Chapter 102: Learning Some New Rules

Yu Zhong patted Chen Qi's shoulder gently, as if to comfort her.

"Fortunately, my sister-in-law is getting married soon. When the time comes, we can let Xiujie live in the west wing, and we can at least relax a little."

Chen Qi nodded, feeling a little pity in her heart, and from then on she never dared to complain in front of her elder sister that the house at home was too empty.

The couple saw that the He family was busy preparing for their daughter's wedding and the eldest brother-in-law was out and had not returned home. After the banquet, they just sat for a while and then said goodbye and went home.

In addition to the He family, Shen Qi also attended many banquets.

Most of them were business friends that Xie Yuduo had made. Seeing that he had brought his wife to the provincial capital to settle down and buy a house, they were busy welcoming him and held several welcoming banquets in a row.

As usual, Chen Qi prepared a housewarming party for the new house, inviting all old and new friends, and was busy for several days.

After more than ten days of banquets, Chen Qi was so tired that she couldn't get out of bed in the morning, but her body became fatter and plumper from eating more.

While she was still in bed in the morning, she summarized everything with Xie Yuduo.

When having a banquet in Guangling City, the table is bigger, there are more dishes, the food tastes better, and there are more rules.

She already knew that there were seats at the table.

But the guest sitting at the head of the table was asked to tip money. She had never seen such a situation where the host would give money for each dish served.

What's more, a delicious dish was taken away by the servants and replaced with another one just after she tasted two bites. This was a rule she could never have imagined.

In addition, Sister Yu Zhong also reminded her that not only should she tip for meals, she should not lift the curtain when riding in a car, and she should cover her face when seeing a doctor.

Even married women had to address themselves as concubine, concubine, slave, or slave family when speaking to their husbands. They could no longer use "you" or "me" as before, and they could not call their husbands directly by their names.

After listening to these new rules one by one, Chen Qi felt uncomfortable all over.

In the small town of Pingshan County, she was clearly the most dignified and well-behaved second wife in a wealthy family.

But when she arrived in the huge city of Guangling, she not only became a merchant wife of a small family, but also became a savage who could not speak, eat, or even walk.

At this moment, Chen Qi was wearing tight pajamas and rolling back and forth on the bed in the new bedroom, humming and moaning.

"My dear husband, I feel that there are so many rules in this provincial capital."

Xie Yuduo had gotten up long ago and was getting dressed. Seeing that she was complaining, he went over and grabbed her hands and feet, leaned over to control her so that she couldn't move, and then kissed her on the cheek.

"Whatever the rules are, as long as you feel comfortable."

Shen Qi smiled and shook her head.

"My dear, since we are here, we should make the best of it. Since I live here, I must abide by the rules here. Otherwise, won't I be laughed at by others?"

Xie Yuduo narrowed his eyes, pinched her chin, and snorted softly.

"I knew it. You only dare to act tough in front of me, but you behave well outside. You are more disciplined and cautious than anyone else."

Shen Qi agreed with this and nodded with a smile.

Xie Yuduo sincerely advised her.

"Outside, if you want, you can just pretend. But back home, there are no rules. Your words are the most important rule. I wonder who in our family has the guts to laugh at you, the mistress of the house?"

"That being said..."

Chen Qi still sighed, got up from the bed, pushed him out to the study to take care of business.

The new shop officially opened and he was very busy.

During the day, it would be the happiest thing for a couple to have a meal together.

As soon as Chen Qi pushed Xie Yuduo out of the door, a maid came in and helped the mistress wash up.

This is also one of the rules of Guangling City.

Chen Qi moved from the three-room east wing to the five-room main house. As the mistress of the house, she could no longer order Xiao Ling around as her only maid.

In the middle, as usual, is the outer hall for living and receiving guests, with a Luohan couch placed there for convenient meeting people and handling affairs.

In the room to the west, there is a chaise longue against the wall for taking a nap, and a dressing table and dressing mirror are placed by the window.

The room further west is the couple's bedroom, furnished with a newly built gold-painted step-out bed and hung with pearl curtains and embroidered canopies, which is very luxurious.

