Chapter 3
Strength
and Promise
”Bad
luck?”,Yue timidly whispered as their carriage kept going.”...Let’s not think
too much for now”,Feng forced a smile. To
be honest,I’m not sure too what is happening,Feng inwardly sighed. Yue
subconciously fidgeted ,she felt very uncomfortable. The girl knew,she must be
strong as a Mrs Yuan but the fear felt intense. They finally reached the Guan
Inn. The guards slowly put the carriage on the ground,”We have arrived,Young
Master”.
Slowly,the
newlyweds stepped out and saw Mrs Guan alongside Hui Zhong. Yue didn’t know
why,but seeing the two figures melted something in her heart. She felt so
relieved,and ran to them before finally embracing her mother tight.
”M-m-moootheeerrrrrrr”
”Ah? What
is wrong,my dear? Suddenly back to childhood?”,Mrs Guan chuckled as she ruffled
her hand through Yue’s hair.
Feng
nervously walked to the two women and smiled,”Good day,Madam... Or should I
say...Mother-in-law”
” Xie
Feng...Please do come in and have a cup of tea”
”With
pleasure”
Hui Zhong
smiled and led them to the living room area. He looked behind and saw
townspeople whispering. ”.....”,a pained expression dawned on Hui Zhong’s face.
They
settled on the living room,enjoying cups of flower tea. Yue was still sobbing
while wiping her tears with handkerchief,Feng unsure what to do.
”Y-Yue...Please stop crying...Were you that pressured in our place?”,Feng
stuttered and was replied with Yue’s violent head shaking. Hui Zhong laughed
hard,”Yue has always been either a fierce monster or a crybaby .Do not worry
too much,brother-in-law”
”A-alright...”
”Mooooom,you
never told me cooking cashew nut porridge is soooo hardddd”,Yue bawled further
and left everyone speechless. Oh yeah,
one of the servants did tell me Yue almost exploded the kitchen once because of
porridge,Feng tried to hold his laughter in. ”Y-you’re embarrassing
me,Yue!I even wrote the recipes on scrolls for you!”,Madam Guan protested. ”You
forgot to tell me about temperatureeeeee”,and she cried again.
Hui Zhong
chuckled,but deep down he knew... His fiery little sister is not the type to
cry over such small matters. In fact,Yue doesn’t cry much unless a pile of
stress accumulates in her. He gazed at Feng’s troubled face. Something is definitely wrong, very wrong.
Madam Guan
and Yue went to her old room to gather some stuff,leaving Hui Zhong alone with
Feng. He smiled and flapped his fan.
”Brother-in-law...May
I ask why my little sister is so agitated?”
”....That...”
”I won’t
tell a soul”,Hui Zhong smiled yet his eyes full of rage.
Feng told
him everything,about their wedding night, attacks, falling vase...everything.
When he finished, Hui Zhong was sighing as he sipped his tea. ”......The town
is not...doing well”,Hui Zhong muttered. ”These few days,criminals increase and
safety is at its worst level. Some farmers complained saying their crops
withered all of sudden with no reasons. Some kids are sick too”
” And?”
Hui Zhong
sighed deeply,”....And some start to say this happened since you got married”
”WHAT!”
”Calm down,let
me finish... They believe this is a bad omen and think Heaven wants you to
part... Since you will be a Minister
some day”. ”This is absurd!”,Feng exclaimed. ”Why blame it on us?”. Hui Zhong
looked down,his eyes filled with sorrow.
”They also
believe this is because a foreigner is here and currently residing in your
manor”
”.....Silva?”
Feng
scratched the back of his head, not believing what he just heard. It felt too
ridiculous to be true. ”Because too many misfortunes occur,the townspeople are
losing their rationality and I believe you two just got married at the wrong
moment. Not everyone is as educated as you are,brother-in-law. Commoners like
us can be very influenced about beliefs on myths and curses”.
”Is this
inn affected in any way?”
”....Actually,we
have been gaining more business lately,which led the townspeople to believe
Guan Family ’threw away a misfortune to our government which affected all of
us’....” ”THAT’S EVEN MORE ABSURD”,Feng stood up. ”....Lower your voice,Young
Master Yuan...Servants might start rumours”
”Shit...Don’t
tell Yue”
”.....Very
well”.
......I heard,it’s too late,Yue
bitterly smiled from behind the door. She didn’t mean to eavesdrop but the
peanut sweet buns she found in the kitchen were too tempting to not be shared. So I’m
now icon of misfortune?. She calmly entered the room,”I
have sweets!” while forcing a smile. The two men seemed very surprised and
flustered when they saw her,then acted natural. Yue put the plate of buns
,holding tears.
