The Perilous Palace Dream - Chapter 98
Chapter 98
That sweet and honeyed call of “Eldest Cousin” made Nie Qinglin raise her eyes.
She saw a delicate and pretty young girl standing behind Wei Yunzhi.
The pink satin dress she wore made her look pure and charming.
The shy eyes she directed at Wei Lenghou were filled with the joy of a long awaited reunion.
After calling out, the young girl seemed to realize she had lost her composure.
Her small face instantly flushed red, like a stroke of rosy clouds spreading up to her neck.
Wei Lenghou’s gaze flickered and he spoke lightly.
“Cousin Ruoshan, why are you here?”
The girl named Ruoshan replied softly.
“I came out with my mother to take a stroll. It happened that Second Cousin’s shop opened for business today, so we came to offer congratulations and to ask for a cup of wine for the opening.”
As she was speaking, a middle aged woman walked out of the shop.
When she saw Wei Lenghou’s tall figure, her face lit up with a smile.
“It has been a long time since Aunt has seen you, Yu boy. You have truly been missed.”
The Grand Tutor looked at the woman, bowed slightly, and said, “It has been a long time, Aunt Liu. Your nephew greets you.”
This woman was Madam Liu, the younger sister of the mother of the two Wei brothers.
She could be considered an elder who watched the two of them grow up.
In those years, the Liu family had been a scholarly and wealthy household.
Her elder sister had married a merchant for money.
Madam Liu considered herself to have great ambitions and insisted on marrying a man who had earned scholarly honors.
In the end, she married a village scholar.
Unfortunately, her husband did not have a smooth career.
After becoming a licentiate, he could not rise any further.
Fortunately, the husband’s family was wealthy, so there was no hardship in daily life.
Compared to her elder sister, however, she still felt inferior.
In the early years, she had looked down on her sister for her shallow vision in choosing a merchant husband.
But as she grew older and the two families gathered to chat, she realized that this merchant brother in law, despite his trade, had better manners and knowledge than her own husband who spent his days pretending to be well read.
If he were to sit for the imperial examinations, he would surely surpass her wooden headed husband.
Yet when she had said such things back then, her brother in law only gave a gentle smile and said, “Are those high ranking officials any happier than I am?”
That indifference toward fame and fortune was not something feigned.
Compared to that, she and her husband seemed short sighted and narrow minded.
If that were all, it would have been fine.
But this brother in law treated her sister with deep affection, never taking a concubine.
Her sister bore two sons, and the couple lived in great harmony.
However, things were different for her.
She struggled to have children.
For years after marriage she had none.
Eventually she used a secret prescription and finally conceived, only to give birth to a daughter.
At that point her husband could no longer endure.
He took in a concubine.
Two months after entering the household, the concubine’s belly swelled and she bore a son.
It was enough to make one’s heart explode with anger.
Later, Madam Liu suffered greatly to conceive again.
She gave birth to another daughter, the same daughter who had spoken earlier, Wang Ruoshan.
At that point she gave up hope for a son.
All the family property would eventually belong to the concubine’s son.
No matter how deep the affection between sisters, there would always be a subtle desire to compare.
She had always believed her appearance surpassed her sister’s.
Yet when it came to bearing sons, she could not compete.
Flowers bloom differently on different branches, but hers had withered, and her heart was filled with unspoken sorrow.
Fortunately, not everything went smoothly in her sister’s family either.
The actions of the eldest son, Yu boy, brought her some comfort.
How many sins must have been committed to give birth to such a rebellious child?
This nephew with the childhood name Yu Lang had a fair and jade like face.
Everything else about him did not match the name at all.
He was as stubborn as a rock.
At the age of five, he led a group of children, imitating the battle of burning Chibi.
Under cover of night, he set fire to a cargo ship loaded with spices belonging to his father.
Not only did the family pay a large sum in compensation, but the intense fragrance from the burning spices lingered for three whole days.
