Chapter 156: Young Master Yang’s Regret

After the silence, the crowd began to whisper and point fingers.

Without turning back, Yang Mei knew the looks directed at her had changed.

In the past, Lady Yuan rarely went out, and with the Yang family deliberately giving her the cold shoulder, she was absent from many social gatherings. Consequently, most of her peers did not even recognize her.

Earlier, they had believed Yang Mei's disparaging remarks about Lady Yuan. But now, seeing Lady Yuan in person, everyone simultaneously thought: They always said Yang Xuan's mother and younger sister mercilessly oppressed Lady Yuan, and it seems to be true. Otherwise, how could they describe a somewhat charming and lovely woman as someone universally despised and ugly?

Amidst the murmurs, Lu Ying twitched the corner of her lips and thought: After this incident, Yang Mei's reputation is likely ruined. I wonder if she is betrothed yet? If not, she is bound to suffer endless mockery.

At this moment, the personal maid, whose hand was pinched so hard by Yang Mei that tears were welling in her eyes, stepped forward. She looked at Lu Ying standing behind Lady Yuan and asked, "Young Madam, is that man the sworn elder brother who received your entire dowry?"

Listen to how skillfully those words were phrased. Not a single vulgar word, yet every syllable was dripping with innuendo. Lu Ying stood lazily to the side, not even deigning to reply. To her surprise, Lady Yuan spoke up, "Great-aunt said Eldest Brother can be trusted, and she told me to listen to him."

Lady Yuan's great-aunt had been a formidable figure in her youth, and though old, her prestige remained. Upon hearing that the deeply respected elder had said such words, the maid choked on her response, and the expressions of the onlookers cleared up instantly.

Her hand received another heavy pinch, threatening to draw blood. Thus, the maid continued to cry out, "Young Madam, people shouldn't be judged like that. I can see that man is simply after your wealth!"

A commotion arose in the surroundings once more.

Seeing that the crowd had taken the maid's words to heart, Lu Ying thought to herself: Among Lady Yuan's wealth, those hundred-odd chests of items are all officially registered; an outsider like him cannot simply take them away. This maid is clearly being guided by someone. The wealth she refers to must be the estates and businesses left behind by Lady Yuan's parents.

Yet those properties were never meant to belong to Lady Yuan in the first place.

If she were truly wise, she wouldn't even wait for a noble personage to arrive here; she would take the initiative to hand over all those assets that would inevitably incur the imperial court's忌讳 (taboos). Things like the transport carriages, the dazzling array of horses and ships, the iron mines capable of casting weapons and coin currency, and the gold mines that could no longer be concealed once exposed. If she were Lady Yuan, the moment her parents passed away, she would have surrendered all the properties she could not hold onto—including the fertile fields—directly to the imperial family. Such a vast amount of wealth could easily be exchanged for the title of a Princess of the Commandery, buying royal protection and a lifetime of peace and leisure. She mused that last time it was an earthquake in the official circles of Jiangzhou. This time, with the noble personage personally visiting Wuhan, if the noble clans of Wuhan still failed to read the room, insisted on hiding and guarding tabooed items, and were reluctant to carve off a few chunks of fat to fill the belly of the imperial representative, then what awaited them would be an earthquake of their own.

However, the Wuhan region seemed to have the Nanyang Deng clan, sent by Yin Lihua, meddling in affairs, making the situation far more complex than Jiangzhou.

Once the maid spoke, Lady Yuan's expression changed. She disliked others talking about Lu Ying that way, so she bit her lip, tugged at Lu Ying, and prepared to leave.

Yang Mei was still pinching the maid's hand, and the tearful maid cried out again, "Young Madam, you truly cannot trust that man..."

Before she could finish, a man's deep and gloomy voice rang out, "Say no more."

It was precisely the voice of Young Master Yang.

Hearing his voice abruptly, Lady Yuan's footsteps froze.

At that moment, a figure stepped out from the side and stood before Lady Yuan and Lu Ying.

