When Jiang Shan received another shipment of high-end tonics such as bird's nest, ginseng, deer antler, and angelica sent by Fu Qiyuan, his feelings were somewhat complicated.
Whether in ancient or modern times, when a man is overly attentive to a woman for no apparent reason, his motives are never pure. She's a modern woman who, although she's never had a serious relationship, has been flirted with by fans countless times—it's clearly... you know!
She didn't doubt her own charm, but she wondered if Fu Qiyuan's behavior was too casual. As the legitimate son of the Minister's mansion, he had already married a princess, so why would he have designs on her, a pregnant woman whose reputation was ruined? Could it be that he just wanted to play around with her?
"Heh," Jiang Shan stroked his chin and smiled.
She's a little demon who's traveled through a thousand years; who knows who'll be playing whom!
Jiang Shan is tired of the same old tricks used by modern scumbags; let's try something new. Anyway, Sanlang's not home, so there's nothing else to do.
The distant capital city.
Fu Qiyuan looked at the woman standing in front of him and said expressionlessly, "Miss, don't you know where the garden is? You are not a member of this household. When you enter the Minister's residence, you should first be announced and someone should lead the way. Wandering around without the master's permission, what kind of etiquette is this?"
The woman's face flushed red and then turned pale. She clenched the handkerchief in her hand, her phoenix eyes darting left and right, and she said, barely suppressing her anger, "You don't know who I am?"
Fu Qiyuan didn't even lift his eyelids. "Why should I know? Even if I did know, I'm the host and you're the guest, shouldn't I inform you beforehand? This isn't a place for women, please leave, young lady!"
The woman's face turned completely cold. Her beautiful eyes lingered on Fu Qiyuan's face for a moment before she turned and left.
Fu Qiyuan glanced at the grayish-blue shadow at the doorway, his eyes growing increasingly cold.
"Someone come here! Fu Shu!" After calling out twice, a light footstep approached from afar.
The master's expression was not good. Fu Shu, with great foresight, took out a letter from his pocket and presented it to him without saying a word.
“Ancient Immortal Town…that person came…”
Fu Qiyuan was taken aback at first, then hurriedly took the letter and went into the study.
"Check the people in the courtyard again. Send all those who can't be tamed back to the madam!"
Fu Qiyuan read the letter three times, carefully circling three misspelled words with a pen, and savoring it slowly.
"The Red Phoenix Star is in motion? What does it mean?"
To express his gratitude, Jiang Shan observed the stars at night and calculated with his fingers, discovering that Jiang Shan's love star was shining brightly. He then wrote a letter to congratulate Jiang Shan, whose joy instantly vanished like bubbles.
Does she already know that his mother is forcing him into marriage? Which gossipy servant let it slip!
Fu Qiyuan paced around a few times, feeling agitated. Once his mood had calmed down, he began to reply to Jiang Shan.
He told Jiang Shan to take good care of herself and the child, and that he would return to Guyang County to see them as soon as he could finish dealing with things in the capital. He told her not to worry, not to overthink, and not to fret.
Lady Fu, the wife of the Minister, was drafting a list of gifts to send to the Princess for her birthday when she heard Granny Cheng report that the quantity of top-quality tonics such as bird's nest, ginseng, deer antler, and angelica in the storeroom had been reduced by half. Her face immediately darkened.
"Are you still sending them to that bitch's house?"
Granny Cheng shook her head and hesitated before saying, "Madam, it's not Concubine Li, it's...it's the eldest young master."
“Yuan’er? Why does Yuan’er need so many tonics? Is he giving them away or using them himself?” When Madam Fu heard that it was her son, her gloomy face immediately brightened.
Granny Cheng's face fell completely, and she said dejectedly, "Madam, the main kitchen hasn't prepared any tonics for the young master, and the steward doesn't know where they went. All the people we sent to Mingxuan Pavilion to serve him were sent away by the young master!"
Madam Fu raised her eyebrows, her face showing displeasure. "Didn't I tell you to arrange for some reliable, calm, and quick-witted people to serve at Mingxuan Pavilion?"
Granny Cheng felt even more aggrieved. "Madam, the people in Mingxuan Pavilion have served you for many years. I personally trained them, and they are absolutely loyal! Perhaps that's why the eldest young master is unhappy. He not only sent the people in the courtyard away, but even the guards at the gate were dismissed on some pretext!"
Fu Chengshi's face gradually turned pale. She remembered what Princess Yi'an had told her, and her heart sank.
Yes, my son doesn't know how complicated the network of relationships in the capital is. He doesn't know how insignificant a small minister's mansion is in the eyes of those real imperial relatives. If he doesn't rely on those people, he will find it difficult to move an inch in the capital!
"Granny, go and ask the master where he plans to assign Yuan'er to a post. You must hurry!"
Jiang Shan's body was getting heavier and heavier, and at Jiao's mother's insistence, she hired two more people to help with chores.
The Jiang family's private kitchen is now almost entirely managed by Jiao's mother. Jiang Shan only talks the talk, occasionally checks the quality of the ingredients, or helps the Qiao family father and son check the ingredients. When he feels like it, he studies new recipes.
What she enjoyed watching most was the interaction between Qiao Shi and Jiao's mother.
Whether it was because Sanlang wasn't around, or because he realized that Jiangshan didn't openly or secretly oppose him being with Jiao's mother, Qiao Shi was becoming more and more attentive, though his methods weren't very clever.
He finally managed to buy Jiao's mother a brightly colored dress, and then he had to rush over to her while she was pickling seafood. As for his excuse, just listen to it.
"Your clothes are patched. Try on this one; it's new."
Jiao's mother specially changed into a patched dress, just in case the seasonings stained it and made it difficult to wash. This simpleton has absolutely no sense of propriety; he just happened to choose the time when she was disheveled and in the worst mood to deliver his thoughtful gift.
"Do I not have any new clothes to wear? My clothes are not in your way, are they? Get out, get out, don't get in the way!" Jiao's mother's face was not very good. She pushed Qiao Shi aside with her elbow without even lifting her eyelids.
Qiao Shi, holding the clothes, retreated to the doorway, his face flushed, before stammering, "No, well... since I've already bought them, you should wear them. The pattern is so pretty, and they were so expensive... it would be a shame not to wear them...!"
Although Jiao's mother knew Qiao Shi's thoughts, she had never thought about it in that way before. At first, she didn't want her to affect Jiao Erlang's future. Later, she fell ill and became mentally unstable. As for now, she seems to have come back to life and is no longer the Jiao Chengshi she once was.
She understood Qiao Shi's thoughts, and she could also see through Jiang Shan's occasional teasing glances. She knew even better that it wouldn't be easy for them, a widow and her children, to survive in this world. She needed to find someone to help her, someone who was kind, caring, and willing to help her and her children.
She has now found this help, but it's not easy to apply it effectively.
Qiao Sheng was feeding the horse bean dregs in the backyard when he overheard his father and Aunt Jiao's conversation.
Unable to bear it any longer, he went to the door, pulled his father out, snatched the clothes, and presented them to Jiao's mother, saying sincerely, "Auntie, my father doesn't know how to speak, please don't mind. He went to every clothing store in town and asked many female customers, and they all said this was nice, so he bought it. He bought it especially for you!"
Since the child had said that, Jiao's mother couldn't keep a long face. She washed her hands several times before carefully taking the clothes and going back into the house.
He didn't even glance at Qiao Shi once from beginning to end.
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