"Fourth Miss!"
"Fourth Miss—"
What's the rush?
Wei Pingxi was pleased with their stunned and bewildered reaction to Yu Zhi, and let them indulge in their wild imaginations. He took the beauty's hand and walked ahead, laughing as he went: "The sky hasn't fallen yet, has it?"
"The sky hasn't collapsed yet, but it's not far from collapsing!"
Li Le, a confidante of Madam Wei, rushed ahead of Wei Zhong to deliver the message: "The old master intends to form a marriage alliance with the Song family."
This short sentence explains why Grandpa Wei urgently summoned his granddaughter back in the letter.
"A marriage alliance?"
Wei Pingxi's smile was extremely cold.
She has a strange personality; her laughter is never genuine, but it's always unsettling.
Wei Zhong was the old man's man, and he had been neglecting her because the old man disliked her. But seeing that the fourth young lady was about to turn on him, he perked up and felt a chill creep down his spine.
The few words stirred up a storm in Yu Zhi's heart: a marriage alliance? A marriage alliance with the Song family? Who would they choose for the marriage alliance?
Could it be the Fourth Miss?
A light mist welled up in her eyes.
She finally found a powerful backer, but after only a few days, the fourth young lady touched and kissed her. Then the fourth young lady left to become someone else's wife. What is she going to do?
Suddenly feeling a sharp pain in his hand, Wei Pingxi turned his head and saw the panic and fear in the beauty's eyes. He realized that all his comforting words along the way had been in vain. His temper flared up, and he glared at Li Le without any politeness, his voice icy: "Look how scared you've made my man."
She seemed angry but not angry, her smile undiminished. Knowing her nature, Li Le hurriedly apologized to Yu Zhi.
Yu Zhi dared not expect her to bow and scrape as an apology.
As she got closer, she finally saw clearly that the jade pendant on this woman's waist was worth more than twenty years of hard work for her and her mother.
The servants who witnessed this scene couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat, and they all speculated about the relationship between Yuzhi and the Fourth Miss.
Li Le was the most capable subordinate of the madam. As the saying goes, even when beating a dog, one must consider its owner. The fourth young lady had always given Li Le some face, but now she scolded her for a strange woman.
This is just so strange no matter how you look at it.
Wei Pingxi reprimanded Li Le, and Yu Zhi felt extremely apprehensive. Thinking that she could not embarrass the Fourth Miss, she politely helped Li Le up.
Li Le straightened up and saw the beautiful girl's gentle features.
If someone has to play the good cop, someone else has to play the bad cop. Wei Pingxi glared at her and said, "If you scare her again, you might as well go and guard the gate of the Xining Courtyard!"
She acted recklessly in the Wei family, relying on Madam Wei's power. Just six months ago, she wasn't like this. It can only be said that the Fourth Miss's heart is deeper than a needle point and as deep as the sea. You can't figure her out no matter how hard you try.
With the matter settled, Wei Zhong finally found a chance to speak: "The old master instructed that the fourth young lady should go to the [Xiling Pavilion] as soon as she returns."
The Opera Pavilion was where the old man listened to operas and appreciated music; it housed a whole host of opera performers.
Seeing people in this place shows they don't take her seriously at all!
Wei Zhong understood, so how could Wei Pingxi not understand?
Li Le opened his mouth, but swallowed the words back.
Wei Zhong brought up the old man, and since she couldn't bring the fourth young lady back to the madam's side, she could only take it one step at a time. She turned around and sent someone to inform the madam at the Liulan Courtyard.
With the fourth young lady back, the house is going to be in chaos again.
Yu Zhi nervously stepped through the door, her feet landing on the smooth bluestone, and walked through a series of long corridors, as if she were walking through a magnificent fairy palace.
The opulent wealth and luxury of the noble families were dazzling and overwhelming, leaving one dazzled and disoriented.
"Stunned?"
Wei Pingxi whispered to her.
The sudden warm breath made Yu Zhi's ears turn red. She opened her mouth, but before she could make a sound, the Fourth Miss shut her up with a single sentence.
"Little country bumpkin."
"..."
Yu Zhi was speechless after being teased by her, and a helpless look appeared on her eyebrows - you little country bumpkin, aren't you still craving it too?
She didn't dare to argue back in front of everyone.
To put it another way, she only dared to tease this unpredictable man when they were flirting and being intimate in bed.
Passing through a series of hanging flower gates, we walked through the flowers and willows to reach the [Xiling Pavilion].
Old Master Wei leaned against the wide sandalwood chair, his toes resting in the arms of a maid, while the actress knelt beside him, massaging his feet and legs.
White hair, a dazzling white hair.
She only caught a glimpse of his back, but the aura he exuded was even more powerful than Yu Zhi had imagined. Her legs trembled, and Miss Wei let out a soft laugh, taking her hand and stepping forward.
"I heard that my grandfather has found me an excellent marriage?"
Grandpa Wei, who held considerable sway over the family, leisurely enjoyed the opera performance on stage without turning his head.
