When asked about his old profession, Yao Chenzi replied solemnly, "Yes."
"Treat it."
"Cure? If you cure him, aren't you afraid your 'using a concubine as a wife' trick will be exposed?"
The fact that they were able to keep it a secret for so long was due to two main reasons: firstly, the Fourth Miss was meticulous in her actions and her subordinates knew the rules; secondly, Yu's mother was blind.
For the sake of her safety, people would certainly advise her to stay in the hospital and rest.
But what if it's cured?
Could we possibly stop a woman whose eyesight has been restored from going out and seeing the magnificent and prosperous capital city?
Wei Pingxi laughed and said, "I won't owe her anything until she's cured."
The "she" here refers to the concubine she kept in the backyard.
It was a mutually agreeable transaction; having taken her body, he naturally had to keep his word and cure her mother.
Otherwise, wouldn't that be outrageous?
"Don't overthink it, just do your job."
She remained calm and unhurried. Yao Chenzi remarked, "Mind your own business," and jumped off the carriage with his medicine chest on his back.
She hadn't even gotten tired of the buns yet, and they were surprisingly soft and fragrant. If Wei Pingxi were a complete scumbag, he wouldn't care about Yu's mother's life or death. It would be best if the blind man remained blind forever, so he wouldn't come to take her buns.
But you know, everyone has to have some bottom line, right? You can't just smash up a steamed bun shop just to have all the buns for yourself.
She turned away calmly, snowflakes landing on her eyelashes. Wei Pingxi sighed, "This young lady is truly a good person."
...
"That bastard!"
In Gan Ning Palace, Princess Yun Zhang, having just finished playing her game, complained to the Empress opposite her: "That little rascal, deliberately trying to annoy me, trying to snatch her away before I could! A smiling tiger, not just a tiger, but a dog too! My 'good daughter' couldn't even get out of bed this morning. Tell me, is she acting like this?"
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Chapter 54 Wife or Concubine
"outrageous."
"Yes, that's outrageous!"
Ji Yunzhang was thirsty from cursing and raised her hand to drink tea, but when she lifted her eyelids, she saw her best friend looking at her with a half-smile.
Her throat went dry, and she belatedly realized that her best friend was not only her best friend, but also the little rascal's aunt.
She gave a forced laugh.
Yan Xiu and Ji Rong became friends through chess. The chessboard is like a battlefield. They have been friends and competitors for many years. Just as Yan Xiu knows the tenderness beneath Ji Rong's cold and arrogant exterior, Ji Rong also knows the sharp scheming behind Yan Xiu's gentleness.
In short, neither of them are easy to deal with, which is why they cherish each other as friends.
Without realizing it, she had verbally abused the nephew whom everyone doted on. Ji Rong cleared her throat and pretended nothing had happened.
She stopped cursing that little rascal; the Empress had made her move and gained the upper hand, taking away many of his pieces.
With no chance of turning the tide, Ji Rong refused to give up and wanted to fight tooth and nail for a draw.
Yan Xiu wouldn't let her.
"This is nothing. She just arrived in the capital, hasn't even held his little hand yet, and she's already claiming Liu Boyan's blood as her daughter?"
Ji Rong, observing the situation intently, spared a small part of her attention upon hearing this and replied, "How could I not have found her? Yan'er's daughter is my daughter. We've wasted over twenty years of our lives. If we don't hurry, we'll be halfway to our coffins."
The Empress was certain that she would lose this round, and said calmly, "If you want to develop a further relationship with her, why not make peace with Xi Xi? With her mediating for you, how can you not get what you want?"
"Her? She can't even protect herself..."
Ji Rong was stumped by the game of chess. After racking his brains, he suddenly had a flash of inspiration and made a move: "Yan'er regards her as a good son-in-law. Guess what she did? She pretended to be a concubine to deceive everyone."
"But can this fait accompli be hidden? Do you really think I can't deal with her? If I were to deal with her, Yan'er would be the first to get hurt. I'm afraid of hurting her, so I have to give her some leeway."
He took a concubine as his wife.
The spies lurking in Ryonan did not report this to her.
The Empress was learning about this for the first time and found it troublesome. She sealed off Ji Rong's path with one move: "What has my good nephew been thinking about all this time? When will she ever understand her own heart?"
"What heart?"
"A heart full of affection."
Ji Rong scoffed: "Judging from the way she practically wanted to devour my daughter, she's blinded by lust and has a mouth as hard as a duck. I'll never understand her in this lifetime!"
"..."
Yan Xiu was annoyed by her insults and made another move that pushed her into a corner.
Princess Yunzhang, having suffered setbacks in both love and chess, simply flung her sleeves and declared, "I concede!"
...
Yu Zhi woke up naturally, her voice hoarse: "What time is it?"
"Reporting to Aunt, it is already 9:00 AM."
The alluring beauty dressed in her undergarments and got off the bed. Jin Shi and Yin Ding were guarding the outer room. With permission, they lifted the curtain and entered.
