Chapter 25 Chapter 25 She considered this place her home.
Mrs. Luo was speechless for a moment, and after a while she said, "Then... how can it be the same? Aunt Xue was your father's concubine who married before me."
Luo Ming'er felt even more hurt. "Moli also married the Duke's concubine before me. I'm not going to end up like my mother in the future, am I?"
Mrs. Luo was speechless again. She thought to herself, are these father and daughter really stumbling blocks in her life?
Although she was angry, Mrs. Luo would of course help her daughter.
Minister Luo was not the type to favor his concubine over his wife, and he was quite kind to his wife, but Mrs. Luo had been feeling aggrieved for years.
Whenever she said something wrong or did something wrong, Minister Luo would find fault with her and use this as an excuse to take back the housekeeping power and hand it over to Aunt Xue.
If Concubine Xue was really a bitch, Madam Luo would have an excuse to eliminate her. Unfortunately, Concubine Xue was a cunning woman who never caused trouble and knew how to avoid the spotlight. The most important thing was that Concubine Xue was not only obedient, but also gave birth to two equally obedient and sensible daughters for Minister Luo.
In this comparison, Mrs. Luo and Luo Ming'er are simply guilty of heinous crimes.
Over the years, Minister Luo naturally trusted Concubine Xue more. Mrs. Luo felt that she and her daughter had suffered a lot.
Therefore, Mrs. Luo wanted to find Luo Ming'er a husband from a powerful and influential family. This would make it harder for Minister Luo to control her. Concubine Xue wanted to rely on her son-in-law to gain respect. Even if he eventually became the top scholar, how could he compare to her son-in-law, the Duke of Guo?
What Mrs. Luo regretted most was that she was soft-hearted when she first entered the family and agreed to let Minister Luo keep Concubine Xue.
If she had begged her father to ask Minister Luo, then a poor scholar, to drive away Concubine Xue, would he have obeyed? How could things have ended up like this?
Therefore, although Mrs. Luo scolded her daughter for having unrealistic ideas, she still racked her brains to find a way to deal with the Duke's concubine.
The Duke can have a concubine, but she cannot be the one who entered the marriage before the wife.
Mrs. Luo warned Luo Ming'er, "Don't do anything too blatant. Don't let your father find out, and certainly don't let the Duke find out. You still have three months until you marry into the family. During these three months, find a way to establish a good relationship with that concubine."
Luo Ming'er knew her mother definitely didn't really want her to please her aunt. "And then?"
Mrs. Luo's lips curved up in a smug arc. She remained silent for a while before she said, "If I can't handle Aunt Xue, I don't believe I can't handle a little girl."
...
It was past noon when the Duke and his concubine returned to the mansion. They had dinner outside.
The Duke refused the hospitality of the Jingzhao Prefecture Governor and wanted to take his concubine back home directly. However, when he saw his concubine peeking out of the carriage curtain from time to time, the Duke had the idea of eating out.
Of course Jasmine was happy.
When she returned home, she bought a lot of worthless gadgets on the street, but she treasured them as treasures.
The two of them got off the carriage, and Jasmine followed her master into the mansion, both of them with unconcealable joy on their faces.
It was not until I walked into the living room in the backyard that I saw all the women in the Duke's Mansion were there.
It seemed like he was waiting for them to come back early.
Before the Duke's carriage even reached the gate, someone at the gate had already announced it. So when the Duke entered the living room, the old lady and several young ladies were waiting at the door.
The old lady pulled the Duke aside and asked, "How is it?"
The Duke: "Very good."
The old lady was still looking at him with hope, waiting for him to continue.
The Duke turned to glance at his concubine before continuing, "Everything went smoothly. It only rained heavily yesterday afternoon, so we stayed at the Fahua Temple last night."
Seeing that he was missing the point, the old lady asked directly, "Is the Duke satisfied with the wife of the Luo family?"
The Duke was puzzled. Why was he asked if he was satisfied when they were about to get married? But since the old lady asked, the Duke naturally replied, "Mrs. Luo is beautiful and intelligent, well-educated and well-mannered. Zifu is very satisfied with her."
The old lady nodded repeatedly: "That's good, that's good. It's worth it for me to choose this marriage for you. I can be considered to have done my best for your father and the Duke's Mansion."
"Zi Fu has caused his mother a lot of worry."
The old lady scolded him, "Stop saying that. It's my duty as a mother."
The old lady casually glanced at the eldest young lady's wife, who understood what she meant. She looked at the Duke and teased, "Does the Duke really miss Madam Jasmine? He actually went out on a date with Madam Luo and brought Madam Jasmine with him."
Everyone in the living room will be happy.
Jasmine felt everyone's gazes and heard the jokes and laughter around her, and a layer of cold sweat broke out on her back.
The Duke said seriously, "Of course I can't bear to leave her. Without Auntie, Zifu doesn't know what to do. Along the way, I am grateful for Auntie's guidance."
Everyone who heard this was dumbfounded.
If someone else said this, it would definitely be an excuse, but the Duke's face was solemn and his tone was sincere, which showed that he was speaking from the heart.
The old lady felt relieved instantly. She then remembered to ask the Duke if he had eaten. When the Duke replied, the old lady let him go.
After the Duke left, the eldest young lady's wife smiled and said to the old lady, "Isn't this reassuring for the old lady?"
The old lady passed by the eldest young lady's wife and her eyes fell on the faces of the third and fourth young ladies' wives.
"What do you think?"
