The fourth concubine stood there in a daze, her whole body frozen, only her eyes blinked: "Xiu'er, this can't be true?"
Xie Nanjia smiled and said, "It's true. Auntie, go quickly and don't keep the Marquis waiting for too long."
The fourth concubine finally came to life, exclaimed, picked up the hem of her skirt and ran out, but stopped after running two steps: "Xiu'er, am I okay like this?"
Xie Nanjia saw that her face instantly lit up, like a young girl who had just fallen in love. That unadorned shyness and expectation were more moving than any rouge or fancy dress: "It looks very beautiful. Auntie, please go quickly. I'll clean up here. Remember, don't cry, smile, don't complain, just say you miss the Marquis."
"Yes!" The fourth aunt nodded heavily and flew away like a light butterfly.
Xie Nanjia found a broom and cleaned up the mess on the floor.
As soon as they finished cleaning up, the Fourth Aunt walked in with Marquis Dingyuan, followed by Feng Lun and the marquis's personal follower Jiuan.
Marquis Dingyuan was born a military general. He had followed the late emperor to conquer the world and was a founding hero of the Zhou Dynasty. Although he has not been on the battlefield in recent years, his awe-inspiring majesty remains as strong as ever. His every move is full of masculine demeanor of a mature man, which makes women admire him very much.
The Fourth Aunt is the best example.
As soon as Xie Nanjia saw him, her eyes instantly turned red. If there was one person in Dingyuan Marquis's Mansion who was truly kind to her, it was the Marquis in front of her.
The Marquis and her father had fought for the late emperor in the past. At that time, the current emperor was just one of the late emperor's many sons. The three of them were of similar age and had similar personalities. They had learned from the Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei's brotherhood in Peach Garden. After the country was conquered and the late emperor ascended the throne, the Marquis and her father made sure the current emperor became the crown prince. After the late emperor passed away and the seven kings usurped the throne, it was the Marquis and her father who joined forces to quell the rebellion of the seven kings and helped the crown prince ascend the throne.
Because of this life-and-death friendship, the Emperor wanted to strengthen their relationship, so he issued an imperial decree to grant a marriage between Xie Nanjia and Zhao Jingping. However, it was precisely this imperial decree that caused the Marquis' Mansion and the General's Mansion to become enemies.
His father looked down on Zhao Jingping and did not want her to marry him, but he could not disobey the emperor's order, so he took his anger out on the Marquis and became increasingly estranged from him. The Marquis was also annoyed that he was indiscriminate and was too lazy to waste words arguing with him, and so the two former good brothers became enemies.
Xie Nanjia couldn't figure out the twists and turns before, but now thinking about it again, he realized that this is exactly where the emperor's brilliance lies. Only when the two of them are not in conflict can the emperor rest assured.
Although the Marquis was no longer on equal terms with his father, he was very caring and tolerant towards her. Perhaps out of guilt towards her, he wanted to do his best to make it up to her.
Because of the protection of the Marquis, even though she was unhappy in the Marquis's mansion, no one dared to look at her harshly...
"Xiu'er, why are you standing there like an idiot? Come and meet the Marquis." The Fourth Aunt interrupted her thoughts.
Xie Nanjia came back to her senses and knelt on the ground respectfully and kowtowed to Marquis Dingyuan: "Xiu'er greets the Marquis, may the Marquis be well!"
When Fourth Aunt saw her kneeling, she felt a little strange, and then she realized belatedly that this was the first time she saw Xiu'er kneeling.
In the past, she was only concerned about how to get back and didn't care much about other things. Now, when she thought about it carefully, she realized that Xiu'er had never knelt to her. Not only her, but she didn't even kneel when she saw her wife.
But she actually knelt down as soon as she saw the Marquis. Does this mean that she was also conquered by the Marquis' charm
"Xiu'er?" Dingyuan Hou was stunned. "Where have I heard this name before?"
