Chapter 16 Who will pity me when my beauty fades and my fragrance disappears
After tossing and turning until midnight, the room was filled with beauty and Xiwen fell asleep on the messy bed. Xie Fei put on his coat, casually told someone to change the bed, then carried her to the inner room to clean it. When they came back, the bed had been changed.
The two fell asleep in each other's arms. The next morning, Xiwen woke up before dawn.
She moved slightly, and found that she was held tightly in Xie Fei's arms, with his strong arms on her waist and her back against his chest. Xiwen's little face turned red, and her mind couldn't help but recall every detail of last night. Afraid that she would think too much, she took a deep breath, gently took away Xie Fei's hand, and carefully walked around him to get out of bed.
After breakfast, Xie Fei took Xiwen's hand and went to the front hall to pay his respects and get to know the family members.
The whole greeting process was extremely peaceful. Seeing Xie Fei's cold expression, everyone did not dare to make things difficult for him. In just half an hour, the two of them returned to the yard.
From then on, Xiwen's days in Prince Xie's Mansion became sweeter and more leisurely, but the scene at Liang Mansion across the street was completely different.
It was still dark and the entire main courtyard of the Liang Mansion was quiet. Chen Bing'er, wearing a linen dress and carrying a bucket, walked unsteadily towards the kitchen. She had been married for just over two months, but she had become very thin, with sunken cheeks, a sallow complexion, and a listless spirit.
When she had boiled the water and cooked, Liang's mother's voice came from the next yard: "You silly girl, why haven't you brought the water over yet? Did you get up late because you were lazy today?"
Hearing the sound, Chen Bing'er felt a chill on her back. She quickly scooped the hot water from the pot into the wooden bucket, then walked quickly to the next room, panting heavily.
Mother Liang was still cursing in the corridor. When she saw Chen Bing'er, her face became even uglier. She stared at her with disgust, "You lazy woman, my son is so unlucky to marry you! Seeing how unlucky you are, no wonder you made my son spend his wedding night lying in bed. You are obviously a country woman, but you still want to be an official's wife? I don't know what kind of magic potion you, a vixen, fed my son. You don't want to be a princess or a prince consort, but you have to marry a country girl like you... You could have married him, but who knew you would cause trouble for Prince Xie's Mansion, causing my son to lie in bed for a whole month..."
Chen Bing'er seemed to be accustomed to Liang's mother's yelling and scolding, and was busy with her work with a numb look on her face.
At this moment, Liang Shao's impatient shout came from the next room: "Why are you making so much noise so early in the morning? Are you annoying?"
Liang's mother stopped talking immediately, threw away her handkerchief, glared at Chen Bing'er, and went back to the house.
Chen Bing'er looked around at the servants and maids who were secretly looking at her, and she couldn't help feeling sad.
…
On the night of the Liang family's wedding, Liang Shao was beaten to the point of vomiting blood, and Chen Bing'er also suffered inhuman torture both physically and mentally. After the doctor examined them, he told them to lie in bed and rest for a while.
Unexpectedly, by the next morning, the scandal of the Liang Mansion had spread throughout the capital. The Liang family members had originally come to Beijing to ask Liang Shao to establish some connections to help them advance the family business. However, Liang Shao offended the royal family that night. Fearing that they would be implicated, they left overnight.
Ever since Liang Shao ran away to join the army, Liang's father's prestige in the clan had declined a lot. The clan members all laughed at him for not being able to educate his son well, which made him lose face. Finally, he angrily adopted a child from a side branch and raised him as his own. As for Liang Shao, Liang's father simply treated him as if he had never existed.
It was not until someone from the capital came to say that Liang Shao had become a high-ranking official that Liang's father's face regained its luster. He went to Beijing excitedly to attend the wedding, but he never expected that not only did he fail to regain his face, but he also angered his relatives, putting his position as clan leader in jeopardy. He left the Liang Mansion angrily, leaving only Liang's mother, who felt sorry for Liang Shao, in the capital to take care of her son and daughter-in-law.
