Do you know: I am Xu Jiazi

Chapter 829 "Zhengzheng, you smell so good!" [Thank you! Thank you again! 7k words owed]

A few days after Miss Feiyan returned to her parents' home,
By late May,

The days are getting longer and the nights shorter.

Around 6 a.m. (卯时), the sky is already bright.

Xu Zaijing's courtyard
In the bedroom,
An expensive incense burner on the table by the window is slowly releasing a pleasant fragrance.

On the bed, inside the thin, breathable bed curtains, Chai Zhengzheng was breathing evenly, seemingly still asleep.

Not far from the bed, the maid Yunmu was standing in front of the dressing table, quietly tidying up the surface.

Standing to the side assisting with the task, Zi Teng said in a low voice with a puzzled look, "Sister Yunmu, I clearly remember arranging the items on the dressing table neatly when I left last night."

"Why is the table such a mess this morning?"

As she spoke, Zi Teng straightened the candlestick that had fallen onto the dressing table.

Yunmu moved the powder box back to its proper place, glanced back at Chai Zhengzheng, and just now, Yunmu felt as if his young lady had stopped breathing.

"Ahem!" Yunmu cleared his throat and said, "This morning, Qingcao came to help the master get up. The room has changed quite a bit. Perhaps she couldn't see clearly in the dark and accidentally bumped into something."

As soon as Yun Mu finished speaking, Chai Zhengzheng on the bed let out a long sigh of relief.

As Yunmu spoke, he carefully picked up a long hair that had fallen to the far end of the table.

"Hey, how did the hair end up over there?!" Wisteria said again, "When I'm combing a girl's hair, isn't it always over here?"

Yunmu tried to keep his expression steady and said, "Perhaps the night wind blew it in because the window was open last night."

"Oh."

Soon, the slightly messy bedroom was tidied up by the maid.

"You should take these things out first," Yunmu said, looking at the clothes he had changed out of last night.

"Yes."

After Zi Teng left the bedroom, Yun Mu walked to the bedside and rolled up the light and breathable bed curtains.

But as soon as Yunmu rolled up the bed curtains twice and glanced at the bed, his eyes widened, and he said anxiously, "Miss! You!"

Hearing Yunmu's tone, Chai Zhengzheng immediately opened her eyes, her sleepiness completely gone, and asked, "What's wrong?"

Following Yunmu's horrified gaze, Chai Zhengzheng turned her head and curiously looked at the outside of her inner thigh.

It's no wonder Yunmu was so surprised; there seemed to be a bloodstain on the fair, smooth skin of Chai Zhengzheng's outer thigh.

"Girl, are you bleeding?" Yunmu asked in a panicked and puzzled tone.

Chai Zhengzheng shook her head and replied in confusion, "How could that be? The day hasn't come yet."

"And what is this?" Yunmu asked, wiping the bloodstains with his hand.

Seeing the blood on his fingers, Yunmu's expression became even more serious: "Miss, no, we need to ask a female doctor to take a look at you."

Then, Yunmu frowned and said, "My lord is too heartless! Miss, are you in pain?"

As he spoke, Chai Zhengzheng wiped the bloodstains away, a look of reminiscence in his eyes.

After thinking for a moment, Chai Zhengzheng blushed slightly and brought her finger to her nose.

"Girl, you..."

Before Yunmu could finish speaking, Chai Zhengzheng's expression relaxed, and she pointed her finger at Yunmu, saying, "It's rouge."

"Huh?" Yunmu was immediately stunned.

After smelling Chai Zhengzheng's fingers, Yunmu then smelled his own.

"It really is rouge! But how could it be?"

Looking at Chai Zhengzheng's expression, Yunmu glanced at the dressing table again, and then looked at Chai Zhengzheng.

"Young lady, last night you...?"

"Hmm!" Chai Zhengzheng nodded: "I accidentally knocked over the rouge box, so that's probably where the rouge got on me."

