Meanwhile, Xiao Yi, whom Xiao Yan had been longing to help turn her life around, was now busy enjoying the bliss of having two wives.
It turned out that after Chu Mingzhu and Xiao Yi got married, life was not as happy as Chu Mingzhu had imagined. Although Xiao Yi was still a general of the third rank, Emperor Qingyuan did not let him return to the Northwest. Instead, he made him the chief instructor of the Tiger Might Army.
The Tiger Might Army has a total strength of about 50,000 men. It is the reserve force of the imperial city, which is basically a reserve force to fill in any gaps and provide support wherever there is a shortage of men.
It can be said that the Tiger Might Army was a powerful weapon of the Great Qi and the best reinforcement. However, Emperor Qingyuan never expected that this powerful weapon, once handed over to Xiao Yi, would cost many lives in just one year!
Xie Yushu's group almost perished at Hangu Pass.
Since receiving this title, Xiao Yi has been working long hours every day. Even when he has a spare moment, if Chu Mingzhu catches him, the two of them will only exchange a few meaningless words of conversation, such as "Have you eaten?", "How was this dish?", and "Do you think my bracelet looks good?"
Xiao Yi, no matter what Chu Mingzhu asked him, always said yes.
The two treated each other with respect, but lacked a certain sweetness and warmth.
Life was as bland and tasteless as plain water.
Chu Mingzhu was driven to the brink of madness by Xiao Yi's lukewarm attitude. Every time she questioned Xiao Yi about whether he no longer loved her, Xiao Yi would only say...
You're overthinking it.
Get rid of her.
Xiao Yi himself also began to savor the meaning of love on his own.
He was a rough man. In the past, when he heard scholars reciting lines about romance and love, he looked down on them. In his opinion, what kind of love could a few cheesy, clichéd poems express?
If you fancy someone, you'll go through all the proper betrothal and marriage rituals to marry them, and then the two of you will live together. That's all there is to it.
But now that I've married her, I realize that living with someone you love and living with someone you don't love are two completely different lives.
Back in Phoenix Mouth, although it was just three thatched huts and the food was simple, the rice tasted good and the dishes tasted good. Seeing Xie Yushu busy at home and the two children around her made me feel at ease.
Now, he lives a life of luxury, with delicacies served to him every day and a huge general's mansion. Yet, whenever he meets Chu Mingzhu's aggrieved yet expectant eyes, he feels an urge to escape.
But he constantly reminded himself that Chu Mingzhu was now his lawfully wedded wife, and he should fulfill his responsibilities as a husband. He had already hurt Xie Yushu, so he shouldn't hurt Chu Mingzhu anymore.
And so life went on, albeit awkwardly.
However, whenever Chu Mingzhu saw Xiao Yi staring blankly into space, clearly not thinking about her, she would grit her teeth in hatred, knowing without a doubt who he was thinking about.
In order to completely win back Xiao Yi's heart, Chu Mingzhu made a tough decision, picked an auspicious day, and directly promoted the two concubines bestowed by the emperor to the rank of concubines.
If she ever loses control of Xiao Yi, she'll have these two concubines take him to their place.
This was all so that Xiao Yi wouldn't have time to think about people he shouldn't be thinking about.
Both of his concubines were courtesans in the palace, skilled in singing and dancing, which always gave Xiao Yi something new to look forward to.
This did manage to keep Xiao Yi around for a while.
However, since they were bestowed upon him by the Emperor, Xiao Yi always harbored a degree of wariness towards them.
Whether it was to save face for the Emperor or to reassure Chu Mingzhu, Xiao Yi stayed at the two concubines' house for a few days, and then returned to normal after a few days.
Chu Mingzhu initially mentioned returning to Xiao Yi's hometown to pay respects to their ancestors and, incidentally, to confirm her identity as the general's wife.
Moreover, since Xiao Yi had no official business on the road, the two of them spent every day together, which inevitably deepened their feelings for each other.
But when Xiao Yi thought about what awaited him when he returned, he was pressured by Old Man Xiao and Old Madam Xiao. They would cry, make a scene, and even threaten suicide to force him to rescue Xiao Yuanhang, to find Xiao Yan a good husband, and they would definitely make him give them a large sum of money. They might even come with him to the General's Mansion to be the master and mistress. Suddenly, he didn't want to go back.
He then realized that he actually hated Old Man Xiao and Old Lady Xiao very much, but he had been able to tolerate them for so long!
Perhaps because life was too comfortable back then, I didn't find them that annoying!
Now, she finds them increasingly unbearable. Therefore, Xiao Yi directly refused her request to return to her hometown to pay respects to her ancestors.
Chu Mingzhu cared most about her status as the general's wife, but Xiao Yi was unwilling to even take her back to his hometown and openly record her in the family genealogy!
Furious and heartbroken, Chu Mingzhu could only seek help from her trusted confidante.
And her wet nurse, Granny Zhu, has now returned, bringing with her her daughter, Ping'er, who worked as a laborer in the laundry department for three years in place of Chu Mingzhu.
Ping'er has had an extremely hard time in the Xin Zhe Ku over the years. She has endless laundry to wash and chores to do every day, and she is often beaten and scolded.
All of this was done on behalf of Chu Mingzhu.
Although Zhu Mama was loyal to her mistress and pushed her own daughter to take Chu Mingzhu's place, what mother wouldn't love her daughter? When she went back this time, she saw that her daughter was dark and thin, looking malnourished, and she was heartbroken.
He stayed at home for two months, carefully taking care of his daughter's health, and promised to find her a good husband.
Granny Zhu was planning to ask Chu Mingzhu to find her daughter a deputy general under Xiao Yi with no background, or at the very least, a captain or something.
She felt that her daughter was fair-skinned and beautiful, more than a match for these men.
Ping'er initially agreed, but when Granny Zhu brought her into the mansion, they happened to run into Xiao Yi.
Ping'er also had a keen eye and immediately took a liking to Xiao Yi, declaring that she would marry no one but him, and that she would be willing to be his concubine.
At first, Granny Zhu disagreed, but Ping'er repeatedly found opportunities to run into Xiao Yi. In the end, she even threatened Granny Zhu, saying that if she was not allowed to marry Xiao Yi, she would report Chu Mingzhu to the yamen for making her go to the Xin Zhe Ku to be punished. This was a crime of deceiving the emperor. If she was not allowed to have her way, then no one would have a good time!
Granny Zhu was so anxious that she had blisters on her mouth and didn't know how to bring it up with Chu Mingzhu when Chu Mingzhu came to her crying and complaining that Xiao Yi wasn't being considerate to her.
So Granny Zhu pretended to advise her.
"As a third-rank general, it's normal for my son-in-law to be busy with official duties every day, and he may inevitably neglect you."
As expected, Chu Mingzhu shook her head.
"No, I know. He's still thinking about that slut Xie Yushu. He's like he's lost his soul all day. Granny, what should I do?"
Seeing that the conversation had reached this point, Granny Zhu went along with it.
"My dear lady, what man doesn't have three wives and four concubines? What's the use of him thinking about who else? As long as you're by his side, isn't that enough?"
Moreover, men tend to fall in love with every woman they meet and crave novelty. If you're really not satisfied, why not add two more people to the general's side?
With so many beautiful women around him, will he still remember this jade or that beauty after a while?
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