Chapter 145: The Resolute Woman
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The person behind, Fei Nu, “…”
Xiao Jue only felt a faint throbbing in his forehead. He had just returned to the Cui residence and hadn’t even had a chance to change his clothes when he heard Cui Jiao say that He Yan had been taken to the small garden by Ling Xiu. With a woman like Ling Xiu, he could easily understand her intentions at a glance. However, He Yan was completely clueless when it came to matters in the women’s quarters. Thinking about it, he was afraid that she might be at a disadvantage, which was why he came to her rescue.
Little did he know that as soon as he arrived, he saw her acting so self-assured, and it seemed like she hadn’t suffered any loss. It even left the other women with flushed faces.
Xiao Jue wasn’t too foolish. He felt a mix of anger and amusement, so he didn’t approach He Yan. Instead, he stood at the corner of the garden, looking at her with a cold gaze, waiting to hear if she would say anything outrageous.
On the other side, Er Yiniang revealed a knowing smile and gestured towards the figure in the corner of the garden. “Look, the protector has arrived.”
“Really?” Si Yiniang clenched her fists. “Er Yiniang, you’re the best at reading people. I admire you!”
“Who knows,” San Yiniang unwilling to admit her misjudgment, said. “What if Young Master Qiao sees that Ling Xiu is so beautiful and changes his mind at the last minute?”
Wei Yiniang furrowed her brow. “If you don’t have anything useful to say, don’t say anything!”
Er Yiniang couldn’t help but laugh at her being scolded.
In that moment, He Yan was still talking eloquently, “So, my dear sisters, learning the arts of music, chess, calligraphy, and painting is indeed essential. However, we should learn these skills to bring joy to ourselves. If we’re learning them solely to please men, it’s better to acquire some skills in managing husbands. Before I got married, I also enjoyed the romantic pleasures of life, but after marriage, I realized it’s all like fleeting clouds in the valley. The only real skill is managing a husband.”
“Is that so?” These young girls were not too old, and though they could be annoying at times, they were straightforward. They naturally lacked guile, and one of them asked, “So, what is your secret to managing a husband?”
He Yan cleared her throat and answered seriously, “I must admit that I’m not sure what my secret is. My husband and I only met at the Lantern Festival, and I didn’t even know him. The next day, he came to propose, and it was a non-negotiable decision. I didn’t want to get married so early, but he was insistent to the point of threatening to drown himself if I refused. I thought that saving a life was a good deed. You know the saying, ‘A virtuous woman is afraid of a persistent suitor.’ He was so persistent that I finally agreed to marry him.”
“I thought about it, and the secret to managing a husband is quite simple. First, you need a face that can make a man fall in love with you at first sight, a face that he can’t help but want to marry.” She smoothed her long hair hanging over her chest and said, “Of course, not everyone can achieve this.”
“Second, you must love him less than he loves you. Between men and women, there’s often a power dynamic, and in small matters, someone usually has the upper hand. It’s like a war, where you shouldn’t make your lover too important all the time. Take care of yourself, and someone will naturally love you.” He Yan made up a story, almost convincing herself, “I’ve never tried to please my husband, but he cherishes me like a treasure. That’s the result.”
“Third,” He Yan thought to herself, “I can’t come up with a third one.” She smiled faintly and continued, “Good husbands are rare, so all of you should keep an eye out. Instead of coveting what others have, it’s better to find your own.”
Fei Nu secretly cast a glance at her own master. Second Young Master Xiao stood by the wall, with a slightly cold smile and a mocking glint in his eyes. Fei Nu thought to himself, “Does Miss He really believe that strong-willed women are afraid of persistent suitors? Is their young master really that persistent? Is he really pursuing her like this? She’s good at flattering herself!”
Er Yiniang paused in her sunflower seed cracking and stared at He Yan with surprise, saying, “Did I misjudge her? I thought she had no understanding of the matters in the inner chambers. I didn’t expect her to be so skilled. Impressive!”
“Although I don’t quite understand what she’s saying,” Si Yiniang scratched her head, “it sounds quite impressive.”