In the room to the east, there is a desk with paper, pen, and toys, which makes it convenient for Chen Qi to write and keep accounts.

Further in, after turning the screen, there is still the bathroom where the couple washes and bathes.

Now that Chen Qi lives in such a big house, he naturally cannot let Xiao Ling run around alone.

In addition to Xiao Ling who helped her manage the whole household, there were four maids in Chen Qi's room. One was the girl who had beaten someone for her in her hometown, and the other three were newly bought, all of them were girls of fifteen or sixteen years old.

The other two maids brought from her hometown were given to Yu Jing, and two new maids were also added to serve her daily life.

As for the maids and servants who cleaned the courtyard and provided supplies, there were so many that Chen Qi couldn't even recognize them all. People came and went, each doing their own job, all to serve the mistress of the house.

Xie Yuduo was right. This was the advantage of being a businessman's wife - not completely respectable, but very wealthy.

He is submissive outside but acts arrogantly at home.

At this moment in the main room, some maids were bringing water, some were holding towels, some were combing her hair, and some were getting dressed. Chen Qi just had to sit quietly.

She sighed inwardly - it was so uncomfortable to have a stranger fiddling with her body.

After lunch, Yujing saw Chen Qi busying around and felt very bored. She clamored to go to her elder sister's house to play with Xiu Jie'er. Chen Qi knew that the He family was busy and busy, so she discussed with her that it would be better to take Xiu Jie'er to her home to stay for a few days. Yujing was very happy to hear that.

While sending a carriage to the He family to pick someone up, Chen Qi also sent away a few things. Seeing that Xie Yuduo had not returned for lunch, and knowing that lunch was always later in the shop than in the backyard, she ordered people to prepare two side dishes and went to the study in the front to visit her husband who was busy with all kinds of affairs.

As we walked along, we saw luxuriant flowers and trees, spacious halls and wide courtyards, and deep secluded buildings.

They walked all the way to the door of the inner study. When the doorman saw the mistress coming, he hurriedly stood up and saluted.

Shen Qi nodded and told him to get up.

"Has he dined yet?"

"To answer grandma, there are many things to do today. The master is still busy upstairs and hasn't come back yet. Maybe he hasn't eaten yet."

Since the family split up, except for those who followed him from his hometown who still called Xie Yuduo "Second Master", the newcomers from the provincial capital called him "Mr. Xie".

Chen Qi nodded and said okay, then sent the maid back and went into the inner study with the food box to wait for him to come back.

This was the second time that Chen Qi came to this inner study. Taking advantage of the fact that no one was around, she took a closer look.

The study originally consisted of two bright rooms and one dark room. One of the two bright rooms was decorated with paintings of famous landscapes, furnished with a marble wall table and two rows of Dongpo chairs, presumably for entertaining guests.

The other room was furnished with a desk, a red-lacquered and gold-painted bookcase, several stationery tables, piled high with books and documents, and a single armchair, where Xie Yuduo usually sat.

After turning around the mica screen, there is another inner room with a lacquered and gold-threaded couch, bed curtains, screens, embroidered mattresses and brocade pillows, which are used for a nap in the afternoon.

There is another door leading to the courtyard at the back.

Inside the room, a faint fragrance was burning in the gilded incense burner. Outside the window, the banana leaves were half-closed, and a tree of crape myrtle was in full bloom.

Chen Qi looked around and admired that it was much more spacious and grand than the study in his hometown.

She walked around the study. Xie Yuduo had not come back yet, and she was feeling sleepy after lunch.

The room was warm and pleasant. She saw that the couch in the inner room was very spacious and all the bedding and pillows were new. She didn't hesitate and leaned on the couch, closing her eyes and slept for a while.

For some reason, she had been feeling very sleepy lately. She thought—it was getting cooler, so it would be easier to sleep…

Xie Yuduo took Xiaowu with him, explaining things as they walked. Just as they arrived at the door of the inner study, the servant came back and said that the second wife was waiting for him.

After hearing this, he smiled to himself, understood what he meant, then waved his hand and asked Xiaowu to come back and talk before dinner.