Since then the old hometown earned the nickname Fragrant Prefecture.
She still remembered how her brother in law, furious, grabbed a thick cudgel and went searching everywhere for the rebellious child.
The five year old boy ran all the way into a brothel.
The servants behind him were terrified.
When they burst into the rooms searching for him, they found the little master being teased and coaxed into drinking wine by several lightly dressed courtesans.
He was completely drunk and unconscious.
His father dragged him home by the collar and gave him a severe beating in the ancestral hall.
That had been only one mischief from when he was five.
As he grew older, more and more outrageous incidents followed.
Every one of them made her sister anxious.
The beautiful and well maintained woman grew more than a dozen white hairs over the years.
Later, they thought they would finally have peace when he reached his youth.
He finally settled down, studied properly, sat for the imperial examinations, and became the new top scholar of Great Wei.
Aunt Liu’s admiration for scholars came from the heart.
Because she envied her sister, and seeing that her sister’s only misstep had now become a dragon among men, she quickly moved ahead and agreed with her sister to settle the engagement, marrying her own daughter to Wei family’s eldest son.
That rebellious Wei Lenghou was extremely filial to his mother.
Because the marriage was arranged by his mother, he agreed.
But later, when he forced the whole family to move abroad, Aunt Liu realized that the little tyrant from five years old had not changed at all.
He had simply evolved into a greater menace.
What did burning a ship count for? Setting the imperial palace ablaze was a true feat.
During the chaos in the capital, when the vassal prince rebelled, all relatives were frightened out of their wits.
Many distant branches of the Wei clan quietly changed their surnames.
Even she, who was merely related by marriage, was terrified.
Her own husband even wanted to divorce her with a letter to sever any connection that might lead to the extermination of nine clans.
When she was driven out of her husband’s household and saw that the divorce letter was about to be delivered, her brother in law took her onto the ship out of guilt and refused to accept that letter.
Fortunately the older daughter was already married and she could only bring her unmarried younger daughter with her to temporarily take refuge overseas with her elder sister’s family.
Her own poor judgment in choosing a husband had turned into a lifelong mistake and she could not allow her daughter to be wronged as well.
She discussed the matter and decided to dissolve the engagement with the eldest son of the Wei family to avoid letting her daughter Ruoshan become the widow of a rebel and traitor.
Her elder sister had always been considerate and felt guilty about her younger sister being driven out by her husband’s family.
Once she lightly mentioned her intention, her elder sister immediately scolded her eldest son for being unruly and unacceptable.
She said the many concubines in the household were not suitable for marriage and dissolved the engagement between the cousins.
Unexpectedly, the younger daughter Ruoshan could not forget her handsome older male cousin.
She cried endlessly because her mother had dissolved the engagement without consulting her.
Later, when Wei Lenghou found time to visit his parents overseas, no one knew how it happened, but he ended up kissing his younger female cousin in the garden with his clothes half undone, forcefully taking liberties, and the entire disgraceful scene was witnessed by everyone.
At that time the Grand Tutor had already completed the palace coup.
He wielded immense power and held absolute authority.
He had also become a noble royal son in law.
She cried and begged her elder sister to take charge and urged the Grand Tutor to marry Ruoshan immediately to preserve her daughter’s reputation.
However she never expected that the formerly obedient eldest son of the Wei family would smile slightly and say, “If kissing means I must marry her, would that not make me a bridegroom every night?”
After speaking he left his sobbing cousin behind and walked away without a second look.
Listen to that.
What shameless and outrageous words.
After her daughter had suffered such disgrace, how could she marry anyone else.
Her elder sister therefore forced the matter and renewed the engagement, acknowledging Ruoshan as the eldest daughter in law of the Wei family.
Now that she calculated it, she realized it had been a full year and a half since she had last seen this noble son in law.
At the moment Madam Liu’s face was filled with smiles as she called him by his childhood name, trying to draw a bit of warmth from his cool demeanor.
