Shang Yunruo asked curiously, "A cousin? Whose cousin?"
Chu Jinli still evaded the question, saying, "She... has a good relationship with Cousin Xiuyi."
Shang Yunruo was completely confused. "Cousin Xiuyi's cousin? Then she must be Aunt's niece. Shouldn't the He Mansion have its own quota?"
Facing her persistent questions, Chu Jinli cleared his throat and had to confess, "She's my cousin, Xue Ning'an. Her family background is not qualified to participate in the hunting. Since you have an extra quota, I thought I could take her with us."
Shang Yunruo's smile faded, and her expression turned solemn. "Xue Ning'an? The cousin who owes 60,000 taels of silver to our shop?"
Chu Jinli exclaimed, "What? Owing 60,000 taels!"
Hearing Chu Jinli's surprised tone, Shang Yunruo asked, "Husband, did you know that Xue Ning'an owes money?"
Chu Jinli gradually composed himself, took a deep breath, and stammered, "Y-yes, I knew."
He knew she had been in debt, and he had even allowed it. But he never expected that she had owed so much!
Shang Yunruo sensed something was wrong and asked, "Are you and she very close?"
"No." Chu Jinli instinctively denied.
After a moment, he explained, "It's just that her family has fallen into decline. My aunt asked me to take good care of her. She has a good relationship with Cousin Xiuyi."
Shang Yunruo didn't understand why he kept emphasizing her good relationship with Chu Xiuyi. She picked up the teacup and took a sip of tea, saying, "Since you're not very close, let's stop her credit from now on. If she needs any jewelry, she can come to me. As her cousin-in-law, I will never treat her badly."
Chu Jinli was speechless.
He suddenly felt that Shang Yunruo had put him in a difficult position. But he had no reason to refute her words, so he could only silently agree.
After a moment of silence, Chu Jinli brought up the hunting matter again. "Do you think you can spare one quota for my cousin?"
Shang Yunruo said embarrassedly, "Husband, you know that other mansions only have three quotas. No matter how good my relationship with Rongyue is, I can't make too many exceptions."
Chu Jinli said, "Cousin-in-law doesn't even dine with Aunt and the others on weekdays. She doesn't like socializing. It would be just right for Ning'an to go."
Shang Yunruo frowned.
Mu Chunxi often played with them before she got married. She was a few years older than them. In Shang Yunruo's impression, she was a very free and straightforward big sister.
Why did she become so unsociable after getting married?
She asked directly, "Husband, how do you know that cousin-in-law won't go? I haven't even asked her yet."
Being repeatedly refused and questioned by her, Chu Jinli was filled with anger. If it were his cousin, she would surely follow his wishes without asking a single extra word.
Chu Jinli said impatiently, "Then give me a straight answer. Will you let my cousin go or not?"
Shang Yunruo frowned, thinking he was being unreasonable. She held back her temper and said, "Let me ask cousin-in-law first and then I'll reply to you, husband."
Chu Jinli suddenly stood up, his face darkening. "Fine, go and ask then. I won't have dinner in the mansion tonight."
Shang Yunruo sat upright. Her pride prevented her from standing up and chasing after him.
After Chu Jinli's footsteps faded away completely, she slowly asked Chuyao, "Was I being overbearing just now?"
Chuyao replied, "Is this considered overbearing? It seems that the Marquis is not treating the mistress like a wife but like a concubine or a servant."
——
She had missed another opportunity to get along with her husband. When Shang Yunruo went to pay respects to her grandmother the next day, her mood was not very good.
Grandmother keenly noticed this and rarely asked her to stay for a while. "How have you been getting along with Jinli recently?"
Shang Yunruo sighed slightly and told the truth. "Not well, Grandmother. Yunruo is useless. I can't win my husband's heart."
After a pause, Grandmother said, "Do you know why I punished Aunt He and made the decision for you that day?"
Shang Yunruo nodded. "Because Grandmother also knew that Aunt was embezzling money and emptying the Marquis Mansion."
Grandmother shook her head. "Do you think I just found out that day? If I wanted to punish her, I would have found a way to give you the power to manage the mansion earlier."
Shang Yunruo was confused. "Then why did Grandmother punish Aunt that day?"
Grandmother said, "Because I think you're different from the rumors. As the noble daughter of the Prime Minister's Mansion, you're willing to restrain your temper for Jinli. I can see that you want to live a good life with him. So I made the decision for you and got you the power to manage the mansion."
Shang Yunruo suddenly understood. What Grandmother meant was that she should restrain her temper even more, to the extent that Chu Jinli liked a weak and dependent woman.
Sure enough, Grandmother said, "Jinli doesn't respond well to toughness. If you're willing to restrain your temper further, I can help you once."
Shang Yunruo asked curiously, "How?"
Grandmother dismissed all the servants and whispered, "I'll ask him to stay in your room tonight. He will surely resist my coercion but won't dare to disobey. His attitude towards you won't be very good, but you can use some means to keep him."
Shang Yunruo's heart skipped a beat. She intuitively felt that the "means" Grandmother mentioned was the same as what the Princess of Pingyang had said.
Grandmother whispered in her ear, "Do you know Madam Lin from the Lingyue Tower?"
Shang Yunruo gasped.
Grandmother said, "If you succeed, I can protect you once, but only once. If you fail and get discovered, I won't be able to protect you. It's up to you to decide whether to do it or not."
After walking out of Grandmother's courtyard, Shang Yunruo felt a cold sweat breaking out on her back.
She knew that Grandmother and the Princess of Pingyang were right. It would be difficult for her and Chu Jinli to develop feelings in a short time.
Should she really use such a desperate measure?
She stopped in her tracks, held her breath, and stood there for a while. As if making a great decision, she said to Chuyao, "Disguise yourself and secretly go to the Lingyue Tower. Remember not to let anyone find out it's you."
——
After Chu Jinli returned to the mansion, he was called into Grandmother's room. The anger he had been holding in Grandmother's courtyard was vented as soon as he walked out.
"It must be that Shang Yunruo who went to Grandmother to complain! If she had talked to me nicely, I might have agreed. But since she used this method, I won't let her have her way!"
Liu Qian, who was following him, whispered, "But how can we explain it to the old lady?"
After venting his emotions, Chu Jinli calmed down. If he went to question her now, she would surely go to Grandmother to complain again. It would be unreasonable for him if the matter of not consummating the marriage became public.
He narrowed his eyes and suddenly thought of a way. He turned around and headed towards the Zhuoxi Courtyard.
In the Zhuoxi Courtyard, Chu Yan was kneading dough under the osmanthus tree in the last rays of the setting sun.
Yin Shan leaped onto the roof stepping on the osmanthus branches. The osmanthus flowers fluttered and covered the ground with golden yellow.
Chu Yan frowned and brushed off the osmanthus flowers on his shoulders. He continued kneading the dough and asked, "What did you find out?"
Yin Shan replied, "I followed Chuyao all the way and found that she went to the Lingyue Tower."
Chu Yan's expression froze. His eyes suddenly fixed. The scene in his dream reappeared in front of his eyes. He felt short of breath, and his heart sank.
Suddenly, Yin Shan disappeared in a flash. Chu Yan sensed that someone was coming.
A moment later, Chu Jinli walked in. He looked around to make sure there was no one in the courtyard and whispered, "Pretend to be me in front of Shang Yunruo one more time tonight."