Chapter 666: 277 Country Days
Mingzhu happily took the letter and went to find Madam Ping, saying, “Sister-in-law, Yueyao has invited to her villa, and I’m leaving tomorrow. Sister-in-law, it’s rather stuffy in the household, and I’m thinking of following her to the villa. Once sumr is over, I’ll co back. Brother ntioned a while ago that I should visit Yueyao, and this is the perfect opportunity.”
Madam Ping felt a bit troubled, “Madam is unlikely to agree.” In truth, every ti Mingzhu wanted to go out, Lady Bai was reluctant, and she was even less inclined to let Mingzhu visit the palace often. This resulted in Mingzhu rarely entering the palace.
Mingzhu said, “No matter, I will talk to mother. Sister-in-law, could you send soone to inform brother?” Although brother had agreed before, going out for a month or two still required giving brother a heads up.
When Mingzhu returned to her courtyard, she asked Bai Yi, “What do you think we should bring?”
After thinking for a mont, Bai Yi said, “Bring more clothes, and the rest is up to you.” Bai Yi’s injury was not serious; it mostly healed in half a month, and he was completely better now.
Mingzhu thought for a while, “No, I must bring more books. When Yueyao goes painting and there’s no one to talk to, I will have books to read.”
Imdiately, Mingzhu ran to the library of the Marquis’ household, scavenging for half a day and gathered more than thirty books. They were all travel journals or storybooks of that sort. Of course, there were definitely no such books as Cui Yingying and Zhang Sheng’s private arrangent for a lifelong commitnt; the storybooks here were all odd tales or mythological stories.
The Ma Family’s villa was located on the opposite side of Capital City, nestled against the mountains and beside the water, with thousands of acres of fertile fields nearby—an extraordinarily pleasant place. Ma Chengteng would also invite a few friends to the villa for leisure whenever he was free.
As they neared the villa, Yueyao had the maid lift the curtains. Yueyao was accustod to such scenery, but it was Mingzhu’s first ti visiting a rural manor.
Yueyao said with a smile, “There’s a large lake beside the villa. When we have spare ti, I’ll go fishing with you.” Yueyao had heard from Ma Chengteng that there were fish in the lake, and that they could be caught and eaten.
Mingzhu hesitated before saying, “Isn’t fishing very tiring?”
Yueyao was determined to get Mingzhu to fish. She felt that Mingzhu was too impetuous and needed to be tempered. Getting rid of her restlessness would make her more prudent in her actions. Fishing and practicing calligraphy were good thods to cultivate one’s temperant. Of course, Yueyao was not worried about whether Mingzhu could sit still.
The villa was occasionally lived in by Ma Chengteng, so there was no need for special cleaning; just a quick tidy by the maids and old nannies made it livable. It wasn’t too much trouble, and the two of them lived together as if on a mountain retreat, which made whispering secrets more convenient.
After taking a deep breath, Mingzhu said, “It really is more comfortable here than in the Capital City; even the air is so fresh.”
Yueyao laughed, “Yes, the air is very fresh in the mountains.”
Mingzhu, having grown accustod to the austere days in the mountains, naturally found life in the villa easy to adapt to. Eating vegetables that had just been dug out of the earth, she found them very fresh and delicious.
Yueyao laughed, “It’s the novelty, but after two days you won’t notice it as much.”
At night, the chorus of frog calls were undulating outside, occasionally accompanied by the chirping of insects, creating a beautiful symphony.
Unfortunately, these sounds were not a beautiful symphony for Mingzhu but noise. Hearing the croaking outside, Mingzhu climbed out of bed and complained, “Yueyao, it’s so noisy, I can’t sleep!”
Yueyao replied, “Having frog calls in the countryside is very common. If you can’t sleep, try reading a book; once you’re tired enough, you won’t mind the frogs anymore.”
Xiang Wei then interjected, “Actually, field frogs are also a very delicious food; how about we try that tomorrow?”
Yueyao laughed, “Sure, we might as well catch so loaches for soup tomorrow too; I hear they are very nourishing.”
Mingzhu listened and opened her mouth but tactfully remained silent.
Yueyao was busy every day, and unless sothing unexpected happened, she fell asleep as soon as she hit the bed. But as she lay down and saw Mingzhu with her eyes wide open, she laughed, “What’s wrong? Still can’t sleep?”
There was actually a lot Mingzhu wanted to say to Yueyao, but those words felt too embarrassing to speak out, leaving Mingzhu unsure of how to start the conversation.
Yueyao laughed, “Are you still frustrated about Ning Lixuan?” Yueyao used the word ‘frustrated’ rather than ‘saddened,’ a very apt choice that resonated deeply with Mingzhu.
Mingzhu nodded and said, “Yes, I’ve been feeling quite resentful lately. Yueyao, why are my judgnts so poor? How is it that I got completely fooled by them? Yueyao, sotis I think, if it weren’t for you and I really married into the Duke Mansion, would my whole life have been confined there?”
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