Chapter 26 Chapter 26 "Hmm?" Sheng Puzhu could barely open his eyes...
The servants in Princess Duanyang's room were no match for these black-clad maids. She was so angry that she almost cried.
"Xie Sanlang, I am your aunt!"
"Tianchang Temple is on the mountain. It's very cold and quiet after the snow falls in winter. You know I'm used to being busy, so how could I possibly stand the loneliness of the mountain?"
Xie Zhiyan didn't look at her, his tone cold, "I know you're the elder, and if I, as a junior, were to pressure you, it would be an act of usurpation."
Princess Duanyang stopped struggling and said in a muffled voice, "You know that too."
"Good Zhiyan, I know you're furious. Although I haven't seen Puzhu recently and don't know what has angered you, you're the younger generation, so you should respect me."
"Why don't you just forget about going to Tianchang Temple for spiritual practice?"
Xie Zhiyan's inky eyes didn't change at all. He continued expressionlessly, "So I've already gone to the palace to pay my respects to the Empress Dowager."
"I told my grandmother that my mother hadn't seen my aunt for nearly six months and she missed them terribly. I wanted my aunt to stay with her at Tianchang Temple for a month or more before the New Year."
Princess Duanyang's eyes widened, and she almost laughed in anger: "How can you, Xie Sanlang, actually use my mother to pressure me."
Xie Zhiyan's face was hidden in the darkness, and he pursed his lips: "It was my aunt who started it first."
Princess Duanyang felt wronged. "When the second lady of the Marquis Mingde's mansion fell into the water, Puzhu asked me for help. Since then, I haven't seen her for nearly half a month. How could I have angered you?"
"If you don't explain clearly, you are wronging me."
"oh."
"It turns out that my wife even looked for my aunt in regards to the matter of the second lady of Marquis Mingde's Mansion, but I didn't know about it." Xie Zhiyan's tone was very light, revealing an unusual calmness.
Princess Duanyang's heart trembled for no reason when she heard this, and she hurriedly explained: "That's a small matter, you don't have to be grateful to me."
"Then what about the time when my aunt took my wife to watch my husband dance the Huxuan dance?"
"Well……"
"That was an accident. Don't worry, my dear, he was dressed. I know the rules." Princess Duanyang said very guiltily.
"Really?" Xie Zhiyan suddenly smiled and glanced at the sky outside. "Just a few pieces of gauze-like material, how can that be called clothes?"
Princess Duanyang was also half asleep. How could she have forgotten that when Sheng Puzhu returned that day, she thought the incident was not big enough and asked Zhinu to see him off.
Oh, my God.
The exotic young man from the Hu tribe was wearing only a few pieces of gauze clothes that were so thin that their skin texture could be seen through, and he was caught red-handed by Xie Zhiyan.
“…” Princess Duanyang’s mind exploded.
"Aunt, do you remember?" Xie Zhiyan suddenly raised his eyes.
He thought of what his wife had said to herself at home yesterday evening and sneered, "It's nothing outrageous. It's just that Puzhu said she wanted to follow her aunt's example and keep eight or ten young men to entertain her."
"How is this possible?" Princess Duanyang screamed, her head buzzing and her lips trembling.
Xie Zhiyan asked back, "Why not? I see that Puzhu and my aunt have a very close relationship."
Princess Duanyang began to sweat coldly on her palms. She was so shocked by these words that she was completely speechless. After all, during the two years when Xie Zhiyan left home to fight in Yumen Pass, she had been whispering nonsense in Sheng Puju's ear. The romantic jewels on the third floor of Linlang Pavilion were even more of a hidden danger.
When the time comes, she will be the first person to bear the brunt of the liquidation.
A wise man never suffers a loss in front of him. Even if she wanted to put her hands on her hips and refute now, she didn't have the confidence. After all, she was so guilty that she even felt guilty.
"Mammy, hurry..."
"Please pack for me. I haven't seen Sister Shoukang for almost six months. It's a good opportunity for me to stay with her for a month or so. I really miss her."
I didn't want to leave before, but now I wish I could be sent to Tianchang Temple immediately.
