Xiao Zhu stammered, "Madam, Madam was exchanging musical skills with some friends."
Granny Yu only half understood, but she quickly grasped the meaning. Rumors had spread throughout the city that while the second master of the Long family was away on a long trip, his second wife, Ju Mu'er, had continued her old ways, flirting with men. This time, she was seeing her old flame, Chen Liangze. The two frequently met at the deserted Ju Mu'er's tavern, causing Chen's wife to come to the tavern with her child, searching for her. The couple had even had a fight over Ju Mu'er in the market, ending in a bitter argument.
When Granny Yu heard about this, her face turned green. As the steward of the Long family, she couldn't ignore this matter. So she found Ju Mu'er and spoke to her earnestly and sternly about it. She lectured her on the principles and rules of womanly virtue and conduct. Ju Mu'er listened with her head down, not saying a word. She seemed obedient and well-behaved, but not two days later, she went back to her parents' home.
This infuriated Granny Yu. However, given the difference between master and servant, and the Second Master's absence, she, as the steward of the Long family, could not do anything to her mistress. So, suppressing her anger, she simply instructed the maids and servants to keep a close eye on the mistress, and then waited for Long Er to return and complain.
Long Er, weary from his journey, finally returned home in early July.
This was the first time he had been separated from Ju Mu'er since their marriage. He hadn't felt anything was wrong before she was gone, but now that he was used to hearing her teasing and joking words every day, he felt uncomfortable even if they were apart for just one day. This time, they were separated for more than half a month, and he was truly restless and extremely distressed.
Long Er thought that if he had to travel far away again next time, he would definitely take his Mu'er with him. Although being blind was inconvenient, there were servants to take care of her, and he wouldn't let Mu'er suffer. So it would be good to take her along, so she could also get some fresh air and relieve his boredom. Without her by his side, he really couldn't sleep well.
With this thought in mind, Long Er happily returned home.
Author's Note: I finally got through the block! I'll get back to writing and see if I can manage two updates today. Stop hogging me, give me some encouragement!
71. A series of schemes quietly led to a separation.
Long Er returned to the mansion in the afternoon.
The sun was blazing, and he was covered in dirt and sweat; he could smell the stench of his own sweat. As soon as Long Er entered the house, he ordered someone to prepare water so he could take a bath.
Upon entering his bedroom, Long Er saw Ju Mu'er taking a nap. It was hot, and she was wearing a small apron, clutching a thin blanket, her face flushed from sleep. Long Er glanced at her and couldn't resist kissing her cheek.
Ju Mu'er twitched her nose, frowned, turned over, and continued sleeping.
Long Er grinned silently, turned her over, and kissed her again. Ju Mu'er shifted unhappily, then simply pulled the blanket over her head.
Long Er laughed even harder, pulling down her thin blanket to prevent her from suffocating. He looked at her closely and noticed she seemed to have lost weight. This pleased Long Er greatly; it meant she must miss him terribly, and she must be suffering without him by her side.
Thinking of his important position in Mu'er's heart, Long Er felt proud and smug. He happily took off his clothes and went to the side room to bathe.
He sat in the large bathtub, but before he could even scrub himself a few times, he couldn't stay still any longer. He emerged from the tub dripping wet, walked into the bedroom, went to the bedside, pulled off Ju Mu'er's thin blanket, ripped off her blouse, and then scooped her up in his arms.
Ju Mu'er was attacked in her sleep, and screamed in fright. Her first reaction was to reach out and scratch the attacker's face. Long Er was startled and turned his head to dodge. He had only wanted to steal a kiss, but was attacked by his wife's claws. If word got out, everyone would laugh their heads off.
Long Er shouted, "It's me!"
Ju Mu'er was stunned for a moment, her mind blank with shock at being hugged by a naked man. After a while, she realized what the voice was saying.
"Husband?"
"It's me."
Ju Mu'er reached out and touched Long Er's face. "Husband?"
"Isn't that me?"
He changed from touching to kneading, then pinched hard. "Am I dreaming?"
Long Er gasped in pain, and Ju Mu'er was satisfied. "So it wasn't a dream after all."
"Long Jushi!" Long Er shouted. She was definitely doing it on purpose!
Ju Mu'er nestled softly in Long Er's arms, hugging his neck and resting her head on his shoulder, as docile as Bao'er's little kitten. "Husband, you're back."
"Accompany me to take a bath." Long Er said irritably, carrying her to the side room, stripping her naked and throwing her into the large bath tub.
"Husband, you smell awful." Ju Mu'er said with a hint of disgust, but still hugged him tightly. She missed him, more than she realized.
"How dare you dislike me." Long Er bit her and pressed her against his chest so she could smell his sweat.
Ju Mu'er struggled, splashing water all over the floor, accidentally hitting Long Er's face. Long Er hissed, turned around, pressed Ju Mu'er against the tub wall, and kissed her fiercely. "You've gone too far, scratching, hitting, and grabbing me as soon as I get back?"
