Perfect Match – CH 025

Chapter 25

The news of the incident in Jinzhou was reported after Teng Yue left Xi’an. Before he left, the person Aunt Juan had sent to help check on the old house in Jinzhou had just returned.

However, Teng Yue’s transfer order to the position of Vice Commander of the Shaanxi Military Command also came down. In terms of official rank, he was promoted by half a rank. However, compared to a Guerrilla General commanding troops on the border, this was obviously a lighter promotion.

This was also the result of his confrontation with Prince Enhua’s Mansion. Teng Yue’s losses were not significant. On Prince Enhua’s side, the fact that Princess Rongle, Zhu Yijiao, surrendered herself to the authorities, admitting to hiring a hitman and taking all the blame, lessened the suspicions within the court that Prince Enhua’s Mansion was colluding with bandits.

The Prince Enhua was ordered to reflect on his actions behind closed doors. The court sent another envoy to Ningxia to inspect military affairs. Whether this envoy was, as Teng Yue and his group suspected, a henchman of the Chief Eunuch Hong Jin, remained unknown. Although Zhu Yijiao’s attempt to hire a hitman failed, she was stripped of her title as a county princess, demoted to commoner status, and placed under the supervision of the Prince Qing’s Mansion, with palace maids from the Imperial Clan Court assigned to strictly discipline her.

Previously, Zhu Yijiao had a notorious reputation in Shaanxi, having long been arrogant and domineering. Many secretly applauded her severe punishment by the court. However, to cover up the fact that Deng Ruyun had been kidnapped as much as possible, and not wanting her to be constantly talked about because of this case, Teng Yue put some effort into his explanation.

The case was now closed, and Deng Ruyun had not been affected.

However, Teng Yue needed to return to Ningxia to hand over some duties. Since neither Old Madam Lin nor he was home, and only the young Teng Xiao was there, Deng Ruyun accompanied Teng Yue back to the Teng mansion and had a meal with Teng Xiao.

After all, she was still nominally her sister-in-law.

Teng Yue then went to the family ancestral hall.

In a few days, it would be the anniversary of his eldest brother’s untimely death. Teng Xiao had little memory of their elder brother, but for him, during the years when his father was suppressed, unable to advance in the army, and constantly on the move, his elder brother was always by his side.

Those days were filled with fear and anxiety; looking back now, it felt like a lifetime ago…

Teng Yue went to the ancestral hall, but Deng Ruyun already saw Teng Xiao waiting for her in front of Liumingxuan.

Teng Xiao, dressed in a light blue and lake-blue narrow-sleeved jacket and skirt, still sporting her usual sword-shaped hairpin, radiated energy and spirit despite not having to go to school; even her eyes were bright.

Deng Ruyun found it amusing, but Teng Xiao bluntly remarked, “With Mother away, even the wind in the house feels free. Can you feel it, sister-in-law?”

She dared not say that aloud.

Deng Ruyun smiled without speaking and invited Teng Xiao into Liumingxuan for tea.

Before the tea was served, Teng Xiao said to Deng Ruyun, “I brought you something good, sister-in-law. I guarantee you will not be afraid of those bandits and outlaws anymore.”

She was about to reveal it directly, but then suddenly played coy, asking Deng Ruyun with a touch of pride, “Sister-in-law, guess what it is?”

She expected her new sister-in-law would not guess, and her face lit up. Seeing that her sister-in-law indeed thought for a while, she became even more smug.

Then, she heard her sister-in-law speak.

“A hidden weapon?”

Before the words were finished, Teng Xiao jumped to her feet, quickly checking her sleeve. “I…I showed it?”

Xiuniang covered her mouth and laughed, while Deng Ruyun smiled and pursed her lips. She shook her head and said, “No, I was just guessing.”

This made Teng Xiao even more confused. “Then how did you guess, sister-in-law? Could it be that one of my maids leaked the information? I’ve been much more cautious since Mother forbade me from making these things.”

