Chapter 41 "Chu Yu'an is my wife, she belongs to the Ji family..."
Zhang Yanche looked around but couldn't find Ji Jinghe, so he had to give up.
Yu An ignored them, and after exchanging greetings with Zhang Yanche's new bride, the three of them went into the cloth shop together.
Zhao smiled and said, "The patterns my sister makes have been very popular lately."
Yu An: "I'll teach you when I have time."
As the three chatted, Yu An took the opportunity to look at all the fabrics in the shop, even asking the owner to bring out the most expensive ones, but she still couldn't find a single piece that suited her taste.
If it's not available here, then it's even less likely to be available elsewhere.
Ji Shu: "These are the popular patterns lately. If you don't like them, sister-in-law, go home and see what's in your wardrobe."
Yu An sighed, "That's the only way."
She liked the patterns and colors, but the price was really too expensive.
If it weren't for the fact that all her precious clothes were made by her mother, she would have loved to take apart her clothes and use them for embroidery.
The three said goodbye at the shop entrance, and Zhao held Yu'an's hand and said a lot of things.
She was sincere to people, and Yu'an was not stingy either, so she was invited to visit the Ji residence when she had nothing to do.
Zhang Yanche stood at a distance, observing from afar. He nudged Ji Jinghe beside him with his elbow and teased, "Before we got married, I never understood what it meant to be blinded by love. Now that we're married, I finally know what it means."
"As long as she's happy, she can have anything she wants," he said contentedly.
Ji Jinghe stared intently. Comparing the three of them, Zhao Shi's gold and silver jewelry was probably worth as much as Yu An's entire body, but she was like a splash of snow white among many beautiful women, fresh and bright, not inferior at all.
Her every smile and frown, so ordinary, had never appeared so vivid in his eyes, as if she were the only one in the whole world who was so dazzling.
A sudden cry from Qingque behind them alerted the two.
Qingque: "Master, shall we return with the young mistress and young lady?"
Ji Jinghe: "No need, I'll go back tonight."
With a new emperor and a new dynasty, and many things on his plate, Ji Jinghe was dragged out by Zhang Yanche to get some fresh air. After they finished their business, they went back to the government office to continue working for a while before returning home.
Yu'an received news that he would be back that night, and had Baozhu prepare his meal well in advance so that Ji Jinghe could eat it when he returned.
After washing up, Ji Jinghe asked, "I saw you go to the cloth shop today, but you didn't buy anything."
She doesn't like going out, but if she does go out, it means she really needs something. He worries that she either doesn't have the money or is unwilling to buy it.
“If your monthly allowance is not enough, then we’ll add more. There are only a few people in our family, so there’s no need to be frugal.”
But Yu An is Yu An, not Ji Shu. If he said such a thing to Ji Shu, Ji Shu would be overjoyed.
Yu An knew that two months ago, Ji Jinghe had ordered someone to increase her allowance.
“Rules are rules. With elders in the family here, how can I give myself extra allowance? It’s already enough.” She rolled over and crawled into bed, tucking the blankets in as she spoke.
She had just turned her back when she heard Ji Jinghe say that he would take her to the cloth shop tomorrow.
Yu An refused.
Ji Jinghe: "If you don't want to go out, then pick a time when you want to go out."
Seeing that Yu'an didn't move, he didn't know what to say, so he turned off the light and went to bed.
As usual, Ji Jinghe got up early to go to the yamen, and when he returned in the evening, he ordered Qingque to summon Baozhu.
"Young Madam, is there anything you need recently? Please make a list, and I will send someone to buy it tomorrow," Ji Jinghe said, sitting in his study and flipping through documents.
Baozhu dared not cause such a big favor behind Yu'an's back, and shook her head, saying it was nothing.
Ji Jinghe didn't believe him and asked in return, "Then what was the purpose of going to the cloth shop yesterday?"
Baozhu: "It's Miss who's going."
Ji Jinghe put down the documents, his eyes turning cold without him even realizing it: "But I just sent someone to ask Miss, and she said that the young mistress wanted to buy some cloth. How come it's all gone in your mouth now?"
