My Dearest Sister-In-Law, I've Been Waiting For You To Get A Divorce For A Long Time - Chapter 3

Chapter 3

◎ “Sister-in-law.” ◎

It was the beginning of summer, and the weather had become unpredictable.

Mama Liu arrived early. After pushing open the window, she turned to the bride, Mo Shuqing, who was sitting at the dressing table, and sighed with feeling. “It’s a good thing the weather was nice for the wedding yesterday. If we had waited until today, who knows how much trouble it would have been.”

Outside, a light rain was falling.

Mo Shuqing was wearing a thin red undergarment, her long, black hair falling like silk behind her, the ends reaching her lower back. At Mama Liu’s words, she glanced out the window, her tone casual.

“Even with good weather for the wedding, I didn’t see the groom. If the weather were bad, I’m afraid I wouldn’t even have seen Gu Wenyao, who stood in for her brother.”

The weather was good last night, and Gu Wenyao still coughed so much. If it had been raining, her sickly body probably wouldn’t have lasted until dusk.

Mo Shuqing’s hand, reaching for an ivory comb, paused. In the clear, reflective bronze mirror, her lips tightened and her brows furrowed slightly, as if in confusion.

When she had left the capital years ago, Gu Wenyao was just a little crybaby, and her health was fairly robust. Why had her body become so frail upon her return?

Noticing her expression, Mama Liu looked at the comb in Mo Shuqing’s hand and was also surprised. “The comb in the room is actually made of white jade and ivory.”

Mo Shuqing finally looked at the comb, her eyes showing a hint of surprise, and the corner of her lips curved into a small smile. “Hmm, I thought that given my situation last night, I’d have to use my fingers to comb my hair today.”

Just then, maids from the Gu Marquis manor came in one after another, holding various washing utensils. It was unclear how much of the conversation they had overheard.

“…” Mama Liu glared at Mo Shuqing, wanting to rush forward and cover her mouth.

Such things should not be said in front of others.

“My girl, please say less.” Mama Liu bent down, took the comb from Mo Shuqing’s hand, and stood behind her to style her hair.

Hearing this, Mo Shuqing obediently sat up straight, her hands clasped in her lap. She lowered her eyes and said no more. Just like yesterday, she was so cool and ethereal that no one dared to speak to her; even her hair seemed to carry a sense of distance, pushing people a thousand miles away.

But this was only an outward appearance. Everyone in the Mo family knew that their young lady had a vicious tongue. She rarely spoke, but when she did, she would poke a hole right in your gut.

On the day she left for the wedding, her father had held her hand and repeatedly warned her to pretend to be demure, at least until the wedding was over, lest she offend the Little Marquis Gu and cause an awkward scene.

As it turned out, the young lady had done an excellent job of pretending yesterday, but unfortunately, she never even saw the Little Marquis Gu.

“The Little Marquis stayed out all night. Who knows what gossip is spreading about you throughout the manor today. We’ll see what the Marquis manor’s intentions are when you go to serve the respectful tea.”

Mama Liu was still angry from last night. Her face was scrunched up as she grumbled. “That Miss Yao was clearly doing it on purpose, taking over your wedding night. She just wants to give you leverage for not consummating the marriage, so you can’t hold your head up in this household, let alone manage the household affairs later.”

A new bride who hadn’t even consummated her marriage would have no right to dream of managing the inner affairs of the household.

Seeing Mo Shuqing listening quietly, Mama Liu gritted her teeth and said fiercely, “My girl, when that concubine serves you tea later, you must give her a taste of your displeasure! Otherwise, the entire Marquis manor will think our Mo family is a pushover.”

If she was so easily controlled right after getting married, how could she live in the Marquis manor later?

Mo Shuqing lifted her eyelashes to look at Mama Liu, her fingers tapping lightly on her lap. She slowly lowered her long lashes and nodded.

Mama Liu was deft with her hands, styling Mo Shuqing’s hair into a married woman’s bun. As she bent down to hand her the comb, her old eyes shone brightly, eager for action. “Did you come up with a plan?”

Whether it was making them kneel as a punishment or splashing them with hot tea, Mama Liu was an expert at all of it!

Mo Shuqing nodded, but what she said was, “In this rainy weather, we should eat some hot soup.”

Mama Liu’s outstretched arm almost threw her back out.

It seemed that the young lady hadn’t listened to a word she had said!