Deng Ruyun laughed even harder.

It was not hard to guess at all. After all, back in Jinzhou, Teng Xiao was not even ten years old, yet she loved making her own weapons, especially these small mechanical weapons. She adored them, unlike other little girls.

Teng Yue, seeing her fondness for them, often brought them back for her, much to the dismay of Old Madam Lin.

Without Deng Ruyun saying anything, Teng Xiao scratched her head, still unable to figure out how she had guessed, but the look in Deng Ruyun’s eyes became increasingly different.

“I knew it! Sister-in-law, you must be extraordinary to escape such a dangerous situation!”

Could she be a general in the making?

Deng Ruyun chuckled, but the little girl was more interested in her gift, immediately showing Deng Ruyun her arm.

“Sister-in-law, look! The sleeve dart I made for you is only the size of an embroidered pouch, but it can hold six fine needles. If you encounter any villains again, just lift this up, pull it, aim your wrist, and it will shoot!”

As she explained, she demonstrated, and sure enough, a fine needle shot out accurately, whizzing past and embedding itself in the tree trunk.

Deng Ruyun was astonished, and Xiuniang could not help but exclaim, “Wow! This sleeve dart is truly a powerful and wonderful thing!”

Her praise made Teng Xiao even happier, shaking her little head as she said she had also made a simple sleeve slingshot, which she could give to Xiuniang later. Xiuniang’s eyes lit up.

Teng Xiao then took the sleeve dart from her own wrist and helped Deng Ruyun put it on.

“Sister-in-law, do not be afraid; just shoot straight ahead…”

Although Deng Ruyun knew she knew how to make these things, this was her first time doing it herself. Seeing the power of the hidden arrow, she was slightly nervous and tried pulling it out following Teng Xiao’s instructions.

“Yes, sister-in-law, just like that, adjust your wrist, and shoot straight ahead…”

However, before she could finish speaking, Deng Ruyun’s hand slipped, and she shot it ahead of time. She did not have time to control the direction, and the hidden arrow flew straight towards the door.

Just then, someone strode back into Liumingxuan from outside.

Deng Ruyun immediately saw the man’s robe, and her hidden arrow was aimed at his chest.

“Teng Yue, be careful!”

She cried out in alarm, even forgetting her usual form of address.

The man had just stepped to the door when he heard the whooshing sound of something cutting through the air. He reacted swiftly, raising his hand to block.

But the sudden, urgent shout inexplicably disrupted his focus.

As he blocked with his right hand, he paused slightly, only to have the incredibly fast sleeve dart slice a gash along his index finger.

The injury was not serious, but blood immediately dripped down.

She rushed to him, looking on in surprise at the drops of blood on his hand.

“Why is there so much blood?”

Teng Yue had never seen her react this way to him before, and he was taken aback.

He assumed she had injured him with the sleeve dart and quickly bent down to comfort her. “It’s just a scratch. Yunniang, do not be afraid.”

As he spoke, he raised his other hand and gently took hers, gesturing for her to relax.

But this gesture brought Deng Ruyun back to her senses.

He gently comforted her, seemingly oblivious to his injury, and instead asked her a question.

“Just now…”

Did she just call his name?

Deng Ruyun took a deep breath, realizing her own confusion.

Just then, Teng Xiao arrived, clicking her tongue thoughtfully.

For a moment, Deng Ruyun thought Teng Xiao had also noticed her awkward reaction.

But then Teng Xiao crossed her arms and said, “Sister-in-law, that arrow you shot so quickly only grazed my brother’s skin. It seems my hidden arrow is not sharp enough…”

Deng Ruyun nearly choked on her words.

Even Teng Yue forgot his earlier question, looking helplessly at his sister.

“Do you only feel satisfied when your sister-in-law shoots me?”

Teng Xiao bluntly replied, “Logically, that’s how it should be. Otherwise, it means I did not do well enough, that my brother could dodge it.”

