Watching her master scold Mu'er through gritted teeth while diligently picking out fish bones, Granny Yu understood what was going on.
Granny Yu resumed serious preparations for the wedding. After the matchmaker spread the word, the rumors spread like wildfire. Everyone speculated about how the blind girl Ju Mu'er had bewitched or coerced Master Long.
Long Er was unaffected. In fact, if he hadn't had someone specifically seek out these words to tell him, he wouldn't have known about these things. After all, no one would just run up to him and say these things without a reason.
Long Er kept Ju Mu'er with him for most of the day that day, and then allowed her not to come again. It wasn't to accommodate her desire not to go out and see people before washing her hair, but rather because he realized that having her with him was delaying his progress in reviewing the case files.
His original plan that day was to review a stack of files, finishing everything before the managers arrived in the capital. However, he was so busy bantering and joking with Ju Mu'er that he only managed to read less than two files. This reminded him afterwards that business was the real priority.
For two consecutive days, Long Er was engrossed in his work at his desk. The shopkeepers also arrived one after another, coming to visit Long Er's residence. Long Er met with each of them personally and discussed the issues related to the business carefully.
That day, several shopkeepers sent invitations, lining up to see Long Er, but at this crucial moment, Ding Yanshan arrived. Long Er originally refused to see her, sending a message through the gatekeeper saying that he had many guests to see that day and was unavailable.
After Long Er finished meeting with a shopkeeper and was seeing him off, Ding Yanshan was waiting at the door. When she saw Long Er come out, she quickly came up to talk to him.
Now that they had met, Long Er didn't know what to say, so he simply invited her in for a couple of cups of tea. Ding Yanshan had come about Long Er's marriage to Ju Mu'er, and the first thing she asked was whether the rumors circulating outside that he was going to marry Ju Mu'er were true.
Long Er naturally replied, "Yes." Ding Yanshan's face turned pale with anxiety: "Second Master, please reconsider. Ju Mu'er's reputation is such that it may damage the reputation of the Long family."
“My Long family has never needed to use the reputation of the Long family’s daughters-in-law to enhance its prestige.”
"But she and my brother-in-law were like that..."
"I'm not marrying your brother-in-law, so what he does has nothing to do with me."
"Second Master!" Ding Yanshan stood up abruptly, "My sister said that Ju Mu'er has agreed to marry my brother-in-law as a concubine. Ju Mu'er lied to you, Second Master, you must not marry that slut."
Long Er raised his eyes, stared at Ding Yanshan, and after a long while said coldly, "Go back and tell Yun Qingxian that he had better not make a move on my wife. Otherwise..."
He didn't finish his sentence, but he dragged out the last syllable, making his meaning clear. Ding Yanshan froze under his cold gaze, then finally couldn't hold back and turned to leave.
Long Er said from behind her, "Also, don't let me hear anyone call my Mu'er a slut again."
Ding Yanshan stopped in her tracks, covered her face, and ran away in tears.
Ding Yanshan left, but Long Er was getting restless. He had never heard of Ju Mu'er agreeing to marry into the Yun family before. Was her sudden marriage proposal to him because of Yun Qingxian?
Long Er summoned Granny Yu and asked her how the preparations for the betrothal gifts were going. Granny Yu replied that she had gone to the Ju Family Wine Shop these past two days to discuss everything with Old Man Ju and Miss Mu'er, and that all the arrangements had been finalized, so the gifts would be presented soon.
Long Er nodded and instructed Granny Yu to let him see the gifts after they were prepared. Granny Yu agreed, and Long Er then dismissed her.
Long Er walked back to the bookstore, thinking about Ju Mu'er the whole way. He remembered her saying that she wanted to marry him, and the expression on her face when she said that. Long Er decided that after finishing his business with the managers the next day, he would make time to visit her, no matter how late it was.
The next day, Long Er was discussing matters with the various managers in the main hall of the Long residence when a clerk from the Jujia Wine Shop urgently requested an audience.
When Long Er arrived outside the hall, the man, panting heavily, exclaimed, "Second Master, something terrible has happened! A matchmaker came with betrothal gifts, and Father assumed they were from your family and accepted them without question. But when he looked at the betrothal document, it turned out they belonged to someone else..."
Long Er frowned and shouted, "What did you say?"
The man swallowed hard and loudly proclaimed the crucial point: "Father accepted the wrong betrothal gifts!"
The old woman who returned the betrothal gifts was scolded.
