Chapter 455 Remarkable Results
The next day.
Xia Zhu attempted to climb into the bed last night but failed and was kicked out of the study and given twenty strokes of the cane. This morning, she was handed over to the First Madam, who was to find a matchmaker to sell Xia Zhu. The news spread throughout the Marquis's mansion in less than half a day.
This incident also served as a warning to the maids in the manor who had harbored ulterior motives. The Marquis had no intention of taking a concubine, and even a beautiful maid like Xia Zhu offering herself as a concubine was of no use; other maids could forget about it.
Therefore, the maids in the manor dared not look at Gu Jingxi for more than a second, for fear that if they did, the Marquis would think they had ulterior motives and sell them off if he was displeased.
Their lord is capable, a brilliant judge of cases, highly valued by the emperor, and holds a high position in the Marquis's household. Working in the Changxing Marquis's household is respectable. If he were sold off, where would such respectability be found?
On the other side of the main house, Zhang smelled the perfume on her husband and knew that he had just come from the room of the concubine she had taken in a couple of days ago. She was immediately furious and lashed out: "Look at my third brother, and then look at you! You love pleasure and are lustful. You spend all your time hiding in those vixen's rooms. You're not young anymore, so don't you know how to take it easy? Take care of your health!"
Gu Jingsheng had just returned from his concubine's place and was in a good mood when he heard his wife's barrage of scolding. He was also annoyed and retorted, "If I wasn't lustful, would I have married you in the first place?"
Zhang was furious: "You..."
Her husband was indeed attracted to her looks. Otherwise, her father had only become the top scholar and entered the Hanlin Academy when she was eleven years old. The Zhang family had no foundation, so how could she have become the daughter-in-law of the Gu family?
They had a good few years after their marriage. As she got older, this lustful man gradually developed a liking for the young and beautiful concubine. He would spend the nights in her room on the first and fifteenth of each month, but he would only sleep there and rarely touched her. Especially in recent years, he basically stopped touching her altogether. If she took the initiative, she would say she was tired and needed to rest, or she would flirt with him like a blind man.
The more Zhang thought about it, the angrier she became. Her eyes turned red with anger, and she reached out and pinched her husband's arm hard: "Gu, have you lost your conscience? I've given you children, raised you well, and raised our two sons. One of them passed the imperial examination, and the other passed the county-level examination. Over the years, I've worked hard even if I haven't achieved anything great. How can you say such heartless things? How can you face me?"
Upon hearing this, Gu Jingsheng realized he had misspoke and said, "I was just angry when I said those things. Don't take it to heart. You were just looking for trouble and trying to cause me problems. Otherwise, why would I be angry?"
Zhang pointed at herself and said, "You're saying I'm looking for trouble? Don't you even look at what you've done? Of the three brothers, you're the most outrageous. Your second brother only had Xuanling's birth mother as a concubine, and he hasn't taken any more concubines since she passed away. He and his wife have a harmonious relationship. Your third brother is even more chaste and doesn't even accept maids."
Gu Jingsheng said with a stern face: "That's because they're not good enough, not because your husband is. How can you compare people's bodies? You're simply unreasonable. It's perfectly normal for men to take concubines and maids. You used to be quite sensible, but now you've become so jealous. I think you've gone mad."
Madam Zhang sneered, "I think you've lost your mind! Your new concubine is even younger than your daughter. Is she rushing to become someone else's father?"
Upon hearing this, Gu Jingsheng's face darkened, and he didn't tolerate her at all: "If you're going to take a concubine, you're going to take one who's beautiful, not a young one. Are you suggesting I take an old woman like you?" After saying this, he turned and left, returning to the beautiful concubine who had been so gentle and attentive to him.
Old woman?
Zhang's face froze. She subconsciously touched her face, feeling deeply shocked. She was only thirty-five years old and thought she was well-maintained. Her husband actually called her an old woman.
A man older than her calls her an old woman?
Zhang's eyes were red with tears, feeling utterly wronged. Who hadn't been young once? It's just that time waits for no one. She was only thirty-five and already being disliked like this; what would she be like in a few years? They probably wouldn't even want to look at her. Luckily, she had two sensible sons, otherwise, she wouldn't be able to live like this.
