flamboyant - Chapter 24
Long San remained silent. This woman always managed to cause trouble for him, and her words were infuriating, yet he felt sorry for her.
Long Er said, "Don't worry, Feng Ning has always wanted to go back to her parents' home. No matter what, her parents' home is always closer than her husband's home. Let's divorce her first, and then we can slowly investigate the truth of the matter. Now is the perfect time."
Long San remained silent. He thought of Feng Ning's sweet smile, how she had agreed to divorce him in her letter to herself, and how she looked at him with pitiful eyes, saying, "Don't leave me, Long San."
Is it really appropriate to send her away just when she has finally settled into this home?
In the end, Long San and Long Er couldn't reach an agreement on whether or not to divorce Feng Ning. Previously, they couldn't say anything because of the marriage agreement made by their ancestors. Now, they had several incriminating charges against her—she had committed all seven offenses and even attempted to murder her husband. With these charges against her, not only could they not divorce her, but they could also take her to the authorities.
But Long San didn't express his opinion, and Long Er couldn't say anything either, though he was extremely dissatisfied.
Four days after Feng Ning left, she and Granny Yu, who should have been home before noon, still hadn't returned. Long San had to admit he was very worried. He sent people to inquire, and finally, after dusk, Granny Yu and Feng Ning's carriage arrived home.
Feng Ning jumped out of the car first, and when she saw Long San standing at the door, she ran over happily: "Long San, Long San, I'm back."
Long San nodded in response, then noticed that Granny Yu was being helped down the steps by a servant boy, her leg limping. He asked in surprise, "What happened?"
Long Er came out upon hearing the news. When he saw that Granny Yu was injured, he frowned and glanced at Feng Ning. Feng Ning waved her hand and shook her head: "It wasn't me who did anything wrong. Granny twisted her ankle."
Long Er gave her another cold look, said nothing, sent someone to summon Doctor Chen, and then went over to help Granny Yu into the mansion.
Feng Ning frowned: "Why is Second Uncle being so fierce?"
"You've been naughty again?" Long San's tone was also unpleasant.
Feng Ning pouted and admitted in a low voice, "It wasn't being naughty, I could barely be considered as not controlling my temper."
"What exactly happened?"
“I had a fight with the old monk, and Granny Yu came up to pull me away, but I fell down and twisted my ankle.”
Long San felt so angry he couldn't even sigh anymore, and could only ask, "How can you still argue with a monk?"
Feng Ning felt quite wronged: "He wouldn't let me eat my fill, saying that I had to eat less and remain silent. I tolerated all of that, but he starved me for two days. After performing the ritual, it was of no use at all. On the last day, he still wouldn't let me eat much. He made me go to the mountain peak to use some kind of formation to exorcise the evil spirits again. He said that I was possessed by evil spirits in the water and had to be immersed in the water while listening to those monks chanting some scriptures and performing some kind of ritual. That basin was so deep and so big..." Feng Ning gestured as she spoke: "Of course I didn't want to, so I questioned him a few times."
Feng Ning muttered to herself, realizing her tone hadn't been very pleasant when she questioned her, and now she felt a little guilty. Then she added, "The old monk was scolding me, and I got anxious and raised my voice. Granny Yu saw we were having a commotion, so she rushed over, and ended up twisting her ankle..."
Under Long San's glare, Feng Ning spoke softer and softer until she fell silent, then looked at him with a pitiful expression. Long San was getting angry; this woman had caused trouble after only three days away. Seeing his displeasure, Feng Ning also became unhappy and said softly, "I was hungry, I didn't sleep well last night, Granny Yu snores, and then they even wanted to throw me into the water. I've already been very patient; you can't blame me."
Long San didn't know what to say, so he just shook his head and turned to leave. Feng Ning followed behind, saying, "It's really not my fault..." But Long San didn't respond. He went to Granny Yu's courtyard to check on her injuries. Feng Ning peered through the doorway and decided to retreat first.