Did they receive the wrong betrothal gifts?
Long Er's face twitched. How could they have mistaken this for something else?
It is understood that when a man and woman are engaged, if the woman accepts the betrothal gifts and betrothal letter from the man, she has agreed to the marriage. Then, if she gives the man a marriage certificate containing her birth date and time and a return gift, the marriage is considered a done deal.
These rules were taught to Long Er by Granny Yu these past few days. Now that Old Master Ju has accepted the betrothal gifts and the betrothal letter, it means he has agreed to marry Mu'er to another family. The agreement that Long Er and Ju Mu'er made themselves is now null and void.
Things sounded terrible, but Ryuji remained extremely calm. The more difficult the situation, the calmer he became.
Long Er called Steward Tie out of the main hall, saying he had urgent business to attend to and asked Steward Tie to attend to the managers in the meantime. Then he sent a servant to fetch Granny Yu and another servant to prepare the carriage.
After everything was settled, he called Li Ke over and hurriedly pulled the shop assistant away, saying, "Is this matter still at the wine shop? Old Man Ju is waiting for me to go, isn't he?" Otherwise, Old Man Ju wouldn't have stayed away himself and sent a shop assistant he didn't know well to deliver the message.
"Yes, yes. Dad's blocking them over there."
Long Er waved his hand and said to Li Ke, "Take two men and ride ahead to see what's going on. Hold everyone there and wait for me. If anyone on the other side gets violent, don't be polite to them."
Li Ke agreed and quickly left with his men.
Long Er led the man to the side gate to wait for the carriage and said to him, "Explain things clearly."
The waiter, having caught his breath and seeing how well Long Er had arranged things, felt reassured and spoke more fluently. He quickly said, "It's like this: this morning, two matchmakers arrived with a group of people carrying boxes and gift packages of all sizes. These past two days, Granny Yu and Father had discussed many details about the betrothal gifts and wedding arrangements, and she said that once everything was ready, she would send someone to present the betrothal gifts. When Father saw the matchmakers arrive today, he assumed they were from the Second Master's residence and invited them in without asking any questions. The two matchmakers didn't say much, just kept congratulating Father. Father poured them tea, offered them seats, and then hurriedly called us over to greet them while he went to the back to get the betrothal gifts and return gifts that he had prepared earlier."
As he finished speaking, Granny Yu hurried over. The carriage was ready, and the group boarded and headed to the local wine shop. The shop assistant greeted Granny Yu and briefly recounted the events that had transpired before continuing, "I don't think this can be blamed on Father. I was with those two old women and even chatted with them, yet they didn't show any sign of unease. Later, Father came out, gave them the betrothal gifts and return gifts, and asked them why they had come so quickly. Granny Yu only said that today and the day after tomorrow were auspicious days for presenting gifts, but he thought they would arrive the day after tomorrow."
Granny Yu nodded: "That's right. Today and the day after are both auspicious days, but I've already told Master Ju that I'll personally go with him to confirm the date before presenting the gifts. Besides, presenting the gifts is an important matter, so I should go with the old woman. The reason we didn't set it for today is because I didn't like the piece of satin the old woman chose, and I wanted to go to the shop to take another look. Also, according to Second Master's birth chart, the day after tomorrow would be better. I originally planned to check the items again today and then go to tell Master Ju that we'd present the gifts the day after tomorrow."
The wine shop clerk hurriedly said to Long Er, "Second Master, this really isn't Father's fault. He told those two old women what they said, and they didn't say they were representing another family. They just kept saying how wonderful it was today, that all the formalities were in place, and that the wedding should begin. They spoke a string of auspicious words, sounding very proper, and Father and we didn't think anything was wrong. Then they took Father's things, didn't drink any tea, didn't say much, and were about to leave. Only then did Father open the carefully wrapped betrothal letter, and when he saw it, he was dumbfounded."
"Which one?" Long Er asked coldly. Although he had his suspicions, he still wanted to confirm it.
“I heard my father chase after them and shout, ‘You’ve misspoke, you’ve misspoke, it’s the Yun family!’”
Long Er's eyes narrowed slightly, his angry and imposing appearance startling the wine shop assistant. The carriage fell silent for a moment, and after a while, the assistant stammered, speaking up for Old Master Ju again: "Second Master, this isn't Old Master's fault. He saw the name on the betrothal letter was wrong, so he rushed out to say he'd received the wrong gift and wanted to return it, along with the betrothal letter and return gifts. But those two old women acted like scoundrels, saying betrothal gifts couldn't be returned so easily, and that once the betrothal letter and return gifts were gone, there was no going back. They said the marriage was settled and Old Master should just wait for the bridal sedan chair to arrive."