Baozhu had a pretty good grasp of Ji Jinghe's personality, so she quickly changed her tune and said, "Miss, since the Empress Dowager's birthday is approaching, you wanted to choose a suitable piece of cloth for your embroidery, but unfortunately the cloth in the cloth shops was either too vulgar or too expensive, so you didn't buy any."
Then he said what he wanted to hear.
Ji Jinghe: "Besides that, what else is needed?"
Baozhu shook her head and truthfully said that it was gone.
"Is the allowance for half an acre of courtyard enough?"
Baozhu nodded.
It's enough, but her daughter basically spends half and saves the other half.
Ji Jinghe remained silent for a while, then sighed and said, "You should know what she likes. Tomorrow, go out with Qingque and pick out some useful fabrics. Don't mention that it was my idea. You can come up with the rest of the reasons yourself. I just want to see her use the things I bought."
“You are her maid, so you should also hope that she doesn’t have to worry about such trivial matters.”
Baozhu understood, and although she struggled internally, she nodded.
Ji Jinghe was right; she really didn't want Yu An to worry about money all the time.
She had repeatedly advised Yu'an to be more open-minded, since she had become the young mistress of the Ji family's housekeeper, she should use the things in the mansion as much as she wanted, but unfortunately her young lady had her own ideas.
She intentionally left herself a way out after the case was overturned, which is why she didn't want to get involved.
Baozhu understood and appreciated her good intentions, hoping to extricate herself from the situation later.
She had planned to leave after asking her questions, but Ji Jinghe called her back.
"There are a few more things I need to ask you."
...
Because the mistress and servant trusted each other so much, when Baozhu said that she was suddenly too tired and wanted to rest for half a day, Yu'an didn't ask any questions and just told her to go.
Even though she was no different from usual.
The next day, Baozhu arrived carrying two large bolts of Shu brocade.
"Girl, look what good stuff I found in the warehouse."
Baozhu placed the items in front of Yu'an. "Last night I suddenly remembered that there might be something under the cabinet. I checked it this morning and found some good stuff."
Yu'an reached out and touched it, then couldn't help but wonder, "When Father gave me my dowry, he also gave me two bolts of Shu brocade?"
Baozhu smiled and covered it up, "I don't remember, but the ones that can be found at the bottom of the cabinet should be the ones that Master brought for us back then. The materials that Master sent later, I put in another box, so I would never mix them up."
She spoke so convincingly that Yu'an had no doubts.
Baozhu: "These two bolts of Shu brocade are enough to make outer linings; the color and pattern are just right."
Yu An nodded, "I think so too."
Seeing the smile on her face, Baozhu's feelings of betrayal vanished instantly.
With the material settled, Yu'an felt at ease and immediately set up an embroidery shed on the ground to begin preparations.
In the afternoon, Baozhu brought an invitation from the Xu family. Yu'an was too lazy to read it, so she had Baozhu read it aloud.
"They said it was Miss Xu's birthday and she invited her son-in-law to the Xu residence in five days."
The invitation only invited Ji Jinghe...
Knowing full well that Yu'an wouldn't go, why write it like this? It would be better to just send a message to Ji Jinghe directly. Why bother making a scene in front of her?
Baozhu complained softly, "When I went to the gate just now, the gatekeeper said that the Xu family only sent two invitations, one of which was for Wanfang Courtyard."
Yu An waved her hand: "Just put the invitation on the table. The old man will see it when he gets back."
Baozhu hesitated, but in the end, she didn't say what was on her mind.
When Ji Jinghe returned in the evening, he saw the embroidery frame on the ground, which had just been embroidered with only a few stitches.
Yu An was washing up in the clean room, so he didn't disturb her. He casually wandered around the room, picked up a book from the bookshelf as usual, and inadvertently saw the invitation on the table.
He casually flipped through it, glanced at it only a few times, and then tossed it back onto the table.
Yesterday, Xu Mingming had already sent someone to inform him, so why did they still write his name on the invitation and send another invitation?
In the past, he might have been able to understand, but now he really couldn't figure out what Xu Jingshu was trying to do.
Especially after hearing what Baozhu said.
"Has the old man eaten yet?"
Just then, a sound came from behind me.
Ji Jinghe turned around and saw her still-drip-watering hair. "I used it."
Yu An glanced at the things on the table but didn't say anything. She thought that Ji Jinghe must have seen them.
