Chapter 33 Secret love for brother-in-law
Yan Qing, her secretly in love with her brother-
in-law, really wanted Jiang Weiren to marry her, but perhaps only she knew the reason why she did so.
She didn't know what he was thinking. He said that night that he would never let her go again.
But what if you don’t let go?
He said that he worked hard to get so close to her, but he was wrong. The distance between them now is farther than ever before.
Her tears were for the late emperor, and she was ashamed of the late emperor because she still had feelings for Jiang Weiren. This was something she could not deceive herself about.
She also tried her best to trick herself into forgetting the past, and also tricked herself into thinking that what happened that night in Xiuling never happened. She clutched her heart and covered her eyes, thinking that she would not think about it or see it.
But why is it so easy? Some memories, the more you pretend to forget, the clearer they become.
Then maybe... it would be nice to wait until he marries someone else. Thinking like this, he thought about fulfilling the wish of the Duke's Palace and letting Mu Wenling marry him, and even thought about issuing a decree to grant the marriage.
That night he stood in front of the jade steps. He said that he had only done one thing in his life that he regretted deeply, but she did not dare to listen anymore. She was afraid, afraid that he would give her a little hope, afraid that she would have thoughts that she shouldn't have, and afraid that some things that she had extinguished would be rekindled.
After that night, Yan Qing never asked about Jiang Weiren's marriage. Later, Duke Qi made a marriage arrangement for his daughter, and even the Mu family gave up the idea of marrying their daughter to Jiang Weiren.
Chongning told her this news personally when he came to the palace. Chongning said that Mr. Jiang and the Duke of Guo met in private. Although she didn't say it clearly, Yan Qing understood that it must be Jiang Weiren who personally told the Mu family to give up this idea. of.
As the adopted daughter of the Empress Dowager Ciyi, the Queen Mother of Qinghe County, and the Qianqiu Festival of the Empress Dowager Ciyi, Xue Shifang was naturally also in the Yaohua Palace, and she also heard the remarks of Yan Qing and the Empress Dowager Cao.
Their intention was to choose another wife for Jiang Weiren. It was known in Beijing that Jiang Weiren had refused to marry another man for many years because he missed his wife. Xue Shiying always thought that Jiang Weiren would remain single all his life for the sake of his sister.
But that night in the palace, Queen Mother Shengyi said that she would take the initiative and find a beautiful woman to accompany him, but Jiang Weiren did not refuse to refute.
After that night, Jiang Weiren stayed in the duty room of Wenyuan Pavilion for several days. Xue Shiying had been looking forward to seeing him finally return to Jiang Mansion.
"Brother-in-law, you don't like going home less and less." Xue Shiying complained with a frown.
"There are a lot of things going on in Wenyuan Pavilion. It's a hassle to come back late at night. I
'll stay in the duty room to facilitate your Majesty's summons." Xue Shiying snorted coldly and said: "Your Majesty has not yet taken charge of the government, so why would he come to you to discuss state affairs so late? "
Jiang Weiren usually treats her like his own sister. Although he is not doting on her, he is also a bit indulgent, so he has developed her temperament to speak freely in front of him.
"Why do you care about this?"
Xue Shiying looked at him, gritted his teeth, and asked in a low voice: "Brother-in-law, are you... going to get a wife?"
Jiang Weiren was startled, stared at her and asked: "You ask this " What are you doing?"
"That night in Yaohua Palace, the two queen mothers said they would make the decision for you. Otherwise, the two queen mothers and your majesty would issue a decree to marry..." She looked at Jiang Weiren, her eyes flashing, as if she was thinking. She knew his answer, but was afraid of his answer, "Brother-in-law, if that were the case, would you marry another person?"
Jiang Weiren said lightly: "If the palace really issued an order, could it be possible to resist it?"
He did not say anything more. He was too talkative, but he knew in his heart that neither the two Queen Mothers nor His Majesty would issue such a decree unless he took the initiative to ask for the marriage.
After saying that, Jiang Weiren went straight to the study. Xue Shiying stood there, as if she had not recovered, motionless, her hands in her sleeves clenched tightly, as if she was lost in thought.
