Chapter 10: Such a Couple

  At the same time, Wei Suizhong was also flattering and smiling at Lai Junchen who was walking in front of him: "Big brother, see, I told you so, this little girl——"

  Lai Junchen burst out laughing and stretched out his hand. Wei Suizhong hastily bent down, letting Lai Junchen's hand pat him on the shoulder.

  "Good brother, your vision has improved this time. Go ahead, investigate everything about this little girl for me, and you won't be short of benefits! As for the guy who hurt you without reason today, go check him out too, I'll definitely help you get revenge!"

  Wei Su was overjoyed and left with a big smile on his face.

  Qiao's Mansion

  The girl put away her coquettish expression and stepped into the door with a gentle and elegant pace. At this time, she was another kind of appearance, all over her body, showing a maturity and stability that did not match her age, and there was no trace of the coquetry in her eyes when she was outside, only solemnity and calmness.

  Before long, she arrived at the door of the mistress of the Qiao family's backyard, Madame Lu. At the entrance of the bedroom, a young maid was standing guard. Perhaps she was tired, or perhaps the warm sunshine had brought with it a lazy atmosphere that had affected her, this twelve- or thirteen-year-old little maid was sitting on a small stool, continuously making "chicken pecking rice" movements.

  The young lady's face lit up with a smile as she walked over and gently poked the chubby cheek of the little maid.

  "Ah!" The little maid was frightened and jumped up, after seeing it was Yan Niang, she stuck out her tongue and stretched her neck to look inside the house, then lowered her voice and scolded Yan Niang: "Sister Yan Niang, you scared me to death!"

  The young lady gently stroked the little girl's head and said, "Yuan'er, go back to your own room and take a nap. It won't be too late when Master comes back. I'll keep an eye on things here! Is Madame asleep?"

  The little girl nodded, but hesitated a bit: "But that old lecher..."

  Yan Niang's face changed: "Stop talking nonsense, what old lecher, if someone hears it, how can we bear it?! If you don't go, that's fine, but when Master comes back, you won't even have a chance to take a nap."

  Yuanni didn't seem intimidated by Yuniang's expression at all, she smiled and said "Sister Yuniang is the best!" and ran off laughing.

  The girl shook her head, watching as the garden disappeared from view before turning around and quietly entering the room.

  In the room, a middle-aged woman was lying on the bed in a deep sleep. This is a fairly dignified face, you can imagine that when the spring breeze passed by, her face also showed a lot of splendor. But with the departure of youth, what was taken away was not only her radiance, but also her health, and her waxen complexion was proof of this.

  The young girl quietly walked over, helped the woman tidy up her slightly disheveled bed skirt, and then slipped out of the room again. Immediately after that, she brought in a stove and started a fire at the door to begin decocting medicine.

  "Alas, madam, if only you could recover soon, these days have been unbearable with the old master causing such a commotion in this household. Sisters——" Yan Niang's slender hand gently swayed, and the banana fan stirred up waves of cool breeze around the stove, making the fire inside burn even more fiercely.

  What disease Lu got, no one knew, but every five days, Yan Niang had to go to the pharmacy to help her get some medicine. The money was not a big deal, but this bowl of medicine poured into Lu's belly was completely ineffective. This illness was always lingering on, which was the most worrying thing.

  Just as she was thinking deeply, her mother's eyes suddenly went black, only to find that someone had covered her eyes with both hands.

  The first reaction of the young lady was: "Which little girl is teasing me again?" But in the next moment, she realized that something was wrong. The hands covering her eyes were a bit rough. This symbol of vicissitudes of life was not something that a young girl could possess.

  "Old Master——" Yan Niang hastily broke free from those hands and said without looking back: "Take care of yourself!"

  "Ah——" A man in his forties with a pale face looked somewhat stunned. Immediately, a hint of a smile appeared on his face: "Yi Niang is really clever, she knew it was me as soon as we touched! It seems that Yi Niang is very familiar with my aura. Come, let's get to know each other better."

  It turned out that this person was the master of the Qiao Mansion, Left Deputy Director of the Ministry of Works, Qiao Zhi.

  The girl's face turned pale and she retreated backward, saying: "Master, madam is still inside the house!"

  Qiao Zhi glanced at the window with some trepidation, then turned back and slowly approached Yin Niang, smiling: "What are you afraid of? You're a slave in my household. What's meant by 'selling one's body' is that this body of yours will eventually be mine. Look, these days, your sisters have been living more comfortably and happily under my 'care', haven't they? Don't you want to...?"

  "Master, don't come over, I'm still decocting medicine for the mistress!"

  "Is it worth brewing the medicine? This medicine is not worth brewing, she's been ill for so long and has taken so many medicines without any improvement. Whether we take this medicine or not, it's all the same! We might as well..."