Wei Yunzhi understood his brother’s temperament.
Because of this matter, his brother had not found time to see their parents for over a year.
Every time only when his own sea ship docked would he bring things to his parents on behalf of his brother.
This time he himself came ashore to open a shop and the Liu mother and daughter insisted on following him.
He already felt troubled.
He had never expected that his brother would also show up and even bring a beauty with him to offer congratulations.
What awaited them next would surely be endless awkwardness.
Thinking of this, Wei Yunzhi quietly whispered beside his brother, “Father and mother will be arriving soon. Will you meet them or leave first.”
Wei Lenghou slightly furrowed his brows.
He glanced at the quietly standing Little Guo’er beside him and after thinking for a moment said, “Since father and mother have returned, if I do not meet them, would that not make me truly unfilial.”
After speaking he asked where his parents were staying.
When he heard that they were living in the newly purchased residence in Pingyang, he did not wait for them to arrive but instead brought Nie Qinglin to pay respects to his parents first.
The younger cousin Ruoshan saw that her older male cousin still carried a distant expression even when meeting again.
Her heart instantly sank, but fortunately her mother comforted her beside her, “Your Wei family aunt and uncle came ashore this time precisely to settle the date of your marriage. Put your heart at ease. Naturally the elders will make the decisions for you.”
Only then did Ruoshan gradually stop crying.
Because the political situation had stabilized, the two elders of the Wei family could no longer tolerate living overseas.
They had long wished to return.
So they instructed their younger son Wei Yunzhi early on to purchase a large residence near the water in the ancient city of Pingyang.
After several rounds of renovation, the manor had brick walls, four watchtowers at the corners, pavilions and towers arranged in perfect order.
Every part of it was elegant, simple, and exquisitely luxurious.
Surrounding the manor were ten thousand acres of fertile fields and they employed as many as one hundred tenant farmers.
Unfortunately none of the nearby local gentry knew where such a powerful household had appeared from.
They only knew that this family seemed to have an extremely deep background and no one dared to disturb them.
On this side Nie Qinglin got into the carriage and after thinking briefly with her head lowered she said to the Grand Tutor, “My royal elder sister is still waiting for me to return at the lodging. If you wish to meet your relatives, you may send me back first so that it will be more convenient for you.”
The Grand Tutor tilted his phoenix eyes slightly.
“An unattractive daughter in law must still meet her parents in law. The princess is usually very generous. Why is she suddenly acting so shy now.”
Princess Yong’an was stunned.
“To meet them in this manner, what kind of reasoning is that.”
It was not that she was deliberately putting on the airs of a princess.
It was because none of it made sense.
If she were to follow her status as a princess, then it should be the plain clothed elder couple of the Wei family who came to pay respects to her.
If she appeared under the identity of the third madam of the Wei household as before, then that third madam had originally been the personal maid of Madam Wei, so that lie could not be maintained.
And if she were to be considered the Wei family’s daughter in law who had not yet entered the household, when had Wei Lenghou ever formally given her betrothal gifts or exchanged the eight character birth notes with her.
Since every explanation was unreasonable, why did the Grand Tutor still act as if she ought to accompany him to see his parents.
Unfortunately, once such reasoning reached the reckless Grand Tutor, none of it was considered a problem.
Nie Qinglin was the first woman in his life he sincerely recognized with his whole heart.
If he could not marry her openly and with proper status, even possessing vast territories would feel meaningless.
After returning to the capital, he would ascend the throne.
At that time he would naturally hold a grand wedding and take his beautiful empress into the palace.
Meeting his parents in the ancient city was not something he had planned, but it happened perfectly.
He wanted his parents to see the woman he had chosen, so they would stop thinking about pushing him to marry that ridiculous cousin.
But seeing Nie Qinglin lower her small face with hesitation, as if she truly did not wish to see his parents, he wondered if she still had thoughts of not wanting to marry him.
Wei Lenghou had never in his life failed to obtain something he desired.
