To Marry the Elder Brother of One's Late Husband - Chapter 36

Chapter 36: She Is More Intimate with Lu Changyi Than Him…

With the First Assistant of the Cabinet in attendance, Jiang Wenhuan—the birthday boy himself—didn’t even dare to sit in the seat of honor. He insisted on giving the head of the table to Lu Changji.

Jiang Wenhuan sat to the side, glancing at the table. It was laden with a rich variety of dishes, yet fearing he might offend the high official, he held up the menu before Lu Changji with both hands.

“I am unsure of your preferences, My Lord. Please look over the menu. If there is anything to your liking, simply name it.”

Lu Changji took the menu but didn’t bother looking at it. He said simply, “Add a bowl of honey-preserved plum soup.”

Jiang Shu was slightly startled. Honey-preserved plum soup was her favorite. She remembered Lu Changji’s palate was light and bland; by all accounts, he shouldn’t be fond of such tart and sweet flavors. Why did he order it?

Surely it couldn’t be specifically for me?

She shook her head, dismissing the absurd thought.

When the waiter brought the soup to the table, Jiang Wenhuan personally ladled a bowl and presented it to Lu Changji first. Lu Changji took the bowl and, quite naturally, placed it in front of Jiang Shu.

Jiang Shu was somewhat flattered by the unexpected favor. Considering Lu Changji’s status, she assumed he was merely trying to raise her standing in front of her family. She didn’t overthink it and graciously accepted the soup.

Watching their interaction, Jiang Wenhuan grew even more delighted. Since Lu Changji was willing to serve Jiang Shu soup, it meant he valued her. He recalled the time he asked Jiang Shu to lobby the Imperial Censor; she must have been putting on airs because she had “flown to a higher branch.” Since she wouldn’t help him, he would fight for himself. After all, he was her father; if Lu Changji valued her, he would surely grant him face.

Jiang Wenhuan poured a full cup of wine, holding it with both hands as he presented it to Lu Changji. He said with a smile, “It is the blessing of a lifetime to have the First Assistant celebrate my birthday. My admiration for you is all within this cup. Please, accept this wine as a fulfillment of my humble sincerity.”

Lu Changji frowned. His expression barely changed, yet Jiang Wenhuan felt a crushing pressure. His hands, holding the cup, froze in mid-air. He hesitated, not knowing whether to stay or withdraw.

Jiang Shu had assumed that since her father spent so much time around Censor Luo, he would have gained some social grace. She hadn’t expected him to be so ignorant as to not even know Lu Changji’s rule about never drinking alcohol.

She looked at her father and whispered a reminder: “Father, Lord Lu never drinks. Put the cup down quickly!”

Jiang Wenhuan’s face turned bright red. He inwardly cursed his own narrow-mindedness, worrying if this blunder would backfire and offend the man. He set the cup back on the table, stood up, and bowed repeatedly in apology. “This lowly official is shallow of wit and has offended you. I hope you are magnanimous enough not to lower yourself to my level.”

The room fell into a heavy silence. Lu Changji lifted his eyelids, looked at Jiang Wenhuan for a few moments, and said tonelessly, “Master Jiang is my elder. There is no need for such a ceremony. Please, sit.”

By calling him “Master Jiang” and “Elder,” Lu Changji was acknowledging their relative family ties rather than his official rank. It was clear he had not truly accepted the man.

Jiang Wenhuan, however, was the type to forget the pain once the wound healed. After a moment of trepidation, he threw Lu Changji’s subtle warning to the back of his mind.

He spoke again: “Censor Luo once had the honor of attending a banquet with you, My Lord. I wonder if you still remember him?”

Father and Madame Yang are truly two of a kind, Jiang Shu thought. Both equally thick-skinned.

She stared at her father and placed a piece of sea bass onto his plate. “This fish is very fresh, Father. Please, try it!”

Jiang Wenhuan knew exactly what she was trying to do, but for the sake of his own selfish desires, he pretended not to notice. He ignored her and continued to Lu Changji: “Censor Luo admires you greatly and wishes to pay a visit to your residence. I wonder if you have…”

“Lord Lu is occupied with a thousand matters every day, leaving at dawn and returning at dusk. How could he have time to receive irrelevant people?” Before Lu Changji could speak, Jiang Shu cut her father off.

