The General's Wife
As the daughter of Prince Rui, Shen Zi, who married as a princess, should have attracted many people's envy. However, envy is relative sometimes. Shen Jin, who was married with the ceremonial guard of a princess, was the focus of everyone's attention. Although there were many rumors about the Earl of Yongning, he was mysterious enough. Part of Shen Jin's dowry was sent to the Earl's Mansion, and part was sent to the border with Shen Jin.
After the sedan chair that Shen Jin was sitting in left the city gate, it was changed into a horse-drawn carriage, then changed to water transportation, and then changed back to a horse-drawn carriage. It took almost three months on the road to reach the border.
Apart from not being able to move around freely, Shen Jin's life was not that difficult. She was able to stay quiet and read some books in the car.
Taking into account the time spent on the road, two sets of wedding dresses were thoughtfully prepared for Shen Jin, one for wearing in the capital, and the other thicker for wearing at the border. These were not redundant. They did not go directly to the border, but waited in the nearest town for the people of Earl of Yongning to pick them up.
Shen Jin was woken up by the matchmaker early in the morning, changed into her padded wedding dress, and then sat quietly in the post station waiting for Earl Yongning to come and marry her.
There were many rumors about Lord Yongning, and eating raw human flesh was not new. Shen Jin had also been thinking about what kind of person Lord Yongning would be, and what kind of life she would live after getting married. What would she do if Lord Yongning had a bad temper? What would she do if Lord Yongning looked too scary? Would she eat raw meat with him? But after imagining what raw meat looked like, Shen Jin gave up the idea. She thought she could just watch Lord Yongning eat.
Although she thought a lot, Shen Jin never considered that she would never be able to meet Earl Yongning!
Not only did Earl Yongning not come to pick up the bride, he wasn't even in the border town because he led his troops to raid the barbarians. So the one who came to pick up Shen Jin was Earl Yongning's younger brother, Chu Xiuyuan, who was not even ten years old.
Moreover, Chu Xiuyuan had already received instructions from his brother Chu Xiuming to bring his personal soldiers with him to carry away the bride and dowry, but none of the dowry people were brought into the border town.
Before Shen Jin got married, there were only two masters in the mansion, Chu Xiuming and Chu Xiuyuan. After Shen Jin got married, there were still these two masters in the mansion. As long as Shen Jin did not get recognition from Chu Xiuming, the servants in the mansion would not recognize her.
It's not that these people neglected Shen Jin, but rather a feeling of being out of place. The mansion in the border town was naturally not as luxurious as those in the capital, but it was very large, and Shen Jin lived in the main courtyard of the mansion. After asking Shen Jin's opinion, the dowry was properly arranged.
The mansion also arranged people to serve Shen Jin. Unlike the people in the capital, both men and women here were tall, didn't talk much and were very quick in their movements. They would only answer Shen Jin's questions when she asked them actively.
In Prince Rui's mansion, the maids serving Shen Jin were not dressed in silk and satin, but they were not much worse. However, Shen Jin discovered that the people here rarely wore long skirts, and their clothes were mostly made of cloth, and they did not wear many jewelry.
The unfamiliar environment and the absence of any familiar people around made Shen Jin feel completely at a loss. The most obvious manifestation was that Shen Jin lost weight at a speed visible to the naked eye.
The two people serving Shen Jin now are called Xile and Anping, and the maidservant brought as a dowry by Shen Jin has already been on her way back to the capital.
Shen Jin is not the type who likes to make things difficult for others. On the contrary, because she is not favored in Prince Rui's Mansion, she is more sensible. This is also thanks to the fact that she was the one who married into the palace. If it was Shen Zi, there would probably have been a huge uproar.
Xile and Anping had no grudge against Shen Jin, and they couldn't bear to see Shen Jin looking listless every day. After saying hello to Anping, Xile came to the mansion to find Chief Steward Wang and asked directly, "Mr. Wang, isn't this too bad for the Madam?" Chief Steward Wang was not only the housekeeper of the mansion, but also Chu Xiuming's military advisor. Because there was no one to manage the household, he was kept to help Earl Yongning take care of the internal affairs.
"Are we short of clothes or don't have enough to wear?" Steward Wang asked. He actually didn't agree with Chu Xiuming marrying a delicate wife, because here, sometimes when there is a war, women also have to go to the battlefield, and the wife of the Yongning Earl is not just a title, but a person who can stand up when the Yongning Earl is not around. "Because the lady is afraid of the cold, the mansion has specially purchased double the coal for the lady to keep warm."
Xile was just a maid and could not argue with Steward Wang at all. Upon hearing this, she said, "It's not that the madam insists on marrying the general." She was specially selected from the people in the border town to serve Shen Jin. In their eyes, Chu Xiuming was the general who led them to victory, not some earl.
Even the sign hanging outside Chu Xiuming's residence in the border town said it was a general's residence, not an earl's residence.
Although she said so, Xile didn't say anything else. After all, in their eyes, the most important thing were the Chu Xiuming brothers.
