Chapter 2: Xie Yi

Early the next morning, Su Mu went to Yan Jiyue’s Hantan courtyard with the divorce papers she had already written.

The Yan family was indeed a wealthy household in Juen City. The Hantan courtyard was filled with clear water, and pure white lotus flowers bloomed gracefully. In the early morning, crystal dew condensed on the petals, and the fragrant aroma was pleasing to the senses.

Unfortunately, it was all a façade. The Yan family had few direct descendants but many collateral branches. All the family members lived in one compound, and neither Yan Zhujun nor Yan Ting were good at management.

Those collateral branches had secretly sold off most of the Yan family’s good fields and estates. Only because the accounts were well-kept did Yan Zhujun not realize it himself.

It wasn’t until later that Su Mu discovered the problem, and then was forced by Yan Zhujun to engage in business to save the faltering Yan family.

Lost in memories, Su Mu had already arrived at the entrance of Hantan courtyard. She knocked on the door.

The doorkeeper Hua Lu opened the door while yawning: “Who is it?”

Seeing it was Su Mu, he directly rolled his eyes and said sarcastically: “Oh, isn’t this Su Mu? You were just driven away by the young master last night, and now you’re here to curry favor again early in the morning.”

Even though she was a married-in spouse, she was still a master of the Yan family. For a servant to dare speak to her like this, it was clear Yan Jiyue had instructed him to do so.

Back then, she had been eager to reconcile with Yan Jiyue, so she endured the servants’ provocations.

But after her rebirth, Su Mu’s temper was not so good anymore. Having lived the privileged life of the wealthiest, how could she still tolerate such humiliation?

She was about to deliver a resounding slap when she saw a group slowly approaching in the distance.

Su Mu’s eyes rolled, and she smiled humbly: “No matter what, I am still the young master’s wife-master…”

Su Mu’s retreat imperceptibly further encouraged Hua Lu’s arrogance. He impatiently interrupted her: “You really think that marrying into the Yan family makes you the young master’s wife-master?”

“If Su Mu is not Jiyue’s wife-master, then who is?” An elderly male voice came from behind.

The newcomer was Yan Jiyue’s father, the instigator of Su Mu and Yan Jiyue’s marriage.

“Greetings, Zhujun.” Hua Lu immediately knelt respectfully upon seeing Yan Zhujun.

At this moment, Su Mu felt no inner turmoil, but appearances still had to be maintained.

She turned around and curtsied slightly to Yan Zhujun: “Greetings, Zhujun.”

“What happened just now? You, a servant, dare to talk back to your master, how impertinent.” Yan Zhujun frowned as he spoke.

“Please forgive me, Zhujun. This slave knows his mistake.” Hua Lu knelt on the ground, repeatedly kowtowing.

When Su Mu had first married Yan Jiyue, the servants in the household all looked down on her, and Yan Jiyue had instructed the servants to humiliate her to her face. At such times, Yan Zhujun would always step in to speak up for her.

She had been so moved at the time, but later she realized that this father and son were just playing good cop, bad cop.

“You shouldn’t beg me for forgiveness, you should beg Su Mu. She is the young mistress of our Yan family, yet you dare to disrespect your superiors. Ling Hua, slap him ten times.” Yan Zhujun said sternly.

Sure enough, the act had begun again.

In the past, Su Mu didn’t want her life-saving benefactor to bear the name of a cruel master for her sake, so she would always plead for leniency for the servants. But this time, Su Mu decided to try something different.

“Zhujun, forget about the slapping. A man’s face is as precious as his life. How about twenty strokes with the cane instead?” Su Mu smiled gently.

“……”

Both Yan Zhujun and Hua Lu were stunned. They hadn’t expected Su Mu to pull this move. Hadn’t she always pleaded for mercy for the servants before?

“What’s wrong, is the punishment too light?” Su Mu raised her long, delicate eyebrows slightly.

“Ling Hua, didn’t you hear what the young mistress said? Twenty strokes with the cane.” Yan Zhujun spoke coldly.

