Chapter 63 Chapter 63 No one can compare to her worthless life! ...
"Why is it so serious today?"
If the court doctor had not come to see her last time and said it was a common disease among women, the Duke would have thought that the concubine had some serious illness.
Jasmine was afraid he would call the court doctor, so she quickly said, "It'll only take a couple of days. You'll be fine once you get through it."
The Duke nodded worriedly and called out, "Someone come here."
I thought the person coming in would be Shancha or Xiuhong, but it turned out to be a stranger.
The Duke did not take it seriously. After all, there were new people coming into the mansion all year round, so it was not surprising that there were new people in the main courtyard.
"Prepare the meal for my aunt."
The Xu family girl was stunned for a moment. Seeing the girl's silly look, the Duke immediately frowned and asked, "But you haven't taught me?"
"I've taught... I've taught you." The girl from the Xu family reacted and didn't dare to say no. She picked up the chopsticks with trembling hands and served her aunt.
Jasmine said, "I have enough here, you go and serve me."
Then tragedy struck. The bowl of soup that the Xu family girl added to the Duke's bowl landed squarely on him.
The girl from the Xu family knew that she was going to be in trouble, so she quickly knelt down and kowtowed to apologize.
"I know I was wrong, please forgive me, Duke!" I could hear her crying.
The Duke was always kind to his servants. Seeing the maid admitted her mistake and was frightened, the Duke, who was about to lecture her, lost his temper and said, "Be more careful next time. Go."
"Wait." Jasmine called to the Xu family's daughter and turned to the master, "It's not convenient for me to serve you. How about letting this girl help you change clothes?"
The Duke glanced at his concubine, then at the trembling maid, and nodded.
The Duke stepped forward and heard the voices of his concubine and maidservant behind him: "Hurry up and follow me. Serve me well."
Jasmine has no taste.
Fortunately, not long after, the Duke came out from the inner room, wearing a dark blue robe, and the Xu family's wife followed behind him with a blushing face.
"Master, I want to go back to the side yard to sleep tonight. I have a stomachache and can't sleep well at night. I don't want to disturb you."
The Duke stared at her with distraught eyes: "You never mentioned it before."
The look in her eyes was still gentle, yet Jasmine felt it was burning. Guiltily, she looked away, "I haven't felt this bad in the past. I don't know what's wrong with me today. Please grant me your blessing, Master."
What else could the Duke say? "Yes."
After that, my aunt didn't say anything else.
After dinner, they sat for a while before the Duke went out to practice martial arts. Jasmine was in her bedroom packing her belongings to take to the side courtyard.
When the Duke returned, Jasmine had already packed everything.
A bamboo box that can be carried on the back, filled with things that the aunt wants to take away.
It gave people the illusion that his aunt was going to part ways with him and never see him again.
"You're not coming back?"
Jasmine, upon hearing this, suddenly realized something and quickly responded, "Yes, I will. It will only be one night today, and at most one night tomorrow. That's two nights."
The Duke nodded and said, "Go ahead."
The Duke stood sideways, and after a moment, seeing that his concubine was standing there without moving, he hoped to turn his head.
Then I heard my aunt say softly: "I can't serve you tonight. I know what you want. Qiu Huai is well-behaved and polite. How about you let her stay in the room?"
When Mrs. Xu heard this, her face turned even redder, as if blood was about to drip out.
After a moment, the Duke looked at his concubine and nodded: "Yes."
Jasmine bowed and left. Shancha grabbed the box on the bed and rushed out of the room behind her aunt.
Standing in the corridor, Shancha turned around and considerately helped the Duke close the door.
It was clearly her arrangement, but Jasmine still felt very uncomfortable.
She didn't know when it started, but she couldn't bear to see this man being touched by others. She knew clearly in her heart that he would marry a wife in the future, and there would be many concubines like her in the future.
But she was just so cruel that she wanted to monopolize him.
In recent days, she once thought that he had become the most important person in her heart.
Jasmine couldn't help but laugh.
Only now did she realize what the Duke was.
When her life is at stake, no one can compare to her worthless life!
