Chapter 11: The Long Road to Pursuing a Wife
On the day of the imperial examination, the candidates lined up to enter the examination hall. To prevent cheating, the security checks before entering were extremely strict.
The candidates’ clothing and footwear had to be single-layered, with no hidden compartments allowed. Even the essential writing brushes had to be specially prepared with hollow handles to prevent candidates from smuggling in any unauthorized items.
After all, cheating in the imperial examination was a serious crime, and the punishment was far more severe than in modern times.
If any candidate was found cheating, not only would the candidate be punished, but even the presiding officials would be immediately dragged out and executed.
It was the plum rain season, and a light drizzle fell from the sky. Su Mu stood silently at the back of the queue, holding an umbrella, surrounded by a misty haze.
“Miss Su!” Shen Yuxue waved at her with a smile. She wasn’t carrying an umbrella, and her white clothes were adorned with a silver lotus flower pattern on a black belt. Her long hair was simply tied up in a high ponytail, and her originally heroic features, now dampened by the rain, appeared even more spirited.
“Miss Shen.” Su Mu held her umbrella to shield Shen Yuxue from the rain.
Shen Yuxue slipped under Su Mu’s umbrella like a fish, brushed off the water droplets on her clothes, and asked, “Today is the start of the examination. How prepared are you, Miss Su?”
Su Mu replied, “Not bad. I’ve only thoroughly studied the Four Books. What about you, Miss Shen?”
Shen Yuxue sighed, “Me? Alas, I’m planning to submit a blank paper.”
Su Mu wasn’t actually surprised. After all, in her previous life, Shen Yuxue had submitted a blank paper. The imperial examination wasn’t something she could pass by simply memorizing a few famous poems.
But she couldn’t appear too calm, so she feigned a slightly surprised look and asked, “Why?”
Shen Yuxue said helplessly, “Those Four Books and Five Classics, I actually don’t understand them at all.”
“Miss Shen, you’re truly too modest. A talented woman like you, capable of writing a masterpiece like ‘Water Melody,’ how could you not even understand the Four Books and Five Classics? I think you’re being too humble, unlike some people who, having barely learned a few characters, overestimate their abilities and come to the examination hall to embarrass themselves, truly disgracing the Yan family name.”
Yan Ruyu walked over to the two with a cold smile, while a weak little servant beside her tiptoed to hold an umbrella for her, his body already half-drenched.
“You two know each other?” Shen Yuxue asked.
Yan Ruyu curled her lips in a smug smile, “Miss Shen, you may not know, but this Su Mu is the live-in son-in-law of our Yan family and the cousin of my husband. She barely knows a few characters and is here today to make a fool of herself.”
Shen Yuxue smiled, “The examination hasn’t started yet, Miss Yan. You shouldn’t speak of Miss Su like that. I find Miss Su to be intelligent, gentle, and polite.”
In contrast, she herself was just an embroidered pillow.
“Miss Shen, you—”
Just as Yan Ruyu started to speak, a horse-drawn carriage stopped in front of them, its wheels landing in a muddy puddle, splashing mud all over Yan Ruyu.
Yan Ruyu was furious, “What blind idiot is this?”
The carriage curtain was lifted, and Xiao Ping was the first to step out. As soon as Yan Ruyu saw Xiao Ping, she instantly knew who was inside the carriage and became speechless.
Xiao Ping came up to Su Mu, bowed slightly in greeting, his attitude far more respectful than ever before, “Young Madam, the Young Master requests your presence inside.”
Su Mu stood quietly in place and said softly, “I’m about to enter the examination hall. Take your Young Master and go back.”
Xiao Ping didn’t dare to speak and timidly glanced inside the carriage.
The next second, a pair of flawless hands lifted the carriage curtain, and Yan Jiyue stepped out. He was dressed in a snow-white robe with a sea-like deep blue color only at the hem. His entire being was cold, elegant, and not of this mundane world.
The surrounding candidates were stunned by Yan Jiyue’s appearance, after all, he was the most beautiful man in the city, with truly superior looks.
