3 Chapter 3
◎Put yourself in a desperate situation and then you can survive◎
Awu stayed on the tree for an hour. There was no sound coming from the main room. It was too cold, so he listened outside the door for a while. The lights were on inside, but it was quiet.
Zhou Mao woke up at 9:00 a.m. the next day.
I had just drunk three glasses of wine yesterday and was completely drunk. At this moment, I knew why after a little thought, and I was immediately furious.
He had been plotted against before in the imperial examination and missed three years. He had experienced the wickedness of human nature, but he did not expect to be plotted against again.
"Cheng Jiuniang, you did a great job!"
Seeing him furious, Cheng Mu began to cry fake tears. "Brother Zhou, you refused to speak properly last night, and Jiu Niang was helpless..." She comforted him, "I mean no harm. I just used ordinary tranquilizers. It won't harm your body."
"You have no choice!"
She cried pitifully, and Zhou Mao's anger had subsided unconsciously. He didn't understand, "Cheng Jiuniang, you don't want to?"
Cheng Mu sobbed, "The marriage that my grandmother arranged for me, and the person my father wanted to marry me off, were not what I wanted. Brother Zhou, you saved me from danger. You are Jiu Niang's great benefactor."
Zhou Mao snorted. He didn't do anything. Cheng Jiuniang said this just to flatter him.
"Do you have anything important to say?"
"I..." Cheng Xi started to speak, then suddenly turned halfway around and pretended to hold back her retching.
Zhou Mao's mind buzzed and he took a step back in disbelief, "You, you are not..." His wife had the same reaction recently, and it was said that all pregnant women were like this.
"Brother Zhou, I, I just found out yesterday," Cheng Xi said with shame, "In order to escape from the ancestral home, I had to give myself to others..." Her eyes were blurred with tears, and she seemed unable to continue, so she lowered her head and sobbed.
There was no conversation for a long while.
Cheng Mu said regretfully, "This sin has come to you now, Brother Zhou, Jiu Niang and you have no chance in this life. Please forgive me for the sake of our past friendship." She knelt down and bowed.
He disregarded his innocence in order to escape. Even if there was no such sin, how could we know that he wouldn't mind?
"You are so -, so -" Zhou Mao's handsome face gradually turned red, and the words "so shameless" were on the tip of his tongue but he couldn't utter them.
He has no shame at all, otherwise why would he be here?
A delicate flower like her willingly lowered herself to benefit others. Just like the last time, she gave him a thought, then unexpectedly slapped him in the face. The rage of being toyed with twice and three times almost made him unable to control himself.
"You—"
He attacked suddenly, Cheng Mu was startled, screamed, and quickly took a step back.
At this moment, the door was kicked open and Awu stepped in.
All three of them were stunned.
Zhou Mao gasped and shook his drooping hands angrily.
Awu stared at him, and Cheng Mu also looked at him. He had no place to vent his anger, so he left angrily.
Awu turned around and brought in the hot water from outside as if nothing had happened.
Cheng Mu stroked her neck, her mood gradually calming down, and asked, "Why did you come back?"
Awu didn't answer, but took out a purse and poured the change inside onto the table.
"Nine taels and one qian." He pushed with both hands, the meaning was obvious. He had used nine qian out of the ten taels of silver, and now he wanted to return the remaining money to her.
Cheng Mu asked, "What do you mean?"
"I don't know how to be a maid. Adding to the previous amount, I owe you one ounce of silver. I will be at your disposal for a month."
He is quite courageous and works to pay back his debts.
Cheng Mu said calmly, "If you need it urgently, you can tell me why you stole it."
Awu closed her mouth and remained silent.
Cheng Mu didn't really need to know. Last night's events had left her feeling a bit frightened. Luckily, he showed up just in time. He had the aura to fight Zhou Mao if he dared. She didn't mind him taking the money without asking. She had come back to pay him back, stood up for him, and even planned to work to pay him back, so he could be there to look after her.
"You're at my beck and call, right?" Cheng Mu sat down at the square table and immediately started to order. "I want to wash my face."
Awu clenched and unclenched her fists, suppressing the frustration in her chest, and silently poured hot water into the porcelain basin on the basin rack.
After washing her face, Cheng Mu asked her, "Can you comb your hair?"
Ah Wu replied with a stern face: "No."
"To dismantle the hair, go to the Tongfa Club."
Cheng Mu was sitting on the dressing stool. Awu walked behind her, raised her hands, not knowing how to start.
Cheng Mu looked at her generously in the bronze mirror, her eyes curved into an arc. "You don't look like someone who comes from a poor family, so how did you end up selling yourself to bury your father?"
A Wu hesitated for a moment, and finally took off the silver medal from her hair. "That's not my father, and I'm not really selling myself."
Cheng Xi was very curious, "What's going on?"
"My parents died long ago, and someone in my clan wanted to kill me, so I escaped and hid in disguise."
"The wounds on your body, s—"
Her hair was being pulled and hurt, so Cheng Mu signaled her not to do it and took care of it herself. "Why did you get so many injuries these past two days?"
"Compared to that thug's broken leg, this little injury is nothing."
From the tone, there was a hint of pride in her voice. "So you used the nine cents of silver for revenge? Which family did it happen to? Will it cause trouble in the future?" Cheng Mu didn't want to get involved in any trouble.
Ah Wu swore, "I will not bring any harm to the girl. If there is any loss, I will pay with my life."
"What have I done to kill you? I only ask you, are you going back?"
A Wu was silent for a moment, her eyes dark. "Both my parents are dead, and I have no brothers or sisters. Now that I'm out, why would I go back?"