He Yan felt somewhat relieved in her heart. Since her rebirth, she had seen a lot of the world with Xiao Jue, and she had learned to speak and act like a sophisticated person. However, among this group of people, there were always one or two who were not easy to deceive.
Yan Miner looked at her and sneered, “Do you really think anyone would believe what you’re saying? Young Master Qiao, pampering someone and being infatuated with you? Does Young Master Qiao seem like that kind of person?”
As soon as this was mentioned, the few girls who had been listening with confusion suddenly became a little more alert. No matter how you looked at it, Young Master Qiao didn’t seem like the kind of person who would persistently pursue someone like Wen Yuyan.
“You must be lying!” one of the girls with a loud voice said.
“I’m not lying,” He Yan said very earnestly. “Our relationship is incredibly good, beyond your imagination. Just a few days ago at the Water God Festival, we even walked the Lover’s Bridge together. I’m afraid of heights, and I didn’t want to go at first, but my husband heard that those who cross the bridge together will never part in this life. He forcibly carried me across. If I hadn’t firmly refused, he might have gone across three times, destined for three lifetimes.”
Xiao Jue: “…”
He couldn’t take it anymore. He found the whole situation absurd. How could someone tell such blatant lies with a straight face and be so serious about it?
“What’s the big deal?” one of the girls challenged. “Many people walk on Lover’s Bridge…”
“We also looked at paintings together,” He Yan added.
Ling Xiu asked in confusion, “What paintings?”
“Spring…”
Before she could continue, a light cough interrupted her. Everyone turned to see a young man approaching gracefully. He was incredibly handsome and charming. Although they had seen him before, every time they saw him, they couldn’t help but be captivated by his looks, and they couldn’t help but admire his charm.
As he passed by He Yan, his beautiful eyes fell on her, and a hint of warning flashed in his gaze.
He Yan momentarily forgot what she was saying and was about to speak when she heard Xiao Jue’s calm voice, “Yanyan, what are you doing here?”
Yanyan?
Ling Xiu froze, between husband and wife, calling each other by their nicknames was not unheard of, but it was usually done privately. Doing so in front of others only happened when the emotions were so strong that there were no inhibitions.
He Yan was left speechless, not knowing how to react. Although she knew that Xiao Jue called Wen Yuyan “Yanyan,” it was quite coincidental that she also had the character “Yan” in her name. This made her feel like he was calling her “Yanyan*.”
* her yan
She replied somewhat bewildered, “Just… chatting over tea.”
Xiao Jue nodded and gazed at her with his dark, limpid eyes. He smiled slightly and spoke gently, sending shivers down her spine, “Can you accompany me to my room for a while?”
“For what?” He Yan was not used to him speaking like this and felt the surrounding gazes were cutting into her. She had just been boasting about how favored she was, but all she received in return was “deception.” Meanwhile, Xiao Jue hadn’t said much, yet the way he looked at her with tenderness drew many envious glances.
Who wouldn’t say that Second Young Master Xiao is impressive?
“Accompany me to practice the zither,” the young man with a jade-like face and eyes like bright stars said. His dark hair, tied up, fell gracefully on his shoulders. He reached out and gently rubbed He Yan’s head, displaying endless indulgence.
The people around couldn’t help but wish to push He Yan away and put their heads in the young man’s hands.
“Alright… sure,” He Yan regained her composure, stood up, and when she looked up, she had a shy expression. “Sisters, I’m sorry, but my husband wants me to accompany him for some zither practice.” She sighed, looking troubled, and added, “A virtuous wife fears her husband’s persistence; this saying is true.”
He Yan turned and elegantly walked away with Xiao Jue. The people around exchanged glances, and after a while, Ling Xiu wiped her face with a handkerchief and bit her lip. Yan Min’er asked, “What’s wrong with you?”
Surprisingly, Ling Xiu had been brought to tears.
When the melon seeds were almost finished, Si Yiniang patted her hands and said with a bit of regret, “Is it over already?”
“If you want to see more, go find a play yourself,” Wei Yiniang scolded her, “Is Young Master Qiao here to entertain you?”
