Jade Bottle
Upon learning of Xichun's return, no one was happier than Shuixian. The real reason Xichun left was that Wei Qiao's orders hadn't been communicated within the household, leading Shuixian to believe that a villain had taken Xichun away. Now, seeing her safely returned with the master, she burst into tears of joy the moment she saw her.
"Girl, you're finally back."
Xichun stepped forward and took Shuixian's hand. She had been in a hurry to leave and was afraid that Shuixian would tell on her, so she hadn't told her beforehand. She felt very guilty for making Shuixian worry about her.
Xichun wiped away her tears, "Don't cry, I'm back."
Fuqing's wedding was set for the tenth day of the fifth month. Wei Qiao returned her indenture and gave her five hundred taels of silver as dowry, allowing her to do some work after the wedding. To give Fuqing time to prepare for her wedding, she was freed from managing the affairs of the household from that day forward.
"Master, should we hand over the affairs I'm in charge of to Miss Xichun?" Fu Qing asked Wei Qiao. Now that Miss Xichun has returned to the manor, she clearly sees her place in the master's heart. However, Xichun is an orphan girl, and all she can rely on is the master's favor. If she could be allowed to manage the household before the madam enters the family, it would increase her control over the manor.
Wei Qiao pondered for a moment and rejected her suggestion, "Xi Chun doesn't need to do these things. Just let her live a leisurely life in Shiliu Courtyard. After you leave, the affairs of the mansion will be managed jointly by A Gui and Zhao Yu. After Chu Qing enters the household, the affairs of the inner quarters will be handed over to Chu Qing to manage."
Seeing that Wei Qiao had made up his mind, Fu Qing thanked him and left the study.
Wei Qiao went to the palace in the afternoon to present Yan Zhongyou with the two pills. In just over a month, Yan Zhongyou's cheeks had become sunken, his eyes were dark, his cheekbones prominent, and his temples had turned gray. He looked even older than Michide, who was more than ten years older than him.
Looking at the pills in the black lacquered box, Yan Zhongyou smiled with satisfaction and patted Wei Qiao on the shoulder, saying, "Minister Wei, you are still the most loyal to me. All those civil and military officials say nice things, but they all have their own agendas and are scheming against me every day. I love Ying'er and want to make her empress, but they won't allow it, saying that she comes from a humble background and is unfit to be the empress."
"I have been unfaithful to many women and have favored my concubines. They say I am a debauched and tyrannical ruler. Now that I love only one woman, they say I am bewitched by a seductive concubine and am still a tyrannical ruler. I think they have a problem with me. Everything I do is wrong."
Seeing the anger in Yan Zhongyou's eyes, Wei Qiao lowered his head and curled his lips into a smile. This Cui Ying was indeed a teachable talent. That day, A Gui rescued her and raised her on the estate. She said she wanted to see him, stating that she wanted to avenge her brother Qian Peng. Their goals were the same, and they hit it off immediately. She diligently practiced her seductive arts on the estate, and although she was already beautiful, after a few months she became even more stunning. That's how the Emperor's chance encounter with the flower girl Cui Ying on the street came about.
Miched took the Tiger Hill tea that Perrin brought and handed it to the emperor, saying, "Your Majesty, please have some tea to calm your anger."
The emperor is becoming increasingly willful and capricious. Seeing that Consort Shu has drained his health and banished the kindest and most benevolent empress to the cold palace, he can do nothing but sigh. One after another, the palace servants in the Yuanhe Palace have been executed by the emperor. Even Michide, the chief attendant, has been punished several times and now dares not offer the emperor any further advice.
The emperor immediately swallowed a pill, and soon felt his energy greatly increased. He played two games of chess with Wei Qiao, and only let Wei Qiao leave when Guang Jinfu came in to report that Consort Shu had arrived.
Wei Qiao met Cui Ying at the palace gate. Cui Ying was adorned with jewels and wore a palace dress embroidered with red mimosa flowers.
"Your humble servant greets Consort Shu," Wei Qiao said, bowing to her.
Cui Ying glanced at Wei Qiao and smiled, "Please rise, Lord Wei. I heard that you were ordered to travel south to search for medicinal herbs for His Majesty. I wonder if your journey was successful?"
