My Dearest Sister-In-Law, I've Been Waiting For You To Get A Divorce For A Long Time - Chapter 28

Chapter 28

◎ “Is Sister-in-law jealous?” ◎

August and September in the capital were always unbearably hot. To combat the heat and exhaustion, people came up with many methods. They had iced bowls and chilled drinks for refreshment, and ice basins and fans for practicality. But when the heat was truly overwhelming, nothing was more comfortable than finding a cool place to relax.

Madam Yu came from a noble family and wasn’t a stranger to a life of leisure. “Since Wenyao has brought it up, let’s stay at the villa in the suburbs for a few days. The hot springs there have medicinal baths, which are good for nourishing the body. Wenyao, you should go and soak more often.”

Gu Wenyao smiled and agreed. “Then I’ll have someone prepare things. We’ll leave in a few days.”

People of their status couldn’t just leave on a whim. They had to travel with a large entourage and ensure everything in the Marquis manor was in order before they left.

Gu Wenyao returned to the Azalea Courtyard and told Yi Yun, “Father has duties in the capital and can only stay at the villa for a day on his days off. So he will be the only one in the manor during this time. We must make sure everything is properly arranged for him in advance.”

Yi Yun nodded. “Yes.”

Everyone but the Marquis would be leaving. Half an hour later, a maid came to tell Gu Wenyao, “Second Young Lady, Chunshui says she is not feeling well and will not be joining everyone for the summer retreat.”

The trip would be short—five or six days—or long—half a month. Chunshui had things on her mind and naturally wasn’t in the mood to be gone for so long.

Gu Wenyao was surprisingly good-natured. She was very lenient toward her concubine sister-in-law. “If Sister Chunshui isn’t going, then I’ll have to trouble her to look after the manor’s affairs. Please go ask my sister-in-law for her permission. If she agrees, I’ll hand over the authority to Sister Chunshui.”

“Yes.”

…

The Strategic Handover

All the arrangements in the manor were made. It was two days later when they finally set off from the capital.

The Marquis stood at the gate to see them off.

Gu Wenyao led Chunshui over and said with a smile, “Father, while I’m away, Sister Chunshui will help me look after the manor’s affairs. I’ve already arranged all the major matters, so if you need anything, you can just find Uncle Chen or Sister Chunshui.”

The Marquis had just found out about this. He looked at Chunshui.

Chunshui nervously lowered her head. As she stood behind Gu Wenyao, she felt the Marquis’s gaze and didn’t even dare to breathe.

She didn’t understand why Gu Wenyao would give her this authority. After much thought, she came to a conclusion:

Compared to Mo Shuqing, she had no family or connections. This power could be taken back at any time, which made it safer to give to her than to Mo Shuqing.

She was merely a pawn in Gu Wenyao and Mo Shuqing’s fight for control over the household.

So Chunshui wasn’t at all grateful for Gu Wenyao’s action. Instead, she wanted to use this opportunity to gain something for herself.

Chunshui looked at the ground and said softly, “If there’s anything in the inner courtyard that I can’t decide on, I’ll have someone send a message to the Second Young Lady, and she can make the decision.”

Gu Wenyao turned and took Chunshui’s hand, gently patting the back of it. “Sister Chunshui, look at you. If you can manage your own small courtyard, are you afraid of managing this large manor? If anything comes up, just make the decision yourself. I want to rest and recuperate this time. I even brought Doctor Hu with me.”

Chunshui looked up at Gu Wenyao with a timid smile. “Then… then I’ll give it a try.”

Gu Wenyao nodded in satisfaction and looked at the Marquis. “What do you think, Father?”

The Marquis didn’t care about the affairs of the inner courtyard, but he liked people who were obedient and had no opinions, such as Madam Yu and Chunshui. Such people were easy to control and wouldn’t interfere with his major affairs in the front hall.

The Marquis looked at Gu Wenyao. He felt that his daughter was becoming more and more independent, just like her birth mother, Madam Ming. “You’ve already made the arrangements. What can I say? Just do as you’ve said.”

The Marquis showing up to see them off was a great honor. After hearing Gu Wenyao’s words, he turned and went back inside.

Gu Wenyao sighed in relief when he was gone. She held Chunshui’s hand and said, “Oh, sister, I just remembered something. Some tea was sent from Jiangnan. I didn’t have time to arrange it before leaving today. Remember to have someone send it to Father. He loves drinking it.”

There had been no wars in the court for the past few years, so the military officials had become idle and started to pretend to be cultured civil officials. The Marquis was among them. He dabbled in tea tasting, incense burning, and chess.

The incense was a special blend he had someone make for him to calm his mind, the tea was from the Ming family in Jiangnan, and he had been drinking it for years, and the chess set was a gift from Madam Yu.

Chunshui nodded, her face serious. “I’ll remember.”

She could forget about other things, but she definitely couldn’t forget this. If she angered the Marquis, no one would be able to protect her as a concubine.

…

The Jealousy Test

When Mo Shuqing came out of the manor, she saw Gu Wenyao holding Chunshui’s slender hand, talking and laughing.

She really gets along well with every sister-in-law, doesn’t she?

Mo Shuqing kept her eyes straight and walked past Gu Wenyao.

“Sister-in-law,” Gu Wenyao called out to her.

Mo Shuqing acted as if she hadn’t heard and got straight into the carriage.

Gu Wenyao paused. She realized she was still holding Chunshui’s hand. Her eyes flickered, and her smile widened. “I’ll leave the manor’s affairs to you, Sister Chunshui. When I return, I’ll be sure to thank you properly.”

Gu Wenyao let go of Chunshui’s hand and quickly ran after the carriage, pulling her skirt. “Sister-in-law, why are you ignoring me?”

Mo Shuqing was already seated in the carriage. Hearing Gu Wenyao’s voice outside, she lifted the curtain and looked down at her. Her voice was tinged with realization. “Oh? So you were calling for me. I thought you were calling out to Chunshui with your ‘sister-in-law’ after ‘sister-in-law’.”

Gu Wenyao laughed at her words. She said slowly, “If anyone else heard you, they would think you were being jealous of me.”

Mo Shuqing glanced at her, pursed her lips in silence, and let go of the curtain, allowing it to fall.

Gu Wenyao wasn’t angry at all. She saw Madam Yu come out and went to help her into her carriage.

“Second Young Lady, all the things are packed, and everyone has arrived. Are we ready to leave?” Yi Yun ran over and asked Gu Wenyao, her mood visibly bright.

It was only ten in the morning. The sun wasn’t too hot yet, and the morning breeze was still blowing.

Gu Wenyao stood by the carriage and turned to look around. “Yes, let’s go.”

…

A Parting Glance

In the carriage ahead, Mo Shuqing reached out and lifted a corner of the window curtain, turning her head to look back.

In the summer sun, Gu Wenyao stood there in a long, cross-collared dress of misty blue-green summer silk. Her slender waist was accentuated by a simple white sash. Her eyebrows and eyes were like a painting, her long hair as black as ink. Half of her hair was tied up with a blue ribbon, and the rest hung loose. Her entire appearance was elegant but refined.

A gentle breeze blew, ruffling the blue ribbon in Gu Wenyao’s hair, twisting the sash at her waist, and disrupting the folds of her skirt, creating rippling circles.

It was the wind that moved.

Mo Shuqing had never been to Jiangnan, but on Gu Wenyao, she seemed to see the most beautiful scenery of Jiangnan.

In a daze, that scenery turned to look at her, its eyes curving into a smile.

Mo Shuqing paused slightly. She slowly looked away and let the curtain fall.