Princess Duanyang knew what was going on. Rather than settle the score with Sanlang Xie silently, she would rather go to Tianchang Temple to enjoy the breeze and watch the snow and calm down.
If Xie Zhiyan is really angered, although he can't do anything to her as an elder, she has so many beautiful lovers in her princess mansion, how can she bear to give them up? They are all her beloved ones.
Here, there was chaos in Princess Duanyang's mansion. Sheng Puzhu slept soundly in Yunyu Hall until lunch, and only woke up hungry.
She squinted her eyes and rubbed her rumbling stomach, then turned over lazily. When she opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was the honeysuckle flowers embroidered on the tent ceiling. She twitched her nose and found that the fragrance of the goose pear tent had become very faint, replaced by another cool scent.
Sheng Puju tried to move her fingertips, but felt a soreness spreading from deep in her bones. It seemed as if all the joints in her body did not belong to her. The slightest movement would cause a slight shiver to climb up her back, forcing her to cover her lips with her hands and stifle her breath in her throat.
She closed her eyes, as if deep in her soul, she was deeply marked by him, shattered countless times, and carefully pieced together countless times by him.
Sheng Puzhu covered her eyes with her hands, swallowed hard, and finally uttered a weak voice: "Mammy, I'm awake."
Nanny Du had been waiting in the outer room since early morning. When she heard someone calling her from the inner room, she hurried in and said, "Madam, you woke up at the perfect time today, just in time for lunch."
Sheng Puzhu was at a loss for words and said in a hoarse voice, "I woke up hungry. I'm going to eat half a bowl of rice later."
Aunt Du's eyes were filled with doting as she asked with a smile, "My lady, besides having an extra half bowl of rice, what else do you want to eat? I'll ask the kitchen to prepare it now."
Sheng Puzhu shook her head: "I don't have anything special I want to eat, Madam will make the arrangements."
Madam Du nodded, then suddenly remembered something and continued, "Just now, the old lady and the eldest lady sent someone to bring nourishing stew to Madam."
"The old lady asked Madam Jiang to make a black chicken soup with astragalus and angelica, and the eldest lady sent a pigeon stew with poria cocos."
"Which one would you like to eat, my lady?"
Sheng Puzhu didn't want to hide her elders' kindness, so she asked Aunt Du to scoop out half a bowl of each soup. It would be a waste if she couldn't finish the rest, so she simply asked Aunt Du and Li Shuang to share it together.
During the lunch break, the waiter brought a sandalwood box from the next room and said, "Madam, this is the latest account book. You need to count it again."
Sheng Puzhu picked up a book at random, opened it and scanned it quickly. She then asked Madam Du to bring her a white jade abacus and randomly checked the accounts of three or four days. She found that there were no mistakes.
She nodded secretly: "No need to re-count, you have done a good job of this account book on your own."
Qingke smiled slightly when she heard this. She was the first of the four maids to serve Sheng Puju. They were playmates since childhood and went to school together. She was the fastest to learn accounting and was also the most disciplined and prudent among them.
Among the other three, Li Shuang was the youngest, but also happened to be the bravest. She was originally the daughter of the cook in the Marquis Mingde's mansion, and helped with some fire-making chores.
Naidong was originally a female slave sold by a Hu merchant. She was so thin that she had little flesh on her body. When she was dying, Sheng Puzhu paid money to buy her.
As for Jinli, she was originally the daughter of an honest family. Because her brother needed money to marry, she was sold to Chunxiao Pavilion in Pingkangfang by her biological father. Jinli was hot-tempered and jumped down from Chunxiao Pavilion, falling in front of Sheng Puzhu's carriage and breaking one of her legs.
Sheng Puzhu is soft-hearted and would never stand by and watch someone die.
Later, she saved more and more people, but she didn't need so many people to serve her, so she gradually began to think about opening a shop.
From the sudden passing of her father to her coming of age, although the peonies in Luoyang were beautiful, they were not as prosperous as those in Chang'an.
She understood thoroughly that sometimes pain is not thunder, but drizzle that seeps into blood and bones. From then on, the four seasons changed in Chang'an, and every day when she missed her old friends, her heart would always ache.