"Thanks to Your Majesty, everything is going smoothly." Wei Qiao nodded affirmatively to her.
"Even so, I will certainly serve His Majesty well and ensure that the elixir that Lord Wei found works as it should. His Majesty is still waiting for me in the palace, so I will take my leave now."
After speaking, Cui Ying lifted her skirt and gracefully entered Yuanhe Hall. In the shadows, her charming smile vanished, replaced by icy coldness in her alluring eyes. The treacherous emperor had abused her betrothed sister-in-law and even murdered her brother. Now, she would not only make him die by her hand, but she would also ensure his eternal infamy, preventing him from ever recovering.
That evening, after handling some official business in his study, Wei Qiao went to Shiliu Courtyard to have dinner with Xi Chun. At the dinner table, he mentioned that Fu Qing was leaving, and Xi Chun learned that Fu Qing's wedding was approaching. On the way back, Xi Chun also saw A Gui and Zhao Yu chatting happily with a tall young man, who was probably Fu Qing's future husband.
Xi Chun was lost in thought, and after picking up a piece of boiled fish, she didn't touch her chopsticks again for a long time.
"What's wrong? Is the food not to your liking?" Wei Qiao asked her.
Tonight's dishes were specially prepared by a chef specializing in Sichuan cuisine, whom he had Agui find early when he was in Yiyang City. He doesn't like spicy food and can't tell the difference between good and bad, but the dishes looked similar to the Sichuan dishes he usually saw. It's just that Xichun doesn't eat it, so she probably doesn't like it much.
Hearing his voice, Xichun snapped out of her reverie. "No, it's quite delicious. I was just thinking that since Fuqing is getting married, should I also send something as part of her dowry?"
Wei Qiao placed a piece of spicy chicken into her bowl and asked with a smile, "What would you like to give me?"
Xi Chun looked up at her bedroom. All she had were jewelry and ornaments given to her by Wei Qiao, and she couldn't think of a gift to give Fu Qing for the time being.
Seeing that Xichun didn't speak and looked troubled with a frown, Wei Qiao took her hand and said, "Don't think about it. You don't have much here. Come back to the front yard with me later, and you can pick out something you like from my private storeroom to give to Fuqing."
Wei Qiao's private treasury was full of things, and he followed behind Xi Chun with his hands behind his back, letting her choose at her leisure. After looking around, Xi Chun chose a pair of jade vases made of mutton fat jade.
"I'll take these two jade vases."
Wei Qiao winked at A Gui, who immediately took the jade bottle and its box off the shelf.
Seeing that she was about to walk out of the storeroom, Wei Qiao grabbed her hand. "What, don't you want anything else? I have a lot of treasures hidden in this storeroom."
Xichun squeezed his hand back, "You've given me enough, I don't want anything more. Let's go."
After leaving the storeroom, Xichun wanted to go back to Shiliu Courtyard to rest. Wei Qiao reached out and put his arm around her, saying, "Sleep here with me tonight." With that, he pulled her into his bedroom.
After washing up, Wei Qiao impatiently led her to the bed. Xi Chun was flushed from his rough treatment and begged for mercy by calling his name softly before he finally let her go.
The next morning, Wei Qiao was to get up at the beginning of the morning to change his clothes and prepare for court. Xi Chun was still half asleep and wanted to get up too when she saw him get up. "Go back to sleep, you don't need to get up and serve me." Wei Qiao tucked her in and kissed her forehead.
Seeing that Xichun had closed her eyes, he quietly drew the bed curtains for her before washing up.
While Wei Qiao was eating breakfast, Zhao Yu pulled A Gui aside and whispered to each other under the porch.
“Ah Gui, have you noticed that ever since Master saw Miss Xichun again, he’s been smiling more? You have no idea how dark Master’s face was back in Daizhou. I was living in fear every day.”
Ah Gui nodded, agreeing. Especially after the master and Miss Xichun slept together, the master's smile never faded. He just didn't understand why, if the master liked the girl so much, he insisted on waiting until the madam married into the family before making her a concubine.
As soon as Wei Qiao came out, he heard Zhao Yu gossiping about him outside. He raised his hand and gave Zhao Yu a sharp tap on the head, then smiled and said, "Next time, go somewhere I can't hear you."
