Chapter 7 Chapter 7 "I missed you all night last night. ...
The Duke bowed to the old lady and said, "Zi Fu, I am sorry to have kept you waiting for so long."
The Duke looked around the table and said, "Zi Fu has kept you waiting for so long."
Several gentlemen naturally said, "It wasn't long, everyone just arrived."
"Yes, just sat down."
"The Duke has returned just in time..."
The old lady said, "Sir, please take a seat. The garrison duty is tough, and you must be tired after a long day. Please eat quickly, and then you can go back to your room to rest."
The Duke naturally sat down in the empty seat next to Jasmine.
Jasmine had already stood up when Grandpa came in. Seeing Grandpa coming over, she nervously called out, "Grandpa."
The Duke looked at her and nodded without saying anything else, only saying, "Sit down."
Everyone present looked at the interaction between the two thoughtfully.
Logically, the Duke would question her if he saw Jasmine here, because she is a concubine.
As the head of the Duke's Mansion, how could the Duke break the rules and allow a concubine into the house?
Then there was only one other possibility: the Duke cared about this concubine. As a favorite concubine, of course, there were different rules.
The three masters and the young ladies were all secretly delighted, it seemed that the gifts they gave were not wasted.
After all, there is still half a year before the daughter of the Luo family marries into the family. A lot of things can happen in this half year, and even if the daughter of the Luo family marries into the family, she may not necessarily win the favor of the Duke.
So when the Duke decorated the main courtyard with lights and colors to hold a concubine ceremony for Jasmine, and asked the concubine to stay in the main courtyard, and even slept in the main courtyard until noon, how could the masters and ladies of the Duke's Mansion help but have some thoughts.
Before taking control of the Luo family's daughter, it would be a two-pronged approach to take control of the Duke's concubine first.
Of course, the old lady also took this into consideration when arranging Jasmine to sit at the table.
If Jasmine was scolded, she would lose her heart towards the Duke and would definitely be used by the old lady even more in the future.
But it would be better if the Duke didn't say anything.
The maid behind her brought a basin for washing her hands. Seeing this, Jasmine hurriedly stood up to serve.
"This servant will serve you, Master."
"Um."
The Duke put his hand into the basin, but before his fingers touched the water, Jasmine grabbed them.
Jasmine wrapped the wet handkerchief around the Duke's hand and wiped it carefully. Just as the Duke was about to change his hand, Jasmine hurriedly said, "Don't move, Master."
Jasmine soaked the handkerchief again, wrung it out, and wiped him a second time. When it was finally healed after the third time, she asked him to give her the other hand.
It was the first time the Duke had been so attentively served. The concubine's hands were soft and cool, and when they touched him, it made him feel itchy. It reminded the Duke of the scene from the night before.
The Duke was not disgusted, it was mainly because he remembered the scene he accidentally saw in the palace.
The imperial concubine brought a nourishing soup to His Majesty. When she was pouring the soup, she accidentally burned her little finger. The imperial concubine cried out, and His Majesty actually blew on her hand and applied medicine to her personally.
The Duke was so angry that his face turned green.
Looking at his concubine now, she is truly virtuous and well-behaved. The Duke is very satisfied with her no matter how he looks at her.
The Duke felt that a concubine should be like his Jasmine.
"Master, it's done."
"Hmm." The Duke's "Hmm" was so clear and loud.
The Duke asked the old lady to start eating first. The old lady picked up a green bamboo shoot, and then the dinner for the nobles in the Duke's Mansion began.
Halfway through the meal, the old lady suddenly spoke up, "I heard the Duke held a banquet in the main courtyard to welcome his concubine the other day. He didn't tell me, but your brothers' wives all came to ask me yesterday if he was unhappy with them. The family hasn't even been divided yet, so why is he hiding away and acting so reserved? I tried to persuade them, but they seem unconvinced. Since everyone's here, would you mind saying a few words?"
Jasmine had just picked up a piece of red meat that she couldn't name before the old lady spoke. She had just stuffed it into her mouth, but before she could chew, the old lady spoke.
The key point is that the old lady talks a lot!
Jasmine could only hold the meat in her mouth with difficulty and pretend to be dead.
The Duke put down his chopsticks and said after the old lady, "It's not a grand wedding, just a wedding to welcome my concubine. If everyone comes, it will seem too serious. It's not necessary."
Everyone glanced at Jasmine, and she was so scared that she quickly swallowed the meat in her mouth.
Then tragedy struck. She choked!
Everyone saw that her face was ferocious, and she had something to say but didn't dare to, as if she was very angry.
As for why she was angry, it was of course because she heard the Duke say "it's not necessary".
The Duke followed everyone's gaze and saw his concubine.
Jasmine quickly scooped up two spoonfuls of sweet soup, swallowed it in one gulp, and finally recovered.
Facing everyone's gaze, Jasmine just smiled and said nothing. She couldn't say that she was choked by a piece of meat.
Jasmine subconsciously looked at her grandfather next to her. Seeing that he was also looking at her, Jasmine explained in a low voice, "I just choked accidentally. I'm fine now. Don't worry, Grandpa."
The Duke looked at her with a look of majesty mixed with a hint of complexity, and then he looked away.
The eldest young master's wife said to Jasmine, "Sister Jasmine, don't be too sad. If I were to say, the Duke certainly cares about you, otherwise he wouldn't have prepared a red wedding dress for you and held a banquet to welcome you as a concubine."
The Third Young Master's wife followed closely behind: "Sister-in-law, you're joking. Jasmine isn't sad at all, she's clearly choked."
The eldest and third young wives exchanged glances for a moment. It was only when the third young wife turned away first that the fight between them ended.
