Received A Wife From The Civil Affairs Bureau Ch.38

Lin Cuo shrugged and then glanced at Yu Chengjia up ahead, whispering with Shen Yumo as they walked. She coughed a few times and dragged Jiang Ziquan back as she said in a hushed voice, “It’s nothing.”

Jiang Ziquan felt goosebumps forming on her arm and she stared stupidly at Lin Cuo, “I know we have a good relationship but you don’t have to use that tone with me,” then she added shyly, “My wife is right in front of us.”

Lin Cuo only rolled her eyes. 

Yu Chengjia was listening intently, trying to hear what they were saying. She feared that bad guy, Lin Cuo, would say something shameful about her. 

Although her love for her senpai was one of a fangirl chasing her idol, she didn’t actually ‘love’ her senpai. Besides, Shen Yumo is her dearest cousin. She would never do something to steal Jiang Ziquan away from her. 

Shen Yumo stretched her sore muscles as she glanced back at Jiang Ziquan and Lin Cuo who were still muttering something to each other. They had stopped for a break, but the two people behind them were still slowly walking towards them. She had seen Lin Cuo many times now and had a good grasp of her character. She knew that Lin Cuo is a very dependable and mature person, although maybe it’s because she had never seen Lin Cuo’s childish side yet. However, Shen Yumo knew that Lin Cuo was also a very cold-hearted person. Not that Lin Cuo was cruel or anything, but that she didn’t let many into her heart and alienated everyone who tried to get close to her. In fact, this made Shen Yumo quite curious. Just how did someone like Jiang Ziquan become best friends with someone like Lin Cuo?

“Chengjia, what is going on between you and Lin Cuo? I know Lin Cuo is not the type of person who likes to tease others.” Even someone as dense as Shen Yumo could tell that their relationship was not normal. She took a sip of her water, the taste somewhat sweet. She remembered that Jiang Ziquan had put some rose petals into her water this morning and now her water tasted super refreshing. 

Yu Chengjia didn’t get a chance to answer before the two people behind them had caught up. Jiang Ziquan looked over at Shen Yumo and made a beeline towards her, her face lighting up with joy. Lin Cuo only shrugged helplessly and found a random stone to sit on, with her hands resting on her knees. 

Seeing Jiang Ziquan’s expression, she understood that she and Shen Yumo had something to discuss. Not wanting to be the bothersome third wheel, she could only make her way towards Lin Cuo. She really didn’t want to, but since Lin Cuo is Jiang Ziquan’s best friend, she couldn’t be that bad, right?

So she walked over reluctantly. Lin Cuo’s head turned towards the sound but didn’t look up. It seemed like she had expected that Yu Chengjia would walk over to her. 

Yu Chengjia also found a stone and sat down a little further away. Her eyes wandered over the scenery, but it was only big chunks of rock after rock. After staring at rocks for so long, she no longer felt the scenery was as beautiful as when she first started the climb. 

Unexpectedly, the two sat together quietly and painted a harmonious picture. Yu Chengjia idly thought to herself that as long as Lin Cuo doesn’t try to tease her again, she can naturally treat the other as a friend. 

Meanwhile, Jiang Ziquan approached Shen Yumo like a dog seeing their owner. One could almost see a tail wagging behind her as she massaged Shen Yumo’s shoulders. She then whispered with a smile, “My mother said that rose water helps alleviate menstrual pain.”

Shen Yumo was already a little embarrassed at receiving a message from her and became even more embarrassed at Jiang Ziquan’s words. Previously, she didn’t like Jiang Ziquan and didn’t care what Mother Jiang thought of her. However, now she regards Mother Jiang as her own mother and so naturally wants Mother Jiang to have a good impression of her. She felt incredibly uncomfortable and awkward knowing that Mother Jiang was privy to her ‘stomach troubles.’

She gently shook off Jiang Ziquan’s hands, patted the dust off her pants, and walked away before Jiang Ziquan could react. 

Jiang Ziquan scratched her head. She had no idea what she did this time to anger Teacher Shen. She realized her former roommate was correct in that all types of conflicts will arise when one is in love. Originally, she thought that as long as she and the book of love advice left behind by her former roommate, she will be able to solve any conflicts and live a happy life with her soulmate. However, she never thought that her soulmate would turn out to be another woman so that book became useless. She was unable to guess Shen Yumo’s thoughts and felt somewhat depressed by it. 

With one look, Lin Cuo could guess the two were in a spat again. At first, she wanted to go up and help mediate the situation but then seeing the warning gaze coming from Yu Chengjia, she decided to leave it alone. She only gave Jiang Ziquan a glance before she began climbing again. 

With everyone leaving her behind, Jiang Ziquan had no choice but to pack everything up and quickly run after them. She followed behind Teacher Shen and was comforting herself by saying, All couples have love quarrels from time to time. After all, what kind of couple never fights?”

