Treasure Hunt
Chunlai was a servant in the household, serving in Cui Dongchi's courtyard, and did not live with the other maids.
After the mistress entered the mansion, she knew that Chunlai was about to become Cui Dongchi's concubine. Instead of being jealous, she generously suggested that Chunlai move into Xing'e Courtyard first.
The Xing'e Courtyard is small and far from the main courtyard, so allowing a concubine to live alone in a courtyard is already a great act of generosity.
"Yingying knows that Chun has grown up with her husband since childhood, and they have a very good relationship. Perhaps it's because I'm new to the household that she's not used to it; she hasn't been sleeping well for days. Perhaps we should..."
"Should we let her move into Xing'e Courtyard first? If she doesn't like it there, we can find her another place?"
Cui Dongchi had also considered Chunlai's situation after the mistress entered the mansion, but after hearing what Xu Yingying said, he finally felt relieved.
He disliked women arguing, and it would be great if the women in the backyard could get along well, so he agreed to Xu Yingying's request.
“She is frugal and loves quiet, so let her live in Xing’e Courtyard!” Cui Dongchi said.
The next morning, Chunlai dressed and washed herself as usual. The man sat in front of the bronze mirror while she combed his hair.
Xu Yingying, still wearing her nightgown, sat on the bed. Upon seeing this, she came over and gently took the ivory comb from Chunlai's hand.
She smiled and said to Chun, "Teach me how to comb my husband's hair."
The man in the bronze mirror laughed and said, "Alright, you don't know how. Leave it to Chunlai. She's always the one who combs my hair."
Hearing this, Xu Yingying stopped arguing about the comb, put it back in Chunlai's hand, and before leaving, she gave Cui Dongchi a snort. Her lively and charming demeanor made the man smile again.
He couldn't see spring, nor could he see her... her smile tinged with tears.
On the day she moved to Xing'e Courtyard, Chunlai looked at the courtyard blankly. She had lived in Cui Dongchi's courtyard since she was a child, and now, and perhaps in the future, she would live here for the rest of her life.
Looking up, she saw only herself under the square little house, the sky above was a clear blue, and she couldn't see where it ended.
That very night, Cui Dongchi arrived. To the servants, it seemed as if he still doted on the maid who had been by his side since childhood, and that he had come to find her only a few days after their marriage.
Spring came and she slept in his arms, smelling that unfamiliar fragrance. Afraid that he would be disgusted, she dared not cry in front of him, but he still found out.
Cui Dongchi got out of bed and lit the lamp, and saw that those clear eyes were filled with tears.
He held her tenderly and asked softly, "What's wrong?"
She should have wiped away her tears and said she was okay, but the more she wiped, the more tears she shed, and in the end, she couldn't help but cry out loud.
Chunlai rarely cried. In Cui Dongchi's memory, she had only cried twice, both times for the two children she had lost at a young age.
He loved her strength so much that he felt extremely sorry for her whenever she cried.
Chunlai only cried in his arms for a short while before stopping her tears. Afterwards, she said that she couldn't bear to part with the young master.
“I used to always be by your side, but now I’m living alone, and I’m a little scared.”
So that's how it is.
Cui Dongchi smiled and comforted her, "We'll send a few more maids to your courtyard tomorrow, then you won't be afraid."
She nodded and slowly lay down with him.
They slept facing each other, but neither of them closed their eyes; they both looked at each other.
Only at this moment did Chunlai feel that Cui Dongchi belonged to her; she held his hand, their fingers intertwined tightly.
She was afraid, afraid that he had forgotten her, that there was someone waiting for him in Xing'e Courtyard.
Since that night, Cui Dongchi has been staying overnight in Chunlai's courtyard. She sees him off before sunrise and welcomes him back at sunset, just like a married couple.
Until Miss Gu Qingchen came looking for them.
When Gu Qingchen came in that day, she didn't say anything, but just looked around the courtyard. Chunlai followed behind, and even her breathing was lighter than usual.
