Chapter 033
Shen Jin couldn't get up the next morning. Chu Xiuming held her in his arms while she took a bath. Even her meals were served in the bedroom. Nanny Zhao had already made the bed.
"Madam, do you really not want the general to accompany you?" Nanny Zhao cooked red dates and millet porridge for Shen Jin. She never thought that on the morning of the first day of their wedding, the general would be chased out of the room by the lady. Thinking of seeing the general's helpless look, Nanny Zhao felt funny in her heart.
Shen Jin's cheeks were flushed, her eyes were moist and affectionate, her already chubby red lips were a little swollen, and there were traces of crying in her eyes. When Aunt Zhao mentioned Chu Xiuming, she remembered what happened last night, and she felt embarrassed and bitter. Chu Xiuming took advantage of her drinking and lied to her and said so many embarrassing things.
Seeing Shen Jin's expression, Nanny Zhao smiled and said nothing more. Instead, she took care of her with breakfast and said, "The general specially ordered the kitchen to make rouge ham for lunch, as well as the fried quail that Madam likes."
Shen Jin's eyes lit up and he sat up involuntarily, but his waist ached and he fell back on the cushion. Not only his waist but also that unspeakable place was sore, and his legs were extremely weak.
There was a smile in Nanny Zhao's eyes, and she was thinking about when she could hold the young master in her arms. But there was no need to be impatient, it would be better to wait until Shen Jin was a little older, so that it would be safer by then.
When Chu Xiuming came in, he saw Shen Jin, who was laughing non-stop, not just because of what Nanny Zhao said. The food had been taken away, and the large cushion behind her made Shen Jin look particularly petite. When she saw Chu Xiuming, Shen Jin's face and neck turned red, looking cute and pitiful.
Nanny Zhao smiled and then left with a tactful look. Chu Xiuming sat on the bed, holding Shen Jin's hand and said, "Why don't you look at me?"
Shen Jin turned his head to look inside the bed, and then he noticed that the bed frame was made of Huanghuali wood, and the workmanship was extremely delicate. Chu Xiuming chuckled, "My dear, human relations are the normal relationship between husband and wife, there is no need to be shy."
"Don't say it." Shen Jin reached out to cover Chu Xiuming's mouth. She thought of the booklet her mother showed her before she got married. That was embarrassing enough, but... there weren't so many tricks. It was so embarrassing.
Chu Xiuming kissed Shen Jin's palm and said, "Let me rub it for you."
Shen Jin nodded, then lay down on the bed. She was wearing a red nightgown embroidered with cassia flowers, which was specially made for her by Concubine Chen. Because it was for sleeping, it was a bit loose. Because of the things that happened when she first got married, she had no chance to wear it. It was found by Nanny Zhao some time ago, and it turned out to be quite suitable.
Concubine Chen took every aspect into consideration, with a loving mother's heart, and wished she could accompany her daughter to the border to take care of her, just like she did not forget to prepare gifts for Chu Xiuming, not because of Chu Xiuming's status as the Earl of Yongning, but just to please Chu Xiuming and hope that he would treat her daughter well.
Perhaps Concubine Chen could not have imagined that her seemingly silly and stupid daughter would have such a blessing. She just happened to catch Chu Xiuming's eye and became bolder because of being spoiled. Even Princess Rui never dared to directly drive Prince Rui out of the house.
Shen Jin felt very comfortable being massaged by Chu Xiuming. He hummed softly twice before complaining, "Don't think I don't remember because I'm drunk. You hit me yesterday."
"Oh?" Chu Xiuming's beautiful fingers slowly pressed on Shen Jin's waist and said, "Did I hit you?"
Just as Shen Jin was about to continue speaking, he heard Chu Xiuming continue, "So what? If you don't obey, I'll beat you up next time."
"..." Shen Jin was speechless for the first time. He turned around and looked at Chu Xiuming with an accusing look on his face. He felt that Chu Xiuming had become a different person. How could he be so shameless?
Chu Xiuming raised his eyebrows and asked solemnly, "Did you hear that?"
Shen Jin moved his lips and said aggrievedly, "Are you still being unreasonable..." Although it was clearly an accusation, it sounded soft, as if he was acting coquettishly.
Chu Xiuming smiled and touched Shen Jin's head. Because she hadn't gotten up yet, her hair was not tied up, but just tied loosely at the back. Seeing Chu Xiuming smile, Shen Jin regained her confidence and said, "You can't be like this."
"Okay." Chu Xiuming stopped teasing Shen Jin, "Are you feeling better?"
Shen Jin turned over carefully and felt much more comfortable, so he nodded and said, "I'll ask Aunt Zhao to help me wash up."
Chu Xiuming responded. Shen Jin didn't know that Chu Xiuming used his internal force when he pressed her waist just now. Such a life-saving thing was used on a minor back pain. If people knew about it, she would definitely be scolded as a spendthrift.
Nanny Zhao came in soon, bringing her maid Anping. Shen Jin sat in front of the dressing table and found that there was a mercury mirror in the room. The mercury mirror, which was almost as tall as her body, clearly reflected Shen Jin's appearance.
She had only seen such a mirror in Shen Qi's dowry, and it wasn't this big!
Shen Jin looked at herself in the mirror with great curiosity. Chu Xiuming sat beside her and watched his young lady dressing up. Shen Jin's skin was excellent and she didn't need to put on any powder at all. Her cheeks were rosy and her lips were red without any makeup. Her big almond eyes looked innocent and naive, but because they had just met, she naturally revealed a bit of charm, which was indescribably alluring.
Nanny Zhao and Anping had been serving Shen Jin for a long time, so they naturally knew how to dress Shen Jin up. A simple and unique butterfly hairpin was inserted in her hair, and a round pink pearl hung between her eyebrows.
