Chapter 66 Chapter 66 “Even if I enter the door, my wife is only…
The eldest young lady's wife gasped and asked quickly, "Is mother going to kill my aunt?"
The Fourth Young Master's wife explained, "Sister-in-law, you're overthinking it. If we kill our concubine, wouldn't that offend He Chenshi? Of course, we should return our concubine to He Chenshi."
The word "return" was extremely harsh and could not be shaken off the Duke's mind.
The eldest young lady's wife said: "How could our Duke's Mansion be afraid of a small fourth-rank official?"
The Fourth Young Master's wife: "This is not a question of whether or not to be afraid."
"So what's your problem?"
The old lady's head was buzzing. She shouted, "Enough! Shut up!"
The old lady only looked at the Duke. "Everyone outside knows that my concubine and He Congde were a couple. Duke, please help them achieve their goal. In the future, both you and our Duke's Mansion will be praised for our benevolence and righteousness. What do you think, Erlang?"
Everyone waited for the Duke to speak.
After a moment, the Duke said with a cold expression, "He's dreaming."
The Duke looked extremely unfamiliar.
Everyone was at a loss when a report came from outside: "Old Madam, the Duke, the concubine requests to see you."
Before the old lady could speak, the Duke said, "Send the concubine back to the backyard."
"My lord!"
At the same time, the concubine's voice could be heard from outside: "Duke, I am grateful for your care all along. I will remember it for the rest of my life."
The servant asked the aunt to go back, but seeing that she refused, he had to take action.
Jasmine then knelt down on the spot.
She continued to shout, "But I can't ignore my heart. Lord He is really a good person. Lord He promised me that when I get out, he will marry me as his wife. I don't want to be a slave anymore, so please... Duke, please grant me your wish!"
Jasmine tried hard to hold back the tears that were welling up in her eyes, but as soon as she lowered her head, the tears began to flow out.
She simply ignored it and let the tears flow out and cover her cheeks.
The door to the living room was flung open, revealing the old lady's cold, iron-like face: "You slut, that's enough! Someone, drag that person away and beat him to death!"
Jasmine was grabbed by the arms by two men, and she screamed, "Master, help me! I don't want to die!"
A tall shadow flew out from the door, and when everyone looked closely, they saw that the Duke was already standing in front of the concubine.
The Duke looked down at his concubine and said, "I can give you one chance. If you don't want to die, go back to your backyard now."
Jasmine burst into tears. "But Lord He and I are truly in love. Even if it means death, I will be with you! The Duke can hold my body captive, but he can't hold my heart captive!"
The old lady glanced at the Duke, quickly ran down the corridor, and raised her hand towards the concubine.
With one slap, the aunt could not kneel down and fell to the side, and the old lady's hand trembled at her side because she had used too much force.
The old lady gnashed her teeth and shouted sternly, "Drag him away and beat him to death!"
Jasmine was crying inconsolably. She wanted to shout "Help" again, but her voice seemed to be hoarse and she couldn't make any sound.
Shan Cha, who was kneeling beside her, crawled over to save her.
The two men huddled together tightly, not giving the servants any chance to attack.
The old lady glanced at the servant, who understood and brought the board directly.
The two men, one on the left and one on the right, were about to raise their hands and swing down.
The Duke said sternly, "Don't dirty the Duke's Mansion's board. Just kick him out and be done with it."
As she was being chased away, Jasmine wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. She was covered in mud, her makeup was smudged, and she looked like a madman.
But only she knows that she succeeded!
Haha, she successfully escaped. Even if she didn't have the Duke's Mansion to protect her in the future, she still had the He Mansion to protect her.
Standing in front of the mansion gate, Jasmine looked around. She knew that some people were laughing at her, but she didn't expect there would be so many people.
But so what.
He Congde also saw her and immediately stood up and walked over to her: "Are you... okay?"
Jasmine shook her head at him, "I'm fine. Thank you."
He Congde looked at her helplessly, then said after a moment, "Let's go."
"Um."
Chunli saw Shancha running out, glanced at the Duke, and followed him out quietly.
At the door, he grabbed the person and said, "Don't worry, I will plead for you with the general. The general didn't kill my aunt, so he certainly won't implicate you."