As a government official, Jiang Wenhuan didn’t think of doing real work for the people; instead, he was obsessed with sycophancy and bribery to climb the ladder. Even Jiang Shu found it loathsome. She wasn’t an overly prideful person, but in front of Lu Changji, she felt a heightened sense of self-respect. She was terrified of him looking down on her and desperately didn’t want her family making a spectacle of themselves.

Jiang Wenhuan had no idea what was in his daughter’s heart. He only thought she was an “ungrateful wolf” who abandoned her family once she found success. He decided he had to put her in her place, or she might forget her own name.

He looked at Jiang Shu and said slowly, “Shu’er, after the meal, you should return home to see your Aunt (birth mother). She cannot leave the house and is confined all day, hoping for your visit.”

The words weren’t heavy, but they were a clear threat: her mother was in his hands. She had better behave.

Jiang Shu smiled thinly, parrying the blow effortlessly. “Aunt is an inner-court woman; it is only right she stays at home. Our family is small. Aside from you and Bin’er, no one else should be showing their faces in public.”

Bin’er was Jiang Wenhuan’s only son, the apple of his eye. Jiang Shu turned to the boy and asked with a sweet smile, “Bin’er, do you still want to study at the Grand Tutor Zhao’s household?”

The Zhao family was a century-old prestigious clan with a rigorous scholarly tradition. Their private school was famous in Bianjing. Most students who emerged from there had bright futures. Even the mediocre ones could usually pass the provincial exams. Because Madame Zhao was Jiang Shu’s mother-in-law, Jiang Wenhuan had specifically asked Jiang Shu to mediate so Bin’er could study there.

Jiang Shu glanced at her father. The matter was essentially settled, but since he wanted to manipulate her, whether Bin’er could actually attend was now up in the air. Pleasing Censor Luo was important, but it couldn’t compare to his son’s future.

Jiang Wenhuan didn’t dare gamble with Bin’er’s prospects. He immediately softened his stance. “Though your mother is of bondservant status, she did give birth to you and Ran-jie. She has worked hard. If she wishes to go out, an exception can be made.”

Jiang Shu smiled and ladled some beef soup for her father.

Just then, there was a knock at the door. Grand Commandant Yan from the next room entered. He looked at Lu Changji and called out, “Secretary Lu, everyone is waiting to toast you with tea. You’d better hurry!”

Since Jiang Wenhuan had intercepted him midway, he didn’t dare keep him longer and personally escorted Lu Changji to the door.

After such an interlude, the rest of the meal was inevitably strained. Everyone finished in silence and left the restaurant. Unsatisfied but not daring to lash out at Jiang Shu, Jiang Wenhuan boarded his carriage with a dark face.

…

Having finally left the house, Jiang Shu felt like a bird escaped from a cage. She didn’t want to go back to the Marquis Mansion at all. She had intended to visit a tailor, but before she could set off, Cheng Yong blocked her path.

Cheng Yong pointed toward Lu Changji’s carriage. “Second Young Mistress, the Master requests a word.”

Jiang Shu felt a surge of resentment. He had already rejected her—why was he still summoning her? She had twice stood before him completely exposed; even though she was fully dressed now, she felt the shame of being stripped bare.

She sat as far from him as possible in the carriage, remaining silent and staring straight at him. Lu Changji pointed to the embroidered cushion beside him. “Sit next to me.”

Uncomfortable, she complied.

Knowing she likely hadn’t eaten well during the chaotic banquet, Lu Changji pushed a plate of pastries into her hands. Only after she had eaten a few pieces did he speak.

“When the water is too clear, there are no fish. In the bureaucracy, many rise through family connections. We are in-laws. With my current position, promoting Vice-Magistrate Jiang is a matter of a single word. Why are you so rigid? You gave him no face at all. He is your father; you should be more flexible in your dealings with him.”