She sat on the tatami mat drying her hair, while Ji Jinghe sat to the side reading a book. Compared to usual, the two lingered a little longer before going to bed.
He could have gone to sleep first, but every time she asked him, he would wait for her. Eventually, they both tacitly accepted this and stopped asking each other.
Are you coming back for dinner tomorrow night?
"No need."
Yu An understood.
Her ailments gradually subsided, her nose cleared up, and she was finally able to sleep well. The next morning, she only woke up briefly when Ji Jinghe had just gotten up; after he left, she continued to sleep.
After getting up, I heard Baozhu say that the invitation she had left on the desk was missing.
Baozhu: "Is the son-in-law really going?"
Seeing the regretful expression on her face, Yu'an asked in surprise, "What's wrong?"
"If you haven't had breakfast yet, come and eat with me."
Baozhu waved her hand listlessly and buried herself in tidying up the house.
*
It's understandable that Xu Jingshu wants to hold a grand birthday banquet after the Xu family has been exonerated from three years of wrongful imprisonment.
Ji Jinghe and Zhang Yanche left in the afternoon before their shift ended.
Ji Jinghe didn't plan to stay long, and Zhang Yanche also had no intention of staying until the end for that meal; he mainly came to visit Xu's mother.
When Xu's mother heard from the servants that they had arrived, she hurriedly waited at the entrance of the front hall.
"Why did you two arrive so early? The banquet doesn't start until tonight."
Zhang Yanche cupped his hands and replied with a smile, "Brother Jinghe and I have some things to do tonight, so we thought we'd come early, just to see you for a moment and then leave."
Madam Xu could not hide her disappointment and tried to persuade him to stay: "Is the court so busy? They can't even spare a single day..."
Zhang Yanche: "It's the same today, there's nothing we can do about it."
Madam Xu led the two to sit down and looked at Ji Jinghe: "Jinghe, is it the same?"
Ji Jinghe nodded. "The two of us came here just to see our teacher's wife. Knowing that you are doing well is enough for us."
After exchanging greetings, the three chatted idly. Xu's mother intentionally brought up Xu Jingshu's condition in front of Ji Jinghe, and Ji Jinghe took the opportunity to talk about it, asking a servant to take him to Xu Jingshu's courtyard.
Xu Jingshu was quite surprised to see Ji Jinghe arrive.
What brings you here?
The maid lifted the curtain, but Ji Jinghe stood at the door for a long time without moving.
Xu Jingshu knew he didn't want to go in, so she stood with him at the door.
Ji Jinghe: "The person you should have invited today is your senior brother, not me."
Xu Jingshu was slightly taken aback, but her demeanor remained indifferent.
"He's at Jiuwan Mountain, how can I invite him?"
Her tone was cold and indifferent, as if everything that had happened before was irrelevant to her.
“You and I both know how our senior brother went to Jiuwan Mountain. Whether it was because you didn’t call him or because he didn’t come, you know better than I do,” Ji Jinghe said coldly.
Xu Jingshu gave a bitter smile: "Do you think there's still a possibility between us?"
Ji Jinghe: "Even if it's impossible, we should still make things clear."
Xu Jingshu: "I've made myself clear. If he says anything else in front of others, then he's in the wrong."
"Is it his fault, or yours?" Ji Jinghe countered.
“Xu Jingshu”.
He called out, "I don't know why you've changed. Whether as a friend or a fellow disciple, I've done my duty regarding your relationship with my senior brother."
"I came to see you today because I wanted to talk to you about the Chu family."
Xu Jingshu slowly raised her head. In the pale sunlight, her face appeared even paler. Looking at Ji Jinghe backlit by the sun, her heart pounded in her chest.
"The teacher's death has nothing to do with the Chu family."
Ji Jinghe looked at her intently, almost as if issuing a warning, "Aside from matters concerning the teacher, I will not interfere in any of the Xu family's affairs in the future. Please remember, you and your teacher's wife, that Chu Yu'an is my wife and the young mistress of the Ji family. No one is allowed to trample on her."
“We all know how much effort you put into her and what tricks you played on her. If you offend her again in the future, don’t blame me for being ruthless.”
"I will only have one wife in my life."
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