Chapter 24 Chapter 24 "He has ten or eight beautiful ones..."
In winter, the sun is warm and gentle.
There are two camellias in full bloom in front of the steps in the front hall.
Sheng Puzhu was kneeling on a cushion, a half-winged butterfly hairpin inlaid with gold and jewels was pinned in her hair. The pearls swayed slightly as she bowed, casting a graceful shadow on the green bricks.
"I hope grandma and mother take care of their health."
"Wait until my second sister's birthday party, and then I'll come back with my husband."
"Sister, please come back more often. I will miss you every day." Sheng Puyao rushed to Sheng Puju and hugged her waist tightly.
A twelve-year-old girl is at the age when she cannot control her emotions and is overly clingy. Sheng Puyao has cried countless times in private. Her eyes are as red as a rabbit's, which makes her look pitiful. Her angry look makes people want to laugh helplessly.
Sheng Puzhu took out a handkerchief and wiped her tears: "Don't cry, dear sister. If you miss me, come to the Duke of Jingguo's mansion and stay for a few days."
"Sister, it takes an hour to go from home to Duke Jingguo's Mansion by carriage. It's really too far." Sheng Puyao felt more and more aggrieved and almost burst into tears again.
Sheng Puzhu quickly covered her mouth, feeling both angry and amused: "Which girl cries as much as you? Fortunately, I married in Chang'an. If I had gone to Luoyang..."
The hall was noticeably quiet for a moment. Sheng Puzhu hurriedly bit the tip of his tongue, and the smell of blood filled his mouth.
She felt an inexplicable chill on her back and didn't dare to look back, but she could already feel the man's silent gaze falling on her.
Xie Zhiyan stood at the intersection of light and shadow in the flower hall. Today he was wearing a clear mountain blue robe with a round collar and narrow sleeves. The straight and wide collar was rolled with a thin silver-gray edge, fitting tightly against his Adam's apple, and he looked very gentle.
But what Sheng Puzhu saw out of the corner of her eye was his intense gaze. He just looked at her quietly, neither urging her nor deliberately avoiding her.
"Luoyang peonies are great. You insisted on going there before, but luckily the elders in your family didn't agree." Sheng Puzhu thought quickly and unconsciously clenched the embroidered handkerchief in her hand. She quickly changed the subject and narrowly avoided the issue of the word "Luoyang" that appeared for no reason.
Sheng Puyao was almost scared silly when she heard "Luoyang". She threw herself into Sheng Puzhu's arms, her voice muffled, and she even forgot to cry.
"Um."
"Sister, next time you send me a letter, remember to give the copy to Li Nu. That way, Mother and Grandmother will agree to let me bring Li Nu along."
"Take this with you." The eldest lady of the Sheng family stuffed the sachet embroidered with the word "peace" into Sheng Puzhu's hand. "I have been chanting for a long time. This is the peace charm I prayed for you at the temple last year."
Sheng Puzhu lowered her eyes and nodded, holding back her tears: "It's cold in winter, mother, please make sure to keep warm."
"Go ahead."
"It's getting late."
"Remember to pay your respects to your elders when you return home." The eldest lady of the Sheng family instructed carefully.
"Yes, my daughter knows."
Before getting on the carriage, Xie Zhiyan took a half step forward and lightly supported Sheng Puzhu's waist. He nodded to the elders who came to see him off and said, "When I have time in the future, I will bring Puzhu back to stay for a while."
After he finished speaking, he naturally raised his hand to take the cloak from Madam Du and put it on her himself.
Perhaps it was because of the falling snow, but Sheng Puzhu was in a trance for a moment, and even the expression on his face was almost unclear. He only saw that the moment he raised his hand, the pattern embroidered with gold thread on the corner of his robe suddenly raised a stream of light like broken stars.
The promise made by Xie Zhiyan in a deep voice was straightforward and serious.
The word "Bozhu" was spoken so frankly from his mouth for the first time, sounding like a loving couple who had been together for many years.
A feeling of surprise flashed through her heart, and Sheng Puzhu quickly calmed down and told herself not to be tempted by the man's beauty.
"Let's go." Xie Zhiyan stretched out his hand towards her, palm facing up.
