Repudiating a Good Wife Is Out of the Question

16. Being Mrs. Xiao (5)

Translator: Sissy That Walk

Lady Lu picked herself up from the ground and went to the inner chamber, soon she came back with a pile of title deed for houses and title deed for lands, “Here, Your Lordship, all of the Xiao Family possessions are here, I swear I have not pocketed even a small piece of land! Let me do some breakdown to you, our mine was confiscated by His Majesty when he succeeded to the throne, that was a great loss for our income. And the government occupied four hundred mu of our one thousand mu of farmland in the south. As for our shops, we lost fifty shops in the suburbs in the war, we are not as well-off as before, Your Lordship! I even had sold some of my betrothal gifts to patch up some financial holes. Look at the account book in your hand, only one person in the whole family could afford expenses like that!”

Xiao Yugui rolled his eyes, “You mean it is Mother the Lady Dowager that has given him all the money?”

Xiao Yugui felt conflicted in the heart. Xiao Yugui considered himself attentive to duties and devoted to his country, however, he was not as favored by His Majesty as by the late emperor. And his Second Brother had been promoted by His Majesty frequently since he succeeded to the throne.

Xiao Jin now entered the room with some alcohol in hand.

Xiao Yugui retorted, “Where are your manners? I’m talking with the lady, what are you doing entering the room without informing?”

Xiao Jin smiled in a fawning way, “Father I’m sorry, it’s just I got this high quality alcohol for you, so I got carried away and forgot about the manners, please forgive me.”

Xiao Yugui still kept a poker face, but he felt better, “Yeah, that’s very thoughtful of you. This is such bad luck Concubine Wu contracted smallpox in this festive season!”

Lady Lu and her son exchanged a look subtly, Xiao Jin took the hint and withdrew the room. Lady Lu poured Xiao Yugui a cup and tea and comforted him, “Your Lordship, I know you are grieved that Concubine Wu had passed away, but you need to take care of your own health, the whole family is relying on you after all.”

Xiao Yugui pressed his forehead and sighed, “Poor Concubine Wu! I had been looking forward to a newborn in the family, who would expect that… …”

Then he pointed at the account book on the floor, “I won’t look into what had happened between you and Second Brother, but mind you to behave yourself from this day on!”

With that Xiao Yugui stormed out and went to a concubine’s house.

Lady Lu was so mad that she failed to frame Cao Mo, and little did she expect Xiao Yugui would confront her with this account book. She had indeed gave some money to Xiao Yuqi for his official career, but according to Xiao Yuqi himself, it was Lady Dowager who had been supporting him all along.

Lady Lu asked Qiushuang to report the updates about Cao Mo and Xiao Yi, but Qiushuang said she didn’t have the opportunity to wait on them in the room, but she would keep trying. And she told Lady Lu that Xiao Li hated Cao Mo’s guts and was willing to perish together with him before she withdrew.

Lady Lu thought for a while then she told Qiushuang to keep trying, the two must have other secret plans!

… …

On the sixteenth of the the twelfth month of the lunar year, the newly weds decided to pay a visit to Third Aunt.

Liu Heng, their Third Aunt was excited to see them, he asked his maid Moqin to wait for them at the gate long before they arrived.

Liu Heng himself was waiting for them in the reception room, he stood up and walked to them when he saw the two arrived, “You two are a bit too cautious, I asked my page to send you something and my page was rejected at your gate.”

Xiao Yi bowed to Liu Heng first thing, so did Cao Mo. Cao Mo took a look at Liu Heng and his pages when he raised his head, Liu Heng was such a good looking man, he looked so poised and highly cultured, even his pages looked like they were steeped in propriety. Seeing that, Cao Mo had a sense of inferiority.

Xiao Yi apologized, “Please forgive me Third Aunt, me and Mo are just being careful to not spread this disease, I don’t want to take any risks.”

“It’s okay, I’m not blaming you. Come on now, let’s go inside of the room, it’s so cold.” Liu Heng couldn’t stop looking at Cao Mo when he said this.

Cao Mo didn’t know what to say, he just lowered his head and followed Xiao Yi.

Liu Heng showed a meaningful smile.

They took off their cloaks in the room where the stove was burning hot, they were just talking and sipping tea.

It not until then did Cao Mo took a close look at Liu Heng, to Cao Mo’s surprise, Liu Heng was wearing his hair in a hairdo like a married woman.

Liu Heng also notice Cao Mo was not wearing a hairdo like he was supposed to, he took a glimpse at Xiao Yi and chuckled, “Yi, you are spoiling your wife too much.”

Xiao Yi was lying on the futon by the stove and laughed, “He look pretty either way, it’s just he has always been a free soul, I figured he is better off just being himself, he doesn’t have to wear the hairdo like he is supposed to.”

Liu Heng went like “tut tut tut, such a doting husband our little Yi is.”

Xiao Yi laughed, “I’m just learning from my Third Uncle.”

Cao Mo stared at his husband who was showing his true colors, he had never seen his husband being himself comfortably and laughed like this.

Seeing how stunned Cao Mo was, Liu Heng tapped him on the shoulder and Cao Mo showed a goofy smile, “Yeah, good tea.”

It turned out Cao Mo was too focused on staring at his husband that he didn’t realize the tea was spilled.

Liu Heng pointed at the ground and said, “Are you sure this is good tea, have you tried any yet?”

Cao Mo flushed tomato red, “Sorry, Third Aunt.”

Liu Heng was amused by Cao Mo’s reaction, “Ah I see, I believe this lovey dovey is call Public Display of Affection, right?”

Cao Mo lowered his head.

Xiao Yi chimed in, “Aiya, Third Aunt, look at you, you made Mo blushed.”

“All right then, I will stop.” with that he signaled his maid Moqin to present the newly weds the gifts he had prepared for them.