Perfect Match – CH 031

Chapter 31

Deng Ruyun was stunned.

Why was she snuggled into his arms again? And just now, instead of sleeping on the empty half of the bed, she had squeezed into his arms, almost pushing him off the bed.

What’s worse, his body seemed unusually hot just now… Fortunately, it was already dawn, and he seemed to be going to the yamen today.

She sat on the edge of the bed and secretly glanced at Teng Yue, only to see him dressed with a peaceful expression, as if he had slept very well last night and had a wonderful dream.

Deng Ruyun: “…”

Teng Yue was going to the new yamen today.

He had now been transferred to the position of Vice Commander of the Shaanxi Regional Military Commission, a minor promotion of half a rank, but his duties now involved managing the military’s garrisons and general affairs, a far cry from his previous position of commanding troops at the border.

However, given the circumstances, Deng Ruyun could only guess that he had other plans; military commanders would still need to accumulate merit for promotion.

The two got up, washed, and prepared to have breakfast.

Unexpectedly, just as breakfast was set out, someone came to Liumingxuan’s door. It was none other than Teng Xiao, who had wanted to stay at Liumingxuan the previous day.

As soon as she appeared, Teng Yue asked, “What brings you here so early in the morning?”

His question as the older brother was far from polite.

Teng Xiao snorted, “I’m here to have breakfast with my sister-in-law. Does that mean only my brother can have breakfast with her?”

After saying this, she moved closer to Deng Ruyun. Deng Ruyun had someone add chopsticks for her, while Teng Xiao took out a blueprint.

“Yesterday, my sister-in-law said that in an emergency, pulling the arrow would be too cumbersome and time-consuming. I thought of another way last night. Sister-in-law, could you take a look…”

She was not there to eat; she was clearly there to pester him.

Teng Yue saw his wife completely absorbed by his sister-in-law and suddenly understood why his mother was always angry with this girl—she had absolutely no sense of propriety.

Teng Yue glared at her, but she did not see it, focused solely on discussing mechanisms and hidden weapons with her sister-in-law, while the other seemed quite interested, discussing it in detail with her.

Deng Ruyun was completely oblivious to her husband’s feelings.

She had just finished discussing the improvement of the hidden arrow with Teng Xiao, and as she picked up her bowl of porridge to take a sip, the stool beneath her suddenly moved.

Deng Ruyun was slightly startled. When she came to her senses, she was being pulled, stool and all, to his side, just like last night at dinner.

Deng Ruyun blinked. Teng Xiao looked up and saw that her sister-in-law had moved away. She was about to protest, but before she could speak, her brother glared at her, silencing her.

“Eat.”

Teng Xiao dared not speak of her anger and could only watch helplessly as her sister-in-law was pulled to his side.

Deng Ruyun was also startled by his word “eat.”

He was mostly gentle, but when he was fierce, he could be quite frightening.

She glanced at him, only to hear him lower his voice and say something else.

“Yunniang, do not just focus on her.”

He spoke to her much better than he did to his sister. Deng Ruyun saw Teng Xiao pouting pitifully and quickly smoothed things over.

“I know; actually, I had some soup too.”

Teng Xiao nodded repeatedly, and Deng Ruyun quickly gave her a reassuring look.

Teng Yue: “…”

What he really meant was, could she also pay a little more attention to him?

But obviously not. The man pursed his lips and remained silent, his brows and eyes seeming to droop.

Deng Ruyun finally noticed this.

Was he unhappy?

Deng Ruyun did not know where his mood came from, but after thinking for a moment, she took a piece of cold rice dumpling drizzled with honey and gave it to him.

This was a summer treat, but he was a soldier, always hot, and loved eating cold things all year round.

Deng Ruyun placed the chilled rice dumpling on his plate, and he raised an eyebrow in slight surprise. “Chicken rice dumpling? Thank you, Yunniang. I’ve always loved this.”

As he spoke, the slight, inscrutable dejection he had shown earlier had vanished completely.

He really loved this food; he always had. A little something cold and sweet would instantly dispel any unhappiness.

Deng Ruyun could not help but chuckle inwardly. Seeing Teng Xiao secretly glancing at her, she found it even more amusing.

These siblings were truly different from others.

The meal finally started to go smoothly.

After the meal, Teng Yue went to the yamen. Deng Ruyun and Teng Xiao saw him off at the gate. His expression became even more cheerful, and he said to Deng Ruyun, “I will get off work early.”

But as soon as he left, Teng Xiao muttered something.

