My Dearest Sister-In-Law, I've Been Waiting For You To Get A Divorce For A Long Time - Chapter 21

Chapter 21

◎ “Why is my sister-in-law’s face red?” ◎

Mo Shuqing hesitated for a moment. Seeing Gu Wenyao’s bright eyes looking at her, she finally gave in. “Fine, if I must measure you, I will.”

Measuring someone for clothes is a stiff, uninteresting task. The person being measured can’t even move.

Mo Shuqing had intended to punish Gu Wenyao with this task, while she herself would take the opportunity to finish organizing the remaining invitations. She hadn’t expected Gu Wenyao to insist on her acting as the tailor. “Qinglu, go stand by the door. I’ll take a couple of Ayao’s measurements.”

“Come here.” Mo Shuqing walked to the window and gestured for Gu Wenyao to stand closer, where the light was brighter in the afternoon.

She lowered the opened window halfway to block the view of any servants who might pass by. She then said casually to the person behind her, “Ayao, take off your robe.”

Her tone was so natural.

Gu Wenyao, who had been sitting at the desk with one hand on the table, froze for a moment. Her eyes lingered on Mo Shuqing’s back. Her heart skipped a beat because of those four words.

Mo Shuqing turned around and leaned against the windowsill. The measuring tape was wrapped around her hand, which was usually only used for playing the zither. She lowered her eyes to read the numbers. When she noticed Gu Wenyao hadn’t moved, she looked up and saw her at the desk.

She couldn’t help but laugh. Mo Shuqing raised an eyebrow in confusion. “Ayao, why is your face red?”

Gu Wenyao was speechless.

Gu Wenyao lifted the corner of her eye, letting her gaze slide over Mo Shuqing and towards the outside. Her voice was as soft as a mosquito’s. “Perhaps the sunlight is too flirtatious and is stirring my heart. I am like a zither string, easily plucked.”

When Gu Wenyao walked over, Mo Shuqing explained, “When you measure after lunch, the numbers are already a bit off. If you wear an outer robe with a belt and two layers of overlapping clothes, the clothes that are made will inevitably not fit well.”

The clothes they were making today were for the lotus appreciation banquet.

Regardless of their purpose, as a young lady from a good family, she had to be dignified and proper, not wear ill-fitting or casual clothes.

Gu Wenyao knew it!

She gave Mo Shuqing a look, a hint of resentment in her eyes. She was annoyed that Mo Shuqing was like a block of wood, unable to understand a girl’s thoughts.

Gu Wenyao stood in front of Mo Shuqing and lowered her head to untie her belt. She did it in front of Mo Shuqing, unwrapping it from her back. Her eyes were on Mo Shuqing, and she pursed her pink lips. She then threw the silk ribbon on the armrest of the chair next to Mo Shuqing.

She said softly, “Come on, sister-in-law.”

With the belt gone, her light blue outer robe fell open, revealing her inner clothes.

Gu Wenyao stretched out her arms, looked up at Mo Shuqing.

Mo Shuqing took a half step closer with the measuring tape. She put one hand holding the tape inside Gu Wenyao’s outer robe, as if she were giving her a gentle hug around the waist. She wrapped the measuring tape around her slender waist and brought it back around from the other side.

Gu Wenyao’s inner clothes were made of a silky white fabric. When Mo Shuqing got close, she could faintly see the color of the tube top underneath, which seemed to be a light green. It hugged her two curves, making Gu Wenyao’s figure appear curvy, with a round top and a slender waist that felt like she could be held in a single hand.

Especially since Gu Wenyao’s outer robe, which was no longer held by a belt, slid down her shoulders. It barely hung on, as if she were intentionally taking it off to accommodate her.

Mo Shuqing’s throat inexplicably tightened. She lowered her eyes and said softly, “Ayao, lift your arms up a little. Your robe is about to fall.”

Gu Wenyao’s gaze remained on Mo Shuqing’s face. The smile in her eyes was obvious, but her words were obedient and innocent. “Sister-in-law, it’s tiring to hold my arms up.”

Mo Shuqing was speechless.

Seeing the outer robe about to slide down Gu Wenyao’s arms, Mo Shuqing’s breathing hitched. She grabbed the two sides of the robe at the same time as she held the measuring tape.