Shancha tried to shake him off, but couldn't get rid of him. She said anxiously, "Wherever Auntie is, I'm there. I only live for Auntie, nothing else matters."
Shancha took advantage of his distraction, pulled out her arm, and ran in the direction of her aunt and the others.
Chunli was so angry that he shouted behind her: "What do you want from such a vicious woman?"
Camellia didn't even turn back.
Chun Li muttered to himself in hatred, "Zuo He was right. This woman is a vicious snake. How could the general not judge people well? If only he had listened to Zuo He earlier."
...
This was the first time she had seen such an expression on her stepson's face.
The old lady wanted to persuade him, but she didn't know how else to do so.
"Erlang..."
The old lady became angrier the more she thought about it. She was so angry that she beat her chest and stamped her feet.
Nanny Qian supported her and, on behalf of the old lady, persuaded the Duke, who stood motionless the whole time:
"My Lord, please don't take it to heart. Such a heartless and unfeeling woman is rare in this world. It's just a coincidence that you happened to run into her. My Lord, why don't you go back to your room and get some sleep? When you wake up tomorrow, all these troubles will be gone."
Nanny Qian signaled to Yan Pu with her eyes.
Yan Pu had grown up with the Duke, but unfortunately, he was disabled and couldn't accompany him to guard the border. Although they hadn't seen each other for over a decade, Yan Pu didn't feel strange when he saw the Duke return a year ago.
But right now, Yan Pu felt that the Duke was a stranger. The Duke was a man of unwavering perseverance, a man of integrity, so how could he show such an expression of love-struck pain?
So Yan Pu stood there in a daze, waiting until Nanny Qian called him, then he came to his senses and stepped forward: "Master? Shall we go?"
The Duke then walked away.
Then the pace quickened.
Yan Pu almost couldn't keep up. Fortunately, his hands were just clumsy, his legs were fine.
Seeing the master turning to the west gate, Yan Pu was stunned and hurriedly chased after him: "Master, this is the way to the main courtyard..."
When the west-facing side door opened and Yan Pu stood at the entrance of the corridor, looking at the spacious street, he stopped talking.
A very ordinary, simple carriage pulled up to the side. The driver, as if noticing his master's arrival, jumped out and raised the curtain.
He Congde took Jasmine to the front of the carriage, helped her into the carriage first, and then he bent down and got in.
Yan Pu advised: "Master, don't look at it."
"Okay." The Duke responded kindly, then turned and said, "She's not worth it. Go back."
Yan Pu's eyes lit up and he nodded repeatedly.
He knew that his grandfather was a general guarding the border and the Duke of Dingguo, so how could he be so upset over a shameless concubine!
Even if I feel a little sad, it's only as little as the size of a fingernail.
Yan Pu finally felt relieved. He also had to tell Madam Qian as soon as possible.
He had truly decided not to take his aunt seriously. He was determined to forget such a heartless and ruthless woman as quickly as possible.
He took a step into the main courtyard and paused again. A rectangular table, a rocking chair, a pear tree, and wind chimes.
This is just the yard, not to mention inside the house.
The Duke stepped back and strode away.
The Duke returned home in the middle of the night. As expected, with so many things to deal with, he forgot about his concubine.
After a good night's sleep, he will continue to be busy tomorrow morning. In a few days, he will have completely forgotten about his aunt.
The Duke had already thought about it. When he returned to the main courtyard, he would inevitably think of his concubine's face again. No matter what, he imagined the wind chime pear tree to be even more hateful than his concubine, and threw it away when he returned.
But what the Duke didn't expect was that when he stepped into the main courtyard, everything was completely different from before.
The lanterns and wind chimes in the corridor were taken down, the tables and chairs were replaced, and even the pear tree disappeared.
Yan Pu wasn't sure if the Duke would be angry, so he cautiously stepped forward to explain, "Sir, it's the old lady. She was afraid that seeing the things would remind you of her, so she threw away everything related to my concubine."
After a moment, the Duke nodded and said, "Thank the old lady for me. Tell her not to worry too much."
Seeing that the master was not angry, Yan Pu breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile: "I understand. I will go to prepare water. After taking a bath, you can have a good sleep."
