A sound came from outside the door, and Yu Zhi subconsciously reached for the clothes that were placed to one side.
The door was suddenly pushed open, and Wei Pingxi, dressed in a brand-new white magnolia dress with a jade hairpin in her hair, walked around to the screen in a few steps. She smiled and said, "Why didn't you call Jinshi and Yinding to serve you?"
The gold and silver ingots were given by the fourth young lady to her favored concubine's maid.
"I'm not used to it." Yu Zhi shook her head, finally relaxing under the smiling gaze of the Fourth Miss.
Wei Pingxi rolled up his sleeves and reached into the bucket to test the water temperature.
"I've always been good to my own people. Not to mention anything else, the monthly allowance for the servants of Jingzhe Courtyard is the highest in the entire mansion."
"You are different from them."
"In Jingzhe Courtyard, you are their master. If people from other courtyards dare to bully you, you don't need to lift a finger. Just have Jinshi and Yinding fight back. If they break, it's on me."
"I absolutely cannot lose face. If we fight, we must win."
Yu Zhi blushed and became somewhat shy, simply because the Fourth Miss's jade hand was on her back.
"Don't move around. Remember my words. This is how you will conduct yourself in the manor from now on."
Wei Pingxi gently splashed a handful of water, the water droplets slowly flowing, and Yu Zhi breathed out uncomfortably.
"In three days, I will take you back to White Tiger Street."
"Back to White Tiger Street? Are you going to visit your mother?"
Wei Pingxi loosened her belt and stepped inside. Fortunately, the bathtub was spacious, and since both of them were slender, it didn't take up much space.
She stepped in without saying hello, and Yu Zhi's heart skipped a beat: "Xi Xi?"
"You haven't even experienced the brilliant schemes that Granny Wu taught you yet." Wei Pingxi pointed a finger at her brow: "Don't tell me that's all you were capable of last night?"
Yu Zhi's heart pounded with excitement, both for the prospect of seeing her mother in a few days and for the thoughtfulness shown to her by the Fourth Miss.
Strictly speaking, her proper "three-day homecoming" will be in a few days.
She was delighted, but a hint of resentment flickered in her eyes—who said that was all she was capable of?
Wei Ping looked at her with a smile.
A beautiful woman threw herself into his arms, her skin smoother and warmer than jade.
Yu Zhi, with a charming and alluring voice, obediently returned the kiss to the man's lips, her voice rising and falling, soft and murmured: "I like Fourth Miss..."
Chapter 22 Too cool
The matter of Miss Wei taking a concubine has become the most hotly debated topic in the neighborhood recently.
Upon learning that Wei Pingxi had taken a concubine, countless women wept bitterly, and countless men fell silent in sorrow.
The Empress's doting on her niece was now out in the open, and no one dared to use the banner of etiquette and moral principles to talk big or criticize her wantonly.
On a clear autumn day, Miss Wei drove out.
Yu Zhi collapsed into Wei Pingxi's arms, her eyes hazy and alluring, with tear stains still visible at the corners of her eyes.
We're almost at White Tiger Street.
Wei Pingxi put his arm around her waist and kissed her lips: "This time we'll stay at your mother's for a couple more nights, so you two can catch up. But you have to come back tonight and be by my side."
"Hmm... I understand." Yu Zhi didn't dare to look at her, trying her best to hide in the crook of her neck.
She was exposed in no time. Wei Pingxi smiled brightly and asked, "When you said you liked me that day, was it true or false?"
Yu Zhi glanced at her expression, hesitated for a few moments, and said in a sweet voice, "It's fake."
"How can it be fake?"
"Because there's no shortage of people who like Miss Fourth."
“That makes sense.” Wei Pingxi stroked her hair with admiration. “Too many people say they like me, but I don’t care if you do. Love in this world is too superficial; it will dissipate with a gust of wind. It’s enough that you like me.”
She spoke these words with a face as beautiful as an angel, and Yu Zhi glared at her, scolding her for ruining such a beautiful face.
Why are you being so aggressive towards me? Don't you like it?
"It was the Fourth Miss who said that love in this world is too superficial."
"That's different. To love someone with all your heart sounds too abstract, too fragile, and unrealistic. But to love a fresh appearance, to love someone who begs me with tears in their eyes, is something that is incredibly real."
She spouted nonsense, and Yu Zhi nestled against her without any backbone.
The two were newlyweds, experiencing the joys of love for the first time. Even though Yu Zhi still feared and respected her, often worrying that she would turn on him faster than turning the pages of a book, deep down Yu Zhi still liked her.
The unchanging fourth young lady treated her very well, but unfortunately, the fourth young lady was strange because she was unpredictable and her moods were always upside down.
"You know what to say when you see your mother, right?"
Wei Pingxi glanced at her and said, "When did it become your turn to worry about me? Don't worry about me."
Yu Zhi quietly kissed her after leaving her embrace, kissing her eyelids and then her chin: "Thank you, Xi Xi."
"These thanks aren't enough. We'll thank you properly later tonight," Miss Wei said with a meaningful smile.
The carriage stopped at No. 3 Baihu Street, a secluded place to avoid the trouble of crowds. The curtain was lifted, and Yuzhi was carried down by the fourth young lady.
