Perfect Match – CH 059

Chapter 59

Deng Ruyun arrived at the gate of the Great Ci’en Temple. The sun was setting, and the tall pagoda cast a huge shadow, shrouding half the temple.

She inquired about Second Madam Yang’s whereabouts along the way, searching inside the temple.

She changed into simple clothes and disguised herself as a servant. She wanted to find the Yang family, but Fourth Young Lady Zhang was also a member of the Yang family. Deng Ruyun was not there to spoil anything, so she could only cautiously inquire as she searched.

Fortunately, it was getting late, and those who did not want to stay overnight at the Great Ci’en Temple were gradually leaving. She hid behind a tree by the roadside and watched. Among those leaving, there were no carriages belonging to the Yang or Teng families; it seemed they planned to stay at the temple that night.

So Deng Ruyun headed straight for the back of the house, wanting to find the Yang family’s carriage first.

But before she even reached the back, she overheard someone speaking around the corner—a voice that resembled that of a maidservant who served Second Madam Yang.

She hurried over but nearly bumped into someone as soon as she turned the corner.

Wearing servant’s clothes, her sudden appearance caused her to be shoved.

“Where did this lecherous scoundrel come from?!”

Deng Ruyun nearly fell to the ground from the shove. She staggered back two steps, looked up, and saw it was indeed a maidservant who served Second Madam Yang.

The maidservant did not recognize her at first, but she was accompanied by two other maidservants, surrounding a girl about her age.

The young woman had a dignified and beautiful oval face, with eyes that seemed to hold the allure of autumn. She wore a sky-blue dress with bamboo leaf patterns embroidered on the collar, her hair adorned only with two beige hairpins, devoid of any elaborate ornamentation. She was quiet and unassuming, her expression calm and composed as she gently waved a fan and glanced at Deng Ruyun, her every movement exuding an air of self-assurance.

Deng Ruyun paused slightly, recognizing her.

This was the fourth young lady of the Zhang family, Teng Yue’s wife…

She had not come looking for her, nor had she come to disturb their business. Seeing that Madam Yang’s maidservant truly did not recognize her, she quickly lowered her head, apologized, and turned to leave before the maidservant could push her further.

But apart from the fourth young lady of the Zhang family, Deng Ruyun did not see any trace of Madam Yang. The sun was setting, and the light reflecting off the glazed tiles of the temple shone on the clouds drifting in the west. Seeing that she could not find anyone, Deng Ruyun could only grit her teeth and follow behind Young Lady Zhang and her entourage, hoping that following them would lead her to Madam Yang.

They walked into a less crowded area of ​​flowers, their voices carried by the wind to Deng Ruyun’s ears.

“…This Dayan Pagoda originally had only five stories, built personally by the monk Xuanzang, and was later expanded to nine. Inside, there are Buddhist beads and relics, as well as scriptures and scrolls brought from India. Miss, you’ve visited the Great Ci’en Temple before but have never climbed the Dayan Pagoda. Madam Yang said that it’s inconvenient during the day due to the crowds, so she will let you climb it after dinner tonight.”

The speaker was Madam Yang’s maid. Hearing this, Deng Ruyun could not help but glance at the tall Tang Dynasty pagoda standing in the temple grounds.

A few days ago, Aunt Juan said her legs were much better, and she wanted to bring her grandmother to the Great Ci’en Temple to pray for her safety. Aunt Juan asked if she was free to come and climb the pagoda together, but unfortunately, Deng Ruyun was unavailable and could only tell her later.

After leaving the Teng family, she would untangle the mess on her body before coming to pray with a clear mind.

Now, the maid of Second Madam Yang mentioned climbing the pagoda. She saw that the fourth young lady of the Zhang family shook her head, saying, “Climbing the pagoda in the dark, though peaceful, makes one feel uneasy.”

Upon hearing this, the maid of the Yang family laughed, “How could Second Madam Yang allow you, young lady, to climb the pagoda alone at night?”

“Are Second Aunt and Old Madam Lin coming too?”

