Chapter 17
Two days later, Yin Tai set off for Dongjing Buddhist Temple. Before leaving, he told Han Liyang to take good care of his younger siblings and keep an eye on his father (you'll figure out which aspect to keep an eye on). He also told Yuyan to get along well with Yueming and treat her like her own sister. When it was Han Yunkai's turn, she thought for a long time and finally sighed, "Don't go out drinking all day, and especially don't make Yueming cry again."
Han Yunkai... Don't worry, I won't say a word to her.
After Mrs. Yin left the house, the Third Madam became the most important mistress in the inner house. She should have given her some serious advice, but Mrs. Yin looked at the Third Madam who looked very happy, and her lips opened slightly. Forget it, there was nothing to say to her.
Finally, Yin Tai took Yueming's hand and said, "Good boy, if you have anything you want to eat or play, just tell Yuyan, she will take good care of you."
In this mansion, Yueming hated Han Yunkai, was afraid of Han Tusi, and dared not deal with Han Liyang. The only people she could talk to were Yuyan and Yin Tai. Yin Tai was kind to her, and she was reluctant to leave her. Saying goodbye to her relatives and elders one after another made her very sad.
Holding Yin Tai's hand, he said, "Madam, you must take good care of yourself when you go to the temple. Piety to the Buddha is important, but if you can't take care of yourself, the Second Miss and I will be worried."
Look, that's the advantage of having a daughter in the family. The son will just say, "Have a safe trip, mother," and then stand aside and wait for you to leave so they can go cockfighting and drink. This child, without her mother's guidance at such a young age, speaks with the utmost courtesy and refinement, just as good as Yuyan, the carefully raised Miss Xiangkan in the Tusi Mansion.
Yin Tai said with a mixture of relief and admiration, "Your father is so lucky to have such a caring daughter like you! You're so young and should be having fun. Don't worry so much. With so many servants following me, how can they not take care of themselves?"
Yueming said with an expression that said, "If you are so absorbed in worshipping Buddha that you forget to eat and sleep, we servants can only offer a few words of advice, but we dare not make decisions for you. You should be aware of your own situation and not ignore it just to say something good in front of the Buddha. The Buddha is compassionate and will not blame you for being lazy."
Regardless of whether Yueming was sincere or had to curry favor because she was under someone else's roof, her words were very helpful to Yin Tai. She also instructed Feng Er and Tao Da not to neglect Miss Lan and to provide her with the same food, clothing, and other expenses as the other ladies in the mansion.
After seeing Yin Tai off, Ye Nan helped Yueming back to her room. As her hand reached up to support her, Yueming muttered, "My legs and feet are fine. You don't need to support me." But then she realized it was useless, as she didn't understand. After enduring for a while, she finally let her go.
As Yueming passed the hydrangeas, passing through the alley and into the backyard, she paused. The flowers were in full bloom, one on top of the other, like a pile of snowballs. She casually plucked a branch from a bush. Hundreds of tiny flowers clustered on a single stem, forming a lovely ball.
Yuyan sent the third wife back to her room and was about to go talk to Yueming. As soon as she came out of the corridor, she saw Yueming destroying the flowers with his ruthless hands. She laughed and said, "Little girl, are you trying to learn how to throw a bouquet to recruit a son-in-law?" She had become somewhat familiar with Yueming in the past two days and could even tell him some jokes.
Yueming was a simple person, smiling slyly, "Miss Third, seeing a flower, thought of throwing a ball to choose a husband. She must have read a lot of those miscellaneous books about love and affection."
Yuyan wanted to laugh at her but she outmaneuvered her instead. She said with a mixture of anger and amusement, "You have a sharp tongue that's really unforgiving. Your father really needs to find you a live-in son-in-law from Yunxiang. Otherwise, your mother-in-law will beat you three times a day for your unyielding mouth."
Knowing that she was a widow, Yueming didn't want to argue with her about marriage. He stamped his feet and threatened, "If you say that again, I'll be mad. Really mad."
Yin was too strong, and her mother was unreasonable. Yuyan rarely got the upper hand in a verbal fight, so how could she give up? She clapped her hands and said, "Why don't you just be my sister-in-law? You're so pleasing to the madam, she'll definitely not be able to bear to hit you."
Seeing her increasingly outrageous remarks, Yueming grew increasingly annoyed and threw the hydrangea in his hand at her. It was half annoyance, half a joke, and the throw was neither accurate nor powerful enough, so Yuyan dodged it by leaning sideways. Han Yunkai, who had just emerged from the corridor, was caught off guard by the throw. He saw a white ball fly past and instinctively raised his hand to catch it. He was stunned when he saw it was a hydrangea.
Seeing the scene in front of her and thinking about the joke just now, Yuyan couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh.
