The northwest land in early March still retained the chill of winter. The sun had not yet risen, and the grass on the ground was covered with crystal dewdrops. The sound of low chanting could be heard from the Shouxi Hall of the Anxi Marquis Mansion.
Sima Qing, Marquis of Anxi, was about forty years old, with a sturdy build and a solemn and respectful face. He stood outside the Buddhist hall of Shouxi Hall until the old lady in the hall finished chanting the sutra, put down the wooden fish in her hand, and turned around. Then he stepped into the hall and helped the old lady out.
"The weather is still cold, mother, you'd better sleep a little longer before getting up." Sima Qing advised respectfully.
The old lady, Mrs. He, was about sixty years old. She was thin and simple in clothing. Her eyes were bright and lively. She said slowly, "I am not so old that I can't get out of bed! It's a pity that some people are too sick to get out of bed at a young age. I will get up early and ask the Buddha not to take my Sima family's daughter-in-law so early! If the Buddha has pity on my sincerity, he will grant it."
Sima Qing helped his mother sit down, and he sat down next to He, saying, "My son has invited several doctors to see her. After taking a few prescriptions, it has been quite effective. Last night, I heard from the maidservant in Yiqing Courtyard that Mingyu's fever has subsided. You had already gone to bed at that time, so I didn't come to tell you because I was afraid of disturbing you."
After hearing what her son said, He finally breathed a sigh of relief. She held the Buddhist beads in her hands and clasped her hands together, muttering, "Amitabha, thank you for the Buddha's blessing." She then said to Sima Qing, "Fortunately, nothing happened. If she had died after marrying into our Sima family, how could I have the face to see your father?"
Sima Qing smiled and said, "Don't worry, mother. The doctor said that Ming Yugang came from the south to our northwest and got sick because he couldn't adapt to the climate there. He will recover if he takes good care of himself."
He snorted coldly, "The little girl is only twelve years old and she left her parents to marry so far away. As soon as she entered her husband's house, her husband stretched out his hands on his maid. Who wouldn't be so angry that he would get sick?"
Sima Qing's old face turned red, and he felt a headache when he thought of his youngest son who was spoiled by his wife. At the age of sixteen, he was already the domineering and playboy of Tianshui Prefecture. He had no talent for studying, but he was a good candidate for martial arts. It was a pity that he spent all his time on cockfighting and running dogs, and was nicknamed "Ba Tian Bao".
Seeing her son's shame, He Shi couldn't get angry anymore and just said, "Before, I was only focused on teaching Yang Ge'er and didn't properly discipline Bao Ge'er. Now that Bao Ge'er has become like this, I, as a grandmother, am also responsible."
Sima Qing felt even more ashamed. "Mother, what are you saying? I am ashamed of myself. Bao-ge is useless. My wife and I spoiled him."
He sighed, "It's not her fault. When Yang Ge'er was born, I took him home to raise him, and separated them from each other. Yang Ge'er didn't grow up by her side, and he wasn't close to her. It's no wonder she's angry, and naturally favors Bao Ge'er a little more."
"You are her mother-in-law, how dare she get angry with you? Besides, it is Yang'er's blessing that you teach him personally." Sima Qing said seriously. "Don't worry, mother, I will teach Bao'er strictly in the future. I can't let him be so absurd. I can't say he is as good as his elder brother, but at least he should be like him." Sima Qing made up his mind after hearing his mother's words.
"That's good." He patted her son's hand with satisfaction. "When Mingyu gets better, ask Lingxiu to bring her to see an old woman like me. It would be so pitiful if she went to her husband's house at such a young age and there was no one to love her."
Sima Qing smiled and said, "It is a blessing for this child to have you love her."
He recalled the bride Bao Geer saw on his wedding day. She was pale and thin, with a pair of beautiful phoenix eyes, and she was innocent and naive. "Bao Geer is blessed. Mingyu is a beauty. When she grows up, she will definitely be a pretty girl."
Sima Qing disagreed. In his eyes, it didn't matter whether the wife of the main wife was pretty or not. The most important thing was that she had to be of good family background, bear children and manage the household. Using beauty to seduce people was the job of concubines and maids. However, he still echoed his mother's words:
"I heard that my mother-in-law was a beauty when she was young. Her father died early, and she depended on her widowed mother for survival. A bunch of relatives wanted to seize her family's property and coveted her as a beautiful girl. My mother-in-law was forced to go to the county government hall alone, beat the drum to complain, and sued several of her relatives for shameless greed. The county magistrate who took the case was my father-in-law, a newly appointed Jinshi. He presided over justice and helped my mother-in-law drive away the greedy clansmen. After a few visits, the two of them fell in love with each other."
"Is that true?" He narrowed her eyes and smiled. When people get old, they tend to be interested in young people's gossip. A beautiful girl who is alone and helpless, and a newly-minted scholar who is upright and talented, it's a good match no matter how you look at it!
"Your mother's family is in business, right?" He said, "The Xu family is also a prominent family. Why did they agree to let their eldest son marry the daughter of a merchant?"
Sima Qing smiled and said, "The old lady of the Xu family is a concubine, so it's not appropriate for her to interfere too much with the eldest son left by the original wife. Since he likes it, let him do it."
There is another reason, that is, Xu Changqian and his stepmother do not get along, and Xu Changqian is a straightforward person who is unwilling to flatter. Therefore, he has not been promoted for so many years and is still a county magistrate in Jiangnan. He only has one wife, his mother-in-law, and one son and one daughter. Looking at Mingyu's delicate little appearance, one can imagine that Xu Changqian and his wife treat their daughter like the apple of their eye.