Teng Yue was quite exasperated with his sister. He could only laugh and say, “Then you will have to work on it some more.”

While the siblings were talking, Deng Ruyun had completely come to her senses.

She turned to call Xiuniang to fetch medicine, and then called Congying, “The general’s hand is scraped; please apply some hemostatic medicine to the general.”

But before Congying could agree, the man suddenly called to Congying, “Did I not tell you something else? Are you not going?”

After he finished speaking, Congying almost instantly disappeared from Deng Ruyun’s sight.

It was Deng Ruyun who had scraped his hand; logically, she should be the one treating his wound. But now, because of her earlier slip of the tongue, she was quite resistant.

And then this person deliberately said something.

“It’s a minor injury; no need for medicine. It will just be a few drops of blood.”

Teng Xiao was only focused on improving the hidden blade and did not hear what others were saying. It was obvious who he was saying this to.

Deng Ruyun was speechless, so she walked up to him. “Then… let me apply some medicine for the general.”

“Thank you, Yunniang.” He looked at her and sat down on the stone bench beside him.

Teng Yue sat down, noticing the faint sweat on her nose. He remembered how she had frantically called his name and run over, quite different from her usual attitude towards him. But she seemed somewhat reluctant to apply the medicine herself.

The man secretly watched her, seeing her rummaging through the medicine box for hemostatic powder, and suddenly asked, “Do you have any of Yunniang’s homemade hemostatic medicine at home?”

She seemed momentarily taken aback, but then shook her head.

“No,” she said. “General, please use the medicine that the residence buys from the pharmacy.”

She did not look up, and Teng Yue felt she was not telling him the truth.

Clearly, a few days ago when she was injured, Xiuniang had given her homemade medicine.

The man pursed his lips. “I’m used to these medicines, but their effects are mediocre. I want to try yours.”

He suddenly looked up at her. She was bending down to apply the medicine to him. He was sitting while she was standing; with this slight movement, their noses were almost touching.

Their breaths mingled, and he suddenly reached out and gently placed his hand on her waist.

“Is your back injury any better?”

She did not know why he suddenly asked this, but his hand naturally landed on her waist, the warmth slowly transferring from his palm to her body. It was still daytime, and certainly not in the bedroom… This was just a most ordinary action between husband and wife, yet Deng Ruyun’s waist stiffened slightly.

She could only nod, hoping he would quickly lower his hand.

But he said, “I saw you used homemade medicine when you injured your back before. Can I not try it too?”

So he was waiting for her here…

Deng Ruyun did not want to give it to him, but he just looked up at her, his handsome eyes seeming to ask why she would not let him use it.

Deng Ruyun had no other choice but still said, “General, it’s safer to use the medicine from the Grand Pharmacy. The ones I make… are too crude and unusable.”

Her words startled Teng Yue. His hand, still around her waist, noticed the stiffness in her waist.

Teng Yue suddenly felt that she seemed to have many things she did not want him to know, just like the things she made that she did not want him to use.

She cared about him, yet she also seemed to maintain a distant relationship with him.

He became even more determined.

“Yunniang’s sedatives are far superior to those on the market; how could such a simple hemostatic medicine be so crude and ineffective?”

After saying this, he directly called for Xiuniang to bring it.

Xiuniang seemed to agree with him, quickly bringing it over. “I think our homemade medicine is definitely no worse than that from the pharmacy.”

When Xiuniang said this, Teng Yue actually saw her glance at her.

“…”

She treated him less sincerely than Xiuniang.

Teng Yue did not know what to say, but he held out his hand, letting her apply the medicine for him herself.

She kept her mouth shut but ultimately said nothing more; only her two small, willow-leaf eyebrows furrowed almost imperceptibly.

She sprinkled the medicine on his fingers, then turned around, picked up her medicine box, and went back to her room.

