Chapter 67 Chapter 67 This is her retribution, she can only accept it...
Shancha looked at her with disapproval.
The two girls looked at each other again and raised their heads even higher.
Jasmine: "Let's not talk about that. I'm hungry. Please, sisters, make dinner."
After everyone left, Shancha asked, "Why are you so polite to them?"
When Jasmine heard the footsteps were indeed getting farther away, she said, "You forgot again! We'll be relying on them a lot in the future. If they add two more spoonfuls of salt, it will be enough to make us suffer. Of course, we have to coax them well."
Shancha curled her lips. "But these two don't even consider themselves girls. They even eavesdropped on our conversation. Are you going to put up with it?"
Jasmine: "They've worked hard enough, so we have to understand them. After they finish cooking, we'll have to help plow the fields and plant vegetables. We'll also have them buy ten chickens. Everything costs money, so of course we should save as much as possible."
Shancha thought about it and nodded seriously: "My lady is right. From now on, Shancha will treat them well like my lady."
"That's right."
Jasmine turned around, took off her clothes, and stepped into the bathtub.
Not only do they have to do the laundry and cooking, but they also have to dig the land and raise chickens?!
The two of them could no longer bear it and went to talk to Jasmine with dirty faces.
Bi Yue: "We have never done this in the He Mansion. We don't know how to do it, and we are too busy. Madam, could you please hire two servants to do the rough work?"
Jasmine blinked and said awkwardly, "But I'm broke. I can't always rely on you for help. If we grow some vegetables and raise some chickens, the four of us can be self-sufficient in the future. So, please bear with me, sisters. We can work together in the future, and it won't be difficult. If you don't mind, I'll find a way to borrow some money from you, sisters."
Xiyue pulled Biyue's sleeve, and Biyue understood and stopped talking.
They were maids in the He Mansion, which was run by Madam He. When they left, Madam He told them to keep an eye on the young lady, not to let her approach the young master, and to report any problems to her promptly.
Xiyue said, "It's just some small chores, we two servants can do it. The master is busy, so please don't disturb him."
Jasmine: "That's good. Let's get busy then."
The land was dug, and we had to buy seedlings to plant. My wife also said that we needed to water and fertilize them. I also bought ten chicks, but my wife said that they couldn't stand the rain, so we had to build a chicken coop.
So when they went out to buy chickens, why didn't they move at home? Why did they wait until they came back?
Unable to bear it any longer, Bi Yue asked Mo Li, "Madam, why are you making such a fuss? As far as I know, this place was lent to you by the Master for your temporary residence. You can't take all this with you when you leave."
You can tell how bad Bi Yue’s mood is just by listening to her voice.
Jasmine, who was sitting in the corridor drinking tea and supervising the work, suddenly had a bright look in her eyes. "Are you saying that the young master is going to invite me home in a few days?"
The two of them looked at each other, their faces extremely ugly.
Then she continued, "That's great! This way we don't have to do all this. Why don't we return the chickens? By the way, do you know when the young master will come to pick me up? Will he come straight from here in a sedan chair carried by eight people, with a phoenix coronet and a bridal robe, to welcome me in?"
Bi Yue said unhappily, "My lady, you are overthinking it."
Xiyue pulled Biyue over and said to Moli, "Don't worry, my lady. As long as you live in this yard for one day, we two servants will take good care of them."
Jasmine was extremely disappointed: "It turns out I was overthinking it. Okay."
Within three days, the two women, who had originally fair and radiant skin, had become dark and thin. They didn't eat well, and they had to work a lot, and even then, it was all hard labor that peasant women had to do.
The two of them wanted to just leave, but what would they say when they returned? Would they say that their mistress abused them? The mistress and the young master would definitely think they were just being pretentious and lazy.
The Madam had assigned them a mission, and if they went back on their own initiative, it would surely anger her. They both sold themselves into the He Mansion, so one could imagine how bleak their future would be.
The two decided to endure it.