In fact, Shen Jin lost weight purely because she was not used to it. Both the food and the weather made her feel uncomfortable. Although Shen Jin cried secretly because she missed her mother, she was not a weak person.
When he first arrived here, Shen Jin didn't dare to walk around or ask for anything because the rumors about Earl Yongning were too scary. But after staying here for more than a month, Shen Jin suddenly felt that it was not as scary as he had imagined. It was like a small animal that had arrived in an unfamiliar environment. At the beginning, it always carefully observed the surrounding environment, and the slightest movement would scare it back into its shell.
But gradually, when it realizes that this place is safe, it will slowly stretch out its claws and then make a small test.
Shen Jin was just like that. After eating bland and unpalatable meals for more than a month, Shen Jin suddenly asked, "Xi Le, what do you usually eat?"
Xile didn't expect Shen Jin to take the initiative to chat with her, so she said, "We are not used to eating rice, but we prefer noodles."
"Oh?" After Shen Jin lost weight, her eyes became bigger and more watery. When she looked at you, she looked like a little squirrel begging for food.
Xile and Anping were soft-hearted towards Shen Jin, but Shen Jin had been listless for a while, so they didn't say much. Besides, people in Border Town, both men and women, were generous. Xile poured Shen Jin a glass of water and said with a smile, "I like noodles, and Anping likes sesame seed buns with meat."
"Is it delicious?" Shen Jin looked at Xile expectantly.
Xile said, "I think it's good. The noodles are very chewy. The soup base is made from sheep bones, with meat slices and some chili on top. It's not only delicious but also very filling."
"Actually, I think beef noodles are better." Anping took back the quilt that was hung out to dry and said, "Especially with roasted beef, and then eating a roasted sesame cake, it's delicious."
"Really?" Shen Jin was even more excited, "Is it really that delicious?"
"Yeah." Anping smiled, "Especially the one at Old Man Qiao's in West City, the food tastes great."
Shen Jin didn't say anything, just looked at them with moist eyes, "It seems delicious."
Even though Xile and Anping were slow to react, they understood what Shen Jin meant. They looked at each other and Xile said, "But the taste is a bit strong. Madam, you may not be used to it."
Shen Jin's eyes suddenly showed disappointment, "Can I really not eat it?"
"Okay, I'll ask my brother to go out and buy some. If Madam doesn't like them, we can just eat them." An Ping looked at Shen Jin's expression and immediately softened his heart and said.
Shen Jin showed a look of surprise on his face, and then he kept urging An Ping with his eyes, and asked, "How much is one? Will it be expensive to have so much meat?"
"Not expensive." Xile said with a smile, "Meat is much cheaper than vegetables and fruits here."
Shen Jin insisted on taking out the silver and giving it to An Ping, saying, "Don't let anyone know."
"Why?" Xile asked, "Madam can go to the public house for what she wants."
Shen Jin blushed, scratched her skirt with her fingers and said, "No, outsiders will laugh at me if they know I'm so greedy."
Xile and Anping couldn't help laughing, and they felt much closer to Shen Jin. They didn't notice the trap in Shen Jin's words at all. With just one sentence, he made Xile and Anping his own people. During this time, Shen Jin had been secretly observing the personalities of these two personal maids, and found that they were not like those people in the capital who had a lot of twists and turns in their minds. It was impossible to bribe them, and the combination of kindness and severity that his mother talked about was not suitable for the environment here.
So Shen Jin changed her approach. She didn't know when Earl Yongning would come back, but she hoped that he would come back later so that she would have time to revise the situation in the mansion. She didn't ask them to be respectful and obedient, but at least she had to win the favor of these people.
The titles of "Princess" and "Countess" were not useful in front of these people. Shen Jin had discovered this when she ruthlessly drove away the dowry. The customs here were completely different from those in the capital. It was useless to use status to pressure people. Moreover, she was isolated and helpless in such a place. If Shen Jin dared not to be sensible, she might die of illness due to acclimatization soon...
Would His Majesty and Prince Rui turn against Earl Yongning because of her? It was impossible to think about it. Besides, she died of illness due to poor health, what did it have to do with Earl Yongning?
I'm afraid the only one who will be sad at that time will be my mother.
However, Shen Jin found that the meat-stuffed sesame seed bun recommended by Anping was surprisingly delicious. The sesame seed bun, which was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, was filled with secret braised meat. The sesame seed bun was as big as two of Shen Jin's palms, and she actually ate one and a half. In fact, she felt that she could have eaten the remaining half. Perhaps Anping and Xile were frightened by her appetite. They tried to stop Shen Jin again and again, and after she promised to buy her another one tomorrow, Shen Jin reluctantly gave up her decision to eat the remaining half.
It was just because Shen Jin couldn't control herself for a moment. At dinner time, she didn't touch a single bite of the food prepared specially for her. Anping and Xile ate it all. She, with her bloated stomach, walked around the house to digest the food.
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