Chapter 87 Part 3: Mid Autumn Festival
It’s different from a small place like Tongxiang. Tongxiang was naturally “warm and adorable”, But Yanjing was “lively and crowded”. That was the first time she saw so many colorful lanterns. Those riddles the hawkers wrote on the lanterns for the guessing game were exceptionally simple; everytime she and Shen Yurong guessed, they were always correct. Thus the lanterns they won weren’t few, which in turn they gave out to the young children they would met by the roadside.
She also recalled there was a riddle that said “Searching for him a hundred thousand times in the crowd”, that she guessed the answer as “longing”. Shen Yurong softly said by her ear: “This word reflects how I am towards you.”
He “longed” for her. The her at that time thought it was true and really believed him. But she didn’t know, after the “longing”, there was still a “death”.
He was longing for her death so no one could block his path.
Jiang Li’s hands were clenched into fists, she took a deep breath before slowly relaxing her hands.
She didn’t wish to wallow in past memories. But after the cruelty, those past memories appeared more distinct. Jiang Jing Rui said he wanted her to go out and enjoy the Mid Autumn festival. However, Jiang Li was afraid, she was afraid to go out the doors. There were memories everywhere, the past was everywhere.
That would be too unbearable, she would rather not see, forever remembering the other person’s ugly appearance. Such beautiful warmth would also seem to be intact, sealed up underground, as if it never happened from the start.
She would never ask for trouble.
……
In a guest house in Yanjing, the lights burning in one room were especially bright.
Ye Shijie was sitting in the room, carefully stirring the center of the candle when a noise was suddenly heard from the door behind him. Someone pushed the door open and came in.
Ye Shijie stood up and turned his head around to see, his face showing excitement: “Second uncle!”
The person who came in was a middle age man with a thin figure. His appearance, however, was gentle. He was wearing a feathered headgear, white clothes with two silver ribbons hanging, resembling a scholar. But his eyes contained a trace of shrewdness. He shut the door and moved forward in quick steps, his mouth calling: “Shijie, you have matured indeed!”
He stopped in front of Ye Shijie and patted Ye Shijie’s shoulder heartily: “I’ve heard about your matter, heard not just a few people boasting about you. Not bad, giving our old Ye family some face!”
This man was Ye Shijie’s second uncle, Xiangyang’s Ye’s family’s second master, Ye Ming Xuan.
Ye Shijie looked behind Ye Ming Xuan but did not see anyone else. He asked puzzledly: “Second uncle, why are you alone? What about my father?”
Talking about this, Ye Ming Xuan wrinkled his brows, the joy just now dispersed a little. He said: “Your grandmother’s health is not very good. A few months ago, she fainted while she was at home. Now she has to have someone by her side at all times. The business in Xiangyang also encountered some problems. Not just your father, your third uncle has also returned to Xiangyang.”
“What?” Ye Shijie was stunned, “what happened?”
“Not something particularly big.” Ye Ming Xuan came back to his senses. He patted Ye Shijie’s head, “This time I came to send some banknotes over to you and to take care of the business in Yanjing. You are now an official, many places need silver. Although it’s said that wealth should not be revealed, it still needs to be used in places where it should be used. Our family also doesn’t lack this little money.”
Ye Shijie was still a bit worried and asked: “Second uncle, really nothing? I want to return home and look at grandmother.”
“You have just taken office, you can’t take so many days off to return to Xiangyang. It’s fine, your grandmother doesn’t have a major illness. For the time being, stay with ease at Yanjing. Wait until you are a bit more stable, it will not be a difficult thing for our whole family to move here. Yes, I guess have to wait until you are promoted to a third ranked official. Actually, three to five years will do.” He pondered while stroking his chin.
Ye Shijie was a little speechless. He thought for a bit and said to Ye Ming Xuan: “Second uncle, do you still remember aunt?”
Ye Ming Xuan was slightly stumped as he looked at Ye Shijie.
Their Ye family had three sons and one daughter, the only daughter being Ye Zhen Zhen, who was his younger sister. But this younger sister was unlucky and pa.s.sed away too early, making people sighed when mentioned.
Ye Shijie observed Ye Ming Xuan’s expression before cautiously saying: “The other day, I saw aunt’s daughter……. cousin.”
“Jiang Li?” Ye Ming Xuan reacted extremely quickly and spoke Jiang Li’s name.
Ye Shijie was relieved, fortunately, Ye Ming Xuan didn’t forget that there’s still this person existing, Jiang Li. Since he still remembered, it would be much easier to deal with. Then Ye Shijie told Ye Ming Xuan one by one, the matters on the days he ran into Jiang Li, the words Jiang Li said to him, and the rumors pertaining to Jiang Li circulating in Yanjing, regardless of their importance. Towards Jiang Li, he also felt very perplexed and could not understand. Now that he had someone to consult it over with, he wanted to have a discussion.
After everything was said with great difficulty, Ye Shijie’s mouth was already dry. He picked up the tea on the table and poured it into his mouth. He then said: “Second uncle, tell me, what do you think Jiang Li meant? Does she want to repair the relationship with our Ye family? But at that time, she said that she disdained a.s.sociating with merchants. The more I think about it, the more I don’t understand.”
After all, Ye Ming Xuan was older than Ye Shijie. After he finished listening to Ye Shijie, he didn’t immediately replied and carefully thought about it instead before saying: “I understand what you said. Naturally, we must not believe everything that’s heard only from one side. It’s not that I don’t believe Jiang Li, but rather, suspicious of the Jiang family. Although the Jiang family is an official family, an official family is sometimes not as magnanimous as a merchant. I’m afraid this wasn’t Jiang Li’s original intention, rather the direction given by the Jiang family from behind. Even though our Ye family had nothing to conspire with, we must still guard against people.” Ye Ming Xuan tapped the table and continued: “Why don’t we do it like this, find an opportunity, I would like to meet with Jiang Li. There might be hypocrisy between the sincerity, we need to test it to know.”
“Second uncle,” Ye Shijie asked with hesitation: “Jiang Li said the words she said to humiliate merchants were not actually the words she meant to say. Do you think this is true?”
Ye Ming Xuan smiled and the merchant’s shrewdness shown before diluted a lot, replaced by a scholarly aura. He said: “It’s possible. It’s just that even if someone had incited her from behind to say so, as long as she believed us at that time, speaking out the truth in front of us, we would have found a way to take her away. But she didn’t believe in the Ye family.”