TPGA - 58

Chapter 58: Rain

“You’re oversimplifying things.” Yunyi sighed. “Your mother is determined to see you marry a woman from a prestigious family. How could she possibly accept me? If I were to marry into your family, I’d endure suffering, but worse, my father would suffer too. He worked so hard to raise me and treats me as his own. How could I let him live in distress during his twilight years?”

“No, Meixue, I’ll protect you and Uncle Wu. I won’t let either of you suffer. If worst comes to worst...” He hesitated for a moment, then tightly gripped Yunyi’s hand. “If it truly becomes unbearable, we can move out and live separately. That way, everything will be fine. Meixue, believe me—I’ll do everything in my power to make you happy!”

Yunyi could see that he genuinely loved Meixue. If Meixue were still alive and his mother weren’t so overbearing, they would indeed make a wonderful couple. Unfortunately...

“I know you’re a good person, but... I’m sorry.” With those three words, she withdrew her hand from his grasp, ignoring the look of reluctance in his eyes.

Du Ruhui, his chest aching, trembled as he asked, “Won’t you give me even the slightest chance?”

Yunyi sighed. “Rather than enduring decades of pain, it’s better to cut ties now while the wounds are still shallow. It’s better for both you and me.”

Unable to contain his sorrow, Du Ruhui shouted, “No! I refuse to let go!”

His voice drew curious glances from passersby, who stared at the two of them. Du Ruhui ignored their looks and fixed his gaze on Yunyi, pleading, “Meixue, can you give me one more chance? Please?”

Yunyi sighed in exasperation. “I’ve already made myself clear. I will never step into the Du family’s door, nor will I marry you. From now on… let’s not see each other again. Don’t follow me anymore!”

This time, Du Ruhui didn’t chase after her. He simply stared unblinkingly at Yunyi’s retreating figure until his eyes grew sore and he could no longer bear it. Painfully closing his eyes, a single transparent teardrop fell to the ground, followed by more as the rain began to fall.

“It’s raining!” someone shouted. Pedestrians hurriedly quickened their pace, trying to reach home before the rain grew heavier. Only Du Ruhui remained standing there, drenched by the increasingly heavy downpour.

Just then, Madam Du appeared before him, with the steward holding an umbrella over her and another umbrella in hand. “It’s raining. Come back with me, son.”

Seeing the umbrella the steward held out to him, Du Ruhui made no move to take it. Madam Du sighed and said, “How long do you plan to stay angry with me? You must understand, no matter what I do—”

Before she could repeat her earlier words, Du Ruhui cut her off. “I’m not going back.”

Madam Du froze, then scolded, “Have you gone mad? If you’re not going home, where do you think you’re going?”

Du Ruhui wiped the tears from his face and said, “The city gates haven’t closed yet. I’m leaving for Luoyang now to prepare for the imperial examination. By the time I return, I hope you’ll have come to your senses.”

“We agreed you’d leave tomorrow! Besides, you haven’t prepared anything, and it’s raining. How can you possibly travel like this?” As she spoke, she reached out to pull him. “Be a good boy and listen to your mother. Let’s go home and talk things through. Look at you—you’re soaked! Hurry and change your clothes so you don’t catch a cold.”

Du Ruhui shook off her hand and said coldly, “My mind is made up. Please inform Father that I’ll write once I reach Luoyang.”

This time, Madam Du realized he wasn’t speaking out of anger and grew frantic. “No! It’s thousands of miles to Luoyang, and you don’t even have any money with you. How do you expect to get there?”

“I’ll figure something out. You don’t need to worry about me.” With that, he turned and walked away into the rain, leaving Madam Du stomping her feet in frustration.

The steward, at a loss, asked, “Madam, what should we do? Should we really let the young master leave like this?”

Madam Du gritted her teeth. “He’s trying to force me into letting that wild girl into our family. Never!”

“But Young Master—” Before the steward could finish, Madam Du raised her voice over the rain. “No matter what you do, I will never agree to your marriage with that wild girl. Never!”

She had waited so many years for the Du family to climb higher, to approach the illustrious true Du family. She would never give up this opportunity for someone like Wu Meixue. Du Ruhui was her own flesh and blood; sooner or later, he would understand her intentions and realize that the choice she had made for him was the best one.

Du Ruhui heard her words but said nothing. He didn’t turn back, only continued walking forward in the rain. As he passed by a letter-writing stall, he suddenly stopped, then turned and approached the middle-aged scholar who was packing up his things. “I want to write a letter.”

“Sorry, I’ve already closed for the day. Please come back tomorrow,” the scholar replied. Though the stall had some shelter from the rain, it wasn’t very effective. Drops of rain occasionally fell, wetting the papers the scholar hadn’t yet packed away.

As soon as the scholar finished speaking, a small piece of silver, about the size of a pinky finger, was placed on the table. The scholar’s eyes widened—normally, writing a letter earned only a few coins. This piece of silver was worth hundreds of coins.

Realizing this, the scholar quickly wiped the rainwater off the table with his sleeve, retrieved a clean sheet of paper from underneath, and placed it in a spot less exposed to the rain. Then, he took out his brush and inkstone and said obsequiously, “What would you like written, sir?”

“I’ll write it myself. Just deliver it to the Wu family in Changshi Lane for me.” At Du Ruhui’s request, the scholar asked, “Do you mean Wu Laosan’s house? There’s only one Wu family in Changshi Lane.”

“Yes.” As Du Ruhui spoke, he picked up the brush and began writing. The scholar shielded the paper from the rain blowing in, but despite his efforts, several spots of ink bled due to the water. Fortunately, it didn’t affect the overall message.

After finishing, Du Ruhui handed the letter to the scholar and instructed, “Remember, you must personally deliver this to Uncle Wu and tell him that this letter is for Meixue.”

The scholar eagerly replied, “Understood, sir. As soon as the rain stops, I’ll deliver it immediately. You can count on me.”

Du Ruhui nodded, left the stall, and continued walking toward the city gate. Seeing him walk off in the rain, the scholar felt a pang of pity. Remembering he had an old umbrella, he called out, “Sir, I have an extra umbrella. Take it to shield yourself from the rain!”

He called out several times, but Du Ruhui didn’t turn back. Finally, the scholar gave up, shaking his head. “What a strange man!”

Meanwhile, halfway through her journey, Yunyi was caught in the sudden downpour. She had initially thought to wait it out, hoping the rain would ease, but instead, it grew heavier with no sign of stopping anytime soon. It seemed the rain would continue for a while.