CHAPTER 519: CHAPTER 509: ONE DAY I’LL BURY A FEW SKY-SHATTERING BOMBS AND BLOW UP THE SUI COURTYARD

The height of summer is the most humid and sultry.

At noon, the ladies of the household were all in the main courtyard.

Dowager Cui, advanced in her years, feared the chill and thus dared not use too much ice indoors.

She barely ate a few bites before putting down her chopsticks. Her poor appetite recently made her appear significantly thinner.

Cui Xuan, seeing this, urged: "Mother-in-law, perhaps you should eat a bit more."

"It’s so hot that I feel unbearably uncomfortable and distressed, how can I have any appetite?"

Glancing at Qiao Si and Shen Hua, Dowager Cui smiled: "It’s tough on you all, enduring the fierce sun to join me for a meal."

Especially Shen Hua, with her delicate constitution, not able to withstand the heat, her exquisite small face flushed, sweat lingering on her forehead.

Just looking at her stirred feelings of pity.

Shen Hua suddenly had an idea.

"Grandmother, would you consider going to the summer resort west of the suburbs?"

Upon this mention, Cui Xuan found it feasible.

"Father has gone to Jiangnan to meet friends and discuss poetry, he’ll likely be away for a month. Yun has been so busy these days, leaving early and returning late, barely to be seen. Coincidentally, the Imperial College is closed for ten days, so we could all go there together with Rong."

Shen Hua nodded eagerly, like a pecking chick. Even though she had been married for over four months, she still behaved like an unmarried girl sequestered in her boudoir.

Dowager Cui, with her silver hair, wearing a bodhi seed forehead patch and her hair twisted up in a ’pan fu’ bun, donned a cinnabar-colored Shu Brocade robe with embroidered flowers and birds, epitomizing dignified grace.

She hesitated for a moment before waving her hand dismissively.

"As for me, I’m too lazy to fuss about it. But you all should go out more. In this prime of your life, why spend your days keeping me company?"

Once she had made up her mind, she was likely beyond persuasion.

Qiao Si started to speak, but then looked towards Shen Hua.

Shen Hua lived up to expectations: "Grandmother might not know, but these past few days, Nan Tai Madam has been boasting everywhere about her good daughter-in-law. As if nobody else has a filial daughter-in-law, right?"

Cui Rong, who had just entered, immediately came running over to tattle.

"That Nan Tai Madam is truly insufferable. Last time she reprimanded Second Aunt for her extravagant ways, only knowing how to recklessly spend silver."

Shen Hua: !!!

So annoying.

"She even said of our great-grandmother that you don’t establish rules and don’t have the air of a mother-in-law. Therefore, grandmother is lax and has taught others to simply indulge the young ones recklessly, without rules there’s no square or circle, sooner or later this household will be ruined. How laughable, she acts as if she controls everything, but did she even spend a copper coin on it?"

Dowager Cui’s face darkened.

Cui Xuan furrowed her brows.

Qiao Si was equally caught off guard.

She oversaw the household and was well aware that ice was pricier than gold.

Yet what the Marquis Yangling Mansion did not lack was ice.

But things were different for the Nan Residence; it was as hot as a steamer basket. Unfortunately, the Nan Family didn’t own a summer resort. They had to either buy ice or simply fan themselves to endure the heat.

Shen Hua, however, smiled slightly: "I’ve visited that summer resort before, it’s situated alongside a mountain, next to a clear pond, perfect for fishing and boating, and there’s even a patch for growing melons. Pick them and chill them in a spring overnight, and they’re just as good as those kept in ice."

"Let’s take a chef from the First-tier Sky with us."

"Right, and we should also invite a troupe of entertainers there."

Cui Xuan: ...

You’re not planning on coming back, are you?

She didn’t mention it, but upon hearing this, the play-loving Dowager Cui was indeed inclined.

Then she heard Shen Hua gently say this.

"We’re not in a rush. When we depart, let’s take a few extra turns through the streets and start by strolling in front of the South Mansion."

With the matter settled, the servants began packing the luggage.

