Chapter 13 Chapter 13 "Having food and drink for a lifetime doesn't require...

The Duke personally returned the box to the palace. Seeing that His Majesty was still in the Daming Palace, he went to express his gratitude.

The Duke entered the Daming Hall and bowed to His Majesty, saying, "Your Majesty has been working hard. Remember to rest well."

As soon as he finished speaking, the Duke smelled a floral fragrance that did not belong to the Daming Palace.

The Duke couldn't help but sniff. Then he looked up at His Majesty, and saw that the corners of His Majesty's phoenix eyes were tinged with red, his face still had a romantic look, and the collar of his robe with a golden dragon pattern was full of wrinkles.

The memorial in Your Majesty's hand is still upside down.

The Duke couldn't figure it out in the past, but now there is still something he doesn't understand.

The Duke calmly withdrew his gaze from the door to the side hall. A scrap of Xiang Fei's colored clothing brushed past, clearly indicating that the Imperial Concubine had not yet left.

However, she did not expect him to come suddenly, so the imperial concubine hid herself in a hurry.

The Duke did not want to embarrass His Majesty, and it was getting late, so he planned to talk to His Majesty another day.

But His Majesty misunderstood, thinking the Duke had come with ill intentions. Fearing he might say something irrelevant, His Majesty decided to preemptively ask, "Did the Duke come to thank me?"

The Duke: "Yes, I am."

His Majesty continued, "Then you know that the money I lent you was generously donated by the Concubine."

The Duke doesn't know. The Duke looked at His Majesty in shock.

His Majesty smiled and nodded at him, "That's right. I mentioned this to the Imperial Concubine, and she, sympathizing with the Duke's hard work and contributions to Daqi, raised money overnight. When the money wasn't enough, she opened her private treasury. Although the Duke didn't use it today, it was a thoughtful gesture from the Imperial Concubine."

After leaving the palace, the Duke really wanted to go back and reprimand His Majesty again. His Majesty had already said that he could take the Imperial Concubine's possession, so how could he possibly take it?

The Duke was upset again. He should have thought of it earlier. Where did His Majesty get so much private money?

He was too soft-hearted to take people. In the future, when Yan Ke went to the palace to give him advice, he couldn't say anything.

The more the Duke thought about it, the more regretful he felt.

However, when he went to bed with his concubine, the Duke began to understand His Majesty a little.

But he is His Majesty after all. He must lead by example!

After all, His Majesty is very young and has only one eldest prince. The Duke does not think that His Majesty is too lustful.

The Duke just had the same idea as the court officials, thinking that His Majesty should not hang himself on the tree of the Imperial Concubine.

There are so many concubines in the palace, and the queen doesn't favor her. She only has one concubine in her heart and eyes. This is the problem.

Fortunately, the money was returned this time. The Duke decided to return to the palace to give advice after some time.

Seeing that he was able to distract himself on the couch today, which was rare, Jasmine asked softly, "Master, are you okay?"

The Duke came back to his senses and said, "No problem."

"Then I'm relieved." Jasmine didn't ask any more questions and leaned her head on the Duke's arm like a docile and obedient kitten.

The Duke looked at his innocent and docile concubine and thought of Zuo He's words. He thought to himself that his concubine would only be bullied by others.

The Duke couldn't help but feel worried again, and whispered to her, "When the principal wife comes home, I'll remind her not to provoke you. You don't have to be afraid."

Jasmine opened her eyes and wondered how afraid he was that she would get scared. "Master, you told me this, have you forgotten?"

"I haven't forgotten, I'm just worried you might start to overthink it. It doesn't matter if I say it twice."

"Um."

Jasmine closed her eyes, she couldn't help but feel a little wet in the corners of her eyes.

The Duke felt it and sighed in his heart. As expected, she was still afraid.

What should I do? The Duke was worried.

The next day, when Jasmine opened her eyes, she saw the wooden box of silver and money that she had given to the Duke placed beside the bed.

Jasmine knew that her master had not used it and had returned it to her. She was about to put it away when she realized something was wrong.

Why does it seem a little heavier?

Jasmine opened the box and found several more silver bars and several more pieces of jewelry inside.

It didn't look very expensive or very nice, but Jasmine fell in love with it at first sight.

She took out a pair of phoenix-tail jade earrings, put them on in front of the mirror, shook her ears, and looked at them again and again.

"Auntie, are you awake? The Third Young Master's wife is here to see you."

Jasmine quickly packed up, fearing to neglect the Third Young Master's wife, she only changed her clothes, tied her hair into a simple bun, and ran to the hall in front of the bedroom to invite the Third Young Master's wife in.

The Third Young Master's wife entered the room, glanced around the main courtyard, and then ran towards Jasmine in surprise, grabbing her hand and saying, "Congratulations, Auntie."

Jasmine asked anxiously, "Congratulations on what?"

The Third Young Master's wife joked, "Auntie, don't you think I don't know? You don't even go back to the side courtyard these days. You only live in the main courtyard. I guess the Duke agreed. Although you're a concubine, you're the Duke's first woman. Even if the Duke's wife comes into the family in the future, I can't neglect you."

Jasmine was even more apprehensive: "Madam, you can't say such nonsense. I'm just a servant. If I don't go back, it's... it's..."

Seeing her stuttering with anxiety, the Third Young Master's wife secretly sighed that she was really timid. It was no wonder, after all, she was a girl born in a poor family.

The Third Young Master's wife took her hand and said earnestly, "My aunt and I are very close, so today I will say something that I shouldn't say, but you have to promise me not to tell anyone, especially not the Duke."

Jasmine felt that she didn't really want to hear it, but in order to get along with the Third Young Master's wife, Jasmine could only nod and say, "Don't worry, Madam."

