Chapter: 123 out of 513 – Bringing a new person home and seeing old people (2)
Inside the dining room, Mu Shuiqing and Liu Hanyun were both standing. Jinse was a newcomer, so she didn’t know where to go. Seeing that a few of the women had sat down, she thought that she shouldn’t need to stand too since she was pregnant. And so, she approached the seat that was next to Marquis Moyu.
Standing next to Jinse, Wen Wan quietly asked, “What? Are you thinking of sitting in my seat?”
Jinse quickly moved away. Wen Wan was the main wife. She couldn’t anger her. But… there weren’t any other empty seats. Did she have to stand?
Her teary eyes looked at Marquis Moyu, but Ning Yuxuan was focused on eating with his lowered head, so he didn’t see her. Ji Man and the two honored concubines were also silent, but Wen Wan raised her head, glanced at her, and said to Mu Shuiqing, “You’re heavier than before. You can go back to your room first and eat your dinner. You don’t need to stay here to serve.”
It was only now that Jinse noticed that there was a standing woman dressed as vibrantly as her. Mu Shuiqing was wearing a cotton-padded dress and a sleeveless blue vest. Her face looked somewhat pale and she was carefully protecting the slight curve to her belly. Even a blind person could tell what her posture meant.
Having received permission, Mu Shuiqing was supported out of the room.
Jinse gritted her teeth. This madam was being too obvious with her dislike. She was also pregnant, ah. Although her pregnancy wasn’t noticeable… she was still being treated too differently.
However, she didn’t dare to say anything. The marquis’s household looked like it was very strict with hierarchy. If she took a wrong step, it would be difficult for her to recover. It had already taken her a great deal of effort to enter this household.
And so, she swallowed down her grievances and mimicked Liu Hanyun by standing by the table and adding food to the marquis and his wife’s bowls.
—
After the meal, Ning Yuxuan went to the study and Jinse was led to Qiangwei Courtyard.
“I heard that you’re not even one month pregnant?” Wen Wan slightly frowned. “This is certainly strange. Normally, you would need to be pregnant for at least two months before a doctor would be able to tell. When Shuiqing was over one month pregnant, several old doctors had to examine her pulse before jointly determining that she was pregnant. How can you be sure that you’re pregnant?”
Standing at the center of the pavilion, Jinse was at a complete loss. “A sage monk said this. Even an emperor has to believe the words of a sage monk. Madam, do you think there’s anything wrong with this?”
Wen Wan really wanted to say, what sage monk? Can an old monk really tell if someone was pregnant? But, when the words reached her lips, she realized that she couldn’t say these words. Even the emperor had believed the sage monk. If she didn’t believe the sage monk, wouldn’t this be the same as slapping the emperor’s face?
Even though she was displeased, Wen Wan suppressed her emotion and calmly said, “It’s good that there wasn’t anything strange going on. I already had the servants tidy up Zhiqiu Courtyard. You don’t have a personal servant girl, so I’ll assign Dingxiang to you. Old Madame isn’t here today because she went to the palace today to see Noble Consort Nie. When she comes back, go to the main hall to pay your respects.”
Jinse agreed and followed the servant girl that Wen Wan had given her to Zhiqiu Courtyard.
However, when she arrived at the entrance, Jinse’s expression sunk. This courtyard had a nice sounding name, but it was just a loft. It didn’t even have outdoor space. The fallen leaves at the entrance gave off a bleak feeling.
(T/N: Zhiqiu means awareness of autumn.)
Was this a habitable place? Outraged, she turned around and went to the study to look for Marquis Moyu. This madam was too harsh and kept targeting her. How could she live her life like this?
—
Ning Yuxuan was currently organizing official correspondences and suddenly heard someone angrily slamming the doors open. With a persecuted expression, Jinse came over and started crying after falling into his arms.
Without making a sound, he moved the documents to the side and lightly asked, “What’s wrong? Are you feeling homesick?”
“My lord, Madam’s bullying is too much.” With a runny nose and teary eyes, Jinse started to speak of Wen Wan’s wrongdoings.
Hearing these words, Ning Yuxuan slightly frowned. He moved her off of his lap, stood up, and said, “I spoiled her too much. It’s inevitable that she acts improperly sometimes. Go to Sangyu and have her arrange a place for you. I’ll go talk to Madam.”
Seeing that he was obviously favoring Wen Wan, Jinse dimmed the sound of her crying. She was used to persuading and fawning over other people, so she wouldn’t behave unyieldingly when face with a difficult person. Moreover, she could see that Madam had a hefty place in the marquis’s heart.
Since she couldn’t afford to anger Madam, then her only choice was to avoid her. Jinse went to look for Nie Sangyu.
—
At Qiangwei Courtyard, Wen Wan had smashed a whole pile of things. Her anger hadn’t dissipated yet. Tanxiang hurriedly came into the room to announce that the marquis was coming and had the other servants clean up the mess on the floor to avoid displeasing the marquis.
Seeing the person coming into the room, Wen Wan harrumped and turned her head to look out the window. She didn’t have the slightest intention of talking to him.
With a soft tone, Marquis Moyu asked, “What’s wrong? Are you not happy that I came back? Your expression hasn’t look good since I returned home.”
Wen Wan thought; Sangyu’s words had been correct. When she showed a cold face, he would come and coax her.
And so, she said, “You’ve been gone for so long, but you haven’t thought about me. And, you even brought back a woman to upset me. How can I be happy?”
Marquis Moyu chuckled and hugged her. “Is this another outbreak of pettiness?”
Wen Wan angrly said, “Who’s being petty? You used to say that you would only like me. But now, you made other women pregnant, one after another. Yuxuan, you’ve let met down too much. If I had known that it would turn out like this, I would have married the man that my father had chosen!”
Before Wen Wan had married Marquis Moyu, she had been engaged to someone else. Marquis Moyu had always brooded over this matter. When women were arguing and feeling angry, they would always say whatever men didn’t want to hear the most.
But, Ning Yuxuan treated these words seriously and felt offended. His expression turned icy. He looked at her and asked, “Are you saying that you regret marrying me?”