The Duke of Jing's Mansion
Qi Jingxuan and others carried the betrothal gifts and began reading the long list of gifts in front of the gate. At this moment, Qi Jingxuan couldn't help but laugh out loud. When she married into the Qi family back then, she was not as good as taking a concubine. Now, the eldest daughter of the Duke of Jing is so grand.
"Look, our General Qi is getting married soon, he can't stop smiling."
"Yes, people are in high spirits when they have good news."
"Wasn't he quite happy when he married Ruan Yumu before?"
"What do you know? Men don't have feelings. In all these years, Ruan and Mu haven't had any children. Besides, how can the daughter of a stable boy be compared to a princess?"
Listening to the chatter of the maids around him, Qi Jingming couldn't help but think to himself, "Yes, the daughter of a stable boy. From now on, I will carve out my own destiny with my own hands. Who says women are inferior to men? Heaven has given me the opportunity to be a man. I will make him taste what it means to be a woman."
It was lunchtime, and the Duke of Jing's mansion had prepared a sumptuous feast to welcome the new son-in-law. In stark contrast, Ruan Yu Mu was kneeling in the ancestral hall.
"Miss Lanling, please tell my mother to give me some food. I'm really starving." Ruan Yumu hadn't seen any food all morning, and now it was noon, and he felt incredibly weak. Damn it, how could this woman's health be so poor? Back when I was fighting on the frontier, I didn't feel this weak even after going hungry for two days.
"Madam, you should kneel properly. Don't you even know where you went wrong? How can you expect me to deliver your message? To tell you the truth, not giving you food is the Old Madam's order. You'd better save your energy."
Hearing this, Ruan Yumu was completely speechless. What had she done wrong? Why had she dragged him to the ancestral hall to kneel for so long?
It wasn't until late in the evening that Qi Jingxuan finally returned from the Duke of Jing's mansion.
"Xuan'er, how are you?"
"Mother, everything is going smoothly. The date has been set relatively soon, in seven days. This is also in accordance with the Emperor's wishes."
"May the Bodhisattva protect you, may the ancestors protect you, Xuan'er. After you marry the princess, our Qi family will be completely different. There are many troubles in the officialdom, so you must be steady and cautious and never be careless."
“I understand, Mother, there is no need to worry.”
"Let's eat. I've had the servants prepare a meal. You were frightened yesterday, so you should have some nourishment."
"Mother, please."
"Good, good, good." Old Madam Qi beamed with joy, thinking that with Qi Jingxuan having such a good marriage, the Qi family's glory would be long-lasting.
During the meal, someone asked, "Where is the concubine?"
“Something happened and kept her waiting. Granny Yun, go and ask why she hasn’t arrived yet. Does she expect this old woman to wait for her? That’s incredibly unfilial.” Old Madam Qi gave Granny Yun a look, signaling her to quickly pull Ruan Yu Mu out of the ancestral hall.
When Qi Jingxuan saw his mother's subtle movement, he couldn't help but smile, a mocking look appearing on his face.
"Granny Yun, you've arrived!"
Where are the people inside?
"He was shouting loudly this morning, but he's silent now."
"Go in and check, maybe she's asleep." She wasn't asleep at all. In the afternoon, Ruan Yumu felt exhausted and had already collapsed. "She's asleep, isn't she? Ziling brought water, and the old lady made her kneel here. She's actually learned to slack off. What kind of judgment do you have against her?"
"Please forgive me, Granny Yun, but there are too many servants coming and going, and I can't keep an eye on things all the time, so I had to lock the door. Please forgive me, Granny Yun!"
Zi Ling quickly brought over a basin of water and splashed it directly onto Ruan Yu Mu's face. In the early winter weather, the wind was biting cold, and the basin of cold water poured directly onto Ruan Yu Mu's face made her shiver and wake up.
"You won't listen to a word the old lady says anymore, is that it? You were told to kneel in the ancestral hall and you actually fell asleep. How could you face our ancestors like that?"
“No, Granny Yun.”
"I don't care if you are or not, hurry back to change and eat. The general is back. If he asks, I think you know what you should and shouldn't say." After saying that, Granny Yun turned and left.
"Madam, the concubine is sleeping. She said she'll be here soon after changing her clothes."
Qi Jingxuan knew in his heart that the old lady would never let Ruan Yumu sleep; she was probably doing chores somewhere.
"What's going on? Can't you see Mother is already here? Why aren't you going to invite her again?" Qi Jingxuan pretended to be angry.
Seeing that things were not going well, Zi Ling quickly went to urge them again.
"Madam, hurry! The general is furious."
"Let him wait, that's outrageous. This woman's clothes are such a hassle."
Before long, Ruan and Mu finally finished changing their clothes and came to the front hall.
"How can you be so unruly? Mother has been waiting for you for a long time. Hurry up and add some food for her." As soon as Qi Jingxuan saw Ruan Yumu come over, he began to lecture her in the same tone he had used before.
"you"
"What do you mean, 'you'? You're getting angry just because I said a few words to you?"
"Xuan'er, harmony is the most important thing. I don't think Mu did it intentionally. Calm down and let's eat." Old Madam Qi quickly put on a good person act.
"Madam, if it weren't for you..." Ruan Yumu stood up abruptly, wanting to rebuke the old lady's behavior.
"Shut up, just eat. Why are you yelling at your elders?" Qi Jingxuan, of course, understood the schemes of the inner quarters and shut Ruan Yumu down.
"What? You're making excuses for doing such a small thing? Have I mistreated you? Why are you looking so miserable?"
Ruan Yu Mu was furious. It was clearly him who had used sorcery to take over her body, so how could he be so adept at disciplining her now?
It seems that this was planned long ago.
"Qi Jingxuan! If you want to eat, get it for yourself. You must be crazy to expect me to serve you."
"Shut up! Who gave you permission to speak to my Xuan'er like that?" Old Madam Qi reacted even earlier than Qi Jingxuan.
Qi Jingxuan slowly stood up and walked to Ruan Yumu's side. "I advise you to behave yourself, otherwise you will die in the Qi family mansion soon, and then I will be a general forever."
"You!!!" Ruan Yumu was furious, but could only watch Qi Jingxuan act arrogantly.
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