Baihao wiped his face hurriedly, turned his head and looked back, then frowned and said rudely: "Who let you in? Do you have any manners? Can you just come into the master's yard casually?"
Zhu Xiang's face turned pale after being scolded by Bai Hao. She was about to cry and said timidly, "We heard that the Second Master had returned, so we decided to come and pay our respects to him. We haven't seen him for more than a year..."
Baihao looked back at Sima Hong, a little undecided. After thinking for a while, he waved his hand and said, "Go back. Second Master doesn't have time to see you. I will call you over when I am free."
Sima Hong sat up nimbly from the stone, glanced at the three concubines standing at the gate of the yard, and smiled self-deprecatingly. He did not expect that after so many changes over time, these three concubines had still been following him.
"Come in, I just happen to have something to say to you." Sima Hong said softly.
Zhu Xiang was overjoyed, and immediately took the lead, holding up the hem of her skirt and walked over gracefully, bowing to Master Bao who was sitting on the stone, and said in a tender voice: "Master, you haven't been back for such a long time, I am worried about you!"
After not seeing each other for more than a year, Sima Hong had become quite tanned, but this did not detract from his handsomeness. Instead, it added a bit of mature masculine charm to him.
Yingqin and Yingshu could not hide the smiles on their faces. To them, Sima Hong was the sky above their heads and they were naturally happy that he was still alive and well.
Sima Hong smiled and nodded. Looking at the three women in front of him with tears in their eyes and unable to control their excitement, he thought of the person who left him in the morning and couldn't help but sigh that the world is so wonderful. When Mingyu first married into the Marquis's Mansion, he hated the delicate and sickly little girl the most, but he didn't expect that after she recovered from her illness, he was gradually attracted to her and couldn't help himself in the end. He wanted to hold her in his heart.
He never expected that the girl who was the apple of his eye was gone and had nothing to do with him anymore. And the three concubines in front of him, who he didn't care about at all, had been with him until this moment.
"I will be returning to the northwest soon to continue joining the army and fighting." Sima Hong said.
Zhu Xiang was stunned, her beautiful face full of astonishment. After she came to her senses, she hurriedly said, "Second Master, aren't you already a marquis? Why do you want to go to the northwest?"
Sima Hong shook his head. "The northwest is the home of Marquis Anxi."
"How can that be?" Zhu Xiang was anxious and angry. She had finally got Sima Hong back, so how could he just leave like that? "Second Master, think about it carefully. Madam only has you left. If you leave, what will happen to Madam? What will happen to us three sisters?"
Sima Hong smiled, nodded and said, "I was just about to tell you about this."
Sima Hong's expression was gentle and his tone was calm at this moment, but Zhuxiang felt a creepy feeling and a chill in her heart, as if something very bad was going to happen next.
Sima Hong continued: "I don't know if I can come back after I leave..."
Yingshu and Yingqin immediately knelt down and said with tears in their eyes, "Second Master is very rich and powerful. Good people are blessed by heaven. Don't say unlucky words."
Sima Hong smiled and shook his head. He had experienced too many life and death situations on the battlefield and no longer believed in the saying that good fortune comes naturally to those who are lucky. "You three are all in your prime years and good-looking. There is no need to wait for me, a person whose life and death are unknown."
Zhu Xiang's heart started beating wildly, she was shocked and scared, and blurted out, "No..."
Without waiting for her to speak, Sima Hong said, "If you want to marry someone else, I will ask my wife to prepare dowries for you and find you a good family. If you want to start your own family, I will buy you a house and a farm. You will never have to worry about food and clothing for the rest of your life. You can also recruit a son-in-law or adopt a son."
"No, I won't leave!" Yingshu and Yingqin knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Sima Hong, crying, "I will stay and serve you, Madam. Please don't chase me away, Second Master!"
Sima Hong thought of Mingyu and felt disheartened. He waved his hand and said softly, "You all know that I have no experience in fighting. I was injured several times in the northwest before and almost died under the swords and arrows of the Tartars. I was able to come to the capital alive only by luck. Who can predict what will happen in the future? You are waiting for me in the capital without any hope. This is not good. I didn't dare to promise you anything before, but now the emperor has given me some money, so I will share some with you. Find a good home for each of you!"
The three concubines cried together, feeling that the sky was really falling this time. Zhuxiang cried so much that her makeup was all ruined. After begging for a long time, Sima Hong remained unmoved and patiently advised them repeatedly that this was for their own good. If they chose to continue to follow him, there was basically no hope. Even if he was lucky enough to come back alive, it was unknown when he would be able to do so.
Seeing that begging was hopeless, the three aunts had to wipe their tears and leave, saying they would go back to think carefully. Zhu Xiang looked back reluctantly at Sima Hong several times, sitting on a big rock, with a straight and strong figure, sword-like eyebrows and star-like eyes, handsome and mature, and she was so angry that she could only stamp her feet and wail.