Jiang Shu understood the logic, but the world operated on balance. Lu Changji was a high-ranking minister; the Jiangs would only ever beg from him, never be of use to him. If he helped her father, how would she or the Jiang family ever repay him? Since they couldn’t repay the debt, they shouldn’t shamelessly take advantage.

She understood this clearly, but she couldn’t say it out loud. She replied evasively, “Everyone has their own destiny. If my father wants to please his superiors, he should do it through his own merit. Relying on backdoors is no true skill.”

On the surface, her answer was fine, but a closer look revealed she was avoiding the question. With Lu Changji’s intellect, how could he not see through her?

He knew Jiang Shu often took gold and silver from Lu Changyi’s private treasury to help her family. Yet now, when her father needed his help, she blocked it at every turn.

She is, after all, closer to Lu Changyi than to me.

The disparity between the two sides sparked a sudden flame of anger in him. She was close to Lu Changyi, but distant with him? On the day she was drugged, he was the one who helped her. They had reached such a level of intimacy—why was she still unwilling to rely on him?

He suspected she found him useless now and wanted to distance herself.

His calm heart churned like a stormy sea. Lu Changji let out a cold laugh, his refined face masking a layer of frost. He forced out a sentence through gritted teeth: “Jiang Shu, you are truly something else!”

Faced with his sudden outburst, Jiang Shu was caught off guard. She didn’t know how she had offended him, and without knowing the cause, she couldn’t fix it. She simply stared at him, dazed.

She was usually so good-natured—even to the servants—yet she could watch him be angry and not offer a single word of comfort. It was clear she didn’t have him in her heart.

The more Lu Changji thought about it, the more aggrieved he felt. He lapsed into silence, but his tightly pressed lips betrayed his displeasure.

Jiang Shu, usually sharp, was now in a fog. She didn’t know why he was angry. Furthermore, she had been repeatedly rejected by him, her dignity dragged through the mud. She was still able to speak to him calmly; why was he losing his temper with her?

Though she had a good temperament, she wasn’t a soft target. She stopped trying to placate him and said, “I know Uncle is thinking of me and my family. But you have already helped us enough. As for my father’s promotion, I won’t trouble you further.”

She lifted the carriage curtain, glanced at the sky, and continued, “It is getting late. I must return to the mansion to handle chores. You should head back early as well, Uncle.”

With that, she stood up lightly and left the carriage. Her steps were brisk, and she vanished in an instant, leaving only the swaying curtain to mock him.

…

Returning to Xinchun Court, Jiang Shu saw Lu Changying sitting under the shade, weaving grasshoppers. Seeing Jiang Shu, Changying tossed a grasshopper onto the stone table and said imperiously, “My cousin is also coming to the temple. Arrange for us to stay in the same room. We’ve been close since childhood; even at the Zhao house, we shared a courtyard.”

Jiang Shu knew Changying liked Zhao Yingyun. Normally, such an arrangement would be fine. But remembering Yingyun’s feelings for Lu Changji, Jiang Shu hesitated. Yingyun’s visit was clearly to get close to him; putting the two girls together might be inconvenient for her “pursuit.”

It wasn’t that Jiang Shu wanted to play matchmaker, but Yingyun had helped her before, and she wanted to return the favor.

She looked down at Changying and said firmly, “I have already had the maids set up the rooms at the temple. It’s too late to change. If you wish to be close to her, you can visit each other whenever you are free.”

Lu Changying had never respected Jiang Shu. She assumed that as soon as she spoke, Jiang Shu would obey. She hadn’t expected defiance. She glared at her. “You are of lowly birth. If you hadn’t caught my second brother’s eye, you’d never have stepped through these doors. Now that Mother has given you some power, you should be cautious and cater to everyone’s wishes. How dare you go against me?”

Changying’s temper was like a firecracker—fast to explode and fast to fizzle out. Arguing with such a person was pointless. Jiang Shu ignored her and walked toward the hall.

Changying stared at her back, eyes sparking. If she weren’t worried about her brother’s health, she would have followed her inside to tear down her pride.

