When she raised her eyebrows again, she saw Xu Chang, who had just seen the doctor off, looking at her with a meaningful gaze.
He raised his hand and quietly stopped the maids from speaking further, "Don't upset the young mistress at this time. She is in poor health and should rest and recuperate. Besides..." He lowered his voice even further, "Don't gossip about the master behind his back. If it gets to his ears, you won't even know how you died."
Upon hearing this, the maids dared not speak recklessly, realizing that what Xu Chang said was true. The master had many eyes and ears, and although he was not here, his thoughts and intentions would report everything happening here at any time.
"I'm fine, I'll be fine after a couple of days of rest, you don't need to worry about me." Shu Yao didn't want her own problems to affect everyone's mood, these girls had already done enough to serve her.
“Young Madam, I really think you don’t need to worry so much. It’s normal for someone of your status to have a few concubines. The important thing is that you are the one who dotes on me the most, and now that you have a young master, how can you not treat them all equally? No matter how much trouble that woman causes, she can’t touch you in the slightest.” Chunlu couldn’t help but blurt out a whole string of words.
In this kind of world, even poor families without money or power would try to buy a concubine, let alone a man of such high position and power. Although they knew that the young mistress would feel sad and wronged, they could only advise her to accept reality and to hold on to what was rightfully hers. Otherwise, if the man really got tired of her, the mistress might suffer a terrible fate.
Treat everyone equally? Shu Yao couldn't help but curl the corners of her lips into a sarcastic smile.
"If I need to add Xiaobao to my list of partners to compete with that woman, what's the point of talking about being fair? I can have children, but she can't? She might even have more than me."
Seeing that she was not angry but smiling, Xia Hong was alarmed and stepped forward to hold Shu Yao's hand, saying, "Young Madam, you don't need to think about anything now. Only by taking good care of your health can you have the energy and strength to win this battle. No matter how good that woman is at coaxing men, she is ultimately just a concubine who cannot be brought to the table. Besides, the master is not someone who does not cherish old feelings."
Shu Yao squeezed Xia Hong's hand and said, "Silly girl, a man's feelings for women are not divided into wives and concubines. If you really want to categorize them, have you ever heard the saying 'a wife is not as good as a concubine, a concubine is not as good as a stolen woman, and a stolen woman is not as good as a robbery'? Besides, you forgot, I also climbed up from being a concubine. Now that I can be the legal wife, who knows if that woman can take my place one day?"
"That's not how it is." Unable to bear seeing her stubbornly clinging to her own ideas, Xu Chang finally couldn't hold back and spoke up for his master, "Madam, you risked your life to save my master several times. No one can replace you in his heart. Moreover, in the year since you got married, we, his men, have seen clearly how he has treated you. My master would never be like those men outside, fickle and obsessed with beauty. As for taking Miss Pei as a concubine, it was truly out of necessity. If he didn't give her a proper title, my master would... would feel guilty for the rest of his life."
Xia Hong wouldn't listen to Xu Chang's words of advice. She mustered her courage and muttered in a low voice, "If we're talking about guilt, when we got married, the master swore that he would only be devoted to his wife for the rest of his life and would never do anything to betray her. We all heard that with our own ears. Since the marriage, his wife has given birth to a child, carried on the family line for the master, managed the household, and taken care of the master and his career. They finally made it to this day, and just when good days were about to arrive, he suddenly brought another woman back. Now, it's the master who feels guilty for the rest of his life just because he didn't take another woman as a concubine. Doesn't he realize that the one who should truly feel guilty for the rest of his life is his wife?"
Qiu Yue was calm and composed, but seeing that Xia Hong's eyes had reddened again after she said those words, she was anxious and pinched Xia Hong's waist. She didn't even have time to comfort her, and Xia Hong was just adding to her distress.
Shu Yao wiped her eyes and said softly, "Don't blame him. Xu Chang is a man, so it's understandable that he can't consider things from a woman's perspective. Besides, this has been the case for thousands of years. Men have three wives and four concubines, and wives are brought home to manage the household. But how many men appreciate their wives' hard work and remain faithful to them for life? To put it bluntly, I'm just a high-ranking servant in the master's service. If I do well, it's my duty; if I don't, I'll be divorced..."
Now, she is exhausted and weary, and feels that she is incapable of taking on this great responsibility, so... how can she not take the initiative to step down?
Hearing this, Chunlu was terrified. "Madam, please don't think such things. Even if it's not for yourself, you can't give up so easily for the sake of the young master. Don't let that woman get away with it. Your son is the legitimate heir of the master."
Seeing that Qiuyue was about to speak, Shuyao weakly waved her hand and said in a low voice, "I know, that's fine. Anyway, the doctor just said that I'm weak and can't go anywhere. You all go about your business and don't need to crowd around me. Go back and rest first. I want to be alone."
Xu Chang frowned deeply, walked to the bedside, and hesitated to speak, but Shu Yao turned over and lay down, no longer looking at them.
"It would be best if the young mistress understood. I'll watch the servants prepare the medicine." Xu Chang withdrew, giving Chunlu a wink before leaving. The others glanced at Shu Yao's retreating figure with reluctance before slowly leaving the room.
Hearing the door close, Shu Yao lay down and sighed as she looked up at the ceiling. She recalled the day she was reborn, and her experiences from several lifetimes flashed through her mind, making her eyes sting.
Unwilling to dwell on it any longer, she sat up, slowly walked to the dressing table, picked up a wooden comb, and carefully combed her long black hair, each stroke following both her hair and her heart.
She told herself that there was no need to be so angry. She wasn't the one who did wrong, so why was she being so miserable and self-pitying, as if she couldn't go on living? She told herself that the world was vast, and giving up this relationship didn't mean she had lost her true self. She shouldn't forget that her initial goal was to escape Huo Jingsha.
Moreover, she could not allow herself to become a woman like Consort Shao, who lived by scheming against others and competing for favor, nor could she live like the concubines in the harem, neglected and ignored by men for a lifetime.
She knew she wasn't great; she had the jealousy of a woman, she was capable of the ruthlessness of a woman, but if she allowed hatred to grow infinitely in her heart, then sooner or later, reason would be overwhelmed, conscience would be extinguished, and once evil thoughts arose, they would be difficult to control. She would become the very thing she once despised most, spending her days scheming against others to reclaim the heart that might no longer belong entirely to her.
She had to save herself before she became utterly repulsive. Huo Jingsha wasn't everything, at least not from the moment he betrayed her.
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