Even after Lancao left, Aunt Xia still knelt on the ground, not getting up. Her hands, hidden under her sleeves, were pinched so tightly by her nails that they were bleeding.
At the time, Qin was bedridden. She heard that the Marquis's family was planning to marry a daughter of the Bai family from Jiangnan. She hurriedly sent for two maids. One was Concubine Xia, and the other was Runyu. Concubine Xia was chosen by Qin because she was less beautiful than Runyu and appeared timid.
At the time, Concubine Xia thought her chance had finally arrived, so she disguised herself according to Qin's wishes. She'd assumed that the merchant-born Bai wouldn't dare treat her badly, and that as Qin's appointed concubine to Gu Yan, she'd be showered with favors. Unexpectedly, Bai disregarded even the elders of the fourth and fifth chambers, let alone a virgin concubine like her. It seemed she'd have to pause her courtship of the Crown Prince and focus her efforts on Gu Tingyu, lest she be constantly under the Bai's watchful eye.
The Bai family wasn't punishing Concubine Xia for Gu Tingyu's sake; rather, Concubine Xia had overstepped her bounds as a concubine in the imperial court. The principal wife hadn't even taken action yet, yet she acted even more respectfully than the wife, as if she were the legal wife. Even if she had no such intentions, she would still be a laughing stock to the Bai family. Even after being warned once before, Concubine Xia still didn't know how to restrain herself.
Chang'er returned from the clothing store with blushing cheeks, looking like a shy girl. When Bai caught her and questioned her, Chang'er stammered that she had met a fellow villager. Bai saw Chang'er's expression and felt that it was more than just a fellow villager.
Then Bai found the indenture and gave it to Chang'er, saying to her, "Take some time to get the indenture cancelled. If you ever want to get married, tell me and I'll prepare a nice dowry for you."
Chang Er replied with tears in her eyes: "I will not leave. I will always serve you, young lady."
Bai, who was also moved to tears, comforted her, "Of course I won't let you go, but women always have to get married. When you have the baby, come back and become a housekeeper. It would be nice. But for the sake of future generations, I'd like to take back this contract."
The master and servant hugged each other and cried for a while. Lancao came in and started crying too. In her previous life, Lancao passed away shortly after Ye Ge'er was born, diagnosed with an acute illness and died without treatment. I hope that Lancao can live well in this life. They grew up together and although Lancao is not as caring as Chang'er, she is also steady and considerate.
Gu Tingyu, who has always been ill, has never gone a day without taking herbal medicine. The two-year-old child is so thin that he has no flesh at all. He looks a little scary, with a big head and a skinny body. The Marquis rarely visits Gu Tingyu, always afraid that Gu Tingyu will fall in love with her again when he goes there, causing him grief. Knowing that Bai Shi did not take care of Gu Tingyu personally, he did not say anything to Bai Shi. On the one hand, he saw Gu Tingyu seldom, only once a month. On the other hand, the Marquis also found that this daughter-in-law was not easy to deal with. She was simply the kind of person who was domineering and had no scruples. A noble family like theirs was most wary of such people.
Gu Tingyu, who could already speak a few words, would occasionally call Bai "mother" and would smile sweetly at her, but Bai never took it seriously. In her previous life, she had been fooled by his little appearance and taken care of him like her own son. However, in the end, she didn't get the same treatment and was often scolded by Gu Yankai because of Gu Tingyu.
Gu Tingyu was very similar to Qin in some aspects, such as his love of poetry. But it was strange that such a man married Shao, who was not good at literature.
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