My Dearest Sister-In-Law, I've Been Waiting For You To Get A Divorce For A Long Time - Chapter 8

Chapter 8

◎ “When did you send me a letter?” ◎

The moon had climbed to the treetops and the stars were bright in the courtyard. It was already (7-9 PM). Normally, dinner would have been finished by now.

But the food at the Bamboo Courtyard was so spicy that Mo Shuqing hadn’t eaten much at lunch. Naturally, she didn’t eat dinner either. Gu Wenyao was asking a question she already knew the answer to.

It’s hard for a person’s palate to change. Gu Wenyao wanted to use this to force Mo Shuqing to come to her.

She wanted Mo Shuqing to come to her door of her own accord, to seek her out just this once. That way, Gu Wenyao could regain the face she had lost when the Mo family had twice rejected her invitations.

At the very least, Gu Wenyao felt this would balance the scales.

Her heart felt more at ease, and she appeared softer and more harmless. She glanced at Yi Yun, signaling her to prepare dinner. She then gestured with her hand behind her, making an inviting motion, and said in a slow, casual tone, “If you haven’t eaten, sister-in-law, why don’t we have dinner together?”

She had been waiting for this meal since noon.

Her stomach was hurting, but her heart was at ease.

Yi Yun saw that Gu Wenyao was in a good mood and quickly went to have dinner prepared.

Gu Wenyao stood by the door, speaking obediently to Mo Shuqing. “Don’t worry, sister-in-law, the chef in my courtyard knows how to make Lingnan cuisine. The taste will certainly be to your liking.”

“How kind of you, sister,” Mo Shuqing said, raising her skirt and stepping onto the stairs. She smiled and then stopped in front of Gu Wenyao. As she released her hand, her purple dress billowed out, and her smile faded. “But I don’t want to accept it.”

The curve of Gu Wenyao’s lips froze. Her eyes flickered as she looked up at Mo Shuqing.

“The Mo family was demoted, and I lived with my father in Lingnan for many years. I’ve become used to a light diet. The food at the Marquis manor now—I’m not used to it, and I don’t like to eat it,” Mo Shuqing said.

“If you don’t want to give up the power or if you want to make things difficult for me, you can use a more sophisticated method. Don’t be as childish as you were when we were children, making me think you’re using this method to force me to come and eat with you.”

When Mo Shuqing had seen the table full of oily and spicy food at noon, she had this feeling. That’s why she came to find Gu Wenyao tonight to get a clear answer.

She wanted to know if Gu Wenyao was still the same Ayao from her past. If so, she was willing to return the ledgers. If not, then the household authority would be a battle of wits.

But in her words, Gu Wenyao only heard one thing: a judgment of herself.

Childish.

Gu Wenyao’s face was a mix of shock and bewilderment. After a long moment, her eyes finally flickered. The corners of her eyes were slightly red. She looked at Mo Shuqing as if she were a stranger. The lamplight in her eyes flickered, and she tried to force a smile several times, but she couldn’t.

Her body felt weak. She couldn’t help but lean back against the doorframe for support.

Her frail spine hit the cold, hard doorframe. A sharp pain shot through her heart and lungs.

“I had no idea that was how you saw me when I was a child.” Gu Wenyao’s long lashes fluttered down as she began to laugh. Her stomach was cramping. She raised a hand to her abdomen and slowly crouched down, as if laughing at her own ridiculousness. She laughed until she couldn’t straighten up, until tears streamed down her cheeks.

Even after eight years without a single reply, even after her two visits to the Mo family were rejected, as long as she didn’t hear Mo Shuqing say the words “let’s end this,” Gu Wenyao could find excuses over and over again to give herself another chance.

But now, Mo Shuqing’s simple assessment had invalidated her from the very start.

Seeing Gu Wenyao crouching on the ground with one hand over her stomach, Mo Shuqing was stunned. She frowned and asked softly, “Are you not feeling well?”

“What does it have to do with you?” Gu Wenyao looked up at her, her voice so cold it made Mo Shuqing’s breathing shallow.

Gu Wenyao’s eyes were red, her lips were pale, and her face was streaked with tears. She used one hand to support herself against the door.

Mo Shuqing instinctively raised her hand to help her, but Gu Wenyao looked down and slapped her arm away.

Gu Wenyao stood up on her own, stubborn and defiant. She forced a smile, her bright eyes filled with tears as she looked at Mo Shuqing. “Mo Shuqing, if I had known that’s how you saw me, why would I have thought of you all these years?”

“I sent so many letters to Lingnan, one after another. Even if they had been thrown into a river in Lingnan and soaked, some ink marks should have floated back to the capital. You say I am cold-hearted. Then what about you? Do you even have a heart?”

“If you didn’t want to be in contact, why didn’t you just say so? If you had sent a single letter back to say you didn’t want to contact me, how could I have acted so childishly and not known when to stop!”

What am I, a cheap person? Am I a stray dog? Do I have to go to such lengths just to wag my tail and beg Mo Shuqing to look at me?

Gu Wenyao felt like a joke.

“You… you said you sent me letters?” Mo Shuqing took a half step forward, her voice hoarse and full of bewilderment. “When did you send me letters?”

