Sixteen young wives and thirty men
The family reunion banquet was held in grand style. Adhering to the principle of not hitting someone who smiles at you and clinging to the boss, Chen Yuanyuan followed Madam Shen's lead.
Whoever the old lady asked her to call, she would call them with a smile; when the old lady asked her to follow the eldest lady to meet some female relatives of the same generation, she would smile and follow the eldest sister-in-law; when the old lady asked her to accompany her to watch an opera, she would sit next to her obediently at the bottom, and when she saw the old lady looking at the lychees in the white agate dish with silk thread for a few more times, she would tactfully pick a few for her.
During this period, Mr. Shen came to visit several times. Seeing that his eldest sister-in-law, who was always dignified and solemn, looked at Xu Lingwan with increasingly gentle eyes, he felt relieved and began to entertain male guests in Qinghui Hall in the front yard.
At the end of the day, when Chen Yuanyuan returned to Yanxiju, her face had become stiff from smiling.
Mother Yu was already waiting at the door with several maids and old women. When they saw Xu Lingwan and her group from afar, they ordered the small kitchen to prepare hot soup for bathing.
Xu Lingwan returned to the inner room, let the maid let her hair down, took off her outer jacket, and lay down on the bed with her eyes closed, without changing out of her chest-length red silk shirt.
"Madam, you can't do this. You haven't washed yet." The loyal Mother Yu signaled Luyun to guard the door to prevent the ignorant maids and old women from seeing Xu Lingwan in this state.
Feeling sorry for her tiredness, He Hongyue considerately took off her red satin shoes embroidered with gold beads and thread, and gently massaged the soles of her feet.
In this evil feudal society, we finally understand how difficult it is to go from extravagance to frugality.
Chen Yuanyuan felt comfortable under her feet, but she was still not used to being served in this way, so she retracted her feet.
Seeing the scented bags hanging from the four corners of the newly replaced bright red light silk tent swaying slightly, her eyelids felt heavy, and she whispered softly, "Mother Yu, put down the tent. You guys go out and keep watch. Call me when the water is ready."
The maidservants knew Xu Lingwan's temper well. She looked gentle and easygoing, but in reality she was very opinionated and fiery. So they lowered the curtains and quietly retreated.
The candlelight shines through the translucent red curtains, casting a misty light red.
Chen Yuanyuan lay on her side with her eyes closed. The weather was so hot that she was too lazy to even cover herself with the thin ice silk quilt. When she heard a very slight sound of a door closing, she couldn't wait to kick off her silk socks and stretched her feet to the edge of the bed to cool down.
I was half asleep when I felt warmth under my feet. A clear male voice rang out slowly: "The cold starts from the feet. Don't catch a cold."
Ling Wanlingtai suddenly became clear-headed, and when he opened his eyes he saw Master Shen's bright eyes.
Perhaps because she had been perfunctory in her daily routine, when she saw Mr. Shen's genuinely concerned look, Chen Yuanyuan suddenly felt an inexplicable emotion well up in her.
At the end of the day, she deeply felt that as a housewife, in addition to handling the relationship with her husband, she also had to handle the relationships with her husband's concubines, illegitimate children, parents-in-law, sisters-in-law and many other relatives.
It would have been fine if she had received this kind of professional training since childhood, but she was just an ordinary modern person who had traveled through time and space to this noble lady due to a plane crash. As a newbie who had been forced into this, she wasn't sure if she could handle these things alone in the future.
If she fails to do well, she will lose her husband's love and the favor of her parents-in-law, and her life in the inner house will be difficult in the future.
She met Chen Cong's inquiring gaze calmly. There was a line in Western wedding vows: "For richer or poorer, in sickness or in health, are you willing to spend your life with the person next to you?"
Now, whether Chen Yuanyuan is willing or not, Xu Lingwan’s fortune, honor and disgrace really depend on him alone.
Although it is unwise to put all your wealth on one man, what can you do?
Judging from Chen Yuanyuan's adaptation to life over the past six months, it is very unlikely that aristocratic women living in ancient times, especially those from prominent families, would go out and make a name for themselves as described in some novels.
The entire society is like a big net woven with golden threads and etiquette, which confines women firmly to a small world in the backyard.
Chen Yuanyuan was not some extraordinary woman with lofty ambitions. In her life again, she just wanted to eat well, drink well, sleep well, and live a life like lying down in this era.
Faced with the so-called "husband's love", Chen Yuanyuan was no longer worried after seeing Chen Cong.