The room was filled with the scent of plum blossom incense. Yu Zhi, with her long, flowing hair, turned and tucked the curtains behind her, preventing any third eye from seeing the mess on the bed.
She tried to cover it up, and Jinshi and Yinding pretended not to know that the young lady had caused trouble for the aunt last night.
Sitting in front of the dressing table and looking at herself in the mirror, Yu Zhi's heart skipped a beat. Not only did her face turn red, but her neck also flushed pink.
Anyone with good eyesight could tell from her appearance what she had been through.
Where is Xi Xi?
Jin Shi laughed at her, saying she was still half asleep: "Miss went out to greet Madam Yu. If nothing unexpected happens, she should be at the villa with Madam right now."
Yu Zhixin made up her mind: "Put on my makeup, I'm going to see my mother."
South of Xuanwu Street lies the residence that Wei Pingxi had chosen for Yu's mother.
On New Year's Eve, even in broad daylight, there was a festive atmosphere. The courtyard was decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations. Miss Wei peeled a bright yellow orange, placed it on a fruit plate, and offered it to Liu Boyan with great care: "Mother-in-law, would you like to try some?"
She was a dutiful child, and by all accounts, she was at least a conscientious spouse.
He acted as a filial son to his concubine, peeled oranges for his mother-in-law, and so on. Before his mother-in-law even tasted the orange segments, she was already feeling sweet inside.
Princess Yunzhang vented her frustrations at Ganning Palace, and then, without delay, took advantage of her status as a princess to barge into this small courtyard.
Out of respect for his aunt, Wei Pingxi moved a chair for her.
Seeing her Yan'er completely bewildered by the little rascal's few orange segments, Ji Rong maintained a calm facade while her heart was in turmoil.
The more 'filial' the little rascal is to her Yan'er, how angry and upset must Yan'er be when she finds out the truth?
She dared not think too deeply about it; just thinking about it made her want to strangle the little brat.
"You eat too." Liu Boyan picked up a segment of orange and fed it to him.
Wei Pingxi complained that she rarely ate food offered by others when she was away from home, but since Yu's mother treated her like her own son-in-law, after a few moments of hesitation, she smiled and took the orange and fed it to her mouth.
The juice splashed out, and after chewing a few times, she swallowed it: "It's still sweeter when my mother-in-law feeds me."
"..."
Ji Rong decided to shut her eyes to avoid seeing it.
Footsteps approached from afar, and Yu Zhi stepped across the threshold: "Mother!"
Yu's mother, who was chatting happily with her son-in-law, suddenly trembled, her smile spreading across her face: "Zhizhi, it's Zhizhi..."
"Mother!"
Yuzhi threw herself into her arms: "Mother, I missed you so much..."
How could Liu Boyan not miss her?
The mother and daughter, who had been separated for many days, had a lot to say to each other. Yuzhi helped her mother back to her room, leaving the Fourth Miss and the Eldest Princess in the main hall, where tensions were high.
With her beloved not here, Ji Rong no longer needed to act and immediately sneered, "Do you like this surprise?"
"I like it; the oranges my mother-in-law feeds me are always sweet."
Ji Rong glared at her: "Instead of wasting time arguing with me, you should think more about how you're going to face your trustworthy mother-in-law when things come to a head?"
Wei Pingxi popped another orange segment into her mouth, her mouth soothed by the sweet juice. She relaxed her back, leaned back lazily in her chair, and squinted her eyes: "What's it to you?"
"It's none of my business. However, I will not allow you to harm them, mother and daughter."
"A pair of intact eyes, a life free from want, in exchange for Zhizhi's body and the rest of her life—this is what we agreed upon long ago, no deception whatsoever. If I haven't gotten tired of it, no one can change my mind. What's done is done; I never expected to hide it forever."
"So what if it happened?" Ji Rong exclaimed in surprise, "If it happens, how do you expect the mother and daughter to get along?"
"That's their business, what does it have to do with me?"
"None of your business?"
"It has nothing to do with me."
"Fine, then it's none of their business if I beat you to death. Guards!"
A gust of wind swept by, and the swordsmen hidden in the shadows all appeared.
Wei Pingxi chuckled lightly: "I took a concubine on a whim, and told a lie at the beauty's request. How can you make it sound like I'm some kind of heinous villain? Your Highness, do you have any sense of reason?"
“I’m willing to plead with you, but you say it’s none of your business. Then wait until you can defeat my guards before you try to reason with me.” Ji Rong flicked his sleeves and sat down.
The longsword was drawn, its gleam cold and sharp.
The ten swordsmen were the princess's trump card when she traveled. Each of them was worth a hundred elite soldiers. They were all well-known and anonymous knights, but it was unknown why they had joined the princess's ranks and were being used by her.
With a sword pointed at his nose, Wei Pingxi slammed his fist on the table and went out to fight.
"Beat her up."
The princess gave the order for the ten swordsmen to attack together.
A vast snowstorm swept through the courtyard. Wei Pingxi, dressed in white robes with wide sleeves, plucked a plum blossom to make a sword.