After seeing off Mrs. Zhou Er, Mrs. Xu stood in the yard with a tired look and sighed deeply. Looking at Mrs. Zhou Er's attitude, she knew that there was no hope for this marriage. The eldest lady of the Zhou family had taken a fancy to Xu Mingye, but Old Lady Zhou looked down on the Xu family, and even Mingyu became one of the factors that they looked down upon.
Madam Xu wiped her face and cheered up again. Zhou Qi was not the only girl waiting to get married in the capital. Could it be that if the Zhou family failed to find a marriage, her son would be single? She would not choose such a short-sighted crooked tree as the Zhou family to hang herself on! She had to cheer up and find another wife for her son.
However, when Mrs. Xu turned around and prepared to go back to her room, she saw Mingyu standing blankly at the east wall of the room. It seemed that she had been standing there for a while. Mrs. Xu's heart tightened, fearing that Mingyu had heard what she had just said to Mrs. Zhou Er. Her daughter was sensitive to begin with, and if she thought of something she shouldn't, it would be troublesome.
"What are you doing standing here?" Mrs. Xu asked with a smile, "When did you come out?"
Mingyu smiled and clenched her hands in her sleeves. "I just saw Madam Zhou Er leave from inside the house, so I wanted to come out to see her off, but I didn't expect her to walk out the door as soon as I came out."
Seeing Mingyu looking normal, Madam Xu was relieved. She thought Mingyu had just come out, so she sighed and said, "It's better not to send her off. I think the Zhou family is not sincere, and we are not destined to be a family."
"Didn't Madam Zhou say everything was very nice when she came last? Why did she suddenly change her attitude?" Mingyu asked in a low voice.
Madam Xu stepped forward, patted her daughter on the shoulder, and said with a smile, "Who would know? A daughter is the apple of her parents' eyes. Who wouldn't be picky when marrying off their daughter? Even if your father and I were to marry you off, we would have wanted to pick a perfect family. After all, we are not destined to be together. Just look for someone better for your brother."
Mingyu curled her lips and smiled, then turned and went back to her room.
Until this moment, Mingyu finally understood what kind of embarrassing identity she was in now. She knew that divorced women were unwelcome in this era, and she also thought that there would be a day when she could not marry into a good family. She always thought that she had a shop to rely on, enough money for her own expenses, and her parents and brother who loved her, and she could live independently and strongly in this society.
As it turned out, she was naive.
Even if she could support herself and would not rely on Xu Mingye to live, the world would still look at her with contempt. Isn't the Zhou family afraid that she would become a burden to Xu Mingye and drag down her brother and sister-in-law for the rest of their lives
In the summer evening, the house was filled with the dampness and heat of a storm, the branches of the trees were motionless in the air, only the cicadas in the trees were chirping, and the sunset had long been shrouded by clouds.
When Lixiang entered the room, she lifted the bamboo curtain and saw Mingyu sitting quietly in the room. She smiled and said, "Miss, what are you thinking about while sitting here? The room is so hot, and you don't even open the window to ventilate." As she spoke, she swiftly opened the window in the room.
The wind gradually started to blow, and it became stronger and stronger. From time to time, white lightning flashed through the clouds and projected onto the ground, forming fleeting streaks of light.
The extremely gloomy sky suddenly turned white. At this moment, a dull thunder sounded, and raindrops as big as beans fell to the ground with a crackling sound.
Lixiang pulled Mingyu away from the window, fearing that she would get sick from being exposed to the wind for too long. When she touched Mingyu's hand, she screamed, "Why are your hands so cold?" Then she hurriedly touched Mingyu's forehead.
"I'm fine." Mingyu spoke in a hoarse voice, avoiding Lixiang's palm. Seeing Lixiang's worried eyes, he smiled and said, "It's so hot, how can I be cold?"
"I'll go ask the lady to come and see you." Lixiang bit her lip. She and Mingyu had lived together for so many years and she had already noticed that something was wrong with Mingyu.
Mingyu quickly grabbed Lixiang's sleeve and said seriously, "I'm really fine. Mother is worried about my brother's marriage, so don't cause trouble for her."
Seeing Mingyu say this, Lixiang had no choice but to give up. She went to the kitchen to boil some hot water, made boiling ginger soup, and forced Mingyu to drink it. She was relieved when she saw Mingyu sweating.
The downpour stopped after just a quarter of an hour. The stone slabs in the yard were washed clean by the rain. The petals of the pots of Impatiens in the corner of the wall were knocked to the ground by the rain because they had not been moved under the eaves in time. The air was cool and moist.
Madam Xu and Madam Liu wiped the stone benches and tables in the yard with dry cloths and put dinner on them. Not long after, Xu Changqian and Xu Mingye returned from the government office one after another.
Both of them came back after the rain stopped, and their clothes were still dry. After dinner, Liu Mama and Lixiang cleaned up the dishes. Mrs. Xu asked Mingyu to go back to her room to rest, and then she called Xu Changqian and Xu Mingye to the main room, saying that she had something to tell them.