The Duke nodded.
The bedroom had also been cleaned, and it was so clean that no trace of the concubine could be seen.
Even the bedding that my aunt usually slept on was gone.
The Duke looked around and his eyes fell on the cabinet where his concubine hid the treasures.
He turned, walked to the cabinet, and opened it. The cabinet was empty.
Yan Pu saw this and stepped forward and said, "I saw Auntie moving some things out yesterday.
The Duke was startled when he heard this. He had thought it was the old lady who took them away, but it turned out to be her.
Yan Pu continued, "I didn't think much of it at the time, and only realized it today. I'm afraid the aunt had planned this long ago."
The Duke was suddenly worried about his concubine's abnormal behavior recently.
It turned out that she had planned it long ago.
"Master, the water is ready. Go take a bath."
The Duke closed the cabinet door and walked behind the bed.
Ever since the concubine moved in, the Duke felt that the main house in the main courtyard had become much smaller. He even planned to expand the bedroom.
But now, he realized that the dormitory in front of him was really not small.
The Duke recalled his childhood years after a long absence.
As far as he could remember, he lived in a simple, spacious house with only a bedroom containing a table, chairs, and bed frame, and a yard paved with bluestone slabs.
He stayed in this place, reading, practicing martial arts and sleeping.
Before his aunt came, he had no idea that a courtyard could be decorated like that. He never thought that one day he would live in a courtyard filled with flowers.
Stepping into the house every day and seeing the dazzling array of things and his aunt was the thing he looked forward to most in the day.
...
He Congde took Jasmine to an exquisite alleyway off Nanfu Street. It was narrow enough for only a carriage, but the houses on either side were brand new and bright, and the road was spotlessly clean.
Occasionally, one or two women would pass by, elegantly dressed. Although this place wasn't as crowded with high-ranking officials as the four streets of the imperial city, it was clear that these were families of some means.
Jasmine hasn't spoken since she got on the carriage.
Seeing that they were almost there, He Congde said, "I've found a small courtyard here. Baixiang, please stay here for a few days. I'll convince my parents and then take you back."
Jasmine forced a smile and nodded. After nodding, she realized what he had said and raised her eyes to speak: "Don't worry. My husband and aunt must be furious because of me. Please be more considerate of them and don't worry about me."
He Congde smiled back at her and said with emotion: "I have always known that Baixiang is a good girl. Those people just don't understand Baixiang."
Jasmine understood what was said, but she really didn't want to talk about the past, so she didn't say anything.
The courtyard is equally exquisite and has everything you need.
He Congde took her for a walk and led her to the dormitory.
Seeing Jasmine and Shancha enter the dormitory, he just stood in front of the dormitory door and said, "I've put your things under the bed. Check to see if anything is missing."
Of course Jasmine believed him. She only took a glance and backed out.
He Congde saw Shancha packing her things in the bedroom and took the opportunity to speak to Jasmine: "Don't worry, I will convince my parents to marry you as soon as possible. Only Baixiang is my wife."
Jasmine was a little surprised. She licked her lip and asked, "I remember that Brother Congde never even glanced at me before. Why does he like me so much now?"
No other girl is as direct as her.
He Congde blushed, but he gritted his teeth and whispered, "I've always liked Baixiang. She's a smart and lively girl. When I heard Baixiang say that she liked me and wanted to be my wife, do you know how happy and excited I was?"
His face flushed, and he spoke excitedly. As he spoke, He Congde seemed to be back to that day.
"If only I could go back and come back." His face showed regret again.
When Jasmine heard this, she subconsciously said, "But I don't want to go back."
He Congde thought of something and hurriedly explained, "Baixiang, don't misunderstand me. I didn't mean anything else. I know you had a hard time in the past, and it was the Duke who saved you. I'm as grateful to him as you are."
Jasmine wanted to say she hadn't misunderstood. She knew he had misunderstood, thinking she had misunderstood him as someone who disliked her. But in all conscience, she didn't.
She didn't think about it that way at all.
Jasmine didn't bother explaining and changed the subject, "I really have to thank you this time. I'm sorry for causing you to suffer such humiliation in front of others."
