Chapter 16: The Concubines in Harmony
The next morning, after the Marquis left, Yun Qiao could no longer pretend to sleep.
She had just gotten up and put on her clothes when Fang Jia, who lived next door, came over.
"Miss Fang is here. My daughter just got up and hasn't had breakfast yet. Have you had breakfast?"
Fang Jia said with a smile: "I haven't eaten yet, but that's not important. I want to see Sister Qiao first."
"I'm not coming out now, what are you seeing me for?"
Yun Qiao walked out yawning.
Fang Jia looked at Yun Qiao like this and kept covering her mouth and laughing.
"I've been holding you back today. I told you there was some noise in your room on New Year's Eve, but you said nothing. This morning I secretly saw the Marquis come to your room?"
"Look at your dark circles, why are they so serious? It must be because you slept too late last night and didn't sleep well, right?"
Yun Qiao looked at Fang Jia in surprise.
She knew Fang Jia didn't like Chen Jingyan, but she never expected Fang Jia to be so gossipy.
The two of them serve the same man, so they are definitely rivals in love.
But it seemed like Fang Jia just wanted to be a spectator.
"We didn't sleep at all. He asked me to wash his face and feet, and then he went to bed."
Fang Jia was stunned when she heard Yun Qiao's words.
"Is this true? Sister Qiao, please don't lie to me."
Yun Qiao stretched out her sleep.
"Why would I lie to you? To be honest, I now suspect that the Marquis is not capable at all. Otherwise, he wouldn't touch any of the beauties in this room."
"No, if I remember correctly, when we first entered the Marquis's Mansion, the Marquis entered your room first..."
Fang Jia immediately walked up to Yun Qiao with a gossipy look on her face.
"Sister Qiao, you must be right. Is the Marquis really not capable? That night, when he came to my room, he just lay down and fell asleep. Not only did he not touch me, he also didn't allow me to get on the bed next to him."
"You don't know, I spent the entire night lying on the ground."
"I have such low status in the Fang family, but I have never suffered such hardship."
Fang Jia finally found someone to complain to.
Now it was Yun Qiao's turn to be surprised.
That night, the Marquis went to sleep in Fang Jia's room and not only didn't touch her at all, he even kicked her out of bed and went to sleep with her...
Then is she luckier than Fang Jia?
"Sister Fang Jia, have you eaten? If not, have some."
Fang Jia wanted to complain to Yun Qiao, so she had breakfast with Yun Qiao.
After breakfast, Fang Jia finished talking.
She wiped her mouth with a handkerchief and said to Yun Qiao, "On New Year's Eve, we were sitting together for dinner, and I heard Sun Sisi say that the Marquis loved Sister Mei the most, but the old lady wouldn't allow the concubine to have children first, and forced her to drink contraceptive soup to make her fertility impossible."
"Do you think it's scary or not..."
"When did you say this? How come I didn't know?" Yun Qiao really didn't know.
She only knew that the Marquis was good to Cheng Danmei. Cheng Danmei had many things, all very precious. She said that those were given to her by the Marquis. From those things, it can be seen that the Marquis truly loved her.
At least I once loved you.
"You were so focused on eating that night that you didn't even raise your head when we were talking."
As Fang Jia spoke, Yun Qiao was putting lean meat porridge into her mouth with the spoon in her hand.
She hesitated for a moment, then slowly put it into her mouth, chewed it, and swallowed it.
"The world is big, but eating is the most important thing."
Fang Jia had lunch at Yun Qiao's place and then left, saying that she wanted to go back to sleep. Yun Qiao seriously suspected that Fang Jia had eavesdropped on her and the Marquis's conversation last night.
Otherwise, why would I want to catch up on some sleep so early in the morning?
Just after Fang Jia left, another person came.
It was not Zhang Yuqing who always loved quietness, but Lianxiang who rarely spoke.
Lianxiang was sent to the Marquis by the old lady. She was originally a maid who taught the Marquis how to deal with people. Lianxiang is good-looking and has a good personality, but she is a little dull and doesn't say gentle and considerate words. The Marquis basically never went to her room.
"Sister Lianxiang, why are you here? I haven't finished the purse I promised to embroider for you a while ago..."
Lianxiang smiled and said, "I didn't come to ask you for this. I heard that the Marquis stayed in your room last night?"
Yun Qiao didn't answer directly, "Sister Lianxiang knows everything, and I think Sister Mei must know too. I'll go to Sister Mei's place now."
Lianxiang was afraid that Yunqiao was overthinking it.
Then he hurriedly said, "That's not what I meant. Sister Mei heard that the old lady has found a good marriage for the Marquis, one of high status. She's worried that you'll become a target, so she asked me to tell you that this matter must not be told to anyone else."
So that's how it is.
Yun Qiao was naturally moved.
"Thank you, Sister Lianxiang, and thank you, Sister Mei."
"We all have the same status and should help each other. In fact, you don't know that before you three came, I also fought with Sister Mei and Sun Sisi."
"But later I realized that the Marquis didn't love any of us, and he didn't care whether we lived or died. Since he didn't care, why should we fight for him and fight to the death?"
After all, he was of low status, and the bigwigs above him couldn't remember him at all.
The Marquis rarely comes to the backyard.
What are they fighting about?
"Two years ago, my father died of illness. I had no money to handle the funeral, but Sister Mei paid for someone to help my father with the funeral."
"I will remember her kindness."
Yunqiao understood what Lianxiang meant. Lianxiang now listened to Cheng Danmei's words and did what she said.
As for whether Cheng Danmei likes the Marquis, Yun Qiao doesn't know.
Maybe I like it, maybe I don’t like it...
However, Yun Qiao didn't understand why Cheng Danmei wanted to unite and harmonize all the concubines. Could it be that it was to jointly resist the Marquis's future wife?
But it doesn't look like the current situation.
Cheng Danmei treated the three new concubines and the two previous concubines very well.
After seeing Lianxiang off, Yunqiao sat on the couch and thought about it. She decided to throw a small party for everyone to get together and reveal her feelings to Cheng Danmei. She didn't love the Marquis at all and just wanted to stay in the Marquis' mansion...
Why does she have to hide? Because she has no money and no power, and it will be difficult for her to survive no matter where she goes.
Since ancient times, beautiful women have had a short life because they have no power or influence.
Xiao Tao carried the fruit she had brought from the kitchen and muttered:
"There's less fruit to eat this winter, and the allowances from the Marquis' Mansion are much smaller. But since you love fruit, you only grabbed two apples and a pear today. All the oranges were sent to the old lady and the first wife's courtyard..."
Yun Qiao said, "If you don't have any, just eat less. With our status, what is there to complain about?"
"During the Lantern Festival, the Marquis' Mansion will definitely hold a grand banquet, and it would be great if we can have something to eat."
Xiao Tao said, "Miss, you don't know. We have invited foreign guests for the Lantern Festival. I'm afraid they are concubines and can't go out."
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