Chapter 28 Wash One’s Hand

Guan Suyi came out of the main courtyard, followed by the ecstatic Mingfang and the unwilling stepdaughter. Because the sun was full and the temperature rose up, many bright yellow spring flowers bloomed in the yard one after another. The group was admiring them while walking back to the main house.

Spreading the account book, Guan Suyi pointed to the incoming and outgoing items, and asked Zhao Chunxi to help settle the accounts, while she picked up a book and flipped through it at will. Thinking that it was because she was uncomfortable but didn’t dare to show it on her face, Zhao Chunxi plucked the abacus beads and made a chaotic sound, which sounded very annoying.

Minglan pouted in disgust, secretly slandering this duplicitous eldest miss in her heart.

After enduring and enduring, Zhao Chunxi finally couldn’t hold back, with great difficulty asked in a calm voice, “Mother, you want to take a concubine for my daddy, why didn’t you ask his opinion?”

“Then your grandmother stuffed Ye Fan in, did she asked my opinion? Your daddy went directly to the old madam, did he ask my opinion?” Guan Suyi didn’t even bother to lift her eyelids, asked in an elongated voice.

Zhao Chunxi had nothing to say, feeling suffocated for a while before saying, “Even if you want to take a concubine for him, can’t you wait a while? Do you have to pick it on the day my aunt passes the door? How uncomfortable my aunt would be?”

“Do not impose on others what you yourself do not desire. Your Ye family wants to put Ye Fan in, but you don’t choose anytime else, you have to pick it up soon after my wedding with lord marquis? Have you ever thought how uncomfortable I would be?” Guan Suyi closed the book, her voice slowly became cold, “I am now the mistress of the marquis Mansion, and Liu shi forced lord marquis to take a concubine, which means to slap my face in public. The sage said: repaying resentment with virtue, why repay virtue? It is right to repay grievance with grievance and repay virtue with virtue. If others are sincere to me, I will naturally reply them with sincerity. If others want to plot against me, I am sorry, I will let them knock out their teeth and swallow their blood.”

When the last sentence was said, Zhao Chunxi always felt that her stepmother was looking at her with sharp eyes, as if she had already understand her careful thoughts, and even her mom’s plan was clear. But how could it possible? Despite this thought, she couldn’t stop panicking in her heart, just because she really knocked down her teeth and swallowed her blood, just as the other person said.

Guan Suyi curled her knuckles and knocked it on the table, said toward  Mingfang, “You go to the government office with housekeeper Zhao now, he will help you eliminate your slave status and become a good citizen. What is the reason for me to lift you up to this point, presumably you are very clear in your heart. In the future you will serve Lord marquis well, and don’t let me down. If I can support you, I will naturally be able to hold you down too.”

“Madam’s great kindness and great virtue, this servants will never forget. As long as you send a message in the future, this servant will definitely jump into scalding water and plunge into raging fire for you.” Mingfang knew that miss lift her up to suppress Ye Fan, so she quickly knelt down and expressed her loyalty.

Seeing this person’s gesture of pointing to the sky and draws the earthdescribe a wanton behavior, without fear, Guan Suyi laughed inwardly. In the previous life, she also saw through Mingfang’s thoughts, but she was afraid that the master-servant friendship would be damaged, so Ye Fan used the condition of lifting her as a concubine to draw the people over. Therefore, Guan Suyi suffered losses in the open and in the dark, and finally almost drowned in the pond. Now, she simply took the initiative to lift up Mingfang. Both were noble concubines, and they went through the door on the same day. In order to compete for Zhao Luli’s favor, afraid those two would try to kill each other.

A dog bites a man is a tragedy, a man bites a dog is a farce, and a dog bites a dog is a good show. Guan Suyi would just sat in the main hall, waiting to see this good show. Sending away the grateful mingfang, she caught a glimpse of Zhao Chunxi’s extremely ugly face, she said slowly, “There are thousand of ways for the mistress to suppress the concubine, and the worst one is to do it yourself. Ye Fan is your aunt now, and it doesn’t matter how close are you to her, but after entering the marquis mansion she will become your father’s concubine, so it’s better for you to move around less with her, so as not to end up with the reputation of being ‘brought up by little woman’.”

The little woman was a lowly concubine, and being raised by a lowly concubine was a very humiliating and extremely shameful thing at the time. Guan Suyi’s last sentence was vicious and made Zhao Chunxi almost faint. At this moment, Zhao Luli walked in and said furiously, “When I was away, that’s how you humiliated Xi’er? What my mother-in-law said was right, no matter how good you look on the surface, you will never really consider Xi’er. I am too gullible! Guan Suyi, you just be prepare, after a month I will let Ye Fan pass the door, and you have to agree even if you disagree. Without her to look after in the backyard, I’m really afraid that Xi’er and Wangshu will be hurt by you.” If he hadn’t heard and seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn’t have known how his daughter would cry when she returned.

He was originally locked in the study and sulked, but after half an hour he realized that he still had to give an explanation to his new wife, so he walked back to the main house and planned to discuss and persuade in a good voice, but he didn’t expect to hear those words, and his anger immediately ignited.

Zhao Chunxi was overjoyed, many tears fell from her eyes, and she threw herself into his father’s arms and sobbed. Although she didn’t say anything, the appearance of silently enduring everything was heartbreaking enough.

Seeing that Zhao Luli was furious and was about to go wild, Guan Suyi said calmly, “I have a straight temper, if have something to say then I will say it. I have told you this long ago. If you think I am wrong, fine, wait until Ye Fan pass the door, and Xier and Wangshu will all move over to be raised by her, I’ll wash my hands and don’t care about everything. Are you satisfied?”

