Perfect Match – CH 096

Chapter 96 [Epilogue] Daily Life (2)

“How can you just let it go?”

Teng Xiao left Liumingxuan, and in front of her, Deng Ruyun said there was no need to hold another wedding because no one knew about the divorce, so why get married again? Would that not be strange?

She had just said that, but after Teng Xiao left and closed the door, Teng Yue asked her again.

“Why care so much about what others think?” Teng Yue knew she was not easily swayed by others’ opinions. He stirred the charcoal fire until it shone brightly, making the room warm and cozy, and asked her, “Do you have any other thoughts?”

Deng Ruyun gave him a helpless look. The younger sister was easily fooled, but the brother was not.

She noticed his intense gaze fixed on her and thought to herself that if he were so easily fooled, she would not still be in Liumingxuan today.

She did not answer his question directly but instead asked him, “When will the imperial decree conferring the title of nobility arrive?”

Teng Yue was surprised by her sudden question and frowned. This was a topic that could not be easily brought up before, and now, after thinking for a moment, Teng Yue decided against answering directly.

“Why is Yunniang asking this?”

He stared at her, as if trying to see through her and figure out what she was up to.

Deng Ruyun could not help but roll her eyes; she simply spoke her mind.

“I was just asking. But speaking of which, your investiture is a major event. The household will definitely hold a grand celebration, and we will also return to your hometown to pay respects to your ancestors. Not just Xi’an Prefecture, but the entire Shaanxi province will be talking about your newly conferred title of Earl.”

She said, “Is it not a bit too conspicuous for us to hold a marriage ceremony at a time like this?”

Since Deng Ruyun had already said what she needed to say, she finished speaking.

“I just think that both the Teng family and the Yuyun Hall have been too prominent these past six months. Why add to their fame?”

As she finished speaking, she saw the man’s lips purse slightly. Suddenly, he pushed aside the tea table between the two of them on the small couch, then stretched out his long arm and pulled her over.

“These are not the same thing. Do not confuse them.”

His voice was muffled, as if he was very displeased that she had brought up his investiture again. He placed his hand on her waist and pinched it.

Deng Ruyun, itchy and wanting to escape, was held tightly in his arms and could not get away. Angrily, she slapped his arm.

“Could it be that you’ve gone back on your word? Using the excuse that the divorce has not been finalized yet, you do not want to request a title for me as a Lady of the Earl? If so, I am leaving!”

Upon hearing this, Teng Yue wanted to bite her.

The court wanted to bestow a title upon him; that was the priority. After he received the title, he would then request a title for his mother and wife.

He had originally planned to hold another wedding, just as Shen Yanxing had suggested—a grand procession with eight bearers and a ten-mile-long red carpet—to solemnly marry her. But she did not want a grand affair, and now she was saying he did not want to request a title for her.

Most wives in other families were understanding and empathetic; she, on the other hand, was a poisonous weed.

Teng Yue glared at her angrily. “Are you going to talk nonsense again?”

A small flame flickered in the man’s eyes, his lips pressed into a thin line, and the strength in his arms tightened around her.

Deng Ruyun instinctively felt that she had already angered him enough; if she added fuel to the fire, she would not be able to handle it.

This time, she did not say anything more but instead reached out and gently wrapped her arms around his neck.

Teng Yue’s temper was about to flare, but her gentle embrace extinguished the fire, reducing his anger by two-tenths.

He thought to himself, “This wicked thing of hers is getting better and better at manipulating people,” but he could not help but enjoy her initiative in wrapping her arms around his neck. Her arms were warm, the fine hairs on her arms brushing against his neck, her fingertips even grazing the back of his nape a couple of times.

Teng Yue could not help but take a deep breath, but he still kept his lips pressed tightly together, staring at her without loosening his grip.

But she looked up, blinking, her face flushed slightly—it was hard to tell if it was from the warmth of the charcoal fire or something else—and gently blew a warm, sweet breath towards his face.

“Yu Chuan, do not be angry.”

Teng Yue: “…”

He’d fallen for her trick…

“So what do you really think?”

He had no anger left; he could only sigh and ask her again.

Deng Ruyun stopped trying to tease him; she herself felt a little embarrassed by the situation.