She had to admit that she was the most important person.
Jasmine looked at the bright full moon and told herself in her heart, She is right!
Even if her life is worthless, she is not wrong!
What's wrong with her cherishing her life?! Who can treat their own life as dirt? She kowtows and calls her dad!
In this world, everyone is doing things for themselves. He also agreed to stay with the Xu family lady for his own sake.
Jasmine shook the tears from her eyes, jumped up and ran away.
Camellia follows closely behind.
In the main courtyard bedroom.
Seeing that the Duke didn't move or speak, Xu Qiuhuai couldn't help but look up at him. Then her face started to heat up again.
The image of her changing clothes for the Duke before, even though it was just his straight back, still lingered in her mind.
"I just saw a lot of knife marks on the Duke's back. You must have worked hard guarding the border."
The girl's voice was sincere. It reminded the Duke of the first time his aunt rubbed his back. The aunt also asked him, "Does it still hurt?"
At that time, his aunt's expression and voice were very sincere, and he didn't see any hypocrisy at all.
If he had noticed it at that time, he would have definitely chased him away.
It's a pity it's too late.
He thought his aunt would continue to pretend until she died. But he didn't expect her to give up so soon.
Is she tired of serving him?
If it weren't for this reason, the Duke couldn't think of any other.
The Duke looked at the maid and asked, "Are you here with the Xu family today?"
Xu Qiuhuai replied nervously, "Yes, I am."
The Duke asked again, "But the Xu family... the old lady forced the concubine to ask you to serve?"
Xu Qiuhuai shook her head: "No. I didn't expect it to happen so soon. Today... It was my aunt who made the decision."
"You are lying." The Duke's face was stern and he threatened deliberately.
The maid knelt on the ground again and cried out for justice.
The Duke had an idea in mind.
"Since you didn't come here voluntarily, just go away." The Duke said again.
Upon hearing this, Xu Qiuhuai glanced at the Duke in disbelief, then lowered her head again, remaining still. She knelt and said, "Before, I had never met the Duke. Now that I have, I realize that he is a man of noble bearing, kind and easygoing. I...I am willing. Please, Duke, please don't send me away."
...
Accustomed to sleeping on the big bed in the main courtyard and having someone lying next to her, Jasmine couldn't fall asleep now that everything was quiet.
Especially, some images kept flashing through her mind. They were all what she and his grandfather had done, except that her face was replaced by the Xu family's wife.
Jasmine's heart was burning with anger.
But she had no choice.
She could only blame the Xu family for her hatred. One day, she would take revenge!
Dare to threaten her! She will pay you back ten or a hundred times!
Their Xu family’s wife doesn’t like to sleep with her men. Then she will let them sleep as much as they want!
The wind chimes above my head were motionless and silent, as if they had been silenced.
Jasmine was furious!
She imitated the martial arts moves of her grandfather, clenching her fists and stretching her legs, shouting with great force, and kicked the wind chimes above her head.
The wind chimes rang high in the air, the sound was pleasant and she was satisfied.
Just as the smile on his lips curved up, he heard another voice from inside the room: "Jian'er, your stomachache is gone so soon?"
The sound was mixed with the sound of wind chimes, but who else could it be but one person who made her so stubborn?
Jasmine suddenly sat up from the bed.
"Why are you here?"
"You haven't answered me yet. But your stomach hurts no more?"
The room was dark, and Jasmine lied with her eyes open:
"This servant is also strange. I was in excruciating pain just now, but now I feel better. Does your Majesty find it strange too?"
The Duke didn't say anything.
Seeing that he didn't approach, Jasmine didn't leave either. Thinking of the Xu family's wife, she asked, "Does the master dislike the Xu family's wife? That pretty girl who blushed easily just now?"
"I don't like it."
Hearing this, Jasmine didn't know whether to be happy or sad.
"Why, sir? Is it because the Xu family's wife made a mistake?"
The Duke didn't want to argue with his concubine about the Xu family's wife anymore. Instead of answering, he asked, "Does Jian'er hate me?"
Jasmine's heart trembled. How...how could she say that?!