The old lady patted Jasmine's hand and said, "Now that you've entered this mansion, there's no need to be afraid. The Luo family's wife is a very pleasant person and would never trouble you for no reason. Even if the Duke doesn't help you, I'm still here."
Jasmine curled her lips and said, "Jasmine thanks the old lady."
The Duke glanced at Jasmine and said, "Since you've agreed to let me marry you, as a husband, I should treat her with respect, regardless of her origin. That's why Zifu held this banquet to welcome me."
Why would you say that for no reason?
Jasmine couldn't help but wonder, could he be telling her that he knew this?
Jasmine heard him continue, "From now on, I will take care of her for the rest of her life."
...
After dinner, the Duke talked to the three gentlemen about official business, and Jasmine returned to the main courtyard by herself.
As soon as she returned to the side yard, Shancha went straight to get herself something to eat.
Jasmine shouted at her back, "I have something urgent to tell you! Remember to get your meal and come back quickly."
Shancha waved her hand impatiently to indicate that she understood.
The maids had to go to the main kitchen to get their own meals, and Shancha sometimes stayed in the main kitchen to eat.
Half a minute later, Shan Cha came back happily with a big bowl of braised egg noodles, but she stopped smiling immediately because half of the bowl had been taken away by one of the concubines!
Shancha complained bitterly, "You just came down from the dinner table! How can all these delicacies still not fill your stomach?"
Jasmine glanced toward the door, seeing no one there, and began to slurp her noodles. After swallowing a large mouthful with the soup, she said, "How could a concubine like me dare to eat so freely in such an occasion?"
After sitting there for over an hour, Jasmine clearly remembered how much food she had taken. She finally managed to pick up a piece of meat, but she couldn't taste it, but thankfully, it was eaten.
Shancha saw that she was truly pitiful and stopped teasing her, fearing she would come and snatch the remaining half bowl. Without saying a word, Shancha also began to eat her noodles. The only sound in the small room was the noise of the two people slurping their noodles.
Jasmine ate the noodles, rinsed her mouth, and washed her face. Seeing that it was almost time, she planned to go to the main courtyard to serve the Duke.
After being tormented all night the day before, the Duke had sympathized with her and hadn't let her go last night. He might not tell her tonight, but she had to ask.
Most importantly, she had to explain why she choked during dinner. She couldn't let the Duke misunderstand her.
When Jasmine arrived at the main courtyard, the Duke was indeed already there.
Jasmine went forward and knocked on the dormitory door.
"Come in."
Jasmine pushed the door open and walked in. The Duke had already taken off his shirt and was about to take off his pants.
The Duke only glanced at her once, and without stopping, he pulled her panties off her waist.
The Duke stood naked in front of his concubine.
Jasmine turned her face away, a little embarrassed. Although they had seen each other the day before, it was still quite fresh and exciting to see them again after two days.
But seeing that the Duke was calm and composed, what if she was so shy and the Duke was unhappy?
Jasmine decided to pretend, and when she looked up, she found that her master was gone. And there was a sound of water coming from the inner room.
Jasmine quickly rolled up her sleeves and went in.
"This servant will serve you, Master."
Jasmine is very skilled at rubbing my back. She feels that she has mastered this skill and can make my back feel comfortable without any pain.
Jasmine rubbed her hair vigorously and said, "There is something I want to tell you, Master."
The Duke sat in the bathtub, his eyes half closed, his cheeks flushed. "Hmm?"
Jasmine: "Just as we were eating, the old lady suddenly spoke, and I happened to pick up a piece of meat and put it in my mouth. I didn't dare to move, so I could only swallow it in one gulp, and that's why I choked. Just like the Third Young Master's wife said, I really choked, and it wasn't because I was unhappy as the First Young Master's wife thought. Master, do you understand now?"
Jasmine squatted behind the master, unable to see his face clearly. She thought she had explained it clearly enough, and if the master was not a fool, he would definitely understand what she said.
The Duke was silent for a while, then suddenly turned around.
Water splashed everywhere, and Jasmine was unfortunately soaked again.
The Duke was now face to face with her, and Jasmine stared at him.
The Duke said, "That's good of you to think so. I know you're a good kid. Do you have anything else to say?"
Jasmine thought her grandfather was acting a little strange today. Could it be that he had just had a few drinks with the three gentlemen?
Jasmine didn't dare to speculate blindly. After hearing what Master said, she thought about it, remembered it, and said again: "I still have to thank Master today."
"Thank you for what?"
"What Grandpa said makes Jasmine feel at ease." Jasmine was sincerely grateful.
"In my entire life, Jasmine has never felt a moment as comfortable as this one. This has nothing to do with my status as a Duke. Even if I were just a hardworking warrior, Jasmine would still feel this way when she was with me."
It would have been fine if she hadn't mentioned it. Once she did, Jasmine became more and more excited and chattered non-stop: "Jasmine swears that from now on, Jasmine will serve Master well. Whatever Master tells me to do, Jasmine will do it. If Master doesn't allow me to go east, Jasmine will never go west..."
"ah……!"
Before she could even utter the word "go", a pair of hands lifted her under the armpits and pulled her into the bathtub.
Jasmine sank into the bathtub, took a big gulp of water, and then emerged, only to be held in those hands again.
Jasmine wiped the water off her face and asked in shock, "Is Master drunk?"
The Duke: "I didn't drink."
"Then...how..." After what happened the night before, Jasmine knew what was going on without even looking down.
Jasmine was on pins and needles.
The Duke's face looked unnatural as he said, "I couldn't sleep the whole night last night."
Jasmine knew what he meant and pursed her lips without saying anything.
The Duke didn't see her ask, and said to himself, "I missed you all night last night."
If any man said this, it would be vulgar.
But her grandfather said it seriously, as if he was saying, "Last night, I thought about that case all night."
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