Teng Yue watched his wife’s retreating figure as she entered the room and sighed softly.

He suddenly wanted to know what kind of life she had led in Jinzhou before their marriage and what she had gone through to become so awkward.

His mother said she was a distant relative living in the countryside and that she had come to find relatives because she could not make ends meet.

He wondered which relative she was and why he had never seen her before. And how had she struggled to survive?

But she certainly would not tell him these things.

However, he had his own ways of finding out.

… …

There was no wind in the courtyard. The sun-baked stone slabs released their stored heat, causing those standing on them to sweat slightly. Only after returning to the cool room did they feel a little cooler.

Deng Ruyun looked at the medicinal powder she had just given that person and suddenly felt a pang of daze.

In those years, she had been lazy about learning how to make medicine; neither her parents nor her brothers had urged her to, instead telling her to do as she pleased.

But she still made some medicine, not out of ambition, but because that year, the Tartars invaded and broke into the interior of China. He was transferred to fight against the invading Tartars and returned with great merit, but was also wounded in more than ten places.

He was a meritorious general who repelled the Tartars, and all the pharmacies in Jinzhou sent their best medicines to the Teng family.

However, some of his wounds were serious, and the medicines in Jinzhou were insufficient. The army sent someone overnight to Xi’an Prefecture to purchase the best medicines for him.

That year, Deng Ruyun stayed at home, diligently studying medicine-making throughout the winter.

She wondered if she could make good medicine so that he could use it whenever he was injured in the future.

Even for the most difficult-to-treat injuries, she would make medicine specifically for him…

Xiuniang came in from outside and, seeing that the room was dimly lit, quickly lit a lamp.

Deng Ruyun snapped out of her reverie and called her over, “Put away all the medicine we made.”

As she spoke, her eyes glanced at the person talking to Teng Xiao.

She whispered, “From now on, only sell these medicines. Do not keep them in the residence, and do not give them to others.”

She made these to earn money to support the family; he did not need to use her cheap medicine.

…

As evening fell, dinner was set out in Liumingxuan’s courtyard.

Teng Xiao had already figured out a way to modify the system and said to Deng Ruyun, “I will go back and refine it further; I guarantee it will be even more effective for you, Sister-in-law!”

Deng Ruyun thought it was already quite impressive, but Teng Xiao was clearly a perfectionist.

However, Teng Yue reminded her, “In a few days, it will be the anniversary of our eldest brother’s death. Mother and I will not be home, so remember to offer three sticks of incense for him.”

Teng Xiao nodded in agreement but added, “Mother only likes my eldest and second brothers; she gets a headache whenever she sees me.”

Although she said this jokingly, Deng Ruyun sensed a hint of sadness in her voice.

Teng Yue said, “Do not talk nonsense. If Mother did not love you, why would she have a headache?”

Teng Xiao replied, “Mother loves me, but she gets a headache from it. It’s really not worth it.”

This made Deng Ruyun almost laugh. Teng Yue smiled and shook his head, telling Teng Xiao not to think too much about it, “While Mother is away and you do not have to go to school, enjoy yourself for a few days.”

Teng Xiao giggled, “That’s true! I just hope Mother can stay on Wutai Mountain and serve the Bodhisattva for a few more months!”

… …

The laughter coming from Liumingxuan drifted on the wind to the road outside the courtyard.

Qingxuan walked by and immediately saw Nanny Wei coming from the side road.

A rare smile graced Nanny Wei’s face, prompting Qingxuan to ask, “What are you smiling about, Nanny?”

Nanny Wei did not answer directly, only saying, “If a person knows their own worth, crying is a blessing; but if they do not understand their roots, laughter is a curse.”

These words carried a deeper meaning, and Qingxuan did not know how to respond. Fortunately, Nanny Wei did not say anything more, only asking what she was holding.

Qingxuan quickly replied, “These are flower patterns I borrowed from another family. I thought Sister Xia would need these things, so I drew a few for her. I was just about to take them to her when I met you, Nanny.”

