Chapter 57: Sisterly Affection, Part Thirty-Four

Zhang Qingyao still wanted to speak.

Chu Yunli no longer wanted to listen to her prevarication and turned to say, "I heard your mother has gotten engaged. That's wonderful. Both you and your mother are favored by the heavens, able to soar and roost together with the ones in your hearts. I am much more unfortunate." She sighed. "I encountered an extremely foolish and stubborn man. No matter how I treated him, he wouldn't take his heart back. Fortunately, heaven did not abandon me, and let me meet my husband... You have no idea how good he is to me. Being with him makes this entire lifetime worth it."

Seeing her younger sister's smiling face, Zhang Qingyao felt a sour sensation in her heart.

Chu Yunli turned back to look at her, saying, "You should be just like me. After all, Yu Shanmeng is truly good to you."

Zhang Qingyao truly had suffering she could not voice.

Yu Shanmeng was indeed good to her; he was willing to share the greater part of a chicken leg with her. But what she wanted was not the greater part of a chicken leg, but an endless supply of meat.

It is easy to go from luxury to frugality, but difficult to go from frugality to luxury. Zhang Qingyao had never lived a life of hardship since the day she was born. After being with Yu Shanmeng, she had to be thrifty everywhere. Because Yu Shanmeng had borrowed silver from people, she was ridiculed by other madams and could only pretend not to hear, forcing herself to put on a smiling face.

Chu Yunli walked around and said quite a few more words of this nature.

By the time Zhang Qingyao could no longer squeeze a smile onto her face, Chu Yunli finally left with satisfaction.

The moment her carriage departed, Zhang Qingyao viciously kicked a flowerpot nearby. The flowerpot crashed to the ground and shattered into pieces, and the plant inside tumbled out as well.

"Qingyao, do not lose your temper."

Hearing the voice, Zhang Qingyao turned around and met Yu Shanmeng's disapproving gaze.

"Did you not see her smug look? She deliberately came to show off in front of me... Brother Shan, I never realized Qingxue was so shameless before, bringing up matters between husband and wife like that..."

Yu Shanmeng was speechless. Back then, aside from keeping himself chaste for Zhang Qingxue, he had never shown her a shred of warmth—he was only somewhat good to the children, giving him nothing to show off.

"Say no more. It is we who wronged her in the first place."

Hearing this, Zhang Qingyao instantly grew angry. "It is *you* who wronged her."

In Zhang Qingyao's eyes, it was Yu Shanmeng who had fancied her unilaterally and actively sent those exquisite trinkets for her to play with. At that time, her marriage was harmonious and she had both sons and daughters; she had no intention of getting entangled with her nominal brother-in-law.

At this moment, Zhang Qingyao was filled with resentment, her entire person agitated. Yu Shanmeng knew that no matter what he said, the couple would only end up quarreling, so he simply said, "Go back and rest. I will call you for dinner."

"Eat what?" Zhang Qingyao was truly a powder keg ready to explode at the slightest spark. She said excitedly, "The salted fish you brought back yesterday—I've never seen the likes of it since the day I was born. It makes me want to vomit just from the smell, how am I supposed to eat it? Yu Shanmeng, you claim every breath you take is out of deep affection for me, yet you married me just to make me suffer?"

Although people in business knew how to bend and stretch, Yu Shanmeng had not had a chance to stretch lately. He had constantly been putting on smiling faces outside and had to coax Zhang Qingyao upon returning home. Having truly had enough of her volatility, he snapped angrily, "I eat it too. Qingyao, as long as I have a mouthful to eat, I have never let you go hungry. What more do you want?"

"This is not what I want!" Zhang Qingyao shrieked, "Let's get a divorce!"

Although her reputation was not stellar, she was still young, and quite a few people had set their sights on her previously; surely someone would be willing to marry her. Even if those men could not bear to part with their wives, they would certainly be willing to take care of her. In any case, anything would be far better than her present life.

Of course Yu Shanmeng was unwilling: "No!"

Originally, Zhang Qingxue had said that if he did not marry Zhang Qingyao, she would hand the Yu family business over to him to manage. But now that the mother and son were managing the business in good order, that promise would certainly no longer count even if he and Zhang Qingyao separated.

That being the case, why should he give up the person he had waited for all these years?

Furthermore, deep in Yu Shanmeng's heart, he vaguely blamed Zhang Qingyao for driving him to his present state.

Since he had fallen so low, how could he easily let go of the primary culprit?

"I am leaving." Zhang Qingyao knew that once news of her mother marrying Liu Linfeng spread, it would inevitably affect her as well. If she wanted to find a decent man to take care of her, she had to hurry before her mother remarried.

In fact, she had advised her mother not to remarry, but unfortunately, Zhang Huiniang was bent on fulfilling a past dream and refused to listen no matter how she was persuaded.

Having dropped these words, Zhang Qingyao turned and strode back to the main courtyard, intending to pack her things and leave immediately. She had already thought it through: she would first stay temporarily at a small inn, and then seek out various gentlemen—she would surely find someone willing to look after her.

Naturally, Yu Shanmeng would not allow her to leave. Thinking of the rumors that would swirl outside the moment she walked out carrying a bundle, he felt his head splitting. Without time for further thought, he rushed forward in a single bound and grabbed her: "You cannot leave!"

Zhang Qingyao shook off violently, trying to shake him away.

Yu Shanmeng gripped her tightly and only took a single step back to steady his stance. However, his arm was wrenched painfully. Flying into a rage, he raised his hand and struck her across the face.