Everyone was shocked by Yan Jiyue’s beauty, but Su Mu lowered her head, watching as the hem of his robe fell into the mud, stained with filth.
He loved cleanliness the most and couldn’t tolerate even half a speck of dirt. He wouldn’t go out on rainy days, but now he stood quietly in the rain, allowing the hem of his robe to be soaked.
“Wife,” he called to her softly.
Su Mu frowned, “What did you call me?”
Had Yan Jiyue gone crazy? Shen Yuxue was standing right next to her, and he had always liked Shen Yuxue, right?
What was he trying to do now?
Yan Jiyue tightly grasped his sleeve and took the food box from Xiao Ping’s hands, “The examination takes a long time, so I made some pastries for you to eat in the examination hall.”
Su Mu’s frown deepened, “Pastries made by you?”
“Mm.” Yan Jiyue tightly pursed his lips, his fingertips slightly reddening from nervousness.
Not only was Su Mu shocked, but even Yan Ruyu looked as if she had seen a ghost.
What did he just say? He made pastries?
Hilarious. How could Yan Jiyue possibly cook? It was more likely for him to poison the food than to make it himself.
Su Mu originally didn’t believe it, but when she saw the obvious scald marks on Yan Jiyue’s fingers, her heart wavered.
“Come with me,” Su Mu said indifferently, holding her umbrella and leaving the queue, stopping under a willow tree not far away.
Yan Jiyue’s eyes lit up, thinking that Su Mu had finally softened towards him. He hurriedly followed, directly ignoring the umbrella Xiao Ping offered him.
Although the drizzle wasn’t heavy, Yan Jiyue’s long hair still got wet on the way, but he didn’t care. He only felt his heart pounding rapidly at this moment.
“Wife—”
“Don’t call me your wife,” Su Mu interrupted him coldly.
Yan Jiyue’s joyful smile instantly froze on his face, slowly turning into desolation. The rain poured down on him, water droplets condensing on his long hair, his eye corners also dampened, like a broken rose.
Seeing him looking like a drenched chicken, Su Mu tightened her grip on the umbrella handle and forced herself to look away. It was his own fault for not bringing an umbrella.
“We are already divorced. Don’t come looking for me in the future,” she said bluntly, without a trace of emotion.
“…No.” The ends of his hair were dripping water, but his eyes, though desolate, held an extremely determined look.
“You—” Su Mu gritted her teeth and laughed coldly, “Fine, since you’re willing to shamelessly pester me like this, then do as you please. Anyway, the one losing face isn’t me.”
She knew that even if Yan Jiyue had been reborn, he was still an extremely proud person at his core and would never allow anyone to insult him with such humiliating words.
Sure enough, she saw Yan Jiyue’s tightly clenched hands trembling, his face instantly turning pale.
What was he still enduring? Just get angry, scold her, and then give up on her. From now on, they should go their separate ways and not entangle with each other anymore.
Just when she thought Yan Jiyue couldn’t hold back any longer, he forced out a faint smile. The smile carried a sense of self-deprecation and ingratiation that she had never seen before.
“Yes, I indeed have no backbone.” He reached out with a trembling hand and grasped her sleeve, a water droplet sliding down the corner of his eye, indistinguishable from the rain or tears, “That box of pastries was truly made by my own hands. Even if you don’t like them, just try a bite, okay?”
Su Mu brushed off his hand, “Young Master Yan, aren’t you mistaking the main point here? Right now, you shouldn’t be inexplicably trying to ingratiate yourself with me. You should be thinking about how you and your father, two men, will protect the Yan family’s wealth after the divorce.”
As soon as her words fell, a heavy rumble of thunder echoed from the sky.
The rain intensified in an instant, and Yan Jiyue’s clothes were completely soaked. Rainwater flowed along the contours of his face, finally dripping from the tip of his chin.
“What else can be done? All Dad can do is to have me remarry and find another woman to marry into the family,” Yan Jiyue forced a smile with a hint of bitterness. His clear, moist eyes gazed at Su Mu, his pale face appearing desolate in the cutting cold wind, yet even so, it did not diminish his beauty. “…But I’d rather die than remarry. I won’t be that kind of fickle man.”