This person, with a brooding look on his handsome face, was none other than Young Master Yang.

Young Master Yang's complexion was a bruised, sickly blue-black, with heavy dark circles under his eyes. He seemed to have lost five or six catties, looking thoroughly haggard.

When he met Lady Yuan's much-improved countenance, his gaze was far calmer than Yang Mei's. Staring straight at Lady Yuan, Young Master Yang did not even notice Lu Ying's presence. He simply fixed his eyes on Lady Yuan, and after a long moment, said in a hoarse voice, "I didn't know they were bullying you too."

Meeting Lady Yuan's gaze, the muscles in Young Master Yang's cheeks twitched a few times. He clenched his teeth and said, "I thought you were always living well..."

Lady Yuan lowered her gaze, her eye rims somewhat red. After a long while, she said in a low voice, "What is the use of saying these things now?"

Young Master Yang's entire body stiffened.

His mouth opened and closed, opened and closed, until after a moment he finally spoke, "My relationship with the Zheng woman was not meant to bully you. I merely thought she was more pitiful than you." He paused, then muttered, "I didn't know the Zheng woman kept bullying you, nor did I know she had malicious intent when she made me invite you onto the boat. You... I just thought, since I had already married you and she had nothing left... I didn't, I never thought you were having such a hard time."

Lady Yuan lowered her eyes, unable to move a muscle.

Seeing this, Lu Ying tried to pull her hand away, intending to step aside. The moment she moved, Lady Yuan gripped her hand tighter, forcing Lu Ying to hold her back firmly.

Young Master Yang was clearly in genuine anguish. Staring foolishly at Lady Yuan, he rambled incoherently, "I never disliked your looks; I knew you weren't ugly. I only pitied the Zheng woman, and since Mother and Ah Mei both spoke ill of you, I... it wasn't because I loathed you that I wouldn't touch you. I just didn't expect..."

Indeed, he had not expected that during the half-year of their marriage, he had been exceedingly busy. He had been busy comforting the Zheng woman, and whenever he finally managed to return home, his mother and sister always found tasks to keep him occupied. Back then, if she hadn't pestered him and gone to every length to do things for him, she wouldn't even have caught a glimpse of his face.

Lady Yuan's lips moved repeatedly, but in the end, no words came out.

At that moment, Young Master Yang turned his gaze to Lu Ying.

He glared at Lu Ying for a moment before turning back to Lady Yuan and saying, "He is no good man. Last time, when I was drunk, I listened to his words and wrote those letters to berate you."

Lady Yuan raised her head.

She looked at Young Master Yang and said, "I knew about that."

"You knew?" Young Master Yang was startled, his voice involuntarily rising, causing the surrounding people to perk up their ears even more.

Lady Yuan said in a low voice, "I knew everything. Eldest Brother has never kept these things from me."

Young Master Yang's face turned from ashen to deathly pale. He said in a strained voice, "You knew? And even knowing, you didn't come to find me or say anything to me?"

Lady Yuan offered a bitter smile and murmured, "Young Master Yang, I told you, I would no longer pester you. Besides, what was written in those letters reflected your true thoughts."

Upon hearing this, Young Master Yang's face turned as pale as snow. It took him a long while to muster his strength. "Yuan Niang, I truly never loathed you. It's just that the Zheng woman said those things about you, and Mother and Sister said them too. So I began to think you were no good either. Later on, no matter how I treated you, you never left me, which made me increasingly convinced that you were clinging to me because you were worthless... In truth, I have always remembered the past. When we were little, both you and the Zheng woman called me Brother Yang. You were always more obedient than the Zheng woman, and I preferred staying with you. Then your parents suddenly died, and I stayed by your side every day, accompanying you..."

Hearing this, tears streamed down Lady Yuan's face.

Amidst her silent tears, Young Master Yang muttered, "You know me; I never tried to please anyone just to get close to them. I never once considered that your family was wealthier than mine; I simply thought you were pitiful, that you were wonderful, and my heart ached at the sight of your tears."