"Thank goodness! Thank goodness!" Yunmu patted his chest, a huge weight lifted from his heart.

"This servant will go fetch some water."

"Never mind, help me wrap my hair up, I'll just take a shower."

"Yes."

"When did my husband leave the house?"

"Reporting to Miss, at the exact hour of Yin (3-5 AM), the Lord got up and is probably attending the morning court session in the palace."

"Ah."

When Chai Zhengzheng finished bathing, changed into new clothes, and combed her hair, she walked around the screen and came in, saying, "Your Majesty, the concubine has come to pay her respects."

"Please."

After a while,
Rong Feiyan led the maid into the room.

Seeing Chai Zhengzheng sitting at the head of the table, Rong Feiyan quickly bowed and greeted him.

"Sister, please sit down."

"Thank you sister."

After Rong Feiyan sat down, Chai Zhengzheng smiled and said, "You look much better today, little sister."

Hearing this, Rong Feiyan touched her cheek somewhat shyly: "Thank you for the compliment, sister."

"After resting for these two days, my sister feels much better. She has more energy to walk around and no longer loses interest in anything."

When Chai Zhengzheng nodded with a smile,
"Ah—oh!"

She couldn't help but cover her mouth and yawn.

After yawning, Chai Zhengzheng quickly wiped the corner of her eye with the handkerchief in her hand.

It wasn't that I cried, but rather that tears welled up uncontrollably in my dry eyes after I yawned.

After wiping away her tears, Chai Zhengzheng continued with a smile, "That's very good."

After saying a few more words, Chai Zhengzheng stood up and said, "Let's go and pay our respects to my mother-in-law together."

"Yes, sister."

After the greetings,

After breakfast,
Backyard main hall

At the head of the table, Lady Sun, the wife of the Duke, sat on one side of a Luohan chair.

Looking at her daughters-in-law in the hall, Madam Sun pointed to the armchair opposite her and said, "Zhengzheng, just like yesterday afternoon, come and sit down first."

Chai Zhengzheng stood up, looking troubled.

Xie, who was standing to the side, laughed and said, "Sister-in-law, do you expect me and Hua Lan to help you over there?"

Hua Lan smiled and nodded, looking at Chai Zhengzheng.

Rong Feiyan also covered her mouth and laughed.

Yesterday afternoon, Chai Zhengzheng simply didn't want to sit next to her mother-in-law, saying that she was the daughter-in-law and Sun was the mother-in-law, and since her two sisters-in-law weren't sitting there, it was even more inappropriate for her to sit there.

After Sun spoke, Xie and Hualan struggled to help her onto the armchair.

Chai Zhengzheng quickly waved her hand: "Sister-in-law, no need! No need!"

"That's more like it!" As soon as Madam Xie said this, everyone in the hall laughed again.

After Chai Zhengzheng sat down in the armchair, Hua Lan and the others also took their seats. Madam Sun nodded to Dan's mother, who was standing to the side.

After a while,
Several maids carrying account books filed in.

Smiling, Sun glanced at Rong Feiyan and said to Chai Zhengzheng opposite her, "Zhengzheng, yesterday afternoon we were taking stock of the rewards Jing'er has received over the years."

"Have you sent someone to check the contents of the storeroom?"

Hearing Sun's question, Chai Zhengzheng nodded solemnly: "Reporting to Mother, your daughter-in-law sent someone to check, and after checking everything, they found that everything was stored properly and without any errors!"

"Thank you for your hard work, Mother. All the mothers have done a great job!"

Looking at Chai Zhengzheng, Hua Lan's eyes were full of admiration.

If it were an ordinary family's daughter, upon hearing Sun's words, she would likely have declined the offer.

After all, if there were any problems with Xu Zaijing's private treasury, it would be very embarrassing.

But Chai Zhengzheng didn't refuse; instead, she asked everyone to take a detailed account. And so, after the account was completed, she simply told the truth, which made Sun Shi and Dan Mama very happy.