The two girls thought that Jasmine was looking forward to their master's visit every day. In fact, Jasmine was eager for He Congde to be busy and to suffer a setback from Madam He.
Mrs. He hated her then, and she probably disliked her even more now. She was stupid, so she really wanted to enter the He Mansion.
Even if He Congde really came with a sedan chair, she would not be happy. That was why Jasmine carefully decorated the courtyard in front of her.
She thought this place was pretty good. If she could talk it over, she could buy the yard.
Jasmine hadn't left the house these past two days, having watched the two girls work. Today she planned to go out for a walk.
When Bi Yue learned that she was going out, she said she wanted to go too.
Jasmine: "There has to be someone at home. I'll be back at noon, you guys cook at home."
This time Xiyue also spoke up: "We are worried that you are in danger. It will be difficult for us to explain to you. Please take us with you."
Jasmine looked at the two of them and said honestly, "I'm not going far. I'm just going to go shopping at Concubine Liang's clothing store."
Bi Yue asked, "What are you going there for, my lady?"
"Go find a job." Jasmine sighed and said slowly, "If you can't find a job, you'll have to be supported by me from now on."
The two looked at each other. Xiyue thought that today was not a day off, and the young master must have gone to East City to provide disaster relief, so she should not be able to find him.
Xiyue calmly tugged at Biyue's sleeve and said to Moli, "Then my lady, please come back early before dusk. We two servants will be waiting for you at home for dinner."
"good."
Jasmine was finally able to go out.
When the gate closed, they were the only ones left. Bi Yue asked dissatisfiedly, "Why didn't you let me speak just now?"
Xiyue: "We have tried to persuade her, but she insisted on leaving and wouldn't let us follow her. If she gets into trouble outside, what does it have to do with us?"
Bi Yue: "But what if she goes to find the Master? You've forgotten what the Madam said."
Xiyue: "The young master is at the East City Charity Granary. If she leaves now, she will definitely be too late to rush over. Didn't you hear her say she was going to work? She shouldn't be lying. It would be great if she could really go to work. Why should the young master support her?"
Bi Yue was convinced. Taking advantage of the fact that no one was around, she vented the anger she had been holding back for days: "Who does she think she is? She's just a concubine, a withered flower, a slut, not even fit to carry our young master's shoes, and yet she still dreams of becoming the mistress of the house! Pah!"
"I don't understand why the young master would like such a vulgar person. Even if it means disobeying the madam, she must go against the Duke's Mansion. That is the Duke's Mansion." Xiyue's face was full of pain and confusion.
"She even ordered us to do rough labor. I've never done it since I was a child!" Bi Yue touched her face, which had been tanned in just a few days, and cried bitterly. "We agreed that four people would work, but she was lazy. It's okay because she's the wife, but why did that little Shancha just order us around without working? I went to find her, but she actually said she couldn't do anything about Shancha, and asked me to discuss it with her. If she couldn't do anything, how could we possibly do anything..."
The chicks were clamoring non-stop in the newly built chicken coop. Bi Yue became more and more annoyed and threw a stone in.
The chicks were so frightened that they ran around in a panic. Because they were so small, they squeezed out from the gaps between the wood chips.
The two were stunned when they saw it, screamed again, and rushed to catch it.
...
Jasmine went to the pawnshop first, and secretly took out a few pieces of precious jewelry she had obtained from the Duke's Mansion and showed them to the pawnshop owner.
If the price is good, she will bring the other things tomorrow.
Of course, she was reluctant to part with the things her grandfather left her, especially the betrothal gifts and headgear. She would keep them well hidden for the rest of her life.
"What do you think, shopkeeper? I rarely wear these pieces of jewelry, so they're basically brand new."
The shopkeeper peeked out the small window and looked at her: "I wonder where you got all these things, ma'am?"
Jasmine said calmly, "I'm a concubine, so of course it was given by my husband's family. The shopkeeper didn't dare to accept it, so why did he come?"