When the enemy comes, we will fight him; when the water comes, we will block it with earth. The future is unpredictable. When it comes to survival, people will stimulate their greatest survival instinct, so let's grab what we can grab now.
"Husband, I asked them to leave, don't blame me." After Xu Lingwan figured it out, she half stood up. Seeing that he was still wearing a crimson straight shirt and looked a little drunk, she knew that he must have just come back from the front yard after seeing off the guests. She felt that at least her husband was not bad now.
So she reached out and stroked his frown, and when she saw a few prematurely gray hairs on his temples, she couldn't help but chuckle.
In the past, Su Shi teased Zhang Xian. I found it unbelievable when I read it then. But now, living in this era and married to a husband who is as old as his eldest son, the poem is very appropriate and I couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"Ling Wan, what are you laughing at?" Mr. Shen Er looked as calm as ever, with a fierce look on his face.
But his eyes were much softer, and Chen Yuanyuan saw a hint of smile in them.
At this time, the maids in the room had already closed the door and left. She was much less sleepy. She held up Mr. Shen's head and pulled down a few strands of his white hair. Seeing the rare puzzled look on his face, she became playful and whispered, "My husband, I just thought of four lines of poetry."
"A sixteen-year-old bride and a thirty-year-old groom, a few strands of white hair against red makeup." Seeing the slight movement in his eyes, Chen Yuanyuan took even greater pleasure in teasing him.
Then he pointed at the bright red mandarin duck quilt on the bed, and laughed as he recited, "A pair sleep together in the mandarin duck quilt, a branch of pear blossoms overshadows a crabapple."
After saying that, she couldn't help but grin. But as she smiled, she found that the man in front of her looked strange, and there seemed to be layers of dark clouds in his eyes.
She forgot that the poem was about a man getting old.
No man would admit or allow others to say he was old. Xu Lingwan didn't dare to laugh anymore. She secretly watched his expression, not knowing for a moment whether he was really angry or just pretending to be angry. She looked at him anxiously.
"Lingwan, who taught you this?" Master Shen saw Xu Lingwan looking at him stealthily, but he couldn't bear to force her to answer. He suppressed his anger and squeezed out these words from behind his molars, but in his heart he hoped that she would confess quickly so that he wouldn't get angry when he found out the whole story.
Chen Yuanyuan frowned and thought for a moment. She couldn't possibly say it was Su Shi. She had no idea what dynasty this place was in, and seeing Second Master Shen's reaction, she was certain it was before the Northern Song Dynasty. So she simply played dumb and continued to argue, whispering, "Husband, what are you talking about?"
"Who taught you this about a pear blossom outshining a crabapple?" Master Shen did not miss any expression on Xu Lingwan's face, only to see that her face was always frank.
Years of interrogation experience told him that Xu Lingwan probably didn't learn this from others, or from somewhere else...
That is, "Ling Wan, is this what you thought?"
He didn't notice that his voice was already slightly flushed.
When Chen Yuanyuan heard this, she knew he was bluffing again. Her heart calmed down, and she slipped on her shoes and prepared to go to the bathroom, smiling at him with a smile: "Yes, my husband, don't you think I used that sentence very well?"
Wonderful, no, wonderful? Master Shen felt all his blood and energy churning, and his chest felt faintly hot.
Didn't she know how charming and beautiful the phrase "a single pear blossom overshadows a crabapple blossom" was? At this moment, Xu Lingwan was still swaying before him in only a single shirt.
Second Master Shen felt his mouth dry. Ever since he began mourning for Old Master Shen many years ago, he had given less thought to this aspect. In recent years, he had become more cautious and self-disciplined, and had long since stopped caring about women.
"Ling Wan, come here." Seeing him get humiliated, Chen Yuanyuan was in a good mood. She hummed a song in her heart and prepared to take a shower and go to bed. Suddenly, she heard the low and hoarse voice of Master Shen Er. She was startled, but still responded and went over.
"Hmm." Before she could react, she was pulled into Mr. Shen's arms. The scent of wine immediately filled her mouth, causing her to moan.
This life whimpered, and Master Shen's body stiffened. The alcohol in his mouth became stronger.
Chen Yuanyuan reacted at this time and tried to push the man away. But when Master Shen pulled her into his arms, his legs tightly wrapped around hers, and he was holding her waist with one hand and lifting her chin with the other to kiss her gently.
