Staying in the Wei family, a place rife with secrets, for too long is truly a torment.
It would be good to go out and see the world. The capital city was a place she had never been to before.
Chapter 29 A Heart Full of Longing
A thin layer of snow covered the blue tiles and withered branches of the Marquis's mansion; the fine white layer was blown around by the wind and spread throughout the entire mansion.
The servants walked with small, quick steps through the vast Yiyang Marquis's mansion. For several months, the mansion had been in turmoil. The Fourth Miss had brought back a woman from outside to take as a concubine, and the Yan family and the Empress had shown favoritism towards the Fourth Miss.
Even when a person's luck is at its worst, things can turn around for the better.
Take the fourth young lady for example. She is neither favored by the old master nor loved by her father and brothers, but she has a good mother who lives in Liulan Courtyard and is obsessed with Buddhist worship.
Not only does she have a good mother, but also her maternal grandparents' family, who are thousands of miles away, are willing to support their granddaughter.
He even entered the imperial city and was doted on by the Empress.
Even the biggest problems are nothing in the eyes of a true benefactor.
But for the servants who depended on their masters for survival, nothing was more serious than the successive demotions of the eldest and second young masters.
The sky is about to collapse.
There's no certainty about who to rely on in the future.
According to the rules of noble families, if the eldest son is no longer able to live, there is still the second son; if the second son is no longer able to live, then the young master of this Marquis's mansion should be the second son's legitimate son.
There is a strict order of seniority, with primogeniture as the system of succession.
However, the manor not only has a young master who is only seven years old, but also a young and impetuous third master.
With the eldest and second sons gone, it seems the third son is about to take over a small part of the household.
When the maidservants are subservient to others and adept at reading between the noses, the Marquis's mansion gradually transforms from bustling to silent, like a deep pool that appears calm on the surface but is actually turbulent beneath.
However, the Marquis of Yiyang, the rightful master of the Marquis's mansion, was in a very bad mood.
Despite his unease, a slight smile broke through his tense expression when he saw an exquisitely crafted red lantern hanging in front of Liulan Courtyard.
My heart is filled with the joy of being a simp.
The Great Yan Dynasty also had the concept of a "lickspittle," which originated from a down-on-his-luck scholar and a young lady from a wealthy family.
To please the young lady, the scholar was willing to kneel down and lick the braised pork she had thrown on the ground, his obsequious manner earning him a slap from her.
The scholar, instead of being enraged by the slap, wore a look of delight and loudly declared in public, "I am willing to be the young lady's dog," causing a sensation throughout the land.
Whether it was for fame, to earn a living, or to get a second glance from that young lady, everyone knew about this incident and these two people.
"Simp, simp, in the end, who knows if they'll actually succeed?"
When Wei Hanqing arrived, he took a bath and burned incense, washing his body five times before finally coming out of the bath.
As a marquis, he was even more particular than a woman, not for any other reason than that his wife thought it was dirty.
If the lady finds him dirty, she will certainly not get close to him at all.
If the lady missed him or needed his help, she would instruct Li Le to hang a beautiful red lantern at the gate of the courtyard.
The more exquisite the red lantern, the better the lady's mood.
The lantern in front of the courtyard gate was the most beautiful one that Marquis Yiyang had seen in years. Its design was novel, and its bright red color looked festive.
Hanging a lamp in the air is called "visiting the emperor".
It's hard to imagine that this is how Marquis Yiyang and his wife got along.
To Madam Wei, this man was at best a cleaner and more useful object than other smelly men.
How could a marquis not be precious?
Yet he willingly became the lady's dog.
Wei Hanqing straightened his clothes repeatedly, and the worries of the past few months were swept away. Although he was heartbroken by his son's plight, he was, after all, a man, and what man doesn't love his wife?
He had to kneel and kowtow three times to win this wife; otherwise, given the strained relationship between the Wei and Yan families back then, how could Grand Tutor Yan have reluctantly agreed to the marriage?
Li Le came out of the door: "My lord, the madam invites you in."
She used the word "please," and Marquis Yiyang, his face beaming with joy, casually asked as he brushed past Li Le, "Is Madam in a good mood today?"
Li Le glanced at him and said, "My lord, please go inside."
Marquis Yiyang showed no anger at the fact that a maid dared to speak to the master of the mansion like that, and stepped through the door while lifting the hem of his robe.
The door slammed shut in an instant.
The inner room was dimly lit by a candle, except for the portrait on the wall, which was brighter—there were two lamps there with very nice lampshades.
Upon entering and seeing the painting on the wall, Marquis Yiyang's wonderful mood vanished, replaced by a deep sense of bitterness.
Madam Wei had clearly taken a bath. In the winter, thanks to the strong ground heating, she was only wearing a thin undergarment. Her long hair was loose, and her waist was slender, making her very feminine.
"You've arrived."
