Chapter 55: Persuasion

Su Mu climbed the stairs, finally seeing a small door at the end of the narrow, dark stairway.

“This is where Jiyue lives,” Yan Ting said softly, wanting to make one last attempt to persuade Su Mu to turn back, but ultimately not speaking out.

She knew that if Su Mu were to relent now and say she was willing to accept Yan Jiyue, he would certainly immediately abandon thoughts of becoming a monk and return home with Su Mu, even without any official status.

But as a woman herself, Yan Ting knew well that once a woman’s heart has changed, not even ten oxen could pull her back. Moreover, the Yan family had fallen from grace, while Su Mu was flourishing, with a newly wedded beautiful young man by her side. They were still in the honeymoon phase, sweet as sugar. Who would want to look back and take in their former humble husband?

Even if Su Mu were willing, would her husband be? No man would willingly hand over his wife-master to another. He might smile and call him brother on the surface, but privately he would surely think of countless ways to torment him to death.

She understood her brother’s temperament to some extent. He was no match for Xie Yi at all. If he could have bested Xie Yi, things wouldn’t have come to this.

“Boss, are you there? I’m here to buy flatbread!” Someone suddenly called from downstairs.

Yan Ting pulled herself back, quickly responding: “Coming, coming!”

“I’ll leave Jiyue to you,” Yan Ting said hurriedly, turning sideways to run down the stairs. The stairs were so steep and the lighting so poor that Yan Ting slipped on one step, fortunately catching herself quickly to avoid tumbling down.

Su Mu stood before the door, composing herself before knocking: “Yan Jiyue.”

The previously silent room suddenly erupted with noise. The door was flung open, and a gaunt figure emerged. The dim light within the room obscured half his face, the deep contours adding a touch of desolate and haggard beauty. Seeing Su Mu, Yan Jiyue’s eyes filled with incredulous joy: “A’Mu.”

He instinctively reached out to take her hand, but Su Mu stepped back half a pace, descending one step to avoid him.

Yan Jiyue’s excited hand paused in midair for a moment as he caught sight of Xie Yi standing behind Su Mu.

Xie Yi said nothing, not even showing a hint of expression, yet he looked at Yan Jiyue with the posture of a victor. Yan Jiyue dejectedly withdrew his hand.

This was Su Mu’s first time seeing Yan Jiyue since her marriage. He looked even more haggard than on her wedding day, as if some force was gradually draining the strength from his body, wearing him down bit by bit over time.

Through his emaciated frame, one could glimpse the attic where he resided. It was a dark attic without windows, pitch black with nothing visible. Only when the door opened did a thin sliver of light from outside barely bring in some illumination.

The space inside was extremely narrow and cramped, with only an ordinary wooden bed and a small stool. The ceiling was severely lacking in height; even in the area where Yan Jiyue’s bed was placed, one had to lower their head when sitting up, or else risk bumping their forehead.

Such a place was smaller than the space where Yan Jiyue used to keep his clothes. Once the door closed, it became even more like a prison cell or dark chamber, without a ray of light to be seen. How had he managed to stay in such an environment?

Su Mu thought perhaps he couldn’t bear the enormous change in status that had happened overnight, afraid to go out and face people’s mockery, so he used this method to isolate and punish himself.

This was his own affair, and Su Mu didn’t want to interfere. She got straight to the point: “I heard from your sister that you want to become a monk.”

In the dark, damp, narrow space, only a hand’s width of light shone through a crack in the wall, falling on the other half of Yan Jiyue’s face. He lowered his gaze, the fine dust floating in the air settling on his eyelashes, drawn by the light: “Are you concerned about me?”

Su Mu didn’t answer his question, instead advising: “I know there are now Taoist temples that only accept men, but most of them have unstable incense offerings, and even…”

Just as in “Dream of the Red Chamber” where many wealthy families arranged for their private lovers to stay in temples and Taoist abbeys, the same was true in this female-dominated world. It was not the otherworldly paradise free from worldly troubles that Yan Jiyue imagined.

“They even require the monks to visit wealthy merchant families. You wouldn’t be able to lower yourself to that, nor could you endure the hidden humiliation behind it. Don’t go. Just stay at home and behave yourself.” She didn’t speak too bluntly, fearing he might lose his temper again and cause a big scene.

After all, in Su Mu’s memory, Yan Jiyue was just like that – stubborn, domineering, and unreasonable.

She figured he probably hadn’t listened to what she just said, so she continued: “If you don’t believe me, I can ask someone to inquire at a few nearby Taoist temples.”

Yan Jiyue shook his head.

Seeing him shake his head, Su Mu thought he was still sticking to his own views. Just as she was about to speak, she heard Yan Jiyue say in a weak voice: “Alright.”

Su Mu looked at him with some surprise, not expecting him to listen so quickly. She raised her eyes to find Yan Jiyue also looking at her, her reflection in his dark eyes, his pupils trembling slightly as if trying to capture her entire being.

Suddenly, he smiled, the pale lips lifting in a faint curve, as if he had seen through her thoughts: “Didn’t A’Mu say she doesn’t want me to go? Then I won’t go.”

Yan Jiyue’s rare agreeableness left Su Mu at a loss for how to respond. She coughed lightly: “It’s good that you’ve thought it through. Your sister has been worrying day and night about you. Don’t keep wallowing in despair. Pull yourself together and help your sister and brother-in-law.”

