Bend Over [ 折腰 ] - Chapter 20

[Chapter 20 Cohabitation]

This house of the Wei family not only has the grandeur of the houses of the northern aristocratic families, but also adheres to the establishment of the marquis. There are three gates open, covering the top of Xieshan Mountain, and the bottom is a boulder pedestal. The front hall is grand, and the residences in the back house are also separated by courtyard walls, with a courtyard in the middle. The overall layout is clear and open.

The person with the highest status in the Wei family is undoubtedly Mrs. Xu, who is still living forever. Mrs. Xu’s residence is located in the north of the middle, and it is now empty. Wei Shao’s mother, Zhu’s, lived in the east, and Xiao Qiao was placed in the opposite Westinghouse.

The Westinghouse is called “House”, but it is actually a large independent courtyard. It passes through two gates, passes through the main courtyard and the left and right wing rooms, and finally arrives at the most private bedroom, with a patio in the back room.

There were about ten servants in the West Room, all of them knelt outside the door to welcome Xiao Qiao, calling her Mistress.

Although I didn’t have any prophetic photos when I came back this time, the inside and outside of the house were all clean, and the inside of the bedroom was even more spotless.

In the future, Xiao Qiao will live here forever.

When Chunniang and the maids were packing their luggage, Xiao Qiao noticed that there were several sets of men’s clothes and some daily utensils left in the room.

It seemed that Wei Shao used to be at home, and usually lived in this room.

When he was in Xindu, in front of Zhong Li, Wei Shao openly separated from himself, and he didn’t want to hide it at all. It could be seen that he didn’t care how his family viewed the couple’s relationship. Coupled with his usual contempt for him, Xiao Qiao deduced that he would not be forced to live in the same room with him in the future.

This is naturally a kind of humiliation for her newly married “lady”. By tomorrow, the servants of the Wei family will definitely use her as a topic of discussion behind her back.

Trees have bark, and people have cheeks. A tree can’t live without its skin, and a person can’t die without this skin, but it will be ugly.

Xiao Qiao is also a layman. A newcomer, who wants to become a joke in the eyes of others overnight. If she could put one on herself, she would be happy to work hard.

But this kind of thing cannot be solved by oneself. It is estimated that Wei Shao wanted to slap her to death like a fly, so she could only think about it as much as she could.

Fortunately, his mind is big enough to not drill his own horns, which is probably the biggest advantage of Xiao Qiao other than this pair of skins.

So she specially instructed Sheng Chunniang to sort out all the things Wei Shao had left behind and put them aside, waiting for him to send someone to take them away.

…

Wei Shao threw her to the steward with a single word, and she disappeared throughout the day.

The master of the Wei family could not have a good impression of Qiao Nu. The servant should be the same. But not all servants.

Even if money can’t buy people’s hearts, it’s not difficult to buy people to talk.

At the beginning of Xindu, most of the servants in Xin Palace were from the local area and did not know about the Wei family in Yuyang. The few who followed Zhong Li, because they were afraid of Zhong Li, spoke hesitantly, not willing to reveal much. After arriving here and settling down, Chunniang quickly asked a lot of detailed things about the Wei family and Mrs. Zhu from a servant named Bingnu in the Westinghouse, relying on the ability to watch people she had developed in the Qiao family.

Nowadays, marriage is prevalent, and marriage pays attention to the right match, especially the aristocratic family. Therefore, compared to the Wei family, Mrs. Zhu’s family background was a bit lower. Her father was only a postal officer in Zhuo County at first, but later joined the army and became a general because of his merits. He was highly regarded by Wei Shao’s grandfather. Blocked a cold arrow, hit the spot, and died. Wei Shao’s grandfather felt guilt and gratitude, seeing that the Zhu family had a daughter who was about the same age as the eldest son, Wei Jing, so he hired him as a wife.

After Zhu entered the Wei family, he gave birth to two sons. The eldest son Wei Bao, courtesy name Bogong, the second son Wei Shao, and the second son Zhonglin, unfortunately passed away her husband and eldest son at the same time ten years ago. Approaching, very confident.