"Although the courtyard is small, I see that everything inside is very valuable. My younger brother is really good to you!"
Looking around, Gu Qingchen noticed a small kitchen that had been secretly set up in the courtyard. She scoffed disdainfully. Cui Dongchi was a picky eater, only consuming fine food, and he particularly loved the dishes made by this maid. He already had a small kitchen in his courtyard, but now he had set up another one for this lowly maid.
She didn't come here to see Chunlai, but to give her a warning. Her younger brother had been living in the courtyard of a maid who hadn't yet entered the household for so long, neglecting his properly married wife. This was bound to cause gossip. So she ordered Chunlai that if her mistress came to her courtyard to rest again, she should kindly persuade him to return to the mistress's courtyard and not be seduced by beauty.
In the past, Chunlai would have respectfully replied yes, but today she was stubborn and kept her head down without saying a word.
She thought of Jingwan.
That day, Jingwan came to see her. After telling her her story, Jingwan remained silent for a long time, only asking her, "If you truly love your young master, how could you bear to share him with other women?"
After Jingwan left, she sat in the courtyard and thought for a very long time.
She loved Choi Dong-chi terribly; he was her life. She had been by his side since childhood, and they had grown up together. She believed that her life had long been intertwined with Choi Dong-chi's and could never be separated again.
She loved him so much, how could she bear to share him with other women?
Every day when she went into the main room to dress, the hickeys on the mistress's neck, the two of them languidly staying together, every time she saw them, her heart ached.
Therefore, she found it difficult to agree to Gu Qingchen's order today.
Gu Qingchen gave a sarcastic smile: "What, now that you're going to be a concubine, you think you've grown wings?"
She slapped him and sneered, "Even if you are a concubine, you are still a slave of the Cui family. Your sons and daughters will be slaves of the Cui family for generations to come! Don't think that you can turn your life around by clinging to my brother. Let me tell you, it's impossible! Even if you have children, they will still have the blood of family slaves flowing in their veins!"
After Gu Qingchen left, Chunlai cried. Her maid came over to help her, but no one dared to utter a word of comfort.
The eldest daughter of the Cui family was very strict in managing the household, and no one dared to show the slightest intimacy to Chunlai.
Cui Dongchi did not come to Xing'e Courtyard that night. Mingming had asked her to prepare a meal for him to eat together when he left in the morning.
She sat alone at the table, which was full of cold dishes. She wanted to throw them away, but felt it was a waste, so she asked someone to reheat them. If anyone in the courtyard wanted to eat them, she shared them.
For days, Cui Dongchi had not come here again. Chunlai couldn't wait any longer, so after thinking about it, she made longan soup and went to the study to find him.
This used to be a place she could come and go as she pleased, but today the guards blocked her at the door, saying they needed to report to the authorities.
She was taken aback, but still smiled and said okay. She carried the sweets outside and waited until she heard the word "come in" from inside before she was allowed to enter the study.
Seeing her approach, Cui Dongchi, who was sitting in a chair, reached out his hand to her.
This familiar gesture warmed Chunlai's heart. She simply placed the plate down and sat on his lap.
"Did you not sleep well? Why are there so many blood vessels under your eyes?" She gently stroked Cui Dongchi's eyes and said with heartache.
Cui Dongchi was indeed busy. A battle with the imperial court was inevitable, and many things needed to be arranged and prepared in advance. Moreover, Lu Chang's attitude was unclear, and he was wondering whether to write another letter to him. Many things were mixed together, which kept him from sleeping well for days, and naturally, his eyes were full of black hair.
"What delicious food did you make? It smells so good." He never talked to her about his own affairs, so he looked at the bowl of red date and longan soup on the table.
Chunlai busied herself bringing the food over and feeding him spoonful by spoonful, just like always.
With a beauty in his arms, wouldn't it be unromantic to remain unmoved like Liu Xiahui? After a spoonful of sweet soup entered his mouth, he didn't swallow it, but sealed the beauty's mouth and carried her behind the screen.
There was a soft couch there for a short rest, which Chunlai was very familiar with.
