Ding Yanshan's older sister is named Ding Yanxiang. She married Yun Qingxian three years ago. The couple had a harmonious relationship, but Ding Yanxiang had not been able to conceive. Although Yun Qingxian always comforted her by saying there was no rush, she still had a knot in her heart.
Ding Yanshan is fiery and daring, while Ding Yanxiang is gentle and virtuous, a typical graceful beauty.
When Ding Yanshan arrived at the Yun residence and met her sister, she bluntly told her that she had seen that blind vixen that day. Ding Yanxiang was stunned for a moment before realizing who Ding Yanshan was referring to.
"Shan'er, always leave room for maneuver in everything you do, and be mindful of your words when you speak to others."
"That depends on the person and the situation," Ding Yanshan said angrily. "I went to Shenglong Tea House today and was talking with Second Master when that vixen came running over. She seemed to have something to ask of Second Master, but he didn't agree. So she actually splashed hot tea all over Second Master. Tell me, does that woman have no shame?"
Ding Yanxiang frowned and asked, "What did she go to ask Second Master for?"
"I don't know." Ding Yanshan pouted and asked, "Sis, have you talked to your husband? What does he want?"
A faint sorrow clouded Ding Yanxiang's face. Yun Qingxian had always treated her well, but she feared he had also developed feelings for Ju Mu'er. As husband and wife, they were very close, and naturally, she couldn't hide his thoughts from her.
As soon as Ding Yanxiang told her what had happened, Ding Yanshan jumped up and said, "Pah! Does he really want to marry that vixen?"
"My husband... he said Miss Ju didn't agree." Ding Yanxiang felt a pang of pain in her heart as she recalled Yun Qingxian's expression when he said those words. If he wasn't sincere towards that blind girl, he wouldn't have been so moved and saddened.
Ding Yanshan paced around the room, furious. "That vixen is cunning. I've heard the rumors. She turned down her childhood sweetheart's marriage and did everything she could to seduce my brother-in-law. Everyone knows he loves the zither, and she used that to her advantage. She's blind and plays the victim—men fall for that. Now that she won't let you in, she's probably unwilling to be a concubine and is secretly trying to force him to treat you badly, either as a secondary wife or to have him all to herself. How despicable! She doesn't even know her place! Sister, you absolutely cannot tolerate her. If you can't bring yourself to speak up, I'll talk to Father and Mother. She's just a blind commoner. Even if my brother-in-law is bewitched, would he dare to embarrass the Minister's mansion?"
"Shan'er, don't make a scene with your parents. I will handle this matter myself."
Ding Yanshan refused to listen: "Sister, you're too soft-hearted. If it weren't for Father's appreciation and support, your husband wouldn't be where he is today. He's already doing well to marry you. Now that he has everything, he's started having philandering thoughts and looking at other women. If you let him do as he pleases today, how will you live your life?" Ding Yanshan became angrier the more she thought about it: "No, I'm going to tell Father, and that vixen, I won't let her get away with it." After she finished speaking, she turned and walked out.
"Shan'er!" Ding Yanxiang exclaimed anxiously, grabbing her and raising her voice, "You must not interfere in this matter."
"Sister!" Ding Yanshan stomped her foot in anger.
"Shan'er, this matter is widely rumored. Do you think your father wouldn't know about it? If he wanted to stand up for me, why would he wait for you to go to him?"
Ding Yanshan was stunned for a moment, opened her mouth but couldn't say a word.
Ding Yanxiang continued, “Father himself had three concubines, and Mother is quite shrewd, with Grandfather backing her up, yet things still turned out this way. When I got married, Mother told me privately that Father valued my husband’s talent and predicted his future career would be very successful, which is why he brought him to the Ministry of Justice to work for him. Since I am in love with him, I must be prepared. As long as I hold onto my position as the principal wife and can win his favor, that will be good enough. If he has other women, as long as they don’t bear his children and threaten my position, then so be it.”
Ding Yanshan bit her lip, plopped down in a chair, and murmured, "Father, Mother, how could they do this?"
Ding Yanxiang held her hand: "Shan'er, even commoners with some money take concubines and keep maids, let alone officials like Father and Husband. After I learned about Husband's thoughts, I thought a lot. Actually, Husband is good to me. At least he didn't let me become someone else's sister in a muddle. He has promised me that if I don't agree, he will never marry another woman or let another woman bear him a son or daughter."