Fourth Auntie immediately became alert, fearing that the Marquis would pay too much attention to Xie Nanjia, so she smiled and changed the subject: "Marquis, please sit down. You've been busy all day. Let Manluo massage your shoulders."
Manluo was the name of the fourth concubine, and it was also the name of a brothel that was once very popular in the capital. However, in the end, she became a vine in the Dingyuan Marquis Mansion and could only rely on men to survive.
Under the attentive service of the Fourth Aunt, Marquis Dingyuan did not ask about his name again. Xie Nanjia stood up to pour him tea.
When the tea was served, it turned out to be a cup of plain water. Dingyuan Hou couldn't help but frowned: "Why is there not even tea leaves?"
Xie Nanjia looked at the Fourth Aunt, who smiled and said, "Maybe I came back too hastily, and they didn't have time to prepare."
Dingyuan Hou snorted in displeasure: "It's fine to move people to such a remote place, but they didn't prepare all the necessary items. I think the person in charge should be replaced."
Fourth Aunt hurriedly advised: "My Lord, please calm down. I am happy that Manluo can be back with you again, even if I have to eat coarse food every day. As long as you can come to see me from time to time, I will be very satisfied."
Dingyuan Hou said, "Do you want me to come to this shabby place to see you every day? Come on, let's go to the front yard and rest!"
The fourth concubine was overjoyed, but she said, "My Lord, my wife just told me that I will be the wife of the Crown Prince in a few days, and asked me to stay in this courtyard honestly. I can't walk around, I can't, I can't..."
"Can't what?" asked Marquis Dingyuan in a deep voice.
The fourth concubine said shyly, "I can't sleep with the Marquis."
"What nonsense!" Dingyuan Hou said angrily, "What kind of logic is this? Does a father-in-law have to observe mourning for his daughter-in-law? Come with me, and I'll see who dares to do anything to you!"
Xie Nanjia almost laughed out loud. She didn't expect the Marquis to have such a childish side. What he said sounded like he was angry.
The Fourth Aunt exchanged glances with her and was dragged away by Marquis Dingyuan by the wrist.
As he walked, Marquis Dingyuan said, "She wants you to live in the most remote place. I will decorate this place into the most magnificent place in the mansion. I will make her angry to death!"
Xie Nanjia finally couldn't help laughing out loud.
Feng Lun and Jiu'an followed behind Dingyuan Hou. When they heard her laugh, Feng Lun looked back and saw Xie Nanjia clasped her hands together and bowed to him, indicating that she appreciated the favor.
Feng Lun nodded slightly and followed the Marquis.
Xie Nanjia did not follow. The Fourth Aunt did not call her, obviously not wanting her to follow. This was just right. She could take the opportunity to calm down and think about what to do next.
The news that the Marquis had gone to Qingfeng Courtyard to take the Fourth Aunt away soon reached Qin. Qin was so angry that she smashed several things again and cursed Chang Fu in front of Cao Ma: "Does he still want to be the head butler? Doesn't he know his responsibilities in the front yard? Why didn't he inform us in time when the Marquis came back? He actually let the Marquis be led to Qingfeng Courtyard. He deserves to die!"
Madam Cao didn't know what to say, so she could only blame her husband: "He is just an idiot. I told him to arrange a servant to watch the door and let him know when the Marquis returns. Who knew he couldn't even handle such a small matter? Madam should just remove him from his post and replace him with someone smarter."
Qin glared at her unhappily and said, "You look at me and I can't tell that you are defending him. Forget it, anyway, the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl have already boarded the Magpie Bridge. It will be useless even if I withdraw him now. You should ask him to find out who whispered in the Marquis's ear!"
"Yes!" Nanny Cao did not dare to delay and hurried to the front yard to find her man.
"Madam, calm down and drink some lotus seed tea to moisten your mouth." Yun Yan brought the tea over and handed it to Qin. "Madam, I think that since the Marquis has been to Qingfeng Courtyard, he must have seen the situation there. Do you think we should send some things over? If the Marquis asks about it, just say that we were in a hurry and didn't have time to prepare it."