Jasmine spread her hands.
The shopkeeper smiled and didn't give her the money, saying, "It's indeed a good thing. But I'm afraid it would be risky for me to give it to you. This is the only amount I can give you."
The shopkeeper made a 28 gesture.
Jasmine immediately stretched out her hand and knocked on the counter without any courtesy: "The shopkeeper is not sincere. I won't sell it to you."
Shancha added, "Originally, my wife had plenty left, and was thinking of giving them all to you tomorrow, but a hairpin only fetched this much. So why not just cut some and use them ourselves?"
The shopkeeper placed the golden hairpin in Jasmine's palm, but when Jasmine closed her palm, she found nothing.
She glared at the shopkeeper: "What do you mean?"
After leaving the pawnshop, Jasmine was extremely satisfied.
Shancha hugged her arm and praised her: "My wife is getting more and more powerful!"
Jasmine raised her eyebrows proudly. "That's right. I've inquired about the value of these jewels. They're all new, and I've already given them a discount. The pawnshop will still make a lot of money if we sell them again later. But he only gave us a small amount at the beginning. Did he really think we were easy to cheat?"
The two of them were laughing and joking, and Jasmine was smiling happily as they walked and talked. Suddenly, her smile froze.
Shancha followed her gaze and saw the Duke standing in front of Concubine Liang's clothing store on the bustling street.
Shancha sucked in a breath of cold air and looked at Jasmine with a stiff head.
Jasmine's lips curled up again, and she walked forward, ready to salute.
After taking only two steps, he saw Duan Zhi coming out of the shop.
Duan Zhi walked straight up to the Duke and asked with a smile, "What are you looking at, Duke?"
Turning around, Duan Zhi also saw Jasmine. There was no surprise on her face, and she smiled at Jasmine, as if there had never been any entanglement between them, and this was just a chance encounter.
Jasmine smiled, of course. Even if her lips twitched, she had to be calmer and more relaxed than Duan Zhi.
After all, he is the Duke, Jasmine then stepped forward.
Unexpectedly, before they got close, the Duke jumped on his horse swiftly, shouted, and disappeared into the crowd with Chunli and a few others in the blink of an eye.
Shancha watched Chunli, dazed and distraught, ride away with a sullen expression. She knew he must be mad at her.
She's always open-minded. Being angry with her is fine. It's better than pestering her for no reason.
Jasmine paused, then walked slowly forward, nodded to Madam Duan, and entered Concubine Liang's clothing shop.
"Do you think she's serious?" Duan Zhi murmured.
When the maid heard this, she hurriedly asked, "What are you talking about, madam?"
Duan Zhi remained silent. After a moment, she denied it again, "No, she's not making sense. There must be something fishy going on."
Jasmine hadn't lied to Biyue and the others; she truly intended to work at Concubine Liang's clothing store. She hadn't thought it would be easy, but when she asked, they simply said they were short of staff.
In just one stick of incense, Jasmine had already made an agreement with the shop owner. She would start working tomorrow.
As for wages, it was impossible for Concubine Liang's shop to pay her less. It was definitely more than she imagined. Jasmine was not worried at all.
Jasmine was about to say goodbye when she heard the voices of two waitresses behind the counter: "Everything is still there. Why would the Duke return it?"
"I don't know if it has anything to do with that aunt."
"Of course it doesn't matter. The Duke's Mansion has more than one concubine."
"But if they were given to other concubines, why return them? It's obvious that these were all given to that woman."
"You're right. I remember the Duke came to buy it that very day. The Duke is truly pitiful."
Jasmine looked at the counter in front of them. At the bottom was a dark red cloth bag, and on top of the bag were five or six wooden boxes of different sizes carved with peony patterns.
There were two open wooden boxes. One contained a cosmetics set in a Xiangfei-colored porcelain jar, and the other contained a set of exquisitely designed red gold jewelry.
Having pawned her things for a high price and become a member of the Liang Guifei Clothing Shop, she should have been happy. But on the way back, Jasmine found it difficult to pretend to be happy.
