Chapter 3 Putting Things Down
Zhao Yan didn't look over here and raised his foot to enter the room. Bai Yi moved sideways and blocked Yu Huatang's sight.
She thought she should leave, as no one here wanted her to stay.
She turned around and walked back a few steps, just around the corner, "Put down the clothes..."
He turned back, looked at her, and sighed, "Put the things here when you get them. Be careful when you go back..."
The original entanglement and frustration were all dispersed, like ripples on the water gently spreading around. She closed the flower that was slightly blooming in her heart, suppressed her joy, and said calmly, "Okay."
Bai Yi immediately came over and took the clothes. "Thank you, Madam. It's late at night, so you should go back and rest early..."
Yu Huatang stared blankly at Bai Yi as she took the clothes away with some force.
She thought about why they were so polite when she sent clothes to her husband, and their politeness was mixed with the familiar displeasure and alienation.
She didn't know where Bai Yi would keep the clothes. These clothes were not actually the latest styles. He had only stayed overnight in her room a few times, only three times, so she didn't have many of his clothes.
If she uses this excuse today, she won’t know what excuse to use next time.
Every time she thought of this, she didn't know what to do. Her heart was blocked. She glanced at Zhao Yan secretly. He was looking towards the courtyard, ignoring the twists and turns between them.
She breathed a sigh of relief. No matter what, she still gained something tonight. At least he had just told her to be careful. That was enough. "Husband, I'm leaving..."
Zhao Yan didn't answer and turned back to his room.
She glanced at his long hair with reluctance and stepped into the night.
The night deepened and raindrops floated in the air.
Chu He hugged her arms tightly and pouted at Chu Tao, "See, I was right, the Third Young Master will definitely not come to the Third Madam's room. Bai Yi is the head maid handpicked by the Madam herself, so she can't do anything wrong."
"Our lady is rushing over here right now, asking what kind of clothes to send. Who can't see her thoughtfulness?"
Seeing Yu Huatang walking towards this side, she immediately changed her tone, "I told you before that Madam, you didn't need to go, but you didn't believe me and insisted on making a wasted trip."
Chu He, as a maid, dared to speak to her master like this. If it were the second sister-in-law, she would definitely be sent out of the house.
But she was an orphan and had no money when she got married. Seeing how poor she was, her mother-in-law gave her the two newly bought maids.
During these three years, the other maids followed their respective wives and rose to prominence, but only the two of them lived here with her in misery.
The two of them were naturally resentful of each other. Although Chu Tao did not say it openly, she secretly envied the generosity of the ladies of other families.
She was the most marginal person in the Prime Minister's Mansion. Apart from necessary family dinners and festivals, she hardly ever went out and never chatted with other people in the Prime Minister's Mansion.
The servants basically didn't take her seriously. Chu He would do whatever they told her to do, and pretend not to hear anything she didn't want to do.
She had been lonely since childhood and did not know how to discipline servants or win people's hearts.
Her husband was busy with family and national affairs every day and never paid attention to these small issues. Even if he knew about them in the future, he would probably sigh and say that she was incompetent.
After returning to her room and washing up, she asked the two maids to go to bed, but she couldn't sleep.
In fact, she was sad and heartbroken most of the time, but no one told her.
Her husband went somewhere else for something, and no one came to inform her.
Sending him clothes, everyone felt it was unnecessary...
He finally came back and went to the house of the girl he grew up with. He never thought about whether she would have any random thoughts...
Maybe everyone thinks she is not qualified, so no one cares about her feelings...
But fortunately, he still said some caring words to her, and she felt a hint of sweetness in her heart, which brought a touch of warmth in this long night. Just like a baby being coaxed to sleep by its mother, she fell asleep savoring this sweetness.
On the second day, Yu Huatang went to pay her respects to her mother-in-law and served her dinner as usual.
My second sister-in-law gave birth to a big fat boy last year. Mrs. Zhao now asks her to bring the child over every day to take care of him, and sometimes she even feeds him and plays with him herself.
Every time Yu Huatang saw this scene, she felt that her mother-in-law, Mrs. Zhao, was still kind.
After she served the porridge and placed it in front of Mrs. Zhao, she sat down and looked at the chubby white baby in front of her with envy.
Second sister-in-law Xu Yuanyi always does things with a ladylike demeanor. The maids and old women in the mansion are all respectful to her. She has a face like a peony, elegant and graceful, and is the daughter-in-law that her mother-in-law is most satisfied with.
Even the fourth brother's wife, who disliked the second sister-in-law, did not dare to say bad things about her directly in front of the mother-in-law.
When she first arrived, her second sister-in-law held her hand affectionately and praised her for being a beautiful and charming woman from the south, praising her pleasant temperament and making everyone like her.
She also thought that her second sister-in-law was different from others, and chatted with her about women's matters, but later she found out that her second sister-in-law was just being polite, and those kind words were just the courtesy of a woman from a noble family, and she never treated her as a family member.
In the eyes of her second sister-in-law, she, a girl from a small family in Quanzhou, had a natural barrier with them.
Later she thought of her fourth brother's wife.
The fourth brother's wife was young and lively. She often played with the maids in the yard and sometimes they would ask her to join them. However, she did not know how to play toss pots and cards like the noble ladies in the capital, so she mostly just watched from the side.
Later, she accidentally heard her fourth brother's wife's maid mocking her as a country bumpkin, and she knew that she would never be able to get into their circle no matter what, so she gave up.
As usual, He Lingfei sat down and began to exaggerate how good-looking Xu Yuanyi's son was. She also chatted a lot with Madam Zhao. As they talked, they talked about the state of women during pregnancy, what to do when experiencing morning sickness, and how to recuperate after giving birth.
Concubine He Ling listened carefully. Madam Zhao was very tolerant and said that there was no need to be so anxious. She had only been married for half a year and the couple should get along well first.
Every time this happened, Yu Huatang felt extremely embarrassed and ashamed. Mrs. Zhao had asked her before if there was anything wrong with her body, but she just lowered her head and said, "Thank you for your concern, mother..."
After a long time, Mrs. Zhao probably realized that Zhao Yan didn't like her and rarely went to her room, so she stopped asking.
She lowered her head and continued to drink her porridge. At this time, her second sister-in-law said, "Mother looks happier today than usual, but is there any good news in the mansion?"
He Lingfei said, "Second sister-in-law may not know yet, but Third Brother came back last night. I guess the Ministry of Works has temporarily stopped for a while, so Third Brother just happened to have time to go home and visit."
After saying that, he said to her, "Third sister-in-law, hasn't Third Brother come to eat today?"
Yu Huatang, "I guess something delayed him."
Mrs. Zhao became worried again after hearing this. "This child was arguing with his father when he came home yesterday. He hasn't come to pay his respects so late today. I'm afraid he's arguing again."
Yu Huatang remembered that Zhao Yan was a very polite person. After listening to what Mrs. Zhao said, she realized that he might really be arguing with his father-in-law.
She didn't know about these things in the court before, but in order to understand him better, she learned to care and to inquire.
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