Wife, Don't Be Like This!

Chapter 2 - Wife's Younger Sister

The sun walks to the western heavens, the moon hangs over the eastern sea!

Two and a half days later.

Late at night, a gentle cool breeze dispersed the smell of photinia.

Song Yan lay on the ground, motionless, as if sound asleep, or perhaps passed out.

The woman in white, however, had already gotten up. Her pure white long dress wrapped around her graceful body, the silk gauze skirt outlining the rounded contours of her legs. A belt was fastened, cinching her graceful waist.

Her slender, scallion-like jade fingers combed through her black hair. The scenes that had just occurred were replaying in her mind. The woman's gaze fell on the man, her brow furrowing slightly.

What she cultivated was a profound Daoist martial art, one that emphasized severing emotions and desires. But the seven emotions and six desires are human instinct; to want to sever them was incredibly difficult.

Unable to sever them, she could only suppress them.

But this kind of suppression could not last forever. Every full moon night, the suppressed desires would surge forth. As her power grew progressively stronger, the backlash of desire also became increasingly intense.

But even so, relying on her powerful willpower, she could still control it.

That day, she discovered several Wokou pillaging young women in a nearby village. Although it was the day of the full moon, it was still noon, not yet time for the desire backlash. She believed that with her strength, killing these Wokou wouldn't take much time, giving her enough time to return to her secret chamber before dark.

But who could have thought that the moment she saw this young man, the desire backlash would actually occur ahead of schedule, and moreover, it came more violently than any time before.

It was like a raging tsunami, completely uncontrollable.

What was even more unbelievable to the woman was that the bottleneck that had troubled her for three years had actually been broken through during these two days of pleasure. She had already stepped into the Ninth-Rank realm, only one step away from Grandmaster.

This young man, I'm afraid, is a bit strange.

After a long while, the woman let out a soft breath and stood up tall. The tip of her foot tapped lightly on the ground, her figure swaying gently under the moonlight, like a swaying epiphyllum, very beautiful to behold. And like treading on waves with tiny steps, she gracefully departed.

Song Yan's eyelashes trembled slightly. After a few breaths, he finally opened his eyes.

He wanted to become this woman's disciple, but he cared more about his own life.

Although the Neo-Confucianism of Cheng-Zhu had not yet been born in this world and the social atmosphere was relatively open, the concept of chastity was still very important.

This woman's chastity was ruined by him. If he were to wake up and they faced each other, and the woman, out of shame and anger, cut him down with her sword, then it would all be over.

Does this count as being forced?

A pity that in this dynasty, it's not against the law for a woman to force a man. Otherwise, I'd at least blackmail her for a few dozen taels of silver.

Thinking this, Song Yan stood up, his two legs still trembling. He supported his body by placing his right hand on the stone wall.

When the maiden is strong, the youth lies flat. No matter how amazing the kidneys, doesn't one still have to lean on a wall?

Song Yan even began to suspect if these Golden Kidneys were a counterfeit and shoddy product.

They probably aren't fake. If it weren't for the Golden Kidneys detoxifying him these past few years, plus the fact that the poison's purity wasn't high enough, he would have died countless times already. Can I only say that woman is too formidable?

He looked at the torn pieces of cloth scattered on the ground; they probably couldn't be worn anymore. He shakily walked out of the cave. The night wind blew on his face, and he finally felt like he had recovered a little.

Not far away, the bodies of the several Wokou were still lying there. This place was remote, and transportation in ancient times was undeveloped, so no one had discovered the corpses. However, it was currently summer, the temperature was high, and the air by the river was humid. The bodies had already started to swell and rot, exhibiting a nauseating bloated-giant appearance.

There was also a foul stench like dead rats.

Forcibly suppressing his nausea, Song Yan walked to a slightly better-preserved corpse, stripped off its clothes, and washed them several times in the river water. Only then did the stench mostly dissipate, and he draped them over his body.