At the beginning, my mother insisted on marrying into the Xu family to fulfill my father's last wish. Xu Changqian agreed to let his daughter marry him. My wife and eldest son were so angry that they didn't speak to him for a month. All this was heard by the people who went to propose marriage.
The second son of the Xu family, born to the old lady of the Xu family, also had a daughter who was older than Mingyu. Unfortunately, in her mother's eyes, the children of the concubine and the second wife were not considered legitimate. Bao Ge'er was also of marriageable age, so Mingyu married into the Sima family at the age of twelve, and waited until she was fifteen to consummate the marriage with Bao Ge'er.
Mrs. Miao was extremely dissatisfied with this marriage. Although the Xu family was also a wealthy and prominent family, it had long since declined. Xu Changqian had been only a seventh-rank county magistrate for more than ten years. Miao came from a prominent family in the capital. Her cousin was Concubine Miao, who was extremely favored by the emperor in the palace. She also looked down on her mother-in-law who came from a merchant family.
In addition, Mingyu was only twelve years old, an ignorant child, and could not serve Baoger even after marrying in, which made Miao Shi dislike her even more. Before Mingyu entered the house, she gave the two maids serving in Baoger's room a face-saving promotion and promoted them to concubines. Firstly, the Sima family had a high status, so this was not uncommon. Secondly, Mingyu was too young, and Baoger had to have someone to serve him in the next few years.
This time Baoger acted outrageously and extended his claws to Mingyu's maid. The next day, Miao gave the maid a face-saving favor and made her a concubine. No matter how you look at it, it seems that the mother-in-law is not kind and is obviously embarrassing her daughter-in-law. When the old lady heard about it, who knows what she would think.
Although the old lady had a bad temper, she was always reasonable. She couldn't scold her daughter-in-law directly, so she could only scold her son.
Sima Qing thought of this and said goodbye to the old lady. His mother had spoken, and Sima Qing was no longer willing to take care of the affairs of the rear house. He was going to talk to his wife Miao about the topic of "how to take care of underage daughter-in-law".
After Sima Qing left, the old lady, with the help of Zhao Ma, lay down on the couch on her side. Immediately, two clever little maids came over to massage her waist and legs.
The old lady felt comfortable with the massage, squinted her eyes and sighed: "When I get old, my body can't stand getting up early to knock on the wooden fish and chant sutras."
Mother Zhao smiled and said, "That's the Second Young Madam's blessing. The old lady thinks of her like this."
"I was hoping that she would take good care of Bao Ge'er when she grows up." The old lady smiled as she thought of the delicate little girl.
Mother Zhao waved her hand, and the two maids went down quietly. It was her turn to massage the old lady's shoulders. "Brother Yang is so promising, and the eldest young lady is so virtuous. She will definitely take care of my younger brother and his wife in the future."
The eldest son of the Marquis of Anxi's mansion was raised by Mama Zhao. He was not as friendly as ordinary servants, so when Mama Zhao called the eldest son, she only called him by his nickname.
The old lady with her eyes closed suddenly sneered, "Rely on her? It's better to hope that Mingyu will be capable in the future."
Mother Zhao didn't dare to say anything more. She just vaguely remembered that a few years ago, Baoger followed his wife back to visit his Zu Miao family outside the capital. He met the eldest lady Luo Lingxiu, the girl from his wife's second sister. They got along well and even exchanged letters for a long time.
Yingrong, the maid who served Baoger, was her goddaughter, so she knew about this.
At that time, she thought Miss Luo would become the second wife of the Sima family. Unexpectedly, a few years later, the mistress hired Miss Luo as the wife of the eldest son Yang Ge'er, which surprised her for a long time. Yingrong also said that Miss Luo and the second son had a good relationship, just like a sister to her brother.
The old lady sighed deeply and muttered in a low voice: "She is not stupid. If she marries the eldest son, she will be the future wife of Anxi Marquis. If she marries the second son, at most she will get a share of the family property..."
Mother Zhao was distracted and didn't hear clearly what the old lady said, so she asked, "What did you say?"
However, the old lady seemed not to hear her question and fell into a deep sleep soon.
Xu Mingyu, who had been nagging by her husband's family all morning, was now lying in bed. She stretched her hands in front of her eyes, looked carefully at the pair of slender white hands, and sighed heavily.
She had already entered this body on the way to her wedding, but she could not speak or move. There was still the real soul of Xu Mingyu in her body, so she could only live in Xu Mingyu's body as if she was asleep.
Xu Mingyu became increasingly ill due to the unfamiliar climate, and her soul became weaker and weaker. She gradually regained her hearing and vision until the bridal sedan arrived at the gate of Anxi Marquis's mansion. Xu Mingyu heard a loud shout from outside, "Second Master Bao, the bride is here!"
She was so scared that she almost jumped out of Xu Mingyu's body. Oh my God, could she have been reborn as Sister Bao in Dream of the Red Chamber? She didn't want that! After a day of anxiety, she realized that this Master Bao was not the same Master Bao. It was just that in terms of being a playboy, this Master Bao was even better than his father.
On the second day after her marriage, Xu Mingyu's maid Zhuxiang climbed into Mr. Bao's bed. On the third day, Zhuxiang was made a concubine by Madam Miao and was called Aunt Zhu.
Within a few days, the twelve-year-old girl became increasingly ill and eventually died.
Xu Mingyu, who had already taken control of her body, calculated that her nominal husband, Master Bao, already had two concubines and a principal wife. A teapot already came with three bowls, so one more... wouldn't matter.
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