The Yang family maid smiled, her eyes crinkling. “Second Madam is not coming, and Old Madam Lin might not either. General Teng will be accompanying you up the tower!”

The maid glanced at Young Lady Zhang teasingly.

“General Teng is so handsome and dashing. With him protecting you as you climb the Dayan Pagoda, are you still afraid, Miss?”

After saying this, the maid chuckled again to Young Lady Zhang. Upon hearing this, Young Lady Zhang immediately covered half her beautiful face with her fan, a hint of shyness in her eyes.

She said softly, “Let’s not talk about this anymore. Let’s walk towards the tower.”

They walked towards the tower. Deng Ruyun could not help but glance at the tall tower again, but she stopped.

Since Young Lady Zhang and Teng Yue were going to climb the tower, if she followed, it would truly be deliberately causing trouble.

She quickly turned around. Just then, the maidservant from the previous incident, Madam Yang, instructed two others to go find Madam Yang. Deng Ruyun hurriedly caught up with them. They walked forward, and soon Deng Ruyun spotted Madam Yang sitting alone in the pavilion, legs crossed, idly scolding a young maid.

Deng Ruyun had finally found the person in question. She waited for the maidservants to finish speaking and leave before quickly approaching.

She walked quickly, the wind whistling past her feet.

Madam Yang seemed to sense her presence and looked in her direction. At first glance, she frowned, not recognizing her, but after a second look, Madam Yang abruptly stood up.

Before Deng Ruyun could approach, Madam Yang glanced left and right, not seeing Teng Yue, and then strode directly towards Deng Ruyun.

“You brat, who let you come? Who let you come to the Great Ci’en Temple?”

She pointed at Deng Ruyun. “I knew you were not up to any good! Did you come here to ruin Teng Yue’s plans?!”

As she spoke, she hurriedly tugged at Deng Ruyun’s sleeve, tucking her into the bushes. She then nervously glanced towards the entrance, and seeing no one there, glared at Deng Ruyun again.

“Teng Yue did not come, but you came first! My cousin said you were such a good person, but who’s a good person who ruins someone else’s plans?! I think you are a little vixen, with ulterior motives, trying to cause a scene and steal someone else’s husband!”

She became increasingly agitated, looking at Deng Ruyun as if she wanted to hide her in a crack in the rocks so Teng Yue would not see her.

Deng Ruyun let her push her, huffing.

“Fine, I am not a good person. I want to steal someone else’s husband, so why would I come to you? Would it not have been better if I had just waited at the gate for him and caused a scene? Why would I bother coming all the way to your face?!”

Upon hearing this, Madam Yang paused, then looked at Deng Ruyun’s attire. Dressed as a servant, she was easily lost in the crowd. She was travel-worn, the wind chilling her clothes, as if she had just rushed off a fast horse from Xi’an.

“Then…then what are you here for? You are really not here to steal Teng Yue?”

Deng Ruyun, angered by her words, turned and left.

“Me steal him…? When you return to the city and see your eldest daughter bleeding to death in the Prince’s Mansion, do not blame me for not telling you!”

As Deng Ruyun spoke, she angrily pushed aside a clump of branches and headed out. Madam Yang, not hearing her clearly, quickly followed her out of the bushes. “What did you say, you little brat?”

Before Deng Ruyun could speak, she suddenly looked up and saw Old Madam Lin and her companion, Young Lady Zhang, approaching.

Old Madam Lin was talking to Zhang Zhenhui, looking for her cousin, but could not find her in the pavilion. Suddenly, the nearby bushes stirred, and she saw her cousin chasing after someone quickly emerging.

She could not help but look at the person’s face. She saw the person’s stiff expression and recognized their features.

“Yunniang?”

Zhang Zhenhui, who was beside her, also recognized the “servant” emerging from the bushes, and her wet nurse, Nanny Dong, said directly.

“Is this not the person who bumped into the young lady just now?”

Deng Ruyun had not bumped into Young Lady Zhang, but upon hearing Nanny Dong’s words, she noticed Old Madam Lin’s brows furrowed even more in confusion.