He then boldly reached out again, feeling a few scattered pieces of silver and a large handful of copper coins from the several corpses. Although it wasn't much, for Song Yan, it was a huge sum.

After all, he was penniless.

According to the rules of the Duke Song's mansion, a son born of a concubine was also entitled to a monthly allowance of ten taels of silver, it was just that he had never received it.

His fingers touched something else. He took it out and saw it was a book with a yellowed cover.

Hundred Treasures Compendium!

Fortunately, it was 'Hundred' not 'Sunflower', 'Compendium' not 'Manual'.

The sky was already showing the fish-belly white of dawn. In the faint light, Song Yan wanted to see if this ‘Hundred Treasures Compendium’ was a poetry collection written by some scholar or a secret cultivation manual. Just at that moment, the sound of horse hooves approached.

He immediately tucked the ‘Hundred Treasures Compendium’ into his robe. He looked up and saw more than a dozen horses galloping towards him. From their attire, they were clearly the Song family guards.

He had originally wanted to use this opportunity to escape the Song family, but he never expected to be delayed in the cave for two and a half days. In the end, he was caught up with after all.

Escaping was impossible. No matter how fast two legs run, they can't outrun four.

In the blink of an eye, the dozen or so guards had rushed up to Song Yan. The one in the lead was the Song mansion's household general, Song Dashan. His bell-like eyes swept over the Wokou corpses with some surprise, then he stared at Song Yan and barked in a deep voice.

"Take him away!"

A guard tucked Song Yan under his arm, and the horses galloped off, heading straight for the Duke Song's mansion.

By the time they returned to the county town, the sky was already bright.

They entered the mansion through the back door. Four maids were already waiting there.

One maid held a set of brand-new clothes, soft and smooth, clearly made of fine silk. Another maid held a pair of pure white cloth boots, also high-quality goods. The guard casually threw Song Yan on the ground. The four maids immediately crowded around. For a moment, his ears were filled with the chirping of orioles and swallows, what a lively scene.

The maids clumsily fumbled with Song Yan's clothes, pulling at them. It was the first time he had received such an enthusiastic reception. Song Yan was a bit dazed:

"Wait, what are you all doing?"

Have the times changed? Are all women this forward now?

"Ninth Young Master, hurry up, we don't have much time."

A maid named Xiang Ming frowned, her small mouth pouting with some disdain. Although Song Yan was a master, he was born of a concubine, his mother was already dead, and he was a thorn in the side of the First Mistress. As a result, even the maids and servant boys wouldn't take him seriously.

"You've never worn such fine clothes in your life, have you? Lucky you."

Song Yan felt increasingly strange in his heart:

"What on earth has happened?”

Seeing that Song Yan wouldn't cooperate properly without an explanation, Xiang Ming sighed in annoyance, glared at Song Yan, and only then did she say,

"Congratulations, Ninth Young Master. You are getting married."

Song Yan felt even stranger in his heart: "Getting married?"

Although people in this world generally married very young, he was only fifteen.

As a concubine-born son of the Duke Song, if he got married, he would have to move out and live separately. Although it was impossible for him to be given much, and a title was certainly out of the question, he should at least be able to get a house and a few acres of land.

Given Duke Song's wealth, this little bit was just a drop in the ocean, but in the eyes of the First Mistress, Yang Shi, all of Duke Song's property belonged to her sons; a concubine's son shouldn't even think about getting a single coin.

I'm afraid there's something else going on here.

Xiang Ming's voice grew more impatient:

"That's right. The First Mistress is kind-hearted and has chosen a good match for you. It's the Luo family of Ningping, not bad, right? The Luo family is sending someone today. Ninth Young Master, you'd better clean yourself up properly. You must not let the Luo family see any fault. If everything goes smoothly, you'll be marrying over in a few days."

Even though he had been confined to the small courtyard for years, he had still heard of the reputation of the Luo family of Ningping.

