Chapter 164: The Obedient Concubine
After two days of continuous rain, the entire capital was shrouded in gray.
The drizzle filled every crack in the road. There were few pedestrians on the street, and even the shop assistants were leaning against the corridor with their sleeves rolled up, yawning.
The carriage entered from the south gate, crossed the long street, and traveled for a cup of tea before finally stopping at the back door of the general's mansion.
The young man wearing a straw raincoat and hat held the horse in one hand and knocked on the heavy wooden door with the other.
The person who came to open the door was a boy of fifteen or sixteen years old.
Not long after the young man explained his purpose to the servant, an old maid came out.
The old nanny was by Zhao's side. She walked to the side of the carriage with an umbrella. The young man lifted the curtain to let her take a look.
In the carriage, when Wen Wan saw the old nanny, she started crying exaggeratedly.
"Mammy, I'm finally back at the General's Mansion! You don't know, when I followed my wife to the border town to give birth to the general's child, we encountered bandits before we even got there. I barely managed to save my life, but I got separated from my wife. I suffered so much along the way..."
She cried as she spoke, and it made anyone who heard it sad and anyone who saw it shed tears.
The old lady was also stunned for a moment, then she curled her lips in a cold manner.
"Oh! It's really Xiaowan!"
She snorted indifferently, "You're back just in time. If someone didn't know you, they would have thought you ran away on your own."
Wen Wan didn't understand what she meant, but after all, she had been in the general's mansion for three years. She was usually smart and sweet-spoken, so she had never had any conflicts with these old women.
Logically speaking, these old women shouldn't be so hostile towards her.
Coming back just in time?
Could it be that something big is happening in the mansion?
Wen Wan was confused, but she didn't show it on her face and continued with her exaggerated performance.
"How could I possibly do that? I'm just a concubine. It's so rare for me to have the opportunity to be close to the general. How could I possibly run away on my own? Besides, a runaway concubine wouldn't even have a proper identity. She'd have to hide her whole life. How could it compare to the luxurious clothes and food in the general's mansion?"
That's the truth, and the old nanny also felt that it was unlikely that she would run away on her own.
The nanny's expression finally softened. "Never mind. You can tell Madam about these things later. Madam sent people to look for you out of pity for you. They couldn't find you and thought you'd died at the hands of bandits. They were just about to give up, but you unexpectedly returned at just the right time."
Back then in the border town, there were only two concubines, Xiaowan and Chunniang, so the lady sent someone to look for her just to be on the safe side.
But times have changed. Now that the lady has returned to the general's mansion from the border town, there are more than just the two concubines in the backyard who can carry on the general's family line.
So the lady doesn’t care at all whether Xiaowan can be found or not.
However, the three young men had done the hard work after all, and were the general's subordinates, so the old nanny did not dare to neglect them and still had a smile on her old face.
"No matter what, it's a great achievement for you gentlemen to find her. Madam will remember this contribution."
The three young men all breathed a sigh of relief after hearing what the old lady said.
"Mammy, are you saying that this girl is exactly the one the General's wife is looking for?"
The old lady nodded, "It's her."
After a pause, she greeted the three of them and said, "Thank you for your hard work on this trip. Our Madam has already instructed us that the capital has been experiencing heavy rain for the past two days, making travel very difficult. Since you all work under our general and are not outsiders, please rest in the courtyard behind the mansion for a few days."
"Madam also said that when she has time tomorrow, she will definitely treat you all to a cup of hot tea."
The yard behind the mansion was originally bought by the general's mansion to accommodate relatives who came to seek refuge. Now it is a piece of cake to arrange a place for the three young men to stay.
Zhao came from a noble family and had been specially taught how to behave in society since she was young. As the mistress of the general's mansion, she had never made any mistakes.
Every time Wen Wan saw Zhao taking care of all the aspects of the general's mansion, she couldn't help but feel sorry for her.
Such a good lady from a noble family married a soldier who had no idea about romance. After marrying into the general's mansion, she had been alone in the empty room for many years.
Poor Zhao, who was good at both housework and housework, but like all the women in the general's mansion, her life was sacrificed in the patriarchal social system of the feudal era.
What's even more pitiful is that she has never seen the sky of equality and freedom. Perhaps she is still happy and satisfied about marrying a husband of equal status and becoming the mistress of the house.
While Wenwan's thoughts were drifting away, the old nanny had already called the servant to take the three young men to settle down.
One of them hesitated for a moment and did not move immediately. Instead, hesitantly called out, "Mammy..."
The old nanny looked up at him, puzzled.
The young man cleared his throat and said, "Perhaps the superiors who sent us the message to find someone didn't explain it clearly. We have always believed that Miss Xiaowan was a runaway concubine from the general's mansion. Although she did explain it on the way, the three of us didn't believe it and were very disrespectful to Miss Xiaowan along the way."
He said with some self-blame: "Now that I've seen Mammy, I realize this might have been a misunderstanding."
After he finished speaking, he took out a small bag of silver from his bosom and stuffed the bag into the old nanny's hand.
"Mammy, Miss Xiaowan got separated during the banditry. It wasn't her wish. Life in this world is not easy for anyone. If possible... please treat me to a little hospitality."
The young man's behavior shocked not only the old lady but even Wen Wan.
Therefore, she took a closer look at the young man's appearance. He was just an ordinary person.
After all, they are the border town defenders. Their style of correcting mistakes as soon as they are admitted is far better than other veteran soldiers.
The old nanny didn't dare to accept their money and immediately returned it.
"Don't worry, my three officials. Our General's Mansion is not an unreasonable place. The General and his wife are both kind people. They will definitely not make things difficult for a concubine like her."
Upon hearing this, the three young men said nothing more and just bowed and apologized to Wen Wan again.
Wenwan turned away and said nothing.
Although these young men had decent personalities, they were the ones who had brought her back to the General's Mansion, and she could not forgive them at all!
The three young men did not force it. After apologizing again, they followed the servant away.
After they left, the old lady held an umbrella and walked with Wen Wan towards the courtyard where she used to live.
"My wife is busy today and has no time to see you."
"Although you said you were separated from Madam, this old servant has no say in the matter. So you must not leave the courtyard today. I will have the maids guard you. Madam will make the final decision after she sees you."
Wen Wan naturally didn't dare to object and nodded obediently. "Thank you for your advice, Madam. I will remember it and will definitely not wander around the mansion casually. By the way, Madam said I came back at the perfect time. Is there any good news in the mansion?"
She was used to acting coquettishly and when she spoke, she intimately wrapped her arms around the old lady's arm.
The old nanny smiled, "Good news, of course it's good news! Our general will be returning home in two days."
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