Shancha sighed, "Madam, do you also feel bad about those things? We are a little late. If only the Duke had sent them a day earlier, it would have been much better. Those things are worth a lot of money."
Jasmine knew that he was trying to cheer her up with these things. She deliberately put on a bad face, pretended to be reluctant and unhappy, and refused to agree to let him return to the main courtyard, so he bought it.
But who would have thought that when she returned home with the big and small boxes, she would see He Congde and hear her cruel words.
If Jasmine put herself in her grandfather's shoes, she would be so angry that she would beat him to death!
Jasmine was filled with regret, but she was helpless.
She had no choice but to walk forward step by step along the road ahead. Even if the road ahead was bleak and gloomy, she had no choice but to keep walking in the dark.
Along the way, Jasmine said "I'm sorry" countless times in her heart. She not only felt regret, but also felt sad and reluctant to leave.
How could she bear to let him go? I'm afraid she will never be able to get rid of this feeling in this lifetime.
Therefore, God wanted to punish her. She had to watch him marry, take concubines, and have children in the future.
Still with Duan Zhi!
Duan Zhiyuan should have been her defeated opponent, but now she has become the one being laughed at.
Jasmine trembled with anger whenever she thought of Duan Zhi, wearing the chastity crown of a Duke's wife, and going out with the Duke.
But this was her karma. She could only accept it.
...
Chunli didn't plan to go back today, but wanted to accompany the general to drink and relieve his boredom.
It just so happens that there are no women in the main courtyard right now.
When the Duke returned to the main courtyard, he discovered that Chunli had followed him in. He did not speak.
Chunli instructed the dejected Xiuhong: "Go get some jars of wine."
Xiuhong looked at the Duke, and Chunli scolded her, "Just go if I tell you to."
"Yes." Xiuhong ran away with her little face down.
Chunli poured a bowl for his grandfather, and then drank two big bowls himself.
Glancing at Xiuhong standing there blankly, Chunli waved a fly to signal her to move away, scolding her: "All women are bad. Get lost."
Xiuhong ran away with a sad and angry look on her face.
Ever since her aunt left, she has had a hard time living.
The Duke didn't drink. Instead, he stared at Chunli with a serious face: "Only two bowls of soup, and you're already drunk?"
Chun Li drank another bowl before saying, "I'm not drunk. I just feel bad for myself, and even more so for you."
The Duke said calmly, "I'm fine, I don't need your worry."
Chunli couldn't believe it: "Auntie is gone, are you really not sad?"
The Duke casually responded to the drunkard: "Seriously."
"Impossible." Chunli, under the influence of alcohol, refuted his grandfather, "I'm lying. When I first met my aunt, I was stunned for a long time. Seeing her heartless smile, I must have been furious. Otherwise, why would I ride a fast horse and run away in the street?"
The Duke didn't care that he had escaped, and simply asked, "Did you notice that too?"
He thought he had seen it wrong, but it turned out to be true.
Auntie... No, she wasn't his aunt anymore. She was truly happy, not like Xiuhong was trying to convince him that there might be some hidden reason.
That's right, what secrets could a woman in the backyard have? She despised him, despised her status as a concubine, and wanted to be the main wife, so what was wrong with that?
"How could I not see it? Aunt, and that girl have such big smiles on their faces! They are even brighter than the sun!" Chunli pointed at the sky which was suddenly covered with dark clouds, his fingers trembling.
The Duke said nothing more, picked up the wine bowl in front of him and drank it.
Chunli gnashed his teeth and said, "From now on, none of us should take women seriously! Women are all sinister and vicious villains, and they are the most annoying!"
The Duke poured him a bowl, then filled his own, toasting him: "Drink."
That's right. The first time he met a woman, she turned out to be a fickle and bad woman.
I'm afraid there's no good person in this world. Even if there is, he definitely won't meet one.