The Third Young Master's wife looked around before leaning closer and whispering, "In a few months, the daughter of the Luo family will marry into the family. Then the Duke will definitely have to take care of his legal wife, so you, my concubine, will have to be careful. If the Duke favors her, I, my concubine, will be neglected. Even if the Duke doesn't favor her, she's still his legal wife. If she talks about taking him a concubine, he'll eventually forget about me."

After a pause, the Third Young Master's wife continued, "What I want to say is that Auntie should be prepared now. As the saying goes, you never fight a battle without preparation. When the daughter of the Luo family comes home, Auntie won't be too passive."

Jasmine asked curiously, "Then what does Madam think Jasmine should do?"

The Third Young Master's wife looked at her large, distinct black and white eyes and cursed her inwardly, "Stupid," but she said, "Auntie, have you ever considered giving birth to the Duke's first child? Even if it's a concubine's child, it's still the Duke's firstborn, so it's bound to be precious."

Jasmine was so frightened that she fell backwards. She waved her hands at the Third Young Master's wife and said, "Third Young Master's wife, please stop saying this. If it gets out and someone hears it, it will cause trouble. Jasmine just wants to serve the Duke peacefully, and that's all."

The Third Young Master's wife sighed, "Auntie, you're too naive. What if the Duke abandons you? You'll just have to linger in this dark backyard. Think about it carefully."

Jasmine nodded, indicating that she would think about it carefully.

Seeing how frightened she was, the Third Young Master's wife stopped talking at the right moment. She then turned to something else: "We've been talking so much, we almost forgot about the important matter. Today is Qi'er's sixth birthday. Remember to come and see her tonight."

Jasmine was surprised: "Madam, why are you only telling me now? Why is there no news from the mansion?"

The Third Young Master's wife said, "The Third Master is a concubine's son, and Qi'er is a girl, so we wanted to keep a low profile and not inform anyone. But since Qi'er likes you, she asked me several times this morning if Aunt Moli would come, so I came to invite you."

Jasmine smiled and replied, "I'll go this afternoon. It's just that I'm in a hurry and don't have time to prepare a decent gift for Qi'er."

The Third Young Master's wife said, "Just come here. What could such a young child need?"

The Third Young Master's wife stood up and said goodbye: "That's all I have to say. I'll be leaving now."

Jasmine sent her to the door, and the Third Young Master's wife turned around again, looking as if she was concerned about her: "Auntie, think about what I said."

Jasmine nodded.

When the Third Young Master's wife entered the hall, her maid Xizhi hugged Shancha's arm and went away to have tea.

Now that the Third Young Master's wife had left, Shancha couldn't help but ask Jasmine curiously, "What did the Third Young Master's wife say to you that was so mysterious?"

Jasmine pulled her into the house and then whispered in her ear.

Shan Cha was shocked for a moment after hearing this, then suddenly realized, "Madam Third Young Master, what you said makes a lot of sense."

Jasmine pinched her cheek harshly: "What's so reasonable about that?"

Shancha slapped her hand away, unconvinced, "Then why don't you say that? If you bear the Duke's child, we'll have a firm foothold in this mansion. At worst, we can give birth secretly. Then, can we strangle the child to death, or the mother? Don't worry, the Duke will definitely not be willing to strangle you."

Jasmine then twisted her other side. "The mistress is still a few months away from marrying in, and yet your concubine is pregnant. Are you trying to make me, your concubine, a thorn in your side? And with the Duke being such a well-behaved person, how can you guarantee I won't be strangled to death?"

Shancha howled in pain and slapped her hands hard. After Jasmine let go, Shancha asked, "Why do you think the Duke would harm you? You are his favorite concubine."

Jasmine pointed at herself and said, "What do you think qualifies me to be a concubine? Is it because I'm stunningly beautiful, or a talented woman, or because I have a good family background?"

Shancha: "But the Duke is really good to you."

Jasmine straightened her hair and clothes, restoring her dignity as Aunt Jasmine, and said, "That's because I'm very obedient and almost never make mistakes in front of him. Do you know what it means to be a favored concubine?" Jasmine asked her.

Shancha shook her head.

Jasmine: "That's the case with Concubine Liang in the palace. No matter how spoiled she is, or how bad she does something, that man will always stand behind her."

Shancha was puzzled. "How on earth did the Imperial Concubine do it? There are so many women in the palace, but His Majesty only loves one. I heard that the Imperial Concubine is just a minor official lady, and she has a bad temper. No matter how beautiful she is, how much beauty can she have after seeing her every day? Besides, the Imperial Concubine is not young anymore. Could it be that the Imperial Concubine really knows witchcraft?"

Jasmine covered her mouth and said, "This is the Duke's Mansion. Don't say things like that anymore."

After the intimidation, Jasmine said, "No matter what, the relationship between the Duke and me cannot compare to that between His Majesty and the Concubine. At least, His Majesty and the Concubine have been together for many years, and they also have the Crown Prince. But My Lord and I have only known each other for a few months. I don't fully understand him, and he certainly doesn't understand me either. As servants, it is most important for us to abide by our duties."

Shan Cha had discovered that she had never made a wrong decision these days. Of course, she was listening to her now. "Okay, whatever Auntie says, we'll do."

Before returning to the Duke's Mansion, Shancha would also say this when she was angry with her, "Whatever my aunt says is fine, isn't it?" But now Jasmine could hear that she was speaking from the bottom of her heart.

Jasmine nodded with relief.

Shan Cha continued to ask, "But what if it's really like what the eldest young lady said, and the daughter of the Luo family enters the palace, and the Duke doesn't look for you anymore?"

She had thought of this long ago when she was trying to find a way to stay with the Duke.

Jasmine said lightly, "Then we can just stay in the backyard, have food and drink for the rest of our lives, and not have to work. Isn't that good?"