She cleared her throat and replied seriously.

“I was just thinking that life is not about constant noise; peace and quiet are true blessings.”

Her words were not without merit, but Teng Yue felt a pang of unease.

This was quite different from what he had originally thought.

He looked at the person in front of him, pondered for a moment, but remained silent.

…

The snow stopped falling in the afternoon. Deng Ruyun sent someone to Chengfeng Garden to inquire whether Teng Xiao wanted to go to the Deng family home with them.

Teng Xiao had not seen Linglang for some time, so she naturally agreed to go with them, even bringing two of her handmade gadgets for Linglang.

However, when she followed her brother and sister-in-law to the small courtyard where they were temporarily staying at the Deng family home, she immediately saw Linglang, just waking up from her afternoon nap, sitting groggily on a high stool. Behind her, an unfamiliar man was combing her hair, his hands skillfully tying it into two high buns and then adorning the little girl with two red plum blossom hairpins, making the little girl look like a plum blossom doll in the snow.

Teng Xiao was surprised and did not know who this was.

But Linglang saw her, jumped off the high stool, and ran towards her.

“Aunt Xiao!”

Teng Xiao quickly reminded her not to slip and asked her.

“Who was it that just combed your hair?”

Linglang asked if it looked pretty. Seeing her nod, the little girl’s face lit up with a smile.

“Aunt Xiao, that’s my papa! Papa said he used to comb my mama’s hair often, and he will comb mine too.”

Her words left Teng Xiao speechless, frozen in place.

Deng Ruheng stepped forward and bowed to Teng Xiao.

“Sister Teng, thank you so much for taking care of Linglang.”

Teng Xiao was utterly overwhelmed with his gratitude. She was still reeling from the joy of Linglang having a father.

But when she came to her senses, she reached out to Deng Ruyun, “Sister-in-law, you found your brother?!”

Deng Ruyun grasped her hand. “Yes, I have a brother now, and Linglang has a father too.”

Teng Xiao’s eyes welled up with tears.

“So much good news happened while I was away from home for half a month,” she said to Teng Yue. “Brother, why did you not tell me?”

Teng Yue smiled and patted her shoulder.

“Now you know everything. Go play with Linglang.”

Linglang first took Teng Xiao’s hand, then told her father she wanted to take Aunt Xiao to see the snow in the back.

Deng Ruheng readily agreed, but Teng Xiao, looking at the father and daughter, could not help but say something.

“Little Linglang has a father, but I do not even remember what my father looked like.”

Her voice carried a hint of melancholy, and everyone looked at her. Teng Xiao was still very young when her father passed away.

No one spoke for a moment, but Linglang looked up and said something.

“Although Aunt Xiao does not remember her father, she now has a master. They say a teacher for a day is a parent for life, so her master can be considered a father figure to her.”

Her words instantly dispelled Teng Xiao’s sadness, and she immediately smiled.

“Indeed.”

As they spoke, the two left the group and went to the backyard to look at the snow.

Deng Ruheng, however, kept his gaze fixed on his young daughter, pausing for a few moments.

“Brother, are you thinking of my sister-in-law?” Deng Ruyun asked softly.

Deng Ruheng nodded slowly, snow dripping from the eaves and drifting in the wind.

“Yes. Linglang grew up with you, and her personality is more like yours, but she speaks just like her mother—a true confidante.”

But his confidante had already scattered in the wind.

Both Deng Ruheng’s and Deng Ruyun’s eyes reddened, but Deng Ruheng did not want to dwell on the sorrow any longer and simply said…

“After we move and settle down in a few days, I will go back to Jinzhou to see her, talk to her, and also pay my respects at our parents’ graves to tell them I am home.”

Deng Ruyun agreed, “I will go with my brother.”

Teng Yue naturally would go with them as well.

When Deng Ruyun heard her brother mention the move, she planned to discuss it with him further.

The small house they were currently living in was temporarily rented from Inspector Sun. It was quite small, and since Deng Ruheng returned, they’d been living very cramped.

Now that they were settling down in Xi’an, they planned to move to a proper, larger house. Aunt Juan had looked at several before, but things were different now that Deng Ruheng was back. Regardless of which house they settled on, they hoped to move in before the New Year, so that everything would be settled by then.