Wei Pingxi had had enough of this piercing indifference in his previous life. The warmth in his eyes suddenly faded, and his voice lost its gentleness, revealing a crisp and clear tone.
I don't think that's necessary.
A smile returned to her face: "Why marry someone? Marriage is nothing compared to taking a concubine. Grandfather, let me introduce you to Yuzhi, my beloved concubine."
Chapter 14 Rebellious Spirit
The term "favored concubine" was not unfamiliar to the illustrious Wei family.
The eldest son of the Wei family, known to outsiders as the "Jade-Faced Gentleman," is the eldest brother of the fourth Miss Wei. He has one wife and three concubines, and a large family of children.
The second son of Wei was slightly inferior to the eldest son of Wei, and had one wife and one concubine.
Leaving aside these two, even the unmarried Third Young Master Wei was a man of great literary talent and romantic charm, a frequent visitor to brothels and alleys, enjoying the bliss of having women on both sides.
Even so, the three young men of the Wei family were still regarded as learned gentlemen in the eyes of the world.
It is common for men to take concubines; as long as they are kept in the backyard, things will be fine.
What is moderation?
The principal wife manages the household affairs, oversees the family business, and maintains relations between the noble families and their inner quarters.
A concubine serves men with her beauty, but she is nothing more than a lowly thing that cannot be presented in public. Who has ever seen someone treat such a thing as a treasure?
The distance between a wife and a concubine cannot be bridged simply by adding the word "favor" before the word "concubine".
If it were not the fourth young lady who said these words, but one of the three grandsons whom the old master had always doted on, this would not be a big deal at all.
At worst, the grandfather and grandson can just smile at each other and let the matter drop.
Unfortunately, it was the old man's least favorite granddaughter who said these words.
Wei Pingxi slowly straightened up, the smile still lingering on his lips.
A somber atmosphere spread silently. The actors on the stage were comically afraid to move. Everyone, both on and off stage, lowered their heads. Yu Zhi lowered her eyes, cold sweat seeping through her fingers.
The maid clinging to the old man's leg felt a chill run down her spine, and the warmth in her arms gradually dissipated.
Butler Wei Zhong dared not breathe, while Li Le frowned and trembled with fear.
The air seemed to freeze. The composed old man, Grandpa Wei, paused, the jade walnut he was holding in his palm still, and raised his white eyebrows slightly: "What did you say?"
"What are you saying? Didn't Grandfather already understand?"
A blatant, unrestrained sneer was tantamount to provoking a major disaster.
Yu Zhi was terrified. She couldn't believe that the Fourth Miss dared to be so unruly in front of the old man.
Wei Pingxi really wanted to laugh.
In her past life, she was concerned about the old man's advanced age and fantasized that the Wei family still had some blood ties with her. She gave everyone face, but she alone lost face and had to swallow her pride and suffer in silence.
What kind of people are the young masters of the Song family? If we're talking about the eldest young master of the Song family, he's still someone of importance. But as for the second young master of the Song family, he's utterly hopeless and utterly useless.
Her grandfather found her a pile of mud, hoping she would be grateful and continue to shine, devoting herself to the Wei family until her death without complaint.
How could such a disgusting thing happen?
Wei Pingxi stood there indifferently, a hint of mockery in the corner of his eye: "I want to take a concubine, not marry. If Grandfather doesn't like it, he can just beat me to death."
She raised her head, proud as a beautiful peacock, her tone indifferent, with an air of profound understanding of life and death. She was determined to keep her heart with women and had lost all interest in marriage and children.
It's not just a statement, it's a provocation.
The stage and the audience were instantly filled with kneeling people, all prostrating themselves. Yu Zhi, who had never seen anything like this before, turned pale. Wei Pingxi glanced at her and generously half-embraced her.
Smelling the faint scent of agarwood from her bosom, Yu Zhi's heart pounded.
For some reason, Miss Wei smiled, her smile unusually blatant.
She endured it all her life, but never received a shred of pity in return until her death.
She was never one to swallow her anger, and now that blood ties could no longer suppress her, having seen through the true colors of the Wei family, why didn't she do what she wanted to do?
No one in this world should try to control her anymore.
Even if she gets hurt and bruised, she just wants to live as she pleases and vent her pent-up anger from her past life.
Everyone lowered their heads, except for the Fourth Miss, who proudly embraced her concubine.
Old Master Wei finally turned his head. His remarkably youthful face was now as cold as ice, and his deep eyes made no attempt to hide the disgust in his heart.
It's like looking at something dirty.
Yu Zhi glanced at it quickly, and was deeply shocked!
If one didn't know that the two were grandfather and grandson, seeing such a look in their eyes, who wouldn't say that these two were mortal enemies from a past life?
No wonder, no wonder the people around her treated the Fourth Miss strangely as soon as she entered the mansion.
She gripped the cool hand tightly, and a gentle force pushed her away from his embrace.
Yu Zhi stumbled back three or five steps, barely managing to regain her footing, when she heard the old man's cold, deep voice: "Hit him."
Beat her until she realizes her mistake, beat her until she admits it.