If one were to really get into it, the Luo family could be considered imperial relatives with a proper and legitimate background. The head of the Luo family was the former Grand Princess, Luo Yuheng, who was a full-blooded sibling of the current Ning Emperor.

It was said that at the time, Luo Yuheng and the Empress were pregnant together, and the Empress brought Luo Yuheng into the imperial palace to await childbirth with her. At that time, the Ning Emperor had just ascended to the throne and urgently needed a crown prince to stabilize the court, but the Empress only gave birth to a daughter.

The Ning Emperor's heart was filled with melancholy. He met the Prince Consort and asked him. The Prince Consort replied, "I was blessed with dragon and phoenix twins."

The Emperor was furious and rebuked him, saying:

"Since the Chu dynasty, the Emperor has been the Dragon and the Empress has been the Phoenix. You speak of dragon and phoenix twins, are you not implying your son is an emperor and your daughter an empress?"

In his rage, he killed him!

Poor Luo Yuheng thus became a widow.

When he first heard these rumors, Song Yan had already equated the Ning Emperor with a tyrant and a fatuous ruler in his mind. Even if you were jealous that someone else had a son, you wouldn't go so far as to chop off the man's husband, would you? And that was your brother-in-law.

At least the Ning Emperor had a shred of humanity left; he only chopped up the Prince Consort and didn't also chop up the newborn infant son.

After Luo Yuheng became a widow, she hated the Ning Emperor, but she could not raise troops to rebel, so she was depressed all day.

At the end of the first year of the Ninghe era, a favored concubine gave birth to a prince. The Ning Emperor was overjoyed, but in less than half a month, the infant died. Rumor has it that the Grand Princess Luo Yuheng laughed loudly in her mansion for three days.

To spite the Ning Emperor, she even deliberately adopted a newborn baby boy from the street, held a three-day running feast, and made rebellion her main theme.

The Ning Emperor was furious and stripped Luo Yuheng of her Grand Princess title, demoting her to Commandery Princess.

Luo Yuheng, however, paid it no mind and continued to do as she pleased. As it happened, medical conditions in ancient times were poor, and infant mortality was a common occurrence, and the rate in the imperial palace was dozens of percentage points higher than among the common folk.

Every time the Ning Emperor lost a son, Luo Yuheng would adopt a son; every time he lost a princess, Luo Yuheng would adopt a daughter, carrying her rebellion to the very end.

Over several years, Luo Yuheng had adopted two sons and three daughters, held many running feasts, and invited guests from all four directions, although no one dared to attend except for beggars.

Her title was also demoted from Grand Princess to Commandery Princess, then to County Mistress, and finally, even the County Mistress title was stripped, and she was demoted to a commoner. The Ning Emperor even personally expelled Luo Yuheng from the Imperial Jade Record and issued an edict banishing her from the capital to Ningping, to get her out of his sight and mind.

Rumor has it that because her husband was killed, Luo Yuheng had become somewhat mentally unstable...

Could it be that the First Mistress is preparing for a marriage alliance with the Luo family? Has she gone mad? Isn't she afraid of offending the Ning Emperor?

No... what did Xiang Ming just say?

He... was marrying over?

He wasn't taking a wife, but being married off.

Isn't this a live-in son-in-law?

Song Yan's brow furrowed, his mind racing with a myriad of thoughts.

In truth, aristocratic families like the Song family had always hedged their bets. After the Grand Princess was banished to Ningping County, Duke Song believed that Luo Yuheng's relationship with the Ning Emperor as a full-blooded sibling was unlike that of other princesses or princes.

In addition, the Empress Dowager was still alive and would surely miss her daughter. Over time, it was not impossible that Luo Yuheng might make a comeback and have her title restored one day. Thus, he personally went to the Luo family to ask for a childhood engagement for his fifth legitimate son, Song Zhen, and Luo Yuheng's eldest daughter, Luo Tianxuan.

But who would have thought that after all these years, the Ning Emperor seemed to have completely forgotten his sister, Luo Yuheng, to the point that Duke Song often regretted the decision he had made back then.