“Don’t say that, this is much better than the operas in the courtyards,” Er Yiniang said, propping up her cheek, “Just now, when Young Master Qiao protected his wife, it was quite moving. I even started thinking…”
“What were you thinking?” Wei Yiniang asked, “Don’t cause trouble.”
“Good sister, I was just talking,” Er Yiniang smiled with charm, “We’re of this age, and even if we want to enjoy romantic moments with someone, there’s no one to pamper us.”
San Yiniang, contrary to her usual snarky comments, just mumbled, “Madam Qiao is quite lucky to have found such a husband.”
“Your mind, why do you only see that Young Master Qiao is good?” Si Yiniang scolded her, “I think Madam Qiao is an interesting person too. If you were surrounded like that earlier, you would have cried and jumped into the river. Look at her, what’s known as ‘a slight move can tip a thousand pounds.’ Managing a husband is not simple; you should learn from her, Third Sister.”
…
At this moment, He Yan, who possessed the coveted “husband-management techniques,” was on her way back to the courtyard with Xiao Jue.
He Yan didn’t dare to breathe heavily or look at Xiao Jue on the way back. Undoubtedly, since he had shown up at that moment, he had probably been there for a while, and her comments about him earlier must have been heard by him.
It was the fault of those girls, who were so chatty that they didn’t let her to recognize Xiao Jue’s footsteps. They had made such a scene, and she didn’t know what Xiao Jue was thinking right now. When they got back, how could she make him feel better? Should she apologize before he got angry?
She was deep in thought when they reached the courtyard. He Yan and Xiao Jue saw Lin Shuanghe standing in the courtyard, chatting with a maidservant. Lin Shuanghe was a skirt chaser, and He Yan didn’t know what he had said to the new maid, but he had made her blush and giggle.
With a quick glance, he saw He Yan and Xiao Jue returning. Lin Shuanghe greeted them, “Young Master, Young Madam, you’re back? Where did you go?”
He Yan awkwardly replied, “Just had some tea. We’ll talk later.”
She followed Xiao Jue back into the room. As soon as she entered, she almost bumped into him, coming dangerously close to falling into his arms. Xiao Jue looked at her with a calm and indifferent gaze, reached over her body, and closed the door behind her.
He Yan: “…”
“Sit.” He turned around and sat at the table, his tone calm, but He Yan sensed a hint of questioning and blame in his words.
He Yan quickly sat opposite him.
“Why aren’t you speaking?” Xiao Jue raised an eyebrow, looking at her with a smirk. “You were quite talkative just now, Lie Nu*.”
* a woman who dies fighting for her honor or follows her husband in death
He Yan was surprised, he definitely heard it.
She said, “Commander, you also know that they keep coming to pick a fight every now and then, and I’m tired of it. It was just a temporary measure. May I ask when you arrived, and how much you heard?”
Xiao Jue sneered, “What difference does it make?”
“The difference lies in what I am apologizing for.”
Xiao Jue stared at her for a while and then said, “Miss He, do you not care about your reputation or mine?”
“I’m sorry,” He Yan apologized sincerely, “but I thought that now we are Young Master Qiao and Miss Wen, we should make our relationship appear closer. After all, it’s not uncommon for couples to be affectionate with each other.”
Xiao Jue couldn’t stand it any longer. “Are you saying that’s affectionate?”
“Isn’t it?”
“If I hadn’t come over just now, what were you planning to say? What were we looking at?” He was well-mannered to the bone and couldn’t bring himself to say those two words.
But He Yan obviously didn’t have his level of refinement. She said it quite openly, “You’re talking about the spring painting, right?”
Xiao Jue pressed his temples. “There’s no need to say it so loudly.”
He Yan lowered her voice and asked in confusion, “If we were looking at a spring painting together, it means our relationship is quite good. What’s wrong with that?”
Back when they were in the army camp, the men expressed their unbreakable bond by sharing their treasured paintings with their brothers. If the relationship wasn’t that good, they wouldn’t even lend them. Between husband and wife, it was even more so. Two people looking at a painting together was a sign of their closeness, like harmonious music and instruments.
