Perfect Match – CH 003

Chapter 3

Perhaps the pain in her body hadn’t subsided, or perhaps it was the presence of the imposing man lying beside her, but Deng Ruyun didn’t sleep well that night.

First, she dreamt that bandits had stormed into Xi’an Prefecture, killing indiscriminately. Everyone else scattered in terror, fleeing home, but she ran into the street, calling out repeatedly to her family, “Grandmother? Aunt Juan? Linglang?!”

She vaguely heard little Linglang crying, “Auntie, Auntie, where are you?”

She tried to follow the sound, but somehow the voice seemed to surround her from all directions. She stood there, bewildered. Just then, bandits suddenly leaped in front of her and bound her hands and feet without explanation.

Deng Ruyun’s heart pounded. “You kidnapped my niece? What do you want?”

The bandits didn’t answer, only dragging her, suddenly leading her to a silk sedan chair.

Soldiers stood guard outside the sedan chair, swords drawn, while a sinister laugh echoed from within.

“That Teng Yue is the man I’ve chosen. Everyone respects me and dares not arrange a marriage with his family. Yet you dared to slap me in the face and marry him in public? Do you have a death wish?”

It was Princess Rongle of Prince Enhua’s Mansion!

Deng Ruyun was terrified, but then she saw someone riding by in the distance.

The man sat astride a tall horse, sword in hand, his silver armor gleaming.

It was Teng Yue!

Deng Ruyun looked over, and his gaze swept over her as well.

For a moment, Deng Ruyun couldn’t help but want to call out to him.

“Help me! Help me!”

But before she could utter a sound, he had already turned his gaze away and ridden off.

The sound of the departing hooves faded into the distance, but Princess Rongle’s soft voice pierced her ears.

“An ant no one cares about, crush it.”

The moment the words left her lips, the bandit suddenly drew his knife and stabbed her in the chest…

Deng Ruyun awoke, her body drenched in cold sweat, her undergarments almost completely soaked. The canopy bed still resembled a crabapple tree in full bloom. Outside, the sky was already bright, and the faint sounds of roosters crowing, birds chirping, and footsteps approached.

The man beside her had long since risen and left the room.

He was a military general, and his habit of rising early every day to practice martial arts had continued for many years and still persisted.

Deng Ruyun wiped away her sweat and got out of bed. Just as she stood up, Nanny Wei approached.

The weather was overcast today, the summer heat dissipating in the wind, as if it had been quenched in a deep well, adding a touch of autumn.

Deng Ruyun was dressed rather lightly and stood in the drafty corner of the corridor, feeling a slight chill.

There was no one around, only Nanny Wei and a young maid carrying a food box approaching. She waved for the maid to leave, glanced at her briefly, and then took a bowl of medicinal soup from the food box and handed it to her.

The soup was dark and thick, steaming with a bitter aroma. The pungent smell made Deng Ruyun’s stomach churn.

She couldn’t help but say, “There are many recipes for this contraceptive soup. Some are milder in taste. I can write them down, Nanny, so you can choose a different one next time.”

This one was too bitter and nauseating; she really couldn’t bear it.

The autumn wind rustled the yellow leaves, making the corner of the corridor seem even more silent.

Nanny Wei gave a soft hum.

“I’m afraid that won’t work. Miss, you know a bit about medicine. To put it bluntly, even if we changed the ingredients, we wouldn’t know what was in it. What if this contraceptive soup doesn’t work?”

Upon hearing this, Deng Ruyun lowered her head and smiled.

“That’s true.”

She didn’t say anything more, holding her breath as she poured the entire bowl of medicine down her throat.

The spicy medicine scraped against her throat, and her already churning stomach reacted as if boiling water had been poured over it, causing her to convulse violently.

Deng Ruyun almost vomited. She tightly covered her mouth, turned to the tea room, and drank a cup of tea, which calmed her down somewhat.