Yan Jiyue nodded, his pale fingers gripping the doorframe tightly, the blue veins on the back of his hand betraying the emotions he couldn’t express at the moment: “…Alright.”

Su Mu hadn’t expected everything to go so smoothly. It seemed that after this incident, Yan Jiyue had changed a lot. If only he had been like this earlier.

“Well then, I’ll be going. You… take care of yourself.” Su Mu prepared to leave.

“Yan elder brother, there’s no hurdle that can’t be overcome. As long as the family stays together, things will surely get better,” Xie Yi, who had been silent until now, offered gentle encouragement as they were about to leave.

He stood in the shadowy area where that sliver of light couldn’t reach, his smile warm and pure.

Yan Jiyue pressed his lips tightly together, his phoenix eyes that were once filled with unrivaled pride no longer able to conceal the surging jealousy, looking at Xie Yi’s flaunting with resentment but powerless to do anything.

“Thank you for your kind words,” he said through gritted teeth.

“You’re welcome,” Xie Yi smiled, following Su Mu downstairs.

Su Mu carefully made her way down the stairs, passing by Yan Zhujun’s room on the second floor.

Yan Ting was busy with customers downstairs, while Feng’er was attending to Yan Zhujun, feeding him medicine spoon by spoon. Yan Zhujun kept his lips tightly sealed, refusing to drink. At this moment, Feng’er’s eyes no longer held the gentleness and kindness they showed when Yan Ting was around, replaced instead by disgust and ruthlessness.

The medicine in the bowl seemed freshly brewed, still steaming. He scooped up a spoonful, not bothering to blow on it to cool it down, and forcefully pried open Yan Zhujun’s teeth to pour it down his throat, cursing in a very low voice: “You old thing, burdening Sister Ting. Just die already, so she won’t have to work so hard.”

Yan Zhujun tried to push away the medicine bowl in his hand, the commotion alerting Yan Ting downstairs. She hurriedly ran up.

Feng’er demonstrated what could be called Oscar-level acting to Su Mu. He quickly squatted down, picking up the broken bowl pieces, the disgust and ruthlessness in his eyes disappearing in an instant, replaced by tears welling up and threatening to fall, looking extremely wronged.

“What happened? What’s going on?” Yan Ting asked.

Feng’er looked up, quickly wiping away his tears, presenting the image of a good son-in-law who had been mistreated by a vicious father-in-law but remained strong and enduring: “It’s nothing, Father is refusing to take his medicine, throwing a tantrum. I’ll go brew another dose…”

Yan Zhujun was so angry his face twisted… though it was already twisted to begin with. Unable to speak clearly, he could only mumble incoherently, forced to watch helplessly as Feng’er fabricated crimes against him. Yan Ting believed it, showing that Feng’er must have done this sort of thing many times before.

Yan Zhujun, who had lived a smooth life, had never suffered such indignity. His face alternated between shades of blue and white, a mix of shame and anger overwhelming him. It probably wouldn’t be long before he suffered a second stroke, which was likely Feng’er’s true goal.

Yan Ting was a typical filial daughter of ancient times. Though she dared not criticize her father, she certainly felt sorry for her husband. Combined with Feng’er’s superb acting, he had undoubtedly nailed the image of a good husband.

She pulled Feng’er out sympathetically, wiping away his tears. Then she smiled apologetically at Su Mu: “I’m sorry, my father has been emotionally unstable since falling ill. By the way, how is Jiyue? Did he listen to you?”

Su Mu said directly: “He agreed to me. He’s not planning to become a monk anymore.”

Yan Ting immediately breathed a sigh of relief: “That’s good, that’s good. I knew he would listen if you spoke to him.”

As the two walked out of the shop, Yan Ting insisted on giving them several flatbreads despite their protests. Unable to refuse, they could only accept.

After seeing off Su Mu and Xie Yi, Yan Ting took Feng’er’s hand and asked in a low voice: “When the medicine spilled earlier, did you get burned?”

Feng’er shook his head: “It’s fine, I’m used to it.”

“I’m sorry you have to go through this,” Yan Ting said guiltily.

“It’s not hard. It’s only natural for a son-in-law to serve his father-in-law. I just feel so bad thinking about how that spilled dose of medicine cost you half a month of early mornings and late nights to earn, and it was just wasted like that,” Feng’er said, starting to cry with a wronged expression.

Yan Ting felt both distressed and gratified. Her husband’s image instantly became more admirable in her eyes, and their relationship grew even more intimate.

On the way back, Su Mu recalled how different Yan Jiyue was from before and couldn’t help saying: “He has changed a lot.”

Xie Yi immediately became alert, narrowing his eyes as a cold glint flashed across them.

He smiled gently and said: “Yes, I think so too. The Yan family has suffered great changes, Yan Zhujun had a stroke, and Miss Yan has taken a husband. Yan elder brother’s position in the Yan family is now awkward. Recently, he also ruined his reputation by deliberately slandering Sister Mu, so no one dares to marry him. Naturally, he can’t be as arrogant as before.”

The implication was that Yan Jiyue’s change was out of necessity. If he were still as glorious as before, or if he regained his former glory, he would surely revert to his old ways.