“When did Second Brother become so spoiled? He needs someone to accompany him to meals, someone to offer him cold rice dumplings, and someone to see him off to the yamen. Will he need my sister-in-law to pick him up when he gets off?”

Deng Ruyun could not help but laugh at Teng Xiao’s words.

However, she glanced back in the direction the man had left.

He’d been acting strangely lately, quite unpredictably…

But Teng Xiao quickly drew her attention to the hidden arrows.

The young girl adored these concealed weapons and mechanisms, but which noble lady in Xi’an did not study music, chess, calligraphy, and painting? No one could explain her interests to her, and Old Madam Lin did not want her to spend all her time playing with these things, wanting her to be like the other daughters of officials. This made Teng Xiao quite uncomfortable and rather pitiful.

Deng Ruyun spent the morning with her. Fortunately, Teng Xiao was not truly oblivious; she was happy to have Deng Ruyun’s company for a morning and obediently returned to her own courtyard in the afternoon.

Now that she had some free time, Deng Ruyun intended to visit the small courtyard in the east of the city to see how Linglang and her grandmother were doing these days.

Unexpectedly, before she even left the house, the family servant Changxing arrived with her uncle’s steward.

Deng Ruyun asked in surprise, “Why is Steward Zhang in Xi’an Prefecture?”

Steward Zhang was originally Deng Yaocheng’s head steward and had enjoyed a few years of prosperity with him. However, Deng Yaocheng and his wife had been exiled to the border for two years, and the servants had all deserted.

He was a loyal servant, and thinking of the master and lady in his household, he figured he had to get through those two years. He remembered the money Deng Yaocheng had spent.

“What money? It’s not for some business in Xi’an Prefecture, is it?”

Upon hearing Deng Ruyun’s question, Steward Zhang was astonished. “Miss, no, madam, you know about that business?”

Deng Ruyun did not know and asked him to explain.

Steward Zhang said it happened a few days ago.

Two people from Xi’an Prefecture happened to be passing through town. One of them had sprained his ankle and sat down at a tea stall next to the Deng family’s house. Madam Zheng overheard them talking about a big business in Xi’an Prefecture. The two men were only discussing it in private, but Madam Zheng overheard this lucrative deal, saying that an investment of two or three hundred taels would double in less than three months. She practically would not let them leave.

Just then, one of them sprained his ankle, and Madam Zheng quickly took him into her home, insisting that the two men guide her in making a good business.

After much persuasion, Madam Zheng brought out another eighty taels as a deposit, asking the two men to give her a few days to raise two or three hundred taels to invest.

Of course, Madam Zheng was not stupid; she did not dare use her own money. But since Uncle Ya had left the main branch’s Deng Mansion, she set her sights on Deng Ruyun’s belongings, which led to the subsequent events.

Deng Ruyun, after hearing the whole story, was tempted.

“And what about those two people?” she asked Steward Zhang. “Have they been found?”

Steward Zhang said the two claimed to be from Yanchun Hall, the grand pharmacy in Xi’an Prefecture, and their details were incredibly convincing. “But I went to Yanchun Hall to try and get my eighty taels back, only to find out there were no such people there! They are complete frauds!”

Deng Ruyun was not surprised at all. “Besides Yanchun Hall, do you have any other information about them?”

Steward Zhang had always been a cautious man; otherwise, he would not have become Deng Yaocheng’s head steward. He said, “I was careful back then and managed to get a few words out of them. They mentioned a ‘Louyu Lane’ in Xi’an Prefecture. I can only guess now that they live there. But before I could even go there, I ran into Changxing.”

Steward Zhang now knew how shrewd Deng Ruyun was. Seeing that she had actually become General Teng’s wife, how could he dare to be dishonest?

“Whatever your orders, Madam, please speak freely, and I will do as you command.”

Deng Ruyun was not in a hurry. After thinking for a moment, she sent Changxing and Steward Zhang to the Louyu Lane.

“First, see if these two people actually live there, find out their background, but do not alert them yet. Report back to me later.”

Steward Zhang, fearing he would not get the money, readily agreed since Deng Ruyun was willing to intervene.

Deng Ruyun sent them off and sat by the window, thinking for a while.

These two would not have stumbled upon Madam Zheng so easily. If someone had instigated them, she would have to find out and investigate.

*

Teng Yue, newly appointed and quite relaxed, still had not found out about the military funds being stolen by bandits and sold on the black market. The dealers were very cautious, hiding in corners and refusing to show themselves.

The more they concealed themselves, the more suspicious things became.

Moreover, after these military supplies were stolen, they did not flow out of the pass; they remained inside. However, these supplies had not been found within the pass, indicating they had been hoarded.

