My Dearest Sister-In-Law, I've Been Waiting For You To Get A Divorce For A Long Time - Chapter 24

Chapter 24

◎ “Has my sister-in-law been to my room?” ◎

Mo Shuqing entered the gates of the Azalea Courtyard, feeling a sense of unease. “Ayao? Where are you?”

She scanned the courtyard, but there were no servants in sight. It was eerily silent.

Even though many servants had been sent to the garden to help with the banquet, there should have been at least a few attendants in the courtyard, as long as Gu Wenyao, the mistress of the house, was still there.

Could it be…

Mo Shuqing’s heart skipped a beat, and her face immediately fell. She quickly walked toward the house.

The door was ajar. As Mo Shuqing stepped over the threshold, she subconsciously looked down and saw a few drops of bl00d on the floor. It wasn’t dry yet, a clear sign that it had just been left there.

Liu Mama, who was following behind Mo Shuqing, saw her sway. She quickly reached out to support her. “My lady?”

Mo Shuqing’s face was ashen and ugly, and her hands were cold. She gripped Liu Mama’s arm to stop her from coming inside and said in a steady voice, “Mama, wait for me at the door. No matter what happens inside, don’t rush in unless I call for you.”

With that, Mo Shuqing let go of Liu Mama’s arm and went into the room.

The furniture was still in place, with no signs of a struggle.

Mo Shuqing let out a sigh of relief. When her heart returned to her chest, she felt a little weak.

She pressed one hand against a table for support and looked up to see that the secret door in Gu Wenyao’s room was open.

Mo Shuqing was now certain that Gu Wenyao was fine, but she was a little confused. Why would Ayao’s room have a secret chamber?

The door was half-open, almost like an invitation. It was alluring, luring her inside.

Mo Shuqing’s mind went blank for a moment. When she came to, she was already standing at the door. Her hand was on the door, which was decorated with a butterfly and flower painting. She gently pushed it open.

Her long eyelashes fluttered. She curled her fingers and pulled her hand back, then called out softly to hide her nervousness. “Ayao?”

There was no answer. Mo Shuqing stepped inside.

The secret room had a small window. The sunlight from outside filtered through the window paper, making it just bright enough to see everything inside.

Mo Shuqing only had to look at the items in the secret room for a moment before she froze in place.

Seeing that she hadn’t moved for a long time, Liu Mama stood anxiously at the door, wringing her hands. She didn’t dare to look at the bl00d on the floor and only called out softly, “My lady?”

Liu Mama called about three times before she finally saw Mo Shuqing come out.

The person who had been swaying and looking pale when she went in was now flushed. Her expression was bewildered, as if she had just seen something so shocking and unexpected that she couldn’t believe it.

“My lady, what about inside?” Liu Mama asked.

Mo Shuqing shook her head in a daze. She collected herself, and her face returned to normal. Her voice, however, was a little unnatural. “There’s… nothing inside.”

There really was nothing, just a few old items she had once used, and many things she didn’t even remember losing. Gu Wenyao had arranged all of them on a curio shelf, labeled with the date and item’s name, as if they were priceless treasures.

Mo Shuqing couldn’t describe how she felt at that moment. It was a mix of shock, confusion, and bewilderment.

Seeing that Liu Mama was still looking at her with a concerned expression, Mo Shuqing lowered her eyes to hide her emotions. She said, “Ayao probably went to look for me. No one’s in the room, and that bl00d is probably Wu Nianye’s.”

Liu Mama finally breathed a sigh of relief. “It’s good that she’s alright. It’s good.”

Liu Mama looked around the courtyard. “Then where did that Wu Nianye go? If Miss Yao has set up a trap, should we beat a gong to lure people over?”

Mo Shuqing looked ahead, a thought occurring to her. She immediately connected the dots. “With Ayao’s personality, she would never sit still and wait. If she couldn’t find me, she would definitely go find Auntie.”

Mo Shuqing and Liu Mama walked toward the side room in the courtyard. “We’ll just wait for her to come back.”

On the way, Mo Shuqing pursed her lips. She pretended to ask casually, “Mama, if you were to discover that the servant Mama Chen, my mother’s servant, had a small room filled with your old items, what would you think?”

Liu Mama was stunned by the question. Her eyes widened, and it took her a long time to find her voice again. “I… Mama Chen and I are closer than sisters! Why would she keep my old things? They’re not worth any money.”

