Lady of Fortune, Jiao Niang

Chapter 43

Great sorrow and great joy, Qi Yun truly experienced them both completely.

Just moments ago it had been bone-piercing cold wind mixed with ice shards, and now it was already warm as spring.

His hand loosened, and the sky lantern fell to the ground, but Qi Yun no longer had time to pay attention to it.

The man felt his nose somewhat sour. He closed his eyes, stepped back half a pace, leaned against a pillar outside the tea shop, and slowly exhaled.

Qi Yun had never thought he would be so deeply moved by someone's single sentence. Having lived too long a cold and unfeeling life, even now that he had been warmed up, he felt nothing. But in this very moment, Qi Yun felt his heart beating, and even breathing became somewhat difficult.

He didn't go in because Qi Yun didn't quite know how to tell Ye Jiao about his current feelings, and he was also afraid that such overwhelming emotions would frighten his Jiao Niang.

However, Qi Yun felt somewhat fortunate that his body was much better now.

If he still had that paper-thin appearance from before, he probably would have already fainted from not being able to catch his breath upon hearing the first half of Ye Jiao's sentence.

What brought Qi Yun back to his senses was the towering flames that suddenly erupted in the distance!

Not knowing what had happened, this sudden bright light obviously startled the crowd watching the flower lanterns. The people who had been strolling leisurely became tense, and the scene became somewhat chaotic.

Qi Yun was slightly stunned and straightened up to look in that direction. But very quickly, Qi Yun felt as if a gust of wind had blown past him!

Then he heard Ye Jiao's voice call out: "Be careful!"

Qi Yun immediately entered the tea shop and pulled back Ye Jiao, who wanted to go out.

Although he didn't know who that man was, seeing Ye Jiao so nervous, he knew it must be an old acquaintance of his Jiao Niang.

But Qi Yun wouldn't actively ask. What he cared more about was Ye Jiao's safety: "Wait a moment, it's very chaotic outside."

Only then did Ye Jiao realize Qi Yun had returned. Her bright eyes stared at him, and she immediately reached back to hold onto Qi Yun.

Little Ginseng buried her face in the man's fluffy fur coat, clenched her hands into small fists, and punched him once: "You scared me to death!"

Qi Yun was startled and could only make a single sound: "Ah?"

Ye Jiao raised her head to look at him, thinking she had hurt Qi Yun. She quickly lowered her arms and instead tightly encircled the man's waist: "I was watching you the whole time, but you suddenly disappeared. When it became chaotic outside, I was terrified something happened to you and was about to go out to find you."

So the "be careful" that Jiao Niang had just shouted was directed at him?

Qi Yun's heart felt completely soothed. He also reached back to embrace Ye Jiao's waist, lowered his head to rest his forehead against the top of the woman's head, and explained with a smile: "I just saw someone talking to you, so I stood at the door for a while."

Ye Jiao didn't hide anything from him and replied directly: "That was my brother," her voice paused, "Big Brother. He's returned from war."

Qi Yun knew that Ye Jiao had two brothers, but he had always heard that Brother Ye had died in battle. Sister-in-law Ye had also told the Qi family this before, which allowed Second Brother Ye, as the only male in the Ye family, to become the head of the household and marry off Ye Jiao.

Now that Ye Jiao said Brother Ye had returned, Qi Yun had no doubts.

Connecting this with the recent great victory at the border, Qi Yun reached out to gently pat Ye Jiao's back: "When relatives return from the dead, this is a joyous occasion."

Little Ginseng also nodded and said softly: "Big Brother is a good person. He should live well."

Qi Yun added: "Then why did he run away so urgently just now? Since you've met, you should have invited him home to sit."

Ye Jiao answered softly: "We had just exchanged a few words when we saw the chaos outside. He said the person he follows might be in trouble, and he would come find me again later, then he left."

The person he follows?

Qi Yun frowned slightly. The word "follows" wasn't used lightly. Brother Ye looked strong and powerful, and his clothing and appearance didn't seem like those of a servant. Especially the official boots he wore, Qi Yun had seen them clearly.

Since he held an official position, anyone who could make him so nervous must be either wealthy or noble.