Who would have thought that after indulging himself freely until the age of thirty, he would crash so fiercely into this small stubborn stone.
Although he had tasted every part of her tender body, her delicate heart alone remained out of reach no matter how he pursued it.
Every time he thought of how he, who had always been aloof and proud, needed to forcibly marry her to bring her home, he became so stifled with frustration that he needed to close his eyes for a long moment before the feeling dispersed.
This time he failed to restrain himself and a sharp and fierce glint appeared in his eyes.
“For what reason does the princess refuse to meet my parents. Could it be that you think my parents are merchants by origin and that they would disgrace the honor of the royal family.”
Nie Qinglin had always been unwilling to argue with the Grand Tutor.
That iron wrist of his, once he insisted, could only lead to broken bones in the end.
She smiled slightly.
“The Grand Tutor is imagining too much. The parents of the Marquis of Dingguo are naturally of noble status. It is this pitiful royal orphan without father or mother who must be careful not to offend the dignity of the Wei household.”
Her slow and leisurely tone, if one did not listen closely to the meaning under the words, truly sounded like the soft and gentle compliment of Wu dialect.
The Grand Tutor felt his lungs burn from anger at this composed little beauty.
Yet that little troublemaker still had the nerve to act obedient while taking advantage, continuing to say, “In the future, it is enough for the Grand Tutor to make decisions. There is no need to consider my opinion. The teachings for women put it beautifully. Men are firm, women are soft. So whatever the Grand Tutor says is correct. Whatever you want to do shall be done. There is no need to ask for my opinion. The Grand Tutor is advancing in age. Getting angry over nothing will only harm your health.”
At this moment the carriage had already arrived at the gate of the manor.
A loud crack sounded from inside the carriage, startling the surrounding guards who immediately drew their blades, thinking assassins had attacked.
Upon closer look, they saw that the golden threads of the golden nanmu carriage had been split open by the force of a single palm strike from inside.
They looked at one another, unsure whether they should invite the Grand Tutor to step out.
The Grand Tutor’s handsome face was cold.
His phoenix eyes stared sharply at the still composed and calm Nie Qinglin.
That small face remained serene and light, with fair smooth skin and bright eyes, making one unwilling to harm even a single strand of hair.
If it had been possible, he thought, back during the palace coup he should have carried out the act that treacherous courtiers deserved and struck this reckless little nuisance dead.
That would have saved him endless trouble afterward.
After a suffocating silence in the carriage, the Grand Tutor finally said, “Turn the carriage around. Return to the lodging.”
Since the Grand Tutor was coming, Wei Yunzhi had earlier sent a shop assistant on horseback to the manor to inform his parents that his elder brother would be arriving.
The Elder Master of the Wei family, although furious enough that his beard curled whenever the rebellious eldest son was mentioned, had in truth missed him terribly after such a long separation.
“Hmph. So he still knows how to come back, but who would possibly want to see him?”
Although he said this, he opened the wardrobe on his own and searched through his clothes back and forth.
After he had changed, he stood in the main hall and tried a few different postures before sitting up straight, waiting for his son to enter and pay his respects.
But he waited and waited, and no one came in.
Instead, he saw the steward from the old residence of the Wei family run in, panting all the way.
“Master, the eldest young master… he did not even get down from the carriage. He turned the carriage around and left.”
When Master Wei heard this, the hand holding the teacup trembled with anger, and with a loud crack he smashed the cup into pieces.
“That unfilial rebellious son. Does he think he is the sage Yu of old? Passing by his home three times without entering. If he has the ability then he should never return. My Wei family will treat it as if we never had such a descendant.”
Madam Wei could only sigh helplessly.
She felt she owed her husband an apology for accidentally giving birth to such a troublemaking demon king, and she gently offered soothing words of comfort.
After the time of one stick of incense, the steward ran in again, this time with a face full of joy, and quickly reported, “Master, the eldest young master has ridden back on horseback.”