Just thinking about it made Liu Mama feel a shiver. Her face was full of disgust. “Does she have some weird fetish?”

Mo Shuqing looked at Liu Mama’s expression and seemed to understand. “But my mother keeps my father’s old calligraphy and even his old clothes.”

Liu Mama laughed after hearing this. Even though she didn’t understand why Mo Shuqing suddenly brought this up, she still said, “That’s because your mother loves your father. They’re childhood sweethearts who grew up together. It’s different to keep old things as a memory.”

Mo Shuqing rubbed her fingertips together.

But she and Ayao were also childhood sweethearts who grew up together.

When she suddenly saw all those old items of hers, Mo Shuqing was surprised, shocked, and bewildered, but she didn’t feel the same disgust that Liu Mama did.

When she looked at them, she was only curious as to when Ayao had “collected” these things from her and why she had no memory of it.

The longer she looked, the clearer Mo Shuqing saw things. The light in that secret room wasn’t very bright, but it was enough for her to see Gu Wenyao’s intentions.

Ayao’s feelings for her seemed to be something else entirely.

No wonder her mother had warned her on the day of her return visit to be careful and see if Gu Wenyao had ulterior motives.

Mo Shuqing suddenly came back to her senses.

Ayao did have an ulterior motive.

Ayao had a motive for her.

…

The Grand Show

In the lotus garden, a servant ran through the crowd with hurried and panicked steps. After attracting everyone’s attention, she whispered a few words into Madam Gu’s ear. Madam Gu’s face immediately changed.

The reaction of the mistress and servant made others curious. Whether they were genuinely concerned or just nosy, they had to ask.

“What’s wrong, First Lady? Did something happen in the manor?”

“That’s right. I saw that servant looking panicked. Was it something important?”

The women were gathered together, and the men not far away also looked over.

After the act was over and the attention was on her, Madam Gu said with a look of difficulty, “It’s nothing serious. It’s just that my niece Gu Wenyao said she wasn’t feeling well and dismissed all the servants, not letting anyone get close to her. This made the servant worried, so she came to find me.”

In reality, Wu Nianye had gone to Gu Wenyao’s courtyard, and now that the timing was right, the servant had come to find her.

Madam Gu sighed. “I should go check on her.”

As soon as Madam Gu started to move, a lady who was on good terms with her immediately stood up and said, “I’ll go with you. Miss Yao has always had a temper. She might not listen to you alone. I’ll help you talk to her.”

One person led to another, and soon a group of people followed Madam Gu toward the Azalea Courtyard.

After all, Gu Wenyao’s actions sounded strange. Why would she dismiss all her servants if she wasn’t feeling well? There might be a show to watch, and no one wanted to miss it.

On the way, Madam Gu talked about Gu Wenyao. “My niece is already sixteen, and she has no intention of getting married. I don’t know what she’s thinking. As her aunt, I’m worried about her.”

Someone laughed. “A girl of this age who doesn’t want to marry might have someone in her heart. You should ask her carefully.”

Madam Gu only said, “I wouldn’t know. But almost all the eligible young men in the capital are here today. If she finds someone she likes, I’ll be happier than if my own daughter found a good match.”

The group of people chatted as they walked toward the Azalea Courtyard. But before they even reached the door, they saw a person standing in the distance.

A pink dress, a golden hairpin, and a silver-white and gold-embroidered fan in her hand. A slender figure and a beautiful face, with a perfect smile always on her lips. It was none other than Gu Wenyao.

Seeing Gu Wenyao standing perfectly fine on the path from the lotus garden to the Azalea Courtyard, Madam Gu’s face was more grotesque than if she had seen a ghost.

Gu Wenyao maintained her smile. She fanned herself as she walked toward Madam Gu and asked softly, “Auntie, why are you rushing here with so many people?”

“You,” Madam Gu was so startled that she took half a step back. She managed to stabilize her expression and smiled awkwardly. “The servant said you weren’t feeling well, so I came to check on you.”

Gu Wenyao said “Oh” in a daze, full of meaning. “With this kind of an entourage, Auntie, I thought you were coming to my Azalea Courtyard to catch someone in the act. But the servant was right. Someone in my courtyard isn’t feeling well today. What a pity it’s not me.”

Gu Wenyao took a step closer, hiding her mouth with her fan. Her eyes darted around the people behind Madam Gu, and she deliberately misled her. “Auntie, why don’t you guess where Miss Jingchun went?”