At this time, the commotion outside had gradually subsided.

Tie Zi had been standing at the door looking outside. Now he ran back and said to the two of them: "Some performers accidentally knocked over a fire basin and ignited their stall, which caused the smoke. The fire has been extinguished now, and it doesn't seem to be anything serious."

The crowd outside also gradually calmed down, and the river surface that had become somewhat dim now sparkled brilliantly again.

Only then did Ye Jiao remember about the sky lantern and tugged at Qi Yun: "Husband, where is the lantern you said you were going to buy?"

Qi Yun had obviously already forgotten about the sky lantern he had casually thrown on the ground. Afraid it might be trampled by others, he said to Little Su: "Quickly check if there's one outside the door."

Little Su responded and ran out to look, only to see a sky lantern that hadn't been lit, pitifully leaning against the wall, swaying in the cold wind with several footprints already on it.

Seeing this, Tie Zi didn't let Little Su bring this already damaged lantern in to spoil their mood. Instead, he called to those inside: "Young Master, let me go buy another one."

Qi Yun understood and nodded at Tie Zi.

Soon, Tie Zi bought a new one and brought it back, handing it to Little Su to take inside.

She brought the lantern in, and Qi Yun took it but didn't immediately give it to Ye Jiao. Instead, he borrowed a brush from the tea shop owner and wrote two lines of poetry on it.

Ye Jiao leaned over to look and saw that Qi Yun had written two lines in beautiful small regular script.

'Exquisite dice with red beans inside, do you know of this love that penetrates to the bone?'

Actually, when Qi Yun had picked up the brush, he didn't know what he should write. But when he turned to look at that Jiao Niang who was watching him expectantly, he wrote these two lines.

Jiao Niang thought of him, and how could he not feel the same way?

If it were before, Second Young Master Qi would have found these romantic verses pretentious, but now he felt they were so fitting, fitting right to his heart.

Ye Jiao read it aloud, thought for a moment, and suddenly said to Qi Yun: "After we release the lantern later, let's go home. I want to eat red bean soup."

Qi Yun was startled for a moment, then smiled.

His arms tightened slightly, holding Ye Jiao more closely in his embrace, his voice carrying laughter: "Alright."

Ye Ping Rong rushed back in a hurry because he was afraid this wasn't an accident but someone's deliberate act!

Although his heart was with Ye Jiao, his current support and the one who determined his life and death was Prince Duan, Chu Chengyun.

Since he had recognized his little sister, he could always find her later.

But if something happened to Chu Chengyun, for Ye Ping Rong, who was supposed to protect him, it could mean great disaster!

However, when Ye Ping Rong, who had broken out in a cold sweat, reached the wine shop, he saw that Chu Chengyun was perfectly fine.

Finally able to breathe a sigh of relief, Ye Ping Rong bowed to Chu Chengyun and heard him say: "You're a step too late. Third Young Master Qi just left. He originally wanted to wait for you to come and thank you, but when you didn't return for so long and he needed to find his family, you missed each other."

Ye Ping Rong naturally knew what Qi Ming wanted to say to him. He tried hard to steady his mind and said calmly: "That was just a small effort. This subordinate was also protecting my master."

After all, when a living person fell from the sky, how could Ye Ping Rong know whether it was an ordinary person or an assassin? Of course, he had to subdue them first, which accidentally saved Qi Ming.

Chu Chengyun just smiled and said: "Go prepare. There are more and more people outside, so we should head back."

Meng on the side also nodded and gently pulled Chu Chengyun's hand to stand up.

Ye Ping Rong then walked to the door, where Liu Rong called out to him.

Liu Rong's expression looked somewhat strange, and his voice unconsciously lowered: "Commander Ye, just now the Princess Consort called me over and had me give this to you, saying it was a gift from the Prince." As he spoke, Liu Rong handed Ye Ping Rong a piece of paper.

Ye Ping Rong found this strange. Usually, he had no dealings with Princess Consort Meng Huilou and only followed orders. Meng had never contacted him directly, bypassing Chu Chengyun.

When Ye Ping Rong opened the note, there was an address written on it.

