Chapter 27 Take Concubine

Ye’s family was narrow-minded, liked to seek revenge over a dirty look. Even if Guan Suyi didn’t hinder them, as long as she existed for a day, it would be a thorn in Ye Zhen’s heart, not happy if it was not removed. Let alone there were two children living under her hands, made it more difficult to relax their vigilance. Due to the presence of the old madam, Liu shi could not reach her hand into the Marquis Zhenbei mansion, so after thinking about it, she had to stuff Ye Fan inside.

Ye Fan was the only di daughter of the second branch of the Ye family. The second branch was born from a concubine. In the early years, the family had already lived separately, and also had no business acumen. The small property he got was quickly exhausted, and his life was very difficult. When she was ten, Ye Fan’s father was killed by bandits on the way to do business, and her mother could not survive alone, so she had to send her back to the relative family and remarried herself.

Because of her beautiful appearance, Ye Fan quickly won the favor of the Ye family’s head, and she was brought into the main branch and raised carefully, in order to find a wealthy family to marry in the future. Becoming the first wife naturally impossible, becoming a spoiled concubine was more than enough. Ye Fan had had enough of the hard life, and she also already set her mind to drill into the deep house of the rich and powerful, and was not afraid of those shady methods.

She was only six years younger than Ye Zhen, but she separated from her parents when she was young, as they went around to do business. She didn’t remember that her relative family had only one di daughter, not a pair of twins. After being adopted by her relative family, she was provided with brocade garment and jade meals, slowly grew from a yellow-skinned little girl to a young girl with beautiful face. When she was fourteen or fifteen years old, her appearance was seven or eight points similar to Ye Zhen. It could be said the her captivating beauty made the fish sink and goose alights, hiding the moon and shaming the flowers, so her heart grew bigger, and she was extremely dissatisfied with several marriages that Liu shi picked, secretly fool around with a son of an aristocratic family.

When the two fell in love with each other, they made a pledge to get married. In order to be together in an open and honest way, they made a ruckus in front of Liu shi. Seeing that Ye Fan was so prosperous, to actually hook up with an aristocratic son, she had no alternative but to hold her nose and agreed. Unexpectedly, just after the marriage was decided, the Jiuli tribe entered the Central Plains. As a result, the fire of war continued for years, bones of the dead were exposed, many vassal states were destroyed, and the noble family giants that had stood for a thousand years without falling were also severely damaged.

When the Wei was established, Ye Fan’s fiancé was lucky enough to survive, but the family had long since fallen into disrepair. They couldn’t even afford a full meal, and could only count the glory of the past with the tablets of their ancestors. How could Ye Fan willing to endure the hardship? Looking in the mirror, she felt that she could find a better one, so she asked Liu shi to call off the wedding.

The family originally looked down on Ye Fan, who came from merchant family, but fortunately, he was only a shu son born from a singer, so it didn’t really matter. But now was different from the past. They were all counting on Ye Fan’s large dowry to live. Naturally, they opposed it fiercely, and the two families started to fight.

Ye Fan was delayed by the war, and also entangled by her fiancé’s family. If Ye Zhen hadn’t been awarded the title Jieyu, and the saint intended to support the Ye family, she would probably have to be buried in the pit she dug herself for the rest of her life. When she finally got rid the bad marriage, she was already twenty-four years old, and soon there was no way out, how could she not be in a hurry? Zhao Luli was young, handsome, and held a high position. He was the dream husband of many Wei’s noble daughters. Hearing that Liu shi was going to send her to Marquis Zhenbei mansion to be a concubine, she agreed without thinking.

Ye Fan used to conduct herself well. In order to please Liu shi, she was very fond of the two children left by her cousin, and it was not an exaggeration to say that she watched them grew up. Therefore, the two children were very close to her, and after marrying in, at least the little brats were on her side, which means that lord marquis was on her side, and life would definitely be better. As for the legendary Guan’s daughter, who was said to be highly talented, well-educated, knowledgeable, and highly appreciated by His Majesty, she didn’t pay any attention to her.

She knew that her biggest weapon was this face that resembled her cousin. Maybe she could only be a stand-in at first, but who could say exactly as time goes by?

