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Chapter 60 - Marry her sister
Chapter 60 - Marry her sister
Chapter 60 Marry her sister
Liao Zhiyuan thought it over and enjoined uneasily, “Gao, my sister is clever and lively. Although she doesn’t know Kungfu, she has a lot of spooky ideas, speaks strangely and behaves very differently from all women. I can’t tell you her situation clearly in a few words. But after you find her, you must seal her Daxue acupoint and mute acupoint first. She won’t be able to escape in this way! Sometimes she will talk nonsense. Don’t believe a word of hers; sometimes she will say that she is not my sister. Don’t buy that, either. I saw her born with my own eyes, and she is my sib sister indeed!”
Gao Jue frowned and reluctantly nodded. He thought, “What a troublesome woman. Given this situation, I’ll bring a burlap, and then knock her out and put her in it when I find her.”
Liao Zhiyuan continued, “My sister is 16-year-old. So, when you…hold her into the carriage, you must be careful… The only way you can hold her to the carriage is on her arms, like this.” Liao Zhiyuan stood with Gao Jue face to face and cautiously hold Gao Jue’s elbows with absorption, like his sister was now standing opposite him. Liao Zhiyuan emphasized, “Be careful! She is unmarried! It is improper for men and women to touch each other!”
Gao Jue was annoyed at Liao Zhiyuan’s intimate behavior and glared at the tip of his nose with a long face.
Liao Zhiyuan took two steps back with embarrassment and touched his nose, “And, my sister, unlike any other women, doesn’t like embroidery, cosmetics, calligraphy or martial arts, but she likes doing retail business. And she doesn’t care about her identity as the Miss of Liao’s Family but to be a peddler. She always takes tea-cups, plates and bowls from my house to hawk at night fair in the capital, claiming all those staffs were ‘precious antiques’, or such weird words.”
Hearing this, Gao Jue thought with deep frown, “A silly woman? Could she really make wine? Is he cheating me?”
Liao Zhiyuan gave him hints again, “A few days before she left home, she always said, ‘so the ginseng in ancient time are at bottom price’ ‘two jins of ginseng are only worth 200 RMB’. I was completely confused. Tell you what, my sister fell down to the ground when she climbed a tree at the age of 8. Unfortunately, her head got hurt in here. After that when she came to her senses, she started to say strange words.” Liao Zhiyuan pointed a finger at his temple.
Gao Jue suddenly realized that she was indeed a silly woman, so he asked, “My wine…”
“Fuck! Just hear me out!” Liao Zhiyuan interrupted him in a sulk and continued, “My sister brought a maid, a manservant and a great amount of money when she left home. 3 years ago, my family’s financial authority was held by her, so I don’t know how much money she brought exactly, but I’m sure it was more than 1,000 liang silver. My dear friend. Think about that, a pretty woman with lots of money, knowing nothing about martial arts. What a perfect prey in robbers’ eyes! Also, my sister is a material woman. She once said she would marry the richest man in the dynasty. So, keep your mind off her.”
Seeing Gao Jue’s face being cold, Liao Zhiyuan changed the topic and continued to say the clues, “After leaving home, she hired a carriage to drive north. She ended up in Donggua Town at the foot of Changbai Mount without rest. She walked around all the retail shops and wholesale ginseng stores there. According to the manservant she brought, she was doing a ‘market survey’. Then she heard that buying ginseng from the peasants would be much cheaper. Those living in Changbai Mount worked on digging ginseng as their living, and she could make deals with them at the lowest price. So, she went to Changbai Mount with the maid and the manservant.”
“How did that manservant come back alone? Did that woman drop herself down the cliff?” Gao Jue asked with no expression.
“Hey! Don’t say that!” Liao Zhiyuan said angrily, “How could you say something like that? There was a heavy snow on the half-way through, and that manservant was actually my trusted subordinate. He thought it was dangerous to go up Changbai Mount under such snow, so he kept dissuading my sister from doing it. However, my sister was tired of his constant talking, so she managed to knock him out and tie him up, and then she went into the mountain with a teenage maid. After the manservant waked up, he loosed himself and went up the mountain to find them, but he failed. Therefore, he had to come home to report his dereliction of duty. Gao, the manservant has some martial arts bases, so I felt my sister was safer with his company. But now she and her maid were both weak girls who would complain about their feet hurting after mere steps. How could I not be worried about them?”