Ju Mu'er's response was to pounce on him, hug him tightly, and kiss him passionately in return.
"This is really going against the grain," Ryuji thought to himself as he kissed her. "This is really a good thing!" He liked it very much.
The bath left water everywhere; they touched, rubbed, and kissed, scrubbing backs, wiping chests, and washing their hair—it took all afternoon. Once back in bed, unable to bear the separation of the past two weeks, they shared a passionate and tender moment.
After Long Er finished his work and stopped panting, Ju Mu'er was already clutching her blanket, wanting to sleep. Long Er let her sleep until the maid came to urge her to eat for the third time, at which point he woke her up.
The couple appeared at the dining table, all smiles and affection, much to the surprise of the servants. While watching the maids and servants serve their masters their meal, Granny Yu observed Ju Mu'er. Ju Mu'er remained composed, chatting and laughing with Long Er, showing no sign of guilt or unease.
Granny Yu pondered to herself, "Just what kind of person is this Madam? There were rumors that she was good at bewitching men, but now, seeing how she dealt with the Second Master, she probably really does have some skills."
Granny Yu didn't understand what was going on with Ju Mu'er's change, but she knew she had to have a serious talk with the Second Master about the Madam's unusual behavior. That evening, Long Er went to the library to check on the backlog of official documents. Granny Yu came over with the accountant, Xiao Zhu, and Xiao Ping.
"This old servant is not trying to criticize Madam, but Madam's past living environment is different from now, and she may be having some difficulty adapting. However, as the Madam of the Long family, every move she makes is under scrutiny, so it is best to be careful. Let outsiders not ridicule our Long family."
Long Er frowned as he flipped through the account books handed to him by the accountant. After carefully reading them, his brows furrowed, and he asked Xiao Zhu and Xiao Ping about the specifics of what they had done, before waving them away.
Long Er sat in the library for a while, thinking about this matter. The more he thought about it, the stranger it seemed. He lost all interest in looking at the sales records and simply got up and went back to his room.
Inside the house, Ju Mu'er was folding clothes. Although she was blind, she still liked to do things herself. She said that this way she wouldn't become a useless person.
She folds clothes very slowly. First, she feels the inside and outside of the collar and hem, then she feels along the seam to flatten and fold it in half. Once it's folded, she smooths it out, feels to make sure it's straight, and then puts it aside.
Long Er stood at the door watching her fold clothes. She folded the last garment, arranged them in a stack, then picked it up, walked to the large trunk, opened it, and put the clothes inside. His were on the right, and hers on the left.
Ryuji thought she must have made a mark on the clothes, or she must have made a mark when she folded the clothes, because she never took the wrong clothes every time she picked them up.
Long Er watched as she closed the trunk, then reached into the drawer to touch his waist ornaments, pendants, and belt buckles, checking each one before arranging them neatly. He smiled. Long Er couldn't help but cough, startling Ju Mu'er, who quickly closed the drawer as if she had done something wrong.
Long Er pretended to have just entered the door and walked in, saying, "I'm back."
Ju Mu'er composed herself and went over to greet him with a smile, "Husband, are you done with your work?"
"I'm so busy, I just saw an account book and it scared me."
Ju Mu'er pressed Long Er down to sit at the table: "Then I'll pour tea for my husband and give him a back massage."
"You're quite perceptive; you know what kind of accounts I'm looking at?"
Ju Mu'er chuckled twice and diligently poured tea for Long Er.
Unfortunately, Long Er wasn't buying it. He glanced at her sideways and asked, "What tricks are you playing?"
Ju Mu'er blinked innocently: "I wasn't playing any tricks. It's just that my husband isn't around, and I missed him. Before I knew it, I had spent a little more money."
"Too much? The money you spent could feed a poor family's child for three years."
Ju Mu'er's mouth dropped open; she really hadn't expected there to be so many.
"Are you deliberately trying to annoy me? I've been keeping my distance, so you're spending money recklessly to make me worry and remember you, so I won't keep my distance from you again, is that it?"
Ju Mu'er smiled, but felt her eyes getting hot. "My husband is wise beyond compare."
Long Er pulled her over and slapped her bottom twice. "I'm giving you a lecture, and you dare to tease me."
"I was telling the truth." Ju Mu'er rubbed her bottom, clung to Long Er, and wouldn't leave, hugging his neck and acting coquettishly.
Long Er still had anger to vent, so he poked her forehead: "You squandered money, that's one crime. You were having an affair with Chen Liangze, that's the second crime. Tell me yourself, what happened then?"
"When I met an old friend, I was reminded of things from my childhood. It was also rare for someone to play the piano with me, so we chatted for a while."
"Chatted a lot? Do you really need to go every other day?" Long Er was even angrier when he heard her say it so casually.