Xiao Jue’s face turned so dark it could almost drip water. He asked in a low voice, “Who told you that looking at a painting together means having a good relationship?” Who was this person? Saying such things as if it were self-evident. Did He Sui teach his daughter this way? She clearly didn’t know that if he hadn’t appeared to stop her from continuing, the things she was about to say would have shocked the entire city of Jiyang.
“I…,” He Yan abruptly stopped. “I just felt that way myself. Besides, after you looked at it, our relationship didn’t seem to deteriorate, did it?”
“When did I look at it?” Xiao Jue’s face turned ashen.
“You did see it,” He Yan insisted, “Even just a glance counts as seeing it. We’ve seen it together.”
He was slightly annoyed, “I didn’t see it.”
“You did see it.”
“I didn’t.”
“Fine,” He Yan said, “If you want to insist you didn’t see it, then you didn’t.”
Xiao Jue felt a headache coming on. Clearly, she was just making things up, but it felt like he was the one being unreasonable.
“When you spout such nonsense, you’re not just disregarding our reputation but also damaging the reputations of Young Master Qiao and Madam Wen,” he said with a faintly cold smile.
He Yan pondered for a moment and said, “I understand. I won’t mention the fact that we looked at the spring paintings together in front of others in the future.”
“I did not look at them with you,” Xiao Jue emphasized once again.
“Fine, then can I look at them by myself?” He Yan wondered why Xiao Jue had been so hung up on this matter from the start.
“No, you can’t look at them either,” he warned sternly, raising an eyebrow. “Do you realize what aggressive words you just said? Lie Nu.”
He Yan choked on her words. She said, “Commander, don’t call me a Lie Nu; it sounds like you’re cursing me.”
“Oh?” Xiao Jue opened his mouth with a sly smile. “But you seemed quite pleased when you were speaking. ‘I won’t marry anyone else, if I can’t marry you, I’ll even jump into the river.’ I didn’t know that Miss He, who is not very tall, is so imaginative.”
“That was just to prove that you’re devoted to me,” He Yan sighed helplessly. “I just wanted to make those girls give up. Otherwise, they keep pestering me every now and then. Who can tolerate that? You naturally can resort to your charm. Unfortunately, it’s me who suffers. Commander, you must have some sympathy.”
“I don’t have any sympathy?” Xiao Jue asked, his tone edged with amusement. If it hadn’t been for him trying to help her out, preventing Ling Xiu and others from doing something pointless in front of others, he wouldn’t have had to act so sweetly in front of them. He still felt uncomfortable.
“Why should I have sympathy?” he said coolly. “Aren’t you skilled in the art of managing a husband? You can easily make your husband dote on you with a flick of your finger. It sounds like your husband is the one more deserving of sympathy.”
He Yan: “…”
“Having a face that made people glance at you once and can’t marry anyone else,” Xiao Jue’s lips curled slightly, with a playful smile, he gazed into her eyes and said slowly, “Loving you as if you were a precious gem, but you love him less than he loves you. The persistent lover still remains unwavering, insisting on a karmic bond for three lifetimes. Lie Nu, are you being a bit too heartless?”
At the mention of “Lie Nu,” He Yan’s goosebumps rose. She quickly moved the chair a bit closer to Xiao Jue, grabbed his arm, and said earnestly, “Exactly! Our Commander is such an attractive person; how could he be the one to pester someone else? Besides, apart from you, no one else has the qualification to be called a ‘Lie Nu’! If you want to have a karmic bond with someone, not only will they cross the bridge, but they’ll also cross a mountain of knives! No one can be heartless to you, no one!”
“You didn’t say that just now,” he said leisurely.
“I was lying just now, now I’m speaking from the heart,” He Yan said, “You must believe me!”
The young girl’s gaze was clear, her eyes were determined, like the wild cat he had encountered in the courtyard. It would bristle if its tail was stepped on but would be exceptionally obedient when petted.
A trace of amusement flashed in his eyes, but it disappeared in an instant. He said lightly, “In the future, don’t read so much random stuff,” pausing for a moment, he added, “Let’s forget about this matter.”