Nanny Wei glanced at her a few times and suddenly said, “Since Miss isn’t feeling well right now, she doesn’t need to eat at the Old Madam’s this morning. Besides, Second Master just returned; he must have something to discuss with the Old Madam.”

Xiuniang walked over from the side upon hearing this.

“When the General was home before, Miss always accompanied him to meals. If she doesn’t go today, and the General scolds her for disrespecting her mother-in-law, will you, Nanny, bear it?”

Nanny Wei laughed immediately. “Our Second Master is always good-natured; he won’t hold a grudge over a breakfast,” she said, looking at Deng Ruyun. “What? Is Miss Deng so concerned about her reputation in front of our Second Master?”

“You…”

Xiuniang wanted to argue with Nanny Wei, but Deng Ruyun had already spoken.

“Then I’ll trouble you to tell her for me, Nanny.”

Anyway, her stomach felt nauseous after taking the medicine, and she really didn’t want to go.

Nanny Wei replied, “Of course,” and turned to leave.

… …

Deng Ruyun drank two cups of tea before the bitter, nauseating taste in her mouth subsided.

Xiuniang sullenly thought, “Where did we offend Nanny Wei? She’s always so sarcastic. Could it be that we didn’t give her money?”

Xiuniang couldn’t understand. Deng Ruyun ignored it but instead thought of her dream from earlier that morning.

Right after their marriage, she, Old Madam Lin, and Teng Yue had all worried that the County Princess Rongle of Enhua’s Mansion might retaliate against Deng Ruyun. Teng Yue even specially sent guards to the small mansion where the Deng family was temporarily staying.

Two months passed, but Princess Rongle remained silent.

Deng Ruyun guessed she was just too tired to have such a dream. However, she was truly worried about her little niece.

Linglang, her niece, was the child of her deceased brother and sister-in-law. She had lived with her since childhood and was only four years old this year.

But the child was precocious. Although her maternal grandmother was literate, she was mostly confused and could barely recognize people, let alone teach the child.

Deng Ruyun couldn’t bring her to the Teng family, and fearing she would be bored at home, she simply found a private school and had her disguised as a boy to study.

Although only four years old, she was as intelligent as a five- or six-year-old, only a little shorter. Deng Ruyun spent some money to have the private school teacher’s wife look after her. She had been studying in disguise for over half a month and was quite happy.

Thinking of Linglang and her family, she called for Xiuniang.

“Sister, could you go out of the mansion to see how Linglang is doing at the academy? And how is Aunt Juan’s leg?”

Aunt Juan was a former neighbor of Deng Ruyun’s mother. Later, Aunt Juan’s family fell into poverty, she married the wrong person, and was beaten and abused by her husband, leading to her escape. Deng Ruyun’s mother took her in, and she has stayed with the Deng family ever since.

Originally, Aunt Juan helped Deng Ruyun purchase and sell medicinal herbs, but three months ago, she slipped and fell down a hillside, breaking her leg, and was now confined to bed.

Upon hearing this, Xiuniang prepared to leave, but Deng Ruyun remembered something else.

The deposit given by Old Madam Lin earlier had eased her financial burden considerably, but if she wanted to support herself after leaving the Teng family, she needed a stable and reliable source of income.

Making and selling finished medicines was a crucial step.

She instructed Xiuniang to pack and organize all the prepared medicines she had made recently. “The pharmacies in Xi’an Prefecture have high standards, but I’ve put a lot of effort into this batch of pills. Take them to the shops we agreed on before. If they like them, a lower price is fine.”

No matter what, this is Xi’an. As long as she can sell her medicine here step by step, even if she doesn’t make much money now, she’ll eventually gain a foothold.

Then, she can open her own shop and buy her own house, and she can live a peaceful life with her family. Then everything will be alright.

*

In the front courtyard, Teng Yue washed up after practicing his martial arts and headed towards his mother’s Canglang Pavilion.

He wasn’t home often, and he tried to have breakfast with his mother. His sister, Teng Xiao, was also there. After her marriage, Madam Deng also ate breakfast with him, his mother, and his sister.