-
Meng Jinyao was unaware that the eldest son and his wife had quarreled, but she had witnessed how the maids in the mansion avoided Gu Jingxi like the plague. Gu Jingxi, who had once again become a hot commodity, had become someone no one cared about except for her because of that incident.
The results are truly remarkable!
As Meng Jinyao helped him grind the ink, she said, "Husband, I didn't expect Xia Zhu's matter to have such a big impact on them. Those maids don't even dare to look at you for long."
Gu Jingxi was very satisfied with the result: "I think it's great. It puts an end to their inappropriate thoughts and prevents them from causing any trouble in the future. This way, it saves us both a lot of trouble. I told you last year that I would not take a concubine. If they have ulterior motives, it will only be a problem for me."
Upon hearing this, Meng Jinyao's lips curled up. In the past, when others thought she had gotten a lucky break, she didn't feel much about it. But now she deeply understood that feeling. She really had gotten a perfect husband by sheer luck.
After writing the letter to his friend far away, Gu Jingxi put down his brush, picked up the painting scroll that was placed aside, unrolled it, and asked with a smile, "Ayao, I found a poem on the painting last night. When did you inscribe this poem, 'Springtime is Beautiful'?"
Meng Jinyao was completely bewildered and couldn't recall the matter for a moment. She looked down at the spring scenery painting before she remembered.
On the right side of the scroll, written in small, elegant calligraphy:
The east wind is cold, the green moss is mottled, and the apricot blossoms are withered. A melancholy feeling lingers amidst the spring drizzle, as swallows fly back.
I've long been too lazy to comb my hair or brush against the moonlight; I lean silently on the railing alone. When will I see a returning boat on the waves, separated by the misty haze?
Looking at her clumsy work, Meng Jinyao felt embarrassed and coughed twice: "Husband, I... I was inspired by the artistic conception of this painting and wrote a poem. If you think I have ruined the painting, I will paint one for you as an apology?"
She would never say that back then, because her husband went to Hangzhou, she missed him every day and couldn't see him. Like a resentful woman, when she looked through her husband's paintings, she felt a little sad looking at this painting and started to have wild thoughts. She imagined that if her husband hadn't finished dealing with things there by the end of the year, she didn't know if he would be able to return home next spring, so she wrote a poem about it.
Upon hearing this, Gu Jingxi immediately thought of her painting skills. It was as if even if you sprinkled a handful of rice on paper and let a chick stomp on it, it would still be better than her painting. If she were to paint, she would be the first to suffer. Gu Jingxi quickly said, "No, A Yao's poem is excellent, and her calligraphy is also excellent."
Meng Jinyao asked, "Then what is the meaning of showing me the painting?"
"I am happy. I knew that A Yao missed me, but now I find that A Yao misses me even more than I imagined." As Gu Jingxi spoke, he reached out and touched the poem, and the image of A Yao writing the poem appeared in his mind.
Meng Jinyao glared at him and said, "You know it, but you still said it out loud. It makes me feel really embarrassed. Hurry up and put the painting away."
Gu Jingxi replied, "Why put it away? This painting should be hung up."
Meng Jinyao was dumbfounded: "Hang it up? Hang it up in this study?"
Gu Jingxi retorted, "Otherwise what?"
Meng Jinyao: "..."
This is the study in the front yard. In the future, when guests or colleagues come to talk, they will go to the study to discuss matters. He must have done it on purpose, to let people see and know how good his relationship with his wife is. Moreover, the date is written on this poem. Anyone who knows the inside story can tell at a glance what the circumstances were when the poem was written.
Gu Jingxi said, "Ayao, don't overthink it. I just think that Ayao's calligraphy goes very well with my painting."
Meng Jinyao closed her eyes briefly, then opened them again, deciding to go along with him without objection. After all, they would both lose face anyway. If Marquis Changxing wasn't afraid of losing face, then as his wife, she naturally wasn't either.
She replied, "If my husband thinks it's good, then it's fine."
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