Who would hoard these military supplies? And what were they for? This could not be left unknown.

Just then, Teng Yue was transferred to this new position, making it much easier to investigate matters under the jurisdiction of the Shaanxi Military Command. On his first day in office, he assigned this task.

But besides this, there was really nothing else to do. The day passed slowly and monotonously. Finally, as the sun began to set, Teng Yue, seeing that it was time, said goodbye to his colleagues and left the office.

The office was not far from Teng Mansion. After leaving the office, Teng Yue headed home, but along the way, he saw a stall selling clay figurines.

The clay figurines at the stall were exquisitely sculpted and even painted. Teng Yue waited quite a while before it was his turn.

“What kind of clay figurine would you like, sir?”

“A female warrior wielding a sword,” he said, then added, “and a little girl gathering herbs; please make them detailed.”

The stall owner readily agreed and began sculpting them.

In the blink of an eye, the female warrior wielding a sword was finished, and he began sculpting the little girl gathering herbs.

Seeing that Teng Yue did not seem very old, the stall owner could not help but ask, “Do you have two younger sisters, sir?”

So, you ordered two clay figurines of girls to take home and play with?

Teng Yue chuckled, “I only have one mischievous younger sister, but…”

His voice softened as he spoke.

“My wife is still young.”

Upon hearing this, the stall owner exclaimed, “Oh dear! I will make sure to sculpt it carefully; I guarantee every girl will love it.”

Teng Yue chuckled and nodded. “Thank you.”

… …

When Teng Yue returned home, Teng Xiao happened to be at Liumingxuan.

Teng Yue called her over and gave her the female warrior with a sword he had sculpted on the way.

Teng Xiao saw it at once, and all the things she had said about her brother that morning vanished instantly.

“Second brother is still the best!”

Teng Yue did not want to acknowledge her, but his wife just smiled and did not approach, as if she was only watching him coax his younger sister.

But Teng Yue went over and took another clay figure from his sleeve.

Deng Ruyun was stunned when she saw the clay figure of a little girl carrying a basket of herbs.

He actually sculpted one for her, too?

She looked at the clay figure of the little girl, carrying a large basket on her back, seemingly filled with some herbs, and dressed in a lilac-colored dress, just like one day in the past when she had just returned home from gathering herbs at the foot of the mountain.

Deng Ruyun stared at the clay figure.

He, meanwhile, had been called aside by Teng Xiao to help design hidden weapons.

Deng Ruyun held the clay figure he had made for her and glanced back at him gently.

He had always been very attentive, always looking after those around him, whether family members, servants, colleagues in the army, or generals under his command.

He had bought the clay figure to please his younger sister today, and unexpectedly, she had also benefited from it.

Deng Ruyun looked at the little girl carrying the herbs; she really liked her.

Teng Yue was talking to Teng Xiao, but he kept glancing at the person behind him out of the corner of his eye.

Seeing her admiring it for a long time, the corners of his mouth involuntarily turned up.

As long as she liked it, that was enough.

*

Winter had arrived, and the days were drawing to a close earlier.

Deng Ruyun absolutely could not squeeze against him again tonight. He had just given her a clay figurine, and she was already pushing him off the bed—that would not be right, would it?

That morning, Sister Xiao’er sneezed twice, and she discussed with Qingxuan about turning on the underfloor heating.

The room was as warm as springtime. When Teng Yue entered, he saw her calling for a maid to change to a thinner blanket.

Teng Yue guessed her plan and could not help but think of how she had gotten up from his arms that morning, sitting blankly on the edge of the bed, lost in thought.

He chuckled inwardly, saying nothing.

Deng Ruyun, however, was unaware of his thoughts. Feeling the room was warm enough, she again told herself to sleep quietly before finally falling asleep.

She always fell asleep quickly. Teng Yue heard her long, even breaths rising and falling, just like the previous two nights. He turned to her, wrapped his arm around her waist, and skillfully pulled her into his embrace.

But just as he pulled her close, her little head suddenly stirred.

Teng Yue quickly stopped, bracing his arm against her, frozen in place, afraid of waking her.

He had not expected to be so sneaky, but she did not move again, sniffed slightly, and went back to sleep.

The man breathed a sigh of relief, only then noticing a small strand of hair brushing against her nose.

He reached out and brushed the untimely stray hair away, but when he looked down, he saw her sleeping profile in the dim light of the lamplight outside the tent.

She was sleeping soundly, her face flushed with a warm glow, perhaps from the warmth of the underfloor heating.