The robe didn’t fall. Mo Shuqing unconsciously let out a sigh of relief.

She put the robe back on Gu Wenyao’s shoulders.

But the robe was still open. The fresh scent of tea that was unique to Gu Wenyao mixed with the warm scent of the fabric, wafting around her nose.

It was supposed to be a refreshing fragrance, but when she inhaled it, her breath became hot and her mind felt restless.

Especially since Gu Wenyao was not being obedient. She took half a step forward and touched her toes to Mo Shuqing’s. She lowered her eyes and puffed out her chest, her tone direct and unreserved. “Sister-in-law, is this how you get an accurate waist measurement? Do I need to take off my inner clothes as well?”

That won’t be necessary.

Mo Shuqing’s face was wooden as she looked at Gu Wenyao. She felt as if Gu Wenyao was doing this on purpose.

But Gu Wenyao’s eyes were clear and bright, reflecting only her image.

…Ayao lost her mother when she was young. Mo Shuqing paused, lowered her eyes and said softly, “I’ll try to measure as accurately as possible. You are frail, and if you take off your inner clothes, you might get a cough.”

Her expression was serious, but her ears were flushed red.

Gu Wenyao’s gaze fell on the red color in Mo Shuqing’s black hair. Her heart fluttered, and she wanted to cough a couple of times right there and then.

When the measuring tape overlapped over her chest, Mo Shuqing’s breathing became extremely shallow. She seemed to hear the sound of a pounding drum, but for a moment she couldn’t tell if it was hers or Gu Wenyao’s.

After she finally measured her chest and waist, Mo Shuqing moved her feet and sat in the chair behind her, letting out a soft sigh.

She sat up straight with her legs together and looked up at Gu Wenyao. Her voice was still cool. “You’ll have to lift your skirt to make it easier to measure your legs.”

“I don’t…” Gu Wenyao just opened her mouth. Before the word “need” could come out, Mo Shuqing moved.

Mo Shuqing raised her hand and held the hem of Gu Wenyao’s skirt, handing the fabric to Gu Wenyao.

It was already summer. As long as it wasn’t raining like it was today, it was quite hot. So, under a young lady’s long skirt, she would almost never wear a pair of trousers like she would in the winter. In the manor, when they weren’t going out, they wouldn’t even wear a pair of open-crotch shorts under their skirts.

Gu Wenyao’s neck was as stiff as a rusty wooden door. She slowly turned her head, her face completely flushed, to look out the window. Only the corner of her eye was on Mo Shuqing.

When her skirt was lifted, the hem was above her knees, revealing her two white and straight jade-like legs. Their color was like fine jade and their lines were as smooth as lotus roots.

Mo Shuqing was speechless.

Mo Shuqing’s hand, which was holding the measuring tape, didn’t move. It seemed she had let out that sigh of relief too soon.

Gu Wenyao wanted to laugh, but she held it in. She didn’t look at Mo Shuqing, only out the window. Her eyelashes fluttered like a butterfly’s wings. She asked in a low voice, “Is this enough? Do you need me to lift it higher?”

She was about to lift her skirt higher. The white color was so bright in the afternoon sun that it was blinding.

Mo Shuqing’s heart trembled. She instinctively reached out and held the hem of Gu Wenyao’s skirt to stop her from lifting it further. When she spoke, her voice was a little hoarse. “This… is fine.”

The measuring tape was placed under the skirt. Gu Wenyao’s legs were slightly apart. She let the cool, soft measuring tape, which was two fingers wide, move up from her knee. It went from loose to tight, slowly binding and clinging to the skin of her thigh.

Because the skirt blocked her sight, everything had to be done by touch and feel.

Mo Shuqing’s movements were very cautious. Even though they were both women, her hand was extremely polite and didn’t touch Gu Wenyao’s skin.

Until a gust of wind blew in. Gu Wenyao was facing the window with her clothes open. The wind tickled her throat, and she coughed.

Her chest trembled, causing her body to move slightly. Mo Shuqing didn’t react immediately. When she looked up at her, her hand seemed to accidentally poke something.

Gu Wenyao’s eyes flickered. Her body instinctively shivered and trembled. She instantly held her breath and looked down at Mo Shuqing in shock.

Compared to her, the hand holding the measuring tape seemed even more nervous.