In Chinese tradition, the visit
of bride and groom to her household after marriage is the last time she gets
to see her family and Yue wasn’t going to ruin her last time home with
hysterical tears . Yue then went back to the kitchen and started preparing some
food for dinner,either way she vowed to make the visit memorable.
Feng sighed as he watched his
bride walk out of the living room , he couldn’t understand how such innocent
girl could be blamed with accusations without logical basis like that. He
clenched his teeth, angry. Angry with everything. ”You must stay strong...No
matter what,do not throw her away”,Hui Zhong firmly spoke. Feng nodded,inwardly
swearing not to see Yue cry anymore.
In the kitchen, Yue
absentmindedly chopped some sweet potatoes. Resolutions to stay strong aside,
she couldn’t hide her fear and sorrow. She shivered whenever thinking about
icon of misfortune matter. ”....Yue”,a timid voice spoke. Yue turned around and
saw a little girl . The girl was a daughter of one of the inn servants.”Yes,little
one?”,Yue smiled. ”Don’t be sad, Miss Yue... No matter what people say,we all
believe you’re nice and I even told everyone you always give me candies!!”. Yue
chuckled and patted the little girl’s head,”Thank you”.
Yes, I mustn’t lose courage now. I’m the wife of the
future Minister,she reminded herself.
Dinnertime arrived, Yue served
her cooking on the table . Her mom watched her and smiled while the other two
men only had their gaze fixed at the food (Because they’re...men?).Yue sat down
and took a deep breath,”Mother and brother...This may be the last time I see
you”
The room
was silence
”And I bear
no resentment to Yuan family for this,because tradition is indeed important.
All I ask is that today can be the most memorable day with me in your memories”
Feng
shrugged,he felt bad somehow but said nothing.
”As a sign
of gratitude,I’ve cooked all the grand dishes I know... I realize this is nothing
compared to all those years of caring for me but.... I really am grateful and
proud that I was once of Guan family. Now,please eat up”.
Everyone
said nothing and started eating. Moments passed...
”Foolish
girl...”,Mrs Guan’s voice trembled
”Didn’t I
tell you that...Crab soup shouldn’t be too salty?”
She
chuckled,eyes a bit teary. ”Guan name or not,you will still be our Yue Ping”.
Yue smiled, she vowed not to cry anymore. She had cried enough. They spent the
dinnertime eating while talking. Hui Zhong told funny and embarassing stories
of Yue’s childhood which caused her to smack him, Mrs Guan listed tons of
advises for her and they all got to know Feng better.
”You know what?I’m glad
your husband is a fine man”,Hui Zhong whispered to Yue.
”.....But
fine or not,you still have to please his....manly needs”
Hui Zhong burst out laughing then ran away and Yue
chased after him, leaving Feng laughing although he didn’t really understand. ”...Xie
Feng”,Mrs Guan smiled,”Please take care of her... She may be a riot and a
crybaby,but she’s our precious baby” .”I know.Do
not worry”,Feng smiled. His mind set on protecting that smile.
”Young Master Feng,there’s a
letter from a guard bearing Yuan Ministry seal”,a servant came running in
carrying a letter. Feng opened it,
”Stay at
Guan Inn for tonight.
Night journey is too risky.
That soldier...didn’t make it. We are sending
condolences to his family
Yuan Fei Fei”
Feng sighed, feeling sorry for
the soldier.”Ma’am,sorry but can we stay tonight?”. Mrs Guan smiled,”But of
course”.
In the
backyard,Yue sat beside her brother under the tree.
”Brother...I
heard about what townspeople said about me”
”...Who
told you?”
”I’m
sorry,I overheard”
Hui Zhong
sighed,”....Yes. Be strong,Yue Ping. This too shall pass,alright?”
”I plan on...doing
some charity work and restore my good name”
”Oh?”
”I’m sad, I
really am but I can’t let this continue... I don’t want to damage Yuan family
reputation”
”I guess
some painful things make people stronger. I see fire in your eyes,you clearly
are braver now.I feel proud”,he chuckled,”Then...Let me give you an idea. Our
city lately faces difficulty because our trading partner, Nan Province suddenly
cut off cooperation. If you can solve this,rumors will stop”
”...”,Yue
pondered for a second,”If it will restore our good name,I will try”
”Sounds
good”,Feng smiled,clearly amused. He walked towards them,”I was searching for you two and
heard this brilliant idea. I will help you,Yue Ping. Let’s prove these
townspeople wrong”.
Yue smiled,
I must be strong now.The journey ahead is
a long one. I am no longer the Guan Yue Ping who cries all the time, my name is Yuan Yue Ping.
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