Cheng Mu comforted him, "To be honest, I am just like you. I have no parents, no brothers or sisters, and we are both wanderers in this world."
For a moment, many thoughts flashed through Cheng Min's mind.
"Awu, do you have any plans? If not, I have an idea."
"No. Also, my name is not Awu."
Zhou Mao had spent a night in a house in Baoqing Hutong, and his wife Gao found out when he left the house.
Her capable assistant, Mrs. Min, reported to her, "As soon as we entered Baoqing Hutong, the eldest young master sent Dali away, asking him to come and pick us up early this morning. He went in alone, and Dali left at the hour of Yin this morning. He didn't emerge from the house until the hour of Si."
This had never happened since they got married. Gao couldn't help but get nervous and asked, "Does he know who my husband is going to meet?"
Mrs. Min said, "Da Li said that after leaving Baoqing Hutong, he saw someone."
"who?"
"It's said to be a maid. Four days ago at Xiangtai Teahouse, the young master met a lady, and the maid was with her."
"What lady?"
Mrs. Min recalled, "From his description of this lady, I could tell she had a slender figure and a face like the bright moon. She was a beautiful young lady."
Seeing that Gao hadn't spoken for a long time, Mrs. Min's face changed and she said angrily, "In my opinion, that girl is either a secret agent or a liar. She is definitely not a good girl. Young Madam, what Dali said is nonsense. What does he know? He can't even tell that she is a fox spirit in disguise. How can he think she is a good person!"
Gao was not the kind of person who would not tolerate her husband having other women. The husband she chose was both talented and romantic, and this day would come sooner or later.
But no matter who it is, no one can be outside.
"My husband is in a critical situation right now. He cannot let anyone interfere with his career. Nanny Min, when my husband comes back, please ask him to come here."
"Yes, young lady."
"Also, go ask around, that guy from Baoqing Hutong..."
Granny Min said respectfully, "I'll go down and make arrangements right away."
Zhou Mao returned soon, thinking Gao had some words for him from his wife's family. The wife he had married was a great helper to him, and he never dared to treat her lightly.
Gao asked her servants to set the table, and the two of them ate together. After the tables were cleared, Gao spoke.
"My husband, I will take two concubines for you."
Hearing this, Zhou Mao's heart skipped a beat. He quickly dismissed his attendants and held Gao in his arms. "What's wrong with you?" He placed his hand on Gao's abdomen and asked, "Did he bother you again?"
Gao was recently diagnosed with pregnancy. She sighed, "I can't serve my husband now. This is what I should have done, but I just didn't have time. I heard that my husband didn't come home last night? If there's a woman out there that you like, I'll take care of it for you."
Zhou Mao's mood sank when he thought of Cheng Jiuniang. Thinking that she was also pregnant, he didn't know how he felt and withdrew his hand from Gao's belly.
Gao studied his expression seriously, and when Zhou Mao's eyes met hers, she smiled gently, "My husband, you are about to take up your post, so you must be careful in everything you do. I'm not being jealous, but if you run into someone with ill intentions, or someone with red eyes who's trying to do something bad—my husband, this is a matter of great importance, you can't be careless."
Zhou Mao was very grateful for her far-sighted thoughts. Gao always put him first and considered everything for him. He said sincerely: "My wife is a rare and virtuous person. How could I, Zhou Mao, be so virtuous as to marry such a wife!" He couldn't help but speak sweet words to her and be affectionate with her.
Gao's face was full of smiles, and she did not forget to talk about the business. When she asked, Zhou Mao told her that Cheng Jiuniang came to see him.
"So it's your sweetheart." Gao had heard about the incident before she met Zhou Mao. Zhou Mao was quite depressed at that time.
One of her buddies once warned her that he already had someone else in his heart, and that it would be difficult for a man to let go of the obsession he had with the woman he hadn't gotten, and that there would be no place for her in his heart in the future.
Cheng Jiuniang's family wanted to marry her off to an old man, which meant she wasn't favored by the family. Taking her as a concubine was a viable option. Gao said seriously, "My husband's sweetheart must not be treated unfairly. I'll go to the Cheng family and ask the head of the family to let her marry in with proper authority."
Zhou Mao shook his head.
Gao continued, "If you don't want to inform the Cheng family, since she has escaped and followed you, why not find a good family to adopt her as a daughter and then marry her into the family with proper formalities."
Gao's words and deeds showed that she didn't want them to do this in an unjustifiable way.
Zhou Mao shook his head again, "Forget it, I won't go see her again, let's not talk about this matter anymore."
Seeing that Zhou Mao had no intention of enjoying a long-lasting relationship with his sweetheart, Gao thought, could it be that she had guessed wrong?
What happened last night?
The two talked about some other things, but Gao still couldn't let it go.
As Zhou Mao was leaving, Gao held him back and said, "My husband, the Cheng family's wife's biological mother and mother were close friends, and you two also had a friendship when you were young. Now she's alone away from home, and I knew about it but ignored it. Who knows if mother will blame me when she returns? Can I help her out?"
The word "help" made Zhou Mao feel much better. In the past, Cheng Jiuniang was arrogant and ignored him. Now he was in trouble and depressed, and was dragged into the quagmire. His wife came forward to help him, which was a way to save her face. It would be best if she could also see how she was inferior to Gao.
Zhou Mao did not object to Gao's suggestion. He held her hand and said, "My lady, you are kind-hearted. Just meet her once and send her off. Don't worry too much. Just consider it as doing good deeds for my son."
After passing Zhou Mao's place, Gao called Min Po and asked her to go to Baoqing Hutong.
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