Something's Wrong With My Wife

Chapter 115: Ode to the Plum Blossom

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

“Brother-in-law, come closer…”

Just as Luo Qingzhou was about to start reciting, the girl lowered her eyes and whispered to him.

Her face turned redder after she said those words.

Luo Qingzhou knew that Qin Weimo was afraid that others would hear her, so he did not think too much about it. He took a few steps closer and stood beside her, lowering his head.

Song Ruyue, who was sitting at the side, glanced at him. Her lips moved, but she held back her words.

She pricked up her ears.

Tang Jiasong, who was standing two steps away, had a stiff expression on his face. Just as he was about to move closer to Second Young Miss Qin to see her writing, Luo Qingzhou suddenly moved sideways and pushed him away with his back.

Tang Jiasong was completely baffled.

Song Ruyue glanced at them and the corners of her mouth twitched. “Brother-in-law, you can start reciting now…”

Qin Weimo could feel his hot breath landing on her face. It was so warm.

For some reason, every time this young man approached her, she felt as if her cold body was bathing in the warm sunlight. It was especially comfortable.

“When everything has faded they alone shine forth…

Luo Qingzhou lowered his head and muttered softly.

Qin Weimo came back to her senses and her eyes lit up. She dipped her brush into the ink and was about to write when Luo Qingzhou hurriedly said, “Wait.” Qin Weimo paused and looked up at him in confusion.

As the two of them were standing very closely, when she looked up, their faces were very close together.

Qin Weimo regarded him with a sparkling gaze. Even her ears were red, but she did not look away.

“Ahem!”

Song Ruyue gritted her teeth and reprimanded, “Hurry up and start writing!”

Qin Weimo lowered her head and gripped the brush tightly. Her thick eyelashes trembled slightly.

Luo Qingzhou was deep in thought.

He recalled the scene in the small courtyard in the evening. The setting sun, the plum blossom, and the beautiful woman. He recalled Second Young Miss Qin’s melancholic gaze and words.

At that time, the young girl looked at him and said, “This aloof winter plum survives the winter but will wither in the spring, a season when hundreds of flowers compete for beauty. Brother-in-law, tell me, should I be happy or sad?”

Was she talking about herself?

Luo Qingzhou was in a daze for a moment. He composed himself and his eyes flashed. He muttered softly, “Wind and rain escorted Spring’s departure, flying snow welcomed Spring’s return.”

Qin Weimo started writing.

Her words were small, elegant, and reserved, giving off a refined and beautiful aura.

“On the ice-clad rock rising high and sheer, a flower blossom sweet and fair.” The girl’s hand trembled and she continued to write.

Luo Qingzhou looked at her calligraphy and then at her blushing face. He continued to read, “Sweet and fair, she craves not Spring for herself alone, to be the harbinger of Spring she is content.”

The girl paused for a moment. She dipped her brush in ink and continued to write with her head lowered. Her eyelashes were lowered and trembling slightly, like a butterfly flapping its wings. There was a silent beauty to her.

Song Ruyue, who was sitting beside Qin Weimo, had her body pressed tightly against hers. Her pricked ears were almost touching Qin Weimo’s face as she stared intently at the ink on the white paper.

“Brother-in-law… Is there anything else?”

After the girl finished writing, her small hand trembled slightly. Her gaze was still fixed on the tip of her brush.

Luo Qingzhou looked at her weak appearance and said the last sentence in a low voice, “When the mountain flowers are in full bloom, she will smile mingling in their midst.”

The girl tightened her hold on the brush and froze momentarily. Then, she trembled slightly before starting to write. Tears started to well up in her eyes.

She knew why her brother-in-law suddenly changed the poem.

Brother-in-law must have thought of what she had said in the courtyard earlier.

Her words were depressive. She was uncertain about the future, disappointed in herself, and felt despair.

Her brother-in-law’s poem was answering her previous words. He was encouraging her.

Even though 1,000-foot-long icicles were hanging from the precipice, in the face of such a cold winter scene, the plum blossom was still thriving. The beautiful plum blossom was still standing tall and blooming…

“Sweet and fair, she craves not Spring for herself alone, To be the harbinger of Spring she is content. When the mountain flowers are in full bloom, she will smile mingling in their midst.”