Xu Qiuhuai was ordered by the old lady to serve the Duke.
A few days ago, the old lady hadn't found an opportunity, and Xu Qiuhuai's injury had not healed yet, so the old lady didn't say anything.
But today, the Duke is drinking!
This is a rare opportunity.
The old lady thought about it and immediately asked Nanny Qian to greet Xu Qiuhuai.
When Xu Qiuhuai stepped into the main courtyard, he heard the Duke say, "That's right, women are all evil-minded and heartless."
She hesitated a little, but she knew that time would never come back.
Xu Qiuhuai thought over and over again about what Nanny Qian had warned her: "The Duke is a kind man. As long as you succeed, he won't take your life if he settles the score later. The old lady will also plead for you. I guarantee you'll be safe."
Thinking of the day when she would return to Xuzhou, she gritted her teeth and walked forward again.
"I will serve you some wine." She knelt beside the long table and poured wine for the Duke with trembling hands.
The Duke turned and looked at her: "Who are you?"
"My name is Qiu Huai."
Chunli shouted, "Don't trust her! She's definitely up to something bad!"
Xu Qiuhuai was so frightened that he almost dropped the wine jar.
The Duke simply stared at her quietly. After a moment, he asked, "Tell me the truth, do you have any ill intentions?"
Xu Qiuhuai hurriedly shook his head: "I don't have any."
Seeing the Duke nod, Xu Qiuhuai breathed a sigh of relief.
The Duke propped up his forehead, looked at her with a dazed look in his eyes and said, "You are much prettier than my aunt. Why did I only favor my aunt in the past? I should favor you too. Shall we go back to our room?"
The Duke stood up, his tall figure covering her, and Xu Qiuhuai's heart almost jumped out of her chest.
The Duke walked slowly down the corridor, and Xu Qiuhuai followed behind him with a red face.
Chunli didn't expect his master to abandon him like this. He couldn't help but shout, "Master, General! I will accompany you until we are drunk!"
The Duke heard the bedroom door close again and turned around. With a blank expression, he ordered, "Take off your clothes."
Without hesitation, Xu Qiuhuai began to untie his belt and then stepped forward.
Just as she was about to snuggle into the Duke's chest, her wrist was suddenly grabbed.
She looked up in surprise and saw the Duke's extremely angry and ferocious face. "You said you didn't want to do anything bad? Then what are you doing?"
The Duke laughed at himself and wiped the tears from his eyes. "Women are really not good. I can only blame myself for being blind. If you don't leave now, don't blame me for being ruthless."
Chunli looked at the door of the main room in the corridor and roared again. He wanted to yell his master out, but it was a maid who came out.
The maid hugged her chest, staggered, and ran out of the yard in a panic.
Chun Licai saw his grandfather again.
The Duke seemed to be in a good mood after catching a hypocritical and vicious woman.
Then he walked over to sit across from Chunli, poured a bowl of wine, drank it guzzlingly, and said, "This is also a bad thing."
That night, Chun Li stayed in the main courtyard of the Duke's Mansion. He couldn't remember when he lost consciousness.
In short, in the second half of the night, he and my grandfather were still drinking and chatting in the courtyard.
What to talk about? Of course, it's about hypocritical and vicious women.
When they woke up again, Chunli and the Duke had regained their former spirits.
It seems as if what happened yesterday never happened.
The old lady saw that the Duke was fine, and thought that maybe Erlang was really drunk yesterday and didn't remember Xu Qiuhuai.
She might as well pretend to be confused.
From that day forward, the Duke was left with only trivial matters of official business. He never mentioned his concubine to anyone again.
Even if His Majesty had good intentions but bad intentions and specifically summoned him to speak and appease him, the Duke remained as solemn and calm as ever, replying, "Thank you, Your Majesty, but I wouldn't take a woman seriously. If Your Majesty hadn't mentioned her, I would have forgotten her."
His Majesty nodded repeatedly with satisfaction: "As expected of the invincible Duke. Indeed, she is just a woman."
