Chapter 20 Chapter 20 "You must be filial to your mistress in the future."...

Shancha: "Last night, when Auntie left, the Duke said he wanted to pick out some clothes. Xiuhong and I picked out a few together. The Duke chose the one with a blue background and gray trim, and told me not to put it away. I'm leaving it here. Auntie, is there anything wrong?"

Jasmine couldn't understand: "If you're not wearing it, why don't you let me put it away?"

"Of course I like it, why else would I?" Shancha answered as if it was a matter of course.

Jasmine was in a trance. Shancha walked away with the clothes in her arms. Only then did Jasmine come to her senses and chase after her.

"I have nothing to do anyway, let's hang the clothes together."

"Oh, Auntie is really free."

A round-necked robe with a red background and dark patterns was meticulously hung on a bamboo pole to dry. Jasmine did not leave, but sat on the steps, chin in her hand, gazing at the robe fluttering gently in the wind.

Shancha saw that she didn't leave, so she sat down beside her. But she got up immediately and said, "Auntie, wait a minute."

After a while, he came running back along the corridor with a plate of small oranges and a plate of peanuts.

"I asked the kitchen for the peanuts, and the small oranges were a gift from the kitchen steward. The steward also wanted to give me a large fragrant pear, but I didn't have the hands to take it, so I had to decline. By the way, Auntie, why are we sitting here?"

Jasmine: "Waiting for the clothes to dry."

Shancha was puzzled. "I'll come back to collect it after it's dry. Are you afraid of losing the Duke's clothes?"

Jasmine nodded: "What if it's lost."

Shancha: "If it's lost, it's lost. Even though the Duke always wears those two pieces, he has plenty of clothes. If ten or eight pieces were stolen, he wouldn't even notice."

"But this is my favorite. If it's lost or broken, I'll definitely come to you."

Shancha stopped talking back and just munched on some peanuts.

After a while, Shan Cha asked again in confusion, "Why does the Duke like this one so much? What's so good about it?"

Jasmine knew it, she couldn't remember.

Jasmine didn't explain, but instead whispered something else to her.

"You know that the Fourth Young Master's wife deliberately lured us out yesterday."

Shancha gasped: "She...what does she want to do?"

Jasmine: "I guess she's just like the First and Second Young Masters' wives, she's also doing this for the Duke. Either she's asking the Duke to do something through me, or she's trying to harm him."

Shancha asked nervously, "Which one are you talking about?"

Jasmine: "I'm afraid it's the latter."

Shancha became even more nervous. She pinched her aunt's arm and said, "What should we do then? If their masters fight, will we little devils be implicated? I'm afraid we won't even know how we died."

Jasmine couldn't swat her claws away, so she pinched her, and the two of them hurt each other.

It was over. The two of them gasped and glared at each other. Jasmine covered her arm and spoke, "Don't worry. They didn't succeed yesterday, but next time we're prepared, it'll be even less likely they'll succeed."

Shancha thought back to yesterday. "I don't understand. What was the Fourth Young Madam's trick yesterday? First she came to you to complain, then tearfully asked you to accompany her out of the house to look for the Fourth Master. In the end, she couldn't find the Fourth Master, and instead ran into the Duke. Was the Fourth Young Madam just trying to trick us? It doesn't make sense. It was she who suggested that Auntie accompany her out of the house. If the Dukeie asked, wouldn't he know everything? Even if Auntie is to blame, she's definitely not immune to the blame. What did the Fourth Young Madam do?"

Jasmine: "I can't think of anything specific at the moment. Anyway, please be more careful in the future."

Shancha nodded heavily. "Yeah! By the way, there was a quarrel in Room 4 in the middle of the night last night. I heard it was quite fierce."

Jasmine: "Do you know why?"

Shancha: "Didn't Auntie tell me to stop asking questions and meddle in other people's business?"

Jasmine: "Things are different now. I wanted to live our lives behind closed doors, but it seems that's no longer possible. So, it would be better for us to learn more about each other."

"Okay. I'll tell you all the news from now on." Shancha told you all the information she had heard.

"...After the quarrel, I heard that the Fourth Master went to the concubine's room. This morning, I heard that the Fourth Young Master's wife acted as if nothing had happened, still smiling as she went to serve tea to the old lady."

...

"The Duke has returned and is currently speaking to the old lady. The old lady is calling my aunt over for lunch."

After hearing the little girl's report, Jasmine didn't dare to delay and quickly packed up and went over.

Since it was lunchtime, it was impossible to call the Duke alone. Sure enough, when Jasmine arrived, the other families had already gone to the left side of the living room, except for the Third Master, who was recuperating from a leg injury.

Jasmine paid her respects to the old lady and then stood quietly beside the Duke.

The Duke only glanced at her and continued talking to the old lady: "Lord Luo wanted to keep dinner for me today, but I refused."

The old lady was puzzled: "Why, Duke?"

The Duke said, "It's my fault. I should have told you before I came, but I forgot. I came unexpectedly today, and Lord Luo hurried back from the court. I was afraid of mobilizing too many troops, so I made an excuse and left."

The old lady nodded. "That's right. The Duke did nothing wrong. By the way, has the Luo family's wife seen it?"

The Duke: “I saw it.”

Old Lady: "Did you say anything?"

The Duke: “Never.”

The old lady sighed, "It seems like she'll be married in about three months. We have to cultivate a good relationship with her no matter what."