The waiter glanced at Long Er's face, and seeing that his expression hadn't changed, he mustered his courage and continued, "Father argued with them for a long time, and we went up to help stop them, but those two old women came with several servants and strong men. They weren't afraid of us at all and refused to return our things. They even started pushing and shoving each other, trying to leave. Father got anxious and grabbed a stick to stop them. This commotion brought the young lady out too. When she found out what happened, she argued with them, saying that even if they took the things, she would smash the bridal sedan chair if it dared to come. The old woman started saying some nasty things, and Father and we started pushing and shoving with those servants. Later, it got so bad that Father called me to come and fetch Master Er."
Long Er remained silent, and the waiter looked at Granny Yu, unsure of what to say.
Granny Yu sighed. What could she say? In all her years, she had never heard of such a ridiculous mix-up as receiving the wrong betrothal gifts.
The group remained silent and quickly arrived at the home-style liquor store.
By this time, there was no longer any commotion outside the shop, only two guards from the Long family were standing at the gate. When they saw Long Er arrive, they quickly bowed and greeted him as "Second Master."
Long Er walked into the shop first, his hands behind his back.
The wine shop was crowded, all standing. Two old women in red and five servants in blue stood in a corner, carrying return gifts wrapped in red cloth and paper. Old Man Ju's face was flushed, and he and another wine shop assistant glared menacingly at the crowd, each holding a stick. Li Ke and two guards stood on either side, cornering the old women and their companions. Ju Mu'er stood beside Old Man Ju, clutching her bamboo cane, her expression also grim.
As soon as Long Er entered the room, Li Ke and his guards called out in unison, "Second Master." Old Man Ju seemed to see a savior and almost burst into tears: "Second Master, I took the wrong person, but I didn't let them leave. I stopped them."
Long Er nodded, but looked at Ju Mu'er.
The bandage around her head was gone, and her hair was disheveled. Clearly, she hadn't gotten up when the old women arrived, and their noise had woken her. She had rushed out without even combing her hair. The second master walked over and affectionately brushed her disheveled hair aside with his fingers, saying, "Why did you run out like that?"
"Second Master," Ju Mu'er called softly, her tone anxious and pleading.
Long Er didn't respond to her, but said to Granny Yu, "Please take her downstairs and get her ready before she comes out. I'll wait here."
Granny Yu agreed and quickly came over to help Ju Mu'er go downstairs to comb her hair.
Long Er turned around, pulled out a chair, and slammed it down in front of the two matchmakers with a "thud." He then sat down steadily and stared at them coldly.
Everyone in the room was standing, except for Long Er, who was sitting. He was shorter, but his aura was the most imposing. The two old women felt stiff under his gaze, exchanged a glance, and dared not utter a sound.
Long Er remained silent, and the others dared not speak either; the room was quiet. Old Man Ju was actually quite tired, and he wondered if he should put down his stick now that Master Long Er had arrived. But seeing that no one else had moved, he dared not move either.
After a while, Granny Yu brought Ju Mu'er out. Ju Mu'er had combed her hair and put on a cotton outer garment, looking much better. Long Er watched her approach and said, "Sit."
Granny Yu quickly moved a chair for her, but Ju Mu'er shook her head and refused to sit. She walked behind Long Er and touched his shoulder. Long Er reached out and grasped her hand, only to find her fingers icy cold, and couldn't help but frown.
Long Er turned and glanced at Old Man Ju. Old Man Ju knew he had caused trouble, and felt a little guilty after being looked at by his future son-in-law.
Long Er said, "Dad, please sit down."
Old Man Ju glanced at his daughter; she was standing, so he would stand too. He shook his head, refusing to sit, and Long Er ignored him.
Long Er turned his gaze back to the two old women, stared at them, and uttered three words: "Hand them over."
The three words were spoken softly, but their chilling tone sent a shiver down the spines of the two old women. They exchanged a glance, hesitated for a long time, and then one of them shakily placed a red envelope on the table beside her. The other waved her hand, signaling the servants to place the bride's return gift on the table as well.