Thinking about it, that makes sense. How can we show how dedicated Dan's mother and others are if we don't take stock?

Madam Sun smiled and nodded, then glanced at Hua Lan and said, "Jing'er is, after all, a prince of our dynasty. The fact that he can stay at home after being granted a title is a great favor from the emperor."

"Once Minglan enters the family and returns home after three days, you will have to move out of the mansion."

"If we take inventory and hand it over properly as soon as possible, we won't be caught off guard later."

Chai Zhengzheng smiled and nodded: "Mother, you're right!"

Rong Feiyan, sitting at the lower end, nodded in agreement.

"Today, let's take stock of all the rewards Jing'er received after being granted a title."

While Sun was speaking, Dan's mother had already placed several account books in front of Chai Zhengzheng.

These booklets are very new, clearly newly created ledgers when the palace allocated and distributed rewards.

Subsequently,

Watching Chai Zhengzheng flip through the account books at such a speed, Xie Shi and Hua Lan exchanged a glance.

Yesterday, Chai Zhengzheng checked the account books in the same way, and the two women and Sun Shi thought that Chai Zhengzheng was just casually flipping through them.

But after Chai Zhengzheng asked a few questions, they realized that she wasn't just going through the motions, but was actually looking very carefully.

Sun, sitting opposite, looked at Chai Zhengzheng with the same admiring gaze.

Before Chai Zhengzheng and Xu Zaijing's wedding, the Chai family also sent the dowry list to the Xu family.

While other families sent dowry lists, the Chai family sent a dowry booklet.

Just a rough calculation of the value of Chai Zhengzheng's dowry was enough to shock the three women in the Sun family.

After calculating, Sun also told her husband, Xu Minghua, about it.

Xu Minghua was quite moved by this at the time, saying, "Back then, when Jing'er went to Beizhou to fight and made meritorious contributions, the military supplies in the treasury that she saved were worth as much as the dowry of the Chai family's daughter!"

As Madam Sun nodded in agreement, Xu Minghua remarked, "Compared to this, I feel that Jing'er's contributions in Beizhou aren't as significant as they seem."

After those two sentences, Mrs. Sun was at a loss for words.

Of course, not many people actually know the details of Chai Zhengzheng's dowry.

At noon.

Xu Zaijing's courtyard
In the study,
Xu Zaijing, returning home from court, sat behind a table by the window, holding a brush in his hand, occasionally writing and drawing on the paper.

suddenly,

The sound of light footsteps came from outside.

Xu Zaijing looked up and saw Chai Zhengzheng leading maids and servants into the courtyard.

"Where is our lord?"

"Your Majesty, he is in the study."

After a while,
Chai Zhengzheng walked in from outside, carrying a tray in her hand.

Xu Zaijing stood up with a smile: "You could have had the maid bring this tea. Why did you have to do it yourself?"

Chai Zhengzheng shook her head and smiled, "My lord's tea should naturally be brought in by me personally."

Xu Zaijing took the teacup and placed it aside, while also giving a wink to the green grass by the door.

Under Yunmu's surprised gaze, Qingcao smiled and closed the study door.

As soon as the door closed, Yunmu heard Chai Zhengzheng exclaim from inside the study, "My lord, what are you doing?!"

Yunmu and Qingcao exchanged a glance, then covered their mouths and smiled, before stepping aside to stand in silence.

inside the house,

Chai Zhengzheng was already being carried by Xu Zaijing, who had his arm around her waist, to the chair behind the desk.

Sitting on Xu Zaijing's lap, Chai Zhengzheng reached out and covered Xu Zaijing's mouth, feeling the warm breath coming from his nose, and said reproachfully, "My lord, no! It's daytime now!"

Xu Zaijing, however, pressed his lips against one of Chai Zhengzheng's fingers, becoming increasingly audacious.

Chai Zhengzheng chuckled, her palms itching, and continued to frown as she looked at Xu Zaijing, saying, "My lord, I feel so tired. I haven't rested since this morning."