However, when he arrived, he saw neither his sister nor his wife. He first asked Teng Xiao a question. Old Madam Lin sighed, “If she doesn’t want to come, she doesn’t want to. It’ll only cause trouble and prevent her from going to her studies.”

Old Madam Lin clearly didn’t want to discuss this headache and instead called Teng Yue forward to speak. “Why did you come back early? Is there some business?”

There was no one else present, so Teng Yue replied, “The military supplies being transported by the Commandery to Ningxia were stolen. This isn’t the first time; each time it seems like only a small amount, but when you add it up, it’s considerable. It’s reached the point where we have to investigate.”

Old Madam Lin was surprised. “Who did it? Do you have any leads?”

If this batch of military supplies managed to get past the border and fall into the hands of the Tartars, it could cause serious trouble.

Teng Yue understood his mother’s meaning. He said it didn’t seem that serious at the moment. “It’s probably a band of bandits from within the pass. I’ve returned to find an opportunity to wipe them out.”

He added that these bandits were currently roaming the Guanzhong region. “I don’t want to alert them, so I’ll pretend to be on leave and go home. Mother, don’t tell anyone.”

Old Madam Lin, knowing the gravity of the situation, changed the subject to the birthday banquet of Old Madam Huang.

Old Madam Huang’s second son, Huang Xiqing, was the Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, a third-rank official.

He held an even more important position in the Teng family. It was he who twice recommended Teng Yue, then serving in the Jinzhou garrison, to the army. This led to Teng Yue’s promotion to the front lines and his current successive merits and advancements.

Old Madam Huang was from Jinzhou, and Huang Xiqing was Teng Yue’s mentor. Whenever Teng Yue met him, he would respectfully greet him as “Sir.”

Huang Xiqing was currently serving as an official in the capital and couldn’t return home for his mother’s birthday celebration, but the Teng family couldn’t miss the banquet. Old Madam Lin had already selected several gifts for Old Madam Huang, and Teng Yue would choose one to send at the banquet.

She asked Teng Yue, “Will you be coming too?”

The banquet was just a few days away; it wouldn’t have mattered if Teng Yue hadn’t returned, but now that he was, how could he not show up?

He agreed, “Mother will bring Madam Deng along.”

The more members of the Teng family attended such an important occasion, the more it showed their importance. The mother and son discussed a few more things, and then it became quite late.

At this time, Deng Ruyun should have arrived. But Teng Yue glanced outside and couldn’t see her.

“Hasn’t Madam arrived?” he asked, puzzled.

Nanny Wei stepped forward. “Perhaps she’s still on her way. This old servant will go find someone to fetch her.”

She went to fetch someone, and Teng Yue, seeing this, could only tell his mother on behalf of his wife, “Perhaps she’s been delayed on the road.”

Old Madam Lin didn’t take it seriously.

Nanny Wei went out and called a young maid forward. The maid thought she was going to be instructed to fetch the madam, but instead heard Nanny Wei say:

“The old madam will be making tea later. The tea in the room is almost finished. Go to the storeroom and get some more.”

The maid was stunned, not understanding why she wasn’t going to fetch the madam but instead going to the storeroom for tea. But when she looked up, Nanny Wei was looking at her.

The maid didn’t dare ask another question and quickly agreed and ran off.

A cup of tea’s time had passed, and Teng Yue still hadn’t seen his wife. Instead, the young maid Nanny Wei had sent out returned.

Nanny Wei seemed to have asked a few questions outside before coming in to report. “Second Master, Madam is still at Liumingxuan and hasn’t left yet, but she said her stomach wasn’t feeling well this morning, so she won’t be coming over.”

Upon hearing this, Teng Yue raised an eyebrow.

Not coming to dine together is fine, but why didn’t she let someone know beforehand? Why wait until someone was sent to inquire before responding?

Teng Yue didn’t know what to say. Seeing that his mother didn’t seem to care, he could only immediately order someone to bring the food.

“Then there’s no need to wait for her.”