This was a place Ye Ping Rong had never heard of. Just as he was puzzled, he heard Liu Rong say: "The Princess Consort said your younger brother lives there."

One sentence made surprise appear on Ye Ping Rong's face, followed by a sharp glint in his eyes.

Liu Rong had followed him for quite some time and was very familiar with this expression. He quickly said: "It has nothing to do with me. I only had the brothers investigate but never sold you out... no, never told the masters about it."

Seeing his flustered explanation, Ye Ping Rong couldn't help but smile and patted his shoulder reassuringly, saying softly: "I know. Even if you hadn't said anything, the masters would have found out about this matter. I just didn't expect the Princess Consort would really help me with this favor."

Liu Rong was startled upon hearing this: "Are you saying the Princess Consort is trying to win you over or is she suspicious of you?"

"Neither. She told you it was the Prince who investigated, so even if it's buying people's hearts, she's buying them for the Prince."

Liu Rong thought carefully and could only sigh: "Our Prince is playful, but having the Princess Consort there to keep him in line is also good. Honestly, how did the Prince manage to marry such a good..."

Ye Ping Rong glared at him: "Discussing the master, do you still want your tongue?"

Liu Rong immediately shut his mouth and smiled ingratiatingly at Ye Ping Rong.

Ye Ping Rong ignored him and just stared at the note for two more glances, memorizing it, then crumpled it up and held it to a nearby candle flame to burn it to ash.

But his face showed a smile.

Not having seen him for so long, he wondered if his little brother had changed much. These years had been truly heartbreaking to think about. And little sister, was she really doing well, or was she just fooling me?

She's such a soft-hearted person that even if she were having a hard time, she probably wouldn't tell me clearly.

The Ye Jiao that Ye Ping Rong was thinking about wasn't sad at all. On the way back, she even bought two strings of candied hawthorns, giving one to Qi Ming, who had just gotten on the carriage, and keeping one for herself.

These candied hawthorns were made with red dates. The dates had been pitted, and the crisp, bright red dates were covered with a layer of transparent sugar coating. When you bit into one and chewed it in your mouth, it felt sweeter than honey.

Qi Yun didn't like sweet things but was unwilling to refuse Ye Jiao's gesture. He only bit into one date that Ye Jiao handed him and slowly chewed it in his mouth. Ye Jiao took the remaining candied hawthorn and sat to the side, eating happily.

In the carriage, Qi Ming was still dutifully playing his role as the "one-armed scholar."

Third Young Master Qi was obviously someone who saw things through to the end. Since he wanted to fake an injury to set a trap for the person who had harmed him, he would never be careless and instead enjoyed the process.

Using his movable hand to hold the candied hawthorn, Qi Ming said to Qi Yun while eating: "Second Brother, when I was talking with the Third Prince just now, he mentioned you and Second Sister-in-law."

"Hm?" Qi Yun had been watching Ye Jiao with smiling eyes, but hearing this, he couldn't help but look toward Qi Ming.

Third Young Master Qi always spoke directly to Qi Yun, and this time was no exception: "He said he got a paper fan from a woman who won a flower lantern and gave him her chance, and that there was a fluffy strange person beside that woman." Qi Ming's voice paused as he first looked at Ye Jiao's jade rabbit lantern, which was much larger than a normal lantern, then at Qi Yun, who was tightly wrapped in his fur coat and hat.

That look said it all.

On the entire street, who else could be called fluffy except Qi Yun?

Qi Yun's face darkened, but Ye Jiao laughed and even reached out to touch the fur on Qi Yun's coat.

This made Qi Yun also curve his lips into a smile, thinking that if it could make his wife laugh, being called strange was fine.

By the time they reached home, it was already past midnight. Ye Jiao had long since fallen asleep in Qi Yun's arms. The next morning, Ye Jiao went early to Mother Liu's courtyard.

"Mother, this is for you." Ye Jiao knew that Mother Liu usually spent her time either worshipping Buddha or growing flowers. When she was looking at lanterns yesterday, she hadn't forgotten about Mother Liu and bought a white porcelain flower pot to bring back.