Zhao Yu rubbed his forehead, watched Wei Qiao walk away with a beaming smile, then looked at A Gui who was trying not to laugh, and pouted in dissatisfaction. What he said was clearly the truth.
In Wei Qiao's bedroom, Xi Chun slept soundly until dawn. She didn't call the maidservant guarding the door; instead, she dressed herself, tidied her hair, and quickly took a shortcut back to Shi Liu Courtyard. Shui Xian was waiting for her in the courtyard and, upon seeing her return, hurried to help her wash up.
After breakfast, Xichun took out some Xuan paper to practice her calligraphy. She hadn't had a chance to practice seriously while she was with Wei Qiao. Seeing the five large characters she had written, Shuixian exclaimed in surprise, "What has happened to you these past few months, Miss? Your calligraphy has become so good!"
Xi Chun smiled and put away the paper she had been practicing calligraphy on, then sat on the daybed and picked up a book to read. Shui Xian then remembered the things that had been delivered from the front yard last night. She took out a brocade box from the inner room and presented it to Xi Chun, saying, "Miss, this was delivered from the front yard last night."
Xichun glanced at the brocade box and remembered that it contained the pair of jade vases she had chosen. Knowing that Fuqing was probably busy embroidering her wedding dress in her room, she put down her book and said to Shuixian, "Let's go and congratulate Fuqing."
When Fuqing saw Xichun, he smiled with delight and quickly invited her into the room to sit down in a round-backed chair. He then brought her a cup of tea that he had personally brewed.
"Why did you decide to come here, young lady?" Fu Qing asked with a smile.
Xichun took a sip of tea, took the brocade box from Shuixian's hand and handed it to her, "I heard from Weiqiao that you are getting married. This is my wedding gift to you. I wish you a long and happy marriage."
Fu Qing took the brocade box, opened it, and found it contained the pair of jade vases from the master's storeroom. These vases were the very ones she had inspected and put into storage years ago; the material was top-quality mutton-fat jade, quite valuable. She never expected that Xi Chun would now be giving them to her as a wedding gift. She accepted them carefully and thanked Xi Chun with a smile.
"I've known this girl for so long. If it's convenient for you then, you must come and drink a glass of my wedding wine."
"I'll definitely go," Xichun said with a smile. She didn't have much to do at home, so she was bound to join in the fun. Besides, Fuqing had helped her a lot, and she wanted to see her in her bright red wedding dress.
Glancing over, she saw Fu Qing's unfinished wedding dress spread out on the daybed beside her. The bright red skirt was adorned with a pair of mandarin ducks that had already been embroidered. Looking at the mandarin ducks, Xi Chun remembered the wedding shoes that Aunt Feng had embroidered for her by hand, which also had a pair of mandarin ducks on them. However, according to A Gui, Wei Qiao had instructed him to burn those wedding shoes and the wedding dress that she had embroidered herself.
Xi Chun lowered her head and sighed. After composing herself, she looked up and praised Fu Qing with a smile, "Your craftsmanship is excellent. These mandarin ducks are so lifelike."
Fu Qing had already learned from A Gui and Zhao Yu that the master had forcibly taken the young lady away on the eve of the wedding. Thinking of the two undergarments the young lady had made and that she had asked Zhao Yu to deliver to the master, she sometimes wondered if she had done the right thing.
When the girl looked at her wedding dress just now, there was a clear look of sadness in her eyes. If it weren't for A-Gui's chance encounter with the girl in Lantai County, and if it weren't for his interference, the girl might already be married and living a different life.
At dinner time, Wei Qiao came to Shiliu Courtyard again to have dinner with Xi Chun. After dinner, the two held hands and took a walk in the mansion to digest their food, just like they had done a few months ago before she left.
Ever since the day Wei Qiao shared a room with her, he wanted to sleep with her every day. Strangely enough, Wei Qiao used to have many dreams and sleep very restlessly, but ever since he slept next to Xi Chun and smelled her scent, he could sleep well every night.
Xi Chun's belongings were all in Shiliu Courtyard. He didn't want her to go through all that trouble, so he simply had A Gui move some of his own clothes to Shiliu Courtyard as well. He only met guests or handled official business in the study in the front courtyard every day, and spent the rest of the time with Xi Chun in Shiliu Courtyard.
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