Han Yunkai was completely baffled by his third sister's laughter, but he couldn't help grinning too when he saw her laughing so happily. He asked, "Third sister, you picked up some gold. You're laughing so happily."
Yuyan suppressed her laughter, wiped the tears from her eyes with a handkerchief, and said seriously, "I was laughing at you for picking up a wife."
Seeing Han Yunkai catch the hydrangea, she had been trying to pretend nothing had happened and slip away quietly, but Yuyan's words made her lose her composure. She pointed at Yuyan and sighed for a long time, then finally stamped her feet and fled with a red face. She was so fast that Ye Nan could hardly catch up with her.
Seeing Yueming was really angry, Yuyan quickly picked up her skirt and ran after him. Han Yunkai was left alone, standing there stupidly holding a hydrangea, wondering what these two women were up to, one laughing and the other running away in anger.
When Yuyan entered, Yueming was sitting on the couch in front of the window with a pout on her lips, sulking. Yuyan walked over and sat down beside her, glaring at her with her shoulder: "You're really angry."
Yueming didn't want to pay attention to her, but in the end he couldn't help but said, "I'm still a child, and you're telling me all this about getting married and having a son-in-law."
Hearing this, Yuyan wanted to laugh again: "13 years old is not a child, let alone Yun Xiang, she can get married in Kunming. I was married at the age of 15 and it was considered late."
Upon hearing this, Yueming forgot her anger and said in astonishment, "15 years old? So early?"
"Yes! I got married at the age of 15 and became a widow at the age of 19." Although Yuyan still had a smile on her face, everyone could hear the bitterness in her words.
Yueming comforted her, "My father said he would only let me marry someone when I'm 18. He said it's not a good idea for a girl to get married early. How can she have children when her body hasn't fully developed? You're only 19, which is a good time."
Hearing her mention Lan Yingde, Yuyan's heart rippled. She calmly probed: "Your mother has been gone for many years. Why doesn't your father find a new one?"
Yueming wanted to liven up the atmosphere, so he leaned over and asked her mysteriously, "Do you remember Yunan singing 'Ye Gong Yu Shuang Lan' that night?"
Yuyan understood what was going on as soon as she heard the name. Her heart sank and she laughed dryly, "Is your father afraid that you'll turn into Lan Ye?"
Yueming sighed in a fake manner and said, "That's right. You also said that I have a bad mouth and I will complain about everything over the smallest things. My father is also afraid that my stepmother will beat me to death when he goes out to make money."
Although she knew Yueming was just teasing her, Yuyan didn't find it funny at all: "But not all stepmothers in the world are like that!"
Yueming spread out his hands helplessly and said, "But my father doesn't think that way! It's my fault too. Uncle Charles told me a story about their hometown. There was a girl named Cinderella who was bullied to death by her stepmother and her two step-sisters. I was so scared that I cried and told my father that I didn't want to be like Cinderella, cleaning ashes and washing clothes all day. I couldn't do anything and my stepmother would definitely beat me to death."
Yuyan... "So it's not that your father doesn't want to remarry, it's that you don't want a stepmother!"
Yueming waved her hands repeatedly: "No, no, no, it's my dad who is too stupid to distinguish between the truth and the nonsense of children. In fact, I really want him to find another one. Even if I can't call his later wife "Mom", I still want him to have a companion!"
Yuyan nodded: "Yes, he has to find a companion, otherwise he will be alone when you get married."
Yueming's eyes widened: "What are you saying?"
Yuyan laughed: "You can't get over the word 'getting married' today, right? I want to see if you'll be anxious in two years."
Yueming said nonchalantly, "I'm still a child, why should I be in such a hurry? Besides, my father promised me that he would take me abroad to study painting in the future. There's no way my father would let me get married so early."
This time, Yuyan's heart sank. She stammered, "You...you...are you going to leave Yun Xiang?"
"That's for sure!" Yueming said, "My father studied Western medicine abroad, and I want to go abroad, too. Besides, Yunxiang isn't our home, so even if we don't go abroad, we'll have to come home sooner or later!"
"What if your father marries a wife in Yun-sang?"
"That's easy," Yueming said matter-of-factly. "Just take your new wife with you! We Han people have a saying: 'Marry a chicken, follow the chicken; marry a dog, follow the dog.' Since she's my wife, of course she has to go with us."
Yuyan was dejected. Although she had developed a faint admiration for Lan Yingde, she had finally returned home and was reluctant to leave. If Yueming and the others were just returning to Kunming, it would be fine. No matter how far the journey was, they could still come back from time to time. But if they went overseas, they would never see their family again. What would happen to the Third Wife if she left? She had always made enemies. Now that her father was still in Yintai, he wouldn't do anything to her. But what if Li Yang became a chieftain? Would he still tolerate her going against the wife?
Yuyan was caught in a dilemma.
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