Liu shi and Ye Fan hit it off, and the next day they hurriedly knocked on the door of Marquis Zhenbei Mansion. Zhao Luli saw that his mother-in-law had something private to say, so he asked Ye Fan to see the two children. As soon as the two entered the study, Liu shi opened her mouth to ask her son-in-law to take a concubine, and Zhao Luli was so shocked that he couldn’t recover for a long time.

“I just got married, I’m afraid it’s not appropriate.”

“What’s wrong? Are you afraid that the Guan family will trouble you? Well, you ungrateful bastard, where did you put my Ye family? If it wasn’t for you, how could Zhen’er bear to leave her children to go to that shameful place? How did you get your title, as well as your wealth and life, and how the Zhao family become rich and noble, have you forgotten? Zhen’er gave everything to you, but you turned around and helped the newcomer abuse her son and daughter, if I don’t send Ye Fan in, and let her take care the two children so they can grow up safely, I won’t be able close my eyes even after dyingit means that when a person dies, there are still thing in their hearts that they cannot let go, often used to describe extremely unhappiness, and Zhen’er also won’t be able to close her eyes after dying! It’s my fault that I had no eyes and could not see people clearly, and I thought that Guan shi was a good one, but I didn’t expect after entering the door she reveal her original form, kneading Xi’er and Wangshu like clay figurines. My poor Zhen’er, her life is really worthless!” Liu shi sat down on the ground, pointing to the sky and scolding the earth, cried and cried, just like a rural village woman.

When she mentioned his “deceased wife”, Zhao Luli suddenly felt  heartbroken, he stroked his chest while his eyes became red, and he couldn’t say a word to refute. After poking his sore spot Liu shi lobbied again, and finally got a satisfactory answer.

At the same time, Ye Fan was greeting the old madam, and she was shocked when she saw the woman sitting to her right. They all said that rumors were not entirely credible, but the rumors about Guan shi were actually far from being able to reach the person herself. At this moment, she was slowly playing with a bunch of daffodils, with a slight smile at the corner of her lips and soft color in her eyes. Without the embellishment of brocade clothes and jewelry, her gorgeous face, and her graceful elegant were the best decoration and also the most dazzling halo.

Ye Fan, who was instantly reduced to a foil, smiled very reluctantly, and it was not until Zhao Chunxi and Zhao Wangshu ran to see her happily after hearing the news that she finally regained some confidence. The three of them had a good time reminiscing about the old days, and they put the old madam and Guan Suyi aside and ignored them.

In a quarter of an hour Guan Suyi completed a pot of flower ball, and let the maid put it on the low table by the window, cleaned her hands, and wiped off the water while slowly saying, “Xi’er, you came to the main courtyard a quarter an hour late to pay respect today, I have already remind your four maidservants and asked them to hasten constantly, but if they fail to serve their master, they all will be deducted this month’s monthly silver. If they commit the crime again, they will be deducted from the next month, and if there is a third time, they all will be sold.”

This sentence broke the bubble of happiness in the room. The three people’s voices stopped abruptly, except for the four senior maids who knelt down in unison, followed by a series of pleading guilty and ask for forgiveness. In today’s Marquis Zhenbei Mansion, no one dared to challenge the authority of the mistress, even the old madam kept her mouth shut and stood on the sidelines.

“At present, although spring is approaching, the weather is still very cold. It doesn’t matter if it’s late a moment or two in the morning. Madam punishes Xi’er like this, afraid it’s too severe, right? I was fostered by my aunt since I was a child, and she always sympathize with me, and in the middle of the winter of the twelfth month, I am excused from paying respect…”

Ye Fan was interrupted by Guan Suyi before she finished speaking, “That’s why you can’t get married when you already twenty-four. When others look for a daughter-in-law, the most important thing is not her appearance, but her virtue. If a person is not filial to the elders of her own family, how can they expect her to be filial to the elders of other family? Serving the parents-in-law, assist the husband and educate the children are the duties that a mistress should fulfill, and it doesn’t matter if the other point is not good. Seeing Xi’er is about to discuss marriage, even if she is unwilling in her heart, she has to put on a filial piety appearance, otherwise when someone from another family come to inquire and learn that she is not even close to her own grandmother, let alone pay respect and accompany her, how can they expect her to be filial to their elders and obedient to her husband after getting married? Is this marrying a daughter-in-law or an ancestor?”