Their gazes met, one from up high and one from down low. It felt so hot that they both turned their faces in opposite directions at the same time.

Mo Shuqing’s movements stopped. It took her a while to find her voice. “I’m sorry.”

She had been very careful, but it seemed she had still touched the skin of her upper thigh.

There was a hint of moisture in Gu Wenyao’s eyes. The corners of her eyes were flushed red. She bit her lip and forced out three words. “It’s fine.”

The temperature in the room had climbed at some point. The air seemed to be completely blocked because the window was halfway closed, making it hard for people to breathe.

After all, when you measure for clothes, you measure the thickest and thinnest parts of the body. The legs were no exception. This was so that the shorts would not be too loose or too tight.

But the thickest part of the thigh was also very close to…

Gu Wenyao’s gaze wandered from elsewhere and stopped on Mo Shuqing.

She was sitting straight and proper in front of her, but her hand was holding the cool measuring tape under her skirt. Mo Shuqing’s hair was black, her skin was fair, and when she lowered her head, her neck was long and beautiful. Even the pale, bony back that was exposed from the back of her robe was unexpectedly alluring.

Especially her fair skin, which was slowly being colored by her flushed ears, turning a light pink.

She was originally like the coldest, cleanest snow in this world, but now she was colored because of her.

Gu Wenyao’s heart seemed to be floating in the air. She felt even more content than she did when she was in the bathtub that day.

After a moment, Gu Wenyao’s eyes flickered. She looked at Mo Shuqing and asked knowingly, “Why is my sister-in-law’s face red?”

Mo Shuqing was speechless.

When the measuring tape was pulled out from under the skirt, the soft fabric brushed against the back of Mo Shuqing’s hand. Mo Shuqing’s fingertips instantly curled.

She wanted to just pull her hand away, but then she saw that Gu Wenyao’s skirt had been wrinkled by her own grip, and it looked too obvious.

Mo Shuqing took Gu Wenyao’s skirt from her hands with her palm, smoothed the fabric, and helped her straighten out the wrinkles.

She had lifted it, and she had put it down.

“I’ll write it down.” Mo Shuqing didn’t answer Gu Wenyao’s question. She stood up, rolled up the measuring tape, and went to the desk to write down the numbers with a brush.

During this time, she didn’t look at Gu Wenyao once, who was standing there with her clothes a mess.

Gu Wenyao lowered her head, slowly straightened out her clothes, and tied her belt. She turned her head and looked back. Her voice was light. “I remember my sister-in-law has an eidetic memory. Why are you in such a hurry to write down a few numbers?”

Mo Shuqing’s eyes were lowered. The hand holding the brush tightened a little. “A good memory is no match for a good record.”

“Is the measuring tape accurate? Does my sister-in-law still need my help with the measurements?” Gu Wenyao asked, but she smiled and slowly propped the window open, letting the sunlight climb over the windowsill and into the room. The heat fell on her waist.

Mo Shuqing didn’t hesitate. “The tape is accurate. You can rest. I’ll let the tailor measure me when she comes.”

Mo Shuqing never expected this so-called punishment for Gu Wenyao to end this way.

“Alright. Since my sister-in-law doesn’t need my help, I’ll go back to my work.” Gu Wenyao knew that Mo Shuqing was uncomfortable right now, so she didn’t stay.

Her thoughtfulness made Mo Shuqing sigh in relief.

Hearing Gu Wenyao’s footsteps leave the room, Mo Shuqing put down her brush. She put her hands on the table, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath.

She raised her hand to lightly touch her heart. It was still pounding.

The two of them had been separated for so many years. Mo Shuqing felt that she had become estranged from Ayao, not as close as they were when they were children. This was why she felt so uncomfortable when she saw Ayao’s curvy figure while measuring her.

When they were children, they would mess around together, tickling each other on the waist and in the arms, and she wouldn’t have been this flustered or embarrassed.

Mo Shuqing pursed her lips. She belatedly realized that the tip of her index finger, which was now touching her heart, had just poked Gu Wenyao’s skin.

It felt a little damp.

Perhaps Ayao’s skin is like jade.

After leaving Mo Shuqing’s room, Gu Wenyao stood on the stone path, holding onto the rockery. It took her a while to compose herself before she could walk normally.