She asked Shan Cha to deliver a letter to him, saying that she could no longer stay in the Duke's Mansion and begged him to come and save her as soon as possible.
He Congde did it.
She knew he would definitely beg the Duke, but she didn't expect him to kneel down.
In Jasmine's eyes, he had always been aloof and aloof, but for her, he was willing to kneel in public. Jasmine was truly grateful.
He Congde: "For Baixiang, I can do anything."
Jasmine didn't like what he said. She said a few more words and suggested that he go back early.
"...It's getting late. My master and auntie must be waiting for you. Go back and apologize to them. You should also apologize to them on my behalf. Say it's all my fault. If they agree, I will kowtow to them personally."
"Hundred Fragrance..."
Seeing that he was once again extremely agitated, Jasmine quickly reached out and pushed him out: "Go quickly, we can talk later if you have anything to say."
He Congde looked back every few steps.
Finally we got on the carriage, which drove away along the narrow road.
After confirming that the carriage was out of sight, Jasmine retreated back into the courtyard and closed the door neatly.
Shancha pouted, and rushed out of the house with a deep sense of bitterness and hatred, hugging her: "Auntie, how are we going to live from now on? Oh, is it not appropriate for me to call you Auntie anymore? What should I call you then?"
Jasmine: "You can call me whatever you want. You can even call me Auntie."
Shancha had already started talking to herself: "So should I call you Madam? Master? Sister? Forget it, I'll just call you Madam."
Jasmine replied to her original question, "We'll live the same way we lived before. But without the protection of the Duke's Mansion, we'll have to be more careful in the future."
"knew."
"I'm not the Duke's concubine right now, so at least the Duke's can't control us. I can't die."
Jasmine said this in a playful manner.
She should have been happy that she had escaped death this time, but she couldn't smile. A flock of birds flew over the low wall, and this time she could watch them fly away. She was free enough.
But she lost him too.
"Auntie...Madam, why are you crying again?"
Jasmine wiped away the tears from her eyes and said, "I'm still a little uncomfortable. Maybe I'm just used to being a concubine."
Shancha understood her perfectly and felt the same sadness. "Yeah, before, we didn't have to cook, and we had good food and a good place to live. We definitely won't have it this good in the future."
Jasmine touched the unusual face and pressed it gently. She gasped, it hurt.
"Oh, Master He left some ointment. I'll go get it." After walking away for a few steps, Shan Cha came back and said, "I'd better help my wife wash up first."
"We're on our own now. You go get the ointment, and I'll get the water myself."
Using hot water would require a fire. Jasmine didn't worry; on this day, she simply washed her face with cold water.
As he was drawing water from the well and carefully holding a handkerchief to his face, he heard a knock at the gate.
Jasmine looked through the gap and saw that it was two maids, then she opened the door.
"Excuse me, is this Madam Jasmine's home?"
Jasmine nodded: "Are you guys okay?"
Shancha had already rushed out of the house at this time, holding Jasmine's arm and staring at the two of them with a fierce look.
The leading maid said again: "We are the maids of the He Mansion. The master asked us to serve the lady."
The letter that Jasmine asked Shancha to deliver to He Congde was full of anxiety. After He Congde understood, he hurriedly found this place the next day, and the day after that he was busy asking the Duke for help.
I forgot to put the maid into the yard.
When she entered the house, she remembered that she, a girl, needed someone to take care of her. As soon as she returned to the mansion, He Congde selected two people and sent them over.
There were two maids, one named Biyue and the other named Xiyue.
Both of them served the master in the He Mansion. Now they were wearing decent new dresses and pearl flowers on their heads. They looked more like masters than Jasmine, who was dressed in dirt and had slap marks on her face.
When Jasmine looked at the two men, they were also secretly looking at her from time to time.
Jasmine let the person in and asked, "Can you make a fire?"
"ah?"
The two girls were instantly confused.
Two maids lit a fire to boil water. Jasmine didn't wash her face with cold water anymore. She wanted to take a comfortable hot bath later.
Jasmine pulled Shancha into the house and said, "We'll apply the medicine after we take a bath. Now the important thing is to count the silver."
This is their only hope for survival! It was shipped out bit by bit from the Duke in advance.