Fuming, Changying ran to the Flying Bird Pavilion and vented to Zhao Yingyun. “That Jiang Shu doesn’t know her place! A commoner from a bankrupt house dares to ignore my wishes. If she wants to be so stubborn, fine. If I ever catch her making a mistake, I’ll punish her!”

While Changying was blunt, Zhao Yingyun was perceptive. She knew Jiang Shu had likely offended Changying for her sake, so she mediated: “Ying’er, you haven’t managed a household, so you don’t know how tedious it is. Dealing with rites, food, and clothing for an entire family is difficult. For example, knowing I love to read, she likely prepared writing sets for my room. Since you love pitching pots, she had to place the equipment in yours. These trifles are a headache. We leave tonight; it’s impossible to rearrange everything in one afternoon. Her refusal was reasonable.”

Lu Changying wasn’t irrational. Hearing this, she felt a bit ashamed, though her pride prevented her from apologizing. She tugged at her sleeve and whispered, “I thought she was being difficult on purpose. I didn’t realize she had her own hardships.”

Yingyun smiled and patted her head. “Now that you know you were wrong, control your temper and get along with her. Her birth may be modest, but her character is refined and gentle. We shouldn’t judge by birth. If you spend more time with her, you’ll see her virtues.”

Changying murmured an “en” and ran off to jump rope with her maids.

Zhao Yingyun handed a newly painted round fan to her maid Mianwu. “Give this to the Second Young Mistress. Tell her I know of her kindness and am very grateful.” The fan was made of Kesi silk, featuring a beautiful painting of an oriole on a willow branch.

Jiang Shu, who wasn’t well-educated in the arts, admired cultured women. She held the fan, looking at it as if she couldn’t get enough.

Lu Changyi, leaning against the bed, said slowly, “Scribbling and painting looks elegant, but it’s useless when you think about it. For a woman, the most important thing is to bear heirs for her husband’s family.”

Jiang Shu didn’t know why he brought this up. He was weak and sensitive; fearing to trigger his insecurities, she remained silent and lay down beside him.

A faint fragrance drifted into his nose. Lu Changyi’s body stiffened slightly. He took a deep breath. “Shu’er… I’m a bit cold. Hold me, would you?”

When they first married, they often embraced, but after his repeated failures, they had grown distant. At most, they held hands. They hadn’t been this intimate in a long time.

Jiang Shu hesitated, then turned and placed her hand on his waist, her forehead resting against his chest. His body was cold and thin, while she was warm, fragrant, and full of life.

She doesn’t know how much I love her, he thought.

He hugged her back, resting his chin on her head. “The weather is so hot, yet I feel like I’m in an ice cellar. No matter how many clothes I wear, it doesn’t help. I know I won’t live long. You’ve stayed with me for so long and cared for me so well… I can’t let you go.”

Leaning against his chest, Jiang Shu was overcome with tears. She choked out, “My Lord, you are a blessed man. You will be healthy. You must not give up on yourself.”

Lu Changyi had heard these words a thousand times. At first, he hoped. But as time passed and he only grew weaker, he stopped believing them.

He pushed her hand away and sat up. “Let me draw your eyebrows for you. Let it fulfill my youthful dream of living in perfect harmony with my wife.”

He was so weak he barely had the strength to stand. Jiang Shu couldn’t bear to see him struggle, so she helped him to the chair at the dressing table. She sat on a small stool before him, looking up with her eyes closed, posing in the easiest way for him to work.

He was skilled in painting, but his hand was shaky. It took him a long time to finish. He handed her a bronze mirror and asked weakly, “How does it look?”

He had drawn “distant mountain” style eyebrows—slender and elegant, making her look even more ethereal.

Jiang Shu nodded. “You drew them well, My Lord. I like them very much.”

“As long as you like it,” he said. He took her chin in his hand, leaned down, and pressed his cool lips against hers.

The setting sun filled the sky, and the summer heat began to fade.

It was time to depart.

Lu Changyi didn’t go to see her off; the wind outside was too much for him.

At the front was the carriage of Madame Zhao and Lu Lin. Jiang Shu’s carriage followed close behind.

Sitting inside, Jiang Shu gripped the packet of aphrodisiac, her heart beating like a drum.