Mo Shuqing smiled, picked up a jade hairpin to place in her bun, and said in a calm tone, “How things will be for me in this manor depends entirely on how the play here is performed today.”

She was merely a supporting actress in this play; she only needed to listen, not bother herself with performing.

Since Mo Shuqing wanted hot soup, Mama Liu naturally wouldn’t let anyone prepare cold food for her.

Just as she finished eating and sat at the table wiping her lips with a handkerchief, a servant from the main hall came to deliver a message.

The servant’s attitude was very polite and showed no disrespect towards Mo Shuqing. “The Marquis and Madam have finished their meal, so they sent this old servant to see you. They said that if the young lady is finished, you may come to the front hall to sit and meet the rest of the family.”

It meant that the Marquis and Madam Yu had already eaten, and Mo Shuqing, the new bride, could go over to serve the tea.

The courtyard where Mo Shuqing lived was called the “Bamboo Courtyard,” and right next door was Gu Wenyao’s “Crabapple Courtyard.”

As they passed Gu Wenyao’s gate, Gu Wenyao and her maid were already standing there, holding umbrellas.

“My lady,” Mama Liu whispered.

Mo Shuqing, walking with proper posture, hadn’t noticed. Only when Mama Liu called out did she stop.

Mo Shuqing looked over. Not far away, Gu Wenyao stood beneath an umbrella. Her expression was obscured by the rain and the umbrella, making it hard to see her face.

However, she was dressed simply today, unlike her red dress yesterday. She wore a long white robe with a crisscrossed collar, a narrow, light-green belt tied at her waist, the same color as the outer jacket.

Under the continuous rain, the colors of her clothes blurred. From a distance, she had the delicate, swaying feel of a graceful willow branch from the Chu Palace.

It wasn’t until the celestial blue fan in her hand slowly moved, revealing Gu Wenyao’s gentle, smiling face, that the original atmosphere was slightly ruined.

Mo Shuqing retracted her gaze, gave a slight nod as a greeting, and began to walk again.

Gu Wenyao was naturally beautiful. Her appearance resembled her birth mother, Lady Ming, with the unique elegance of a southern lady.

But her smile never reached her eyes, like a fake mask. The smile on her face seemed to be drawn by the hand of the finest master painter, stroke by stroke.

It was perfect and flawless, but without a trace of genuine emotion.

This version of her was no longer the Ayao Mo Shuqing remembered.

“Sister-in-law.”

Seeing Mo Shuqing about to walk past without looking at her, Gu Wenyao narrowed her eyes slightly and spoke, her voice melodious.

She managed to enunciate the two words with a heavy first syllable and a light second, as if grinding her teeth.

Mo Shuqing finally stopped.

Gu Wenyao tightened her grip on the handkerchief in her hand to prevent any trace of her perfect expression from faltering. “After we drank from the same cup last night, you’re so cold to me today, so heartless.”

Gu Wenyao walked forward, followed by Yi Yun holding the umbrella.

Gu Wenyao stood in front of Mo Shuqing, and the celestial blue umbrella behind her was almost covering Mo Shuqing’s head.

The two umbrellas overlapped.

Gu Wenyao smiled, looking at Mo Shuqing’s cool face. “Even if we had no connection in the past, we are a family now. How can you be so distant?”

Hearing her mention the past, Mo Shuqing lifted her eyelashes to look at Gu Wenyao. No matter how many times she saw it, she truly disliked that smile. It was just like the demons from Journey to the West.

Outwardly gentle and weak, but as soon as she opened her mouth, she couldn’t hide her desire to devour people.

Just like now.

“I have to serve the tea,” Mo Shuqing said in a calm tone. “The Marquis and Madam are still waiting for me in the front hall.”

“What a coincidence, I’m going to the front hall too,” Gu Wenyao said cheerfully. “I’ll accompany sister-in-law, so you don’t get lost in the rain.”

“Oh, that’s right, let me remind you of something.” Gu Wenyao took a step forward and reached out a hand towards Mo Shuqing’s face.

As her radiant, jade-like fingertips approached, Mo Shuqing’s body didn’t move. She only glanced sideways.

Gu Wenyao’s fingers picked up a loose strand of hair that had been blown to Mo Shuqing’s lips by the wind. Lowering her eyes, she twisted the hair and gently tucked it behind Mo Shuqing’s ear, saying softly, “The manor is full of demons and monsters. Sister-in-law, you must be careful when dealing with them.”