Teng Yue also planned to invite the old tutor they had previously hired back to be Linglang’s private tutor.

Just as Deng Ruyun was about to begin speaking, Teng Yue spoke first, calling her brother.

“Elder Brother, I have something I’d like to hear your opinion on.”

Seeing his serious expression, Deng Ruheng quickly said, “Yu Chuan, please speak.”

Deng Ruyun noticed him glance at her quickly, then continued, “Elder Brother, you know about my marriage to Yunniang. It was a flawed contract, but although the contract was flawed, our marriage was real. Therefore, I am thinking of holding another wedding, of properly marrying Yunniang again. What do you think, Elder Brother?”

Upon hearing this, Deng Ruyun let out a long sigh.

“Teng Yu Chuan, you… Did we not already agree not to hold it? Why are you…”

He came to her brother this time, hoping he would uphold justice for him.

Deng Ruyun was almost amused by this man’s behavior, remembering his usual ways.

Was it that once he had made up his mind, he would go through countless trials and tribulations just to make it happen?!

She glanced at him, but he ignored her, waiting to see what her brother had to say.

When Deng Ruheng left home, his sister was still the apple of their parents’ eye, but when he returned, she was already married. He had not witnessed her hardships over the past few years, and he had not even been there for her wedding.

How could he not want his sister to have a proper marriage again?

He nodded unconsciously. “I think it’s possible.”

Upon hearing this, the man seemed to have received some kind of imperial decree, turning to look at her.

Deng Ruyun: “…We’ve already been married once in Xi’an; what would it mean to get married again?”

She really did not want to go through all that trouble, and there was another reason.

She always felt that Teng Yue, her brother, and Yuyun Hall were like the most beautiful and best dream she had after those desolate and hopeless years. She feared the noise, feared waking from the dream… If one day she opened her eyes and returned to those most desolate days, she truly did not know what she would do.

But Teng Yue’s gaze seemed to saw right through her, as if he could see into her very soul.

He said other people’s opinions did not matter.

“Why do we not use the sound of firecrackers to firmly establish joy in the days to come? Everything before us is not an illusion; every day is real.”

Hearing him say this, Deng Ruyun hesitated.

And her brother called her name.

“Yunniang, think about it carefully.”

…

The temporary courtyard was cramped, and Deng Ruyun still went back to Liumingxuan with someone that evening.

Compared to how he looked when he left Liumingxuan that afternoon, when he returned, it was as if he had received the full support of ten thousand people; he was just one step away from completely winning her over.

Now, even his strides were brisk and energetic, not to mention the lingering joy in his eyes and brows. In the room, he took out all the medical books and pharmacopeias she had taken down before leaving, placing them all back on the bookshelf, as if he had added several more, filling the shelf to the brim.

Deng Ruyun found it incredibly amusing, but watching the little fish darting by the window from her couch, she chuckled twice herself.

As soon as she made a sound, he asked.

“Why is Yunniang so happy, too?”

Deng Ruyun glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and blinked.

“The General has things that make him happy, and I have things that make me happy. Are you saying I cannot even laugh?”

Teng Yue said, “Of course not.”

Teng Yue was happy because he had gained his brother-in-law’s support, but he could not immediately figure out why his Yunniang was laughing out loud.

He rubbed her thick pharmacopeia, then turned to her and asked,

“What’s making Yunniang so happy? Tell me, and I will share your joy.”

He genuinely meant it, unlike her usual gloomy self.

He asked and saw her pretend to ponder, propping her arm up for a moment.

Teng Yue could not help but suspect she was up to something again. “What? Is there something you cannot tell me?”

“Nothing, it’s just that I am afraid the General might not be happy to hear it.”

Teng Yue inwardly scoffed, “Well, at least tell me first.”

Deng Ruyun turned around, raising an eyebrow at him.

“It’s because a friend of mine is coming to Xi’an, and that’s why I am happy.”

“Who is it?” he asked.

Deng Ruyun suddenly smiled brightly at him.

“It’s Master Bai; he will probably arrive in the next day or two.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, Teng Yue nearly dropped the pharmacopeia in his hand.

Who?!