Chapter 21 Chapter 21 “The day I met the daughter of the Luo family, I wore…
The old lady's expression remained solemn. "As long as the family remains intact, the Duke and we are all in this together. Hurting him is hurting ourselves, understand? Don't ask such foolish questions again."
The fourth young master's wife nodded repeatedly and said "yes".
The old lady softened her tone and continued, "You're right about one thing. Jasmine is probably not easy to use. She looks really stupid, but sometimes smart people are easier to use. Someone as stupid as this concubine is really hard to take advantage of."
The Fourth Young Master's wife nodded again and again, unable to disagree. "Mother didn't see it yesterday, but the Duke asked her to choose a gift for the daughter of the Luo family, and she foolishly chose everything one by one. Others didn't know, and they thought these things were prepared for her. And after returning home, she was worried that the doorman wouldn't take good care of it, so she gave him money and didn't stop until he brought the things in. How could there be such a foolish woman in this world?"
The old lady said, "Isn't the Duke of Guo also indifferent like before?"
The fourth young master's wife nodded.
The old lady said: "The Duke is not His Majesty. He is also disgusted by His Majesty's exclusive favoritism towards the Imperial Concubine. I am afraid it is impossible for him to favor the concubine."
The Fourth Young Master's wife agreed: "Mother is right."
The Fourth Young Master's wife continued, "But the Fourth Master said that the Duke is a man, and that when the daughter of the Luo family comes home, the Duke will definitely stand up for the concubine."
"Don't listen to him. The Duke is different." The old lady frowned. "What a loser! If he had focused on his studies, he wouldn't be just a Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel."
"I..." The Fourth Young Master's wife couldn't agree with this in front of her mother-in-law, so she quickly shut up.
Changing the subject, the Fourth Young Master's wife said, "Mother previously told me to find a way to spend more time with Jasmine, but it seems to be of no use now. So, should I stop wasting my time on her from now on?"
The old lady said: "You are smarter than the fourth brother. You know that this is not what I meant, so why bother asking?"
The Fourth Young Master's wife lowered her eyes. "But the Fourth Master wants me to obey him. He said that it was the Fourth Master's idea to use Jasmine to deal with the Duke. I tried to stop him, but the Fourth Master insisted on giving it a try."
The old lady knew she was in a dilemma, so she softened her tone and said, "If he does something wrong again in the future, you should agree to it verbally and then report it to me."
"My wife has made a note of it."
After a while, the old lady asked again: "How did we feel that the concubine was useful in the first place?"
The Fourth Young Master's wife thought about it and said, "It's because of the welcoming banquet for the concubine, and the fact that the Duke allowed Concubine Jasmine to stay in the main courtyard the entire time. Everyone thinks that the Duke must have some special feelings for Jasmine."
The old lady continued, "But later, not only you, but also the eldest and third sons went to find Jasmine. They tried to use Jasmine to gain benefits. But they ended up getting slapped in the face."
The Fourth Young Master's wife said, "So, are we all betting on the wrong horse? No, Mother, this time I took Jasmine out of the palace, and I heard that the Duke not only didn't blame Jasmine, but also allowed her to leave the palace freely. What concubine would be treated this way? If she weren't the Duke's concubine, who would believe that Jasmine wasn't a favored concubine?"
The old lady said, "Because he is the Duke, it is normal. He has always been kind and generous. He didn't blame the doorman for misremembering the time when he went to court."
The old lady sighed: "If only..." How great it would be if this was her biological child.
It’s a pity that it is not.
The old lady was often jealous of the old duke's first wife, Ji, who had died young from illness. She was the old duke's beloved wife, and she had given birth to a son who was more outstanding than anyone else. Even if she died young, it was worth it.
The old lady said, "Jasmine is, after all, close to the Duke. She'll be useful to you someday. You must not underestimate her."
"I'll remember this."
The old lady continued, "Old Four, you should be careful and don't let him get too impatient. He's still young and there are plenty of opportunities for us."
"I understand." The Fourth Young Master's wife looked embarrassed, "But what if the Fourth Master ignores me?"
The old lady was tired: "Then just say I said it."
"Yes, mother."
...
Xiuhong fetched some water, and Jasmine helped the Duke wash his face and hands. As soon as the tea arrived, she poured it for him.
"Please wait a moment, sir."
The Duke wanted to ask her to rest for a while, but before he could open his mouth, she had already gone into the inner room.
The Duke looked at the door of the inner room and finished drinking a glass of water when his concubine came out.
"Why did you take these clothes?" The Duke saw her coming out with her arms full of clothes, and after taking a closer look, he found that the clothes were all his.
Jasmine worked hard while saying without turning her head, "My master will be meeting the Luo family's wife in two days. I, under the old lady's order, must dress him up."
Jasmine spread out her clothes one by one on the beauty couch beside her. In a blink of an eye, the beauty couch and the two small tables beside it were all covered with clothes.
Jasmine turned around and asked, "Which one do you think looks good?"
The Duke looked at the clothes in front of him and answered seriously, "They are all similar."
The Duke really thought they were all the same. Men's clothes were either cross-collared or round-collared, and the colors were all the same. It didn't matter which one you wore.
Jasmine had no choice but to turn around and help him choose. She picked out a royal blue round-necked robe with a bamboo pattern, held it in her hand, and turned back to try it out on the Duke.
"What do you think of this set?"