Seeing Ye Fan biting her lip and holding back her anger, Guan Suyi chuckled and stabbed deeper, “For women, especially unmarried women, reputation is very important. Sister Ye must have a deep understanding of this point.”

The old madam softened her face and made another stab, “Suyi is willing to discipline her children, that is their blessing, and it’s not an outsider’s turn to intervene. Zhao Chunxi, If you don’t like to see me, don’t come, you don’t need to force it.”

Seeing that her grandmother had clearly expressed her dissatisfaction with herself, if she said a few words outside, who would dare to come to ask for marriage? Zhao Chunxi once again realized that Guan Suyi’s words were correct, and immediately knelt down and pleaded guilty, saying that she would never dare again next time. It was at this moment that Zhao Luli and Liu shi walked in. One was ashamed because of his daughter’s ignorance, while the other held a grudge because of Guan Suyi’s suppression.

Little bitch, wait until Ye Fan enters the door and see how you fall! Thinking like this, Liu shi chatted a few words with the old madam, then said goodbye, but before leaving, she cast a contemptuous and pitying look at Guan Suyi. Zhao Chunxi knew that her mom and grandmother had done what she asked for, and she couldn’t help feeling very happy.

Zhao Luli felt very guilty towards his new wife, but he couldn’t stand Liu shi‘s soft and hard pressure. He had no alternative but to invite the old madam to the inner hall to speak, and tried to send others away. Guan Suyi pretended to not understand, and stayed outside to drink tea as usual. Zhao Chunxi also stayed while waiting to see her jokes, but Zhao Wangshu was ignorant and went to play on his own.

“There seems to be a commotion inside, mother, why don’t you go in and take a look?” Zhao Chunxi pretended to be worried.

“It’s nothing, how can there be an overnight feud between mother and son.” Guan Suyi smiled lightly.

After half an hour, Zhao Luli came out first, saw his new wife was still there, his cheeks flushed red, then paled, and then gave her a deep bow. The old madam followed closely, scolding with her crutch, “Unfilial son, get out of here!”

“I’m sorry.” It was unknown who this sentence was addressed to, but the when words fell, the person had already gone far, the back looked quite embarrassed.

The old madam collapsed on the soft chair, and she said with tears, “Suyi, you are a good daughter-in-law, our Zhao family have let you down! I am old, and these children have hard wings, I really can’t control it. If I’m not here, please take care of marquis mansion, don’t let it fall apart, collapse, defeated…”

“Old madam, you are too worried.” Guan Suyi patted the back of her hand and said calmly, “Does lord marquis want to take Ye Fan as a concubine?”

“You know?” The old madam raised her head suddenly, as if thinking of something, and sighed, “You are so smart, how can you not see through the Ye family’s little tricks. That’s right, they want to send Ye Fan in, I couldn’t stop it.” When the words fell she glared at Zhao Chunxi.

As soon as Zhao Chunxi’s eyes showed a hint of happiness, she heard Guan Suyi disapprovingly said, “Then let him accept her. On the day when Ye Fan enter the door, I will send my maid Mingfang too, and make it a double happiness. Old madam, what do you think? Mingfang has served me since she was a child, and she has an extraordinary relationship with me, so I will remove her slave status and give her a few acres of land and a small courtyard. This way, she can be regarded as a good family woman with a serious dowry and she can be a noble concubine like Ye Fan.”

These words shocked the old madam and Zhao Chunxi, and after a while, one turned anger into joy, and the other almost choked to death.

After the Ye family shoved their daughter in, Guan Suyi immediately promoted her maid too. The two were both noble concubines. Wasn’t this equivalent to slapping the Ye family in the face? The face were all gone! This move was damaging, very damaging indeed, and it’s unknown what Ye Fan’s expression would look like when that day comes.

The old madam swept away the previous depression, and said, “Yes, both of them are acceptable, so they can spread branches and scatter leaves for my marquis mansion. Your maid is really good, I will give her some more dowry.”

Guan Suyi pursed her lips and smiled, letting Mingfang, who was already out of her soul, quickly kowtow to the old madam. The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law completely forgot to ask Zhao Luli’s opinion. Of course, even if he didn’t want to, Guan Suyi had a thousand ways to make him nod.

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