Chapter 90
His furious outburst startled everyone in the hall, including Yueming, who was pouting and refusing to drink her soup. She froze in shock, unsure if Yunkai's impertinent outburst was meant to be a scolding of the maidservant, or perhaps just a way of appeasing her, a picky eater. Seeing his sullen expression, Yueming decided that no matter who he was scolding, she'd better be more discerning. She quickly cupped her bowl of soup with her small hands and pretended to blow on the hot broth.
Se Manli was also stunned by Yun Kai's impudent roar. She blinked for a long time before reacting. The corners of her eyes instantly turned red. She looked directly at Yun Kai's cold face and said, "What's so mad about you, cousin, so early in the morning?"
Yun Kai ignored her and stared at the trembling maid beside her. He said in a solemn voice, "You have no manners at all and yet you only know how to stir up trouble. You were born into a lowly family and your parents couldn't teach you. The stewards in the mansion didn't teach you how to talk to the master either, right?"
After hearing the scolding, the maid turned pale and knelt down straight, her knees hitting the ground with a loud noise. Yue Mingguang felt pain just by hearing it, and couldn't help but secretly stroke her knees with her palms.
Seeing her maid kneeling on the ground in front of everyone, Se Manli felt as if Yun Kai had ripped her face off and stepped on it for Yue Ming to see. She sneered, "Cousin, you're meddling in everything, even my maid. Even if she's done something wrong, it's my master who should punish her. You don't need to worry about it."
Yun Kai turned his gaze towards her and said coldly, "Oh! Don't worry about it. Are you serious?"
Thinking of the days' journey home, Semanli choked. But the rough men around her were watching like they were enjoying a good show, and she couldn't save face or swallow her anger. She straightened her back and held her head high, saying, "Of course it's true."
Yueming pretended to drink the soup, but he put the edge of the bowl to his lips and refused to swallow a single bite. He watched Yunkai and his cousin fighting with relish.
Hearing Semanli's words, Yunkai sneered, "You don't need me to worry about it. You should have told me earlier, so that your cousin and I wouldn't have to take a long detour to send you home. If you had said the same thing in front of Madam, we would have already arrived in Kanchanaburi since we started from Bhamo."
How could Se Manli, a noble lady from a wealthy family, possibly win an argument against Yun Kai, a veteran who had been with the caravan for several years? Seeing him being so ruthless, she could only point at him angrily: "You...you..." He didn't say anything for a long time.
The maidservant kneeling on the ground was a bit of a chatterbox but she was loyal. Seeing Yun Kai treating the young lady like this, she was very angry. She didn't care about being afraid and raised her head and said, "Second Young Master, others are noble, but our young lady was also raised in luxury. Since you promised the aunt and our master to send the young lady home, then you should take good care of our young lady and not let others leave our young lady behind."
Yun Kai glanced at Feng Xiaosai, who was watching the show nearby with a smile on his face. Feng Xiaosai immediately understood what she meant and stepped forward to slap the maid twice, cursing, "You lowly thing! You've ruined the good lady by instigating her, and you still think every word you say is sincere and loyal!"
He used so much strength in these two blows that the corner of the maid's mouth was cracked.
After beating the maid, he smiled apologetically at the angry Sermanli, saying, "Please forgive my overstepping of the bounds, my dear cousin. This lowly maid is ungrateful. Think carefully about this: from the moment you arrived to the moment you left, our young master has meticulously taken care of you. If he occasionally neglected us, it was simply because circumstances didn't allow it. Our young master also wants you to sleep in a high-rise building with large tiles at night, and to eat delicacies from land and sea. But in the wilderness, no one can do that, unless the Bodhisattva rides Anuman down to earth. My dear, you've traveled hard all the way, and this lowly maid didn't show any sympathy or comfort, but even used your name to provoke her. She deserves to be beaten to death." He then pointed at the maid, who was kneeling beside him, weeping, covering her face with her hands, and cursed, "Open your mouth, shut up, who are you talking about? Who are you talking about here? We're all family members and loyal men of the Tusi Mansion. Who are you calling a "whore?"
Yueming was watching the show from the sidelines, feeling rather uncomfortable. She felt Feng Xiaosai had scolded her as well. Had he forgotten that her senior brother was still in the kitchen, cooking noodles for her? She couldn't understand why Yunkai would get so angry over a maid's innocuous complaints.
Changsheng came out of the kitchen carrying two bowls of noodles. Seeing everyone standing or kneeling, it was very lively. He asked curiously, "What's going on?"
The men from the caravan winked at him, and he was puzzled and confused. Seeing Yueming holding a bowl, he thought she had already started eating, so he said with a stern face, "Don't tell me you're full after I've been busy in there for so long."
Upon hearing this, Yueming hurriedly said, "No, no, I didn't even drink a single sip of the soup he scooped for me because I was waiting for your noodles." As soon as he finished speaking, he was glared at by Yunkai.
Changsheng placed a bowl of noodles in front of her with satisfaction and warned, "Be careful, it's hot!" Then he handed another bowl of noodles to Se Manli and said, "Miss Se Manli, I guess you're not used to eating dry rice in the morning, so I cooked one for you as well."