He didn't care about Yun Qingxian because that guy was nothing to Ju Mu'er, and his bizarre act of trying to steal her away from the bride only made her dislike him more. Chen Liangze, however, was different. They were childhood sweethearts, deeply in love, and the reason for their annulment was quite tragic. Besides, it was Ju Mu'er who suggested annulment, so she might still feel some guilt towards Chen Liangze.
The worst thing about people is accumulating too many feelings of love and affection; once there are too many, things become chaotic.
Long Er stared at Ju Mu'er. She clearly understood his thoughts. He wasn't a generous person. After this long trip, she was making a fuss. What was she planning?
"Husband, are you glaring at me?"
"snort."
"Husband, please don't be angry. I've admitted my mistake, isn't that enough?"
"What did you do wrong?"
"I shouldn't have spent the money." She lowered her head, twisting the hem of her clothes with her fingers, looking as aggrieved as could be.
Long Er took a breath, wanting to scold her but unable to, so he could only poke her forehead again. "Did I say you can't spend money? It means you shouldn't spend it on things you shouldn't. Only spend it on things that are absolutely necessary and you have to buy them."
Ju Mu'er nodded: "I understand, I can spend the money on things I absolutely have to buy."
Long Er hesitated, feeling something was amiss again. He frowned, looking at her aggrieved expression, and decided to let it go; he wouldn't argue with her about the money. Anyway, he had instructed the accountant that all of Madam's expenses would require his approval from now on, so he figured she wouldn't spend much.
"What about Chen Liangze?" This was what Long Er cared about most. He didn't care what others said, but he cared a lot about his Mu'er seeing him.
"We won't see each other again, okay?" Ju Mu'er didn't struggle at all and quickly gave in.
"We can't let this go." Master Long, having gained the upper hand, immediately started showing off his power. "You still have to be punished."
"Don't punish me, I've already admitted my mistake." Ju Mu'er readily admitted defeat.
"No." Master Long pushed his wife aside and said loudly, "Long Jushi, you are of bad character and do not know how to be frugal. You are punished to face the wall and reflect on your mistakes for three days. You are confined to your home and are not allowed to go out. You shall eat vegetarian food and sleep alone. You shall seriously reflect on your mistakes. If you commit the same offense again, you will be severely punished."
Ju Mu'er nodded and asked softly, "Where will my husband sleep?"
Long Er choked: "What business is it of yours where I sleep?"
"Don't I have to sleep in the woodshed?"
Long Er choked again, stepped forward and poked her forehead: "You don't know how to please people."
Ju Mu'er rushed forward and hugged him. She was indeed not good at winning people over; she truly was.
That night, Long Er slept in another room. Everyone in the manor knew that the madam had done something wrong and that the second master had punished her.
Ju Mu'er lay in bed, thinking that things had unfolded as she had predicted, smoothly and without incident, yet she couldn't feel any joy. She thought about Long Er's thoughtfulness towards her; even though he knew she had ill intentions, he still tried to appease everyone and make her life easier in the future, so that Granny Yu and the others wouldn't find fault with her and would deliberately threaten to punish her. She thought about her step-by-step plan, and about the separation that was not far away, and finally, she couldn't help but burst into tears.
Long Er couldn't sleep either; the more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He had rushed home, hoping to sleep soundly with his wife every night, but instead, she was causing him trouble. What was she trying to do? How could she do something so stupid? Was it really because she missed him so much since it was his first time away from home that she acted foolishly?
Long Er became increasingly unhappy. In short, this woman was wasting money and seeing other men. Whatever her reason, it was all wrong.
Even with these thoughts, Master Long, who couldn't fall asleep until midnight, couldn't resist sneaking back to his room, getting back to his own bed, embracing his wife, and finally falling asleep peacefully.
The three days of Ju Mu'er's punishment passed quickly.
She indeed stayed indoors for the past three days, eating only vegetarian food. The maids were forbidden from keeping her company, and Long Er himself rarely returned to his room. Of course, he didn't tell anyone that he secretly went back at night.
As a result, Ju Mu'er, the Second Madam of the Dragon Clan, was punished so badly that even Granny Yu couldn't bear it and came to visit her, offering a few words of comfort.
Three days later, Master Long moved back to his own room in a very high-profile manner. The maids and servants behaved themselves and Ju Mu'er chatted and laughed as usual. Everything seemed to be the same as before.
But the good days didn't last long before something happened that left Long Er dumbfounded.
That day, the accountant cautiously came to the bookstore, lingering at the door with a troubled expression. Long Er called him in, and the accountant lowered his head, stammering out a sentence: "Second Master, Second Madam wants to buy a zither."
Upon hearing this, Long Er became displeased. "Why did she come to you to ask if she wanted to buy a zither?" Shouldn't she be begging him, her husband, to buy her the zither? What kind of business is it to go to the accountant?
The accountant wiped non-existent sweat from his forehead: "It wasn't Madam who told me. Madam had already bought it, and the shopkeeper came to me to collect the money."
Long Er was taken aback: "Bought it?"