Sheng Puzhu held his hand and climbed onto the carriage steadily.
Xie Zhiyan's eyes fell on the back of her snow-white neck, where there was a rather obvious mark, more like a red plum blossom blooming silently in the snow. It was the bite mark left by him last night when he lost control.
They stayed at the Marquis of Mingde's mansion for a full half month. Until last night, she was so upset that her crying was just a muffled moan, and her body was shaking uncontrollably. In the end, she didn't even have the strength to raise her eyes and glare at him.
So after lunch today, Sheng Puzhu asked his elders to return to the Duke Jingguo Mansion.
Xie Zhiyan didn't think he did anything wrong. Even if his wife slept until noon, it was because she was overworked and was excusable.
As for the frequent occurrence at night?
No!
If it's not even seven times a night, how can it be called frequent?
After returning to the Duke Jingguo's Mansion and washing up briefly, before he had time to pay his respects to the old lady, Xie Zhiyan was summoned into the palace by an oral order.
"Grandma, my granddaughter-in-law is back."
"The Lord has spoken. My dear, you have hurried to the palace. I will come back to pay my respects to you after dinner."
At 1 p.m., Sheng Puzhu entered Yishou Hall.
"Oh, Puzhu is finally back?" Qin was also there, and her tone was as sarcastic as ever.
The old lady immediately smiled and waved at her.
"Come and sit next to me."
"You kid, didn't you ask Madam to tell me the other day that you wanted to stay home for two more days? Why don't you wait until Mingshu is well before returning?"
The old lady wanted to praise her, saying that she was well taken care of at home, but after looking her up and down, she saw that Sheng Puzhu looked much thinner and asked, "But are you worrying too much about my second sister?"
Qin took over the conversation seriously: "It's such a big thing, it's only natural for Puzhu to worry about it."
"Who would be so respectable as to hook up with his cousin before marriage? This Liu and her legitimate son are so blinded by greed that they can't even distinguish between the important and the unimportant."
Sheng Puzhu listened silently and was unable to get a word in for a while.
Although Qin was often mean and had an obsession with giving birth to a legitimate grandson, she was always generous when it came to the food, clothing, and other expenses of her younger generations. In addition, according to the Xie family rules, a concubine was not allowed before marriage, and the wife could not be neglected after marriage.
Therefore, the men of the Xie family, which has been around for a hundred years, rarely take concubines, and there will be no chaotic fights for favor in the house, unless the wife is thirty years old and has no children. With the tacit consent of the elders of both sides, they take a good concubine. After the child is born, the child will be registered under the wife's name and raised as the legitimate son.
Qin gave birth to two sons and two daughters. The eldest daughter, Xie Qingwan, had been married for many years, and the eldest son, Xie Mingzong, married Xue Qinghui. Only the youngest daughter, Xie Qingshu, who had not yet reached the age of marriage, and the second son, Xie Jiyan, who had injured his leg on the battlefield and lived in seclusion, were left.
Her husband, Xie Juyuan, was a civil official who devoted himself to Taoism. In recent years, apart from his wife Qin, the only people who followed him were elderly maids and servants.
Qin had a smooth sailing in matters concerning wives and concubines. When she spoke of men's philandering, she was more confident than anyone else, and she looked down more than anyone else on men who acted recklessly like the Prince of Changxing.
"I see that Puzhu has lost a lot of weight since her trip home. I'll ask the kitchen to prepare some blood-tonifying food and send it over later." It was rare for Qin not to be sarcastic.
Sheng Puzhu hid the guilt in his eyes by drinking tea.
She went back to her parents' home for half a month, and at least half of the time she would sleep until the afternoon. Sometimes she skipped breakfast, sometimes she even missed lunch, and then slept until dusk.
Because she slept too long and had no appetite for dinner, and sometimes she couldn't sleep at night after eating too much, so she tossed and turned and made a lot of noise. In the end, she was pressed down on the bed by the man and digested it completely.
How can this not be thin?
Thinking of the culprit, Sheng Puzhu gritted her teeth secretly, but said gently, "I have indeed been worried about my younger sister for many days, but please rest assured, Grandmother, my second younger sister is fine. At most, she will need to be carefully cared for for a while, and there is no root cause of the disease."
