Chapter 14 - Hand in Hand by the Roadside (2/2)
“Is Hai’er inside the carriage?” Yun Shi Yi glanced at the carriage window. The weather was nice and warm so there was only a layer of muslin obstructing the window of the carriage. A single breeze caused the muslin curtain to flutter, allowing a pale man enter their eyes. Although his face looked a bit haggard from his sickness, some of his heroic spirit managed to penetrate through.
“Replying to Eldest Young Master, Zhao the Fifth is on the way to bring Hai’er to the city’s Tianyi Pavilion, just as Eldest Young Master has arranged.” He pushed the muslin curtain to the side, saying into the carriage: “Hai’er, we were fortunate to receive Eldest Young Master’s benevolent favor. Because of this, you have a place to live. Quickly come down and pay your respects.”
The man inside made a sound of assent but just as he was about to get up, Yun Shi Yi waved his hand: “That is not necessary. You should hurry and send him to Tianyi Pavilion and settle him down.”
“Thanks to Eldest Young Master.”
Zhao the Fifth bowed to him again before returning to the driver’s seat and setting off.
Ruan Zhu gazed at the vehicle as it traveled away from them. Her mind was filled with suspicion. Just now, she had carelessly looked at Hai’er and found him to be a little familiar as if she had met him previously in some location. But she couldn’t remember. After thinking a bit, she could only laugh at her poor memory. It has only been a few days since she crossed into this ancient period and she had only met a few people, so why was she letting her imagination run wild? Is it possible that other than her, there were others that had also crossed over to Tian Chu?
The two of them continued to hold hands and walk along the road but a little while later, another carriage came from behind them. This time, it was Lou Yun and Cai Yue in the drivers’ seat. The two of them were following Madam Yun’s orders to send Qian Feng Jiao home. Seeing their own young master on the road, they got off the carriage to bow in greeting.
“Eldest Young Master, Eldest Young Lady, the Master and Madam has requested us to send Miss Qian Feng Jiao back.” After Lou Yue finished speaking, he thought a bit: “As we were leaving, we chanced upon Second Young Master searching for Eldest Young Lady all throughout the manor. His expression was not good. He also requested for us to immediately report back if we happened to see our young lady.”
“I understand. The two of you can send Younger Cousin back!” Yun Shi Yi said in reply.
The carriage’s window was wide open. Ruan Zhu’s eyes wandered over and saw that Miss Qian sat inside the carriage. The latter had prominent tear stains at the corners of her eyes and seeing her love rival, she glared over with bitter resentment, cursing: “You depraved prostitute that likes to court disaster, I will blind your dog eyes. When stealing men, you dare to steal from this great-aunt. You really have no sense of shame!”
In her extremely simple thoughts, it was Ruan Zhu’s existence that shattered the beautiful dream she had of marrying her eldest cousin. However, she had never considered if Yun Shi Yi would have accepted her. All extremely arrogant people considered themselves as the center of the universe, so they believed all others revolved around them.
The more Qian Feng Jiao thought, the angrier she became. From her hair, she pulled out a gold hairpin and ruthlessly threw it with all of her strength. She knew a little martial arts so the gold hairpin flew towards Ruan Zhu’s face in a split second. There was not even the opportunity for Ruan Zhu to dodge.
Yun Shi Yi pushed his body forward. With a swing of his sleeve, the gold hairpin was swept into the small sludge-filled ditch next to the road. He coldly looked at the culprit: “Just based on your crafty, headstrong, egotistical and ignorant temper, no man will ever fancy you. What Shi Wei said was not wrong. No matter what it is, Zhu Zhu is better than you. She is more beautiful, more gentle, more reasonable, even her voice sounds nicer than yours.”
Qian Feng Jiao’s face was pale as she blankly stared. She had always thought Eldest Cousin was an extraordinary man–pure, smart, and noble. Although he rarely spoke and did not seem to really like her, she had always thought it was because of his personality. It was due to her believing she was different in his eyes that she had said all of those things.
She suddenly burst into tears, wailing so loudly Ruan Zhu felt her ears had gone numb. She moved backwards a few steps, somewhat sympathizing with her. But if someone told you they didn’t like you, shouldn’t you look at where your faults where? Who should one blame in that case?
“Simply not knowing her place. Lou Yun, Cai Yue, hurry and take her away. I never want to see this person again.”
“Yes, Eldest Young Master.”
Lou Yun and Cai Yue hoisted themselves up to the drivers seat and drove the carriage away.
Ruan Zhu gazed at the carriage that was getting further and further away. Her two clear almond eyes looked towards the man at her side: “She should know martial arts, right?”
“That is the customary habit of this place. Ever since the An Shi Rebellion occurred several hundred years ago, the Great Ancestor came from Lan Zhou and went on to pacify the whole world. That was the start of the militaristic rule of this country. All the people who share the same hometown as the Great Ancestor proudly practice martial arts and even females will know a few moves.”
“An Shi Rebellion[b]?” Ruan Zhu widened her eyes in astonishment. Sure enough, there was some connection with some historical Chinese dynasty. But she wasn’t exactly sure who this so-called Great Ancestor was. She slanted a glance at him and whispered: “You should have multiple years of mutual feelings with your younger cousin from the Qian family, right?”
“Our two families are not too far apart physically so she often visited as a guest. Father has only this one niece so he also quite spoiled her. He had us yield to her every time but we all had our own things to do. Studying, practicing martial arts, I even had to learn how to manage the clan while Shi Wei was a martial arts simpleton. The things I had to do increased even further as four years ago, I went to the city to make a living. Any contact with the Qian family naturally decreased over time.” Yun Shi Yi’s eyes were azure and serene like a lake, displaying his deep love: “Wife, don’t let your imagination run wild. Men are not like you women. Once we accept our marriage, we will absolutely not act recklessly. We treat our wife with extreme devotion.”
Her way of thinking had indeed changed. She had completely written off the men of her original space-time who would toy with women because doing so made them happy. The more women they dallied with, the more reputation the men gained. Being indecent actually caused the womanizer to receive even more attention from other women,
“Being a man means one cannot destroy his own future prospects. In the case that it happens, it has the meaning of causing damage to his reputation for his entire lifetime. Not only would business be hard to conduct, socializing with people would also be hard to do.”
“Just like Fifth Father Zhao?”
Yun Shi Yi nodded his head. Using his finger to poke at her forehead, he smiled: “You don’t even understand this. Luckily, you are a young lady from a prominent family but it’s clear that you are rather muddle-headed.”
Ruan Zhu lowered her head, hiding her eyes. It wasn’t false that she was always somewhat confused but she is not from a prominent household. Her heart felt slightly melancholic. If Yun Shi Yi were to know that she was not the real Ruan Zhu, would he perhaps long for the previous soul of this body? Immediately, she laughed boisterously. The Heavens let her cross over so and now she clearly is Ruan Zhu and is his wife. How could it be that her relationship with him for a lifetime could not amount to the one day he had spent with the previous soul?
[a] Term used was 吃里扒外 (chi li pa wai) which literally translates to ‘eat inside, (hand) clinging outwards’. Think of when a person enters a company, learns said company’s trade secrets, quits their job, and then opens their own business based off of their previous job’s trade secrets. That kind of concept.
[b] 安史之乱 | An Shi Rebellion | rebellion that greatly weakened the Tang dynasty (Wikipedia)