"I didn't. I didn't dare."
"Tell me the truth."
"I really don't have any."
"Then why did you lie?" Having spoken, the Duke wanted to ask for clarification.
Jasmine was shocked. What did he know?
She had to calm down: "What do you mean?"
After asking, Jasmine regretted it. A more astute person would have doubted her words. Could it be that she had lied about more than just one thing?
But the Duke didn't think too much about it and just said, "Jiang'er hasn't had her period yet. Why are you lying?"
Jasmine's tense heart relaxed again, and she thought about how he would know.
Could it be that he remembered?
Jasmine couldn't help but feel a lump in her throat. She didn't know what to say. She couldn't just tell him that the Xu family was forcing her to do this.
She can't afford the gamble.
The aunt didn't say anything, which meant she agreed.
The Duke reflected on this matter in a rare moment. "It's my fault. I had a concubine, and I didn't know how to control myself. I made Jian'er suffer."
Jasmine covered her mouth to prevent herself from making any sound.
"I will pay attention to this in the future. You should take a good rest."
The door opened and then closed.
The bedroom was silent again for a moment.
Jasmine hugged her knees and buried her head in sobs.
The next day, Jasmine brought the second new concubine to the Duke.
The Duke thinks that my concubine is suitable to be a matchmaker.
"It takes time to get used to the new concubine. Give me some more time."
The Duke has said this much, so I think the concubine will finally calm down.
In the end, nothing happened. It was as if the concubine had been bewitched. Sometimes he asked her to taste the snacks she had made, and sometimes he praised her dancing and asked her to show him.
The Duke was still immersed in the thought that his concubine despised him, and the more active his concubine became, the more he was trapped. How could he possibly have the mood to look at other women?
What's more, he really wasn't familiar with the three of them. He had only met them once or twice and hadn't spoken to a girl much, so how could he sleep in the same bed with her?
It took a lot of effort for him to convince himself to sleep with his aunt, and he finally got to know her well. He really didn't want to change her.
But my aunt dislikes him.
The Duke felt that he could no longer stay in this place. He stood up and left without saying a word.
On the third day, the Duke deliberately came back late, and as expected, he met the third girl from the Xu family.
The concubine's face was full of sincerity, and she said: "Master, I treat you sincerely. I don't want to be a bad person. Master, you favor the lady of the Xu family. In the future, I will treat you as always."
The Duke's mind replayed what His Majesty had said to him yesterday, sighing: "The Duke's Concubine is quite sensible. She knows that the Duke is the master and she is the servant. The Duke is so lucky."
The Duke felt extremely regretful for asking His Majesty at that time.
Right now, the Duke was in a very heavy mood. If he didn't compromise, he was afraid he would never be able to live in peace. "You don't have to say anything more. I promise you."
The concubine's face had two dimples again after a long time. The Duke found it irritating and turned away.
That night, the news that the Duke wanted to invite a girl from the Xu family to sleep with him spread quickly throughout the Duke's Mansion.
The old lady was in a complicated mood. She didn't want the Xu family to benefit, but she was also afraid that the Xu family would be neglected. Fortunately, she only needed to watch from the sidelines.
She thought that her aunt could at least hold on for a while. If the Xu family girl succeeded, she would also feel comforted when she saw her scheming and hypocritical aunt suffer a setback.
Upon hearing this, the old lady curled her lips and asked, "How will Auntie react? Will she kneel at my feet and beg me not to abandon her?"
Tao'er's face was conflicted.
Aunt Qian said with a stern face: "If you have something to say, just say it."
Tao'er had no choice but to speak: "Old Madam, it was the concubine who brought together the Duke and the new concubine."
"What?!"
Tao'er continued, "I heard that the concubine was very happy and gave tips to everyone in the main courtyard. She said that she would give more tips after the Duke and the new concubine got married. This news just got out."
The old lady didn't understand, and Nanny Qian, who was always able to comfort the old lady, didn't understand either. So, Nanny Qian didn't know what to say.
Aunt Qian asked Tao'er with a stern face, "Are you sure about this?"
"This servant is sure!"