At that moment, Nanny Dong, the wet nurse from the Zhang family, inquired. “So it’s a woman disguised as a man. And this young lady is…”

Old Madam Lin pursed her lips, not answering. Second Madam Yang did not speak immediately either.

But Nanny Dong and the Zhang family’s young lady beside her understood Deng Ruyun’s identity from this silent exchange.

So she was the betrothed the Teng family had paid for.

Their gazes fell suspiciously on Deng Ruyun.

The setting sun cast large shadows of the Dayan Pagoda into the temple, creating an indescribable sense of oppression and unease.

Deng Ruyun had only come to find Madam Yang to go back and rescue someone; she had no intention of ruining Teng Yue and Young Lady Zhang’s good time and had not even planned to appear before them.

Unexpectedly, by some twist of fate, they bumped into each other.

She had no choice but to step forward and bow to Old Madam Lin to explain.

“I only came to see the Second Madam; I have no other intentions.”

She sighed inwardly, lowering her eyes as the cool breeze blew in.

“Do not worry, I will be leaving now.”

Old Madam Lin never imagined that she and her cousin had private matters. Hearing her words, she felt a strange, indescribable feeling and remained silent, her lips pressed together.

Although Old Madam Lin did not say anything, Deng Ruyun was truly at a loss for words.

If she were to reveal the news that Young Lady Yang was about to die, who would still have the heart to visit the temple and climb the pagoda?

This meeting had truly been ruined by her.

She had ruined someone else’s good fortune; did she really want to steal her husband?

Deng Ruyun chuckled inwardly, unsure whether she was laughing at herself or at someone else. The situation was in complete chaos, and before she could figure out what to say, Young Lady Zhang spoke first.

She smiled slightly and called to Old Madam Lin, “Old Madam, you see, since this… young lady has come to see her aunt on private matters, why not move aside and let her speak with my aunt?”

Upon hearing this, Deng Ruyun looked up at her.

As she spoke, she led Old Madam Lin to the side.

Old Madam Lin hesitated for a moment, then glanced back at Deng Ruyun. Seeing Deng Ruyun’s attire, she was quite surprised and suspicious of her presence here and her “bumping into” Zhang Zhenhui, but she could not help but feel that Deng Ruyun might have something important to discuss; otherwise, given her personality, why would she come?

However, in front of Zhang Zhenhui, Old Madam Lin did not dare to ask further and simply turned and left without saying anything more.

Deng Ruyun had not explained herself clearly, but things had not completely gone wrong, thanks in large part to that Fourth Young Lady Zhang…

In the Great Hall of the Great Ci’en Temple, the Buddha compassionately looked down upon all beings, but Deng Ruyun felt that the world was full of absurdities. Would the Buddha not laugh out loud at such a glance?

She could not care less about that now. Fortunately, Teng Yue did not seem to have arrived yet, and things had slipped back from the brink of disaster.

Madam Yang, however, kept recalling her earlier words. Seeing everyone had left, she hurriedly approached her and asked, “Did you not just say someone died in the Prince’s Mansion? Who’s dying?”

Anxiety clung to her eyelids like a leech, constantly tugging at them.

Deng Ruyun had no time for argument and spoke bluntly.

“It’s your eldest daughter. She was beaten so badly that she miscarried and bled for four days. If you, as her mother, do not go, you will only see her cold corpse!”

Upon hearing this, Madam Yang’s face turned deathly pale. The fierce anger she had shown earlier vanished, replaced by a stunned tremor.

“What…what did you say?!”

Deng Ruyun gave a sullen laugh.

“What, scared now? Not going to scold me anymore?”

Madam Yang dared not utter another word of abuse.

She suddenly remembered that she had not seen her eldest daughter for several days. Since the flower banquet, she had wanted to ask her if she was pregnant, but first she could not get any information, and then she sent someone to the Prince’s Mansion, but still could not find her.