That night, Jiang Weiren did not return to Wenyuan Pavilion. He read in the study for a while and then went back to his room to rest.
The house he has now was bought with Shi Fang when he first came to Beijing. Later, the late emperor tried to give him a house many times, but he refused, saying that he was nostalgic. The house is not too small, but compared to the title of the chief minister of the cabinet, it always seems a little less impressive.
It suddenly started raining at night, there was a faint thunder outside, and the branches and leaves in the courtyard were blown by the wind. The door was slowly pushed open, the creaking sound was muffled by the sound of wind and rain outside, and the sound of footsteps that followed was even more difficult to detect.
Jiang Weiren had always been a light sleeper. When he was half asleep, he opened his eyes and suddenly saw a faint candlelight coming into the room. He sat up and looked along the light source, and saw a woman in plain clothes holding a candlestick.
In the pitch-black night, only the dim light of a single candlelight illuminated her features, which made her eyes a little blurry and she could only make a general appearance.
"Shi Fang..." He murmured, thinking for a moment that he was in a dream.
The woman didn't say anything, she just put the candlestick on the table by the window, and then walked towards him. Jiang Weiren was in a daze for a moment, thinking that it was Xue Shifang who was in his dream.
He has always felt guilty about his late wife, but in the years since her death, her soul has never fallen asleep. The light-colored skirt worn by the person in front of her was clearly Xue Shifang's old clothes when she was alive.
It was dark outside and the candlelight in the house was low. Before Jiang Weiren could see her face clearly, she had already stepped forward and threw herself into his arms.
It was a trembling body, weak and boneless, climbing in his arms like a vine.
Jiang Weiren suddenly woke up. This was not Xue Shifang. Shi Fang had always been respectful and cautious in front of him. The two of them had always treated each other with respect, so how could they behave like this.
He pushed the woman in his arms away, and looked at the dim candlelight. Under the light was a face stained with tears, with a desperate obsession in his eyes, looking at him in confusion and dreaming.
That face is really similar to Xue Shifang's. Only when you look closer can you tell the difference. Xue Shifang is more beautiful and elegant, while she is more bright and charming.
"Shi Ying?" Jiang Weiren said in shock.
Xue Shiying raised her head and looked at him with concern, her lips moved slightly, and finally she called out sadly: "Brother-in-law..."
Jiang Weiren suddenly pushed her further, lifted the quilt, stood up, and pulled away. After getting away from her, he turned his back to her and said coldly: "What are you doing here?"
Xue Shifang felt even sadder when she saw his actions. She knew what it meant to come today, but since she had Decided to take this step and would rather persevere to the end.
She leaned in again, reached out to hug him from behind, buried her head on his back, and said with a crying voice: "Brother-in-law, look at me, look at me..."
Jiang Weiren's face was completely dark. After coming down, he used force on his hands to move her arms away. His force was so strong that she fell backwards and fell to the ground.
Jiang Weiren looked at her solemnly, looked at her and said coldly: "Do you know what you are doing?"
"I know," Xue Shiying lowered his head and murmured, "You are going to get a wife, and there will be people around you. " Another woman appears, I know... some of those daughters from aristocratic families want to marry into our house, will you choose one of them, right?"
She smiled, with an expression on her face as if she was in some kind of fascination. In the barrier, "Is any of them okay for you?"
Xue Shiying raised her head and looked at him stubbornly, "Then why can't it be me?"
Jiang Weiren looked at her in shock, "Nonsense ! Do you know what you are talking about?"
He was really a little shocked. When she followed Shi Fang to Beijing with him, she was still a little girl. Because she was Shi Fang's sister, he loved and indulged her. Later, Shi Fang passed away and asked him repeatedly before leaving. He wanted to take good care of Shiying for himself, but in fact, he would do it even if she didn't say it.
In these years, there has been no woman in his back house, not even a maid to serve him personally. Xue Shiying is the only female family member in the family. She also gradually grew up, and when she had hair extensions, she became a beautiful young girl. Looking at her, he felt that she had finally lived up to Shi Fang's trust during her lifetime.