Teng Yue suddenly wanted to lower his head and gently press his lips to her cheek.

The moment the thought crossed his mind, he felt his heart suddenly race.

They were husband and wife and had already done more intimate things, yet she was still asleep, showing no sign of waking. He did not know why his heart was beating so fast.

In the quiet, still room, it was like a pounding drum.

Teng Yue dared not move forward, afraid that his pounding heart would wake her.

If he woke her, she probably would not let him hold her.

He sighed helplessly, then chuckled, taking a few deep breaths to suppress the rapid thumping of his heart.

He shook his head inwardly, holding her in his arms as he had the previous two days, and lay down to sleep.

If only she could be a little more affectionate with him, even just a little, he would be much happier than he was today.

The winter night was quiet, the small lamp by the bed flickering gently, like a playful firefly on a summer night.

However, just being able to hold her in his arms like this was already enough.

… …

The next day, Deng Ruyun opened her eyes to a ghostly sight.

The beds inside were all empty, so she squeezed him in on the outer side.

Fortunately, he seemed completely unconcerned. Seeing her sitting blankly on the bed, he even draped a robe over her.

“It’s still early; do you want to sleep a little longer?”

No, no, she did not want to sleep anymore.

Deng Ruyun frowned and shook her head.

Was there a ghost in this bed? How could she sleep? Let Xiuniang bring some peach wood branches to ward off evil spirits first.

The man chuckled inwardly where she could not see him. He said it was still early, and he would go outside for a martial arts practice before returning for breakfast.

He left the room, and Deng Ruyun thought for a while longer.

A thought suddenly occurred to her: could it be that he had actually been moving her these past few days?

But she was not warm. Why would he move her? Surely he could not be holding her cold body to cool down because he was hot?

But Deng Ruyun touched herself. With the underfloor heating on, she was not cold at all.

She could not figure it out and decided to sleep in separate beds tonight.

She refused to believe that a ghost in the bed could kick her from her own bed back into his arms.

Having made up her mind, Deng Ruyun stopped thinking about it.

However, Changxing and her uncle’s steward, Zhang, came to report, saying they had indeed found them in Louyu Lane.

Steward Zhang was absolutely certain it was those two men. “They claim to be purchasing agents for a large pharmacy, but they are just swindlers doing shady business on the black market. If Master and Madam really gave them those few hundred taels, it would have been a complete waste!”

Changxing told Deng Ruyun that the two men had been hiding in the Louyu Lane recently. “The boss they used to work for in the black market seems to have gotten into trouble and gone into hiding. These two lost their livelihood and are struggling, so they’ve been holed up in the Louyu Lane. A few days ago, someone contacted them, and that’s why they went to Jinzhou. As for who that person was, we cannot find out.”

Changxing’s explanation made things much clearer.

They were indeed being manipulated into swindling money from Deng Yaocheng.

And coincidentally, around that same time, Uncle Ya mistakenly believed his mother was dying and rushed back to his hometown.

Deng Ruyun already knew what was going on.

She had not taken those previous minor incidents seriously, always focused on fulfilling her contract with the old lady. But this time, things had escalated to her old mansion in Jinzhou, resulting in the poisoning of her three old dogs and the felling of an old tree. If she were to back down now, she would be seen as a coward, allowing herself to be bullied.

She thought carefully for a moment, then suddenly looked up and called to Steward Zhang.

“Eighty taels is not a small sum. My uncle and aunt have gone to the border, and Rurong and Ruzhi still need to make a living. How about this: I will lend you a few men. We will go to Louyu Lane today and demand the money directly. If they refuse, we will rob them of their valuables and sell them for money.”

She told Steward Zhang this, and Steward Zhang blinked in disbelief.

“Ancestor, demanding money at their doorstep is not a problem, but would vandalism not lead to legal trouble?”

Deng Ruyun chuckled.

Seeing her playful smile, Steward Zhang would have thought she was joking if he did not know she was talking about vandalism.

But she said, “Are they not people who do business on the black market? They are being investigated these days; how dare they sue us?”

She told Steward Zhang, “Just go ahead and rob and smash things; they will not dare to do anything reckless.”

After Deng Ruyun finished speaking, she arranged for Changxing to find several strong men to accompany Steward Zhang. Then she called to Xiuniang, “Sister, go and take a look. I want to smash up those two black market swindlers. They might not dare cause trouble, but that does not mean they will not come back for revenge. Make their people get some compensation. You follow them and see who they go after.”

Xiuniang reassured her, then asked, “Miss, is this not one of the Thirty-Six Stratagems?”