The old lady had long noticed that the concubine was not only troublesome, but also cold and selfish.
The most important thing is that the old lady is sure that the concubine is not easy to use. If she can't be used, why keep someone who plays tricks on her?
Unfortunately, the Duke seemed to like her very much. The old lady was afraid that if she spoke up, it would alienate her and her son, so she kept it to herself.
I wanted to make Xu's daughter and my aunt lose both of them. But what's the result now?
Auntie actually helped the girl from the Xu family!
This is to win over the Xu family! What a cunning little bitch!
At the moment, the old lady was helpless. She could only sternly threaten Aunt Qian: "Just wait and see, sooner or later I will make them all pay!"
Aunt Qian echoed the same hatred: "It's a must!"
...
West Courtyard.
After hearing this, the Fourth Young Master's wife's face lit up with hope: "Great news. The new concubine will be favored. If we can coax her well, she can be used by us."
Ting'er: "What if the three ladies of the Xu family are as difficult to deal with as Aunt Jasmine?"
After a while, the Fourth Young Master's wife said, "Not really. When Xu sends someone, she won't send someone who is too smart and difficult to control. Besides, how many people have you seen who are as capable as our concubine?"
Ting'er shook her head: "I have never seen it."
The fourth young master's wife was filled with hatred when she thought about how she had wasted so much effort to please the concubine, but all of it was in vain.
In reality, the concubine hadn't done anything to her. But the Fourth Young Master's wife hated her. She hated that she could win the favor of the Duke alone, and she hated that she was so smart, a mere concubine who dared to toy with so many nobles.
But she can't say anything!
If she confessed, there was no way the Fourth Master would be imprisoned for ten years. It was all because of her, Jasmine, that she suffered so much!
Fortunately, she got another chance.
The fourth young master's wife knew that she could not deal with the concubine. She always knew how to deal with things. She would put aside the things she couldn't handle and deal with the things in front of her first.
"Prepare three generous gifts and find a chance to give them to the three of them. Forget it, just listen to me and go to Concubine Liang's clothing store and buy three pieces of gold jewelry." What you can't get is the best. The three of them would definitely not go to great lengths to buy gold jewelry on their own, but it would be different if she gave it to them.
Ting'er hesitated: "My lady, I'm afraid the old lady won't be happy."
The Fourth Young Master’s wife: “I can’t care less.”
Seeing Ting'er didn't move, the fourth young lady's wife said impatiently: "What else do you want?"
Ting'er: "This servant is thinking, should we ask the eldest young lady about this? What if our gift is not as good as hers? What should we do then?"
This kind of thing happened all the time in the past. Except for the beginning, the Fourth Young Lady didn't care anymore. After all, she knew that no matter how much she gave, she couldn't compare to the First Young Lady, who came from a merchant family.
"No. The eldest young lady's wife would not want to please the Xu family."
The Fourth Young Master's wife was certain, so Ting'er didn't think any more about it and went out to do her work.
...
Of course the eldest young lady would not try to please the girl from the Xu family.
The eldest young lady entered the family early, and in her early years she was the only one staying by the old lady's side. She truly treated the old lady as her own mother-in-law.
The mother-in-law didn't want to be controlled by Xu, so she often said bad things about her. Whenever someone came to visit Xu, it was always her eldest young lady who was willing to be used as a tool.
The key point is that she, the eldest young lady, is rich and confident, and her voice is the loudest. Not to mention Xu Qu and Xu Fang, even the head of the Xu family was driven away by her sarcasm and ridicule the only time she came to visit.
Xu resented the old lady, at least in secret, but she hated the eldest young lady's wife openly.
The eldest young lady is rich and not stupid. How could she do such a useless thing?
The eldest young lady's wife thought the aunt was a little silly.
"What's the point of her trying to please the Xu family? If the Second Master really falls for that bitch from the Xu family and then ignores me, wouldn't that be more than enough? Then the Xu family will just kick her out."
The eldest young lady's mouth curled up in a sarcastic arc: "What a fool."
Cuizhu helped the eldest young lady to choose her flowers and hairpins, and echoed, "It's all because of the timid aunt. There's no one to support her."