Madam Gu’s face immediately changed. She looked up at Gu Wenyao. The wrinkles at the corners of her eyes were smoothed out from how wide they were. “What did you say?”

She quickly turned her head to look. Sure enough, Wu Jingchun, who had been with her all along, was nowhere to be seen.

Madam Gu looked at Gu Wenyao and saw her smile back. Madam Gu’s heart leaped into her throat. Her hands were trembling. She asked in a hoarse voice, “Gu Wenyao, where is Jingchun?”

Gu Wenyao only smiled and said nothing.

Madam Gu immediately panicked. She instinctively walked quickly toward the Azalea Courtyard. The ladies behind her looked at each other, not knowing what was happening, and could only follow Madam Gu.

The Azalea Courtyard was right in front of them. When Madam Gu stepped over the threshold, she stumbled for a moment, afraid that she would hear or see something she shouldn’t have and ruin her daughter’s reputation.

Especially since she had led a group of people behind her. All of them were watchful eyes.

Just as Madam Gu was panicking and about to find an excuse to stop the crowd behind her, she heard Wu Jingchun’s confused voice. “Mother?”

Wu Jingchun was standing in the courtyard, looking bewildered at Madam Gu and the people behind her. “Why did you all come here?”

The moment Madam Gu saw Wu Jingchun, tears almost fell from her eyes. She held Wu Jingchun’s arm and looked her up and down. Only when she saw that she was completely fine did she let out a sigh of relief and scold her in a cold voice, “Why did you run off here?”

Wu Jingchun shrank her shoulders from being yelled at. She looked past Madam Gu to the door, stomping her foot and complaining, “It’s all because Gu Wenyao said she was going to give me some jewelry, so I came over. But when I got here, there was no one in her courtyard. That wretched girl tricked me!”

Madam Gu turned her head to look back. Gu Wenyao had one arm folded, and the other hand was fanning herself. She was smiling and tilting her head, silently asking her, “Auntie, you’re afraid now too, aren’t you?“

Gu Wenyao walked closer. Her eyes went back and forth between Madam Gu and Wu Jingchun. She smiled and said, “Auntie knows how important a woman’s reputation is, yet you still want to use this method to harm me. How vicious your heart is.”

Madam Gu’s face was dark. She pulled Wu Jingchun behind her and looked at Gu Wenyao with a cold expression. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Since you’re fine, let’s go back and appreciate the flowers.”

She was about to leave.

Gu Wenyao held her fan up to stop her and said softly, “Since Auntie is already here, why don’t you have a cup of tea before you leave?”

Tea.

Madam Gu’s expression finally changed. Her eyes were fixed on Gu Wenyao.

Gu Wenyao didn’t shy away and met her gaze directly.

In the silence, someone faintly heard the voices of men coming from the woodshed.

But how could there be men’s voices in the courtyard of an unmarried woman like Gu Wenyao?

Everyone followed the voices to the door of the woodshed.

Even before they got close, they could hear the conversation inside.

“Good for you, Wu Mingchun. You really are a ‘cut-sleeve’ (a gay man). You’re even going after a fire-tending boy!”

“Are you blind, Wu Nianye? He was the one who pounced on me and tried to unbuckle my belt. I didn’t touch him!”

The two of them called each other by their full names. Without even pushing the door open, the women outside already knew who the two men inside were. They immediately turned to look at Madam Gu.

Madam Gu’s face was a masterpiece.

She had avoided ruining her daughter, but she couldn’t avoid her son.

According to her original plan, it should have been Gu Wenyao who was being watched and judged. But who would have thought that at the beginning of the show, the main characters would be replaced by her son and her husband’s nephew?

Madam Gu’s heart was in turmoil. One wave of emotion just fell, and another one rose. Especially since Wu Nianye had shouted out that Wu Mingchun was a “cut-sleeve.” She couldn’t hide it even if she wanted to.

A “cut-sleeve.” If her son was a “cut-sleeve,” how could he marry the Yan family’s daughter and find a respectable young lady to carry on the Wu family bloodline…

If the old master of the Wu family found out about this, Wu Mingchun would be finished.

Madam Gu’s face turned white. Her mind went blank for a moment, and she felt light-headed and dizzy.

She turned to look at Gu Wenyao, her eyes filled with malicious hatred. She wished she could pounce on her and tear her to shreds.