“We’re here.” Yu Chengjia shouted. They all turned towards her, their gazes following the direction she was pointing in. 

They saw an old wooden cabin not far away, surrounded by a garden of flowers with a waterfall not too far away from it. The entire thing was like a scene straight from a TV show. 

“So beautiful!” Yu Chengjia exclaimed. 

Jiang Ziquan and Lin Cuo glanced at each other. Their eyes seemed to be saying, How can a flimsy building like that be still standing? Isn’t it illegal to build a cabin here?

“Let’s go.” Jiang Ziquan took the lead and smoothly grabbed Shen Yumo’s hand. Unable to break out of her firm hold, Shen Yumo could only let herself be dragged and followed after her. 

Jiang Ziquan carefully studied the structure of the cabin and felt, even more, worried the more she looked at it. This cabin looked to be in a dangerous condition and should be designated as unsafe to live in. And yet this old grandfather had built a dangerous cabin in the middle of nowhere, like a man going through a midlife crisis. 

She gently knocked on the door and the wooden door groaned under her knocking. 

Shortly after, a handsome man appeared. He had delicate features that paired well with his peach blossom eyes and exuded a gentle aura. However, his face was a little pale and his body was extremely thin. The exquisite black suit he was wearing hung loosely around his body and seemed a little baggy on him. His hair was meticulously combed and he was wearing old-fashioned glasses that were common during the Republic of China era. In fact, he was the perfect picture of a young noble master from the Republic of China era. 

If it was like before, Jiang Ziquan might’ve teased this handsome man a little, but now that she had Shen Yumo, she wanted to seem more reliable and smiled at him with a business smile that Lin Cuo often wore, “Hello, mister, we are looking for Shen Yumo’s grandfather. Is he here?”

“Grandfather.” Shen Yumo called out and hurried forward to hug him.

Both Jiang Ziquan and Lin Cuo’s eyes widened. This is Teacher Shen’s grandfather? Why is he so young?

Su Qingwen nodded with a smile and then turned to look over each person. His eyes fell on Jiang Ziquan’s face and his gaze was strange as he stared intently at her. 

The neck on the back of Jiang Ziquan’s hair stood up but she pretended not to notice. At first, she thought that he had nothing to do with Shen Yumo but now realized that they actually looked a bit similar. 

“Grandfather.” Shen Yumo grabbed Jiang Ziquan’s arms and called out again.

As if he suddenly woke from a dream, Su Qingwen shook his head with a start and pushed his old-fashioned glasses up a little, “Apologies, please, come in.”

His voice sounded old and more than a little tired, fitting his grandfather’s identity more than his youthful appearance. 

“Goddamn.” Jiang Ziquan couldn’t help but let out a swear as she looked at the slow-moving Su Qingwen in front of her: “Why didn’t you tell me that your grandfather was so young? Could’ve at least mentally prepared me for it.” 

When Su Qingwen went into isolation, Shen Yumo was only eight. Her memory of her grandfather was hazy, but she remembered he was very handsome. She had thought that his appearance would’ve changed after two decades so she didn’t think to say anything to Jiang Ziquan. 

The cabin’s inside was neat and tidy with a set of tables and chairs inside. There was a painting hanging in the middle of the room and the painting seemed to be torn in half. The people in the painting seemed to be doing a sacrificial ritual with pig, cattle, and sheep as tributes. There was a huge incense burner in the middle and the white smoke coming from it seemed so lifelike. However, the strange thing was that the background was completely red and those lying on the ground wore red silk around their waists as tears ran down their face.

As Jiang Ziquan studied this picture, her heart suddenly started beating furiously. Where had she seen this painting before?

“Please, sit down.” Su Qingwen stepped into her vision, blocking the painting. He moved a little to the right and let Shen Yumo and Jiang Ziquan sit at the head of the table, a somewhat respectful expression on his face. 

Jiang Ziquan and Shen Yumo glanced at each other. It was a bit improper for the juniors to sit at the head of the table when there is an elder present. However, Su Qingwen’s face seemed to say he didn’t mind in the slightest and so they all sat down. 

“Grandfather-”

“Miss Jiang, you can just call me by my name. It’s perfectly fine to call me Su Qingwen.” Su Qingwen hurriedly interrupted Jiang Ziquan, a somewhat troubled expression on his face. 

“Huh?” Jiang Ziquan couldn’t understand what this old man was thinking and hurried waved her hands. She did not have the courage to call Shen Yumo’s grandfather directly by his name, it was improper.

Suddenly, the sound of an ancient bell rang outside. Once, twice, for a total of eleven times. 

“Would you girls like a drink?: Su Qingwen stood up with a faint smile. 

When the four saw that the elder stood up to get the drinks, they all stood up as well.”

“Grandfather, here, let me.” Shen Yumo hurried over to help him but he quickly dodged her hands and looked at Jiang Ziquan. 

“No, you will accompany Miss Jiang here.”