Apart from this, there is no other thought.
For him, there is only one different woman in this world, and only that one person can touch his affection, making him toss and turn around day and night, thinking about her uneasily. But this person is neither Xue Shifang nor Xue Shiying.
He regards Xue Shiying as his own sister, and he has always said this with a clear conscience.
"I know," Xue Shiying replied in a daze, "My brother-in-law will always marry again, and I will eventually get married, but I don't want to marry anyone in this world, except you, my brother-in-law..."
"You are confused," he said calmly He said, "Get up and go back to your room. I just pretend that nothing happened today."
He wanted to stop her thoughts. Xue Shiying suddenly raised his eyes, tears streaming down his cheeks, " Brother-in-law, do you know that after my sister died, I hoped that I would get haircut soon? I am no longer a child, I know what it means to like someone...
"What I hope for every moment is that you can Look at me again, how am I worse than those women outside?
Jiang Weiren's expression finally relaxed a little. He sighed and whispered: "Since your sister left, you have no elder relatives around you. You have mistaken your admiration for longing. "
"You're right. You're not a child anymore, and my brother-in-law can't stay with you forever. Don't worry, I will choose a good husband for you and take care of you in the future." "
I don't want it!" She shouted excitedly , was aroused by his words and lost control of his emotions.
Only Xue Shiying understood how she felt when she looked at him every day over the years. She hoped that she could get the hairpin earlier so that he would no longer treat her as a child, but she was afraid of getting the hairpin, fearing that he would push her further away and marry someone else.
"Why not for the rest of your life," she sobbed and asked him stubbornly, "Brother-in-law, have you forgotten how you promised your sister?"
"I promised Shi Fang that I would protect you for the rest of my life, but even if you are married, , Brother-in-law will also protect you and your husband."
Xue Shiying threw herself at his feet, grabbed his robe, and looked up at him, "Brother-in-law, if you miss your sister, you can treat me as her. , you see, I look like her, I am willing...I am willing to be her shadow. You don't want to marry anyone else, please let me stay with you, okay?"
Jiang Weiren frowned and saw her sitting on the ground in thin clothes, with a look on her face. Tears stained his face, he finally couldn't bear it anymore and bent down to hold her arm, trying to help her up.
"Your sister is your sister, and you are you. How can I not understand the truth that people cannot be resurrected after death? Her soul in heaven also hopes that you can marry the person you want. When your brother-in-law enters the palace tomorrow, let Empress Dowager Ciyi do it for you. You make the decision."
After all, he is a man, and it is not easy for him to handle marriage and leave matters in his own home. There have been people coming to propose marriage in the past two years, but those people are not what she wants, and even Jiang Weiren finds it distasteful. Since she was the adopted daughter of Empress Dowager Ciyi, it was naturally most appropriate to ask Empress Dowager Ciyi to make the decision.
His meaning was clear in every word. Even if he wanted to find a marriage for her, it would be equivalent to rejecting any thoughts of hers. Xue Shiying thought that he didn't have herself in his heart, but she never thought that he would be so calm and decisive.
Her face turned pale and she was so desperate that she actually laughed and asked him murmured: "Isn't it true that even sister... doesn't have any weight in your heart? Even if she died for you, you still pretend to be that way." Personally?" After
hearing the last sentence, Jiang Weiren's face turned cold. "What are you talking about?"
Who is that person... You must not remember that one night you came back drunk and made a noise when you came home, which woke me up.
"I saw my sister helping you back. At that time, you kept chanting a name. Those two words...my sister heard it, and I heard it too..."
She looked at him with hatred and asked: "Until now, you still pretend to be her, right? "Jiang Weiren raised his eyes calmly, and now there was no emotion or anger on his face. He seemed to be saying something ordinary, and his tone was calm but with a hint of firmness, "Yes. "
He walked to the side and took his robe from the coat rack. After putting it on, he turned around and said to her: "I'm going to the study. Think carefully about what I say. "
After saying that, he walked out of the inner room. As soon as the door outside opened, the sound of wind and rain became clearer, and his figure quickly disappeared into the night outside the door.