That was the Prince’s Mansion, after all; it was not a place she could just go to whenever she wanted. She could only follow her plan with her Cousin Lin, bringing her niece to the Great Ci’en Temple to meet Teng Yue, and also thinking of getting a peace charm for her daughter before the Buddha.

“Is what you are saying true? She really was pregnant, then miscarried, and had severe bleeding? Why did the Prince’s Mansion not help her? Why did she not tell her family? How did you know…?”

She bombarded her with questions, too many to answer, and Deng Ruyun glared at her, stopping her.

“I do not have time to explain all this to you! You come back to Xi’an with me first; we will talk on the way!”

She grabbed Madam Yang’s arm and pulled her hurriedly outside.

Hearing this, Madam Yang dared not question her. She hurriedly followed her towards the mountain gate, still asking questions incessantly.

“You…you are not lying to me, are you? What exactly happened?!”

Deng Ruyun, seeing that she was still willing to run after her, was about to explain in detail when, upon reaching the mountain gate, the familiar sound of approaching hooves rang out.

Just as they reached the gate, they saw someone riding towards them.

He was wearing the copper-green brocade robe she had chosen for him, with a continuous wan pattern, a jade belt around his waist, and a silver hair ornament. This attire made him appear exceptionally noble, and passersby invariably turned to look at him.

Attracting so much attention, he looked slightly embarrassed and strode towards the mountain gate.

Madam Yang had been waiting for him for a long time. She had been anxiously anticipating his arrival, fearing he had been prevented from going by his young betrothed. She had even grumbled about the girl surnamed Deng several times.

Now, Teng Yue had finally arrived, but the situation had changed.

Madam Yang was completely bewildered. When Teng Yue looked at her, she was momentarily stunned.

Teng Yue asked first, “Aunt? What are you doing at the mountain gate?”

Madam Yang did not know what to say, let alone how to explain the presence of his betrothed beside her.

However, when she turned around, she found herself alone.

Deng Ruyun was nowhere to be seen.

Madam Yang thought she was seeing things, glancing back and around several times, but Deng Ruyun was nowhere to be seen.

She froze, while Teng Yue frowned.

“Who are you looking for?”

A cool evening breeze, seeping from between the stone slabs, swept around Madam Yang’s feet. Following the wind, she spotted a hem of a garment among the lush bushes beneath the wall.

But the wind blew, and the hem disappeared into the rustling leaves.

She had hidden herself a moment before Teng Yue looked over.

No one chased her, no one pulled her; she simply hid herself.

She was keeping her contract, playing the role of a contracted wife who should not make a sound…

Madam Yang paused, stunned, before slowly shaking her head at Teng Yue.

“No one… Your mother is waiting for you at the temple. I have to go.”

Teng Yue did not want to say anything more to this aunt. Hearing this, he nodded and strode away.

He walked away, and only then did Madam Yang see the girl dressed as a servant emerge from the woods. She lowered her head, lightly patted the dust off her clothes, and shook the fallen leaves from her sleeves.

Her head was bowed, so Madam Yang could not see her expression, only hearing her softly say,

“Hurry up; do not delay any longer.”

With that, she turned and strode quickly out of the Great Ci’en Temple’s gate, showing no intention of lingering any longer.

Madam Yang stood there stunned, following her retreating figure, but inexplicably turned back to look at Teng Yue as he entered the temple.

At the narrow gate, they truly just brushed past each other…

Around the corner of the temple’s back courtyard, Teng Yue seemed to sense the gaze behind him, stopped, and turned back.

He saw his aunt, Madam Yang, hurrying towards the mountain gate, as if following someone. He looked ahead and saw a figure flash past in his sight.

He could not see clearly, yet there was a strange familiarity about her.

He could not help but think of someone.

But how could she possibly be with this Aunt Yang?

Teng Yue frowned and pursed his lips.

*

In Xi’an Prefecture, at the Prince of Yanshan’s Mansion.

Deng Ruyun hurriedly brought Second Madam Yang and summoned her directly.

“Go and pay them a visit first; see if they will let you in!”

