This girl was specially hired by Madam Shi to suppress her concubines.
Years of housework caused Mrs. Shi, who was already of average appearance, to show signs of aging prematurely, thus losing her husband's favor.
Since Shi Yu started to thrive in officialdom, he became somewhat arrogant and began to unleash his lecherous nature.
Many people, catering to his tastes, sent him beautiful women to win him over.
Every year, the Shi family would take in one or two concubines in their backyard. Over the years, there were already six or seven, not counting the few who died mysteriously.
Last year, he acquired a new concubine, a "thin horse" given to him by a merchant. She wasn't particularly beautiful, but she was extremely skilled in matters of love and romance, and she completely captivated Shi Yu.
He was favored every night, and from then on never entered another woman's courtyard again.
Even the rule of spending the night in the main room on the first and fifteenth of each month was broken.
How could the proud and arrogant Mrs. Shi tolerate this?
So, he decisively had someone find a naturally beautiful and alluring maid and put her in the house.
She believed that no matter how skilled a woman with artificial beauty was at seducing men, she would pale in comparison to such a naturally alluring and beautiful woman.
Sure enough, Shi Yu caught a glimpse of the girl during a casual visit to the main courtyard and couldn't forget her.
From then on, he stopped being obsessed with that skinny girl and started visiting the main courtyard more often.
Mrs. Shi felt that her relationship with her husband had returned to the blissful days of their honeymoon.
Shi Yu wanted this girl, but he wouldn't say it outright, nor did he steal her; at most, he would secretly hold her hand.
Mrs. Shi knew that her husband still respected her as his legal wife, and she immediately felt relieved.
Thinking that he couldn't keep her hanging for too long, he decided to pick a day to have her face opened and make her a concubine, so that her husband could occasionally have a taste of something new.
This way, she could still keep her husband in the main house, consolidating her authority and prestige as the principal wife, and making the women in the back courtyard realize reality and not think that they could act arrogantly in front of her, the mistress of the house, just because they had been favored for a few days.
Before she could decide when to perform the facial hair ceremony for her daughter, her father-in-law suddenly passed away.
Now the whole family will have to observe three years of mourning.
As a filial son, Shi Yu was forbidden from eating, drinking, having fun, wearing fine clothes, and sleeping with women for three years.
This last point is one that few filial sons and grandsons could adhere to.
But even if you're going to sleep with a woman, you have to do it secretly and be careful not to get her pregnant.
Otherwise, if such a scandal is publicized, the person will be disgraced and despised by the world.
In an era that placed great importance on filial piety, his official career had come to an end, and after the mourning period ended, there was absolutely no possibility of him being reinstated.
Ten years of hard study, and his career was ruined in one day.
Thus, this beautiful maid, originally intended to win over her husband, became a ticking time bomb.
Mrs. Shi was furious to see the two of them exchanging glances in front of her all day long.
She was terrified that Shi Yu would lose control and sleep with the girl behind her back, which would lead to a pregnancy and then cause a real mess.
She also hoped that her husband would return to officialdom after his death from mourning, and that one day he could be transferred back to the capital to serve as an official, so that her whole family could also go to the capital and enjoy its prosperity and wealth.
Therefore, all unstable factors should be eliminated in advance.
But considering that the master had been eyeing that girl for a long time and already considered her his own, if she sent her away, wouldn't she anger him?
After all, who wouldn't be furious if a feast they were about to enjoy was taken away by someone else?
They can't let a girl affect their marital relationship.
As for how to properly deal with this girl, she had no idea.
The fact that she casually gave her eldest son to her husband is truly a stroke of genius.
Lin Momo couldn't help but marvel once again at how adept her stepmother was at handling things in the inner quarters, befitting her status as a noblewoman from a high-ranking family.
Mrs. Shi's words were quite clever.
It was only said that Cui Liu was to serve the young master and young mistress, but it was not explicitly stated that the girl would become the young master's concubine.
It is perfectly reasonable for the matriarch of the household to assign maids to serve her stepson and daughter-in-law.
But if the young master couldn't resist sleeping with this girl, no one would be surprised.
With just a maid, they subtly drove a wedge between the couple.
Furthermore, once the girl is registered under the son and daughter-in-law's names, the possibility of Shi Yu having any interest in her will be eliminated.
This can be described as killing two birds with one stone; she is definitely a master of palace intrigue.
But in the face of absolute power, all schemes and tricks are utterly insignificant.
If it were Shi Guangyao instead, he probably would have really fallen victim to this.
But time is absolutely impossible.
No matter how much this stepmother schemed, it was all in vain.
*
"Young Master, Young Madam, this is the room."
After leaving the main house, Cui Liu led Lin Momo and Shi Guang to a room in the west wing.
With that, he unlocked the door with the key in his hand, pushed it open, and invited the two people inside.
"Alright, you can go now." Shi Guang didn't even glance at the girl before dismissing her.
Cui Liu was clearly taken aback for a moment before replying with a "Yes," and left with her head down.
This room is not big, only about ten square meters in size.
The west wing has three rooms of equal size, which have been divided into two rooms.
The larger room next door is probably where Mrs. Shi's biological children live.
The east and west wings have the same layout, each consisting of two rooms, one large and one small.
Mrs. Shi has two sons and a daughter. The eldest is a daughter who is about the same age as Lin Momo, and we have already met her.
The youngest son is only six years old. He did not appear when they met, saying that he had caught a cold and was resting indoors, so they did not call him out.
The room was furnished very simply.
One bed, one table, two chairs.
Then there are Lin Momo's two dowry chests.
The double-height bed is still there, placed against the south wall.
The room wasn't very big to begin with, and with these few pieces of furniture, while there wasn't no room to move, it felt even more cramped.
The furniture was covered in dust, and there wasn't even a place to sit.
"Let's go outside for a bit and call someone in to clean up," Shi Guang said with a look of disgust, taking Lin Momo's hand and heading out.
Since there are servants in the house, there is no need for them to do it themselves.
Lin Momo was also worried, and nodded, ready to follow him out of the house.
Suddenly, a cheerful voice rang out from outside the door: "Young Master, is Young Mistress inside? This servant is Xiao Miao, I've brought you some water."
She was helping her mother prepare dinner in the kitchen when her father rushed in and said that the masters had returned and were talking with the master and mistress in the main room, and asked her to go and serve them in a while.
As soon as she heard that the family reunion was over, she immediately brought a basin of warm water to help her masters wash up.
Xiao Miao was very excited to be reunited with her master.
After entering the house, she put down the basin of water she was carrying.
Before Lin Momo could give any instructions, she volunteered, "This house hasn't been lived in for a long time, and it's covered in dust. Young Master and Young Mistress, please wait outside for a while. I'll clean the house right away."
"Then I'll trouble you." Lin Momo smiled back.
I secretly admire her; what a perceptive girl.
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