Chapter 6 The Bride Offers Tea and Eats
Shen Qingtan struggled to wake up from a nightmare, his body covered in cold sweat, his eyes staring at the fiery red wedding tent.
After a long while, she slowly regained consciousness and realized that she was reborn instead of being imprisoned in Zhao Jue's villa.
She calmed down the feeling of depression and let out a long breath.
Suddenly, I heard footsteps.
She turned her head in panic like a frightened bird and met the man's dark eyes.
Shen Qingtan was stunned and opened his mouth to explain: "I..."
"Nightmare?" Zhao Yi did not miss the moment she looked at him, his eyes filled with vigilance and precautions.
He handed over the azure porcelain cup in his hand and said gently, "Have a sip of warm water?"
Shen Qingtan's throat was dry. He propped himself up and sat up, then took the teacup with both hands: "Thank you."
Zhao Yi stared at her pale face and said in a gentler tone, "You and I are husband and wife, there's no need to be so strange and polite."
Shen Qingtan responded softly, drank a glass of water, and the palpitations in his heart subsided a little.
Zhao Yi took the teacup and saw her leaning limply against the bedpost, her jet-black hair hanging down to her waist, making her thin body look slender and fragile.
"It's still early, why don't you sleep a little longer?" Zhao Yi was worried that she still couldn't accept the sight of Zhao Jue and Shen Mingzhu serving tea together. "It doesn't matter if we go later. The elders know I'm not feeling well, so they've saved me the trouble of getting up early to pay my respects."
"Second Master, today is my first day as a married woman. If I have a room full of elders waiting for me, it might cause gossip." Shen Qingtan knew that Zhao Yi was thinking about her, and because of this, she also had to think about him.
There was already a controversy over the bride swap, and she and Zhao Jue had a childhood friendship of more than ten years.
If she delayed serving tea on the first day she entered the house, people with ulterior motives would definitely think that she was unwilling to marry Zhao Yi and would definitely criticize him behind his back.
What's more, there will be a big show during the tea ceremony later.
How could she miss it?
Shen Qingtan said gently, "Some things must be faced. As long as the Second Master accepts me as his wife, I have nothing to fear."
Zhao Yi was speechless for a moment, his eyes swept across her gentle face. There was no resentment or resentment, only calmness, as if she had really accepted the fact of marrying him.
Women have a weak status. Even if Shen Qingtan is not satisfied with him as a husband, she cannot divorce him. Marrying him seems to be her only way out.
He whispered, "As you wish."
Shen Qingtan watched Zhao Yi leave the inner room and rang the bell on the side of the wedding tent. Chunjiao and Qiuchan, who were waiting outside the door, came in and carefully helped her get up.
Seeing these two people, Shen Qingtan raised his eyebrows, not surprised.
Before she got married, she had four maids by her side, all of whom grew up together.
Tingxue and Liuyue had an accident and were recuperating at home, so they couldn't go to the Duke's Mansion with her as a dowry.
The other two were unwilling to join the dowry, so they each took a dowry and married the sons of the steward of the marquis's mansion.
Mrs. Shen originally wanted to give her four new dowries, but she only took two new dowries, leaving the remaining two vacancies for Tingxue and Liuyue.
After all, when there are too many people and they are not united, it is easy for trouble to arise.
Shen Mingzhu asked Chunjiao and Qiuchan to come back instead of sending back the two dowries originally given to her. It seems that she wanted to snatch Tingxue and Liuyue away.
Shen Mingzhu wanted everything that belonged to her, no matter whether it was fragrant or smelly.
After dressing up, Shen Qingtan came to the outer room and saw Zhao Yi sitting at the eight-immortals table waiting for her to have breakfast.
There were two breakfasts on the table, each with four or five dishes.
One was placed in front of Zhao Yi, and the other was placed opposite him, which should belong to her.
Shen Qingtan was stunned.
Zhao Yi explained: "I have a light taste, and other people are not used to it, so we usually eat it separately."
Shen Qingtan nodded, sat opposite him, and quietly finished her breakfast with the help of the maid.
The couple went to the main hall together.
While on the way, Zhao Yi carefully explained the interpersonal relationships and some taboos in the Duke's Mansion.
——
The first and second wives, accompanied by their respective maids, arrived at the front hall door one after another.
Seeing that the first wife looked as if nothing had happened, the second wife deliberately called out to her, "Sister-in-law, you look pale. Did you not sleep well last night because of what happened?"
The eldest lady glanced at her and said, "I didn't sleep well. I'm happy."
The second wife's expression froze for a moment, and she concluded that the first wife was just being stubborn.
She then sighed and muttered, "It was a clearly arranged marriage, but something like this happened at the last minute. Poor Jue'er and Qingtan were childhood sweethearts, but in the end...
Alas, thanks to the deep brotherly love between Yier and Jueer, they reconciled privately and the matter was over.
When you spread the word, don't say anything harsh about a marriage exchange. It's all fate, and my Jue'er must accept it."
The eldest lady heard her tone of being ungrateful and taking advantage of others, and curled her lips: "Of course, marriage is destined by heaven. It can't be that the upper beam is crooked and the lower beam is crooked, right?"
The second wife had snatched away the marriage of her eldest sister and used some tricks behind the scenes to marry into the Duke's Mansion.
The second master was treacherous and let down his former fiancée.
The second wife's sore spot was touched, and her face turned blue and white.
The eldest lady comes from a military family. She doesn't have so many twists and turns, and her words can be so irritating that they can kill people.
The second wife was filled with anger, but she felt relieved when she thought of the more than one hundred loads of dowry that had entered the second wife's warehouse.
She pretended to be aggrieved and was about to speak.
The eldest lady was too lazy to deal with her and simply ignored her, then took her maid into the main hall.
The Second Madam was so angry that she gritted her teeth. He was so arrogant and never flattered anyone. He was always straightforward and spontaneous. She had no idea how many times he had embarrassed her.
She walked into the main hall with a sullen face and saw the old lady talking to the eldest lady in a kind tone.
The Second Madam quickly put on a smiling face: "Mother."
The old lady looked at her coldly without responding.
The second wife's plan did not take her, her mother, into consideration.
The second wife was met with a cold rejection and felt ashamed. She stood next to the first wife feeling frustrated.
After a while, all the masters in the mansion came.
The old Duke was suddenly summoned to the palace this morning and was absent from today's tea ceremony.
The younger generations arrived one after another.
Everyone took a seat.
Immediately afterwards, the newlyweds Zhao Jue and Shen Mingzhu arrived.
Everyone in the Duke's Mansion had heard the rumors last night, and when they saw these two people, everyone in the room turned their eyes to Shen Mingzhu.
Shen Mingzhu nervously clenched the handkerchief in her hand, not even daring to look at the elders in the mansion, and secretly glanced at Zhao Jue beside her.
Zhao Jue did not notice Shen Mingzhu's uneasiness. After all, Shen Qingtan had come to the Duke's Mansion to attend banquets before, and he was very graceful and decent in front of the elders.
He led Shen Mingzhu to prepare to pay his respects and serve tea.
The old lady interrupted, "Follow the rules and wait for your second brother and second sister-in-law to serve tea first."
Zhao Jue tightened his cheeks and replied, "Grandson knows."
Shen Mingzhu's face turned pale, and she sensitively heard that the old lady disliked them.
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