Chu Xiuming did not show any impatience, and there was a smile in his eyes. Sometimes he felt that if his father and brothers were still alive, he would probably choose another life instead of living like he is now, which is not like himself at all.
Sometimes Chu Xiuming even forgot what he was like in the past. He remembered that his brother once said that his younger brother was a lazy and moody person.
"Okay." Shen Jin chose the bracelet and put it on her hand, then stood up and looked at Chu Xiuming and asked, "Where are you taking me?"
Chu Xiuming's eyes flickered and then he returned to normal. He also stood up, took Shen Jin's hand and said, "I'll take you to see the storeroom at home."
"Oh." Shen Jin agreed. She secretly glanced at Chu Xiuming a few times. The humility in his voice just now was as if she had seen it wrong. Since Chu Xiuming was unwilling to say it, Shen Jin just pretended not to notice.
Chu Xiuming said, "The Chu family has guarded the border for decades, so many things are placed here."
Shen Jin nodded, and the pearl on her forehead swayed as she moved, "And the mercury mirror too?"
"My mother's dowry." Chu Xiuming explained.
Shen Jin was about to nod when he froze. He pulled Chu Xiuming's hand and said, "Then put it back."
Seeing that Shen Jin's hair was tied up, Chu Xiuming felt a little sorry that he couldn't touch her head anymore, so he said gently, "Mother said she wanted to leave it to her daughter-in-law."
Shen Jin said "oh", not knowing what to say, and looked around. She found that every part of the yard was the same as she thought, and even better than she thought. Chu Xiuming slowed down his pace and said to Shen Jin, "Do you like it?"
"I like it." Shen Jin was so happy that he didn't know what to say. No wonder those craftsmen were busy here. It turned out that Chu Xiuming had planned it long ago.
Chu Xiuming said nothing more, and led Shen Jin to the warehouse. "Remember the location. If you need anything in the future, just get it from here. I'll ask Aunt Zhao to give you the warehouse booklet later."
"Okay." Shen Jin agreed.
After opening the door of the warehouse, Chu Xiuming placed the bunch of keys in Shen Jin's hand, then held Shen Jin's hand with his big hand and said, "All are yours."
Shen Jin's lips moved, her heart felt warm, and dimples appeared on her cheeks as she asked, "Do you have any hidden private money?" She spoke as a matter of course.
"Heh." Chu Xiuming was amused. He was afraid that Shen Jin didn't notice the uneasiness in his eyes. He was like a kitten trying to show off but afraid of being rejected and bullied. "I'll give it to you when I come back. You can also take a look at the account in the mansion."
"I don't want to care." Shen Jin got a satisfactory answer, and her whole face became brighter. She continued to follow Chu Xiuming inside.
"Then don't worry about it." Chu Xiuming said nonchalantly, "Just leave it to Butler Wang and the others."
Shen Jin was happy then. Seeing that Aunt Zhao and the others did not follow in, she pulled her hands away and hung on Chu Xiuming's back, being dragged away by him. Chu Xiuming put his arm around her waist to prevent her from getting too tired and continued, "You have to know it after all."
"Okay." Shen Jin agreed obediently.
When they reached the door inside, Shen Jin got off Chu Xiuming. Chu Xiuming taught Shen Jin how to identify the key, and after opening the door, he said, "This is my great-grandmother's dowry."
Shen Jin looked at the things inside, all of which were large decorations, even a pair of half-person-high enamel and jade-carved vases. After looking around, Chu Xiuming took her to another warehouse, and the last thing they saw was Chu Xiuming's mother's.
Putting down the hollow carved incense burner in his hand, Shen Jin discovered that the remaining things in the warehouse were all large items or had the imprint of the palace, just like this incense burner. If these were the dowries of all the female members of the Chu family, then there should be many small items and jewelry.
Chu Xiuming said, "There is still some cloth, which I put in the warehouse of the mansion while I am cleaning it up this time."
"Oh." Shen Jin did not doubt that Chu Xiuming was lying. Since he said that this was the entire dowry, then it was all, or should I say all the remaining ones, but where did they go?
For some reason, Shen Jin suddenly thought of the 500,000 taels of silver sent by Princess Rui, and had an incredible guess. Could it be that Chu Xiuming was actually short of silver? All those things were exchanged for silver? The remaining ones were just difficult to sell or could not be sold?
But what does Chu Xiuming need so much money for?
Chu Xiuming looked at Shen Jin who was secretly glancing at him for a while, with a puzzled look on her face. He suddenly remembered what his father once said, "Never underestimate any woman. Sometimes they are willing to believe your lies just because they are willing to let you deceive them. When they are unwilling, you will know how smart they are."
"Now is not the time to tell you. No need to test me." Chu Xiuming said, holding Shen Jin's hand again.
Shen Jin really put away the doubt on her face and looked at Chu Xiuming innocently. Chu Xiuming gently pinched her nose and said, "Silly girl."
"I'm telling you, I'm smart." Shen Jin wrinkled his nose and retorted, "Don't call me stupid anymore."
Chu Xiuming led Shen Jin out, "Forget about the five-spice sauce chicken for lunch."
Shen Jin pursed her lips and looked at Chu Xiuming with an accusing expression. Chu Xiuming continued to walk forward without looking away. She took a few deep breaths, her chest puffing up and down. After a long time, when she was about to leave the warehouse, she said aggrievedly, "Compared to my husband, I'm a little dumber." She even emphasized two words on purpose.
Chu Xiuming couldn't hold back his laughter any longer, and Shen Jin was so angry that he stomped his feet, but he could do nothing about it.
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