She even took the Guanyin statue given to her by the eldest young lady, which prayed for a child. In short, she took out everything that belonged to her.
After dragging them out from under the bed, Shancha and I counted them twice to confirm that nothing was missing.
"We'll pawn everything tomorrow when we go out. It'll be safer to hide it in banknotes and silver."
"OK."
"This is enough for us to live comfortably for five or six years." Jasmine looked at the closed door. "I wonder if those two girls get their wages from some mansion."
Jasmine was a little reluctant, but she quickly made up her mind: "We've already caused a lot of trouble for the He family. Let these two girls work hard, and we'll pay their wages."
Shancha asked, "What if I don't work hard?"
Jasmine: "Then deduct the wages."
"I thought a lady would tell them to get rid of them."
"Drive them away, and you'll cook from now on?"
Shancha quickly responded, "I have to keep it. At worst, I can give them half of my wages."
"Alright."
The two of them pushed the treasure box back under the bed. Shancha clapped her hands, stood up, and asked, "By the way, my lady, if Master He really wanted to marry you, would you agree?"
Jasmine: "That's impossible. His parents won't agree to that."
"If everyone in the He family agrees, will you agree?" Shancha observed her expression and said slyly, "From what Lord He said just now, Madam has taken the initiative to show her goodwill towards him. Madam, you are quite formidable. I always thought the Duke was easy to coax and deceive, but now I realize it's actually Madam's cunning tactics that are more effective."
Jasmine thought she was praising herself. But she couldn't laugh, and she wasn't in the mood to joke with her. She said expressionlessly, "I was young then. His parents were kind to me, and he was kind to me, too. I thought I wouldn't have to suffer in the future."
Shan Cha recalled some of the things she had said to her, and she put away her smile and asked, "Could it be that they left because they didn't want to be bothered by my wife?"
Jasmine thought about it and said, "That's not entirely true. He had to come to Kyoto to take the exam sooner or later. He just happened to run into someone as annoying as me and left early. He probably didn't want to do this, but he couldn't persuade his parents."
Shancha thought about it and said, "Indeed. Otherwise, Lord He wouldn't have been able to ask the Duke to take you away. Lord He loves you deeply. If he is willing to marry you, my lady, you might as well agree."
Shancha looked at her, enumerated the benefits of her entering the He Mansion, and at the same time belittled her.
"My lady, think about it, you are in this state now. Who else would be willing to marry you except Lord He, let alone marry him as his legitimate wife in a formal ceremony? Lord He is also deeply in love with you, considerate, and good-looking. Maybe he will rise to a high position in the future. Wow, our future life..."
"Madam, the water is ready."
Bi Yue's voice came from outside the door.
"Okay, I'll be right there."
Shancha stopped talking. She planned to take a bath with her wife. After the bath, they would have a meal and go to bed. Today was really tiring.
Shancha thought his wife was too slow, so he opened the door first.
"Please bring in the hot water."
Shancha then instructed Xiyue: "Go pick some flower petals. My wife wants to take a flower petal bath."
The tub was filled with hot water and the flower petals were laid out.
Jasmine smiled and said to them, "Let's cook two dishes and some porridge. We'll have an early dinner tonight."
The two stood still. Jasmine looked back at them again.
Bi Yue looked at her calmly and said, "Young Master asked us servants to serve you, and we will do our best to serve you. I only ask you to respect yourself in the future. You don't care about your reputation, but my young master still needs to gain a foothold in this capital city."
Naked contempt!
She didn't dare act rashly in the Duke's Mansion, so what was she afraid of facing two little girls? Shancha immediately pinched her waist and retorted, "Don't you know that it was your master who begged my wife to go with him?"
The two girls looked at each other, and Bi Yue continued, "My young master has to obey the master and his wife on matters of marriage. The mistress will never agree to let you be the principal wife. Even if you marry, you will only be a concubine. I advise you to put yourself in the right place."
"I say, you two are justified in eavesdropping on the master's conversation?"
Shancha was about to cross her eyes with the two of them, but Jasmine held her back and said to them, "Please bear with me, sisters. I hope you won't tell the young master about what happened just now. Jasmine is very grateful. Jasmine will be careful with her words and actions in the future, and will never dare to have any more unrealistic thoughts."
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