Old Man Ju rushed over in two strides, snatched the sealed paper back, opened it and looked at it carefully. He exclaimed, "This is it! It's the betrothal letter I prepared!" He looked at Long Er with surprise. The thing that he couldn't catch even with a stick, was settled with just three words from Second Master. Indeed, people are different.
Long Er didn't turn around to look at him. He stared at the two old women, but reached out his hand to Old Man Ju: "Where are theirs?"
"Huh?" Old Man Ju, still in a state of ecstasy, didn't react.
"Letter of engagement and letter of gift."
"Oh, oh." Old Man Ju quickly took it out and rushed over to hand it to the two old women.
Ryuji said, "Give it to me."
Old Man Ju was taken aback, but he still obediently turned around and handed the betrothal letter and gift book to Long Er.
Long Er opened it and read it very carefully, word by word. When he saw the name "Yun Qingxian," he sneered. His smile made the old women even more stiff.
Long Er looked up at them and asked softly, "Do you know who I am?"
The two old women nodded vigorously.
“Very good.” Long Er said slowly, “This way you can have an explanation when you go back.” After he finished speaking, he raised his hand and tore the betrothal letter and gift book to shreds, scattering the shreds in front of the two old women.
26. Mutual pity for Gu Lang, his heart as still as water.
The old women were so shocked that their faces turned pale.
The two women looked at each other, and one of them nudged the other with her elbow. Then, one of the old women said, forcing a smile, "Madam Yun said that it was Miss Ju who personally agreed to the marriage. We are just doing this for money, so the betrothal gifts were all sent in a proper manner." They were also afraid of getting into trouble later, so they quickly distanced themselves from the situation.
“I didn’t,” Ju Mu’er said, her hands clenched into fists at her sides. “I didn’t agree to it.”
"Wasn't it Madam Yun who personally arranged the marriage for Lord Yun, and did the young lady agree? If not, Lord Yun and his wife wouldn't be making such a fuss." The old woman said, glancing cautiously at Long Er.
Ju Mu'er gritted her teeth and said again, "She did come, but I didn't give permission."
Old Man Ju also said, "Lord Yun did come a few days ago, but Mu'er was injured and recuperating, so I didn't let him see her. He didn't say anything at the time. How could this happen now?"
Before the old woman could speak, Long Er swept his gaze across her, forcing her to shut up. Long Er said, "Regardless of who came, and regardless of whether Mu'er gave permission or not, why don't you ask me if I gave permission?"
The two old women immediately bowed their heads and dared not utter another word.
Long Er continued, "Isn't that Lord Yun Qingxian, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice? Who is his father-in-law? Oh, it's Minister Ding. Who else is in that pile of relatives, high-ranking officials, and factions? Minister Ding's father-in-law, the former Grand Secretary Yang? It seems there's also Censor Liu, Vice Minister Zuo, and Minister Sima..."
Long Er grew increasingly cold as he spoke: "I can still pronounce about twenty names, but I doubt you'd understand them very well."
The two old women shrank back even further, no longer daring to raise their heads.
“But,” Long Er continued, “not to mention these officials, even if we went to the Emperor, I would have to ask him carefully: Mu’er and I are in love and have pledged our lives to each other. Our elders have discussed the marriage in detail and made great efforts to arrange it. How could the Yun family do such a shameless and despicable thing as deceiving and kidnapping a bride?”
The charge was too serious, and the old woman wanted to argue, but after opening her mouth, she didn't dare to say a word.
Long Er patted Ju Mu'er's hand and said, "Mu'er, the old women say that you agreed to marry Madam Yun as her husband's concubine, but I must say that I personally arranged for you to marry into my Long family as my principal wife. Since we have different versions of events, why don't you just make it clear in front of everyone who you want to marry?"
The old women quickly glanced up at Ju Mu'er. What Master Long was saying—that everyone had their own version of events—wasn't really their word. Who dared to speak now? And he'd said such hurtful things, calling one a concubine and the other the principal wife—it was clearly sarcasm and innuendo. The old women knew exactly how Ju Mu'er would respond.
As expected, Ju Mu'er replied, "I, I want to marry Second Master."
Long Er said, "Your voice is so soft, the old women's hearing isn't very good, they might not be able to hear you. Could you speak louder?"
Ju Mu'er bit her lip, couldn't help but lean closer to Long Er, and raised her voice to say again, "I want to marry Second Master."
Long Er nodded in satisfaction and asked the two old women, "Did you hear me clearly?"
"Yes, yes, I heard you," the women replied, bowing and scraping.