The eldest young lady's wife interrupted with a smile, "Don't worry, mother. When a newlywed couple lies down on the bed, they will be familiar with each other. It will be hard for them not to be familiar with each other."

The old lady scolded: "Shut up!"

The eldest young lady's wife didn't mind and asked the Duke with a smile, "Duke, what do you think? Does what I said make sense?"

This time it was the uncle's turn to stop him: "Madam, stop talking!"

With just a glance from the eldest young lady, the master immediately shrank his head again and dared not say a word.

The Duke didn't want to answer, but she was his sister-in-law after all. Just as he was about to speak, the old lady stopped him, "Ignore your sister-in-law. Listen to your mother. Some other day, on a nice, sunny day, invite the daughter of the Luo family out for an outing, a meal, or a chat."

The Duke agreed, "Zi Fu understands."

The old lady looked at Jasmine again and waved to her. Jasmine stepped forward obediently and handed her hand to the old lady.

The old lady patted her hands and said earnestly, "Jasmine is a well-behaved girl. In the future, you must be filial to your mistress, help her manage the backyard, and serve the Duke well so that he has no worries while away from home."

Jasmine smiled and responded, "This servant will follow the old lady's orders."

The old lady continued, "Groom your master well, and don't let Madam Luo feel neglected. You should also help him with his advice and create opportunities for him and Madam Luo. If both the master and the mistress are happy, you will surely benefit from it in the future."

Jasmine continued to smile and replied, "I'll remember that."

The old lady nodded in satisfaction and said to the Duke, "Your Majesty is so lucky. You have a good concubine now, and soon you'll have a virtuous wife. Mother can finally feel at ease."

The Duke said, "I've made mother work so hard these years."

The old lady smiled contentedly again and said, "Okay, let's have dinner."

After the meal, the eldest young lady and the master took their leave first. Jasmine followed the Duke back to the main courtyard.

The Fourth Master also stood up and left.

The Third Young Master's wife saw that the Fourth Young Master's wife and the Old Madam were both looking at her, so she stood up and said, "Then I will be leaving too."

The old lady smiled and said, "I wonder if Third Master has eaten yet. I'm afraid there are still many dishes in the kitchen. You can pick out some of Third Master's favorites and take them back."

The Third Master is not a dog, why should he eat what you have left? After the Third Young Master’s wife finished her internal complaints, she bowed and replied, “I understand.”

After the Third Young Master's wife left, the old lady stopped smiling and spoke to the Fourth Young Master's wife: "Even if you closed the door last night, could others still be deaf?"

The Fourth Young Master's wife lowered her head, her eyes red as she said, "I know I was wrong, please don't blame me, mother."

Old lady: "Don't pretend in front of me."

"Yes." The Fourth Young Master's wife finally looked up. "I want to ask Mother why she agreed to let the Fourth Master take that concubine into the mansion."

The old lady said, "He likes it. If he doesn't agree, what can I do? Even if I can be the master of the Duke, I can't be the master of the Fourth Master!"

The old lady was also angry when she thought about it, but she couldn't just talk about her own son together with her own daughter-in-law. It would also be a disgrace to her as a mother.

The old lady looked at the fourth young master's wife and said, "Since you have entered the Duke's Mansion, you belong to the Duke's Mansion. Mother is telling you the truth, even if the Wu family completely collapses, you will still be the fourth young master's wife."

The fourth young lady hugged the old lady's knees and said, "Mother!"

The old lady said: "The reason why I took a fancy to you was not only because you were the daughter of the Minister of Personnel, but more importantly, you, Wu Mingle, were smart and clever enough to help the fourth son establish himself."

The Fourth Young Master's wife was even more moved. "Mother..."

"But I didn't expect that after you entered the mansion, you would focus all your attention on love affairs. The fourth brother is a man. The tighter you hold on, the more likely he is to run away. If you can get rid of one concubine, can you guarantee that your man won't find another one outside? You can't guard against such things! The most important thing you should do is to let him go and help him with his career. When he comes back, he will naturally see your good side. Look at your mother."

The old lady recalled the past: "I became his second wife, and he already had three sons. I wanted to have my own child, but I didn't dare to, for fear that it would be too early and would arouse his suspicion and alienate me. It took me many years to dare to give birth to the fourth child. The old Duke trusted me not only because of this, but also because I am generous and tolerant. I can tolerate the eldest master's concubine, and I can also tolerate the third master's prostitute wife. All three of them grew up safely. So you have to be patient."

The fourth young master's wife really wanted to ask, "Didn't that prostitute's mother hang herself? I don't believe it wasn't your doing."

Of course, the Fourth Young Master's wife wouldn't be stupid enough to ask such a question.

She just nodded slowly: "Mom, I know."

"I'm glad you understand. Don't be confused again in the future."

The fourth young master's wife nodded again.

The old lady then started talking about something else.

The old lady's expression suddenly changed. She looked at the Fourth Young Master's wife sternly and said, "The Duke represents the Duke's Mansion. If the Duke falls, the Duke's Mansion will fall. You must never do anything that harms the Duke again! Do you hear me?"

The Fourth Young Master's wife hunched her shoulders and nodded, "I understand."

The Fourth Young Master's wife didn't understand and couldn't help asking, "But Mother, the Duke has been standing firm for so long, so when will the Fourth Master have a chance to rise to prominence?"