Little Su handed the flower pot to Nanny Liu, and Mother Liu looked at it with a smile and nodded: "It looks quite nice. Jiao Niang, you're very thoughtful."

Nanny Liu also smiled. Actually, Mother Liu already had a pile of flower pots similar to this one, but what mattered was Ye Jiao's thoughtfulness.

Especially with Fang, who only took but never gave, in comparison, Ye Jiao appeared particularly filial.

Ye Jiao then sat to the side, took off her cloak and handed it to Little Su, asking: "Where is Elder Sister-in-law?"

Mother Liu said with a smile: "Yesterday was the Return Home Visit day. Fang took Little Shi Tou to her parents' home yesterday, saying she would stay there for one night and return this afternoon."

Return Home Visit?

Little Ginseng didn't know about these customs and traditions, but hearing Mother Liu mention her parents' home, Ye Jiao remembered something: "I also met my big brother yesterday."

Mother Liu made a sound of surprise and asked: "Is Brother Ye doing well?"

Ye Jiao smiled softly: "He looked good, much stronger than before."

Hearing this, Mother Liu smiled: "I've only heard that your brother went to war. Now that he can return whole and healthy is heaven's blessing. You should invite him home to sit."

Ye Jiao nodded: "Husband said the same thing, but yesterday we met hurriedly and parted in haste. I'm afraid he won't be able to find me for a while."

"It doesn't matter. When you married, the ceremony was grand. It hasn't been long since then, so if he asks around a little, he'll know. When you meet, if he's willing, working in trade with Second Young Master would also be good." Mother Liu comforted her gently, but kept half a sentence to herself.

Since Brother Ye had returned, the first person he should look for shouldn't be Ye Jiao but Second Brother Ye. After all, those two brothers were the roots of the Ye family.

Just based on what Mother Liu had heard about the shameful things Second Brother Ye had done, the two brothers would inevitably have a big confrontation.

Since Jiao Niang had married into the Qi family, it was best not to get involved in Ye family matters easily. Moreover, in Mother Liu's heart, Ye Jiao was the kindest person, and if she saw conflicts in her birth family, it would probably upset her.

She would care for her own daughter-in-law herself, especially such a good daughter-in-law.

Thinking of this, Mother Liu said: "Since you didn't go back for the Return Home Visit, you don't need to worry too much about it. Later I'll have Nanny Liu send some eggs and meat to your family, treating it as if you had gone back. Others won't find fault with it."

Ye Jiao nodded and agreed.

Not long after, Nanny Liu took people on an ox cart to the Ye family. When they were almost there, they saw a burly man standing at the Ye family's door.

Nanny Liu was about to call out for him to move aside, but before she could speak, the man had already stepped away and sat at a nearby wonton stall.

Thinking this person was just passing by, Nanny Liu didn't look at him again. When the cart stopped, she got down and was about to knock on the door when she heard a woman's shrill voice from inside: "Our family doesn't have enough silver for ourselves, and you actually want to lend it to others! This life is impossible!"

"The Zhang family really can't make ends meet. When we were down and out, they also helped us, you..."

"I said no, and that means no! Go get that silver back for me, right now!"

Nanny Liu had no interest in listening to a couple quarrel here. She reached out and knocked forcefully on the door, calling loudly: "Second Sister-in-law Ye, my family's Second Young Mistress asked me to bring some things over."

Hearing this, the voices inside immediately stopped.

It was Second Sister-in-law Ye who opened the door. Although she resented that Ye Jiao was living well, she was naturally happy to have things delivered to her door. When she saw the eggs and meat in the two baskets that Nanny Liu had people carry down, she smiled even more broadly.

Second Brother Ye also hurried out, but he didn't look at the things. He just wanted to see if his little sister had come back. Not seeing her, he wanted to ask.

But before they could speak, Nanny Liu immediately said: "These were sent by our Second Young Mistress's orders." After speaking, she had people quickly unload the things and place them directly at the door, then returned to the ox cart without staying a moment longer.

After all, Mother Liu had only asked her to deliver the things and pass along the message. Nanny Liu didn't want to get involved in anything else.