"I'm here. Didn't you call me?"
He was referring to the red lantern at the courtyard gate.
"I'm the one who called you here." Madam Wei casually tugged at her sash. "Take it off. You want it."
Wei Hanqing should have been happy, for over the years, only when he was close to her did he realize that he was her man.
He married her because he loved her, but after bringing her home, she refused to be his wife.
It is an object that can be discarded after use.
The only advantage it has over objects is that it is flexible, strong, and obedient, requiring no one to worry about it.
His legitimate sons and daughters were all born in this way.
Lady Wei knelt before the portrait, the flickering candlelight reflecting the overflowing affection in her eyes. This affection was not for the Marquis of Yiyang behind her, but for the person in the painting to "see".
This is the greatest disregard and humiliation for a man.
Wei Hanqing endured this humiliation like drinking poison to quench his thirst for many years. As the ship entered the harbor, his voice was hoarse: "Haven't you forgotten?"
"Unforgettable..." Madam Wei liked to look at the person in the painting, as if the person she was enjoying with at that moment was not Wei Hanqing, but the one she loved in her heart.
"No one who has seen him will forget him."
"Will I hurt you by doing this?"
He was brutal to other women, but always treated his wife with utmost care, revering her as a saint, a fairy, and an ancestor.
Little did he know that this was precisely what Madam Wei disliked most about him.
"You are not him, you can't learn his gentle and refined manner..."
Marquis Yiyang smiled bitterly: "Yes, I am not him. There is only one man in this world who can make you dream of him."
The man in the painting is dressed in white scholar's robes, with a striking appearance, as beautiful as a peony. Although he is clearly a man, his features are more delicate than a woman's.
The person who painted this must have loved him so much that he was unable to extricate himself, which is why he captured the spirit of the figure so skillfully.
With her wide sleeves and long robe, and slender waist, even a single painting is enough to make one believe that she is a celestial being.
Influenced by the song "Dancing Beauty" today, Yan Qing faced life and death several times in front of the portrait, displaying an extremely alluring charm.
Without her permission, Lord Wei dared not leave his things inside, and he was not even allowed to hug the limp Yan Qing.
He stared hatefully at the person in the painting, then lowered his head, his eyes filled with deep fear.
A quarter of an hour later, Madam Wei recovered and stepped barefoot onto the wool blanket: "I want to take Pingxi to the capital."
Wei Hanqing, disregarding his surroundings, hurriedly stood up: "You're going to the capital? No way! I don't agree!"
You have no right to object.
"lady!"
Yan Qing looked at him coldly: "The manor is in chaos. You should think more about who to choose to inherit the Marquis's manor. My daughter and I will go out and avoid the storm, so that no more disgusting things will happen to my daughter."
Her words were referring to Wei Da and Wei Er's coveting of the concubines in Jingzhe Courtyard.
This matter could not be hidden from their eyes. Marquis Yiyang knew that she favored her daughter, and sighed deeply: "They have received their due punishment. Now they can't even be men anymore. What disgusting thing could they possibly do to offend your precious daughter?"
Are you saying I'm biased?
Aren't you being biased?
The couple rarely discussed matters or argued together. Wei Hanqing loved her deeply, and although he considered his wife and son to be separate, he still couldn't help but want to say something fair.
“You visited your eldest son once when he was injured, but you didn’t even visit your second son when he was injured. I know you went to the Jingzhe Courtyard to find your dear daughter, but why don’t you think about it? You are her mother, and you are also the mother of two sons!”
"Don't you bear any responsibility for the current situation where the siblings are at odds?"
"Why have you given birth to them all these years but not taught them, letting them kill each other? Your daughter is a daughter, but my son isn't a son? They are your children."
"So what if I gave birth to him?"
Yan Qing casually draped a long coat over her shoulders, picked up her Buddhist prayer beads, and angrily twirled them: "My love is limited. If I love this one, I can't love that one. You understand."
"I don't understand."
"Okay, that's because you're too stupid. You haven't understood it even after more than 20 years."
Marquis Yiyang looked dejected: "You insisted on taking Pingxi to the capital, really to avoid trouble, or to go see your lover?"
"In short, you can't stop me."
"Alright, then let me ask you one more question: Is Pingxi really my daughter?"
Madam Wei's eyes were filled with mockery as she stopped fiddling with her prayer beads: "You finally asked. It must have been hard keeping it all inside for so many years, right?"
After a pause, she said seriously, "Of course she is your daughter, your child. Think carefully about whether you have cared about her all these years, and see if you still have the face to ask me if I don't care about my son."
Knowing that Wei Pingxi was his daughter, the Marquis of Yiyang's tense nerves slowly relaxed, and he turned and bowed deeply: "I have wronged my wife."
Madam Wei used him and then discarded him, no longer giving him a second glance.
Aren't you leaving yet?
"I...I want to see you again, Madam."