Chapter 70 The Gu Family
Second house, Magnolia Garden.
After Song finished washing up, she saw Pei Song sitting cross-legged on the table, reading a book in a leisurely manner, and felt a surge of resentment.
"You seem to have it all easy, not caring at all about Xingjian's affairs, even though you're his uncle."
"Our Pei family has only one heir!"
Pei Song put down the book in his hand and looked at her flushed cheeks after washing up. She was quite charming in the candlelight, so he teased her, "What's wrong? You can't even take care of yourself, yet you still have the mind to think about Xingjian?"
Song glared at him, then sat down in front of her dressing table and called her maid, Miaoyin, to help her with her hair.
For some reason, she turned to him and said, "Speaking of which, don't you think Mother's attitude towards my eldest brother seemed a little different during today's meal?"
Pei Song absentmindedly mumbled, "What?"
"I just heard that someone has moved into this mountain and water area, and it's said to be a young woman. What do you think this means?"
"Could it be that the marriage agreement with the Wei family has changed? Or perhaps it's a relative from another branch of the family?"
"If you're so eager to get to the bottom of this, go pay your respects to your mother tomorrow morning, and you can ask her yourself then."
Madam Song smiled somewhat awkwardly: "I wouldn't dare to ask."
She didn't even consider the possibility of it being her elder brother, after all, his reputation for not being interested in women was already deeply ingrained in people's minds. It was just that arranging for him to stay at Shanshui Residence was really hard to understand.
Have Mother and Elder Brother forgotten that this Mountain and Water Residence is for the future Crown Prince's wife, the mistress of Yanzhou?
Pei Song didn't even raise his head: "Mother and elder brother have their own arrangements. Xingjian is elder brother's only son. It's strange that you're meddling in things like this!"
Song Yunshu's body stiffened slightly, but fortunately, her back was turned so that no one could see the expression on her face.
He glanced at Madam Song, and after a long while, asked, "Any news this month?"
Song's hands tightened as she sat in the chair, her heart filled with impatience. Last month, her mother had specially asked Granny Chang to give her a lot of tonics, saying it was to help her recover.
But they both knew in their hearts that this wasn't about nourishing her body, but about getting her pregnant as soon as possible.
She had been married into the Pei family for five or six years. For the first three years, she wasn't in a hurry. On the one hand, she was newly married, and on the other hand, she was a little older, so it was more prudent for her to have children.
As the days went by, this year marks the sixth year. The old lady has gone from giving subtle reminders at the beginning to openly nitpicking now.
Looking at Pei Song sitting on the soft couch opposite her in the mirror, she felt a surge of humiliation.
Why should I bear a child for a man like that? I feel disgusted even lying in the same bed with him now.
Thinking back to a few days ago, Madam Pei said casually, "Yunshu, if things are really difficult, then let Erlang take in a few concubines. Even if they are born, they can be registered under your name and raised by you personally. It's the same thing."
Song Yunshu spoke gently, without a trace of displeasure, "Mother, it's not that I'm unwilling. I've told my husband before that he insisted on not taking a concubine."
Madam Pei looked at the pretty face in front of her, a hint of mockery flashing in her eyes. She knew that this was Song's way of making excuses, not that Pei Song was unwilling, but that she simply did not want anyone to enter the house.
Thinking about the many rumors circulating outside, he felt increasingly displeased.
"In that case, if you still haven't conceived within six months, I will personally arrange for Erlang to take two beautiful concubines. Don't say that your mother-in-law is not considerate of you then."
Thinking of this, Song Yunshu was filled with disgust for Pei Song.
Seeing that she remained silent for a long time, Pei Song finally put the book in his hand aside, stood up, waved his hand, and signaled the maid to leave.
He stood behind her, about to bend down and gently kiss her neck, when he saw Song turn away. Looking at her thin back, he suddenly felt bored and lost all interest.
He said, "Get some rest, I have something to do outside."
Song's body went limp. She didn't know why. She shouldn't have refused; she should have even gone along with it. Otherwise, how would she have offspring?