Most importantly, Luo Tianxuan's health was poor; she suffered from severe consumption, coughed incessantly, and lived alone in a backyard, not coming into contact with people.

Consumption is contagious.

It was said that Luo Tianxuan's condition had worsened recently and she didn't have much time left. The Luo family was even preparing to have her marry quickly to rush away the ill-fortune with a joyous event.

If the joyous event succeeded, everyone would naturally be happy.

If it failed, at least Luo Tianxuan would have a husband and not die lonely and helpless, with no one to offer sacrifices to her after her death.

That First Mistress was clearly worried that the Luo family would entangle Song Zhen because of the engagement. The reason she let him leave the mansion to pay respects to his birth mother was probably just to appease him, so he would obediently cooperate with being the substitute groom.

I knew it; that First Mistress would never be so kind as to actually arrange a good marriage for him.

However, a live-in son-in-law? Consumption? Heh heh.

For Song Yan, as long as he could leave the cage that was the Song family, it was all worth it.

Seeing Song Yan bowing his head without speaking, the maid Xiang Ming grew more impatient:

"Hey, what are you spacing out for? Hurry up. I already told you we don't have much time."

Song Yan let out a small breath and reached out to take the clothes and shoes:

"I'll do it myself."

Xiang Ming curled her lip but didn't stop him. After all, she felt ashamed serving such a good-for-nothing.

Returning to the small courtyard, Song Yan first found a place to hide the ‘Hundred Treasures Compendium’, then changed his clothes, combed his hair, and washed his face before going out. Led by Xiang Ming, he hurried to the main hall.

As soon as he arrived at the main hall, Song Yan sensed that the atmosphere was wrong.

On the main seat at the head was the current Duke Song, Song Hongtao. Beside him was the First Mistress, Yang Shi. Below them were the other young disciples of the Song family.

As for the guest seats opposite them, there sat three young men in magnificent clothes, who should be the three Luo brothers. All of them looked displeased.

They were clearer than anyone about their eldest sister Luo Tianxuan's condition. Although they were worried about their sister, they also knew that the idea of using a joyous event to ward off ill-fortune was pure nonsense. The Luo family did not want to harm an innocent person's life for a so-called joyous event; the preparations for it were just rumors spreading and distorting among the servants.

The Luo family was already prepared to return the engagement token and dissolve the marriage. But who would have thought the Song family would be the first to send someone to their door, expressing their willingness to marry a concubine's son into the Luo family for the joyous event…

They even claimed with certainty that when the engagement was made, it only said it was for the "younger son," and now Song Yan was the younger son.

Their words seemed to betray a fear that the Luo family would cling to them, which made the Luo brothers very dissatisfied.

Speaking of which, their eldest sister is already nineteen, and this Song Yan seems to be not even sixteen yet. She's more than three years older.

Finally, there was a young woman.

Seeing Song Yan arrive, Song Hongtao cleared his throat and began to speak:

"Yan'er, I presume Xiang Ming has already told you on the way here. This is the Luo family's Eldest Young Master, Luo Tianshu..."

"The Second Young Master, Luo Tianquan!"

"The Third Young Master, Luo Tianyang!"

Following his father's words, Song Yan greeted them one by one.

"As for this young lady, she is the Luo family's Second Young Miss, who is also the younger sister of your fiancée Luo Tianxuan... Luo Tianyi..."

Song Yan looked at the young woman, preparing to bow in greeting. Just at that moment, the young woman also happened to raise her delicate head, and their eyes met.

He saw that the young woman was eighteen years of age, dressed in a white robe, her black hair like a waterfall, her eyes like autumn waters, her shell-like teeth biting upon her peach-pink lips, and her snow-white skin glowing with the radiance of a cherry blossom.

Except for not having a light veil covering her face, she was extremely similar to the white-robed woman from the cave!

This is... my wife's younger sister?