Qi Zhenheng did not return home that night.
Shen Qing also didn't sleep all night.
Before dawn, she got up, went to the window, crossed her arms, and looked at the Akhal-Teke horses in the garden.
That was Qi Zhenheng's mount; as long as the horse is there, the man is still here.
He didn't return to his room all night; he must have gone to sleep in the study.
Shen Qing lay back on the bed and dozed off for a while. In her half-asleep state, she heard the sound of horses' hooves. When she woke up, Qi Zhenheng's horse was not in the garden.
She changed her clothes and went downstairs for breakfast, then quickly went to the silk shop.
In the afternoon, Zhuang Tai came and asked with concern, "Did Lord Qi find out about your affair with that fellow villager? He acted strangely yesterday, and I guess he was testing He Danqing."
Shen Qing smiled and said, "No, he only asked your husband to invite him to the birthday party because I mentioned that there was such a person who looked like our fellow townsman."
Zhuang Tai pressed his chest: "That's good, that's good. If He Danqing causes a conflict between you and the master, then I would truly be guilty!"
"No, we have a good relationship, please don't overthink it."
Mrs. Zhuang nodded and picked up the sample book to choose a new pattern.
She asked for a piece of burgundy silk and matching lace, and asked Shen Qing to make her two sets of sexy nightgowns.
Shen Qing measured her measurements: "Mrs. Zhuang, you have such a great figure."
Mrs. Zhuang sighed, "I have no choice but to let my husband stay with me, both physically and mentally! I often go hungry."
Shen Qing wrote down her measurements on a piece of paper and smiled, "Mr. Zhuang doesn't seem like the kind of person who would do anything shady, so don't worry."
Zhuang Tai laughed sarcastically: "There's no man who doesn't cheat! I'm telling you, you'd better keep a close eye on your husband, Master Qi! Don't keep living apart from him all the time, it's easy for trouble to happen!"
Shen Qing wrapped the soft measuring tape around her waist and said, "I actually hope he takes a concubine, then I'll be happy to have some peace and quiet."
"That won't do! Having another concubine will only make your life more difficult..."
Mrs. Zhuang didn't go home until the silk shop closed.
When Shen Qing returned home, it was already dark. Seeing her carriage enter the garden, the steward immediately ran over and said, "Madam, something has happened!"
Shen Qing's nerves skipped a beat, and he immediately asked, "What happened?"
"The wet nurse has been crying all day long, ignoring the young master and young lady, and has been sitting with her daughter at your door, crying!"
It turns out it was about the wet nurse.
Shen Qing's tense nerves relaxed: "It's okay, I'll handle it. You can go ahead and get busy."
She glanced at the spot where Qi Zhenheng usually parked his horse.
It's so late, and the horse isn't here. It must have gone back to its camp.
Shen Qing sighed, walked into the house, and went upstairs to the second floor.
The wet nurse and her daughter were sitting at the door of her room. When they saw her come up, they immediately started crying and wailing.
Shen Qing went upstairs and said sternly, "You two are both sitting here. Where's the child? Who's taking care of him? Who's doing the chores?"
The wet nurse cried out, "Madam, you must seek justice for my daughter!"
Shen Qing frowned: "What do you mean?"
She went to look at Xia Zhu and saw that her hair was disheveled and her head was hanging down.
"What happened?" she asked again.
"My lord...my lord, he..."
"What's wrong, sir?"
"My lord... he slept with my daughter last night!"
"What?" Shen Qing looked at Xia Zhu. "Xia Zhu, raise your head."
Xia Zhu looked up at Shen Qing.
Her lips were swollen and red, and she had several hickeys on her neck.
Shen Qing closed his eyes briefly: "Xia Zhu, go to the study and wait for me. Wet nurse, go do whatever you need to do."
After saying this, she turned to go into the study, but the wet nurse climbed up and hugged her leg, crying, "Madam, you must seek justice for Xia Zhu! We are innocent young women, we cannot be defiled like this, nameless and without status!"
After saying that, she took out a piece of fabric cut from a bed sheet from her sleeve pocket, unfolded it, and showed it to Shen Qing: "Look, this is my daughter's virginity from last night. Our Xia Zhu is indeed a virgin..."
Shen Qing closed her eyes in disgust: "I know, Xia Zhu, come in with me."
She went into the study and sat down in the spot where Qi Zhenheng usually sat.
Xia Zhu hunched her neck and came in, standing inside the doorway.
Shen Qing looked at her and calmly said, "Close the door, then come and sit down."
Xia Zhu turned around and closed the door, then walked up to Shen Qing, but didn't dare to sit down, just stood there.
"It's alright, please sit down."
She sat down, but dared not look at Shen Qing, keeping her head down.
Shen Qing scrutinized her for a while, then asked, "Tell me what happened last night."
"Last night, I was about to go to sleep when I heard a noise outside, so I went out to check and saw an adult drinking alone, and then..."
"What will you do?"
“I made a bowl of noodles for the adult. He was drunk, and I was going to take him upstairs to rest, but he said he didn’t want to go up, so he came into my room…”
Shen Qing raised her hand: "Alright, I understand."
She looked Xia Zhu up and down and said, "I will discuss it with the adults. Just focus on your work and you won't be treated unfairly."
Xia Zhu bowed to her and said, "Thank you, Madam."
"Let your mother go do some work too, instead of sitting at my door crying and making a scene."
"Yes, madam."
After the person left, Shen Qing stayed in the study for a while before going out.
Sure enough, the wet nurse wasn't at the door. She opened the door and went in, where she saw Chunju playing with the twins.
Chunju glanced at her and said, "I knew it! The master would take a concubine sooner or later! But I never expected it to be Xia Zhu!"
Shen Qing sat down on the sofa, raised his hand to press his temples, and instructed, "Starting tomorrow, you and the children will come with me to the silk shop, and we'll take them together."
Chunju asked in surprise, "Why? Wasn't the wet nurse taking good care of her?"
“I don’t feel comfortable letting the child stay with the wet nurse anymore.”
Shen Qing didn't say much to Chunju.
Now that Xia Zhu has had a relationship with Qi Zhenheng, judging from the way the mother and daughter act, Xia Zhu wants to become Qi Zhenheng's concubine.
Once they have such plans, Xia Zhu and she will be in competition.
No concubine doesn't want to rise in rank, and it's not uncommon for concubines to be favored over wives.
Although the wet nurse and her daughter didn't seem to have that kind of ability, even if the chance of it happening was only one in ten thousand, Shen Qing couldn't let her child take the risk.
The child can no longer be touched by the wet nurse and Xia Zhu, and even those two people can no longer be used; a way must be found to remove the child.
Thinking of this, Shen Qing immediately returned to his study to write a letter to Qi Zhenheng, asking him to come home as soon as possible.
Ideally, we should bring Xia Zhu and her wet nurse to the camp when we return this time.
The next day, Shen Qing took the children and Chunju to the silk shop, and the wet nurse did not object.
When Shen Qing brought the children back in the evening, he saw the wet nurse sitting in Xia Zhu's room, eating melon seeds with her legs up, already acting like a mother-in-law.
Chunju couldn't stand it and wanted to teach the wet nurse a lesson, but Shen Qing stopped her.
"We mustn't upset them right now; we'll deal with everything when the adults get back," she reassured Chunju.
Two days later, Qi Zhenheng returned from his post.
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