could he do now? He knew full well that of his two sons, the eldest was ambitious but incompetent, while the second was weak and incompetent. Li Shengmeng's current glory and respectability were due to them. For the rest of his life, Li Shengmeng could only rely on the girl before him.
He waved away Lan Yingde's hand that was feeling his pulse, and tremblingly touched the top of Yueming's head, and said, "Li Shengmeng will be counting on you from now on."
In the past, Tao Tou Ren had always been too authoritative and lacked warmth towards her. Now, as if in his last will and testament, he entrusted Li Shengmeng to her, Yueming felt a surge of sorrow. Tears welled up in her eyes as she promised, "Don't worry. As long as I'm here, no one will dare to steal Li Shengmeng's spot as Prime Minister Yun."
Hearing this resolute assurance, Yun Kai's eyes lit up with a smile. Yue Ming's words were like nailing himself to Yun Xiang for Li Sheng Meng's sake.
He bent down and said to Tao Tou Ren, "Don't worry, Grandpa, Lishengmeng is Yueming's mother's family, and this will never change."
With Yunkai's assurance, Tao Tou Ren was completely relieved. Seeing that Lan Yingde still wanted to feel his pulse, he closed his eyes impatiently and said, "I know my own body well. You don't need to worry about it."
After leaving the room, Mr. Tao asked Lan Yingde about his father's health: "Brother-in-law, Dad..."
Lan Yingde's face was solemn. He sighed deeply and said, "The lamp is burning out and the oil is running out. He's just trying to get by. Stop the witch doctors' medicine and let him suffer less. I'll get you some ginseng. Stew it with rock sugar and give him a drink every day. He'll just have to endure as long as he can!"
Although he already knew the result, Mr. Tao still felt sad when Lan Yingde made it clear to him.
Yun Kai suddenly asked, "Why isn't Mrs. Tao here?"
He was really bringing up something irrelevant. Yueming glared at him.
"Mother is devoted to Buddhism, and... she rarely sees outsiders anymore."
Yun Kai understood and took Yue Ming's hand and said, "Since the old lady is devoted to practicing Buddhism, we won't disturb her." After that, he said hello to Lan Yingde and took Yue Ming to the guest house to wash up.
Seeing Yueming silent on the road, he jokingly asked, "Why, are you unhappy that you can't see Old Madam Tao?"
Yueming let out a long breath, and said to Yunkai with a look of having experienced many things: "If it were my old temper, seeing her end up like this, I wouldn't care whether she is my elder or not. I would definitely show off my power in front of her and ridicule her to help my grandmother and my mother vent their anger."
Yun Kai raised an eyebrow. "You're so tolerant now, you're letting bygones be bygones. Do you really think Old Madam Tao is actually chanting Amitabha in the Buddhist temple? I'm afraid she's cursing us to hell three times a day."
Yueming shook his head: "This family can't stand any more trouble. I'm not so conceited that I don't care. I just... don't want to force anyone to die."
Lishengmeng was no longer the bustling city it once was; it was now stagnant and lifeless. No matter how much Old Lady Tao hated her family, she couldn't do anything. Her fate was clear; she could only spend the rest of her life in seclusion, beating wooden fish, and cursing her enemies.
"The Japanese army has advanced on India, pushing it to secede from the Commonwealth to safeguard its flank in Southeast Asia. With the Burma Road cut off by the Japanese, most aid supplies can only be transported via the Hump Route. Shipping is expensive and risky. While the Han Tusi's caravan has made significant contributions in transporting supplies, its limited personnel and horsemen are far from sufficient. The higher-ups have ordered us to regain control of the Burma Railway, and we must all enter Burma to fight. To ensure the smooth operation, I, Liu, have no choice but to shamelessly ask to borrow your war elephants."
Captain Liu had mentioned the borrowing of war elephants before. When the expeditionary force first entered Burma, they were scattered and routed by Burmese soldiers on elephants. Yun Kai couldn't understand it. If it had been the era of cold weapons, it would have been fine. But now, with tanks on the scene, how could such a well-equipped nationalist army be overthrown by a few elephants? They didn't even need grenades; wouldn't a volley of bullets have been enough to take it all out?
Unable to resist his repeated questioning, Captain Liu reluctantly replied, "Those soldiers are from other provinces. How could they have ever seen a live elephant? And those war elephants are armored and full of armor. Wouldn't they be terrified to see such huge beasts charging towards them?"
Yun Kai's mouth twitched when he heard this. He agreed to lend him all 20 war elephants in his mansion, including the elephant slaves.
After inviting Captain Liu to lunch, he returned to the courtyard and found Yueming nowhere to be found. He was very puzzled and stopped the maid to ask her.
"The madam feels the room is too hot and stuffy, so Sister Ai Ye is waiting for her to take a nap in the pavilion by the lotus pond!"
Yun Kai didn't know whether to praise her for enjoying life or scold her. Yun Xiang's autumn sun was even more unbearable than the summer heat. Back in Bangkok, because her study didn't have an air conditioner, she'd had her maid bring ice cubes and blow them in front of a fan. He'd scolded her every time he saw her. Now she slept directly over the sink.
This means he is sure that he won't do anything to her, right?
After letting Feng Xiaosai leave, he went to the lotus pond alone. The pavilion was surrounded by a thin bamboo curtain covered with mugwort leaves. He opened the curtain and saw a mattress on the mat on the ground. Yueming was sleeping soundly on her side in only a bra and a tube skirt.
