Chapter 73 - Bullying
C73: Bullying
Madam Li’s coffin had been resting in the mourning hall for three days before being carried away by servants of the prince’s household to be buried.
On the day of the funeral, Ouyang Yi laid on the coffin and cried loudly. If it wasn’t for the servant maids forcefully pulling her away, it was unknown how long she would be crying.
Mountain Qingyao had the graves of Yan Yu’s adoptive parents, Madam Song and Li Xiqing. Not long after Yan Yu was taken back to the palace, he sent people to search for their corpses.
At that time, they were all killed on the mountain. By the time their corpses were found, only their bones were left. If it wasn’t for the clothes, it would have been impossible to identify them.
After Madam Li’s burial, Yan Yu led Xie Zhen out of the carriage and walked towards the two graves in front.
The two graves was simple and crude. They were just two small mounds of earth. In front of the graves was tombstones with the words “The Spirit of Li Xiqing” and “The Spirit of the Li Clan’s Song Jin” on it.
He took a jug of wine from Supervisor Zhao’s hands and poured three cups each for the two of them on their graves. “Father, mother, forgive me for being unfilial. It’s been a long time since I’ve come to visit you two.”
He took Xie Zhen’s hand and led her to the grave. “I brought Xie Zhen with me today.”
Xie Zhen stared blankly at the two tombs in front of him. She opened her mouth but couldn’t find the words “Aunt Song”.
Although Yan Yu had told her the whole story before, she still couldn’t accept that the living person in her memories had suddenly appeared in front of her in a different way. As she watched, she suddenly felt that her eyes were sore.
In her memory, Auntie Song was such a gentle and kind person, why did she pass away in such an unexpected way?
Yan Yu stood beside her and poured himself a glass of wine. He drank it all in one gulp and said, “We are married.”
He spilled the rest of the wine in front of Li Xiqing’s grave and paused for a moment before saying, “Don’t worry …”
“I’ll be nice to her. ”
Xie Zhen turned her head. Before she could see the expression on his face, he pulled her backward. “That’s all, let’s go.”
Xie Zhen had to followed him. “I haven’t spoken to Auntie Song yet.”
He strode ahead, and from her angle all she could see was a cold profile.
His thin lips parted slightly. “You don’t have to say anything.”
After saying that, he led her towards the carriage parked by the roadside.
Xie Zhen staggered, unable to keep up with the pace, and simply let go of his hand to walk on her own.
She looked back at the two graves in the distance. There was a newly built mound of earth not far away, standing alone on the mountainside, surrounded by weeds.
No matter how glorious a person was in his lifetime, he would never escape a pile of dirt after his death.
When she finished, she turned around and saw Yan Yu staring at her. He couldn’t help but ask, “What are you looking at?”
Without a word, he took her hand and stepped into the carriage.
The mansion was holding the funeral, so they did not bring many maids with them. Outside the carriage, besides the coachman, was only steward Zhao.
Steward Zhao had a subtle look on his face. When seeing they come, he wanted to say something, but hesitated. In the end, he did not say anything.
Yan Yu helped Xie Zhen into the carriage. When he opened the curtain and saw the person inside, he frowned unhappily. “Why are you here?”
Inside the carriage was none other than Ouyang Yi, who was in garb of unhemmed sackcloth.
Ouyang Yi had been sitting inside waiting for a long time. When she heard his question, not only did she feel guilty, but she even replied confidently, “This is the only carriage. If I wasn’t here, then where should I be?”
On the way back, she had followed Madame Li’s coffin all the way to Qingyao Mountain. Naturally, she couldn’t return home by walking.
Therefore, she didn’t need anyone to say anything, and automatically got into Xie Zhen and Yan Yu’s carriage. Steward Zhao had persuaded her not to do this, but she didn’t accept his advice, so he gave up.
Yan Yu got into the carriage with Xie Zhen and said to her, “Isn’t there another one behind us?”
She made a fuss. “That’s the maid’s carriage!”
If it weren’t for the tears on her face, just judging from her loud sound, one could not tell that she had just had a family member passed away.
Yan Yu frowned and subconsciously looked at Xie Zhen, but seeing her normal expression, he was a little relieved, so he didn’t bother with Ouyang Yi anymore.
The carriage rumbled as it drove along the mountain path, heading slowly towards the foot of the mountain.
In the carriage, Xie Zhen sat by the curtains, which occasionally obscured Yan Yu’s view from the wind. He wanted to sit closer to her, but Ouyang Yi’s eyes were fixed on them, and he was distracted for no reason.
The sunlight penetrated through the carriage and sprinkled onto the floor, forming rings of mottled light that swayed as the carriage walked.
The carriage took on another path. The light tilted, and most of if showered on Xie Zhen, who sat quietly with her eyelids drooping, as if she were asleep.
The sunlight shined on her face, causing her to appear transparent. If she did not speak, it seemed that she would leave at any moment.
Yan Yu grabbed her hand and placed his other hand on her head, resting it on his shoulder.
She moved slightly and he asked, “Are you tired?”
She closed her eyes and made a small sound of agreement.
He said, “Then take a rest and lean on my shoulder.”
Xie Zhen did not answer him, maybe because she was asleep. Her long eyelashes drooped lazily, blocking out her glowing pupils.
Yan Yu carefully supported her. In order to make her comfortable, he had no choice but to bend his body slightly, not moving at all. This posture was kept for half an hour.
As Ouyang Yi watched from the other side, her heart was filled with mixed feelings and she couldn’t tell what she was feeling.