It’s all Gu Wenyao’s fault! Gu Wenyao is trying to ruin her son!

Gu Wenyao fanned herself, her tone innocent and bewildered. “Oh dear, how could Brother Wu be fooling around with someone in my woodshed? Did he fall for one of my courtyard boys and just couldn’t help himself?”

She spoke slowly, stabbing at Madam Gu’s heart. “But I heard that Brother Wu is going to marry the Yan family’s daughter. Is the Earl’s manor trying to deceive them?”

Gu Wenyao said, “It might just be a misunderstanding, Auntie. Don’t worry, have someone push the door open and take a look.”

They didn’t even need to push the door open. They could hear everything clearly.

Madam Gu pounced to block the door but was stopped by the ladies next to her. “First Lady, don’t worry. Leave this kind of rough work to the servants.”

Madam Gu was speechless.

A servant kicked the door open. Everyone looked inside and saw Wu Nianye with his hands and feet bound, half of his face covered in bl00d, lying against the wall.

However, no one paid attention to why his face was covered in bl00d. Their attention was on something else.

In the open space of the woodshed, the boy was on top of Wu Mingchun, whose clothes were half-off. He was biting and nibbling at the helpless Wu Mingchun on the ground.

…

Gu Wenyao quickly raised her fan to cover her eyes, as if she couldn’t bear to look at such a filthy sight.

After Madam Gu saw the scene in front of her, she knew that she was finished. Her eyes rolled back, and she passed out.

Someone shouted, “Quick, call a doctor! The First Lady has fainted.”

Wu Mingchun also pushed the boy off of him and crawled up from the ground. “Mother!”

The door to the woodshed was in utter chaos.

Mo Shuqing appeared at this moment.

She stepped forward and took charge. While one of her servants went to call a doctor, she had another go and invite the Marquis.

Mo Shuqing faced the women and bowed slightly. “The Wu family of the Earl’s manor has made a spectacle of themselves in my Marquis manor. I apologize for making you all a laughingstock. It’s a shame that such a thing happened at today’s flower appreciation banquet. The Marquis manor is very sorry. I have had my servants prepare gifts for all of you. I hope you will not find them lacking.”

With just a few words, she placed all the blame for the ridiculous scene in the woodshed on the Wu family, clearing the Azalea Courtyard and the Marquis manor of any wrongdoing.

The women who received the gifts would naturally not say anything bad about the Marquis manor. Even if they gossiped, they would only talk about the two young men of the Wu family.

Mo Shuqing had Liu Mama take the ladies to another place to rest. At the same time, she had someone detain Wu Mingchun and Wu Nianye, not allowing them to escape in the chaos.

She maintained a calm demeanor, her old-fashioned tactics not at all like a new bride.

Gu Wenyao came closer, gently fanning Mo Shuqing with her fan. Her eyes were curved in a smile, and her tone was proud. “My sister-in-law is so capable. If my sister-in-law were truly my enemy, I’d probably have to cry in a corner.”

Mo Shuqing glanced at Gu Wenyao, then looked at her again.

One by one, the items from the secret room flashed before her eyes. Mo Shuqing lowered her eyes and looked away. She only said softly, “If you and I were to become enemies, and I had to win, would you be willing to surrender for my sake, Ayao?”

The words “for my sake” were clearly the emphasis of the sentence.

Gu Wenyao understood, and her heart skipped a beat.

“Why are you suddenly saying this, sister-in-law?” Gu Wenyao’s fanning paused for a moment. She looked up at Mo Shuqing and glanced at the direction she had come from. Her heart pounded, and she felt a bad premonition.

She forced a small smile and asked tentatively, “Has my sister-in-law been to my room?”

When she set up Wu Nianye, she was standing in the secret room. When she came out, did she forget to close the door?

I think… I did close it, right?

Mo Shuqing’s expression was as normal as ever. She didn’t look at Gu Wenyao but only held her wrist and lowered her stiff, hovering hand. “No, I just got here.”

Mo Shuqing looked up at Gu Wenyao. Seeing the stray hairs sticking to her face, she raised her hand, brushed the hairs behind Gu Wenyao’s ear, and asked with a gentle smile, “Ayao, is there something in your room that I can’t see?”

Gu Wenyao’s heart, with one touch, one gesture, and one smile from Mo Shuqing, completely froze.

Something is wrong.

Mo Shuqing is acting strangely.

Before Gu Wenyao could figure it out, the Marquis arrived.