Semanli looked at the steaming noodles in front of her, topped with fried luncheon meat and a poached egg. Someone sneered, and Semanli blushed.
On the way, a man from the caravan chatted with Yang Laoliu and said, "These noble ladies aren't well-educated. They're almost dying fighting over a bowl of noodles."
Yang Laoliu glanced at Yun Kai, who was riding ahead, and scolded him, "Don't gossip about nothing. You know nothing. This isn't just a matter of a bowl of noodles or a bowl of rice."
When they arrived at Qingdong and sold the goods, Yunkai was ready to take Yueming to Siam. When sending them to the ship, Yueming suddenly felt uneasy and insisted that Changsheng accompany her to Siam.
She said to Changsheng with tears in her eyes: "I haven't even met my cousin An, and my father asked me to go to the company. I can't even speak a few words of Siamese, so I can't do anything if I go there."
Yun Kai interrupted, "Siamese and Yun Xiang's language are similar. You'll know when you go there."
Yueming pretended not to hear and continued to beg Changsheng, "Brother, please come with me!"
Changsheng was in a very difficult situation. He had never refused any request from Yueming since he was a child. He actually wanted to accompany her, but looking at Yunkai who was eyeing him covetously, he thought he should be more sensible.
"Brother, I also want to go to Siam, but how can I take such a large sum of money back if I don't personally escort it? Master is also in urgent need of this money."
Although she knew there was no hope, Yueming still murmured, "But I want you to go with me."
Changsheng wanted to hug her and comfort her like he did when they were little, but he knew he couldn't. She was already a grown woman, with a fiancé. Putting his hands behind his back, he resisted the urge to touch the top of her head and said softly, "I've already sent a telegram to Kejian in Qingdong. He'll pick you up at the dock. When you get to the company, ask him if you have any questions or don't understand anything. Charles will be there too, you'll be fine."
As the ship blew its whistle and sailed away from the harbor, Changsheng waved goodbye to Yueming, who was standing on the deck. As her figure became increasingly blurred, Changsheng thought to himself, it was time to let Yueming go completely!
Not long after arriving in Songkran, Bangkok was so hot that it seemed to melt people. The hot wind brought a sticky and humid air in my face. Yueming felt his head swelling as soon as he got off the boat.
The dock was packed with people, many holding signs with their names on them, waiting to pick someone up. Yueming looked around. Her senior had told her that Cousin An would be picking her up. Two Cadillacs, one black and one white, pulled up at the dock, honking their horns, adding to the already bustling atmosphere.
Yun Kai smiled upon hearing this chaos, and took Yue Ming's hand as they walked towards the car. When they reached the black Cadillac, he kicked the wheel and cursed, "Why are you pressing the button? You didn't even come to greet me."
The man in the driver's seat reached out his finger to slide his sunglasses down his nose a little, and sneered, "How should I greet you? When you get off the boat, you should kneel down and kowtow to me."
An acquaintance got out of a white Cadillac and greeted Yueming with a smile: "Sister-in-law, long time no see. You must have had a hard time on your journey."
Without waiting for Yueming to respond, Yunkai scolded him with a smile, "Luo Er, you're also imitating Shi Yue's showiness. Why are you wearing a bow tie in such hot weather?"
Mr. Luo adjusted the silk tie at his throat and said with a smile, "I just don't want to be rude in front of my sister-in-law!"
Su Shiyue also got out of the car. He rested one arm on the car door, took off his sunglasses, looked at the luggage in Feng Xiaosai's hands, and sneered, "We heard you were bringing your fiancée, so we thought you were moving your family here, so we drove two cars to help you with your luggage. Turns out you only have two small suitcases. You're still asking us to do that with just this little luggage? You should just call a taxi."
The man before her was truly a dazzling beauty. Yun Kai was already unrivaled in handsomeness among all the men she had met, and this man before her could rival him. His peach blossom eyes, even without a trace of expression, held a certain charm between his eyebrows.
Yun Kai introduced her: "You have already met Luo Er in Kunming. This is Su Shiyue, the eldest son of the Su Shipping Company."
In fact, she didn't need Yun Kai to introduce her to him because she recognized the man in front of her as the young master of the Su family who had helped her family obtain a sailing license. Yun Kai said he was the dream lover of all the ladies in Bangkok.
Yueming smiled and nodded at him: "Hello."
Su Shiyue raised his peach blossom eyes and smiled at her: "Little Ayue, right? I've heard of your name for a long time. Yun Er mentioned you eighteen times a day when he came to Bangkok."
Yueming was surprised: "He's so talkative?"
Yun Kai patted her head lightly and scolded her with a smile: "Who are you talking about?"
Su Shiyue didn't want to just sit in the sun and watch them flirting, so he urged them to get in the car quickly, as the welcoming banquet had already been prepared.
Yueming tugged at Yunkai's sleeve and whispered, "Cousin An hasn't arrived yet. Senior brother said he would pick me up at the dock."
Yun Kai frowned. He had dealt with An Kejian twice before when he came to Bangkok, and he had never thought he was so rude. But seeing that Su Shiyue and Luo Er had both arrived at the dock early to pick them up, he was actually late. He was really showing off.