His wife would always be the only one.
Su Mu recalled the first time she saw Yan Jiyue, dressed in red, as beautiful and eye-catching as a blazing fire, a flower that made her fall head over heels.
Even though their relationship was not harmonious in their previous life, she still didn’t want to see Yan Jiyue being forced to remarry again and again.
Having lived two lives, she had seen through it all. Although he was the son of Yan Zhujun, he was also a handy tool in Yan Zhujun’s hands, just like her.
His father, kind and amiable on the surface, was actually cold-hearted inside, disregarding even blood ties.
She still couldn’t help but soften her heart and moved the umbrella over to him, shielding him from the rain.
Yan Jiyue’s eyes widened, the moist and resentful corners of his eyes instantly filled with brightness.
Su Mu looked away, “Yan Jiyue, let me show you a clear path. Perhaps you won’t have to remarry. Go find Yan Ting.”
“My sister? Isn’t she already dead?”
Su Mu said, “If the remains are nowhere to be found, it means her life or death is uncertain. Perhaps there’s still a glimmer of hope. I heard that at the bottom of the cliff where Yan Ting fell, there’s a village. Why don’t you send someone to inquire? Maybe the villagers found Yan Ting?”
In their previous life, when the poison had not yet spread throughout her body, Yan Zhujun had come to see her with a pretense of concern. While she was half-conscious, she heard Yan Zhujun telling Ling Hua that they had found news of Yan Ting.
“You’ve always…” Yan Jiyue looked at her with deep emotion.
“Enough. I need to go in now. After the examination, I will make the news of our divorce public. As for whether you can find Yan Ting before those relatives make their move, that depends on your luck,” Su Mu said.
If Yan Ting was found, Yan Jiyue wouldn’t be forced to marry. He might even have the right to choose his own marriage. Perhaps he could successfully marry Shen Yuxue, whom he had always deeply loved. Naturally, he would no longer bother her.
She had intended to enter the examination hall holding the umbrella, but seeing Yan Jiyue drenched, she ultimately couldn’t harden her heart. She handed the umbrella to him and ran into the rain herself.
“Young Master, the Young Madam has already entered the examination hall. Let’s go back,” Xiao Ping came to his side.
Yan Jiyue gripped the umbrella handle, which still retained Su Mu’s body warmth, feeling like he was holding a small sun, melting his bones.
“Go back and pass a message to Dad,” Yan Jiyue whispered in Xiao Ping’s ear.
Xiao Ping was extremely shocked, never having imagined that the Young Mistress might still be alive.
“Then… What about you, Young Master?”
Yan Jiyue held the umbrella, standing quietly in the rain, soft willow branches sliding over his shoulders.
“I’ll wait for her here.”
They had missed each other for ten years. Now, he didn’t want to miss a single moment of being able to stand together with Su Mu.
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*Spotlight on Finished Novel Translations*
The Merman is a Love-Obsessed Brain (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: Male lead chases female lead. The male lead’s love is a bit sick, an invincible love brain.
Synopsis
During a voyage at sea, Jiang Yang accidentally captures a merman.
Servant: I heard that mermen are fierce and brutal.
Jiang Yang looks at the merman obediently rubbing her palm like a puppy: “You call this fierce and brutal?”
Servant: I heard that mermen have no human nature.
Jiang Yang looks at the merman with wet puppy eyes, obsessively calling her ‘A Yang’ like a childish infant: “You call this having no human nature?”
With great difficulty, she releases the merman back into the sea and returns to shore.
Who would have thought that in less than half a month, the merman, who should have been freely wandering in the South China Sea, would shed his scales, endure the pain of losing his tail, transform into human legs, and come ashore to find her?
He kneels at her feet, rubbing her palm, with merman tears rolling down: “A Yang, don’t abandon me.”
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Camilla Helena
Yan Jiyue, eu realmente não consigo te odiar, mas espero que sofra um pouco mais antes de talvez for agraciado com perdão 🥺