She could control her body, but she couldn't control her mind at all.
...
Ji Shu slept fairly well last night, as if she had returned to Chongzhou.
Early the next morning, they heard Chunzhi and Lian'er talking at the door, so they called someone in.
The two men served her with practiced ease as she washed up. Chunzhi knew that this was the young lady's first time appearing in front of everyone in the Pei household.
Even if they don't do anything, they still want to bring out the beauty of the young lady. She stands behind Ji Shu and ties up her hair, while Lian'er applies makeup to the young lady.
Her black hair was styled into an elaborate "Looking-at-the-Immortals" bun. Chunzhi took out a filigree hairpin inlaid with rubies and a peony from her makeup box and inserted it diagonally into the bun.
The gold and red colors complemented her jet-black hair, and she picked up a gilded hairpin and carefully secured it to the side of the hairpin.
Golden ears of grain drooped down, swaying gently with Ji Shu's soft breathing.
A dappled, shimmering shadow was cast on her forehead, each step like a lotus blossom.
Seeing that the jewelry was unfamiliar, Ji Shu was puzzled and asked, "Where did these come from?"
Chunzhi was taken aback, then suddenly realized, "These were all brought over by Commandant Lu early this morning. He said they were all personally selected from the Lord's private treasury for the ladies."
Ji Shu frowned as she thought about how he had taken care of not only her clothes but also all these other items over the past few days.
Seeing this, Lian'er quickly applied rouge to Ji Shu's lips and softly exclaimed, "Young lady, you are so beautiful!" The person in the mirror had a captivating gaze, exuding charm in an instant.
After he got up, a maid immediately presented breakfast on the round table.
Looking at these exquisite dishes, Ji Shu felt a pang of sadness, knowing that she would have to spend the rest of her life in this world from now on. If it were only a year, there would still be something to look forward to.
Now, according to his meaning, it's probably not that simple. Thinking of this, I felt utterly hopeless.
Seeing her gloomy expression, Lian'er gestured for the maids below to leave before saying, "Miss, I went out to inquire this morning, and I didn't expect the number of people in the manor to be so small."
"Besides the old lady, there is the second branch of the family, which is the Lord's full brother, and then there is Prince Pei. The Lord has not yet arranged for the young lady to pay her respects, so he must have other plans."
Ji Shu nodded casually. Seeing that the young lady's mind was not on this, Lian'er brought up another matter.
"This servant originally thought that since the Lord was in charge of Yanzhou, there would be many beautiful women in the mansion. But this morning I learned that the late Madam passed away many years ago and has never remarried. The backyard has been empty ever since."
Ji Shu paused in her chopsticks. She had heard about this before. The book recorded that when Pei Yanzhi's wife, Gu, was six months pregnant, she was brutally murdered by the enemy. She gave birth prematurely in August, resulting in the deaths of both mother and child.
From that moment on, Pei Yanzhi's personality changed drastically. That night, not only the midwife who delivered the baby, but also the servants who served him, either died or were injured.
People say that the Marquis of Yan was so deeply in love that he acted this way.
Ji Shu lowered her eyes, lost in thought. The steamed bun in her mouth suddenly lost its flavor. She put down her chopsticks and wiped her mouth: "Let's take it away!"
Turning to Chunzhi, he asked, "Have you packed up all the incense burners I brought from Chongzhou?"
Chunzhi nodded: "I've packed everything up for you, young lady. It's in the east wing. I think it's a bright and airy place, perfect for you to use for making incense."
Lian'er chimed in, "I see there's a large empty plot of land in the backyard. If you like, young lady, we can plant some flowers there; it would be quite pleasant."
Seeing that the two were trying their best to coax her to drive, Ji Shuqiang suppressed the gloom in her heart and smiled as she responded.
Before long, the sun's shadow shifted westward, and it was already noon.
Pei Yanzhi spent the morning training his troops on the battlefield. After returning to his barracks, he quickly bathed and changed clothes before galloping back home.
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