Ding Yanshan flung her hand away: "Hmph, what's the big deal? If he truly cares for you, he won't even glance at other women. Once I marry Long Er, I'll make sure he never has designs on other women again."
Ding Yanxiang smiled and reached out to stroke Ding Yanshan's cheek: "Look at you, aren't you ashamed? A grown woman saying these things, are you hoping to get married?"
Ding Yanshan blushed, but raised her head and said confidently, "I just want to marry him. No other girl is as good as me."
Ding Yanxiang smiled and put her arm around her: "Yes, my sister is the best."
Ding Yanshan rested her head on Ding Yanxiang's shoulder, acted coquettishly for a while, and then asked, "Sister, brother-in-law said this matter is up to you, what are your plans?"
Ding Yanxiang sighed, "Let me think about it some more, let me think about it some more."
Ding Yanshan remained silent, but in her heart she was thinking, "I absolutely cannot let that vixen get away with this."
4. The Second Master Provokes the Others at a Dinner Party
Ever since the day he was splashed with tea, Ryuji has become interested in the lives of blind people.
Of course, this is related to the fact that he has always held a grudge about this matter. To put it simply, he has remembered this grudge.
Sometimes when he sees a pothole while walking, he thinks, "I can't see the road, so I'll trip over it, right? Hmm, I wish the blind girl had fallen." Sometimes when he's eating, he also thinks, "I can't see where the food is, how am I supposed to eat it? No wonder she's so thin. Yeah, no wonder she doesn't gain weight."
With this on his mind, several days later he couldn't help but send Li Ke to ask, "Has Ding Yanshan taught that Ju Mu'er a lesson?"
Helpless, Li Ke accepted the order to inquire whether one girl had bullied the other. After returning, he reported: "Ju Mu'er has stayed indoors since that day, and nothing has happened yet."
Upon hearing this, Long Er rubbed his chin and sighed, "This blind girl is truly cunning."
Li Ke sighed inwardly. His master truly held a grudge; even though the man was blind and inconvenient, his seclusion was seen as cunning. He couldn't help but ask, "Second Master, what about the matter of building the eaves?"
Long Er glared at him: "What, are you going to urge me to keep my promise on behalf of that blind girl?"
Li Ke, feeling slighted, quickly lowered his head and repeatedly said he dared not.
Long Er stood up, put his hands behind his back, looked out the window, and snorted, "Since I've agreed, I won't go back on my word. The eaves will definitely be built, but I won't spend any money on it."
Li Ke was surprised. How could they build it without spending money?
Long Er said, "I have already had the Iron Steward spread the word to all the major merchants that East Street is going to be renovated and rebuilt with eaves, and turned into the most prosperous commercial street. Once we make this a big deal, in a few days, people will naturally come with money, begging me to spend money to repair the street."
Li Ke realized that those extremely wealthy people had more money than they could spend. They didn't lack money; what they lacked was fame and influence. If they could contribute money to make East Street the most prosperous commercial street in the country, and leave their mark, they would gain both fame and curry favor with Master Long. For them, this was a dream come true.
This is indeed a great way to avoid spending money. Not only does it avoid spending money, but people will probably come to offer gifts and try to curry favor with us in the next few days, trying to take over the job that requires money.
Li Ke was admiring his master's ingenuity when he suddenly heard Long Er ask, "You know, what was that blind woman's method that she said she had a way for me to build a roof and make money?"
"I didn't know," Li Ke hurriedly replied.
Long Er looked out the window for a while, then waved for Li Ke to leave. As Li Ke stepped out the door, he added, "Have someone keep an eye on that blind girl and see what lessons she has learned. Report everything to me."
Li Ke acknowledged the order and withdrew. Long Er returned to the table and opened his account book. Hmm, account books and files are still the most pleasing; women are such a hassle.
About half a month later, Long Er received only two messages from Ju Mu'er. One was that she had gone out to teach the young lady of the Li family to play the zither, and on her way back, she was harassed and shoved by two thugs, sustaining minor injuries. She was later rescued by a farmer who took her home. The other was that she had gone to a music shop to help tune the zither, and on her way back, she was splashed with dirty water. She was later helped by the proprietress of a nearby tofu shop, who gave her clean clothes and took her home.
Long Er frowned upon hearing this: "Is this all the lesson Ding Yanshan taught you? A woman's methods are truly beneath her dignity, utterly boring."