She always asked herself what she needed to do.
In fact, there is no need to do anything. Her father and brothers are role models at home. She just needs to be true to herself.
Life must go on, which is both a farewell to the past and a new beginning.
Finally, at the beginning of the eighth year of Zhen Arc, Linlang Pavilion was successfully opened in Pingkangfang.
Sheng Puzhu sat by the window, book in hand, lost in thought for who knows how long.
Until Jinli came into the room to add water and whispered, "If my lady is tired, why don't you go lie down on the soft couch in the warm room?"
"No."
"If you go to bed at this hour, you won't be able to sleep at night."
Sheng Puzhu felt the room was stuffy, so she stood up and pushed open the window. After thinking for a moment, she calmly instructed, "Help me change my clothes and comb my hair again. Then take out the flying butterfly gold and silver beaded hairpins that I had put away, and choose a more fancy outfit."
Jin Li was slightly stunned: "My lady is going out?"
"If you don't go out, just go to the meeting room."
"At this hour, the eldest lady should be attending to trivial matters in the mansion. I promised Grandmother yesterday, so I should at least pay some attention to it. Otherwise, if I don't pay attention to Qinghui's delivery and cause chaos in the mansion, I'm afraid it will be unacceptable."
Jinli nodded and called Lishuang to help.
The eldest lady Qin was indeed very busy in the conference room. Her daughter-in-law was about to give birth, and she needed to distract herself by selecting a wet nurse and a midwife. Even the imperial physician in the palace had to be invited in advance with a visiting card.
In addition, it is now approaching the winter solstice, and after the winter solstice it will be Laba Festival, and then the new year. She wishes she could grow two heads.
The main house was obviously short of staff. Even the maids who usually only served tea and water were ordered around the house by her.
It was a bitterly cold winter, and there was no floor heating in the conference room, only braziers in various corners. Qin held the cards in her hand, a thin layer of sweat seeping from her forehead, and the powder on the tip of her nose had smudged.
She was surrounded by more than a dozen maids in charge. Some were responsible for reporting bills, some needed to withdraw money for purchases, some had to arrange winter clothes, some had to prepare dishes in the kitchen, and some had to deal with the usual exchanges and gift-giving between the various mansions. There were so many things to worry about that it was impossible to count them all.
Qin had an abacus on her left hand and a cup of cold tea on her right. Her throat was almost smoking from talking so much that she didn't even bother to ask for a new tea. She picked up the cup and took a big gulp.
"Auntie."
The moment Sheng Puzhu stepped into the meeting room, the light outside suddenly became three times brighter. She had her hair combed high today, and her hair was covered with pearls and jade. The butterflies on her hairpin seemed to come alive, as bright as it could be.
There is a flower ornament between her eyebrows, her cheeks are rosy, and her plump and rosy lips are curled in a slight smile.
Sheng Puzhu untied her fox fur coat, and the snow on her collar fell to the ground. She walked with a dignified gait, stepping on the blue bricks with her jade-colored satin cloud-shaped brocade shoes. Her eyebrows and eyes were gentle, and she spread her hands and crossed them in front of her chest, and bowed slightly to Qin.
Qin was stunned, as if she couldn't recover from her shock.
After a while, she asked, "What are you doing here, Puzhu?"
Sheng Puzhu's pretty face was covered with a warm smile, and she asked sincerely, "I shouldn't have come here to nag my aunt, but I tossed and turned all night thinking about my grandmother's instructions."
"I dare not delay, I just came to ask, I wonder if you are busy enough, aunt, and if there are any trivial matters that I can help with?"
Qin's lips twitched, and she also remembered what her mother-in-law said in Yishou Hall yesterday. Her face suddenly became not so good, and the smile on her face faded.
He was even more certain that Sheng Puju wanted to take advantage of Qinghui's delivery and seize the power of housekeeper while she was too busy.
Otherwise, Sheng Puzhu has been married into the Duke of Jingguo's Mansion for two years, and why did they choose to ask now? Isn't that Sima Zhao's intention?
"You kid."
"You are young and inexperienced. It is not easy to manage the Duke's Mansion. There is nothing I can't handle right now. Just take good care of your husband in Yunyu Hall."