Zhao Luli was dumb, Zhao Chunxi was dumb, the father and daughter looked at each other in dismay, it’s difficult to get off while riding a tiger. No matter how close Ye Fan was by blood and relationship, she would still be a concubine when she pass the door. Where could there be a di son and daughter who were not raised under the mistress’s knees, but sent to the concubine’s room instead? If the news spreads, let alone let Zhao Chunxi marry a good family in the future, let Zhao Wangshu enter the imperial examination, even if the two step out of the door, they would feel embarrassed.

The consequence of being too close to Ye Fan was just as Guan Suyi said – brought up by little woman. She did speak straightforwardly, making it uncomfortable to listen to, but she never missed half a point.

Zhao Luli’s anger completely extinguished in an instant, secretly blaming himself for pouring the anger he had received from his mother on his wife’s head. He had the mind to apologize but didn’t know how to open his mouth, his face flushed, stutteringly tried to speak.

Ye Fan merely a shu branch’s daughter, that lived relying on other’s charity, how could her foundation be comparable with Guan Suyi? If Guan Suyi was really angry and threw herself and her younger brother to Ye Fan to be brought up, how would she live in the future? She didn’t have the blood of an aristocratic family in the first place, and her father was rejected by the emperor. By then, wouldn’t those handkerchiefhandkerchiefs here do not refers to the real handkerchiefs but to small gifts exchanged between women, so it means close female friends friends die from laughter? The more Zhao Chunxi thought about it, the more anxious she became.

Her mouth was bitter, her knees were weak, she trembled and tried to kneel to her stepmother, but was supported by her strong self-esteem and refused to admit defeat easily.

Guan Suyi didn’t care about the Zhao’s father and daughter’s apology, and said in a low voice, “I sincerely considered the marquis mansion, but you have never regarded me as your own family, otherwise you would not take concubine less then half a month since my own wedding, and forgot to inform me. Never mind, I’ll just be an idle shopkeepersomebody who asks others to work but does nothing himself. And one more point, on the day Ye Fan pass the the door next month, Mingfang also has to follow, and lord marquis has to agree even if he disagree, otherwise I will go home and let my parents talk to you. Looking around Yanjing, only merchants from lowly backgrounds who doesn’t understand etiquette will take concubines at the same time as they marry their brides. If your Zhao family must follow suit, I will not stop it, you can do whatever you love, who cares.” (T/N: it’s the title)

“Madam, I…” Only then did Zhao Luli realize that taking a concubine was not only his business, but also a family business. If Guan Suyi was not pregnant in three to five years, no one would stop him from taking a concubine, but now he hurriedly brought in a concubine from the Ye family within half a month of being married. It’s no wonder that Guan Suyi was so angry.

He regretted it very much, and was about to explain it properly, but saw the other person speak indifferently, “Since you don’t treat me as a family, I won’t rush make a tiring effort with no results. That’s how I am, I’ll repay virtue with virtue, repay grievance with grievance, and exchange sincerity for sincerity. In the future you don’t need to ask me if you want to do anything, except for being central feeder I don’t care about anything. Now please go out!”

Minglan immediately stepped forward to expel the people, and caught a glimpse of feather duster in the flower vase, she hated that she couldn’t whip it on the father and daughter.

Zhao Luli felt anxious, but didn’t know how to smooth things out, so he had to retreat in embarrassment, walking back to the door he bowed deeply, and said in remorse, “Madam, please calm down, don’t be separated from me. I agree with Mingfang’s matter. This family you will always have the final say, and no one can shake your position. This time it’s still my fault, and I will never do it again. Before getting angry, I will let myself think it over calmly, and then I will discuss it with you properly, what do you think?”

Zhao Chunxi said with tears in her eyes, “Mother, I also know I’m wrong, please don’t leave me alone. I lost my mom since I was a child, and it was my aunt who watched me grew up, so I got closer to her and forgot your feelings. I will listen to you obediently…”

Guan Suyi waved her hands coldly, “No need to say anymore, just go.”

Minglan then hurried people out, “Lord Marquis, eldest miss, you go back first, miss is feeling sad right now, you let her lick her wounds alone. Her words are indeed unpleasant, but you have to carefully pondered it in private, when all is said and done, isn’t it the truth?” As she spoke, she pushed the people out and closed the courtyard door.

“It’s finally quiet.” Guan Suyi tapped her knuckles on the tabletop and muttered to herself, “The one who should come then come, the one who should go then go, a good show also must start with an opening gong.”

“Miss, it’s Mingfang who should go, but where should the Ye family’s shu daughter come? If it wasn’t for her, there would never be such a bad thing right now.” Minglan rolled her eyes in anger.

“When she come, this house will be lively.” Guan Suyi smiled very lightly.

“What’s lively, there must be a lot of moths. Miss, do you really plan to let her raise the eldest miss and the eldest young master? That’s great, these two people are really difficult to serve, the eldest young master likes to beat and scold people, the eldest miss looks very kind, but occasionally shows a particularly sinister look, which is really scary.” Minglan patted her chest, looking like she couldn’t avoid it.

Guan Suyi shook her head, “I would love to, but Zhao Luli will never agree, jut see.” She originally planned to gather these people together and let them play by themselves, but now was not a good time. She was waiting, waiting for the Zhao family to continue tossing, and then she would be “disheartened and left sadly”. At that time, let’s see if the Marquis Mansion could play the zither, play the qin, play the tune, be happy and laugh, and whether it could make a flower bloom in the already “extremely happy” life.

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