After nightfall, just as Cui Yun returned, he found that half of the room had been cleared out.

Cui Yun took off his official clothes and looked steadily at his wife: "You’re planning to go to Fengzhou?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Hua got excited: "We’re going to the summer resort."

Cui Yun furrowed his brows upon hearing this: "I’m afraid I might not be able to spare the time in the near future."

"Who asked you to come along?"

Shen Hua was exceptionally arrogant as she stood up and moved closer.

Only to discover she was shorter than Cui Yun.

So she stood on tiptoe, yet she was still shorter than him.

Without hesitation, the girl stood on a chair, finally looking down at him from a height.

"After all, in such a massive Marquis Mansion, tomorrow you’ll tragically be left here alone."

She was reveling in his misfortune.

And she had her reasons, having harbored quite some resentment towards Cui Yun these days.

In the past, when the days were hot, she would hide in her room filled with ice, so cold that she had to wear an extra layer of clothing.

Now, Cui Yun had decided to ration the ice, limiting its use each day.

If she used up her allotment during the day, she would suffer from the heat at night.

So she pleaded with Cui Yun, saying every nice word she could think of to persuade him.

To no avail.

Disliking the heat, she wouldn’t let him near her, but when Cui Yun fetched ice for her,

Her eyes welled up with tears, her gaze empty. After the high tide of emotion, she shivered from the afterglow, not forgetting to press down on his waist to prevent him from pulling out.

Once she’d regained her strength, she sniffled and asked Cui Yun to support her lower back with a pillow, softly telling him, "This makes it easier to conceive."

Hence, they went at it once again.

But after they finished, Cui Yun heartlessly took the ice away again.

That night, she was so hot that she couldn’t sleep, drenched in sweat.

The girl weakly covered Cui Yun’s chest with her hand: "Your wife, I’m afraid..."

Cui Yun took her pulse: "Your pulse is strong, and you’re quite healthy."

"But I could die."

"That kind?"

Cui Yun was unmoved; instead, he looked deeper and said, "You say that every time we make love."

"But here I am, still fine."

His hand was still on her waist, but the girl fiercely threw it off, throwing a tantrum.

"Then you! Stay away from me!"

"Be reasonable."

He chuckled: "After all, I still have to suffer with you."

Shen Hua looked over; he seemed refreshed, unlike her with such delicate sensitivities.

In her annoyance, she gulped down a large cup of cool tea, feeling frustrated, and headed to the small courtyard, pacing back and forth.

Cui Yun, wearing a loose robe, leaned against the doorframe, just watching her.

At times like these, the girl acted least rationally as if she were a small beast denied sugar, abruptly threatening with a fierce wave, "Sooner or later, I will bury several Sky-shattering Bombs and blow up Sui Courtyard."

"Fine, before you bury them, come to bed with me first."

Shen Hua was even angrier.

Because of this, the next day she even went to see Xie Xun.

But before she could explain her purpose, Xie Xun’s eyes were still fixed on the military books.

"Regarding this matter, Cui Yun mentioned it to me, and I agreed already. Aunt Sun had said that you never listen to her, openly defying her words. She said you should eat less ice, yet you sneak it; she said to have fewer pots of ice in your room, you agree but then forget. Your brother supports what’s good for you."

She couldn’t believe it.

Xie Xun rarely turned her down, even saying, "Every time things don’t go your way, you threaten to blow up courtyards. If you still have such thoughts, I can indeed fetch the Sky-shattering Bombs for you. Don’t worry the elders. If you have to bury them, bury them at Prince Mansion, and do as you please there."

As these thoughts played in her mind, the cold and noble Shen Hua humbly bowed her body. She patted Cui Yun’s shoulder: "You’re grown up now; you have to learn to stand alone."

Cui Yun slightly lifted his eyelids.

"Shen Hua."

"Hmm?"

"If I’m not mistaken, I’m only going to the Ministry of Justice, away for just one day, not half a year."

Shen Hua glared sideways: "If you don’t return today, there will be nothing left here tomorrow."