“I heard you. I will rest half a day and ride a post-horse to Donggua Town.” Gao Jue added, “10 big earthen jars of wines, my goods for your sister, or I will pull out all her hair on the spot.”
Liao Zhiyuan got scared and waved his hands quickly, “No, no, no, I only have two of them in my house and they were hidden by my sister! Don’t worry, Gao, you will get your wine for sure. Once my sister gets home, I will lock her up and make her brew me 10 jars of wine! If you couldn’t get your wine within 2 months… I will send her to you as a concubine and let her make mine for you every day!”
Gao Jue wasn’t satisfied and said, “I only ask for wine. If you delay me for half a month, you pay me an extra jar of wine. And you have 2 months at most.”
Liao Zhiyuan thought his demands weren’t gone too far, so he said, “If you say so. But, when my sister comes back, I need her to be safe, clean and unharmed. Also…her reputation and purity should not be offended.”
Gao Jue nodded coolly, “Deal.”
Liao Zhiyuan released a sigh of breath but suddenly showed an expression of banter, laying his hand on Gao Jue’s shoulder, “Gao, since Gezhu (here refers to the head of Changye Tower) had said you did a good job, why were you acting angry just now? You know my memory is better than yours. I recall you just said ‘Come on, women issue again? No way!’ I wonder last time which woman’s business made you angry like this?”
The way Gao Jue looked at Liao Zhiyuan was scarily cold, and then he stared at the hand on his shoulder and said indifferently, “Get your hand off me.”
But Liao Zhiyuan wasn’t frightened of Gao Jue’s killing eyes because he was in a good mood. He smiled, “That day when we left the Taoist temple, did Master Duan pull you over and tell you something? I didn’t get some achievements in some other fields, but when it comes to my hearing, due to my hard practicing, I can hear some details that others can’t.”
Gao Jue once again looked at Liao Zhiyuan and said coldly, “Who cares what you heard? I’m tired. If you want to talk, go to somewhere else.”
Liao Zhiyuan’s lynx-like eyes stared back at Gao Jue. There was a dimple in his left cheek because of smiling. He continued, “The third thing I’m good at is my discernment and it’s the best among all the imperial guards. When we were in that mountain path before, I found that Master Duan was interested in Miss He even when she dressed as a Taoist nun. So, I advised him to take her home, and after few years, just marry her as a concubine. But you all thought I was talking nonsense. However, only a few days passed, Master Duan fell in love with Miss He. He didn’t even ask his mother’s opinion before he proposed properly to her. Gao, how do you judge my insight, eh? Am I kind of a fortune-teller? But this time, I’m a little bit confused… Did that girl really have such charm that Master Duan wasn’t the only one falling in love?”
Gao Jue’s thick eyebrows were frowned into two peaks. He squinted and asked, “What exactly do you want to say?”
Liao Zhiyuan stopped laughing in jest and squinted at Gao Jue’s poker face, then he said coolly, “Gao, actually your thought is easier to guess than Master Duan’s, because you only have one expression when there’s nothing in your mind. But if not, your face will show various subtle expressions. Just when I said the two words ‘Miss He’, your eye pupils suddenly shrunk with unnoticeable changes, and your eyelids also twitched slightly. Besides, do you remember that last time when we talked about Miss He in the Taoist temple, you showed an impatient expression, and said ‘I’m not interested in knowing others’ businesses. Two days ago, I heard something about Miss He. Are you still not interested in others’ business?”
Gao Jue said nothing with his poker face, but Liao Zhiyuan who was close enough to him could still feel Gao Jue’s muscle was tight, unconsciously revealing the answer which Gao Jue didn’t speak out. Liao Zhiyuan sighed and suddenly asked, “I heard that when Gao’s Family and Ling’s Family proposed marriage, your fiancée was not Ling Miaoqi, your present wife, right?”
Gao Jue coldly glanced at Liao Zhiyuan, and didn’t understand why he suddenly turned the topic to Gao Jue’s family issue rather than He Danggui.
