Chapter 16 Liu Rumei, is she really considerate of him?
Xifu Study Room.
When Sheng Huai'an saw the large bag of medicine that Cheng Fu had brought back, his gloomy expression finally softened, and he even smiled.
He knew that no matter how cold Ye Mingzhu pretended to be, she still cared about him in her heart.
If she didn't care about him, why would she send him so much medicine? It's probably because she was worried he didn't have enough money, so she was subsidizing him indirectly.
Just like how she used to always slip him money.
Thinking of this, Sheng Huai'an sighed with a mixture of indulgence and helplessness.
He used to think that Ye Mingzhu had tarnished his scholarly integrity, but now that he was worried about money every day, he suddenly realized how good she was.
When she gives him money again next time, he will definitely say a few nice words to coax her, as a way of responding to her feelings and making her happy.
Holding the medicine, Sheng Huai'an entered the secret passage behind the multi-treasure room without delay.
Upon entering Qinghui Garden, he saw Liu Rumei sitting under the shade of a tree, holding her child and reading. Her demeanor was serene and graceful, a picture of beauty.
His heart suddenly calmed down.
When he saw that Liu Rumei's fair face was red from the sun and her temples were wet with sweat, he immediately felt sorry for her.
He strode over to Liu Rumei's side and asked disapprovingly, "Why don't you sit inside? There's an ice chest inside; isn't that more comfortable than being outside?"
Liu Rumei smiled gently: "It's so nice outside, the sky is high and the land is wide."
She glanced at the magpie beside her, and the magpie quickly said, "Second Master, don't listen to Madam's nonsense! It's clearly because there's no ice in the ice chest and it's too stuffy inside that we're sitting outside. Although it's hot outside, at least there's a breeze."
"Why isn't there ice?" Sheng Huai'an asked in surprise.
Liu Rumei stopped her: "Magpie, don't talk nonsense."
Sheng Huai'an stopped her again: "Sister-in-law, don't hide it from me. Magpie, tell me."
Magpie curtsied and said, "Reporting to Second Master, you haven't come these past few days and you didn't know that we haven't used ice for several days. Second Madam said that there isn't enough money, so her Rongshou Hall doesn't need ice, and she wants our Eldest Madam to also save some money."
As she finished speaking, her voice choked with emotion: "The Second Madam is old and can get by without ice. But there is a baby in Qinghui Garden who is only a month old. Without ice, not only will the adults feel hot, but the baby will cry all night because of the heat. Even with a wet nurse to soothe the baby to sleep, the First Madam has not had a good rest for several nights."
"Magpie," Liu Rumei said softly, "Don't say anything more, don't put Huai'an in a difficult position."
Magpie said aggrievedly, "Madam, you've suffered so much. Aren't you going to let Second Master stand up for you? In this mansion, only Second Master cares about you."
“There is indeed no money left in the manor. It’s not that Madam is targeting me,” Liu Rumei said gently.
More money...
Sheng Huai'an felt a headache coming on.
But the magpie looked at him longingly, and he felt sorry for Liu Rumei, so he could only say, "I can't disobey my mother, so... I'll have Chengfu take half of the ice from my ration every day for you to use at night, so you can at least sleep well."
He then took out a hundred taels of silver notes and gave them to the magpie: "Take these and buy some edible ice during the day to make some chilled mung bean soup every day to cool off in the summer."
Only one hundred taels of silver? That's much less than before.
Magpie looked at Liu Rumei, and seeing that Liu Rumei nodded to her imperceptibly, she smiled and accepted the silver note: "Thank you, Second Master."
After saying that, she took the baby from Liu Rumei's arms, made an excuse to pour tea, and left.
There were very few servants in Qinghui Garden. The rough old women who were responsible for sweeping and cleaning left after finishing their work and wouldn't come over unless necessary. The only people who served there long-term were the well-informed Magpie and a wet nurse who was not allowed to come into the main room.
With no servants around, Sheng Huai'an's gaze towards Liu Rumei was no longer concealed, filled with intense love.
The two snuggled together and talked for a while.
Even though it was still daytime and he was in his own house, Sheng Huai'an didn't dare to stay any longer. Besides, it was too hot to bear, so he hurriedly returned to his study.
As soon as he entered the study, he told Chengfu to send half of the ice in the study to Qinghui Garden.
Do this every day from now on.
Cheng Fu glanced at the excited Sheng Huai'an, dared not dissuade him, and agreed without hesitation.
