Second Marriage

Translator: tarararawr

Editor: Larkspur

Chapter 12 Part 1

Madam Li was extremely irritated and rushed all the way to the outer courtyard.

Master Li was standing under a clump of green bamboo with his hands folded. He looked serious and was saying something to a black-robed official. At this moment, Madam Li was so angry that her brain was turning into mush. Ignoring the outsider, she ran forward quickly.

The maids and pozi who followed behind her quickened their pace and called out to their Madam.

Master Li was startled to see her pale complexion and quick arrival. He stopped talking and let the official leave first.

“My Lord! Why are you humiliating me like this?!”

Madam Li rushed up to him. Her shrill voice made Master Li frown. The black-robed official who had just turned around walked faster.

While waiting for the official to completely leave, he did not look good and glanced at her out of the corners of his eyes. “You do not have to go. It has been you who humiliated yourself.”

These days the couple was always angry and their quarrels made him agitated. Master Li did not want to say another word.

He stayed silent and strode past his first wife who was shaking in anger. He went to ask the steward if the carriage was set.

The steward roughly knew where he wanted to go. However, when he saw that Madam Li was still standing there with red eyes, he hesitated for a moment. In the end, he stepped forward towards her, lowered his head, and whispered, “Madam, you should go and have a look. Master just gave out a command to go to Qingfeng Daoist Temple.”

The words Qingfeng Daoist Temple were like a sudden clap of thunder. Madam Li was so shocked that she was frozen in place.

Didn’t he say they were going to see Xiao Youning? Why was he going to Qingfeng Daoist Temple?

“Madam, what does Steward Fang mean? We had better quickly follow.”

Wang Mama1, who was next to her, was the first to react. She grabbed Madam Li’s arm and jogged to catch up with Master Li.

After Madam Li got into the carriage, she kept looking at her husband. However, Master Li’s eyes were closed and he refused to communicate. She wanted to open her mouth and speak several times, but she could only stare at the scenery outside of the curtains in anger.

When the carriage slowly traveled to the northern outskirts of the city, the mountains and roads in front of her turned more familiar. Her heart became uneasy, hands clammy with sweat.

While the Li Family’s husband and wife were headed towards Qingfeng Daoist Temple, another person arrived at the entrance of the Daoist Temple first.

Second Master Xiao was knocking on the door of the desolate Daoist Temple and asked the Daoist Nun who opened the door in a slightly complicated mood, “This Daoist Nun, I am here to find a little girl with the surname Xiao. May I ask if she is staying at your place?”

He had never heard of any Qingfeng Daoist Temple. After hearing about the place, he came all the way to find a Daoist Temple that didn’t even have the smell of incense.

The Emperor of this dynasty loved Daoism. There were countless Daoist temples of all sizes in the capital, so it was actually hard to find such a Daoist Temple that no one had really ever heard of.

When the Daoist Nun saw the stranger, she looked at him warily. Once she heard him say the surname, her expression distinctively changed to a relaxed one and opened the door to invite him in. “Young good person Xiao is staying here. We have been instructed to bring any guests looking for young good person Xiao directly to her. This good person, please come with me.”

It is a small and isolated Daoist Temple, but one needs permission to go in… Second Master Xiao thought this was strange.

But when he thought about the gossip in the capital, he had to find her today. Additionally, he had to bring her back home or else his spine would not be straight for the rest of his life.

Second Master Xiao cupped his hands to express thank you and followed the Daoist Nun. Even though he could see that the Daoist Temple was small, the interior was exquisite. Perhaps they didn’t have pilgrims offering incense because he didn’t see or smell any incense smoke and it made the place more tranquil.

He felt that this peaceful and quiet place was really a Daoist Temple that was far away from the secular world.

Old Madam Ye had resided in the Daoist Temple for a long time. She did not say which Daoist Temple she settled in to avoid being disturbed by outsiders. Outsiders did not know about this specially prepared Daoist Temple, and Second Master Xiao naturally did not expect that this was the territory of the main Madam of the Ye family.

Walking through a thick row of green ginkgo trees, Second Master Xiao was taken to the South Wing. This wing was not fenced by the courtyard wall and there were small rooms to the left and right before the main hall. The row of ginkgo trees outside served as a natural barrier to this house that made for a very interesting sight.

As Second Master Xiao looked around curiously, the Daoist Nun went to knock on the door.

Yuan Guo poked her head out and sweetly greeted the Daoist Nun. When she saw that Second Master Xiao was not that far away, the smile on her face immediately tensed.

The Daoist Nun left explained the reason why she brought this person here.

Xiao Youning happened to be sitting in front of the square table in the outside room and what the Daoist nun said fell on her ears without missing a word. She said indifferently, “Let Second Uncle come in and sit.”

She did not use the word “invite”, but the word “let”. The Second Master Xiao’s eyes twitched in guilt. As an elder, this was naturally him being neglected. But with the current circumstances, he could not lose his temper. Besides, no matter how aggrieved he felt, he had to suffer by putting on a smile as he walked through the door.

“I finally found you. You don’t know that your Second Uncle was so anxious that he had sores in his mouth. Second Uncle really did not expect that others would have the audacity to deceive me. Youning, it is Second Uncle who is sorry to you.”

As soon as Second Master Xiao entered the room, he said all these words. Xiao Youning felt that this Second Uncle was truly able to bend and stretch 2.

She raised her head and she looked at him with a side glance. A sneer flashed through her face. “What kind of polite words is Second Uncle saying?”

Footnotes

妈妈 (māmā) – term for older woman who takes care of their mistress of the residence能屈能伸 (néng​qū​néng​shēn​) – Someone who is able to endure when they are not successful or show off and stand tall when they are successful.