When Mo Shuqing had first left the capital for Lingnan, she had sent countless letters to Gu Wenyao, but she had never received a single reply. When she came back to the capital to find Gu Wenyao, the answer she received was that Gu Wenyao didn’t want to see her.

At that time, Mo Shuqing had stood at the back gate of the Gu manor. Even when Gu Shufeng pushed her into the rain, she didn’t leave. She only left after the doorman came out and said:

‘Our young lady is the legitimate daughter of the Marquis. You are now the daughter of a county magistrate. The difference in status is too great. It’s better not to be in contact, so as not to bring trouble to our Gu family.’

It was only then that Mo Shuqing stopped sending letters to the capital. But her address in Lingnan never changed, and she had never received a single letter from the capital at the magistrate’s office.

Gu Wenyao laughed. “Sister-in-law, you really aren’t like me, so childish and prone to crying. Look at your innocent and bewildered expression. You must have been in an opera troupe before.”

She sighed, her voice trembling. She held her head up, wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes. “How pitiful are my over 1,400 letters. The postage alone cost a fortune.”

The journey was long, and the letters were slow. Each letter she sent was filled with longing and expectation, yet year after year, there was no reply.

Gu Wenyao had thought of going to Lingnan herself, but her health was so poor that she would probably die before she even reached the border.

The hope, despair, resentment, and anger she had harbored for Mo Shuqing from a distance came to nothing when she saw her in person. She realized that in Mo Shuqing’s eyes, she was nothing.

Yi Yun returned and, seeing Gu Wenyao’s condition, quickly went forward to support her. “My lady.”

Gu Wenyao leaned into Yi Yun’s arms, her shoulders trembling as she began to cough. She lowered her head and caught a glimpse of Mo Shuqing’s feet turning toward her, making her skirt ripple. Mo Shuqing wanted to reach out but pulled her hand back.

Even now, after all this, Gu Wenyao still wished that Mo Shuqing would place her hand on her head…

Gu Wenyao lowered her lashes and said softly, “I’m not feeling well tonight, so I can’t have dinner with you, sister-in-law. Please make yourself at home.”

Mo Shuqing’s voice was soft. “I…”

“From now on, the matters in the Bamboo Courtyard are all up to you, sister-in-law,” Gu Wenyao said, looking up at Mo Shuqing. All emotions had left her face, leaving only exhaustion and weariness. Her voice was weak. “If you are willing to organize the accounts, then do so. If not, just leave them. I’ll look at them tomorrow.”

With that, Gu Wenyao patted Yi Yun’s arm and whispered, “Help me inside.”

She didn’t even bother to dismiss her guest or ask someone to send Mo Shuqing away.

Yi Yun pursed her lips and looked at Mo Shuqing before helping Gu Wenyao into the room to lie down.

The two of them left, leaving Mo Shuqing alone at the door.

Something was wrong. Why hadn’t she received any of the letters?

Mo Shuqing looked into the room, her eyebrows furrowed. Before she could take a step inside, she saw Yi Yun come out in a hurry.

Yi Yun looked at Mo Shuqing and, although unwillingly, curtsied properly. “My lady isn’t feeling well, and this servant must go and invite Doctor Hu for a consultation. Please return to the Bamboo Courtyard, my lady.”

“I’ll go see her,” Mo Shuqing said, making a move to enter.

Yi Yun gritted her teeth and put out a hand to stop her. “If you really wanted to see my lady, she sent two invitations to visit after you returned to the capital. Why did you refuse to see her even once?”

“Now my young lady is not feeling well and doesn’t want to see guests. Please go back.” Yi Yun curtsied. She then turned and closed the door, standing in the covered walkway and calling a maid to go to the adjacent courtyard to invite Doctor Hu, who lived in the manor.

The door was tightly shut, leaving Mo Shuqing alone.

“My lady, why are you here? Dinner is ready.” Mama Liu came looking for her.

Mo Shuqing turned around.

Seeing her cold face and slightly red eyes, Mama Liu quickly went forward and took her hand. “Why did you walk into the tiger’s den? Was it Miss Yao—”

“Mama, Ayao said she sent me over 1,400 letters. Why didn’t I receive a single one?” Mo Shuqing slowly pulled her arm out of Mama Liu’s grasp. “You may not be clear about this matter, but there is one thing you should know.”

Mo Shuqing looked at Mama Liu. “After I returned to the capital, Ayao sent me invitations twice. Why did I not know about them even once?”

Mama Liu was her personal maid. If anyone had come looking for her, Mama Liu would have been the first to know and tell her.

But she had only heard about it for the first time tonight.

Mama Liu’s eyes flickered, and she spoke vaguely. “It’s better not to ask about this, my lady. It’s all in the past anyway.”

“It’s not in the past.” Mo Shuqing looked at Mama Liu and said seriously, “For me, it’s not over.”

If she had known that Ayao had come looking for her, how could she have possibly refused to see her, let alone twice?

Mo Shuqing had no intention of returning to the Bamboo Courtyard, but the door in front of her was tightly shut, and she couldn’t get in. Mo Shuqing walked down the steps and smoothed her dress. She sat down at a stone table in the courtyard, directly facing the door. Her voice was cold and flat:

“Mama Liu, if you can’t explain this clearly tonight, you can return to the Mo family.”