"Mother!"
Hearing the sound, Yu's mother, who was waiting at the door, smiled broadly: "Zhizhi is back? Where's Xixi? Did Xixi come back with you?"
“Xi Xi is here,” Yu Zhi said quickly.
Wei Pingxi, with a dignified appearance, tucked his sleeves and greeted the blind woman, saying, "Pingxi greets Mother-in-law."
Knowing that she had come with her daughter, the mother-in-law's smile widened even more: "Come in quickly, I've had a table full of delicious food prepared!"
When people are happy, they are in high spirits. Her complexion is rosy and her temperament is very different from before. Yu Zhi, who has lived for more than 20 years, has never seen her mother so radiant and magnificent. She felt that her mother looked no less than Madam Wei in her brocade dress.
If there's anything lacking, it's just a pair of bright, snow-white eyes and a touch less of a relaxed and composed demeanor.
If Mother's eyes were healthy, what a magnificent sight she would be!
With her looks and demeanor, how could she be of ordinary commoner origin?
Yu Zhi was puzzled.
Wei Pingxi stared at Yu's mother's straight back. After not seeing her for several months, her mother-in-law was completely different. She whispered, "What is your surname, Mother?"
"His surname is Liu."
"willow?"
Liu was a prominent surname in the Yan Dynasty, and there were many people with the surname Liu in the southern part of Danling.
"What's wrong?"
"It's alright, go inside first."
"Come in, come in quickly." Mother Yu sighed countless times, lamenting that she was blind and couldn't see her own daughter. Yu Zhi went over and asked her to touch her face, her tone coquettish: "Mother, touch it, has your daughter gotten fatter?"
"Not fat, not fat!" The woman said with a happy face. "This is just right. Being too thin makes one look miserable and unlucky."
Yu Zhi had guessed that she would say that, and complained softly, "It's all Xi Xi's fault, she always makes me eat more."
Wei Pingxi lazily raised his eyelids: "If you don't eat, how will you have the strength? And if you don't have the strength, how will you manage? You'll end up crying and acting like someone bullied you."
Her words contained a hint of frivolity that outsiders couldn't understand, catching Yu Zhi off guard and making her blush. Then she heard her mother say, "Xi Xi is right. How can you have the strength if you don't eat? You're tired from taking care of all the household chores every day."
"Tired, so tired that she complains after just a few movements, so delicate." The fourth young lady smiled and asked, "Zhizhi, am I right?"
Yu Zhi's pretty face flushed red.
The maids in the main hall kept their eyes down, not daring to think about the subtle exchanges between their masters.
When she brought up the wedding night to her mother, even though her mother didn't think of it that way, Yuzhi's heart was pounding like a drum.
The fourth young lady was outrageously wicked. She said she wouldn't tease her, but she raised her finger and told her to do it herself. She was both ashamed and angry at that time, and she didn't remember the golden words of advice that Granny Wu had taught her.
"Mother! Don't listen to her nonsense!"
She was furious and embarrassed, but Yu's mother just smiled broadly.
Wei Pingxi's eyebrows were filled with joy as the whole family sat together in a happy atmosphere.
She didn't talk much, mostly watching Yuzhi and her mother talk, occasionally chiming in to confirm her presence, which made Yuzhi's mother smile.
Steaming hot dishes were brought out, all home-style dishes: shrimp balls, braised carp, stir-fried bamboo shoots, cherry pork... At a glance, there were five dishes and a soup.
Miss Wei has tasted delicacies from all over the world, and this meal is the most ordinary yet most unique one she has ever eaten.
It felt a bit like dining at the same table with the Yu family mother and daughter in a restaurant in a past life.
It is a warmth of human kindness that no amount of luxury can buy.
"Zhizhi, serve Xixi some food."
Wei Pingxi sat next to the beauty. There were plenty of seats at the square table, but she clung to Yu Zhi like a leech. When she heard Yu's mother speak, she chuckled smugly, "Thank you, Mother-in-law. Your kindness to your son-in-law is truly moving."
Despite her glib tongue, she showed no airs of a noblewoman, which pleased Madam Yu. Such ease indicated that she considered this place her own home.
Why speak like two different people when we're family?
“My mother-in-law is absolutely right.”
Miss Wei raised an eyebrow, nudged Yu Zhi with her arm, and smiled brightly, her natural aloofness gone from her beautiful appearance: "Did you hear me? Hurry up and put some food on my plate."
Why give up being a proper fairy of the Jade Pool and insist on becoming a wandering flower-dweller in the mortal world? She wasn't like this before she left home. Yu Zhi couldn't figure out what her mother was up to, but when she caught a glimpse of her mother's satisfied expression, she suddenly understood.
The Fourth Miss's behavior was meant to be "shown" to her mother.
Only by reassuring her mother that Xi Xi treats her sincerely can her mother focus on her treatment at home.
Yu Zhi was filled with complicated emotions. How could the Fourth Miss be so cunning, with so many schemes, when they were both human?
"Hurry up, I want to eat those shrimp balls."
To play along.
Who can't?
She glared at Wei Pingxi and said, "I want to eat stir-fried bamboo shoots. Get them for me."
"You pick one for me first. Here, shrimp balls."