Li Ke lowered his head and remained silent, thinking to himself that an innocent and weak woman had been bullied, and how could he possibly be a boring person to talk to?
After a while, Long Er said again, "How about this, go and tell the blind girl that I have made arrangements for building the eaves, and I would like to invite her to Xianwei Restaurant to sit down and discuss it."
Li Ke was taken aback: "What do you want to discuss?"
Long Er glared at him: "Of course it's nothing, it's just an excuse to invite her out. You can give the order to find one of my servants who is familiar to the Ding family and have him bump into Ding Yanshan's maid and casually mention that I'm going to invite the blind girl to dinner at Xianwei Restaurant."
Li Ke sighed inwardly; this master just wanted to see a fight between women.
As expected, Long Er said, "If you're going to bully someone, you have to make her look bad in front of her. What's the point of using underhanded methods behind her back to make grown men beat up a weak woman?"
Li Ke forced himself to leave, his face twitching with frustration.
Second Master, what's the point of you, a grown man, setting up a scene to watch one girl bully another?
Li Ke was a conscientious, responsible, and obedient guard. Although he disagreed with his master's actions, he quickly found a servant who often followed Long Er and told him Long Er's instructions.
The servant was quick-witted and understood without needing to be told. He nodded, accepted the order, and went out to "accidentally" meet the maid. Li Ke went to the Jujiu Wine Shop and told her about Long Er's invitation. Ju Mu'er listened quietly for a while, then nodded.
Looking at her delicate and refined appearance, Li Ke wanted to remind her to be more careful, but after thinking about it, he decided it wasn't worth going against his master's wishes for a strange woman. So he clasped his hands in farewell and went back to report to Long Er that the mission was complete.
Three days later, Long Er hosted a banquet for Ju Mu'er.
Unfortunately, the weather turned against us that day, and a light drizzle began to fall. The raindrops pattered on the smooth flagstones, making a muffled dripping sound, and a misty rain hung in the air, making it both cold and damp.
The bad weather did not spoil Long Er's good mood. He stood in the private room on the second floor of Xianweilou, looked out the window at the misty Pingyang Lake scenery, and then turned to another window to look at the stone street leading to Xianweilou.
He wanted to see Ju Mu'er in such a disheveled and embarrassing state, and rain would be even better.
A moment later, a light blue oil-paper umbrella floated over from a distance. As the umbrella drew closer, Long Er could see that there were two girls under it. One of them, holding a bamboo cane, was Ju Mu'er. She didn't use the cane to touch the ground, but simply held it in her hand, while her other hand was linked with the arm of the girl in blue beside her, clearly the girl was leading the way.
The two slowly walked to the entrance of Xianwei Restaurant. Long Er listened carefully and heard Ju Mu'er say to the little girl, "Qing'er, I don't know when I will come out. Don't stand on the street and wait. You've just recovered, so don't catch a cold again."
Long Er thought to himself, "This little girl must be Su Qing, the flower girl."
Long Er was right; the girl was indeed Su Qing. She chuckled and replied to Ju Mu'er, "I know, I know. I'll just grab a spot at the bakery across the street and come back when you're done."
Ju Mu'er nodded, tapped the ground with her bamboo cane, and slowly walked into Xianwei Restaurant.
Long Er watched her enter from upstairs, then saw Su Qing walk to the steamed bun shop across the street, stand at the entrance and talk for a while before going inside. At that moment, a carriage slowly drove up. Long Er smiled upon seeing it; Ding Yanshan had indeed lived up to his expectations.
Long Er turned around happily, just as the waiter led Ju Mu'er to the door of the private room. Long Er greeted her with a smile: "Miss Ju, this way please."
He said "This way please," but didn't lead the way for Ju Mu'er, and waved the waiter away.
Ju Mu'er tapped the ground with her bamboo cane, but did not move forward.
Ryuji smiled at her caution and turned to sit down at the table.
After Long Er sat down, Ju Mu'er heard the sound and slowly moved forward. She carefully used her bamboo cane to probe the path and slowly walked to Long Er's side.
Ju Mu'er's bamboo cane bumped into the round stool next to Long Er, and a look of relief appeared on her face. After reaching out and touching the seat of the stool, Ju Mu'er carefully sat down.
Long Er kept watching her, and seeing her calm exterior masking her utter helplessness, he felt a surge of pleasure. Compared to him, Ding Yanshan's skill was far inferior.
