My Dearest Sister-In-Law, I've Been Waiting For You To Get A Divorce For A Long Time - Chapter 12

Chapter 12

◎ “Sister-in-law, am I handsome?” ◎

“A what?” In the bronze mirror, Gu Wenyao’s smile remained, but it was like a false moon reflected on the water—it could shatter at any moment with a single ripple.

Mo Shuqing looked up at Gu Wenyao, genuinely thinking she hadn’t heard clearly, and repeated herself, “A matchmaking banquet under the pretense of admiring the lotus.”

It was like a dull blade twisting twice in an old wound. After the initial shock, the pain spread from her heart to her limbs.

Gu Wenyao lowered her eyes to avoid Mo Shuqing’s gaze. Without a word, she subtly pulled her wrist from Mo Shuqing’s hand. Her soft lips were still upturned as her pale fingers lightly went into Mo Shuqing’s hair, deftly undoing the maiden bun she had just styled. She gently shook it out.

She laughed, “I must have forgotten. Sister-in-law is now a married woman and the head of the household. I still saw her as she was before she was wed and styled an unsuitable bun.”

The way she said “sister-in-law” sounded like she had returned to the night before.

The same two words, but she managed to say them with two different meanings.

Mo Shuqing came to her senses and turned to face Gu Wenyao, looking up at her expression. “Are you unhappy?”

When Mo Shuqing turned, Gu Wenyao’s fingers, which had been in her hair, were left suspended in the air. A few strands of hair were still caught in her fingers, like grains of sand that couldn’t be held, flowing through the gaps. In the end, the ends of the hair swept over her fingertips, leaving her palm empty.

Gu Wenyao’s long lashes were lowered, her eyes shifting.

When she looked up again, Gu Wenyao wore a smile that was impossible to fault. She said obediently, “How could I be? Did sister-in-law already find a family for me to marry into? We just talked yesterday, and today you’re already in a hurry to find me a husband. Or is it that I’m getting in the way of you managing the household?”

“You can just tell me directly, sister-in-law,” Gu Wenyao slowly crouched in front of Mo Shuqing. She rested her hands on Mo Shuqing’s knees, looked up at her, and said as if she were begging, “If you want it, let alone the household authority, even my family’s fortune and the Ming family’s wealth can all be yours alone.”

She was smiling, but the corners of her eyes were a little red. Her lips were clearly upturned, yet her voice was soft and low, making her seem pitiful. “Why do you have to drive me out?”

Gu Wenyao stretched her lips into a smile. Her fingers gently climbed up Mo Shuqing’s sleeve like a rock climber, and like water, her fingertips slipped into Mo Shuqing’s palm.

She held Mo Shuqing’s fingers and pressed her palm against the side of her own face. She tilted her head slightly and said softly, “With this body of mine, can’t you just tolerate me for a few more years? Maybe I’ll be dead by then.”

In the short moment that Mo Shuqing was lost in thought, Gu Wenyao’s words made her chest ache. She found her hand was already on Gu Wenyao’s face.

Mo Shuqing was sitting down, her long hair draped behind her. She looked down at Gu Wenyao, who was crouching in front of her like a small dog, begging for her survival. At this angle, an odd feeling rose in her heart.

She remembered that eight years ago, she and Ayao weren’t like this.

It must be that in all these years apart, no one had ever doted on her, which was why she had become like a pathetic little puppy.

Mo Shuqing pulled her hand away, instead holding Gu Wenyao’s fingertips. “I’m not really trying to marry you off. I want to use the lotus banquet as a trap to get someone else out. If Ayao doesn’t want to get married, then you don’t have to. No one in this manor has the right to force you to leave, not even I.”

Seeing Gu Wenyao pout her lips and look up at her with a trusting and dependent expression, Mo Shuqing smiled and gently pinched her earlobe. “Now, take your medicine and take care of your body. Don’t say anything about dying.”

The cool pads of her fingers pinched Gu Wenyao’s earlobe. Gu Wenyao’s breath was light, and her eyelashes fluttered. “So that’s what you meant, sister-in-law. I was overthinking it.”

She placed a hand on her chest and leaned forward, resting her head on Mo Shuqing’s knees. In a spot where Mo Shuqing couldn’t see, there was no trace of a smile on Gu Wenyao’s face. She only sighed softly. “I thought you couldn’t tolerate me after you married my brother.”

If that were the case, it would be a good idea to lock her in this courtyard after Mo Shuqing’s home visit.

In that short time, Gu Wenyao had already thought of what kind of golden cage to build for her sister-in-law.

What a pity.

“What does this have to do with Gu Shufeng?” Mo Shuqing said. “Dealing with him is a matter of a few words.”

There was no need to pretend to hold a matchmaking banquet.