"Send me, send me, send me! How can I not send you?" Qin's anger was surging in her internal organs. "I underestimated this Lin Manluo. She was always a talkative person who would get angry if provoked. How come she has been away for a month and she is like a different person when she comes back?"
"I am also puzzled!" Yun Yan said, "Could it be that a master has enlightened her?"
"What master?" Qin said, "She is always so arrogant and proud, and has offended everyone. People hope that she will fall into the dust. Who would be free to enlighten her?"
"Could it be the second young master?" Yun Yan guessed.
"Are you crazy or stupid?" Qin said, "Those two people have nothing in common. It's true that the second young master loves beautiful women, but he's not so bad as to pity his father's woman."
Yun Yan said embarrassedly, "I just feel it's strange. The Second Young Master never comes to our courtyard, but he suddenly came tonight and stayed for a whole meal. Madam, think about it, if he didn't come, would the Fourth Concubine be able to get away so easily?"
Her question stumped Qin. Could it be that the second-generation rich man really came here specifically to protect the Fourth Aunt
No way, this is absolutely impossible.
Qin thought about it carefully and realized that since Zhao Jingyu came in, apart from talking to her and the Fourth Aunt, the rest of the time he was flirting with the maid Xiu'er. According to the maid at the door, before leaving, he even lifted Xiu'er's chin with his fan and asked her if she was reluctant to leave him.
"Could it be that he came here for Xiu'er?"
"No way?" Yun Yan was immediately filled with jealousy. "It's clear that the Second Young Master didn't even remember her name. He only remembered it after Fourth Aunt mentioned it."
The two of them guessed wildly for a long time but had no clue, so they finally gave up. Qin ordered someone to deliver the things to Qingfeng Courtyard overnight, and also assigned two maids and two servants.
Xie Nanjia was alone in the room thinking about how to find out the news about Lvliu and Hualou when the delivery man arrived and banged on the door.
Xie Nanjia went out and opened the door. When she saw the loads of items and four maids and servants, she was very happy. Now, she finally didn't have to do hard labor anymore.
The news here soon spread to the west wing. Zhao Jingyu was quite surprised and said to Wei Jun, "I didn't expect that my father is still a passionate man. He is over 40 years old, but he can still get angry for a woman."
Wei Jun: “…”
Is there anyone who makes fun of his own father like you
Zhao Jingyu added: "Si Niang was able to turn the tide under such a disadvantageous situation, which shows that she is not a simple person!"
Wei Jun said: "Which woman in a big house is not extremely smart?"
"No." Zhao Jingyu suddenly sat up. "No, Fourth Aunt is smart, but she's not that smart yet. This must be the girl Xiu'er who is behind this."
"..." Wei Jun asked doubtfully, "I think Xiu'er is innocent and simple, is she really as smart as the second young master said?"
Zhao Jingyu said, "Didn't you arrange someone to watch over there? Go ask that person if Xiu'er has any abnormality."
Wei Jun took the order and left. He came back two cups of tea later and told him that Xiu'er had done nothing except kowtow to the marquis and bow to the guards.
Zhao Jingyu's first reaction was the same as Fourth Aunt's: "Kowtow, hey, why has she never kowtowed to me before?"
Not only did she never kowtow, she also never called herself a "slave". All she said was "I, I, I". Damn girl, how come I never noticed that she was so rude to me before
Too rampant!
No, next time I see her, I must make her kowtow to me!
Also, why did she bow to the guards, and why did the guards nod at her
They wouldn't be hooking up so soon, would they
Could it be that she begged the guards to take the marquis away
Probably.
The more Zhao Jingyu thought about it, the angrier she became. This damn girl was indeed not one who would keep to herself. She started flirting with a man in just one day. How could this be tolerated!
Originally, he was afraid that she would be scared being alone in the yard, so he planned to sneak over to see her in the middle of the night. But now, he couldn't wait until midnight, so he decided to teach her a lesson now!
(End of this chapter)