She didn't show her dissatisfaction on her face, and smiled faintly, saying to Yueming, "Your cousin might have been tripped up by something, and it's not good to let Shi Yue and Luo Er wait with us. Let's go back to the mansion first and call the company to let them know we've arrived."
It was really embarrassing to drag them to sit in the sun and wait for someone in such hot weather, so Yueming could only nod in agreement.
Several people returned to the mansion first. Su Shiyue pointed to the air conditioner hanging on the wall and asked for credit: "I'm very kind, isn't it? I was going to use this air conditioner myself, but you said you were going to bring your fiancée to Bangkok and asked me to help you clean up the house, so I gave it to you first."
Yunkai thanked with a smile!
The air conditioner turned on, chilling the entire living room. Yueming curiously examined the humming machine, regretting that Yunxiang had no electricity. Otherwise, she could have bought one. In Kunming, where it's spring all year round, there's basically no need for this thing.
Yueming called the company, and An Kejian's secretary answered the phone. She was shocked to learn that her boss hadn't received the call from the big boss's daughter. She hesitantly explained to An Kejian that Mr. An had been scheduled to leave for the dock early, but a client came to visit unexpectedly, and Mr. Charles wasn't there, so Mr. An had to meet him in person, which delayed him a bit.
Yueming gently said it was okay and asked her secretary to ask someone to go to the dock to tell An Kejian that she had arrived home safely and would go to the company after she was settled.
After two days on the boat, Yueming finally found her feet. She didn't really want to go out; she just wanted to lie in bed and sleep the whole night without even eating. But since it was their first meeting, she couldn't refuse someone's kindness. Without even having time to properly explore the house, she quickly washed and changed her clothes and headed out with Yunkai.
As she observed the surroundings, Yueming felt thankful that Yunkai had forced her to learn Dai and even spoke her broken English fluently. Without the language barrier, her uneasiness about being in a foreign country gradually subsided, and a desire to explore arose. She felt that Bangkok was a fusion of Yunxiang and Kunming, with a distinct style and a civilized atmosphere. However, Bangkok's access to sea transportation made it far more cosmopolitan than Kunming, a frontier city inland. She immediately understood why Yunkai had been reluctant to return to Yunxiang after arriving in Bangkok.
The welcoming banquet was held at a French restaurant on the Chao Phraya River, with a view of the entire river from the windows. Yunkai's classmates who had been studying abroad with him had been waiting for a long time, and they all asked Yunkai to introduce his fiancée.
Yueming finally understood the difference between the young talents in Bangkok and those in China. She had assumed Luo Er's promiscuity was simply innate, but after meeting Yunkai's childhood friends, she realized Siamese men were naturally passionate and unrestrained. She secretly wondered if it was the hot weather.
They chatted animatedly, Yueming smiling as she sat by and listened to their small talk. Luo Er, who was relatively familiar with her, was concerned she might feel ignored, so he took the initiative to strike up a conversation.
"Sister-in-law, do you like the food? Is there anything you want to eat in particular?"
Yueming said politely while cutting lamb chops, "The dish is very good. Thank you and Master Su for your hard work."
Luo Er said, "Why are you so polite and call her Young Master Su? You can just call her Old Su or Shi Yue like Yun Er."
"Ayun and I haven't gotten married yet, so don't call me sister-in-law. It's awkward. Just call me Ayue."
Luo Er readily changed his words: "Ayue, don't be restrained. Everyone here is not an outsider."
As the group of people were talking, they started talking about Su Shiyue's upcoming marriage. Yueming was surprised to see that Su Shiyue looked indifferent and without any joy on his face. He didn't look happy about getting married.
Yun Kai knew his old friend was feeling awkward, so he changed the subject and said, "I got engaged earlier than you, but you got married before me. My groomsmen are really not as good without you!"
A group of people laughed and said that letting Lao Su be the best man would be very dangerous for the bridesmaids.
Yueming noticed that everyone's attention was drawn to Yunkai, so she quietly asked Luo Er, "Young Master Su doesn't look like someone who's getting married!"
Luo covered his lips and whispered, "Why does he look so dead? You'll know when you meet his future wife."
Lin Shao, whose family owned a pearl factory, saw the two of them whispering and tapped his cup with a spoon, saying, "Yun Er is still here. Luo Er, what are you doing whispering to your fiancée?"
Luo Er rolled his eyes at him angrily: "Little Ayue and I haven't seen each other for a long time, can't we just catch up? Yun Er didn't say anything, what are you talking about?"
Lin Shao raised his eyebrows: "Do you two know each other? When did you meet?"
Luo Er looked at him like an idiot: "Do I have the right to tell you that?"
Someone at the table reminded Lin Shaodao: "It was Yun Er's father-in-law who arranged for the Luo family to open a bank in China."
Speaking of this, everyone envied Yun Kai's good fortune. He was born into a noble family, his sister married well, and he and his fiancée had been childhood sweethearts. Not to mention his wife's family was powerful. Thinking about Su Shiyue's marriage, everyone secretly sighed for him.
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