At this point, his voice hitched, as if he were suffering from an unbearable wrenching pain in his chest. Young Master Yang slowly squatted down, buried his face in his hands, and sobbed, "Yuan Niang, Yuan Niang, what happened later? How did I manage to forget all our memories from the past? Ah Mei told me that the Zheng woman could have been saved, but it was your clansmen who acted on your instigation, that you envied and hated Ah Mei and wanted to monopolize me, that you were the one who caused the Zheng woman to become a state-owned courtesan. Yuan Niang, how could I be so foolish? Why did I believe whatever they said?"

Lady Yuan shook her head unceasingly, unable to utter a single syllable.

Young Master Yang continued, "They all said you were bad. Even though I knew it wasn't true, hearing it so often made me believe it."

He covered his face with both hands and wept bitterly.

Lady Yuan closed her eyes, tears flowing in torrents, as her entire body leaned against Lu Ying's embrace.

Seeing that she still only wished to lean on her, Lu Ying felt a weight lift from her heart. She knew that for someone as emotionally deep as Lady Yuan, facing a repentant Young Master Yang was the greatest hurdle in achieving this separation. The fact that Lady Yuan still relied on her indicated that she had not been swayed and had no intention of turning back.

After sobbing for a long while, Young Master Yang said in a hoarse voice, "It was only recently that I found out most of the Yang family's estates actually belong to you. My father, mother, and sister had set their sights on your family property long ago... Yuan Niang, do not listen to them. They don't want you and me to separate because they can't bear to part with that wealth."

He slowly stood up, and with trembling hands, drew a scroll of silk from his robe. Straining, Young Master Yang said, "This is the deed of separation. I give it to you now."

Before the words fully faded, Lu Ying had already caught it in her hands. As Lu Ying concealed the deed of separation, not far away, Yang Mei glared with vigilant eyes. She looked from her brother to Lu Ying and thought secretly: Brother cannot be this foolish; that certainly cannot be the deed of separation. He promised us he would persuade Lady Yuan to change her mind and would never separate from her.

With this thought, her mind settled somewhat, though her eyes inevitably kept straying to Lu Ying's sleeve pocket.

Young Master Yang looked at Lady Yuan for a long, unbroken moment. A self-deprecating smile touched his lips as he said desolate, "I know I have done many wrong things, and I know my family has done many wrong things to you. No wonder over this past year, you smiled less and less, often crying secretly by yourself. Yuan Niang, do not forgive me; never forgive me."

With that, he turned around. As he walked away, his low, hoarse voice drifted back, "Yuan Niang, why did it take me until now to realize that I love you far more than the Zheng woman? Though she survived the incident at Qixiang Pavilion, she was crippled halfway and cast down into the lowest cellars. Some asked me whether I wanted to protect her, but I refused. Yuan Niang, back then I could only think of you, and even now I only think of you. Whether she lives or dies, I no longer care; I only have you in my mind. Yet why did I only realize it now? Why did it take reaching this point for me to realize that the person I yearn for is you?"

He had never been clever since childhood; even his sister Ah Mei looked down on him. Only Yuan Niang had looked up to him with adoring eyes from childhood to adulthood. Only she had truly cherished him from the bottom of her heart, delighted in him, revered him, and cared for him. Yet how had he managed to forget all of this later on? How had he changed? He had begun to relish the envious glances of others when he was with the Zheng woman, begun to believe the words of his mother and sister, and begun joining others in trampling upon Lady Yuan.

He had utterly forgotten the warmth of being with Lady Yuan, and those eyes of hers that had once filled him with pride and growing self-confidence...

Watching Young Master Yang stagger away, Lady Yuan placed her entire weight onto Lu Ying and murmured pleadingly, "Eldest Brother, I don't want to stay here anymore. Let's go back..."

Seeing her pale face, Lu Ying answered in a low voice, "Alright." *(To be continued)*