Wen Tingbai looked at Cui Xiaoxiao's pointed chin and felt pity for her. When they first met, they were truly in love. Otherwise, Wen Tingbai would not have returned to Beijing to serve as an official for Cui Xiaoxiao.
Seeing Wen Tingbo remained silent, Cui Xiaoxiao seized the opportunity, took out a handkerchief from her sleeve to wipe her tears, and whispered, "Tingbo, you still love me, right? Don't you think so?"
Cui Xiaoxiao said, walked forward a few steps to Wen Tingbo, reached out and timidly held Wen Tingbo's hand, looked at Wen Tingbo and cried, "I know I was wrong, Tingbo, are you willing to forgive me?"
Wen Tingbai recalled that when he first met Cui Xiaoxiao, he was attracted to this delicate and temperamental girl and fell in love with her. But now, as time went by, he felt that she was ignorant and did not know how to help him, but instead caused him trouble.
Although the friendship is not as deep as before, it still exists.
"Since you know you are wrong, the house arrest can be lifted. Don't make such a mistake again in the future. If it gets out, the whole family will laugh at you." Wen Tingbai said, pretending to read a book and ignoring Cui Xiaoxiao.
"Tingbo, will you come back to the courtyard to accompany me today?" Seeing that Wen Tingbo agreed to her request, Cui Xiaoxiao opened her mouth and began to press the issue, "I haven't seen Tingbo recently. I miss him so much and feel so sad that even my face is sharp."
Seeing the situation, Wen Tingbai was still unwilling to forgive Cui Xiaoxiao, and said in a muffled voice, "I'll take a look at it later if I have time."
"I will definitely wait for you." Cui Xiaoxiao said, wiping the tears from her eyes, turned around and left the study in a very weak manner.
My mother was still standing outside, panting heavily, waiting for Cui Xiaoxiao. When she saw Cui Xiaoxiao come out, she strode forward, put her hands on her hips, and looked at her and said, "Auntie, why are you doing this? Since the Second Master has ordered you to reflect on your mistakes, why are you running to the study? Aren't you just causing trouble for us servants?"
Cui Xiaoxiao was no longer as frightened as before, now that her confinement had been lifted. She looked at her mother and smiled, "Mom, the Second Master no longer lets me reflect on my past and has allowed me to move around. You should just go wherever it's cooler."
The mother didn't believe it at first, but seeing Cui Xiaoxiao's expression, she still half-believed and half-doubted, "Auntie, are you kidding me?"
"How could I possibly deceive mother?" Cui Xiaoxiao looked at the mother with pride in her eyes and said, "I used to be so favored by the Second Master. Have you forgotten, mother?"
"That's true." The mother muttered to herself for a few words and turned to leave. "In that case, Auntie, please go back."
Cui Xiaoxiao returned to the courtyard, only to find that the food she was eating was still the same low-quality food, which was incomparable to the past. She frowned and thought that now she not only had to regain Wen Tingbo's favor, but also had to change their current predicament of having no money to spend.
Cui Xiaoxiao didn't eat, but put all the food on the table. She was betting that Wen Tingbo still had feelings for her and couldn't bear to let her live such a hard life.
As the sun went down, Wen Tingbai came to the west courtyard as she had expected.
Cui Xiaoxiao immediately picked up her chopsticks and pretended to eat in small bites. She looked up the moment Wen Tingbo walked in. Cui Xiaoxiao smiled very gently and said to Wen Tingbo, "Tingbo, I wanted to wait for you to eat together, but you never came. The food is cold."
Cui Xiaoxiao said, as if she had thought of something, the smile on her face faded a little, and she glanced awkwardly at the porridge and side dishes on the table, "Tingbai was raised in luxury, I'm afraid he can't eat such a meal, you should not eat it, I will eat it myself. It's okay for me to suffer, but Tingbai has to go to court."
Wen Tingbai hadn't expected Cui Xiaoxiao's meals to be so simple. Even the servants ate better than she did. Wen Tingbai was surprised and asked, "What's going on? As a concubine, you should have more dishes."
"It's Grandma Cheng. She's the housekeeper now. She said the mansion needs to save money, so she cut my servings in half." Cui Xiaoxiao said, touching her hair by her ear with a considerate look. She looked at Wen Tingbo and said, "Tingbo, don't argue with Grandma. I already offended Grandma a few days ago, so it's only natural that she's taking advantage of my situation."
Cui Xiaoxiao is now much more considerate than before, and she dressed up specially to meet Wen Tingbo. A short separation is better than a new marriage, and Wen Tingbo feels sorry for Cui Xiaoxiao again.
"She's gone too far." Wen Tingbo was furious and turned around to find the eldest wife to argue.
Cui Xiaoxiao hurried forward and hugged Wen Tingbo's waist, saying aggrievedly, "Tingbo, as long as you treat me well and come to see me often, I will be satisfied. It's okay even if the food is simple, as long as you can accompany me... I don't want to cause you any more trouble and make you unhappy with my brother and sister-in-law."
After hearing Cui Xiaoxiao's words, Wen Tingbai's heart melted. He turned around and hugged Cui Xiaoxiao and said, "Don't worry, Xiaoxiao, I won't let you live like this forever. Our lives will definitely get better. From now on, you will eat whatever I eat. I have always been favored by my ancestors at home. She can't bear to see her grandson starve."
"Tingbo, you're so good to me." After hearing what Wen Tingbo said, Cui Xiaoxiao hugged Wen Tingbo even tighter. "Now that Tingbo has suffered so much because of me, how can I bear it? It's all my fault..."
"I don't blame you." Wen Tingbai had an idea and helped Cui Xiaoxiao walk into the house.
The next day, the first wife heard that Cui Xiaoxiao and Wen Tingbo had reconciled, so the regular dishes sent to her returned to normal. Presumably, the first wife did not want to be at odds with the second wife, so she gave Wen Tingbo some face.
Cui Xiaoxiao looked at the dishes in front of her, all of which were exquisite and delicious. Her appetite was aroused, and she told herself in her heart that she must hold on to Wen Tingbo's heart tightly, otherwise she would have no place to stand in this marquis' mansion.
After Cui Xiaoxiao sorted things out, she placed her hopes on the old ancestor. She called Tianxiang over and whispered, "The old ancestor has been staying in the courtyard these past two days, not paying attention to worldly affairs. I wonder what her grandson is doing. Find an opportunity to get close to the maidservant around the old ancestor and tell her how Tingbai has been living recently."
Tianxiang said yes and was about to leave when Cui Xiaoxiao stopped her. "By the way, remember to let the ancestors know that the wife of Tingbai in the South Courtyard lent Tingbai money at interest, forcing him to earn money to pay off his debts. They are husband and wife, but Song Wanning treated her husband like this. Remember to make Tingbai look as miserable as possible, the more miserable the better. It would be best if the ancestors thought that Tingbai had to eat coarse food every day."
Tianxiang understood and turned to leave the yard.
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