The old lady chanted a Buddhist chant, then patted Sheng Puzhu's hand in fear: "Good boy, it's all over."
"Fortunately, the marriage was called off smoothly. The Empress Dowager was equally furious when she heard about it. She has already issued an edict to revoke the imperial edict of Lady Liu. The young master of the Xue family must be too embarrassed to stay in the Imperial College any longer."
"When the three of them were released from the Dali Temple, many people went to see them. His cousin must have been pregnant at the age when she was pregnant. Everything was a mess."
"In a family like this, where both the young and old are completely rotten, any parent in Chang'an who cares about their daughter would surely not marry their pampered daughter off to such a place to suffer."
"If he wants to marry an outstanding woman to run the household in the future, it will be absolutely impossible."
"This is what comes back to haunt you."
Sheng Puzhu smiled and said, "My ancestors also said so. They told Mingshu not to be anxious. It's not a bad thing for a girl to get married later."
"It's indeed not a bad thing. It will be a blessing for any man in Dayan to marry Mingshu in the future." Having said that, the old lady suddenly turned sideways with a kind smile on her face.
She raised her hand and brushed the loose hair from Sheng Puzhu's temples behind her ears: "It is also a blessing for our Jingguo Mansion that Zhiyan married you."
"Qinghui is about to give birth, and your aunt has to take care of Qinghui while also taking care of all the affairs of the mansion. There will always be times when she is too busy to handle everything."
"I've thought about this for a long time. Your third aunt is introverted. If she were to take over as head of the household, she'd probably be manipulated by those powerful daughters-in-law."
"You are the wife of the Crown Prince of the Jingguo Mansion. Sooner or later, you will have to learn how to manage a household. Why not take this opportunity for you and your aunt to learn it well and take charge for a few months. You can understand the household affairs in advance and have a better understanding of them."
As for the housekeeper matter, Sheng Puzhu had long expected this day to come.
But she was used to being lazy, and Linlang Pavilion was enough to make her worry a lot, let alone other things, so she never brought it up on her own initiative, nor did she argue with Qin, thinking that maintaining this kind of non-interference relationship was less troublesome.
Unfortunately, Qin Shi didn't think so. In her mind, her legitimate son, Xie Mingzong, had failed to become the heir apparent due to a three-hour difference. The power of housekeeper had become Qin Shi's only reliance on the second branch of the family to compete for supremacy, and she was not willing to give up even a little bit.
"Mother is right. The baby in Qinghui's belly is about to be nine months old. It's time to arrange the housekeeper's affairs early." Qin felt cold all over. She pinched her fingertips into her palms, but she kept a decent smile on her face.
"But Puzhu is still young and unfamiliar with the relationships and interpersonal relationships among the servants and maids in the mansion. If she were to take over everything at once, she would probably be in a state of panic."
The old lady's smile deepened, and she nodded: "You are right."
"When you first married into the mansion, you went through the same thing. Puzhu is very smart. I think as long as you are willing to teach her wholeheartedly, she will eventually learn quickly."
Qin was angry in her heart, but she didn't dare to refuse. She was just about to use the fact that Sheng Puzhu had no children to refuse.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sheng Puzhu stand up, bow to her, then turn to the old lady and say, "Grandma, Puzhu is still young, and my husband has only just returned home. I can't help but worry about his daily food, clothing, and expenses, making it difficult for me to manage the household affairs wholeheartedly."
"Yes." The old lady nodded.
Sheng Puzhu smiled and hugged the old lady's arm, saying coquettishly, "Granddaughter-in-law feels that Qinghui is about to give birth, and the family needs to pay close attention to her. If we replace her at the last minute, I'm afraid that the people below won't pay enough attention."
"So, my granddaughter-in-law thinks it's better to let my aunt-in-law take care of the household. If she's really too busy, I can help her handle some of the minor household matters."
After hearing this, Qin almost couldn't help but kowtow to Sheng Puzhu.
She really couldn't believe that someone would actively refuse something as important as the housekeeper's power.
The old lady frowned and didn't speak for a long time.