"Now that you mention it, I feel a little sympathetic towards her. Well, after all, we've lived under the same roof for a whole year. If those Xu bitches really bully her, I won't let them off."
Cuizhu was so moved that she shed tears and said, "Madam is kind-hearted. It is my great honor to be able to follow you."
...
Main courtyard.
The one serving the emperor in bed today is the most gentle and quiet Xu Qiuhuai.
"My little girl...I will help the Duke take a bath, shall I?"
"No need to bother."
Hearing the Duke's words, Xu Qiuhuai didn't dare to move. Her heart was pounding, and she wondered if she had offended the Duke in some way.
She thought again of the fate of Fu and Xu. They were punished and driven away because they were too proactive.
Seeing that the new concubine stopped talking, the Duke got up to wash up.
In the past, it would take at most half an hour, but this time the Duke took two hours to wash and bathe. It was almost midnight when he returned.
The new concubine still sat obediently on the edge of the bed.
The Duke had no choice but to step forward and stand a few steps away from the bed, saying, "It's not appropriate today."
Xu Qiuhuai stood up as if she had been scalded, and asked anxiously: "But what did I do wrong?"
The Duke hadn't expected her to react so strongly, so he had to explain, "It has nothing to do with you. It's just that I'm not familiar with you, and how can two strangers sleep in the same bed together? We have a long way to go. You..."
The Duke wanted to say, "Just sleep here," but before he could even utter the words, the new concubine was one step ahead of him and said tremblingly, "I know what's going on. I'll leave now."
"You stay here." The Duke ordered.
If she were to leave, wouldn't the concubine be replaced by someone else tomorrow? In order to fool the concubine, the Duke could only let the new concubine stay in the main courtyard bedroom.
The new concubine stood there in a daze again. The Duke ordered again, "Since you don't want to sleep on the bed, take the quilt from the bed and sleep on the floor."
The Duke added, "The quilt I gave you is new."
Xu Qiuhuai did as she was told. She did whatever the Duke said.
Of course, if the Duke didn't say it, she wouldn't do it.
It took a lot of effort to settle her down.
The Duke went to the closet and fetched his usual bedding. Then he climbed onto the bed, lowered the curtains, and lay down. He ordered, "Lights out."
"Yes." The lights quickly went out.
The Xu family girl's success in sleeping with the emperor was considered as a token of Jasmine's loyalty to the Xu family.
Early in the morning, on the way to the main courtyard, there was a cold light in the aunt's eyes, which scared the two little girls passing by and made them kneel down to pay their respects.
Jasmine walked straight past them as if she didn't see them.
Xu! One day, she will make the entire Xu family live in unrest!
Having breakfast with the Duke, the concubine always ate heartily, even more than the Duke. But today, the concubine seemed to have a poor appetite.
The Duke couldn't eat either. Seeing that his concubine wasn't as good as before, he reached out and picked up a fried bun for her.
Jasmine lowered her eyes to look at the fried buns and spat out three words: "No appetite."
The concubine looked obviously angry. The Duke had the illusion that he had offended her.
It was as if he had favored another concubine behind her back and the concubine was angry with him. But the Duke knew that was not the case.
The Duke was puzzled.
Jasmine also realized that she was in a bad mood. How could she be so upset?
She was the one who asked him to favor the new concubine, and now that he had done so, why should she be unhappy?
Besides, the girl from the Xu family is also his aunt. It is a matter of course. What right does she have to be angry?
Jasmine looked at her master and said, "This time, I really have a stomachache. I came early."
She wasn't lying. She really had come early. She suspected she was pissed.
But compared to the heartache, this stomachache is nothing.
"It hurts so much, call the court doctor. It's getting late, so I'll leave now."
The Duke took the official hat beside the table and walked away with big strides.
The Duke seemed to want her to keep it a secret from the concubine. So Xu Qiuhuai didn't tell the concubine what happened last night. When the concubine stood in the corridor and looked at her, Xu Qiuhuai just lowered her head.
Jasmine just thought she was shy. She'd been shy too the first time she'd slept with a man. It was understandable.