After the Duke left, His Majesty said with emotion, "Fortunately, the Duke and that concubine didn't have a deep relationship."
Yao Ping: "Indeed. Not as good as His Majesty and His Majesty."
His Majesty glanced at him and said, "It's just like that between me and the Concubine."
Yao Ping stole a glance at His Majesty and thought to himself, "I didn't say anything about His Majesty and the Imperial Concubine. There aren't many Imperial Concubines in the palace, are there?"
His Majesty half-closed his eyes in distress, "Why is this man so unattractive to women? I've decided to find him another wife, and this time I'll choose for him."
His Majesty had originally made up his mind, but when the imperial concubine found out, she gently persuaded him not to do so.
Imperial Concubine: "Once the Duke was bitten by a snake, I'm afraid he will be afraid of women for the rest of his life. It's very likely that he will even hate women. Your Majesty is doing this thankless task. Why bother?"
Your Majesty: "I can't bear it. If he wants to blame me, then let him blame me. After we get married, after two years, when he gets to know his wife, everything will be fine."
Imperial Concubine: "Your Majesty loves the Duke. But I only love Your Majesty."
How could His Majesty bear to see the Concubine feel distressed, so he immediately said that he would not care about him anymore.
...
The next day, Jasmine and Shancha went to work at Concubine Liang's clothing shop. The shopkeeper disliked Shancha's rough hands and loud voice, so he sent her to the back room to sort out miscellaneous items.
Jasmine, however, was very adept at it. The shopkeeper was surprised and asked her if she had ever been a salesgirl.
Of course, Jasmine didn't. She was very observant and had been observing the waitresses in the shop quite a bit.
As long as you are brave enough, it won’t be difficult to copy others.
Furthermore, the waitresses in the shop were all aloof and arrogant. Jasmine, on the other hand, had a round face with dimples when she smiled, and looked incredibly friendly. Both new and old customers preferred to buy from Jasmine.
A waitress's monthly salary is determined by the number of guests they receive and the number of orders they place. So, even though Jasmine had only been there three days and hadn't seen her monthly salary yet, she knew just thinking about it would make her hands tired from counting money.
Jasmine was afraid of being recognized, so she wanted to wear a veil. However, except for the head shopkeeper, no other maid wore one. The head shopkeeper didn't come often, so she was the most conspicuous, which was not good.
So Jasmine put on her makeup. Her previous look was so plain, now it was so alluring. Not to mention that people on the street couldn't guess who she was, Jasmine was confident that even if someone from the Duke's Mansion stood right in front of her, they wouldn't be able to detect her.
Despite her exaggerated makeup, she is still the easiest and most approachable lady-in-waiting.
He Congde hadn't contacted her in the past few days. Jasmine almost forgot about him.
It wasn't until the evening that someone came to the door.
"If you need money, you can tell me. Why bother showing up in public?"
It turned out that he came here to talk to me about this.
Jasmine: "It's not good to always trouble you."
"There's no need to talk about trouble between us." He Congde looked at her with sad eyes.
Jasmine looked puzzled and asked, "Have my family agreed to let me marry you?"
He Congde was stunned when he heard this.
Biyue Xiyue stood at the side of the yard, looking at Jasmine with eyes that seemed to wish she could eat her alive.
After a moment, He Congde said with a guilty look on his face: "I'm sorry."
Jasmine had guessed it long ago. Because she guessed it, she deliberately asked him.
Jasmine had refused earlier, but she found it useless. She was tired of talking too much, so she decided to change her approach.
Jasmine continued, "I knew Madam wouldn't agree. Right now, I'm already very satisfied. I'll treat Brother Congde as my own brother. I also hope that Brother Congde won't make Madam angry anymore. After all, Madam is the person in the world who worries about you the most."
Mrs. He, who came to catch her son in the act, was just one step away from breaking into the house.
At this moment, Mrs. He was standing at the door, her face filled with astonishment and shock.
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