What does it mean to bully someone? This is what bullying is all about!
The key is to make the other person unable to say anything bad, yet still forced to appear weak and helpless in front of you. The more embarrassed and annoyed they are inside, the more they'll show their displeasure on the surface, while still having to put on a smiling face for you—that's what it means to bully someone effectively!
As Long Er thought this, a smile crept onto his lips. This smile fell directly into the eyes of Ding Yanshan, who had just entered. She was both angry and annoyed, and also very uneasy, upon hearing that Long Er was going to invite Ju Mu'er to dinner.
Knowing that Ju Mu'er had silently and subtly captivated her brother-in-law Yun Qingxian, Ding Yanshan wondered if she possessed any seductive tricks and if she might have also bewitched Master Long. With this thought in mind, Ding Yanshan made up her mind to cause some trouble at the dinner party.
Ding Yanshan was determined to teach Ju Mu'er a lesson, so she tried out new hairstyles, bought new jewelry, and made new clothes in the past few days. On this day, she dressed up carefully and applied makeup. The damp and cold rain and fog in the city could not stop her ambition to outshine Ju Mu'er.
But to her utter surprise, before the battle even began, just as she reached the door of the private room, she saw Long Er smiling at Ju Mu'er. It was a warm, contented smile, as if seeing her made him incredibly happy.
Ding Yanshan's heart skipped a beat, and she twisted the handkerchief in her hand in anger. She had carefully alighted from the carriage and walked in cautiously, afraid of getting even a speck of rain or mud on her skirt and shoes, which was why she was late. She should have been quicker; if she had arrived earlier, she would have known exactly what Ju Mu'er had said to have bewitched Master Long like this.
Long Er looked up and saw Ding Yanshan, and he showed a surprised expression.
Ding Yanshan straightened her face, put on a perfect smile, and said, "What a coincidence, I came to Xianwei Restaurant for dinner today and actually ran into Second Master."
Long Er stood up, bowed, and said with a smile, "What a coincidence."
Ding Yanshan walked in gracefully: "Second Master, do you have a guest? I know this Miss Ju Mu'er. I apologize for the intrusion. Does Second Master mind?"
“This…” Long Er looked embarrassed and glanced at Ju Mu’er. Before he could speak, Ding Yanshan had already chosen a seat on the other side of Long Er and sat down: “Miss Mu’er surely doesn’t mind if I come to have a chat.”
Ju Mu'er turned her head slightly, facing the direction Ding Yanshan was speaking, but her expression was blank.
"Don't you recognize me, Miss Mu'er?" Ding Yanshan smiled, but her tone was icy. "My sister is Ding Yanxiang, and my brother-in-law is Lord Yun Qingxian, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice. You must know him, Miss Mu'er, right?"
Ju Mu'er suddenly realized and nodded, saying, "Lord Yun is upright and honest, a good official."
Ding Yanshan laughed again: "My brother-in-law is not only a good official, but he is also handsome, gentle and considerate. He is a good husband."
Ju Mu'er bowed slightly: "Then congratulations, Sister Ling."
“My sister has a good temper, but I’m different. If anyone is rude and dares to provoke my brother-in-law and make my sister unhappy, I will definitely make them pay.”
Ju Mu'er bowed slightly and replied calmly, "Your sister is truly blessed to have such a good younger sister like you."
Long Er pursed his lips, thinking that arguing with this kind of girl was pointless. He called the waiter to bring the dishes and said politely, "Don't keep talking, have something to eat."
Ding Yanshan ignored Ju Mu'er. This was the first time she had been able to eat alone with Long Er, and she immediately felt happy. She smiled and thanked Long Er, but then she saw Ju Mu'er sitting quietly next to Long Er, so she couldn't help but glare at her.
Long Er chuckled inwardly. Staring at a blind man was a waste of his expression.
The dishes were served, and Ding Yanshan started a conversation, focusing entirely on the people and things she and Long Er had agreed on. Ju Mu'er couldn't understand a word and had no way to join in. The table was full of dishes, but she couldn't see them or pick them up, so she could only sit quietly.
Seeing her predicament, Ding Yanshan was even happier. Long Er chuckled inwardly, picked up a piece of fish with his chopsticks and placed it on the small plate in front of Ju Mu'er, saying, "This braised carp tastes excellent, Miss Ju, please try it."