After the three concubines left, Miao came out of the room with the help of Wei Ma. Looking at the direction where the three concubines went, Miao sighed, "Why are you doing this?"
Sima Hong stood up, walked to Miao, carefully supported Miao, and walked slowly in the yard, saying: "I thought, I don't know when I will be back. The three of them are in their prime. Why should I keep them in prison? Sooner or later, they will hate me."
Miao said nothing. She thought of Luo Lingxiu. Maybe Luo Lingxiu was not that bad. After she married into the Marquis's Mansion, Yang Ge'er was never nice to her, and Bao Ge'er refused to have more contact with her due to etiquette. She was depressed day after day and lived a hopeless life. Gradually, she developed a tremendous hatred for the Marquis's Mansion and Yang Ge'er.
"That's fine." Miao finally sighed. There were only three concubines after all, and she didn't need so many people serving them. She let them go, lest she hold a grudge against them in the end.
Sima Hong smiled and said, "As long as Madam agrees, I'll have to trouble Madam to take care of this matter."
Miao felt keenly that her son had become much calmer after coming back this time. He was no longer as lively and active as before. He seemed to have grown several years older and became an adult all of a sudden. Miao wanted to be happy, but when she thought that this growth was built on the pain of the broken family, the joy that surged in her heart turned into sadness.
"Why do you have to go back?" Miao sighed, looking at her son distressedly, and said, "No one will look down on you, you have done a good job."
Sima Hong's eyes were a little red, but he still smiled stubbornly: "Mom, I'm not afraid of being looked down upon by others." He has always been a notorious "Ba Tian Bao" and doesn't care about false reputation at all. There were many negative comments about him in Tianshui back then.
"What I said in front of the emperor was just to sound nice. In fact, I was just thinking..." Sima Hong whispered, "Our home is in Tianshui, I have to find a way to snatch our home back from the Tartars. Grandpa's body is still in Tianshui, I have to bury my grandmother, father and eldest brother in our home..." In Sima Hong's eyes, the capital has never been his home. His grandmother, father, and eldest brother were buried there completely out of helplessness. As long as there was a glimmer of hope, he would fight back to Tianshui and move the coffins of his grandmother, father and eldest brother into the ancestral tomb to bury them in peace.
Miao covered her face and started crying. She choked for a long time before she gradually stopped crying. With red eyes, she looked at Sima Hong with satisfaction and nodded, "Okay, okay, okay! I have a good son like you. Even after I die, I will be able to face the ancestors of the Sima family!"
Sima Hong helped Miao walk around the yard to relax before returning to the house. Nanny Wei and Nanny Tan had already set the table.
At the Xu residence, Xu Changqian and Madam Xu had not returned until the moon was above the willows. Mingyu and Xu Mingye were getting anxious and were planning to go to the old lady's yard to check on the situation when a maid came to report that someone wanted to see them.
Mingyu followed Xu Mingye to the gate of the yard. The woman kneeling at the gate had her head lowered and her face could not be seen clearly.
When Mingyu approached, the woman raised her head. The sparse white moonlight shone on her face. After seeing Mingyu, the woman's charming face was full of surprise and expectation.
"Why are you here?" Mingyu frowned.
Xu Mingye glanced at the woman kneeling on the ground and asked, "Who is this?"
Li Xiang followed out and said with a curled lip, "She is the Second Master's concubine, the maid our Second Madam gave to the young lady as a dowry. Now she is Concubine Zhu."
"Who allowed you to let her in?" Xu Mingye's handsome brows were filled with anger, and his face was full of coldness. He had never seen Zhuxiang, but he knew what this maid had done. They didn't bother the Xu family about this traitorous maid. After all, Zhuxiang was already a concubine of the Sima family. They didn't expect her to come to their doorstep.
Mingyu was a little embarrassed. She didn't expect her brother to be so angry. If Xu Mingye knew that his real sister died of anger because of Zhuxiang's bed crawling, he would probably tear Zhuxiang into pieces and feed her to the dogs.
Seeing that Xu Mingye was really angry, the old woman cried out in a hurry, "Master, calm down! We servants think she looks familiar. She is a servant of the Xu family. We thought that she, like Miss Lixiang, serves the Second Young Lady. Otherwise, we would not let her in to offend the masters!"
"If you have something to say, get up and tell me." Mingyu said. Kneeling at the gate of the courtyard would attract too much attention. If the servants from the second and third rooms saw them, they might gossip about them.
Zhu Xiang did not move, tears streaming down her face before she spoke. She knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Ming Yu, choking with sorrow and sobbing, "I know that my sudden arrival has upset Second Madam. But I really have something to ask of you. Second Madam, please agree to my request first, and I will get up!"
Mingyu looked at Zhuxiang's aggrieved look, sneered, and said, "Then kneel down." After that, he walked back. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to subscribe to Qidian Mobile Network () and give rewards. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
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