Deng Ruyun did not know. “Which stratagem?”

Xiuniang said, “Dogs fighting!”

Deng Ruyun almost burst out laughing. “So there’s such a stratagem in the Thirty-Six Stratagems? I did not know.”

*

At Louyu Lane.

Steward Zhang was sweating profusely.

This was his first time breaking into the home of a black market swindler.

Although he only found fifty taels of silver, picking up the odds and ends still amounted to some money. More importantly, the two swindlers were truly afraid to speak out; they voluntarily handed over the silver and valuables.

Steward Zhang took the money, and the matter was considered settled. Changxing, following Deng Ruyun’s instructions, had someone send him back to Jinzhou that very night.

Changxing and Xiuniang remained waiting near the two swindlers’ house.

Steward Zhang had taken all the money; the two swindlers, without even money for food, turned and left.

One of them said, “We took this job from them, and not only did we not earn any money, but they emptied our savings! This is a huge loss! Let’s go find that guy and get our money back!”

Xiuniang, hearing this, quickly called Changxing to come along, and they followed closely behind.

*

A cloth shop on the street.

Qingrui saw that the cloth shop had put out new fabrics with novel patterns and vibrant colors; she loved them.

But her godmother, Nanny Wei, only gave her a pittance each month. Even if she generously bought the fabric to make new clothes, she would still be scolded by Nanny Wei. Not to mention, her godmother had been in a very bad mood these past two days. With the old lady away, she did not even want to go to the Teng Mansion, afraid of seeing something she did not want to see and getting a headache.

Qingrui had no choice but to give up and take the groceries she bought from the market home.

There were only her godmother, herself, and Xia’er at home, but she always bought fresh vegetables. It did not matter to her and her godmother, but she wanted to give Xia’er the best.

Qingrui headed home, but she had not gone far when she suddenly spotted two familiar faces.

It was the two swindlers from Louyu Lane.

The two looked angry, their steps hurried as if they were going to cause trouble for someone.

Qingrui’s eyelids twitched when she saw them. Being quick-witted, she turned to run away, but her usual brightly dressed appearance meant she was spotted by the two men.

“Do not run! You brat, do not run! You’ve ruined us! Give me the money!”

The two men chased after Qingrui, but she dared not stop and took off running.

Xiuniang and Changxing followed behind the two swindlers, and this time they got a clear look at Qingrui.

Changxing asked Xiuniang, “Sister, do you know who did this?”

Xiuniang spat, “Qingrui’s godmother is Nanny Wei; who else could have done this?!”

The two had wanted to chase after them to see the dogfight, but they were running too fast, and neither could catch them. However, having found the answer, it was not a complete loss.

… …

Qingrui ran through three streets and alleys, but she was eventually cornered in a deep alley by the two men.

“Heroes, heroes, spare my life!” she cried out in fear.

“Spare your life? We almost got killed! Hand over the money honestly; we do not need much, just eighty taels!”

Upon hearing eighty taels, Qingrui’s forehead broke out in a sweat.

“Heroes, where am I supposed to get eighty taels?!”

The two men merely sneered. Seeing her pretty face and alluring figure, they could not help but take a step closer.

“Let’s put the money aside for now; you’ve really gotten us into trouble. How about we two brothers kiss you a few times first?”

As they spoke, they approached Qingrui step by step.

Qingrui stumbled backward, screaming in terror.

Just then, someone suddenly rushed forward, wielding a wooden stick, and swung it at the two men.

“Do not touch my sister!” she cried, turning to Qingrui. “Qingrui, run!”

Qingrui, already terrified, turned to run.

The two swindlers, initially startled by the approaching figure, became enraged at Qingrui’s attempt to escape.

One of them grabbed the stick from the woman’s hand and shoved her against the wall.

This shove, however, sent her flying straight against the wall.

She hit her head against the corner of the wall and fell to the ground.

The two swindlers laughed. “We thought she was skilled in martial arts, but she’s just a good-for-nothing!”

However, before they finished speaking, the woman who had been thrown against the wall suddenly contorted her face, collapsed to the ground, and began convulsing, foaming at the mouth.

The two swindlers were startled. Seeing this, Qingrui, who had been running away, turned back.

She screamed and hurriedly shoved the wooden stick into the convulsing woman’s mouth, “Sister Xia?! Sister!”

The two swindlers realized something was wrong. They did not even bother with getting their money back and rushed away from the alleyway.

But Qingrui frantically called for help everywhere.

“Help! Someone help me! Sister Xia is in trouble!”