Ulanara Shuzhen obediently agreed. The reason she did not disturb the Irgen family was that she knew this was a chronic illness that would flare up every autumn. She had called a doctor to see her, but the condition remained the same. So she did not call a doctor, but instead asked Qiuwen to go to the pharmacy in the manor to get some medicine for her.
"I understand. Has Your Highness had lunch?" Shuzhen asked shyly.
"I've never used it before. Perhaps I'll trouble Shuzhen to arrange it for me," Hongshi said.
"Yes, I couldn't ask for more." Shuzhen could almost feel her heart racing. Hongshi had finally agreed to be intimate with her.
Meanwhile, after Irgen, supported by her maid, returned to her room, she remained in a bad mood. Although she had made excuses for Hongshi in front of the maid, she was still very upset inside.
Hongshi once told her that he didn't like Ulanara Shuzhen at all, and was even less willing to betray her, so the few times he went to Ulanara's residence were all forced by his wife.
But today, when she saw Hongshi go to the Ulanara clan with her own eyes, Irgen felt a sudden emptiness in her heart. The vows they had made seemed like a joke in the face of reality, and were so easily shattered.
"Madam, it's time for lunch. Shall I go and get your meal?" Seeing the sorrow on Irgen's face, Chunqin had no choice but to say, "Madam, since you married into the family, the Second Master has always respected you and has stayed here with you almost all the time."
“Yes, Chunqin, do you think I’m not virtuous? He married two women back then, and Shuzhen was so gentle and obedient, yet I couldn’t tolerate her?” said Irgen.
“Madam, it’s not that you’re not virtuous. Any woman would be completely unconcerned that her husband is also attracted to other women,” Chunqin said. “You know that she entered the household at the same time as you, and the Second Master will favor her sooner or later, so you should just let it go.”
Irgen gave a wry smile and said, "I'm not as insightful as you are! Alright, go fetch the meal. I'm going to check on Shuzhen; perhaps she'll be back to dine with me soon. Hurry and fetch the meal from the kitchen. Otherwise, what will we do if there's no food when I return?"
"Yes, I'll go get it right away. You should sit here and rest. I'll go get it." Seeing that Irgen seemed to be in a better mood, Chunqin quickly perked up and began to serve her.
When Chunqin arrived at the kitchen, she naturally encountered Qiuwen and Qingsun, maids of the Ulanara clan. The two were ordering food, as Hongshi was dining with their mistress that day, so they were there to order. Upon hearing that Hongshi had come to order, the kitchen staff immediately began to fawn over him and serve him.
When Qiuwen saw Chunqin come to serve the meal, she wanted to show off in front of her, because ever since her mistress entered the house, she had been completely suppressed, and even they, the servants, were treated as inferior.
"Second Master loves fish, so please prepare more fish dishes. Our master said, Second Master specifically instructed, that our mistress loves tofu, so please prepare more tofu dishes as well," Qiu Wen said, raising her voice.
Chunqin was not deaf at all. She was immediately startled. Why was the Second Master staying there to have his meal? But Madam was waiting for the Second Master to return for his meal.
Seeing Chunqin standing there motionless, Qiuwen pretended to have just seen her arrive and said, "Sister Chunqin, I'm sorry, you'll have to wait a while. We have quite a lot of food."
Chunqin naturally understood the provocation in her words, but pretended to be relaxed and said, "Our lady asked Second Master to go and see Madam Shuzhen, saying that she is ill, and it is only right that he should go and see her."
Qiuwen didn't know why Hongshi had come suddenly. Hearing Chunqin say this, she thought that Irgen had really sent him. She looked embarrassed and turned to look at the prepared meal, ignoring Chunqin.
After they brought the meal, Chunqin had been waiting for almost fifteen minutes. When she carried the food to Irgen's room, Irgen asked, "Why did it take so long?"
Chunqin was unsure whether to tell Irgen that Hongshi would not be coming back to dine with her, so she simply said, "The dishes from the kitchen have just been served, so I waited a little longer."
"Did you get the fish that Second Master likes to eat?" asked Irgen.
Chunqin placed the dishes on the table one by one. When she heard Irgen ask this question, she paused for a moment, and then continued to set the table, saying, "Second Master, he probably won't be coming. So I didn't bring any fish."
Upon hearing Chunqin's words, Irgen's expression changed immediately. He asked, "How do you know he won't come?"
Chunqin hesitated whether to tell Irgen about Qiuwen's words, but Irgen couldn't accept the fact that Hongshi wasn't coming to have lunch with her, and shouted uncontrollably, "Chunqin, where did you hear that he wasn't coming back to have lunch with me?"
In truth, after waiting for so long, and with Hongshi not returning to dine with her, Lady Irgen's heart grew increasingly uneasy. She longed to run to Lady Ulanara's side and ask Hongshi in person why he had so easily betrayed his promise. Hongshi had promised Lady Irgen that he would dine with her every day.
"Madam, I ran into Ulanara's maids in the kitchen. They were helping the Second Master and Ulanara with their meal. They were carrying a lot of dishes," Chunqin said.
Irgen was stunned. She stared at Chunqin in surprise, unable to accept Hongshi's sudden change.
“Madam, please don’t be sad. Perhaps the Second Master took pity on Lady Ulanara when he saw she was ill and simply had a meal with her,” Chunqin quickly comforted him.
At this moment, Lady Irgen was too distressed to listen to anything else. She had been pampered and spoiled since childhood, and in the few months since she married Hongshi, she and Hongshi had gotten along very well and were deeply in love. Although there had been the awkwardness of Lady Ulanara entering the household together, Hongshi's affection for her was obvious to all. But now, Hongshi's series of unusual behaviors left Lady Irgen feeling helpless and at a loss.
At that time, Hongshi, who was dining with Ulanara Shuzhen, also found the food tasteless. He usually dined with Irgen, so dining with a woman he didn't like made the meal utterly tasteless.
"Master, this steamed eight-treasure fish is quite good, would you like to try it?" Shuzhen said, seeing that Hongshi hadn't touched the dishes much. She took the initiative to serve the dishes to Hongshi.
“Your throat is sore, you should eat more light vegetables and avoid meat,” Hongshi said.
"Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. I will remember it." Shuzhen felt as sweet as honey inside, seeing that Hongshi was so concerned about her health.
“I’m done eating. I still have some things to do in the front yard. You can take your time,” Hongshi said, putting down his chopsticks.
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