Mrs. Xu’s attitude towards the Zhu family has always been neither cold nor warm. Zhu Shi was also a little afraid of the mother-in-law Weng Zhu from Zhongshan. The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law are not close. In the past few years, with Wei Shao’s complete control of the army, Mrs. Xu has not been in charge of anything. For more than half of the year, she has lived indefinitely, leaving the Zhu family alone in the Yuyang mansion.

By Zhu’s side, she raised an 18-year-old girl named Zheng Chuyu, who was Zhu’s niece. Zheng’s father used to be a farmer, but unfortunately died early and became an orphan to go to his aunt. A few years ago, Wu Zhu Zhanpu said that Zheng Chuyu was the lucky person in the life of Zhu’s family. With her around, Zhu’s family could avoid evil and seek good luck. It happened that at that time, Zhu’s family was ill. Zheng Chuyu took care of her day and night, and Zhu’s family was able to recover. He was convinced, and fell in love with her even more. Because Zheng Chuyu’s background was not enough, he asked his son to take her as a concubine. I just don’t know why, Wei Shao didn’t accept it for a long time. The Zhu family has kept Zheng Chuyu by her side for the past two years, and the treatment is the same as that of Wei Shaoji’s concubine, and her family calls her Zheng Shu.

“Miss, why do you think Wei Hou is too young to marry a wife? Apart from this Zheng Shu, there was actually one…”

Chunniang came close to Xiao Qiao’s ear, and was about to continue speaking. The maid called Bingnu hurriedly came over to spread the word, saying that Mrs. Zhu had returned from Yushan, and the man had returned, and asked the woman to visit the elders together.

Chunniang stopped.

Xiao Qiao was already dressed properly, and she no longer needed to change her clothes. She glanced in the mirror, brought a pair of excellent needlework that Chunniang had prepared for her, opened the door, and walked out.

Wei Shao was standing at the fork in the road leading to the East House, and he should be waiting for her.

In addition to his shirts, his casual clothes seem to be only blue. When he was in Xindu, Xiao Qiao met him several times, and he was always dressed in dark blue clothes. Fortunately, that face can still be seen, so it is not old-fashioned. At this moment, he is also wearing dark blue clothes, but compared to Xiao Qiao, the style is very loose, with a wide belt inlaid with white jade around his waist, lining his narrow waist and wide back, with a straight back, the wind is blowing from his side After attacking, one side of the robe and robe was rolled up, and the stubbornness of the usual battle robe was lost, and it seemed to be somewhat Xiao Sa’s romantic meaning.

In fact, it didn’t take Xiao Qiao more than half an hour since she heard the message from C-nv. The road to the courtyard is not short, and it will take some time to walk. He seemed impatient to wait. hands behind your back. Hearing footsteps approaching, he turned his head to see her coming, turned and walked towards the east house.

He walked fast, and with his long legs, he quickly pulled Xiao Qiao down for a while. At first, Xiao Qiao quickened her pace, but seeing that she couldn’t catch up, she turned to him and said, “Husband, would you please go slower?”

Wei Shao seemed to be stunned, stopped, turned his head and glanced at her.

Xiao Qiao picked up the skirt, took a few steps to catch up to him, and smiled slightly: “I’m wearing a formal dress to meet my elders. The skirt is a little narrow, so I can’t walk fast. Husband, you are taller than me and have long legs and feet. , if I go faster, I can only run after him.”

She is standing beside him now, only as tall as his shoulders, in later generations, such a tall and petite can still earn the so-called “cutest height difference” , This really falls on Xiao Qiao’s head, but it’s not so beautiful.

Wei Shao glanced at her again.

After she finished speaking, she pursed her lips, the corners of her lips turned up slightly naturally, her eyes were crystal clear, and she looked at him with a smile.

Wei Shao didn’t really want to pay attention. I just don’t know why, but I can’t bear to face her. In the end, he reluctantly hummed, his face became even colder, he raised his chin slightly, motioned her to follow him, turned and walked forward again.

This time he really slowed down. Xiao Qiao walked with him easily and walked into the East Room.