However, Sheng Huai'an was fine on the first day.
I could tolerate it the next day too.
By the third day, he had run out of ice in the afternoon. He was sweating profusely from the heat and couldn't concentrate on his studies, so he became increasingly irritable.
But he couldn't go back on his word and refuse to give Liu Rumei ice, nor could he make demands of Jia Shi, for fear that she would discover that he was secretly taking care of Liu Rumei. So he could only ask Chengfu to go outside to buy ice.
In this way, the eight hundred taels of silver he earned from pawning the landscape painting disappeared in just a few days.
That's all!
Left with no other choice, he picked out another beloved antique and had Chengfu pawn it. Looking at the increasingly empty curio cabinet, he frowned deeply.
When Liu Rumei secretly sent a message through a magpie, asking him to "take care" of her younger brother when he attended the lotus banquet in a couple of days, he suddenly became displeased.
Liu Rumei has time to care about her younger brother, but why doesn't she ask him if he's suffered from having half the ice these past few days, or if his studies have been affected?
Is she really considerate of him?
Sheng Huai'an suddenly became suspicious.
...
Dongfu.
Inside Jingchun Residence, Princess Ronghua had Yaqin bring out a stack of invitations and present them to Ye Mingzhu.
“You can’t stay cooped up at home all the time. See if there are any gatherings or banquets you’d like to attend, and go out and move around more.”
"Going out to a banquet?" Ye Mingzhu took the invitation and looked at it. Suddenly, she saw the invitation sent by the Duke of Rongguo's mansion and couldn't help but fall into memories.
In the previous life, an incident occurred at the lotus banquet held by the Rongguo Duke's Mansion: Qin Xuefei, the youngest daughter of Grand Secretary Qin, accidentally fell into the water and was rescued by Liu Pinliang, the illegitimate son of Hanlin Reader Liu Xian. Although the two families were of vastly different social standing, Liu Pinliang was highly regarded by Grand Secretary Qin due to his outstanding talent, which led to a happy marriage.
...If Ye Mingzhu had simply been reborn, she would have thought so too, but she wasn't.
In the storybook space, one of the stories she read, "I'm Not Going to Be My Husband's White Moonlight Substitute Anymore," was about Qin Xuefei and Liu Pinliang.
In this story, Qin Xuefei is not the female lead, but the white moonlight who died young.
Her falling into the water was not an accident; she was drugged and deliberately framed.
Liu Pinliang wasn't a hero saving a damsel in distress; he simply beat the drugged villain to it and rescued Qin Xuefei in front of everyone. His stunning poem wasn't written by him either; it was ghostwritten by Sheng Huai'an.
After marrying Liu Pinliang, Qin Xuefei quickly discovered the truth, had a big fight with him, and the couple drifted apart. She eventually died of depression.
Liu Pinliang only realized he had fallen deeply in love with Qin Xuefei after her death, but it was too late. So he kept searching for a woman who resembled her to be her substitute, and had a tragic love affair with the concubine...
As the recollection ended, Ye Mingzhu felt a chill.
She was reborn and could rewrite her own destiny, so she felt particularly sorry for Qin Xuefei at this moment.
She was eager to go to the Lotus Banquet to see what was going on, hoping to help Qin Xuefei escape the predetermined fate in the storybook.
The thought that Liu Pinliang was Liu Rumei's younger brother, and that stopping this marriage would prevent Liu Pinliang from climbing the social ladder in the Qin family and becoming a powerful ally for Liu Rumei in the future, gave her even more motivation.
Ye Mingzhu picked up the invitation and asked Princess Ronghua, "Your Highness, may I attend the Lotus Banquet?"
“Of course you can!” Princess Ronghua said. “As the wife of the Duke of Wei, where can’t you go?”
She instructed Yaqin: "Go and fetch my Hetian jade bracelet so that Mingzhu can wear it when she goes to the banquet. On the day of the lotus banquet, you will serve Mingzhu and help her recognize people."
Wearing it for fun and helping her personal maid, Ye Mingzhu smiled and thanked her generous mother-in-law.
The next day, she received a set of gold filigree and kingfisher feather headdress from Sheng Yunche. She couldn't help but take stock of her savings while sighing.
In her previous life, she subsidized Sheng Huai'an and then Jia Shi, and her dowry money kept flowing out without end.
In this life, Princess Ronghua would send her things from time to time, and Sheng Yunche followed suit, eventually becoming rich through marriage.
It's...very novel.
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