Liang's mother herself came from a humble background, so she had no prejudice against Chen Bing'er. Besides, she was the girl her son liked. When both of them were injured, Liang's mother showed great care and concern for them.
Unfortunately, the good times did not last long. On the day of Xie Fei and Xiwen's wedding, eight people carried the bridal sedan around the city. It was extremely lively when it passed by the gate of Liang Mansion. Many maids and old women in the mansion ran to watch. They chattered at the door and said that the emperor originally wanted to marry Princess Anping to his son, but Liang Shao was bewildered and wanted to marry Chen Bing'er against the order. They also talked about how Liang Shao was beaten on his wedding because Chen Bing'er was jealous and sneaked out of the bridal chamber to find her son. When her son was coaxing her, he said that Princess Anping was a sickly woman. It happened to be heard by Master Xie, which led to a series of events later.
Liang's mother stood behind everyone holding the medicine bowl and listened carefully. She immediately thought of Liang Shao spitting out blood on the wedding night. She felt as if her heart was being torn out by a knife. Her hands trembled uncontrollably and the medicine bowl fell to the ground and broke into pieces with a clang.
She immediately led the maids and servants to Chen Bing'er's room in a panic. Because Liang Shao and Chen Bing'er were both injured, the two of them were not living together for the time being. Now it was convenient for Liang's mother to settle the score with her.
Chen Bing'er was seriously traumatized. She was resting with her eyes closed when Liang's mother broke open the door. Liang's mother hated her now. Seeing her enjoying herself, she was furious. She took two steps forward, grabbed Chen Bing'er's hair and dragged her to the ground, cursing, "In other families, the daughters-in-law serve the mother-in-law, but you really enjoy yourself! My Shao'er didn't marry you to be an official's wife. The sun is shining on your butt, why don't you get up and work!"
"Mom, mom! What happened to you?" Chen Bing'er already had a headache, and when her scalp was pulled like this, a shiver ran up to her head. She hurriedly covered her head with her hands and said anxiously.
"Don't call me mom, I didn't drink the daughter-in-law tea you offered me!" Liang's mother looked at Chen Bing'er with red eyes, as if she was looking at an enemy, with sharp eyes and spit flying, "You are an unlucky ghost, a jinx! Nothing good has happened to my son since he met you. First, you caused my Shao'er to lose his position as a son-in-law and demoted his official position. On the wedding night, you were seriously injured because of you and became the laughing stock of the whole capital! You are a husband-killer. I will never agree to you becoming the daughter-in-law of my Liang Mansion. From now on, you are a concubine!"
As Liang's mother spoke, she thought of how she had worked like a slave for the past few days serving this bitch who had harmed her son. She was immediately furious. This was her precious son. Although he was a little rebellious, he was the apple of her eye. How could he be harmed like this by a village girl of unknown origin!
Thinking of this, she suddenly remembered what her son had said when they first came to the capital, that Chen Bing'er's parents were both dead. She became suspicious and stared at Chen Bing'er fiercely, saying in a cold voice, "No, you can't enter my Liang family, you unlucky star, I will never allow you to harm my Liang family!"
Chen Bing'er felt dizzy and nauseous. Suddenly, she heard the eerie words of Liang's mother. She shuddered and felt infinite fear in her heart. She looked at Liang's mother with a deathly pale face, trying to suppress her discomfort and stammering, "Mom...what do you mean by this?"
"It means exactly what it says. You're a jinx. Stay away from my son. Now pack up your things and get out of here!" Liang's mother pointed at the door and stared at Chen Bing'er's face viciously.
Chen Bing'er was so frightened that she shuddered. She hurriedly grabbed Liang's mother's trouser leg and said anxiously: "Mom, mom! I don't want it! I am the wife that Brother Liang married in a formal ceremony. I won't leave, I don't want to leave..."
The author has something to say:
I'm sorry everyone. I just got scolded by my mom and I'm in a bad mood. I can't code anymore. I'll make up for it tomorrow. I'm really sorry.
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