Inlaid With Jade - Chapter 63
Chapter 63
She didn’t dare to do anything to Li Heming
Ji County was hundreds of miles away from the capital. Even if Li Heming did his task smoothly, it would take at least a month or two. Suddenly, no one was beside her, and Lin Yu was the only one in charge of the family. Sometimes, she couldn’t help but feel that the house was too quiet as if everything had become empty.
But after less than half a month of idleness, Xu Qingyin, the widowed sister-in-law driven out of the mansion by Li Heming, suddenly presented a visiting card to the door. The excuse was also impeccable. She said she wanted to burn incense in the ancestral hall for Li Heming’s deceased elder brother, Li Fenglin.
Li Fenglin and Li Heming, the two sons of the Li family, were raised very differently. When Li Heming was one year old, he took his father’s official hat and was raised like a son of a noble family. If nothing happened, he should be dealing with the turbulent officialdom like Lin Jing and realizing his ambitions. Li Fenglin was born to be a general and stand on the battlefield with drums beating.
Li Fenglin held a spear at age three, joined the barracks at seven, and went to the battlefield at fourteen. When he was seventeen, the Northern Yuan attacked the border in winter, and the army was trapped. Li Fenglin, who was far behind, learned the news and immediately risked his life to lead three hundred soldiers and break through the enemy’s encirclement from outside in the storm. Holding a silver spear, he opened a way for the army in the endless sand and snow. From then on, he became another general from the Li family that the Northern Yuan feared.
Lin Yu was born late and was not lucky enough to see the heroic figure of the young general, but every time she heard others mention Li Fenglin, she could guess how outstanding Li Heming’s brother was from the regret on his face.
Lin Jing met Li Fenglin many years ago. At that time, Li Fenglin was just eighteen and became the dream of countless young girls in the capital. Lin Yu asked him what Li Fenglin looked like, and Lin Jing only used four words to describe him: as fierce as a mountain fire.
Perhaps Lin Jing was born to be incompatible with the Li family, so he refused to say anything after he said this. Later, Lin Yu learned from Qin Mei’an that she admired this young hero when she was young, like other girls in the capital who had just begun to fall in love. The two families had discussed marriage, but unfortunately, she was two years younger at the time, and later, the matter was unsettled. She did not avoid Lin Jing when she said this. Hence, Lin Jing was so angry that he snorted and drank alone, and Qin Mei’an coaxed him again.
When people mention Li Fenglin, they say that God was jealous of their talents. Regretfully, this young general fell early under the border’s bitter and cold yellow sand. So far, his body had yet to be found, with only a cenotaph in the ancestral tomb.
According to Old Chen, when Li Fenglin and Xu Qingyin married in March, the city was full of forsythia flowers. Xu Qingyin was Li Fenglin’s deceased wife. In spring, she wanted to burn incense before Li Fenglin’s tablet, so Lin Yu had no reason to refuse.
On the day Xu Qingyun came to visit, she wore a plain white dress and a silver hairpin in her black hair. Probably because she didn’t wear makeup, but compared to the last time they met, Xu Qingyin looked more haggard. Although she was only under 30, she had fine lines at the corners of her eyes. Perhaps she didn’t live as comfortably after leaving the Li Mansion.
When Lin Yu saw her get off the carriage, she walked up to her, smiled, and said, “Sister-in-law is here. How have you been doing recently?”
Lin Yu had already experienced Xu Qingyin’s practices. Since she specially chose a day when Li Heming was not at home to visit, Lin Yu didn’t believe it if she said she had no other purpose.
Xu Qingyin always did an excellent job on the surface. She walked up quickly, eagerly took Lin Yu’s hand, held it in her palm, and went to the ancestral hall together as if they were sisters of the same blood.
Xu Qingyin seemed to have forgotten the past. She only said, “Life is like this anyway. Good and bad things have all passed. Why talk about it? However, I haven’t seen my sister for a long time, which worries me a little.”
She only said half of this sentence without beginning or ending, waiting for the fish to be hooked. Lin Yu smiled calmly and responded to her words: “What are you worried about, sister-in-law?”
Xu Qingyin turned her head and looked at her in surprise: “Don’t you know, sister?”
Lin Yu made a blank expression: “How can I know if my sister-in-law doesn’t explain clearly.”
Xu Qingyin sighed, waved her hand to dismiss the maid who followed closely behind her, and lowered her voice to Lin Yu: “People are spreading gossip about you, don’t you know?”
Lin Yu shook her head. She looked like a lady from a noble family who had never experienced any misfortune, with her eyes wide open and her expression very innocent.
Xu Qingyin didn’t know whether she believed it but continued to talk. She hesitated and said, “I don’t know whether I should tell this to you. I’m afraid that I will upset you for no reason.” She paused, looked at Lin Yu’s uneasy expression, and said, “When I went to the market to pick clothes, I heard a few gossiping women in the store saying that when you married Erlang, you were not… not a virgin.”
Lin Yu gasped and frowned, “Where did this nonsense come from? It ruined my reputation!”
Xu Qingyin sighed, “I don’t know either. I only heard those people talking about it. Your family has a strict tradition, but I’m afraid someone will take it seriously and tell Erlang.”
Xu Qingyin felt Lin Yu’s anger was not strong enough, so she added: “Those people talked so convincingly that they even said that there was no blood on your handkerchief when you got married, as if they had watched from your room.”
As soon as the voice fell, Lin Yu’s face changed immediately. She pulled her hand from Xu Qingyin’s palm and hurriedly said: “Nonsense! Sister-in-law, don’t believe it.”
Lin Yu’s panicked look was tantamount to confessing in Xu Qingyin’s eyes. She looked caring for her and nodded: “Of course, sister-in-law knows.”
As the two talked, they had arrived at the ancestral hall. After Lin Yu burned a stick of incense, she left the place to the couple separated by Yin and Yang.
Xu Qingyin had always loved provoking others. In the beginning, she broke the marriage between the Lin and Li families with a few words. Now, she was again using the same trick in front of Lin Yu. But Lin Yu was not stupid. She didn’t believe a word of the rumors today. She pretended to be panicked in front of Xu Qingyin to understand her purpose.
Zelan didn’t understand these things. She thought that Xu Qingyin heard these words from outside. She couldn’t help asking Lin Yu: “Madam, what should we do now? The rumors outside are too ugly!”
Lin Yu laughed: “There is no need to listen to her nonsense. When have we heard these words from outside?”
Zelan was puzzled: “How did she know about the virginity handkerchief?”
Lin Yu said: “I think someone in the mansion communicated with her, or maybe she was the one who did the thing.”
After hearing this, Zelan was even more worried. “Since she knows about this, what should we do if this matter spreads out?”
“She doesn’t dare.” Lin Yu said, “If this spreads out, it will ruin my reputation and the Li family’s dignity. The Li family has been criticized in the past, and Li Heming now hates those who talk too much. If this word spreads today, the Imperial Guards will be able to find out about her tomorrow. She said these things in front of me. Maybe she thinks I am stupid and easy to control.”
Lin Yu said, pursing her lips and chuckling, “But she certainly doesn’t dare to do anything to Li Heming.”