Mo Shuqing gently patted Gu Wenyao’s back. Her tone was gentle. “Alright, get up and style my hair.”

After seeing Gu Wenyao’s skilled technique, Mo Shuqing knew she must have practiced in private. After all, styling someone else’s hair was different from styling your own. If she hadn’t practiced, she wouldn’t have been so skilled.

Mo Shuqing sat back in front of the bronze mirror, looking at herself and Gu Wenyao in the reflection. In her heart, there was a little curiosity and a hint of jealousy that she hadn’t even noticed.

Who did Ayao practice styling hair for to become so skilled?

It shouldn’t be Bian Yue… right?

After washing up, the two ate and went over the accounts again. In addition to the wedding banquet expenses from the past two days, Gu Wenyao also had the accountants bring out the old ledgers.

“The Elder Gu-shi lives in the manor, and her monthly allowance is the same as the First Madam’s. Her daughter’s is also the same as yours. Why is she always short on money?” Mo Shuqing flipped through all the ledgers, a little puzzled. “Where could she have a use for such a large amount of money?”

The Marquis manor handled all the social engagements. Even personal visits were an exchange, so it was impossible for one party to be the only one giving.

On top of that, the Elder Gu-shi had been privately scheming to embezzle funds all these years, so she should not be lacking money. Yet, every month when the allowances were handed out, she was the most eager.

“Did you look into this before?” Mo Shuqing looked up and asked Gu Wenyao, who was sitting across from her.

Gu Wenyao blinked, pretending to be clueless. “Huh?”

Mo Shuqing tapped the ledger with her finger and glanced at Gu Wenyao. “Ayao, how did you originally plan to deal with the Elder Gu-shi?”

Gu Wenyao slowly moved the abacus beads with her thumb. She was practically leaning on the table, her eyes fixed on Mo Shuqing. She pursed her lips into a smile, a fawning look on her face. She said softly, “By using you.”

Using Mo Shuqing to deal with the Elder Gu-shi was a method similar to the matchmaking banquet that Mo Shuqing had suggested that morning.

“Oh?” Mo Shuqing rested her forearm on the open ledger. Influenced by Gu Wenyao’s slouching posture, she leaned forward, pressing her upper body against the table.

There was a table between them, but now both of them were leaning forward. The distance between them had been suddenly shortened. A little closer and their noses would be touching.

The familiar cold plum scent filled the air. Gu Wenyao’s neck turned red.

She avoided Mo Shuqing’s eyes, but she couldn’t avoid her lips.

Mo Shuqing, the elegant young lady who seemed as cold as a plum in the eyes of outsiders, was now leaning on the table, looking at her, and asking softly, “How were you planning to use me?”

Gu Wenyao’s ears were hot, and her mind was blank. All she could see were Mo Shuqing’s lips opening and closing.

So fragrant. It would be even more fragrant if I tasted them…

Gu Wenyao smiled and lowered her head, making a clicking sound with the abacus. “How I’ll use you… I’ll tell you later.”

In the end, she almost ran away in a fluster.

Mo Shuqing stared at her retreating back, feeling confused. She came to a conclusion. “She must be harboring a secret plan to ‘use’ me. Look, her face is all red from feeling guilty.”

She hadn’t said she wouldn’t let her use her.

It took another day to sort out all the accounts. And today, it was time for the home visit, three days after the wedding.

Everything was packed into the carriages. Mo Shuqing stood inside the gate with Mama Liu, waiting for a while.

“I heard that the Young Marquis can’t even turn over in bed. I guess he won’t be walking with a cane to go with you on your home visit,” Mama Liu said, frowning.

Even if Gu Shufeng could turn over, he wouldn’t go with Mo Shuqing. He had spent his wedding night with a concubine. If he went back to his father-in-law’s house, Lord Mo would scold him to his face.

But for the husband to be absent on the third day’s home visit would make the new bride, Mo Shuqing, look bad.

Mo Shuqing looked at Mama Liu. “Who said I’m waiting for him?”

Mama Liu was confused. “Then you…”

“Sister-in-law~”

The familiar voice rang out. Mama Liu turned to look and saw Gu Wenyao, dressed in men’s clothing, walking quickly toward them with one hand holding up her robes.

Mama Liu was speechless.

She stood in front of them, and Mama Liu subconsciously looked down. “The shoes?”

Gu Wenyao was a few inches shorter than Mo Shuqing, but as they stood side by side now, Gu Wenyao was an inch taller!

Mama Liu didn’t think she had grown taller overnight from some sort of fertilizer. She just knew there was something wrong with the shoes.

Gu Wenyao shook her robes and looked at Mo Shuqing. “Sister-in-law, am I handsome?”