  "Why don't you just do something?" Suddenly, a cold voice rang out.

  The voice was not loud, but in Qiao Zhi's ears, it was like a thunderclap on a clear day. He immediately trembled with fear. Suddenly, he turned his head around and, regardless of his dignity, "thudded" to his knees, begging the woman who was leaning against the wall with a sickly face: "Madam, forgive me, Madam, forgive me, I know my mistake, I won't dare again!"

  Yan Niang hastily stepped forward and supported Lu Shi.

  "Forgiveness? Ge Zhi, I'll ask you, how has our Lu family treated you, and I as your wife? Without my brothers' influence in the imperial court, with your background, you'd be lucky to climb to fifth rank. As for your daily life, which of your needs haven't I taken care of? You wanted concubines, you wanted more houses, which of these desires didn't I fulfill? And yet, you're my husband, and you've never brought shame to me... but now, you're overstepping, stretching your claws towards the people by my side! Yan Niang may be just a maid, but she's one I raised with my own hands. I have no children of my own, she's like a daughter to me. And you, as her master, are actually lusting after your own 'daughter'... are you even human?"

  The young lady was deeply moved, and a layer of misty color rose in her bright and shining eyes.

  Qiao Zhi hastily raised his hand and slapped himself left and right on the face, while his mouth muttered vaguely: "Madam, I won't dare again, please forgive me just this once!"

  Lu hummed coldly and was about to speak when Yanni beside her whispered: "Madam, your body is important, why not just forget it?"

  Lu's cold and piercing gaze finally dissipated, she suddenly pointed to the washing board in the distance and said: "Go kneel down yourself, I won't let you get up. If you dare to stand up, I'll have you go back home tomorrow to farm!"

  Qiao Zhi did not dare to resist, and did not dare to make a sound. He hastily scrambled to his feet and ran to the washing board, kneeling down in front of it.

  In today's society where family background is everything, whether male or female, marrying into a wealthy and influential family is naturally an extremely fortunate thing. However, Qiao Zhi, this lucky person, also has his own misfortune - his wife Lu Shi comes from too high of a social status - the Fan Yang Lu family, one of the top aristocratic families in the country.

  Because of this family's almost all property, including his current status, are all thanks to his wife, his henpecked habit has been destined since the day he got married. When many people were envying him for being able to enjoy wealth and honor, who would have known that he was actually kneeling on the washing board?

  "What are you doing! This is the backyard, no trespassing!"

  "Halt! Halt!"

  Suddenly, a commotion came from outside.

  The scolding voice had barely faded away when a burly man with a fierce face strode in, treating the Qiao family's guardian as if he were nothing.

  "Which one is Qiao Zhi among the Qiaos?" His eyes wandered, flashing beside Lu Shi and Yan Niang's body, and saw Qiao Zhi in the distance, with a curved smile at the corner of his mouth.

  Qiao Zhi quickly stood up, pretending to be majestic as he walked over. As he walked, he said: "Old age, old age, carelessly fell! Who are you, daring to trespass in this official's backyard!"

  That person smiled slightly and said, "Brother Qiao is indeed an extraordinary person. Even when he falls, he lands on a washing board! Haha! I am Wang Xi, a guest at the gate of the Wei King's mansion. This time, I came to deliver a message from my master, the great king, to Brother Qiao."

  Yi Niang's face turned pale upon hearing the two words "Wei Wang", and she lost all her composure. Lu Shi, on the other hand, remained calm with a cold expression, saying: "Just because you're from the Wei Wang Manor, does that give you the right to trespass into someone else's backyard?"

  Qiao Zhi heard this and frowned, waving his hand to scold: "Men are talking, what business do you have as a woman butting in? Get back inside the house for me!"

  Lu's eyes flashed with anger, but she quickly softened and replied in a somewhat aggrieved tone: "Yes, I'll withdraw!" Then, she led Yanni into the room.

  "It's a mess inside, and it's become a laughing stock for our superiors. It's all because we've been too lenient in our daily governance..."

  "Heh heh, Lord Qiao doesn't need to say more. The private matters of your household are none of my concern. Prince Wei ordered me to bring a message: the young maid Yanni in your household has caught his eye and he wants to take her as a concubine. He will send someone tomorrow to escort her away, so you should prepare accordingly!"

  "Ah - on top of that, slow down - " Qiao Zhi stretched out his hand to stop Wang Xi, but he had already walked far away.

  Qiao Zhi turned his head around, but saw that his wife was standing by the door with a somewhat cold expression.

  "Madam, for husband's sake, I'll go on my knees!"

  "No need, in front of outsiders, I'd rather give you some face. However, now go to the Wei Wang Fu immediately and make Wu Chengsi give up his idea, otherwise you don't have to come back!"