[Have you heard? The mistress of the Changning Marquisate is jealous and won't let the Marquis take a concubine. The Marquis can't hold it back anymore and even doesn't let the lowly maids go!]
[Every man in this world has three wives and four concubines. This mistress is totally incompetent!]
[Who says it isn't true... But this Marquis is so unpretentious that he even has a taste for a lowly maid... He says that the maid is big and strong, and she's really lucky!]
Rumors about Shen Ruoyan's jealousy were flying everywhere. Whenever Lu Jing walked outside, he would receive sympathetic glances from others, as if he was being suppressed in the mansion.
Although the rumor was directed at Shen Ruoyan, Lu Jing felt that he didn't seem to get any benefit from it either.
Moreover, someone spread the rumor that he was impatient and started fooling around with the maid in the study, causing him to lose face in public. Even going to a brothel would make people laugh:
"My Lord, please don't embarrass us sisters. We dare not do anything reckless in the study..."
The imperial court valued literature, and the study of an official was a particularly important place in the home, a place of exceptional solemnity and dignity. Even concubines were ashamed to play around in the study. Once the incident at the Marquis' Mansion became known, it became a laughing stock in Shengjing.
[No wonder, the Changning Marquis Mansion is originally a family of military commanders, so maybe that study is just a decoration!]
Mrs. Lu was so angry that she couldn't get out of bed. She just claimed to be sick, threw up her hands, and ignored everyone. Lu Jing wanted to talk to her about taking Fang Rou as a concubine, but when he got there, he couldn't even get through the door.
"The old lady said that she is getting old and her health is getting worse. Let the Marquis go find the mistress. After all, she is the one in charge of the family, so she should come up with an idea." Nanny Xue stopped the person but pushed the matter away.
Lu Jing had no choice but to go to Shen Ruoyan.
"It's not impossible for the Marquis to take Miss Fang as a concubine. But this concubine cannot be taken as a concubine."
"Why is that?" Lu Jing was puzzled and questioned, "You still don't want me to take Rou'er as a concubine, right?"
He knew that Shen Ruoyan was deeply in love with him and loved him terribly, and it would definitely not be so easy for her to let Fang Rou in! Although he felt a little sorry for Shen Ruoyan, a lady from a noble family like her was not someone he liked.
So, I can only let her down.
"Did the Marquis also believe those rumors outside and think that I am such a narrow-minded person?" Shen Ruoyan was greatly shocked. The fiery gaze made Lu Jing feel a little uncomfortable. "Isn't it?"
"My Lord!"
Shen Ruoyan raised her voice, "I ask myself, in all these years, I have never taken the initiative to say that the Marquis is not allowed to take a concubine. Even when Fang Rou's incident happened, it was for the consideration of the Marquis's Mansion that I said that she should be beaten to death."
Her tone was firm, her eyes clear. "Now, besides saying I'm jealous, people are also saying that the Marquis was allowed to sleep with a lowly maid and accepted anyone who came. What a lie! If I had dealt with Fang Rou back then, how could all this dirty water be thrown on the Marquis?"
Shen Ruoyan regretted it, his face full of heartache, "My Lord, it's okay for me to be misunderstood, but I don't want you to bear this infamy!"
She really loves me terribly!
Lu Jing straightened his shoulders and began to understand Shen Ruoyan. After all, she was the mistress of the house and had to consider everything carefully. Rou'er's statement that she was intolerant was obviously a misunderstanding.
"Then tell me, what should we do now?" When Lu Jing said this, he didn't even realize that he had gained some more trust in Shen Ruoyan.
And Shen Ruoyan was waiting for this moment!
"Fang Rou's identity must not be confirmed. Otherwise, everyone will point fingers behind the Marquis's back, affecting the reputation of the Marquisate."
Shen Ruoyan said it so sincerely that even she herself began to believe it.
"But she's already the Marquis's woman, so I have to give an explanation. How about this: I pick two more decent girls from outside and bring them in together with Fang Rou. Then outsiders will think that I'm taking the initiative to take concubines for the Marquis in order to wash away my reputation for jealousy."
Shen Ruoyan smiled slightly, "What do you think, Lord Marquis?"
There is such a good thing?!
Lu Jing was a little bit unconvinced. Why did Shen Ruoyan suddenly become so generous? It's not that he had never thought about taking a concubine before, but every time he mentioned it, Shen Ruoyan would start crying and feeling sad, which was very troublesome.
In addition, he was concerned about the Shen family, so if Shen Ruoyan disagreed, he would give up the idea.
Have you figured it out now?
"That's great, of course." Lu Jing didn't want to show it too obviously, so he suppressed the upward curve of his lips. "This way, the rumors about your jealousy will be dispelled, killing two birds with one stone."
Shen Ruoyan nodded in agreement, "My Lord, you are wise."
That night, Lu Jing left Shen Ruoyan's place with satisfaction. Fang Rou, who was placed in the other courtyard by him, broke two teacups when she heard that she would be entering the house with other women!
As for the concubine...
Since they entered the family together, there is no such thing as noble concubines or no noble concubines. They are all concubines of the lowest rank, without any distinction of high or low.
Shen Ruoyan leaned against the head of the bed, Chunxi massaged her legs, and listened to her slowly say: "Let Qiuye go out tomorrow and send the things to Qingsong Garden. Since it is a concubine in the Marquis' Mansion, it is natural to have a lively and lively occasion."
Chun Xi nodded, but still couldn't help but feel sorry for her master, "It's fine if the Marquis just wants that girl, but why did the Madam take two more?"
The backyard of this Marquis's mansion used to be sparsely populated, so even if the Madam suffered any injustice, it was only the Old Madam and the Marquis who could provide for her. But now, with three more concubines, and the Madam not being favored, who knows what will happen in the future!
"Chun Xi, this woman will cause trouble when she's around. If there aren't many people around, she'll keep pestering you. If there are too many people around, she'll be too busy to take care of herself."
She knew very well Fang Rou's purpose. She simply wanted to use the Marquis's favor to compete with her, the mistress of the house.
Unfortunately, Shen Ruoyan had already changed her mind. If it was before, she would have been tricked from the beginning. But now, she was able to take advantage of her trick.
There were so many concubines in the harem, all revolving around one man, so fighting was inevitable. However, she had disdained this back then. If every concubine had to fight, she would have nothing else to do all day.
"These two concubines are gifts I carefully selected for the Marquis. I believe he will like them."
Chunxi paused, realizing what was happening. She thought, Madam has truly changed. Madam had always been indifferent to these matters, taking things as they came.
Now, my lady has finally started to think about me!
"I understand."
She also needs to learn to grow so that she can better help her wife.
Shen Ruoyan smiled with satisfaction. Fortunately, the people around him were promising. Didn't Fang Rou's concubine want to occupy a place in the Marquis' Mansion?
Then give her this opportunity - if you share this kind of affection with too many people, it will lose its value...
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