Seeing Chai Zhengzheng's tired face, Xu Zaijing slowly stopped.

Seeing this, Chai Zhengzheng finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Are you all done with your work?" Xu Zaijing asked.

"All done!" Chai Zhengzheng nodded, pursing her lips. "My mother-in-law said that after Minglan's third-day return visit, we'll move to a different residence."

Xu Zaijing helped Chai Zhengzheng adjust her position, letting her straddle his lap, and then buried his head in Chai Zhengzheng's neck.

“Yes! Mother is right,” Xu Zaijing said in a muffled voice.

"When I returned to the manor, I was quite surprised to see the male and female stewards outside the front hall."

Xu Zaijing continued, burying his face in Chai Zhengzheng's neck.

“We have so many businesses, how can we manage them all if we have too few people?” Chai Zhengzheng said with a smile.

Xu Zaijing nodded: "My wife is right! Hiss—Zhengzheng, you smell so good!"

Chai Zhengzheng pushed away Xu Zaijing, who was kissing her neck, and said helplessly, "My lord, where do you get so much energy? I took a bath this morning, so I naturally smell nice!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than Chai Zhengzheng hurriedly grabbed her large hand that was moving around her waist and hips, biting his lip and saying, "Before we were married, how come I never noticed that you, my husband, were such a lecherous man!"

"Young lady, what kind of lecherous rogue are you?!" Xu Zaijing looked at Chai Zhengzheng seriously and said, "What your husband calls this?"

Seeing Chai Zhengzheng's curious gaze, Xu Zaijing pecked Chai Zhengzheng's lips and laughed, "Your husband is now saying he's tasted the sweetness and wants more."

Looking into Xu Zaijing's very serious eyes, Chai Zhengzheng smiled and then imitated Xu Zaijing's actions, burying herself in her husband's neck.

Xu Zaijing immediately wrapped his arms tightly around Chai Zhengzheng.

Feeling the comforting embrace, Chai Zhengzheng smiled and leaned on Xu Zaijing's shoulder, yawned, and closed her eyes: "My lord, let me close my eyes and rest for a while."

After several dozen breaths,

"call--"

Feeling Chai Zhengzheng's breath on the back of his neck, Xu Zaijing smiled helplessly and could only slowly adjust his position to make the girl in his arms more comfortable.

"I don't want it anymore."

Perhaps he was dreaming about something, Chai Zhengzheng murmured in his sleep.

I do not know how long it has been.

"Well!"

Chai Zhengzheng, who had been sleeping very comfortably, opened her eyes after letting out a long sigh.

Looking at the canopy above his head, Chai Zhengzheng was momentarily at a loss.

"Young lady, you're awake?" Yunmu asked with a smile.

Chai Zhengzheng closed her eyes and paused for a moment: "What time is it?"

"It was just past 1 p.m. (Wei Shi)."

"Huh?" Chai Zhengzheng opened her eyes in surprise: "Why is it this time? I remember my husband is here."

Yunmu replied, "Miss, after the lord had lunch, he took Brother Qingyun and the others out of the city."

“At that time, the master saw that you were sleeping soundly, so he did not let the servants wake you up. There was still lunch left on the stove.”

"Ah!" Chai Zhengzheng sighed, "Help me up."

After standing up,

"Gululu——"

Hearing the sounds coming from her belly, Chai Zhengzheng asked in confusion, "I remember we were in the study before, weren't we?"

"Yes, young lady! Later, the lord carried you to the bed! He was very careful during those few steps."

Upon hearing this, Chai Zhengzheng couldn't help but smile. After stretching, she said playfully, "He's sensible! It wasn't for nothing that we spoiled him!"

Yunmu felt gratified, and said with a teasing smile, "What you say is true, young lady. Then please invite the master tonight."

Chai Zhengzheng's expression immediately changed: "No! Let him go find Sister Feiyan tonight!"

(End of this chapter)