Qin Sheng said, "It's common knowledge that the Sixth Young Master Yuan is a scoundrel. He clearly planned this to embarrass the Earl, but what can we do? We have to swallow this bitter pill whether we like it or not. We can only wait and find another way to get that actor out of there."
After thinking about it carefully, Madam Yin realized that it made sense.
The most important thing now is that the actor absolutely cannot die.
If we swallow our anger and take her in now, and this matter fades away in the future, who will care about the life or death of an actress?
A fleeting glint of malice flashed in Madam Yin's eyes.
Before Yin Wenxiao could speak, Old Madam Yin had already agreed, "Granny Shi, go and make the arrangements. In a few days, let the Earl take that actress as a concubine... what was her name again?"
Granny Shi: "Her name is Xuemei."
Madam Yin waved her hand, telling her to hurry up and make the arrangements.
Ye Jiaoniang stood beside Yin Wenxiao and couldn't help but look up, her gaze probing Qin Sheng's face.
She couldn't understand what Qin Sheng was thinking.
Ye Jiaoniang didn't believe that there wasn't a better way to settle that actress than taking her as a concubine. But the madam insisted on bringing up the idea of giving the actress to the master's household. Wasn't she angry and jealous?
Qin Sheng, of course not.
She came out of the Pine and Willow Courtyard and took a detour to the servants' quarters at the back. Xue Mei was now placed in an empty servants' quarters.
Upon entering the room, a woman was kneeling on the floor, her figure slender, as if a gust of wind could blow her away.
An old woman whispered in Qin Sheng's ear, "Madam, this is Xue Mei."
Qin Sheng nodded and said to the woman kneeling on the ground, "Raise your head."
The kneeling, thin figure flinched, as if frightened, and hesitated for a long time without moving.
Qiao'er shouted, "Didn't you hear what Madam said? Raise your head!"
Xue Mei's slender body shrank back slightly before she slowly raised her head, revealing a bewitching and alluring face.
"I...I've met you, Madam." Her voice carried a melodious and charming quality, befitting an opera singer.
Qin Sheng silently observed her, and after a moment said calmly, "Stop kneeling, get up and talk."
"..."
Xuemei hesitated again, as if she had been truly frightened, and slowly got up from the ground.
Qin Sheng looked at her and said, "I don't care whether what happened at the restaurant was a coincidence or intentional. Now that you're in the Yin family, I've already spoken with the old lady and the master to make you the master's concubine."
"To...to become a concubine?"
After a moment of confusion, Xue Mei panicked, shaking her head desperately: "I don't want to be a concubine! I don't want to be a concubine! I...I..."
"You don't want to become the Marquis's concubine, but is it because you already have someone you like? Who is it? The sixth young master of the Yongning Marquis's mansion?"
"..."
Xuemei remained silent, biting her lip, a layer of ashen pallor slowly rising on her alluring and beautiful face.
She didn't know how to say it.
She already belonged to the former Sixth Young Master, although he had never made her any promises, but---
Xuemei thought of the Sixth Young Master's coldness towards her these past few days.
She knew that the Sixth Young Master had a new lover, the courtesan Mingyue from the Red Jade Pavilion.
No wonder the Sixth Young Master gave her a sum of money and asked her to do him one last favor; it turns out...
"no."
Xuemei, as if summoning her courage, looked at the lady with her alluring eyes and said, "I have no one I fancy. Everything is up to you, Madam."
Since I'm serving men anyway, what difference does it make who I serve?
Being a concubine is fine. Serving one man is much more comfortable than serving a bunch of men.
Having agreed, Qin Sheng didn't linger. Before leaving, she instructed the old woman to find some clean clothes for Xue Mei to change into.
...
Yin Wenxiao stayed at Mingyue Pavilion again that night.
He was originally a handsome and refined scholar, but now he's been beaten to this state, and it's a truly pitiful sight.
Even Ye Jiaoniang could hardly bear to look at it.
The thought that they had already agreed to let the Earl take that actress as a concubine made Ye Jiaoniang even more agitated.
Qin Sheng is the legal wife, so there's nothing she can do.
But she couldn't tolerate another woman sharing her beloved man with her; she didn't want another woman to give birth to Yin Wenxiao's child!
"My husband..."
Back in the room, only the two of them remained. Ye Jiaoniang looked at Yin Wenxiao, whose face was bruised and swollen, and looked like she was about to cry.
"Are you really going to take that actress as a concubine?"
Yin Wenxiao was in a bad mood. He was worried about how he would be impeached by the censor tomorrow, and he didn't know if His Majesty and the Regent would blame him.
If they really do blame me...
Just as he was getting annoyed, Ye Jiaoniang started crying again, and Yin Wenxiao, unusually, lost his temper. "What are you crying about? Fine, I'll take her as a concubine. What do you want from me?"
"..."
When had he ever spoken to her so loudly? Ye Jiaoniang was stunned by the shout and even forgot to shed tears.
"You should get some rest." Yin Wenxiao stood up. "I'll stay in the front yard tonight."
After saying that, he strode out.
Ye Jiaoniang was already aggrieved, and now she felt even more aggrieved. She couldn't suppress her sobs, and it was Granny Yun who came in to persuade her: "Auntie, don't cry. Pregnant women shouldn't cry, lest it disturb the fetus and be bad for the baby."
"Lord, Lord..."
Ye Jiaoniang wept, her face streaked with tears, looking utterly heartbroken. "He has never spoken to me like this before, he... he..."
"You should also be understanding of the master, Auntie," Granny Yun said, wiping away her tears.
"Hasn't the concubine heard about this from the old lady? The lord will definitely be impeached by the censor tomorrow. It's understandable that the lord is in a bad mood. Instead of comforting him, you..."
What Granny Yun didn't say was that she added fuel to the fire.
At this point, what else can we do if we don't take the actor? Beat him to death or kick him out?
Or should we leave them to stay in the Yin household without any official status or title?
Even a servant like Granny Yun could see it clearly, but Aunt Ye couldn't understand why, at a time like this, she was still only concerned with jealousy and rivalry.
"I……"
Ye Jiaoniang gradually stopped crying and asked, "What should we do? Will something really happen to the Lord tomorrow?"
"..."
Granny Yun hesitated for a moment, but finally managed to calm the person down with some kind words.
...
The next day, not long after Yin Wenxiao returned from the morning court, Qin Sheng learned that he had been reprimanded by the officials during the morning court session, and His Majesty had ordered him to suspend his duties for three months and stay at home to reflect on his mistakes.
How could there be so many coincidences without any reason in this world?
Some time ago, taking advantage of the opportunity to leave the manor to renovate the clan school, Qin Sheng secretly sent a letter to Yuan Wu, the sixth young master of the Yongning Marquis's mansion.
The letter was brief, saying that he had been cuckolded and that Xuemei had been secretly having an affair with Yin Wenxiao.
Of course, such a strange letter was not very credible, so Qin Sheng wrote in the letter that Xue Mei had a brown circular birthmark the size of a fingernail on her lower back.
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