Liao Zhiyuan continued, “I heard your father-in-law, Lord Ling, married two wives before. They were equal to call each other ‘sister’. One is Ms. Li, the other is Ms. He. Ms. Li gave birth to Second Miss, Ling Miaoqi, and Ms. He gave birth to First Miss, Ling Miaochun, and Third Miss, Ling Miaoyi.”
Gao Jue’s face darkened and he said coldly, “Who told you these things? Why did you ask these? Deputy General Liao, just mind your own business!”
Liao Zhiyuan didn’t answer Gao Jue’s question, just raised a wine jar with a force of his tiptoe, tore the sealing paper and drank it. Then he threw it to Gao Jue and laughed boldly, “The only way to solve your grief is to drink. Come on, let’s drink our fill!”
Gao Jue held the wine jar but didn’t drink, just silently looking at the white beach outside the window. It seemed that something came to his mind.
Liao Zhiyuan said slowly, “I heard when you offered the bride-price, the one you wanted to marry was First Miss Ling Miaochun. I also heard that you two grew up together so you have profound feelings. You could have married First Miss of Ling’s Family as long as you got things done in Yunnan Prefecture and returned to the capital. As the Emperor had promised, you would have become the General of Strategy, Deputy Fifth-Grade, and have got the honor of granting the marriage through imperial edict. But I also heard that... Before you returned to the capital, First Miss of Ling’s Family and her mother, Ms. He, died of an accidental fire. The marriage of Gao’s Family and Ling’s Family should be canceled, but Lord Ling still wanted you to be his handsome son-in-law, so he discussed with Lord Gao that changing your fiancée Ling Miaochun into Second Miss Ling Miaoqi.”
Hearing this, Gao Jue’s expression was so dark like a cloudy day before raining. He held a wine jar and drank half while poured another half on his head, face and collar. He was also choked to cough while drinking, making him nonplussed.
Liao Zhiyuan shook his head and sighed, “A couple loved each other dearly but suddenly got separated because of death, without saying goodbye, which was not the most pitiful thing. The most pitiful thing was that Ling’s Family and Gao’s Family had reached a tacit agreement to hide the news of Ling Miaochun’s death from the outside world. After you returned to the capital from Yunnan Prefecture, you had no idea about Ling Miaochun’s death.”
Gao Jue threw the empty jar out of the window by convention and lied on the couch, panting and coughing.
“Every time when you went to Ling’s Mansion to find your sweetheart, Lord Ling would receive you personally. He then told you that because the marriage was around the corner, according to the old custom, the bridegroom and the bride could not meet. Otherwise, it was not good for the bride’s reputation. In fact, there were loopholes in his words. A smart guy like you was not supposed to be easily persuaded. But you had already regarded Lord Ling as your father-in-law, and there was no reason not to believe what he said.”
Liao Zhiyuan also lied beside Gao Jue and stared at a cobweb with a spider on the beam for a long time. Suddenly, he took a breath and blew the cobweb and spider to the ground together. Many seniors in Jianghu could send out Zhenqi from their bodies, and even form a substantial sword qi or a wall of qi at both ends of the attack and defense during the fight.
Liao Zhiyuan’s skill was not shocking, but a real shocking scene appeared. The cobweb and spider that fell on the ground were both hung with a layer of ice frost. First, they broke into a circle of ice dregs, eliminated a thick white fog, and then there was nothing on the bluestone floor after the fog disappeared. Among all the Eight-Grade Generals of Armed Escort or above, Liao Zhiyuan’s martial arts was not on the top 10 list. The strength of the world-famous Armed Escort could be seen from this.
Looking at Gao Jue’s rare embarrassment, Liao Zhiyuan sneered and said, “Gao, you had endured for more than a month and finally reached the wedding date. You must be impatient with all the red tape on the wedding ceremony. When you finally got rid of all the toasting and congratulating guests and thought of your long-awaited lover in red, sitting beside the bed, shy and timid, Gao, you must be very happy.”
Gao Jue’s face turned gloomy. Unexpectedly, his deepest secret was revealed like this—
“But all the tenderness and sweetness froze when the red cover was lifted. Although the delicate face under the red cover was also shy, from the eyes and eyebrows, she was not First Miss Ling Miaochun, but her half-sister, Second Miss Ling Miaoqi. On the day you got your title, you not only heard the news of your lover’s death, but also married her sister.”