There were no less than twenty servants and wives in the east room, all of whom had gathered on both sides of the corridor. When they saw Wei Shao leading Xiao Qiao over from a distance, they all came out and knelt down. Xiao Qiao followed Wei Shao into the big room where Mrs. Zhu was, under a group of amazed, curious, or contemptuous gazes behind him.

The room was exquisitely furnished, and the air had a strong smell of musk. After Wei Shao’s mother Mrs. Zhu came back, she should have changed her outfit and sat on the opposite side on the square couch with the red sandalwood screen on the side. She is in her early forties, a little fat, dressed in fancy clothes and beaded hair. She should have been a beauty when she was young. Even now, her facial features are still very neat, but it may be due to her habit of sulking her face all the year round. She had two deep nasolabial lines, which not only made her look old, but also brought a arrogant look to her face. On her knees sat a woman dressed in light purple, about seventeen or eighteen years old. The color of the clothes brought out her fair complexion well and made her appearance even more beautiful. When she saw Wei Shao come in, her face flushed slightly, she hurriedly got up from the couch, greeted him, and called him “cousin”, with a serene posture and a gentle tone.

Wei Shao responded lightly. The woman deliberately modified it just now. Seeing that he didn’t look at her very much, there was a hint of disappointment in her eyes, and then she looked at Xiao Qiao, her eyes fixed slightly.

Xiao Qiao knew that this woman should be the cousin of Zheng Shu, Wei Shao. After a brief glance, he followed Wei Shao to Madam Zhu’s couch and stood aside with his hands down.

Mrs. Zhu seemed to have not seen her since Xiao Qiao came in. She only showed a happy and cordial smile to her son, beckoned him to sit beside him, kept looking at him, stroked his arm, first tsk tsk distressed that his son had lost weight in the past six months, then asked him about his daily diet and daily life, and finally asked about war. Wei Shao briefly mentioned the military situation, and then she sighed: “I am a woman and Taoist family. Although you don’t understand the military situation, you said it was smooth, but I know the danger. Zhonglin, you have to take good care of yourself, and there must be no mistakes.”

Wei Shao reassured Mrs. Zhu a few words.

Mrs. Zhu nodded: “Although the world is dangerous, only my son is blessed by the heavens and protected by gods and people. I have nothing to worry about. The most fear is that people’s hearts are dangerous…”

She threw the first question since she came in to Xiao Qiao. A look, but also a look full of disgust and hatred.

“Zhonglin, if your father hadn’t been from Yi Xin back then, he wouldn’t have ended up in such a tragic situation. I think of the death of your father and brother back then, and my heart often hurts. I still can’t sleep at night, and I wish I could have eaten the flesh of the enemy. You must keep in mind the lessons learned from the past, and never trust others!”

The phrase “to eat the flesh of the enemy”, she almost gritted her teeth, and popped out word by word, her eyes embedded in Xiao Qiao’s face, it was not only disgust and hatred, but a hint of sternness, as if she really wanted to It’s like biting off the flesh from your body bit by bit.

Xiao Qiao was ready to be hated by Mrs. Zhu, but she did not expect that her hatred would be so straightforward and severe. It was the first time in her life that she had encountered such a situation, and her previous psychological construction was still not in place. , I couldn’t help shivering at this moment, my face turned pale involuntarily, and my fingertips became cold.

Wei Shao glanced at Xiao Qiao and said to Mrs. Zhu, “My son is measured. Mother doesn’t have to worry about it.” He added, “Mother rushed back from the mountain today, and she must be tired on the road. My son will bring the bride to greet you. Now, it’s better for mother to rest early.” After he finished speaking, he got up and stood in front of a kneeling mat that was pre-laid in front of Madam Zhu’s couch.

Xiao Qiao settled down and hurried to another mat, knelt down with the man beside him, and kowtowed to Madam Zhu on the couch.

Mrs. Zhu kept her face sullen and turned her eyes towards her son, not looking at Xiao Qiao at all.