Ai Ye was kneeling beside her, fanning her. She quickly saluted when he came in. Yun Kai was afraid that she would make some noise and disturb Yue Ming's sleep, so he waved his hand to signal her to leave.
The curtains blocked the sunlight, but also kept the wind out. To prevent Yueming from feeling suffocated, two plates were placed next to the kettle. Each plate contained a shallow layer of water, one covered with frangipani flowers with a hint of yellow on their petals, the other with thumb-sized jasmine flowers.
Although it was just a nap, the utensils and food were complete. Yunkai sat cross-legged on the mat where Ai Ye had previously knelt, and grabbed a handful of peeled pomegranate seeds from the plate. The pomegranates, now nearly rotting, were sweeter than usual. After a handful, Yunkai felt sick of them. He lifted the small plate, spat out the seeds, and poured himself some water from the gilded lacquer pot.
Yueming was half asleep and half awake when she heard a rustling sound beside her. She opened her eyes and saw Yunkai pouring water. She raised her hand and scratched her collarbone which was covered with hair and muttered, "It's so hot, give me a drink." Then she closed her eyes and fell asleep again.
Her slender, white neck was covered in a thin layer of sweat, which slid down to her chest, making it glisten. They had never been intimate since their marriage, and Yun Kai, looking at the image of this beautiful woman sleeping, was immediately filled with erotic thoughts.
He took off his shoes and socks, unbuttoned his silver-gray eight-flowered double-breasted shirt, picked up the water he had just poured and took a sip, then knelt on the mattress, holding Yueming's face, and passed the water to her mouth to mouth.
Yueming only felt that her face was held up by a pair of hot big hands, and hot breath was sprayed on her face. She opened her mouth to shout that it was hot, but her mouth was blocked. She couldn't speak even with her mouth full of water. When she opened her eyes, she saw Yunkai's big double eyelids. Seeing that she was awake, her eyes were more scorching than the sun outside.
I was half asleep, not understanding what was happening. I didn't know how to swallow the water in my mouth, so it flowed out from the corner of my lips, dripping onto my pillow.
He stroked the water stains on her lips with his thumb and teased, "You're such a grown-up, and you don't even know how to drink water! Are you still going to drink?"
Yueming nodded: "I want more."
Seeing her dazed look, Yun Kai knew she was drifting off to sleep. He leaned over and brought the water cup to her lips, "Drink."
Yueming drank the water from his hand, breathed a sigh of relief, and tilted her head to get rid of his hand, lying down to continue sleeping. Noticing the wetness of the pillow, she moved to the side.
Yun Kai, wearing only a pair of wide-leg pants, lay face to face with her. He dug his fingers under the bra and pinched the cloth with his fingertips when he found it. He whispered in Yue Ming's ear, "You said you were hot, so why are you still wearing it so tight? Let me untie it for you!"
The only answer he got was Yueming's long, drawn-out breathing. Silence signaled agreement. He pulled out the cloth and untied the bra. The flesh, previously so shyly hidden within the green bra, finally saw the light of day, filling his eyes with a blooming beauty.
Yueming was sleeping so soundly that he made her very irritated. She raised her hand and slapped him on the shoulder.
It didn't hurt, it made Yun Kai laugh. His tongue licked the red mark on his collarbone where she had scratched it earlier. "You have such a bad temper."
Holding her red lips that looked like flower buds, the taste was just like the pomegranate I had just eaten, bright red and full of juice, and a light tap of the teeth filled my mouth with sweetness.
The skirt underneath was too much of an eyesore, obscuring her smooth, fair skin. He pulled out a hand to untie the ties on the skirt. After this ordeal, Yueming finally woke up completely. She pressed the restless hand on her waist, her still hazy cat-like pupils tinged with an ambiguous, wet red. She asked in a panic, "What are you doing?"
What are you doing? Isn't this asking even though you already know the answer? Forget it, there are ways to untie the belt, so he turned to lift the hem of his skirt.
Yueming, feeling both embarrassed and annoyed, said angrily, "In broad daylight..." She stopped mid-sentence. They had fooled around in broad daylight before. Accusing him of indulging in lust in broad daylight wasn't quite the right word. Worried he might actually recklessly expose the servants and maids, she pleaded, "Please stop fooling around. We're outside." Even through the curtains, she could see the shadowy branches of trees outside.
Her reminder made the fire in Yun Kaixin's heart burn even more fiercely. He kissed her chattering little mouth and sucked passionately. No matter where her tongue went, his tongue tip would always be able to hook it out.
Because they didn't investigate, he got away with it. Yueming hugged his neck and cried, "If anyone knew about this, I wouldn't live anymore."
As soon as he finished speaking, a big red carp jumped out of the water and fell back into the water, splashing water everywhere. The water birds that were looking for food were frightened and flapped their wings. Yueming was also frightened and cried and struggled.
Yun Kai was helpless. Every time they were intimate, she would not be happy unless she acted a little naughty.
He hugged her whole body, turned her over, let her crawl on him, picked up her bra and wiped her tears, coaxing her, "Silly child, Ai Ye is guarding outside!"
Yueming sobbed and said, "It's no use even if she stays here."
She didn't know that her shy and timid appearance only fueled his anger. Stroking her fair back, Yun Kai coaxed her softly, "I'll speak softly, so she doesn't hear..."
The pavilion is filled with the damp scent of water, a damp smell filled with the blossoming autumn chrysanthemums, the bending roses, and the intertwined figures on the bamboo curtains. In the humid afternoon, it sways, melts, and flows with the long-lasting chirping of cicadas, transforming into waves of softness and intensity.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