Until Qin Shi couldn't stand the silence in the flower hall anymore, she stood up anxiously and said, "Mother."
Because she was too anxious, her sleeve accidentally overturned the teacup, and the amber tea soaked her dress. But Qin Shi didn't care about these things at the moment. She only had the housekeeper's power in her mind.
"Forget it." The old lady sighed helplessly.
"Puzhu is sensible, and she's right. Qinghui is about to give birth, so it's not appropriate to change the housekeeper."
The breath that was about to suffocate Qin's chest finally came out. Her cheeks flushed red due to the rapid fluctuation of her emotions. She swayed and sat back on the table.
The old lady raised her tears and looked at Qin: "You will be responsible for the major matters, but you can let Puzhu take care of the trivial matters in the mansion as appropriate."
"After all, Qinghui giving birth is a big deal. It will mean a near-death experience. Don't lose the big picture over the small details."
"Madam Jiang, please go to the inner room and get a towel." The old lady frowned, and her tone was more serious than usual.
Qin shuddered, realizing that this was a warning to her. After all, she knew that as long as her son was not the crown prince, she would never be able to take charge of the family with full legitimacy.
All the rights she had been given over the years could be taken away by her mother-in-law with just a word. Her only hope now was that her eldest daughter-in-law could give birth to her eldest grandson safely. With this guarantee, she would have enough confidence.
Qin took the cloth handed to her by Nanny Jiang. Various thoughts were weighing on her mind. She didn't dare to stay any longer and asked to leave after sitting for a while.
After Qin left, Sheng Puzhu stood up and said with some guilt, "It was Puzhu who buried my grandmother's painstaking efforts."
"Bozhu, it has nothing to do with you."
"I didn't intend to take away her housekeeper rights from the beginning. I just wanted to test your aunt's attitude."
"What a pity." A look of vicissitudes flashed across the old lady's eyes. "Zhiyan was born three hours earlier than Mingzong, and your grandfather personally petitioned for Zhiyan to be named the Crown Prince. This has become a thorn in Qin's heart."
At this point, the old lady's voice became heavy. "But how could they know? Even if Mingzong was born before Zhiyan, the prince of the Jingguo Mansion could only be the child born from Princess Shoukang's womb."
Sheng Puzhu was stunned. She had never thought about this reason.
She opened her mouth to ask something, but ultimately swallowed her words back.
The century-old Xie family existed in the previous dynasty. Over the long course of time, they naturally hid many secrets that could not be seen in the light. Just like she had never understood how the eldest princess, with her personality, could spend most of her time in seclusion in Tianchang Temple.
Why is it that Xie Zhiyan, who is clearly the prince of the Duke of Jingguo, has been kept in the palace by the Sage under various pretexts since he was young?
"No more."
"It's all in the past. I'm sorry that you've been wronged in the end." The old lady held Sheng Puzhu's hand.
"I'm not wronged, Grandma."
"Actually, I don't want to be a housekeeper at all, but I know it's my responsibility as the Crown Prince's wife."
The old lady's expression was indifferent: "If Qin Shi had half the insight you have, she wouldn't have been stuck in that stubborn dilemma for over twenty years."
"When you come back with the inkstone in the evening, tell him that there's no need to come over to pay his respects."
"Well, my granddaughter-in-law will tell my husband."
Returning to Yunyu Hall, Sheng Puzhu leaned back on the soft couch, closed her eyes and hummed a few times: "Mammy, what good is there in being the head of the household?"
"I can't kill time, and I'm so busy that I'm exhausted. If I were the head of the family, even with the help of you guys, I'm afraid I'd still be too busy to even read the storybook."
“If you don’t read the storybook, where will you get inspiration from?”
"Without inspiration, how can we satisfy the jewelry needs of the young ladies in Chang'an City?"
"It's a pity that girls can only marry. If I were a princess or a princess, I would definitely learn from Princess Duanyang's style... marry ten or eight beautiful ones..."
"Beautiful raccoon slave."
"Put it in the mansion to catch mice."
Sheng Puzhu's voice became smaller and smaller, because a man covered in sweat walked out from the other side of the bathroom screen.
Yunyu Hall was dead silent.
There was no sign of Madam Du and the others.
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