"Isn't it too bright? I'm a man."
Jasmine: "I'm not an old official in the court. Besides, we don't dress like this every day. The most important thing is that when I go out, Madam Luo likes me."
"No need."
Jasmine was pushed and was stunned for a moment, then she immediately reacted and explained, "That's not what I meant. Of course, I don't need the Luo family lady to like me. It was a slip of the tongue, please don't be offended."
The Duke was annoyed when he saw his concubine panicking. But he didn't want to apologize, so he just walked away.
Jasmine slapped her lips twice. She was in trouble again.
Shancha watched the Duke go out. She waited until he was far away and then ran into the house.
"What's wrong? Why did Auntie make Master unhappy again?"
Jasmine looked regretful: "I just said the wrong thing. I told you to dress up and go out to seduce the wife of the Luo family."
Shancha was stunned. "Auntie, are you stupid? That's the Duke! Not to mention the Duke, even a man would feel uncomfortable hearing that."
"I said the wrong thing."
Shancha was even more anxious than she was: "What should I do? What is Auntie still standing here for? Go and coax her back!"
Jasmine: "Not yet. Wait until evening."
In the blink of an eye, it was dark and the Duke came back from the right room of the guest hall after having dinner. Jasmine went forward to serve him.
"I will help you wash up."
The Duke had no objection, and Jasmine was delighted and continued to busy herself.
After washing up, the Duke sat down in front of the bed and said, "That royal blue set is very good. Bring it here and I'll try it on."
Jasmine's eyes lit up, she answered "yes" happily, and turned to get it.
The Duke looked at her disappearing figure and it took him a while to turn his eyes away, with confusion and melancholy in his eyes.
Thinking about it carefully, his aunt was right and she was only thinking about him, but why did he suddenly feel depressed in the afternoon?
The Duke still couldn't figure it out. But since he had done something wrong, he should make it up to his concubine.
The Duke put on a royal blue round-necked robe. Jasmine saw that something was missing, so she looked through a few sashes and chose a narrow one. She then picked out a sachet with a jade bead tassel and a lucky jade pendant.
The Duke suddenly seemed to have transformed himself. From a rough man, he had transformed into a noble young man. Jasmine even helped comb the Duke's hair, and now he looked like a noble young man in Kyoto!
Jasmine looked left and right, feeling extremely satisfied.
The Duke's original feeling of guilt disappeared in an instant, and he began to feel depressed again, and his mood was exactly the same as in the afternoon.
The Duke asked with a dull face, "It was I who went to see the daughter of the Luo family, not my aunt. Why are you so happy?"
Jasmine said considerately, "Of course I am happy for you. If you are happy, I am happy too."
The Duke: "Do you think I'm happy?"
When Jasmine heard this, she looked at her grandfather seriously, put away her playful smile, and asked, "Grandpa, why are you unhappy?"
She immediately thought of it, her face pale as she said, "If it's because of what I said wrong, Master, please forgive me. I just want you to be successful. No, even if you don't dress up, you will definitely be successful. What I mean is..."
"That's enough."
Jasmine looked up at him.
The Duke: "My bad mood has nothing to do with you. The day I asked the daughter of the Luo family out, I wore this royal blue suit."
"Yes." Jasmine felt that her master was acting strangely today. One moment he was angry with her, and the next moment he apologized.
What does it mean?
The Duke: "Rest now."
Jasmine knew that she had made the master unhappy again today, so she took out her bedding.
The Duke looked at it but said nothing.
Seeing her grandfather lying straight, Jasmine was even more certain that he was angry with her.
But is it really that serious? She just said two wrong words.
In the dim light, Jasmine looked up at the ceiling and rolled her eyes. Before she had even finished rolling her eyes, a face suddenly appeared above her head.
Jasmine was still in shock. No way, she was caught in the act!
"I didn't just roll my eyes. Something dirty got into my eyes..."
Jasmine was sucked.
The Duke had never kissed her before, this was the first time. Was he trying to stop her chattering because she was too talkative?
But Jasmine soon discovered that the Duke was not kissing her, he was clearly biting her!
Jasmine cried out "Ouch!" and the Duke froze for a moment. Then Jasmine felt that her master's movements became much gentler.
As a concubine, Jasmine had to take the initiative, so she bit back.
The Duke usually likes concubines to take the initiative, but today is an exception.
"Don't move."
Jasmine was extremely confused when she heard the low voice beside her. But she still played along and played along.
She also asked: "Master, is this okay for me?"
I don’t know whether the Duke didn’t hear her or was too busy with work to pay attention to her.
Jasmine was bitten again. She endured the pain and the burning sensation all over her body, waiting for her grandfather to finish.
However, she immediately widened her eyes and looked at her grandfather in disbelief, gasping for air.
The Duke watched her breathing become difficult, tears welling up in her eyes. But no matter how hard he tried, she still didn't reject him.
After a while, the Duke gave in. He turned around and let his concubine lie in his arms.
"Jasmine, I'm sorry."
Jasmine felt like a rag. Her whole body was limp, unable to move. Naturally, she had no intention of returning to the Duke.
On the second day, the Duke got up early to attend court. It was the concubine who changed his clothes these days, so Xiuhong did not come.
The Duke was halfway through dressing himself and couldn't quite manage it, so he gently nudged Jasmine and said, "Help me finish changing before you go to sleep."
Jasmine turned over and ignored him.
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