Even though the measurements were difficult, they were extremely accurate.

After about eight or nine days, the clothes were made and sent to them.

Gu Wenyao liked light and elegant colors, while Mo Shuqing preferred calm and dignified shades. So their usual clothes were either blue, green, or purple.

But Gu Wenyao chose a light pink fabric for a summer dress this time to fit the occasion.

On the day of the lotus appreciation banquet, Gu Wenyao wore a lotus pink dress, and Mo Shuqing wore a scallion green one. Standing together, their colors went from light to dark, like the flower and leaves of a lotus. One was playful, the other dignified. They were a sight to behold.

But Gu Wenyao didn’t get to enjoy her beauty for long. Mo Shuqing went to the back garden, and then Aunt Gu came looking for her.

“Yao girl,” Aunt Gu waved at Gu Wenyao. “Why don’t you go help entertain the guests in the back garden? Don’t let people think that the young ladies of our manor don’t know how to be proper and generous.”

Gu Wenyao held a silver-white fan with a butterfly embroidered on it. She lifted the fan to block the increasingly hot sunlight. “You’re joking, Auntie. You’re the one who planned this banquet. If there’s anything wrong with it, it’s not my fault. If the ladies feel they were neglected, they will criticize you, not me. What does that have to do with me?”

She was sensitive to heat. The sun at 9 a.m. in late July was already making her nose sweat.

“You girl,” Aunt Gu couldn’t get Gu Wenyao to move. She had no choice but to walk over to her, her face sinking. “It’s not just women who came today. In the front hall, your father has many officials and young gentlemen visiting. If we lose face, it’s the Marquis manor’s face we’ll lose. Let’s see if your father blames me or you.”

A matchmaking banquet under the guise of appreciating lotuses couldn’t possibly only invite women.

The men, however, wouldn’t enter the back garden. They were all in the front hall, talking to the Marquis and the Young Marquis, Gu Shufeng.

After being bedridden for nearly a month, Gu Shufeng was finally able to get up and walk normally.

Aunt Gu held her hands together and smiled, looking at Gu Wenyao with the corner of her eye. “After all, you usually manage the affairs of the back garden. If you didn’t hold the power so tightly, how could I be so rusty and make mistakes while planning this banquet? If this banquet fails, I think you should hand over the household authority to your sister-in-law.”

“Mistakes?” Gu Wenyao put her fan down and slightly turned her wrist, creating a gentle breeze on her face. Her eyes looked at Aunt Gu. “It’s just a small lotus appreciation banquet, and you’ve already spent nearly ten thousand taels of silver. What more mistakes could there be?”

“Everyone knows we’re here to appreciate the lotuses in the pond,” Gu Wenyao said with a smile, though her smile was cold. “People who don’t know might think we’re appreciating lotuses carved out of gold.”

When Gu Wenyao mentioned money, Aunt Gu’s expression changed. A hint of guilt flashed in her eyes. She clenched her fingers and smiled again warmly. “It’s all for the sake of the Marquis manor’s reputation. Yao girl, you have mountains of gold and silver behind you. Do you even care about a mere ten thousand taels?”

“That’s right, I don’t care about the money,” Gu Wenyao held the fan up to cover half of her face. Her smile was gone, and only her eyes were left, which were dark. “But I have to remind you, Auntie, even if I have mountains of gold and silver, they are mine. They have nothing to do with you. You should stop thinking about them.”

After Gu Wenyao finished speaking, she smiled. The fan was held over her forehead. She glanced at Aunt Gu and gave in to her wishes. “But since you’ve already spent the money, I would like to see where you spent it. I’ll take a good look at your golden banquet.”

She walked away, and Aunt Gu’s face slowly sank behind her.

Looking at Gu Wenyao’s slender and graceful back, Aunt Gu sneered. “Let her be arrogant for one more day. After this is over, I’ll teach her a lesson!”

The lotus appreciation banquet was seemingly held for her daughter, but it was not.

First, she wanted to use the banquet to withdraw money from the manor to secretly help the Earl’s family. Second, she wanted to use this banquet to seal Gu Wenyao’s marriage!

That way, both Gu Wenyao and the fortune of the Ming family behind her would belong to her Earl’s family in the future.

Aunt Gu put on a smile and followed Gu Wenyao into the back garden.