The Third Young Master's wife said, "There's no reason for the Duke to lie to Mother. Our Duke is not that kind of person."
The Fourth Young Master's wife said: "Mother, I think what Third Sister-in-law said is absolutely right."
The old lady smiled and nodded, "That couldn't be better. The Duke is about to marry his first wife. At this critical juncture, if we neglect Madam Luo, even if we are the Duke's Mansion, we would be in the wrong. The Duke's Mansion cannot do such a thing. Fortunately, the Duke knows right from wrong and knows etiquette. I am relieved."
...
Xizhi supported the Third Young Master's wife back to the North Courtyard. Xizhi asked quietly, "Didn't Madam say that the Duke was not kind to Concubine Moli? Why didn't Madam tell the old lady?"
The Third Young Master's wife smiled and said, "Telling them will allow them to deal with Jasmine. What do I want?"
The Third Young Master's wife glanced at Xizhi and continued, "That would be the best. No one but me would know. If I were the only one in this mansion who could talk to her, she would treat me as one of her own. Don't you think that's a bad idea?"
Xizhi was confused. "But didn't Madam tell me before that we must stand on her side? She said that relying on ourselves... what do you mean, we are so alone and powerless?"
The Third Young Master's wife said, "Of course, we'll have to rely on the old lady for support, but that doesn't stop us from finding other solutions. The old lady is afraid that the Duke will neglect the daughter of the Luo family for the sake of his concubine, and thus the daughter of the Luo family's move will become useless. But in my opinion, even if the Duke and the daughter of the Luo family reconcile in the future, the old lady will find it difficult to control our Duke. We'd better try to do both."
"Madam is right."
The Third Young Master's wife said, "Go tell Qi'er that Aunt Jasmine is back. When you go, pick some beautiful flowers for her."
Xizhi was embarrassed: "But Madam, Sister Qi has been there three times, and they always say they are busy. Can we go again with a shameless face?"
The Third Young Master's wife scolded her sternly, "What's three times? If you want to succeed, you can't give up so easily."
Xizhi lowered her head and said, "Yes, Madam."
Three times? The Third Young Master's wife sneered. If she had given up after three attempts back then, how could she have entered the Duke's Mansion today?
The Third Young Master's wife knew that Jasmine probably knew that she had been used before, so when Qi'er came to visit her several times, Jasmine always refused her invitations on the pretext that she had something to do.
But as long as Jasmine doesn't break up with her, even if they do, the Third Young Master's wife feels that she can find a way to salvage their relationship.
What's more, Jasmine doesn't dare and doesn't know how to do it.
Of course, the Third Young Master’s wife pretended nothing happened.
...
Jasmine first followed her master back to the main courtyard. Only after she heard her master tell her to pack up first did she leave.
When she left, she took along the little gadgets that Grandpa had bought her on the way. Jasmine also considered putting these things in the main courtyard.
But thinking that her master might not like it and also worried about affecting the Duke's reputation, Jasmine took them all away.
The large package contained everything: a crudely crafted but hilarious clay figurine of a little girl, scary ghost masks, and a cloth tiger rattle, the kind only children could play with.
There are also many beautiful and interesting small ornaments.
She likes everything.
Since the first day she stepped in, Jasmine regarded this place as her home.
Therefore, every corner of the courtyard was carefully decorated by her.
She had planted flowers in front of the courtyard. They were transplanted flowers that the gardeners in the mansion had been about to discard, half-dead. She had carefully tended them, and although they hadn't died, they hadn't died yet.
There is a white pear tree on the left side of the yard. The pear blossoms are already eye-catching when they bloom, so Jasmine did not plant anything else underneath. She only placed a fish tank under the pear tree.
However, there are many varieties planted on the right side of the courtyard, including a field of Cymbidium orchids, a field of jasmine, and climbing peonies.
Jasmine is waiting for the day when they bloom!
In front of the flower stand, there was a birdcage that Jasmine had specially asked the doorman to buy from outside the mansion. The bird in the birdcage was picked up by her, and when she saw that the bird refused to leave, she had no choice but to keep it.
Unlike ordinary people, wealthy families do not have tables and chairs in their courtyards. Except in winter, people eat in the courtyard most of the year.
But Jasmine liked to eat outside while enjoying the scenery, and Shancha liked it too. So after Jasmine asked and confirmed that the Duke's Mansion did not forbid setting up tables in the courtyard, the two of them moved the tables and chairs out.
The courtyard, which originally seemed quite large, now seemed a bit crowded. But Jasmine didn't mind; she simply felt that this was her carefully decorated home.
No one would dislike his own home.
In the courtyard's living room, apart from a round table surrounded by bright vases, there are no other ornaments, but it looks very luxurious and bright, with clean windows and desks.
She connected the bedroom and bathroom, and the originally narrow and dim place now looked much brighter and more spacious.
No one came into the bedroom except Shancha. She placed the bathtub and clothes hanger by the window. In the summer, she could open the window a little to bathe without feeling stuffy. At night, the moonlight was bright enough so she didn't need to turn on the lights.
However, Jasmine now lives in the main courtyard most of the time, so naturally she eats, drinks, defecates and urinates in the main courtyard. The bathtub by the window of this small courtyard has been prepared for a long time, but has never been used once.
When the Duke came in, Jasmine was looking around her small living room, holding the newly arrived clay doll in her hand, wondering where to put it most appropriately.
"Jasmine."
Jasmine shuddered when she heard the voice and turned around: "Master!"
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