Mingyu obediently returned to the house, and when Mingyu's figure disappeared behind the curtain, Mrs. Xu brought her husband and son into the main house. When the curtain of the main house was lowered, Mingyu carefully moved along the corner to the window sill of the main house, and happened to meet Lixiang carrying a bucket of swill to the yard. Seeing Mingyu sticking to the wall like a thief, Lixiang almost screamed, and Mingyu was so scared that she quickly made a shushing gesture.
Li Xiang shut up and pretended not to notice Mingyu leaving. When Mingyu returned to the wall, she only heard Xu Mingye's voice, which was completely different from his usual voice. His voice was low and he seemed to be sneering, "Did she really say that? I, Xu Mingye, have never disliked my sister as a burden, how dare they dislike it? On what basis do they dislike it? My sister..." His breath was unsteady and he was boiling with anger, "My sister is naturally the best girl in the world! Even if she can't support herself, I am willing to support her for the rest of her life. Who are they to say that? The Zhou family's upbringing is really great. They dislike their sister-in-law before they even have a chance to make a living. I, Xu Mingye, can't stand such a woman!"
"Forget it, don't be angry anymore." Xu Changqian came out to smooth things over. "We are a respectable family, Mingyu can't let them treat us like this. Everyone has their own blessings and fate. You and Miss Zhou are not destined to be together. Forget it, don't take it to heart."
Mrs. Xu didn't expect her son to be angrier than she was. Fearing that Xu Mingye would be upset, she echoed Xu Changqian and said, "Your father is right. I don't like that Miss Zhou! She is so timid and coy. She doesn't have the bearing of a lady from a wealthy family. She's not even one-tenth as good as Mingyu! I was just thinking about how to reject the Zhou family, and they came first."
Mingyu squatted under the windowsill and laughed silently, but her eyes were red. She thought that she was lucky after all, at least she had parents and brothers who loved and protected her unconditionally.
May 22nd is the Queen's 40th birthday. Since the Emperor ascended the throne a few years ago, the Chu State has been plagued by civil wars and foreign wars, and there has been no peace and security. Now it happened that the internal troubles have been settled and the foreign enemies are about to sue for peace. The Emperor is very happy and wants to give his wife a grand celebration to make up for what he owed to the Queen over the years.
No matter who the Minister of Revenue said he had “no money” to, he still had to pay for the Queen’s birthday party. Since the Emperor and the Queen paid part of the money out of their own pockets, the Minister of Revenue’s expression didn’t look so bad.
At night, Xu Mingye brought Mingyu into the palace. Under the guidance of the eunuch, they arrived at the place where the palace banquet was held. A stream meandered by and a palace lantern was set up every few steps along the water, illuminating the surface of the water, which was extremely beautiful.
Fu Lemei had arrived a long time ago. She saw Mingyu from a distance and waved at her with a smile. When Xu Mingye and Mingyu came closer, she saw Xu Mingye was there too. Fu Lemei thought of what happened at Xu's house that day, glared and snorted, then turned her head away and ignored Xu Mingye without even looking at him.
Xu Mingye was in a good mood. He smiled and bowed to Fu Lemei, then turned to the male guests' side.
After Xu Mingye left, Fu Lemei pouted and walked over to pull Mingyu to sit with her. Mingyu looked at Fu Lemei with a smile and said, "My brother's previous girlfriend didn't work out, and he's single again now."
"What did you say?" Fu Lemei didn't understand Mingyu's words.
Mingyu smiled evilly and whispered into Fu Lemei's ear, "I'm telling you, my brother's marriage is off. If you want to be my sister-in-law, you can come to me and sign up first!"
Fu Lemei's face flushed, and she pinched Mingyu's waist in embarrassment, cursing in a low voice: "What nonsense are you talking about, you little bitch! Who wants to be your sister-in-law? Didn't you say that three-legged frogs are hard to find, and two-legged men are everywhere on the street? Only your brother... is the most annoying!"
Xu Mingye, who had just arrived at the male guests' side, felt an itchy nose and could not help but turned his back and sneezed. He happened to see several people sitting in front of a long table. The person in the middle was his old acquaintance Sima Hong.
Someone who knew him quickly called Xu Mingye over. Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Xu Mingye didn't want to draw too clear a line between himself and Sima Hong, as if the Xu family was feeling guilty and deliberately avoiding Sima Hong. He just smiled and walked over.
A few people started talking and laughing again. One of them looked at Sima Hong and said with a smile: "Marquis An is not a child anymore, why doesn't he start a family?"
Miao Shu was a little drunk. He glanced at Xu Mingye, then smiled and put his arm around Sima Hong's neck, acting like a good brother. He said mysteriously, "I wouldn't tell anyone else, but I'm telling you today. Shh! This kid is thinking about a little beauty in his heart!"
Immediately, Xu Mingye's expression changed, and he looked at Sima Hong and Miao Shu with great vigilance. Miao Shu was not a good guy, and Sima Hong was a habitual offender. What could a wolf and a hyena do together? They were in cahoots with each other!
Someone in the know knew that Xu Mingye's sister was once Sima Hong's wife. Seeing Miao Shu's "eye contact", he roughly guessed something, opened his mouth in surprise, and asked tentatively in a low voice: "Could it be that... Marquis An still misses the original Xu... Madam?"