“Yes.” Ling Hua dragged Hua Lu away, ignoring his pleas for mercy. Soon, Hua Lu’s screams could be heard.

“I didn’t expect the servants in Jiyue’s courtyard to be so unruly and disrespectful. You’ve been wronged.” Yan Zhujun said guiltily.

“There’s no question of being wronged or not. I’m just a married-in spouse after all.” Su Mu’s smile didn’t reach her eyes.

Yan Zhujun’s eyes narrowed slightly, keenly sensing that today’s Su Mu was different from usual.

“What married-in spouse? In my heart, I treat you like my own daughter. This Jiyue is really too inconsiderate. Come, let’s go in. I’ll definitely give him a good lesson today.”

“There’s no need. I have some matters to attend to soon.” Su Mu had come to Hantan courtyard to discuss divorce with Yan Jiyue, and she couldn’t let Yan Zhujun know about it. He would definitely not allow the two to divorce.

So Su Mu could only make excuses to slip away.

“Alright then, you go attend to your matters first. Tonight, I’ll definitely make Jiyue come apologize to you in person.” Yan Zhujun said.

Su Mu nodded. Fine, you keep acting. She had urgent matters to attend to.

“Zhujun, I feel the young mistress was a bit off today.” Ling Jing whispered in Yan Zhujun’s ear.

Yan Zhujun no longer disguised the false kindness in his eyes: “Perhaps it’s because that Hua Lu offended her. After all, even someone with a good temper is still a woman.”

Ling Jing nodded and advised: “We can’t push her too hard. We should ease up a bit during this time.”

The disrespectful attitude of the Yan family servants towards Su Mu was actually instructed and permitted by Yan Zhujun.

The servants’ attitude was like slaps to Su Mu’s face, crushing her self-esteem to the bottom. And Yan Zhujun was the one giving her dignity, helping her rebuild her confidence like a sweet date.

Only in this way would Su Mu be more grateful to the Zhujun.

Yan Zhujun nodded: “When you go back, tell those people to restrain themselves a bit during this period.”

“Yes.” Ling Jing paused for a moment, then asked: “Shall we still go to the young master’s place?”

Yan Zhujun looked at the blooming lotus flowers in Hantan courtyard and nodded: “Since we’re here, let’s go take a look.”

Although Yan Zhujun deliberately suppressed Su Mu, it was to prevent the married-in spouse’s ambitions from inflating and eventually turning against her master.

But he also sincerely wanted Yan Jiyue and Su Mu to be a loving couple.

After all, when he initially chose Su Mu, he had seriously examined her character. Not just any woman could marry into the Yan family.

Apart from being an orphan, Su Mu was young, and her looks were first-rate, no worse than that second young lady of the Shen family.

***

In This Life, I Won’t Be Foolish To Lose You Again (Female-dominant)

I’ve also read this one twice already. The female lead is kinda soft and gets embarrassed easily—not really my type, but the plot is definitely worth reading. Hurry up and read it, y’all!

Intro

When Shen Yuan encountered Su Jin again in his previous life, she had already become the Prime Minister of the current dynasty. As for him, the former top young master of the capital, he had long since fallen into the abyss, becoming a singer on a pleasure boat.

After a song ended, he was redeemed and sent to the Su Residence.

Su Jin respected and cherished him, gave him a roof over his head, and bestowed him with warmth. Shen Yuan fell deeper and deeper, but before he could express his feelings, Su Jin passed away.

Shen Yuan died to follow her in death, but instead, he returned to when he was fifteen years old.

At that time, he was not yet engaged, and Su Jin was just a poor scholar.

Shen Yuan gritted his teeth, casting aside all his pride, and thought of ways to coax and entice her every day.

The colder and more indifferent Su Jin was towards him, the more proactive Shen Yuan became.

He was not afraid of being mocked by the world, only wanting to marry his Wife-master early, to hold her hand and never let go for a lifetime.

[Note: This story will not specifically point out the male lead’s reincarnation time point; it’s all in the details. Whenever you feel that the male lead is acting strangely, he has most likely been reincarnated.]

Link to read the novel