Old Madam Li suddenly came to her understanding, almost forgetting that the jinx had an expert secretly helping her. “Alright then, go quickly and return quickly, you must be careful.”
“You don’t need to worry, Granny, we won’t have any trouble.” Li Chenghuan stood up and considerately extended her hand toward Jiang Jinyue.
Jiang Jinyue’s gaze paused slightly, and she grasped her hand, using the momentum to stand up.
Who would have thought that before they had even walked a few steps, they were called to a halt.
“Two younger sisters, please wait a moment.”
A young married woman with a clear and pretty appearance and a gentle temperament hurried over.
Minister Lu’s three sons were named respectively Lu Chongli, Lu Chongzhi, and Lu Chongxin. The eldest son, Lu Chongli, was married to Lady Xie, while the other two sons were still unmarried.
The person who had come was none other than the eldest daughter-in-law of the Lu family, Xie Yuwan.
Xie Yuwan first glanced at Li Chenghuan, then smiled and met Jiang Jinyue’s gaze: “Jinyue, may I accompany the two of you?”
A trace of complexity flashed through Jiang Jinyue’s eyes. Before Xie Yuwan was married, her relationship with her had been quite good. After Xie Yuwan married into the Lu family, she rarely went out. Later, when they occasionally ran into each other at banquets, they would only nod and exchange greetings, their relationship long since no longer as close as before.
“Apologies.”
“Jinyue!” Xie Yuwan stepped forward a few steps, her eyes seemingly carrying pleading.
Jiang Jinyue sized up her expression, her tone softening a bit: “Yuwan, I cannot take responsibility for your safety.”
Her own safety still had to depend on Li Chenghuan; if any unexpected mishap really occurred, what should she do?
Yet Xie Yuwan smiled, the smile faintly leaking a desolate sorrow: “Just let me follow you. If there are any unexpected mishaps, it will just be that my life was meant to end like this, and I won’t blame others.”
Jiang Jinyue was startled, looking hesitatingly at Li Chenghuan.
Li Chenghuan smiled: “Sister-in-law can decide, no need to mind me.”
Since this Xie Yuwan knew Jiang Jinyue, then they should follow Jiang Jinyue’s wishes.
Anyway, others couldn’t hear the voice of the golden finger either, so at most they would just be a bit more careful when speaking. Furthermore, the prerequisite condition for obtaining rewards was lowering Jiang Jinyue’s corruption/darkening value; perhaps this would have unexpected effects.
Jiang Jinyue pondered slightly, nodded at Xie Yuwan, and signaled her to follow.
The sun gradually set westward, the sky a hazy yellow. After the three of them left the procession by a certain distance, they stopped.
“Sister-in-law, which way should we walk next?” Li Chenghuan asked, for she did not know the way at all.
Hearing this, Jiang Jinyue looked at Xie Yuwan behind them: “Yuwan, do you have any thoughts?”
Xie Yuwan only shook her head without making a sound.
Jiang Jinyue asked again: “Yuwan, do you have something you want to say to me?”
She had agreed to let Xie Yuwan follow not out of soft-heartedness, nor out of regard for old friendship, but because Xie Yuwan’s expression at that moment had been wrong.
Just like right now, Xie Yuwan’s expression was also very wrong; her complexion was as pale as paper, her lips pressed tightly together as if she were suppressing something.
Xie Yuwan words hung on her lips, hesitating as she glanced at Li Chenghuan.
Jiang Jinyue’s gaze sank, and before she could speak, she was preempted by Li Chenghuan.
“I will not leave Sister-in-law’s side by even half a step.”
If it were ordinary times, she would naturally accommodate others, but now it was different. Her cold-beauty sister-in-law’s safety was the most important thing. Even as the female lead, there was still a possibility of encountering danger; even if it wasn’t life-threatening, what if she got injured?
So she could only be lacking in tact this once.
“Yuwan, if you are unwilling to speak, then forget it.” Jiang Jinyue didn’t plan to separate from Li Chenghuan either; she treasured her own life, and Xie Yuwan might not necessarily be trustworthy. She turned around: “Let’s walk forward.”
Right at that moment, Xie Yuwan opened her mouth: “Jinyue, how many more days do you think we can live?” Pausing for a moment, without waiting for Jiang Jinyue to answer, she spoke on her own, “If I can’t live many more days, considering our past acquaintance, can you dig a few handfuls of soil to cover my face?”
Jiang Jinyue frowned, examining her closely.
Xie Yuwan gave two bitter laughs, as if a string that had been taut all this time had finally snapped: “Jinyue, sometimes I really envy you, I envy that your husband died early.”
This statement did not sound very pleasant to the ear, but neither Jiang Jinyue nor Li Chenghuan made a sound.
“Mother-in-law cannot wake up, and Husband said the bailiffs have water, so he told me to go serve those bailiffs to trade for a few mouthfuls of water to save Mother-in-law’s life.
Father-in-law said he would definitely make Husband wholeheartedly love and value me, Husband swore he would never lightly regard me by half because of this, Second Brother and Third Brother also said I am still the eldest sister-in-law they respect the most, and even Baozhu begged me.