She had never seen her cousin so tolerant of anyone. Whether it was when he was young or now, she had always thought that he had a straight face and was naturally cold and proud, looking down on everyone.
So it was not that he didn’t like anyone, but he just didn’t like her.
Where was the coolness he felt when he faced him?
He had taken Xie Zhen for a fragile treasure.
But why?
Ouyang Yi couldn’t understand why he would fall in love with him.
When he was young, it was clearly Xie Zhen who pestered him. He treated Xie Zhen the same way he treated her. Didn’t he like being pestered by others?
What’s so different about Xie Zhen?
Ouyang Yi watched the two people on the other side for a while, still unable to get the answer.
The carriage stopped in front of the sixth prince’s mansion. Yan Yu woke up Xie Zhen. The two of them got off the carriage together, leaving her alone in the carriage.
Ouyang Yi sat in a daze for a moment before coming down. She stood at the entrance of the mansion. Her mother was gone. Now, she only had Yan Yu left.
After years of Xie Zhen hounding him, he finally got a crush on her.
If she was staying with him, would he have been tempted by her?
A few days before Madame Li was gone, because she wasn’t the sixth prince’s real aunt, Yan Yu only had Changqing’s servants follow her for a few days in mourning.
Sanson circled the beam for three days.
Three days later, the servants took off their mourning clothes and went back to their routine days.
Madame Li was Ouyang Yi’s birth mother. She still had to pay tribute to Madame Li’s filial piety. She wore plain clothes and didn’t wear any emerald beads on her head. Even her meals were light and light.
Until Yan Yu found a good home for her, she had always lived in the Pavilion Changqing.
They thought she would not go beyond her bounds, but they were wrong. From time to time, she would come to Zhanyue Court. If Yan Yu was at home, she would pester him, and if Yan Yu was not, she would stir up Xie Zhen’s restlessness.
It was okay for Yan Yu to be home, she was more or less afraid of him and didn’t dare to be too presumptuous. At most, wherever he went, she would follow him and brazenly ask him when he would take her as a concubine.
However, if Yan Yu was not here, she would not be so disciplined with Xie Zhen. Sometimes even the servant maids could not bear her.
Today, she took advantage of Yan Yu’s absence, and came to Xie Zhen’s room again.
She sat waiting outside, and just as she took two sips of tea, Xie Zhen came out of the inner room, and she looked up just in time to catch a glimpse of the mandarin pearl in her hair.
The white pearl was round and moist, she knew it was priceless at first glance. Her eyes reddened as she spoke with a sour tone. “Princess, the hairpin in your hair is really pretty. I think it’s worth quite a bit of money?”
Xie Zhen didn’t answer it, but ask, “what’s the matter with the cousin girl?”
Ouyang Yi asked back, “If there’s nothing else, can’t I come and talk to you?”
“I’m going out today and I don’t have time to talk to you,” she said bluntly.
After saying this, she ordered Shuang Yu and Shuang Yan to prepare some things and then walked outside. She said to Hong Mei and Tan Mei standing by the door, “Send the cousin girl back.”
As soon as the two of them agreed, Ouyang Yi stood up and said with dissatisfaction, “What kind of arrogance are you putting on in front of me?”
“Do you think you can look down on everyone just by marrying my cousin? ”
Xie Zhen stopped and looked back at her. “Would you say that again?”
It was true that Xie Zhen needed to go out. She was going back to the Duke Dingguo’s Mansion, and she had no time to deal with Ouyang Yi.
Xie Xun was planning to dress up as a boy and follow Zhong Rou to the governor’s mansion. Xie Zhen was worried that something would happen, so she wanted to take advantage of Xie Xun’s absence to take a check.
This was a bad idea. If it weren’t for Zhong Rou’s repeated promises that nothing would happen, she definitely wouldn’t have agreed to let Xie Xun follow her.
She was already in a bad mood, and now that Ouyang Yi had provoked her, she was even more unhappy.
Ouyang Yi thought that she was striking the very weakness she has, so she raised her eyebrows and proudly said, “Am I wrong?”
Wasn’t your cousin the one who gave you the glory right now?
“If it weren’t for him, would you be able to wear such good clothes and hairpin?”
Xie Zhen pointed at her hairpin in her hair, “You mean this?”
Ouyang Yi was noncommittal.
Xie Zhen looked to Shuang Yu. “I can’t remember clearly. Tell me, where did this hairpin come from?”
Shuang Yu bowed and said, “Lady, this hairpin was specially made by the Duke Dingguo for your thirteenth birthday and was sent to Qingzhou for you.”
She replied, “Not from the sixth prince?”
Shuang Yu said again, “No.”
She nodded and looked at Ouyang Yi. “Cousin girl must have made a mistake. I have quite a few pieces of such jewelry in my dowry box. They were all brought from home and have nothing to do with the sixth prince.”
“I also have a lot of clothes in my closet. Before I got married, Mother asked someone to make them for me.”
Then she smiled and said with great understanding, “By the way, cousin girl , do you really not need my help?”
After saying that, she measured her up and down with her eyes. There was clearly a delicate smile on her face, but it still made her feel that she was despicable.
Ouyang Yi was not dressed very well. This was already her best outfit. She wore a rosebush and a short skirt with a short skirt. After Madame Li died, she only wore this plain colored dress.
She washed it every day, and the color had long since faded.
Now that it was mercilessly pointed out by Xie Zhe, she was immediately angered, “You, you are bullying me too much!”
Xie Zhen tilted her head and smiled, with craftiness and pride in her smiles. She deliberately said to her, “I was just bullying you. What can you do to me?”
Without waiting for a response, she turned around and left.