If she could get in and bring her daughter out, that would be wonderful, but if even the in-laws could not get in, she’d have to think of something.

But Deng Ruyun also instructed Second Madam Yang, especially seeing her pale face, “If you cannot get in, do not reveal the truth; otherwise, the eldest daughter will be…completely ruined!”

Second Madam Yang knew she was right, but her hands trembled uncontrollably.

Seeing this, Deng Ruyun feared she would ruin things and could not help but say, “I will go in with you!”

Upon hearing this, Madam Yang’s eyes reddened, and when she looked at Deng Ruyun, her eyes were filled with a fierce light.

“Thank you, thank you…”

Deng Ruyun did not care about her thanks and snorted.

“I am not a good person; I am all wicked. Wait until I save your daughter, then you can thank me with real gold and silver!”

She returned all of Madam Yang’s words to her.

Madam Yang’s face turned pale and then flushed. All the words she had said to Deng Ruyun now echoed in her own ears, pricking them and making them numb.

But she only dared to half-raise her eyes to look at Deng Ruyun’s face.

“You can have as much money as you want; I will give you whatever you want…”

Deng Ruyun had no time for idle chatter. She pushed her way through the gates of the Prince of Yanshan’s Mansion.

But less than a quarter of an hour later, they were dismissed. Neither Zhu Tingguang nor Consort Qian had seen them, let alone been allowed to enter the inner courtyard of the Mansion.

Madam Yang trembled violently.

“They really want my Yun’er dead; they really want her dead! Why? Why?!”

Deng Ruyun did not know why either.

The Yang family held some reputation among the officials and nobles of Xi’an Prefecture, but before the various princely mansions under the Prince Qin’s banner, that reputation was like a fallen leaf, utterly trampled underfoot.

Madam Yang had married her daughter into a high-ranking family, but that family had never taken them seriously.

Now, a mother could not even see her daughter.

Second Madam Yang was so weak she could barely stand. She covered her face, unable to even shed a tear. Suddenly, she felt that she, this so-called noblewoman, was no different from the little medicine-selling maid beside her.

But what about her Yun’er? Trapped in this deep mansion, was she destined to die?

She instinctively reached forward to knock on the gate of the Prince’s Mansion again, but Deng Ruyun grabbed her arm.

“From the back gate,” she said, “Hongye gave me a route. Let’s go in through the back gate first!”

Deng Ruyun first dragged Madam Yang to a clothing store and bought her two ordinary outfits, then led her to the back.

As dusk approached, the two waited at the gate for a full quarter of an hour, sneaking in during the guards’ lunch break.

Hongye was waiting for them at the back gate of Yang Youyun’s courtyard. Seeing them appear, she immediately knocked the old woman guarding the gate unconscious and led them into Yang Youyun’s room.

The stench of blood in the room surged like a tidal wave, causing Madam Yang to stumble and collapse before her daughter’s bedside.

“Yun’er, Yun’er!”

She clutched her daughter’s cold hand, calling out urgently. The person on the bed opened her eyes, her eyelids trembling slightly.

“Mother? Am I…dead? Can I…go home?”

She did not want to be in this deep, secluded mansion, not even for a moment.

She only wanted to go home!

Her voice drifted through the room, and Madam Yang’s tears streamed down her face.

“My child!”

*

At the Great Ci’en Temple.

Old Madam Lin first took Teng Yue to light an eternal lamp for his maternal grandfather.

She had breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Teng Yue had finally come, but he seemed somewhat distracted, whether from being busy or something else.

She had not yet mentioned anything else to him, thinking she’d invite Young Lady Zhang over for dinner that evening and then, depending on Teng Yue’s attitude, discuss the tower climb.

It was getting late, and Old Madam Lin had already instructed someone to invite Young Lady Zhang to dine with them in the hall where they were staying.

Just as she was thinking about how to bring it up with Teng Yue, a personal guard suddenly approached. Teng Yue went to greet him, and the guard said something to him.

He suddenly turned to her and said,

“Mother, please stay and pray. Your son needs to return to Xi’an.”