Spring had arrived.

The human world was filled with a gentle and warm aura. The flowers on the cliff were in full bloom.

The plum blossom, who had once stood alone in the cold winter, did not have any jealousy or competitiveness. When spring arrived, and hundreds of flowers bloomed, it quietly hid.

It had its season.

Even though it was lonely, quiet, and unappreciated, she had a world that belonged to her alone.

Her beauty embellished the paleness of winter. Her fragrance added the most beautiful aura to that lonely season…

That season was even more beautiful because of her.

So, what was so sad about her?

At least she had existed, bloomed, and was beautiful. She was much tougher than others and was worthy of praise…

“Let me see.”

Just as the girl was looking at the words on the paper with tears in her eyes, Song Ruyue took the paper from the table and read it again.

“You haven’t written the name of the composer yet.”

Song Ruyue placed the paper back on the table and said coldly, “Write down a random name.”

Luo Qingzhou glanced at her and heard the words she was thinking. “You can write my name. I’m not afraid of becoming famous.”

Luo Qingzhou was at a loss for words.

Qin Weimo pondered for a moment and wrote the name: Luo Mo.

Then, she wrote down the name of the tune to which the poem was composed: Lyrics to the Melody of Divining Numbers (Ode to the Plum Blossom).

Then, she looked up and said gently, “Is this okay, Brother-in-law?”

Luo Qingzhou took a look and nodded. “Yes.”

At the side, Song Ruyue frowned. She had a dark expression as she sneered. “Luo MO, Luo Mo… Hmph, do you think I’m blind or illiterate? Do you guys think I don’t exist?”

Qin Weimo said gently, “Then what name do you think we should write, Mother?”

Song Ruyue snorted and turned her face away. “How would I know? Ask him.” Qin Weimo looked at Luo Qingzhou with a helpless expression.

Luo Qingzhou glanced at the unhappy mother-in-law and reached out to take the brush from Qin Weimo’s hand. He crossed out the word “Luo MO” and copied Qin Weimo’s handwriting to write two words: Yue Mo.

Song Ruyue glanced at him from the corner of her eyes, then turned her head to look out of the window. The corners of her mouth curled up a little.

Qin Weimo held back her laughter and picked up the paper. “Mother, do you think this name is okay?”

“Hmph, you can write whatever you want. What has this got to do with me?”

After Song Ruyue finished speaking with a cold expression, she immediately urged, “Hurry up and bring it up. It’s almost time.”

It was as if she was afraid that they would change the name again.

Zhu’er hurried over and reached out to take it.

Tang Jiasong, who was blocked by Luo Qingzhou, hurriedly said, “Aunt Song,

Miss Qin, can I take a look?”

Qin Weimo smiled and generously handed the paper to him.

Song Ruyue stared at her with a meaningful look.

Tang Jiasong took it with both hands and lowered his head to look at it seriously.

At first, there was a cold smile on his lips. He thought that no matter how good this poem was, he would find fault with it and make some criticisms about it. However, after he finished reading it, he fell silent.

“By the way, Jiasong, didn’t you just say that you composed a poem too? There’s a brush and ink here. Hurry up and write it down. Let’s take a look first before sending it up.”

Song Ruyue suddenly said with a smile.

Luo Qingzhou glanced at her and was secretly puzzled. Why did his mother-in-law have such a shrewd look on her face? Why did it seem like she deliberately wanted to deal a blow to this guy who she considered similar to “Jia Baoyu”?

When Tang Jiasong heard that, a blush rose to his cheeks.

The corners of his eyes twitched. He lowered his head and returned the paper. He said awkwardly, “Aunt Song, I… I suddenly remember that my poem has a few flaws, so I won’t show you to you for the time being…”

Zhu’er took the paper from him and quickly walked toward the courtesan who was collecting works on the stage.

Song Ruyue replied with an “oh” and did not force him. She continued to smile and said, “That’s all right. When you’re done editing it, you can write it for me to read.”

Tang Jiasong’s expression was stiff, and he did not dare to look up. He cupped his hands and said, “Yes, I will work hard to modify it.’