And so, Shen Yumo was left behind and she stared after him with a blank expression. In her memories, her grandfather was an eccentric person but was a stickler for the rules. She remembered that he was very strict with her parents and nagged them all the time. 

“What the hell is going on, Teacher Shen?” Lin Cuo asked cautiously. This old man, Su Qingwen, seemed to be very respectful towards Jiang Ziquan for some reason.

Shen Yumo shook her head and glanced at Jiang Ziquan, “Have you met my grandfather before?”

“No!” Jiang Ziquan waved her hands again. If she saw someone as handsome as him and with this strange of a personality, she would definitely have remembered him. 

The group fidgeted nervously as they sat there and tried to process this series of strange events and Shen Yumo had the urge to call her parents to ask them about this situation. 

Su Qingwen came back out with two jars of wine, the jars covered with some dust. It was probably because he just dug them up from the ground. He handed one of the jars to Shen Yumo, “I wish to talk with Miss Jiang for a while. Alone.”

Shen Yumo accepted the jar and then worriedly looked at Jiang Ziquan. Although her grandfather is strict and eccentric, he had a good heart in the end. Plus with the reassuring look from Jiang Ziquan, she could only nod her head. 

Lin Cuo also felt a little worried about Jiang Ziquan. Unlike the others, she was not as accepting of the supernatural and mumbo jumbo. Seeing this unnaturally young ‘grandfather’ who behaved strangely, naturally she felt a little scared. She even felt a little apprehensive of Shen Yumo right now. In fact, the only person she trusted at this moment was Jiang Ziquan. 

Only after Jiang Ziquan gave her a smile did Lin Cuo leave the room. 

As soon as the three left, the room went quiet. Jiang Ziquan was not afraid and stared straight into his eyes, only to watch as he lifted the seal on the jar and carefully poured the wine into two beautifully carved glasses. The glasses were also made of jade, the color a bit like the jade hanging around her neck. 

The scent of fine wine permeated through the room immediately after it was poured out. Jiang Ziquan felt that the smell was familiar, yes, like the one Shen Yumo’s father had her drink. However, this wine’s aroma was much stronger this time and one could tell that this wine was aged far longer than the other’s. 

She accepted a glass and thought that the wine would be clear like the wine she drank before, but she did not expect that the wine was instead ruby-colored, a darker shade of red than even red wine. 

She lowered her head and took a deep sip. Immediately the scent of wine seemed to overwhelm her and invade her body, making her tremble. She took another sip and her entire body felt warm. 

“Miss Jiang, do you remember this wine?” Su Qingwen shook his glass, his face already stained with a red flush. 

Jiang Ziquan narrowed her eyes as she looked at him. Instinctively, she knew that Su Qingwen was not alluding to the wine Shen Yumo’s father had her drink, but something else. 

Su Qingwen sighed heavily and took a sip, his brows furrowed as he seemed to enter a deep contemplation. 

Jiang Ziquan didn’t disturb him and continued to drink the wine. The wine was somewhat addictive as if whenever she drank it, she would remember something and at the same time lost something as well. 

She didn’t know how much time had passed before Su Qingwen spoke again, this time with a bit of nostalgia in his tone, “This wine is called Mingzui, specially made for a certain female Daoist.”

“Are Daoists allowed to drink?” Jiang Ziquan hiccuped and asked curiously. [1]

Su Qingwen chuckled, his fingers shaking a little, “Yes, that’s right, how can a Daoist drink wine?” He smiled self-deprecatingly and continued, “Legends say that the first sip is spicy but the second sip is better and continues to taste better until one tastes the mellowness of it. However, for so many years, only one person in this world has experienced the mellow taste of this good wine with just one sip. The Daoist. The brewer of the wine says it’s because the female Daoist was drunk, but the Daoist vehemently denied and said she was not drunk. Thus the name ‘Mingzui’[2] was created. She was clearly drunk but still refused to admit it.” He laughed as he finished. 

Jiang Ziquan laughed as well, she felt that the wine’s title was created a little too casually. She herself felt a little drunk, her thoughts a mess as they swirled in her mind and she burped a little. Shaking her head, she smirked, “I miss her.”

Su Qingwen stood up quickly, a bit of joy on his face, “Who?”

“I miss her.”

Jiang Ziquan did not answer him and repeated this sentence again and again. A few sips later…

Thump. 

Jiang Ziquan blacked out, her body limp on the table with those words still stuck in her throat. 

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Author’s notes: 

What’s supernatural is that I don’t know when but I just started writing and the story ended up like this.

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T/N notes:

[1] Many Daoists (or Taoists if you prefer that spelling) sects look down on drinking alcohol. They don’t outright prohibit it, but it tends to be frowned upon. 

[2] Mingzui: The character (明: Míng) means bright usually but it means ‘clear’ as in ‘I understand clearly’ in this context. The character (醉: zuì) means drunk. Together they are “clearly drunk.”

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