Standing in the corridor, Jasmine stopped.
She didn't have the courage to go in. The dormitory must have been tidied up, but there would definitely be some differences.
For example, the bed, the dressing table, and the smell in the room.
Jasmine pursed her lips and turned away.
Xu! We'll see!
Although she won the battle, Jasmine knew that if the problem was not completely solved, her future life would still be difficult.
But how to solve the problem completely?
There had to be a way to make Xu too busy to take care of her. That matter had to be much more important than trying to win over the Duke.
By the way, why did Xu come to win over the Duke at this time?
That day, Jasmine secretly inquired about the secrets between the old lady and Xu. She learned that Xu had actually tried to win over the Duke many times before, but was flatly rejected by the old lady, whether it was things or beauties.
This time the old lady did not reject Xu because she was soft-hearted.
Jasmine thought about it and felt that something was wrong.
It's impossible for the old lady to take the initiative to find Xu, it was Xu who found the old lady. They spent a lot of effort to get the old lady to agree, which is definitely not a coincidence.
Xu encountered a big problem.
Jasmine packed a bag of silver for Shancha and asked her to go out and find someone to inquire about Xu.
Two days later, the news came back.
As expected, the eldest son of the Xu family in Xuzhou committed murder and arson. Unfortunately, the southeast wind blew that day, and the fire directly burned the granary of another wealthy local family.
The wealthy family had always been dissatisfied with the Xu family, and this time they took their case directly to the government office. The Xu family made clear their relationship with Duke Yan's mansion, and the local county magistrate dared not take any action.
I guess he is waiting to see the reaction of Duke Yan's Mansion in Kyoto.
The Xu family doesn't need the Duke to do anything. As long as the Duke accepts the three girls from the Xu family and sends a return gift to Xuzhou, the matter will be settled.
The murder and arson committed by the eldest son of the Xu family was not a big enough crime. Sooner or later, the Xu family would think of her.
Jasmine was agonizing. After a long day of planning, she finally came up with a feasible solution. She decided to add fuel to the fire once more.
The Xu family's eldest son will be saved, and the Xu family will thank her. If the Xu family repays kindness with enmity and brings up the matter of Concubine Qin again, don't blame her for being merciless.
Since they have something on each other, she is not at a disadvantage.
Of course, Jasmine wouldn't be stupid enough to write to Xu. She went to find Xu Qiuhuai.
Xu Qiuhuai looked at her in shock, as if wondering how she knew this? Even the old lady didn't know about this.
Jasmine saw through her and said, "It's not difficult if you're willing to investigate." She had spent a lot of her own money, more than she had given Liutu last time. Of course, she hadn't given all of it to Liutu and the others last time either. There were simply too many places to spend money.
"What... do you want to do?" Xu Qiuhuai looked at his aunt as if she were a skinned monster.
Jasmine said calmly, "Write a letter to Xu, and follow my instructions."
Xu Qiuhuai didn't even ask her why she didn't write it herself. Seeing that it was just such a small matter, he nodded in agreement.
"No problem. What does Auntie want me to write?"
...
Jasmine told Xu that she could find a way to save the eldest son, and what she wanted was only a little.
Xu Qiuhuai wrote in the letter that it was Auntie's idea, but Jasmine wasn't afraid at all. If the Duke or the old lady found out about the letter, she would just deny it.
Does anyone have evidence to prove that she instigated Xu Qiuhuai? It's obvious that the Xu family is deliberately framing her.
No, no, she couldn't act on impulse. She still needed to help the Xu family.
If she was to be discovered, she would just... admit it.
She couldn't bear to see the old lady in trouble. The Xu family begged the old lady, but the old lady refused. She was afraid that Xu would hurt the old lady, so she came up with this idea.
It doesn’t matter whether the old lady believes it or not, as long as the Duke believes it, it’s fine.
Jasmine had planned this matter carefully.
She was sure that Xu would agree, and even if she went back on her word in the future, she would have a way to deal with it.
It's a flawless plan.
But Jasmine couldn't believe it. She had made a mistake.
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