His lips were as soft as jelly, and coincidentally, after drinking alcohol, the jelly seemed to have a faint aroma of alcohol.
At first, Chen Yuanyuan pushed him away, but when she opened her eyes and saw his elegant eyebrows and eyes, which were as affectionate as a pool of spring water, her heart skipped a beat.
She recalled how Mother Yu had once quietly asked her when she and Second Master Shen would consummate their marriage. If the couple didn't consummate their marriage, they would be ridiculed by everyone in the mansion.
She was his legitimate wife, and what was meant to happen would eventually come. Moreover, after spending the past six months and today together, she wasn't so resistant to him anymore, so she let him hold her, slowly and unquestionably conquering her lips and teeth.
When the kiss ended, both of them had a hint of spring in their eyes. Before Xu Lingwan could speak, Master Shen picked her up and carried her to the clean room, whispering to her in a low, hoarse voice, "Lingwan, a pear blossom outshines a crabapple blossom. That's what you said."
Today's new red curtains are decorated with pictures of hibiscus in spring and mandarin ducks playing in the water, which are breathtakingly red.
Xu Lingwan's heart began to beat wildly as she thought of the ridiculous scene they had just had in the bathroom. Since Chen Cong was bathing in the bathroom, she couldn't bring herself to ask the maids to come in and help him. She wiped her hair with a clean cloth, leaned back on the couch, picked up a random book, and waited for her hair to dry.
She didn't know when the sound of water stopped. When she reacted, Chen Cong was already standing in front of her, asking softly in a low voice: "What are you looking at?"
He smelled of clean soap after a bath.
He was tall, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist. Seeing that he was only wearing a piece of clean cloth underneath, Chen Yuanyuan remembered that she had been so lost in her passion that she hadn't asked the maid to take out his clothes.
She felt a little embarrassed for a moment, and her face couldn't help but turn slightly red, but she still pretended to be calm: "I'm reading "Shanshui Travels"."
"This 'Yandi Travels' is concise, clear, and brisk. The line 'the mountains are washed by the clear snow' is particularly insightful, evoking a sense of worldliness. It makes one feel as if one has already experienced the scenery without even seeing it." Chen Cong seemed to see her embarrassment. He dug out a moon-white robe from inside the house, turned his back to her, and put it on while smiling, "I never thought I would be so lucky to marry a female tutor."
She repeated her comments on the travelogue exactly as she had done that day. It turned out that he was standing outside and heard it all.
"Madam, you praise me. I am overjoyed." After putting on his clothes, Chen Cong took the book from her hand and said with a smile, "Fortunately, Madam likes it. If you didn't, I would have asked you to teach me something."
What does this mean?
"Did you write this little note?" Xu Lingwan opened her eyes wide, and in her surprise, she even forgot to use the word "husband" and blurted out, "The author signed on this note is Xishi Jushi..."
"When I was twenty, I traveled with my father to Yandi. I competed with local scholars in literary competitions and wrote this short note." Chen Cong placed the book on the desk at the edge of the bed. "When signing my name, I was embarrassed by my official position, so I chose a self-proclaimed name that few people know."
Well, her husband, was he so good at writing when he was twenty? No wonder he could become the prince's teacher in his thirties.
"Go to sleep quickly." He blew out the candle and lay down on the bed first.
The inner room grew dim. Chen Yuanyuan hesitated. She had experienced this kind of sexual intercourse before. Besides, her husband was legitimate and quite good. What was she afraid of?
So she took off her shoes and got on the bed. It was dim and she couldn't see clearly. She didn't expect Chen Cong to be sleeping beside her bed, and she even tripped him.
She stumbled and the next second she was pulled into a hot embrace.
It's Chen Cong.
"Ling Wan." Chen Cong's voice was hoarse, perhaps because he had just taken a bath, and there was still a hint of nasality in his voice.
It sounded so good that Chen Yuanyuan felt a tingling sensation in her heart.
"Close your eyes if you're scared." After hearing a rustling sound, Ling Wan felt as if she had fallen into a warm ocean, and she herself turned into a pool of water, swaying up and down with the waves.
"I'm not afraid." When her love was deep, Ling Wan leaned on his shoulder, biting his shoulder, with a little panting cry in her voice.
Well, what's there to be afraid of? This kiss was half hers, and this man was half hers. To round it off, this man belongs to her completely and utterly.
"So good." Shen Cong's hands around her waist went straight up along her smooth skin, and he responded to her tenderness in a hoarse voice.
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