Xiao Qiao followed the man next to him and finished the salute, but couldn’t get up yet. According to the rules, he put on the prepared needlework with both hands, held it high above the top, and waited for people to come and take it.

She lowered her head, raised her hands for a long time, and remained silent. Until the arms on both sides began to feel sore, and they could not move a little, and when they were still clenching their teeth, a hand reached out to the side, took it, and placed it in front of Mrs. Zhu’s couch.

“Mother, if there is nothing wrong, the two of us will retire first.”

Wei Shao’s voice sounded.

Xiao Qiao put down his arms and slowly stood up from the kneeling mat.

“She’s gone. You stay. I have something to say.”

Mrs. Zhu said coldly.

Xiao Qiao bowed to the person on the couch, turned around silently and went out.

“Yu’er, you also go out first. Auntie wants to have a few words with your cousin.”

Mrs. Zhu looked at Zheng Chuyu who had been standing by the side just now, and said with a kind smile on her face again.

Zheng Chuyu glanced at Wei Shao, replied softly, bowed to the two of them, and then backed out.

…

“Zhonglin! You don’t really want to take her to worship the family temple tomorrow, right?”

Madam Zhu asked immediately after the mother and son were left in the room.

Wei Shao’s face was expressionless, and two words came out of his mouth: “How come!”

Madam Zhu seemed to be relieved and snorted: “That’s good. I also said that you were confused by the beauty of this Qiao girl, and you forgot about you back then. The feud between father and brother! I just wanted to make her feel more embarrassed, but you are good, you took that thing on my behalf, whoever wants it! It will be eye-catching when you see it!”

Wei Shao frowned slightly: “It’s almost enough. Son, wait. There are still other things to do, so I can’t stay with her forever. My mother didn’t like it, so I threw the scissors away and followed my mother’s wishes.”

Seeing that her son seemed a little unhappy, Mrs. Zhu gave up and changed her tune: “It’s been another half a year since you’ve been gone. Yu’er misses you very much, tonight…”

“Tonight, my son is staying in Qiao’s daughter’s room.” Wei Shao interrupted Mrs. Zhu, “Mother, my son will tell you one last time, my son doesn’t care about his cousin, mother should go early. It is better to find a suitable family and marry your cousin. So as not to waste your peach and plum years, it will be too late to regret it!”

Madam Zhu looked at her son angrily, and after a while, said angrily, “Okay, I have worked hard to raise you. Da, you feed me back like this? I’m not forcing you to do anything else, but to let you take Yuer into the house. Your father’s line, and now you are the only one who passed it on. You are twenty and two years old, and you are not young. , so far no children, finally married a wife, but married a daughter of the Qiao family! I can’t beat your grandmother, she is the master, I can only recognize it. It’s just a daughter of such a family, how can I spread branches and leaves for my Wei family Sooner or later, it will be terminated! Yu’er is not in your mind, you are so angry with me…”

Madam Zhu suddenly seemed to remember something, and her eyes suddenly widened.

“Could it be that you still remember that Su girl from the past? If you haven’t gotten married, you’ve even tried to ask you to take a concubine!” “Mother, you are thinking too much! My son is away from home, and he is busy with military affairs all year round. Why do you have time to think about these romantic affairs? There is no need to talk about Chu Yu’s affairs in the future. The son has other business affairs, so he will retire first. Mother rest early. It is appropriate.”

Wei Shao bowed slightly to Madam Zhu, turned his head and left.

Mrs. Zhu stared at the back of her son leaving, with annoyed expression on her face, and suddenly caught a glimpse of the needle and thread on Xiao Qiao Jing that was still on the couch. Finally, along with the scissors, it was thrown to the ground.

…

Chunniang was waiting for Xiao Qiao outside the courtyard of the East House. When she saw her coming out, she went up to meet her, walked with her for a while, and finally returned to the bedroom where she lived. .

Xiao Qiao had already made up her mind, and Chunniang didn’t have to hide it, she briefly narrated the experience of seeing Mrs. Zhu just now.

