The Eldest Daughter-in-Law [Reborn] - Chapter 5

Xie Yunchu leaned quietly on the pillow, her eyes looking outside the courtyard through the half-open Xiangfei bamboo curtain. Spring arrived slowly in the capital. The crabapple trees on the branches were trembling in the morning dew. A gust of wind blew, and some green petals stuck to the bamboo curtains. Xie Yunchu held the thin, cracked azure teacup and took a sip of the fragrant tea. Her fingertips seemed to be entangled in green. She couldn’t help but think of the beginning and end of this marriage.

She had been diligent and hardworking since she was young, and was proficient in flower arrangement, tea art, chess, calligraphy, and painting. At the age of sixteen, she won the first prize in the flower-arranging banquet hosted by the Empress and became famous. The Eldest Princess of the time decided to marry her to the new top scholar Wang Shuhuai. And that Princess was Wang Shuhuai’s step-grandmother. Although the marriage had not been clearly decreed, it had been made clear in front of the Emperor and Empress. If she proposed a divorce, would the Eldest Princess agree? She was afraid that she wouldn’t get a divorce. Somehow Xie Yunxiu’s smug face flashed through her mind. If she divorced Wang Shuhuai, given the character of the Lu mother and daughter, there was no guarantee that they would smooth over the connections and send Xie Yunxiu over. The Wang family would not let her take Sister Ke away. The wheel of time had once again rolled back to the same checkpoint in her previous life. She believed that Wang Shuhuai would make the same choice and choose Xie Yunxiu, who was closely related to Sister Ke by blood, as his wife. Wang Shuhuai was going to be the Prime Minister in the future, so she couldn’t let the Lu mother and daughter take advantage of it. Xie Yunchu sat there in depression for a long time, still feeling unhappy.

After calming down, she began to weigh the marriage. Putting aside the fact that Wang Shuhuai had no interest in her, that husband was a general and a prime minister, he was good in both civil and military, he could earn a good future for his children, he could support her in external affairs, and he never interfered in household chores, so he could be considered a competent partner. If she married someone else, she would have to make a living. It was better for her to stay in the Wang family. At least she knew where the pitfalls were and where the smooth road was.

Xie Yunchu smiled faintly. In this life, she would use Wang Shuhuai as a tool. As for her parents-in-law, she would no longer serve them. The household items also had to be thrown out. She just needed to take good care of herself, save some money, become a rich and idle person, and then live a long life to outlive them all. Xie Yunchu vented her thoughts and suddenly everything became clear. What happened last night caused quite a stir. The confidants who followed her from the Xie family were still in fear. They were also worried that she would get sick from vomiting, and they were all distracted.

Xie Yunchu had four maids: Chun Qi, Xia An, Qiu Sui, and Dong Ning. Before leaving, Mama Lin asked Xia An, who was usually the most pleasing person, to stay and serve Xie Yunchu. Xia An quietly hid in the outer room and arranged flowers, glancing into the inner room from time to time. Seeing that Xie Yunchu looked better, she couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. She quickly washed her hands and came in happily holding a treasure.

“Miss, this ivory ball is almost complete. You instructed me yesterday, so I’m reminding you to finish it today.” She stared at the exquisite patterns happily. “Your craftsmanship is so good, the master will definitely like it.” 

Xie Yunchu’s eyes fell on the object in her palm, and her eyes twitched slightly. That was a hollow and exquisitely carved ivory ball. It was the gift she prepared for Wang Shuhuai on his twentieth birthday.

As a young girl in love, Xie Yunchu admired Wang Shuhuai, but her admiration was melted in every stitch and every spoon of soup. Once, when she accompanied Wang Shuhuai to the palace to pay respects to the Eldest Princess, Wang Shuhuai’s eyes fell on a ball on the partition for a long time. The thoughtful girl noticed it, and on the way back, she confirmed with her husband whether he liked it. After getting a positive answer, she secretly spent a huge amount of money to buy a piece of excellent ivory, learned the craftsman’s technique, and carved it for him day and night. She didn’t know how many times she hurt her hands and eyes. She was immersed in love and only wanted to give her husband a surprise. When Wang Shuhuai received the ingenious gift, he just smiled and said it was a thoughtful gesture.

Seeing this ball that took her a whole year to make, Xie Yunchu’s expression was so calm that she was almost numb.

“It’s already been carved. Go sell it.”

“What…what?” Xia An suspected that she had heard it wrong. The so-called last step was to engrave Wang Shuhuai’s name, which was no longer necessary. As for the word “Chu” that had been carved inside, there were so many people with the same name in the world, who could have expected that it was her? Besides, she carved it so secretly that it could not be easily discovered. Xie Yunchu said word by word, “Yes, sell it.” 

Facing the spring sunshine, she smiled brightly, “After we get the money, we can buy some bird’s nests to nourish our bodies.”

Xia An blinked. She was different from Chun Qi. She was innocent and straightforward. Since Xie Yunchu said she would sell her, she would obey as a servant. Xia An met Xie Yunchu’s determined eyes, no longer hesitated, and said with a smile, “Okay, I’ll go find Uncle Lin and sell it to him. This thing is really rare, maybe we can get a lot of silver from it.”

(Miao: Ivory ball is a Chinese puzzle ball.)

Xia An was taking the ivory ball out of the house when she bumped into Chun Qi, who was coming back to collect her monthly allowance. When Chun Qi asked her what happened, she was frightened. She hurried in to look for Xie Yunchu and saw her master resting under the moonlit window. She rushed over and knelt before her, saying, “Master, please tell me clearly, what’s going on?”

Chun Qi had always been meticulous and cautious, and the two of them grew up together and had a special relationship. It was easy to fool others, but not her.

Xie Yunchu pulled her up and said solemnly, “You won’t believe me, but I’ve had nightmares these past few days. I dreamed that I was organizing a birthday party for my mother-in-law and became seriously ill from overwork. I didn’t have much time left.”

When Chun Qi heard that, she turned pale with fright. Thinking back to the fact that Xie Yunchu had always been hardworking and selfless, she thought that it was not impossible. Her expression instantly became solemn.

Xie Yunchu continued, “What’s even more ridiculous is that I dreamed that Lu sent Xie Yunxiu into the mansion, intending to wait for me to die so that she could be the Second Young Master’s second wife. Although it was a dream, it’s a bad omen. Chun Qi, Yunxiu is only two years younger than me. I’ve been married for nearly two years. Logically, she should be engaged, but she’s been staying in the academy for so long. Think about it carefully, why is that?”

Chun Qi was even more indignant when she heard that, spat, and cursed, “That Lu is a concubine who is not worthy. How dare she set her sights on your place, Young Lady? She is simply dreaming!”