"Don't worry about other trivial matters."
Qin pressed the corner of her lips with a handkerchief awkwardly, narrowed her sharp eyes, and said with a forced smile.
Sheng Puzhu didn't get angry when she heard this. She just confirmed again and again: "If there's anything you need my help with later, just send someone to Yunyu Hall to tell me."
"By the way, I also want to thank my aunt for sending me the soup today."
"Good boy, go ahead."
"I don't need your help here."
After Sheng Puzhu left, Qin Shi was clearly filled with resentment. She gnashed her teeth with her trusted nanny beside her, "If I dare to give her something today, I'm afraid I won't be able to get it back from my mother."
"snort."
"It's like cutting meat with a blunt knife. I take a little today, a little more tomorrow. After a year or two, what will be left in my hands?"
The nanny's face suddenly changed. Fearing that someone would hear her, she kept trying to calm Qin: "Don't be angry. It's not worth it to ruin your health."
"Besides, the housekeeping power hasn't been divided out yet. Once the eldest lady gives birth to a boy, you'll have plenty of time to stand up straight."
Qin's expression finally brightened. She pressed her throbbing eyebrows and said, "Right now, I'm just waiting for Qinghui to give birth to a boy. Even if I need to manage the household in the future, it should be Qinghui who does it."
Speaking of this, Qin also felt a little sad.
This huge mansion should have belonged to her legitimate son and grandson, but because Xie Zhiyan was born three hours early, everything was shattered.
After Sheng Puzhu returned, he had no strength left.
She had learned her lesson this time. She forced herself to walk around the room, suppressing her fatigue. After making sure that no one was around, she asked her maid to help her remove her makeup and hair. She wanted to take a bath to relieve her fatigue.
Nanny Du smiled and went to prepare a flower petal bath for her. Li Shuang and the others helped to choose perfume and clothes to wear at night. They were busy all the time. By the time they finished dinner, it was already dark outside.
"Madam, do you want to wait for your husband to come home before settling down?" asked Madam Du.
Sheng Puzhu thought of the idiotic things Xie Zhiyan had done last night and refused without a second thought: "No, I'm tired and need to go to bed first."
"Mammy, please leave a light on in the outer room so that it will be more convenient for me to get up at night."
"If you want to settle down, he will come over. Besides, there is a bed in the study."
Nanny Du opened her mouth but didn't say anything to persuade him.
Late at night, when Sheng Puzhu was sleeping with her eyes closed, she suddenly felt the bed beside her sink slightly and her soft body was pushed by someone.
"lady."
"Hmm?" Sheng Puzhu could hardly open his eyes and hummed softly.
Then, her whole body, including the brocade quilt she was wearing, was wrapped tightly and hugged.
The cold palm with thin calluses was pressed against her eyelids.
Sheng Puzhu's eyelashes trembled, and finally he slowly opened his eyes, and most of his sleepiness disappeared.
"My dear?"
Xie Zhiyan looked at her, his eyes as dark as the night that could not be melted: "Xie Mingzong's wife accidentally fell when she got up at night, and it was a bit dangerous."
"As a man, it's not convenient for me to go there. I'm afraid I'll have to trouble Madam to go and check on me."
Sheng Puzhu shuddered and woke up completely: "Madam Du, come in and help me get dressed."
Nanny Du and a few others had been waiting outside, waiting for the young master to wake the person up so that they could rush forward immediately.
Sheng Puzhu held a cup of strong tea in her hand and asked, "What did the maid from the main room say?"
Aunt Du's face turned pale. "I'm afraid it's going to be premature, and the baby's position is abnormal. It's very dangerous."
"Why did he fall for no reason?" Sheng Puzhu was puzzled.
Madam Du looked around and whispered, "I noticed that the maid in the first room looked unhappy, so I asked Li Shuang to go and find out quietly while she wasn't paying attention."
"It seems the eldest son of the first wife got drunk. Madam Qinghui heard the noise and went out. On the steps in the front courtyard, she stepped on a piece of ice that had not been cleared."
"I ended up falling and rolling down the stairs."
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