Chunniang was silent for a while, then said, “Ms. Madam, Madam hates Mistress so much, and if she wants to win her favor, I’m afraid she is powerless. Now I can only look at Madam Xu. If Madam Xu is like this, Mistress…”

She After hesitating for a while, she leaned into Xiao Qiao’s ear and said, “Have you ever thought about how to serve Wei Hou in order to gain his protection? In Xindu, the maid felt that Wei Hou was cold because of the old hatred between the two families. Treating the female lord, but looking at it is not a person who takes pleasure in abuse, nor is it a great evil person. The maid heard what the Bing girl said today, Wei Hou has a rare time to stay here at the end of the year. Madam hates it so much, Xu If the madam also hates it, when Wei Hou leaves, leaving the madam alone, how will I live?”

Xiao Qiao looked at Chunniang. Some were surprised that she suddenly gave herself this idea.

Chunniang touched her long hair lovingly and sighed: “When the maid was still in Xindu, she wanted to persuade the maid. The maid also knew that this was wronging the madam. Chunniang is just a stupid person. , the lady is a hundred times smarter than Chunniang. If what you say is wrong, the lady will punish you.”

Xiao Qiao shook her head: “I know you’re doing it for my own good. I’m just here now, so I’m not in a hurry. Let’s talk about it after seeing Mrs. Xu.”

She smiled.

…

Xiao Qiao is actually very tired today. But when she saw Mrs. Zhu in the evening, she couldn’t sleep that night.

She suddenly misses Da Qiao very much. Miss it more than ever.

She was lying on the bed alone, tossing and turning, thinking that in her previous life, Da Qiao should have been sent back to Yuyang by Wei Shao the next day in her bridal chamber, just like herself. However, she did not encounter any accidents on the way, and finally she came here alone. When she faced Mrs. Zhu alone and encountered a scene like herself, how did she come here? After that, for the countless days and nights that followed, how did she survive by herself, until at the last moment, she was abolished by her titular husband who became the emperor, watching him make another woman the queen, and then again. In what despair and grief did she end her life by suicide?

Although she knew that she would never encounter such a tragic fate again in her life, Xiao Qiao’s heart was still filled with panic, and she was fortunate that she had made such a correct decision in the last few months of last year.

She just misses Da Qiao very much now, and wants to know where she is, how she and her lover are doing.

There was a sudden sound of footsteps outside the door, which sounded familiar.

It seems…

is it Wei Shao?

It’s too late now. He didn’t send anyone to get his stuff either. Or he didn’t need it, or he came to get it himself?

Xiao Qiao was a little puzzled, and when she was still listening to the movement outside, the door seemed to be pushed, but she couldn’t open it because she had latched it backwards.

“Female Jun! Junhou is here!”

Chunniang’s voice came over.

Little Joe’s heart skipped a beat.

Sure enough it was him!

“Come on!”

She responded, quickly sat up from the bed, pulled a piece of clothes over her body, hurriedly covered the placket, tied her belt, and went down to open the door.

Sure enough, Wei Shao was standing outside the door.

“Jun Hou rest here.”

Chunniang hurried in, with a slightly happy expression on her face, whispered to Xiao Qiao.

This is really surprising. When Xiao Qiao was stunned, Wei Shao had a tired look on his face, he had already stepped in with his feet up, and went straight to the bathroom, saying, “Bring my clothes in—”

He took two steps and suddenly caught sight of being packed out. His clothes and some other daily utensils, which were neatly folded and placed on the desk, stopped, turned his head slowly, and looked at Xiao Qiao.

Little Joe’s face suddenly turned black. She hurriedly walked over to stand in front of her, and explained in a nonchalant tone as possible: “The maid said that no one has lived here for a long time, and I was afraid of mold and insects, so I drove the insects away during the day, and I temporarily took out your clothes and put them aside, and then I forgot. Put it back…”

Wei Shao kept staring at her.

She couldn’t help but get short of breath, her voice getting lower and lower. After explaining, he saw that he curled the corners of his mouth, and then showed the expression she was a little familiar with.

“Put it back, I will live here in the future!”

After Wei Shao finished speaking, he turned his head and walked towards the bathroom.

[End of This Chapter]