Second Sister-in-law Ye had originally been complaining about Second Brother Ye spending silver recklessly, but now seeing the basket of eggs and the piece of meat with both fat and lean parts, she immediately smiled broadly.

After Nanny Liu left, Second Sister-in-law Ye no longer had any reservations. She moved the baskets into the courtyard, closed the door, and said directly: "Don't look at how everyone says that Second Young Master Qi is dying, but from the looks of it now, he can still hold on for a while."

Second Brother Ye thought she was speaking too harshly and said: "If brother-in-law can get better, that's also good for Jiao Niang. She was originally blessed..."

"Bah, blessed? If she was blessed, when she was at our house, why did you fail at every business you tried?" Second Sister-in-law Ye couldn't stand hearing good words about Ye Jiao. Speaking of this, she seemed to remember something: "How much of the money you took from me earlier is left?"

Second Brother Ye didn't speak.

Second Sister-in-law Ye's eyes went wide: "All lost again?" Seeing Second Brother Ye remain silent, Second Sister-in-law Ye pointed at him and scolded: "Are you really doing business or did you lend it all to other people! Speak up, if you don't speak, I won't live with you anymore!"

Hearing the commotion, Ye Bao in the house quickly ran out, calling: "Mother, Mother!" He stumbled and fell right onto the baskets.

Ye Bao was quite grown now, and Second Sister-in-law Ye had always spoiled him, so he was somewhat fat. With this fall, he directly overturned the entire basket of eggs!

The ground was immediately covered with clear and yellow egg contents. Second Sister-in-law Ye was so angry she grabbed Ye Bao and hit him. For a moment, the sounds of a woman shouting and a child crying could be heard even on the street.

The old man selling wontons clicked his tongue twice and said: "This family doesn't accumulate virtue. They sold their sister and still can't live peacefully, making noise every day. Really don't know what they're thinking, not enjoying good days properly."

But before he could finish speaking, he heard a "crash."

The old man was startled and turned to see that the person who had just sat down had smashed his wonton bowl on the ground.

Before the old man could speak, the man had already stood up, handed ten copper coins to the old man, and said in a low voice: "Sorry, this is to compensate for your bowl."

The old man had originally wanted to pursue the matter of him smashing the bowl, but seeing the ten copper coins, which could buy several bowls, he immediately smiled: "No problem, no problem. Would you like another bowl of wontons, customer?"

Ye Ping Rong shook his head and said quietly: "No, thank you." After speaking, he turned and left the wonton stall.

He stared fiercely at the Ye family's door several times before turning and striding away.

Here the Ye family was crying and making noise, but the Qi family was completely peaceful.

Ye Jiao later went to see the lanterns again, this time with Dong Shi, whom she hadn't seen for a long time. They returned just as it was getting dark.

If Qi Yun had known, he would certainly have wanted to accompany her, but Ye Jiao also knew that merchant caravan matters were keeping him busy.

Merchant caravans were rare to begin with, and those that could become large were even rarer. Qi Yun had found Manager Sun's connection and naturally wouldn't give it up easily. He had been busy with this for several days.

Ye Jiao didn't want to disturb him and didn't even tell Qi Yun much, afraid he would worry. She arranged to go with Dong Shi herself.

When she returned, before Ye Jiao could enter the door, she saw Doctor Li coming out of the house.

Doctor Li left through the side door of the courtyard. When Ye Jiao went in, she only caught a glimpse of Doctor Li's back, and before she could call out to ask him about it, Doctor Li had already left.

She was slightly startled and then felt her heart rise high.

Qi Yun's health had been improving recently, and the doctor hadn't come for a long time. His sudden visit now, could it be that husband's health had problems again?

Ye Jiao hurriedly pushed open the door and saw Qi Yun sitting behind the table, apparently looking at something. Seeing Ye Jiao enter, he smiled and said to her: "Jiao Niang, did you read this book again later?"

Seeing that he was fine, Ye Jiao breathed a sigh of relief.

She closed the door behind her and, hearing Qi Yun's words, couldn't help but walk over while taking off her cloak: "What book?"

Then she saw four neat characters on the cover.

"Six Wonders of the Flower Formation."