Unexpectedly, Song Ruyue added, “There’s no need to rush. You can slowly modify it. I believe that with your talent, Jiasong, your modified works will definitely be better than my good-for-nothing son-in-law’s. Hmph, this kid didn’t even think at all and didn’t even prepare a draft. He read it all out in one breath. He did not even edit anything before submitting his work. He simply doesn’t have any respect for his work! He can’t compare to you at all!” As soon as she said that, Tang Jiasong’s face stiffened and the corners of his mouth twitched a few times. He felt ashamed and did not dare to stay any longer. He hurriedly cupped his hands and said with a red face, “Aunt… Aunt Song, I still have some friends on the other side. I’ll go greet them first and come over later.”

Song Ruyue smiled and said, “Go ahead. There’s still a second round later. I believe you’ll be able to compose better poems.”

Tang Jiasong did not dare to reply. He blushed and scurried away.

After he walked away, the smile on Song Ruyue’s face gradually disappeared and her face darkened.

Qin Weimo glanced at her and asked in confusion, “Mother, you… you don’t seem to like Young Master Tang all of a sudden. Why is that so?”

Song Ruyue rolled her eyes. “What do you mean I suddenly don’t like Young

Master Tang? Have I ever liked him?”

Qin Weimo was stunned for a moment before saying weakly, “Yesterday, you were still full of praises for him…”

Song Ruyue snorted and said angrily, “I didn’t! You heard wrongly!”

Qin Weimo stared at her mother speechlessly.

After a moment, Song Ruyue said with a cold expression, “That person won’t do. Weimo, don’t see him or talk to him anymore. Hmph, your Aunt Zhang is unreliable. Why did she introduce a person like that? Not only is his family poor, but he also likes to brag. Moreover, he looks so sneaky. One look and you can tell that he’s not a good person.”

When Qin Weimo heard this, she looked curious. “Mother, what do you mean by him looking sneaky?”

Song Ruyue narrowed her eyes and said, “His eyes, looks, demeanor, and temperament. Let me tell you, I’ve seen many pretentious fellows like him. They act one way in front of others and another behind their backs. On the surface, they look like good people more than anyone else, but they’ve done all kinds of bad things in secret. He didn’t make a good first impression on me. I disliked him the moment I saw him. This is my intuition. My intuition has always been right. Don’t worry, I won’t throw you into the fire pit.”

Luo Qingzhou listened from the side and thought to himself, “My mother-in-law is quite capable. She’s not a stupid woman who is only narcissistic and arrogant.”

Qin Weimo blinked and said in a low voice, “Mother, then can you tell what kind of person Brother-in-law is?”

Song Ruyue snorted and glanced at the young man beside her. She rolled her eyes and said, “Idiot!”

Qin Weimo bit her lip and chuckled softly. She stole a glance at the young man beside her and did not dare to say anything else.

Not long after.

The voice of the courtesan Wu Yi suddenly came from the stage. “Quieten down, everyone. The results for the first round of the poetry competition are out. However, for the sake of fairness and to convince everyone, the ranking of the top three works has yet to be decided. After I read out these three works, everyone can evaluate them. If you feel that the ranking is inappropriate, the seniors will discuss and comment again.”

As soon as these words were spoken, the noisy hall immediately fell silent.

The courtesan held three pieces of paper in her hand. She smiled charmingly and looked at the first piece.

The people below the stage held their breaths and stared intently at her. Their eyes burned as they secretly hoped that their work would be among them.

Qin Weimo was not worried at all.

She turned around and looked at the young man beside her. Her gaze flickered, and she asked in a low voice, “Brother-in-law, is the view nice?”

Luo Qingzhou could only retract his gaze from the stage and look at her. “No.” A playful smile appeared on Qin Weimo’s face. “I am asking about myself. Brother-in-law, do you think I am not good-looking?”

Before Luo Qingzhou could answer, another cough suddenly came from the side.

Song Ruyue glared at him coldly.

Luo Qingzhou did not dare say anything else.

At this moment, the courtesan on the stage had already begun to read out the first piece of work.

“Ode to the Plum Blossom..”