Mentioning Sister Xia, Nanny Wei’s expression visibly softened, and even her gaze towards Qingxuan became much gentler.

“It’s kind of you to be so thoughtful, always thinking of her. She gets bored at home all the time. If you have time, go and talk to her more. I had Qingrui buy some roasted fruit from the Qinling Mountains the other day; you should try some…”

The two talked as they went to the back.

Teng Yue left the next day, reminding Deng Ruyun to go find Congying if anything happened.

“If there’s any trouble or danger, tell me immediately. Do not try to handle it alone, understand?”

He had said this to her several times. Deng Ruyun had never known he could be so nagging before, and now she looked at him with new respect.

However, only a few days after he left, news came from Jinzhou that something had happened at home.

*

In Jinzhou, at Deng Yaocheng’s home.

Madam Zheng inventoried all the household items in the backyard, having her literate son meticulously register and record everything.

She selected several pieces of sturdy material with intricate patterns and had them carried to her room. She also chose a few more for her son, Deng Rurong, and daughter, Deng Ruzhi. Actually, she wanted to replace all the furniture she had brought from the eldest son’s house, but she was reluctant to part with it and planned to keep some to sell for a good price.

Seeing her bustling around the household items, Deng Yaocheng impatiently approached. “What are you planning? I have not even said I’d sell them. You’re always watching; it makes you seem short-sighted.”

Madam Zheng was not annoyed by his words, only saying, “Master is right. I really am short-sighted. I did not expect the eldest son’s family to use such fine items. Even after all these years of hardship, they have not been willing to sell them. It’s clear that when that girl, Deng Ruyun, ran away, she must have taken even more valuable things with her.”

Madam Zheng’s eyes filled with sadness as she spoke, “These are all the family property that Master and her father built together back then. Now she’s run away with it all. Just thinking about it makes my heart ache for Master. How could that girl disappear overnight? Did she sell herself into prostitution…?”

Before she could finish, seeing Deng Yaocheng’s eyes looking at her, Madam Zheng quickly shut her mouth.

She changed the subject. “Master is so soft-hearted. He always thought that if she came back to kowtow and apologize, you could forgive her. But she ran away like this. It’s a disgrace to Master. Besides, I already arranged with the Xue family for her to become their young master’s concubine. Now that she’s run away, the Xue family is causing us trouble… Oh, how much Master used to dote on her! He used to carry her on his shoulders all day, taking her to see the lanterns and flowers in the town. Everyone in town knew that Master treated her like his own daughter!”

These words made Deng Yaocheng’s face completely darken.

“Stop talking.”

He told Madam Zheng to stop, but his voice was cold.

“She’s unfilial, so do not blame me for being ruthless as her uncle. That old house is half mine. Just because the village head will not let me take it does not mean I will not! What’s rightfully mine, I will take!”

His eyes flashed coldly as he turned and left.

Madam Zheng watched his retreating figure and secretly chuckled. “Finally, he’s convinced. There’s a lucrative business in Xi’an Prefecture. How can we make big money there if we do not get the money from the eldest son’s family? If I had not overheard that opportunity, it would never have come our way in our next life…”

She muttered to herself, glancing towards the eldest son’s family belongings. She thought of how Deng Ruyun had disappeared overnight, causing her so much trouble. Now she had stolen all of the eldest son’s belongings and was secretly planning to sell the house. When Deng Ruyun returned, she would have nothing.

She wanted to see how that girl would kneel and cry.

Thinking this, she figured that once she secretly sold the main house, she could spread the word to lure Deng Ruyun back. Deng Ruyun would surely make a scene, and she could then feign reconciliation, secretly tie her up, and send her to the young master of the Xue family’s bed. Would that not kill two birds with one stone?

Zheng was secretly pleased with her plan, unaware that the news had already reached Deng Ruyun’s ears.