Zhang Qingyao staggered two steps from the blow and crashed into the rockery. Feeling a warm trickle running down her cheek, she reached out to touch it and found her hand stained with crimson. Her eyes turned red with fury: "Yu Shanmeng, how dare you lay a hand on me?"

She and Gao Mingqiao had been husband and wife for so many years, yet Gao Mingqiao had never been willing to lay a single finger on her in anger. She had only been married to Yu Shanmeng for a few days, yet he struck her so viciously—and not for the first time either. Did he truly hold deep affection for her?

When it came to hitting people, once it happened, it would happen countless times. Having suffered this blow, Zhang Qingyao's determination to leave became even more unshakeable. Clutching her face, she stumbled forward.

Yu Shanmeng stood behind her and roared, "If you dare to go looking for another man, I will kill you!"

Zhang Qingyao was not afraid at all. A man like Yu Shanmeng, though currently down on his luck, possessed so much silver and so many shops; as long as he had a shred of sanity left, he would not fight her to the death.

She walked in front, and Yu Shanmeng pursued her from behind.

Entering the courtyard, Zhang Qingyao packed her bundles herself.

When Yu Shanmeng saw that she had packed the silks and valuable jewelry prepared for their wedding, and even her wedding robe—which was obviously meant to be traded for silver—he flew into a violent rage. He stepped forward, snatched the items away, threw them aside, and pinned Zhang Qingyao onto the bed. His hand closed around her throat as he said viciously, "If you dare to leave, we die together."

As the pain surged from her neck, Zhang Qingyao could not utter a single syllable. She was terrified by his blood-red eyes and remained frozen for a long time, unable to snap out of it.

Yu Shanmeng exerted a terrifying amount of force, choking her until she rolled her eyes, before abruptly letting go and striding out the door.

"I mean what I say!"

With that single sentence, his figure vanished from the courtyard.

Lying on the bed and feeling the lingering pain in her neck, Zhang Qingyao was still haunted by that suffocating despair. Her eyes were filled with terror; she still had a long life ahead of her, and she refused to be shackled to this man.

After that day, Zhang Qingyao seemed thoroughly frightened. She began to learn how to be a virtuous wife and loving mother, personally cooking just as Zhang Qingxue once had. Even when the ingredients were poor, she prepared meals for Yu Shanmeng with changing variety.

Yu Shanmeng was very gratified by this, and the couple's affection grew steadily better. Even though her culinary skills were poor and the dishes were frequently too salty, too bland, too bitter, or burnt, he still happily ate them all.

Moreover, he thought of a way to acquire funds: he mortgaged the very residence they were currently living in to borrow silver from a gambling den, securing several tens of taels—enough for him to open a small shop. With his former connections, making money was merely a matter of time.

During this period, Liu Linfeng came to make a formal betrothal proposal, bringing rather precious betrothal gifts valued at over a hundred taels of silver. Although Zhang Huiniang was somewhat dissatisfied, she knew he had put genuine effort into it, and the two set their wedding date for the sixth day of next month.

Just as Zhang Huiniang was busy preparing her wedding attire, Yu Shanmeng woke up early one morning, suddenly felt a wave of dizziness, and before he could steady himself, crashed heavily to the ground and lost consciousness.

When Zhang Huiniang heard the news and rushed over, she found that Yu Shanmeng had already been settled on the bed, with her daughter tending to him close by.

"You should still call a doctor to take a look!"

Zhang Qingyao shook her head. "He's been busy with shop matters lately and simply fainted from exhaustion. A doctor would only say the same thing. Money is tight at home, so we must save wherever we can. If he still hasn't woken up by this afternoon, we can talk about it then."

Zhang Huiniang frowned. She was not very satisfied with this son-in-law; despite holding a massive amount of silver, he was unwilling to spend it, forcing her and her daughter to suffer alongside him. However, her daughter was already married. While a woman remarrying once was excusable, if she were to run off and marry a third time... firstly, she would not marry into a good family; secondly, she would become a laughingstock for others, and the husband's family would treat her daughter with disdain as a result.

Therefore, since they could muddle through, she should not leave.

Pondering this, she quietly sent someone to deliver a message to Yu Xuehai.

That was Yu Shanmeng's biological son. Since his father was ill, as a son it was only right for him to show filial piety, and calling a doctor was the bare minimum.

While scraping together this silver would be difficult for them, it was of no consequence whatsoever to the Yu family siblings.

By the time Zhang Huiniang's maid arrived, Chu Yunli was listening to Yu Xuehai's proposals for renovating the shop. Hearing that Yu Shanmeng had fainted, she raised an eyebrow and remarked, "A man in his prime, how could he faint so easily?"

Especially since Yu Shanmeng had always been quite mindful of his health—he did not indulge in excess, and Zhang Qingxue had been particularly attentive to his diet. He had absolutely no chronic illnesses, and even though life had been rough lately, it certainly shouldn't have worn his body down to this extent.

An idea striking her, Chu Yunli instantly grew interested: "Never mind that, go on with your work. I will go pay them a visit on your behalf."

Seeing Zhang Qingxue arrive, Zhang Qingyao panicked for a split second: "What are you doing here?"

Zhang Huiniang blurted out, "Why is it you who came? Where are Xuehai and the others?"

Chu Yunli smiled brightly. "I heard Yu Shanmeng fell ill. We were husband and wife for many years, and he is the father of my children; it is only right that I come to take a look."

Walking up to the bedside, she glanced at Yu Shanmeng's complexion, and her smile deepened.