He Yan felt a great sense of relief. This man was really hard to deceive, but as long as she made him appear… a little less cold, he got angry. It seemed that Second Young Master Xiao truly cared about his image in the eyes of others.
With this in mind, He Yan moved closer to him and said, “Commander, you should also not just focus on those things. Before this, I also said many good things about you. For example… I said you’re proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and there’s nothing you can’t do. Next time, you must perform in front of them to prove that what I said is true.”
Xiao Jue sneered, “Am I a street performer?”
“….Well, not exactly,” He Yan scratched her head. After thinking for a while, she said to Xiao Jue, “But if something like this happens again, with people who have no sense, Commander, you must cooperate with me, showing a deep and loving bond, as a devoted couple. Maybe then they’ll realize it’s difficult and won’t bother us anymore?”
Xiao Jue raised an eyebrow, “Cooperate?”
He Yan nodded.
He glanced at He Yan, “If you beg me, I might consider it.”
He Yan said, “Please, Commander.”
Xiao Jue: “…”
How can she say that so easily? He furrowed his brow slightly, and a mocking smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “So spineless, yet you don’t want to be called a ‘Lie Nu.'”
“I told you not to call me ‘Lie Nu,'” He Yan said, frustrated. “Commander, you’re really immature like this.”
“Oh,” he raised an eyebrow and said, one word at a time, “Lie Nu.”
“Immature!”
…..
Since the incident in the garden, it was unclear whether He Yan’s words had an effect, or if Xiao Jue’s subtle display of affection for his beloved wife made an impact, but for two consecutive days, the entire Cui Mansion was remarkably calm. The young ladies from Jiyang City no longer sought to have tea and chat with Madam Qiao.
Hong Qiao fetched the “Tear Silk” from the box and said, “Madam, wear this when you visit the Royal Mansion today.”
He Yan nodded, “Alright.”
Today, Princess Mengji was hosting a banquet in the Royal Mansion, inviting He Yan and Xiao Jue to attend. There were guests coming over, but it was unknown who they were. Cui Yuezhi felt a bit puzzled, “Why did His Highness invite you both and not me?”
He Yan was fully aware, and in Mu Hongjin’s heart, her and Xiao Jue’s identities had already been exposed. If Cui Yuezhi was also present, it would be inconvenient to speak. However, when a distinguished guest arrived, she called for her and Xiao Jue to accompany her, could it be that the other person was someone they knew?
But no matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t figure it out. She would only find out when she arrived at the Royal Mansion. After Hong Qiao finished dressing He Yan, she left the house. Xiao Jue was already waiting outside and was engaged in conversation with Liu Buwang. These days, Liu Buwang was never around during the day, only returning at night, and when he returned, it was already too late, and He Yan didn’t have the time to talk to Liu Buwang. Now, seeing Liu Buwang, she had to leave again.
“Master,” she said.
In fact, there were several times when He Yan wanted to ask Liu Buwang if he should go see Mu Hongjin, but in the end, it was someone else’s business, and it wasn’t appropriate to get too involved. Moreover, what had happened between the two of them was only known to themselves.
Liu Buwang smiled and nodded at her. “Ah He, be cautious.”
He Yan nodded. Now that there might be Wutuo people in Jiyang City, it might not be a bad idea to be cautious.
Fei Nu and Chiwu followed as the carriage drivers, and Lin Shuanghe stayed at the Cui Mansion, they didn’t need to go together. He Yan and Xiao Jue got into the carriage, and He Yan asked, “Commander, today, Princess Mengji specifically invited the two of us to the Royal Mansion for a banquet but didn’t call Cui Zhongqi. That must mean she’s concerned about our identities. But then, there’s a distinguished guest coming. Could it be… the distinguished guest knows our identities? Who is this person, after all?”
Xiao Jue lowered his eyes, his emotions unclear, and his voice very calm.
“A person from Shuojing.”
—Side Note—
A day of exchanging cheesy love words.
Yan Yan: Do I look like a drama queen today?
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Yan Yan is a one person show XD
Thanks for the chapter!!