While the commotion inside was taking place, Xu Yingying was standing outside the door. The guards and maids looked embarrassed, but she didn't seem to care and left with her maids without saying a word.
Beside her was Yue Rong, a maid who had come with her from the Xu family as part of her dowry. She immediately spoke up for her mistress, urging her to file a complaint against her husband.
Before she could finish speaking, Xu Yingying slapped Yue Rong across the face, startling her so much that she didn't even dare to cover her face and quickly knelt down to admit her mistake.
"Complain? Do you think I don't even have the ability to tame a man?"
But in her heart she was thinking, I don't want to subdue him, I just want to sit on that supreme throne.
She was the eldest daughter of the Xu family, and her parents had talked to her before her marriage.
She knew that the man beside her was no ordinary man; he had great ambitions in his heart, and if he succeeded, she, as his wife, would be the empress who ruled the world.
What is the mistress of the Cui family? She's going to be the empress. She'll just have a maidservant by her side. There will be many more women in the future. Does she have to scheme against them all?
She understood Cui Dongchi; love couldn't hold him back, only self-interest would ever bind him!
Under the planning of the Cui family, Yuan Qifeng did not intend to send troops to Lingnan. The bandits on Fengming Mountain were like bedbugs that could not be killed no matter how hard he tried, and he planned to wipe them out before sending troops.
Upon receiving Lu Chang's letter, Cui Dongchi laughed loudly in his study. "Good, good! Lu Chang has agreed after all. As long as we join forces, the storms that will rise in Lingnan and Jianchuan will make even Pingdu tremble with fear!"
The Great Wei may seem calm on the surface, but underneath it has been turned upside down. The Northwest, thousands of miles away, has not found peace after the war was over, because the Yongye in the east has been turned upside down by the Li family!
Qin Ziyou had always lived in Xiaoxing Village. He bought the small house next to Jingwan's house and exchanged it for a gold ingot for several dilapidated thatched houses.
He would occasionally visit the house where Jingwan used to live, wipe the dust off the table, clean the cobwebs in the corners of the room, and sometimes ask the village elders to tell him stories about Jingwan.
The villagers, seeing the young man in his military uniform, looking so dashing, were not afraid. Although they were curious about his relationship with Jingwan, they still chatted with him since the money was in front of them.
He sat on a grassy mound in the village, surrounded by several elderly men and women with gray hair. Chickens were pecking at rice, and a large spotted dog lay on the ground. The warm sunlight fell on him, dispelling much of the chill that had accumulated from the many murders he had committed.
A smile crept into the corners of his eyes and mouth, as if he could see that mischievous little girl running past him.
"She's the prettiest girl in the whole village, but she loves to play and can't stay at home. She always wants to go out with the other kids in the village to climb trees and go into the water. But she's also very capable. People in the village always ask her to guide them when they want to go deep into the mountains. She's never gotten lost!"
Qin Ziyou listened quietly to their story. In the end, the elderly man saw that the young man was crying. Everyone looked at each other and no one said anything more.
Li Changying asked the soldier where Qin Ziyou had gone, and upon learning that he had gone to Xiaoxing Village again, he immediately snorted coldly! He's still thinking about him, even though he can't find him!
But she no longer had the energy to care about Qin Ziyou. She had searched Yongye from top to bottom, but why couldn't she find those treasures?
She personally led a team to dig deep, especially the former residence of the Lu family, leaving no stone unturned, but they still couldn't find it!
"Father, are those treasures really in Yongye? Perhaps there are no treasures at all, just rumors! Look at the Lu family, they are very poor, how could they possibly have so much money!"
Li Ling shook his head: "It is true. You don't know, but when the late emperor was alive, he arranged for people to search for the treasure hidden by Lady Lu in Yongye. Unfortunately, he passed away early and was unable to carry it out. What is certain is that the treasure is in Yongye. Changying, as long as we find those treasures, we can recruit more soldiers and buy more..."
Horse! Be patient, dig deeper and farther, I don't believe you won't find it!
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