How wonderful death would be, once dead no one would force me to fulfill filial piety anymore. I am a daughter-in-law of the Lu family, I ought to fulfill filial piety, a woman follows her husband upon marriage, and this is the only use I have. But I am of no use, who made me a daughter-in-law…”
Xie Yuwan rambled on and on, tears streaming down her cheeks, her gaze gradually turning dead and desolate, her words also beginning to turn topsy-turvy until in the end she was sobbing uncontrollably.
“Damn it!” Li Chenghuan couldn’t help cursing a dirty word. “Your husband is also a son! He’s useful, why doesn’t he go serve the bailiffs? A whole family devoid of human nature, what right do they have to force you?”
Xie Yuwan’s crying hitched, her dazed eyes staring at the furious young maiden as if she couldn’t react.
“Chenghuan is completely right; fulfilling filial piety should be done by the Lu family descendants first.” Jiang Jinyue took a deep look at Li Chenghuan, then turned her gaze to meet Xie Yuwan’s eyes: “Yuwan, you are first and foremost yourself, and only after that are you a daughter-in-law of the Lu family. If you are unwilling, no one has any right to force you.”
Xie Yuwan was stunned. She was first and foremost herself, and if she was unwilling…
“I am unwilling, I would rather die than be willing.” Therefore, using the excuse of scouting, she had actively followed along. The moment she came, she had no intention of returning; she had never planned to walk back alive.
Jiang Jinyue heard her unexpressed meaning and said earnestly: “Yuwan, we must live well; only by living is there hope. There is still such a long second half of life ahead, to throw it away like this on undeserving people, are you reconciled?”
Reconciled? Not reconciled!
Xie Yuwan’s heart trembled violently, as if grabbing a life-saving straw, staring straight at Jiang Jinyue: “Jinyue, they suspect you and the Li family have water, earlier Baozhu even secretly followed you, you must be careful, absolutely be careful.”
Her tone was urgent, eager to express something. In her agitation, she directly stepped forward and grasped Jiang Jinyue’s shoulders.
Their eyes met, Jiang Jinyue’s gaze exceptionally gentle: “Yuwan, I know, I know you are different from them.”
Time seemed to be prolonged at this moment, returning to when they were both unmarried maidens, good friends with matching aspirations who had never grown estranged, full of bright visions for the future.
“Jinyue.” Xie Yuwan was filled with heartache, tears once again brimming in her eye sockets.
Jiang Jinyue grasped her hand: “The Xie Yuwan I know is well-read in books, no less inferior to the Lu family’s eldest son, and even more useful than the Lu family’s eldest son.”
[Female lead’s darkening value decreases by two, rewarded with one pot of steamed rice with Chinese sausage]
Beside them, Li Chenghuan suddenly heard the voice of the golden finger, yet she couldn’t feel happy at all; instead, her nose felt sour.
She knew that women in ancient times had a difficult plight, but she hadn’t expected it to be this difficult. Clearly they were not inferior to men and all deserved a bright future, yet simply because they married as wives, they were stripped of all their pride, no longer having the opportunity to display their talents, becoming appendages of men, and even being forced to this extent.
“Sister-in-law… Shh! Someone is coming over!” The moment Li Chenghuan opened her mouth, she abruptly turned around, looking toward the direction from which footsteps were coming.
Jiang Jinyue instantly grew vigilant, patted the back of Xie Yuwan’s hand, and also turned around to look.
Within her line of sight, three figures were rapidly approaching.
“Wife, why did you run out?” Crying? Lu Chongli frowned, looking with displeasure at Xie Yuwan.
Lu Chongzhi and Lu Chongxin exchanged a glance, their expressions also not looking very good. Their parents were elderly, and Baozhu was still young; instead of looking after them properly, what was the eldest sister-in-law running out to do?
Xie Yuwan clenched her fists and turned her head away: “I came out with the two younger sisters to look for water.”
“What water are three weak women looking for, aren’t you just adding to the disorder, hurry back.” Lu Chongli’s frown deepened even further. Because they hadn’t found water, his mood was chaotic and frantic, making his tone increasingly impatient.
Xie Yuwan pressed her lips together. Her husband had originally lived up to his name, upright and courteous. In the past, although he often told her to go out less and just focus on being filial to parents-in-law and managing internal affairs, he had always spoken in pleasant tones and their interactions were relatively harmonious. But ever since the exile began, this person had changed.
Not only did he lose his pleasant expression, he even used the principle of filial piety to force her to do that kind of thing.
“Heh!” Li Chenghuan couldn’t help laughing, her laughter very cold. “We are weak women? May I ask if the three strong men have found a water source?”
The three men’s expressions stiffened slightly. Strong men? Why did that sound so awkward.
Lu Chongli’s expression sank. They hadn’t found a water source, but what right did this female have to speak with sarcasm, simply devoid of reason.
“If the two of you wish to continue looking for water, please feel free, my humble wife will not accompany you further.” With that, he strode forward, grabbed Xie Yuwan’s hand, and left.