Inside Granny Yu's room, Doctor Chen carefully examined her injuries. After all, older women can't withstand falls, but fortunately, nothing serious happened, and the two brothers, Long Er and Long San, finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Long San said to Granny Yu, "Granny, don't blame Feng Ning, I will talk to her properly." Long Er glanced at him, and Long San looked back at him.
Granny Yu replied, "That girl is acting crazy all day long. We can't get rid of this evil spirit. We still need to figure out what to do."
Long Er opened his mouth, glanced at Long San, and refrained from saying "drive them away".
Long San turned to Doctor Chen: "Is there any other way to treat this?"
Doctor Chen shook his head: "Third Master, Madam's head injury is indeed not serious, and she has no other health problems. It's just that her dizziness and excessive dreaming need to be treated with medication. As for the rest, I really can't do anything about it. This amnesia is something I've never seen before."
Although this answer was within Long San's expectations, it still disappointed him somewhat. He chatted with Granny Yu and Long Er for a while, and then returned to his own courtyard. Before leaving, Granny Yu said, "Third Master, Feng Ning is indeed very different from before, but this matter is too strange. You are getting close to her now, so you should be more careful."
Long San nodded in agreement. Seeing that Long Er's expression suggested he shared the same view as Granny Yu, he came out with his head down. He stood at the courtyard gate for a while, but finally decided to go back to his room.
During the three days Feng Ning was away, he missed her dearly, but now that she's back, he doesn't really want to see her. Seeing her makes him think about whether or not to divorce her, a matter that troubles him.
But even though he didn't take the initiative to see her, Feng Ning would come to him on her own. Sure enough, when night fell, Feng Ning came with a pillow in her arms.
"Long San, let me tell you, these past three days have been tough. The bowls they use at the temple are so small, and with just a bowl of rice and vegetables and tofu to fill my stomach, I get hungry very easily. Also, I haven't slept well at all; Granny Yu snores so loudly." She seemed to have forgotten the unpleasantness of her previous visit and began to ramble on and on about her troubles.
"Then you can sleep by yourself and won't have to listen to snoring."
"No, I'd rather hear snoring than drown." Feng Ning arranged her pillows and lay down: "I'm going to sleep now, I'm so tired."
Looking at her peaceful sleeping face, Long San couldn't tell what he was thinking. He didn't know what she would be like if she regained her memories one day, he didn't know what would happen to her if she left the Long family, and he didn't know who would be there for her when she had nightmares alone in the future.
Should we really send her away?
Author's Note: I finally got online, I'm ten minutes late, but at least I've updated!
18
18. The Third Madam Long, who wanted a divorce...
Long San was unsure of his own thoughts. He sat on the edge of the bed, quietly watching Feng Ning. As he looked, he suddenly noticed that she seemed thinner. That shouldn't be the case; she had only been gone for three days. Even if she had been starving, she shouldn't have lost weight in those three days. It must be his imagination.
He was staring blankly at Feng Ning's face when she suddenly opened her eyes. The two looked at each other and were both startled.
"You had another nightmare?" Long San asked quickly, trying to hide his embarrassment.
Feng Ning hadn't quite come to her senses yet. Anyone who opened their eyes to find themselves being stared at would be confused. She blinked, then blinked again, as if she had come to her senses, and finally confessed honestly, "Long San, I'm hungry."
"Hungry?" Long San stared at her in surprise. He was so depressed and upset, but this woman was thinking about food while she was sleeping.
"Hmm. I woke up because I was so hungry." Feng Ning pouted, feeling even hungrier after waking up.
Long Sanzhen didn't know how to react to her. How hungry must she be? Even her nightmares had vanished. He turned and looked around his room, confirming that he really couldn't conjure up any food, so he shook his head at Feng Ning: "It's too late, I don't have any food here."
Feng Ning's disappointment was palpable. After thinking it over, her eyes suddenly lit up: "Long San, let's go to the kitchen." She was a woman of action, and before she finished speaking, she jumped out of bed and started getting dressed.