I'm already a concubine, who wants to fight with you?

Chapter 21 Entering Pei Mansion

It was raining heavily in the autumn and the carriage got stuck in the mud and couldn't be pulled out, which delayed us for many hours.

It was already evening when we arrived at Pei Mansion.

Yuan San was not a slave of the Pei Mansion and could not enter and leave at will. Only Fu Yu accompanied Xie Fei into the mansion.

On the way to Huiming Hall, Fu Yu whispered, "It is said that this old lady has been burning incense and worshipping Buddha in the Buddhist temple all year round, and has ignored the mundane affairs of the Marquisate. There are few rumors about her in the capital. We only know that she seems to have some grudges with Master Pei Yuan."

Xie Fei asked in confusion: "Isn't Pei Yuan the son of this old lady?"

Fu Yu shook her head. "He should be a biological child, but Master Pei followed his father to the border when he was ten years old, and the old lady stayed in the capital. Maybe the mother and son were rarely together and separated for a long time, so they didn't have much affection."

This is just Fu Yu's guess. Fu Yu doesn't understand the specific reasons.

Xie Fei felt annoyed.

The wealthy and powerful families have the most twists and turns, and are involved in the most dirty things, both overt and covert.

It looks bright and beautiful on the outside, but the inside is like rotten meat, with flies and rats surrounding and biting it, and people's hearts stink more than pig offal.

After entering Pei Mansion, Xie Fei went straight to Huiming Hall.

Huiming Hall is where the old lady lives. Once you enter, you feel like you are in a Buddhist temple. The sandalwood is thick and the smoke is so thick that Xie Fei wants to cough.

This place is remote but also quiet. In front of and behind the house there are either bamboo forests or ginkgo trees, with many birds chirping as they perch on the branches.

When Xie Fei arrived, Xiang Xiaoniang, Fang Qinrou and other concubines were already waiting in the courtyard.

Counting the number of people, it seems that one is missing.

When they met, both sides nodded slightly.

Xie Fei stood there calmly. He saw the young female servants in Huiming Hall, most of whom were maids. They all had solemn expressions and were nimble in their movements. They didn't even look at the concubines in the courtyard.

After a while, Xiao Shirong also arrived.

She was always grand and wherever she went, she was followed by a dozen maids, even when she paid her respects in Huiming Hall.

The yard was not very big to begin with, and with so many people pouring in at once, it became extremely crowded.

The concubines bowed again and saluted to Xiao Shirong.

Xiao Shirong glanced at everyone coldly and his eyes fell on Xie Fei.

"I haven't seen you for a few days. Sister Xie has lost a lot of weight, but are the servants at the farm not serving you wholeheartedly?"

Xie Fei stepped out of the line and bowed, "Thank you for your concern, madam. I have everything good at the farm, but the food and drink are naturally not as good as those in the Pei Mansion, so I am thin."

Xiao Shirong sneered, "I see you are enjoying it very much. I heard you are listening to music and watching opera. Are you enjoying yourself?"

Xie Fei said with a bitter face: "I am only happy during the few days when the monthly allowance is issued. Once it is all spent, I can't even have a hot meal. Madam, you are kind-hearted, why don't you give me more money, so that people won't say that you are stingy and mean like a blood-sucking leech."

Xiang Xiaoniang and others took a breath of cold air.

Do you want to die by daring to speak to Xiao Shirong like this?
If it were someone else, Xiao Shirong would have slapped him in the face.

But Xie Fei was a concubine, and there was an imperial decree from above, so even if Xiao Shirong was angry, she couldn't take action openly.

Her beautiful face twitched slightly, Xiao Shirong gritted her teeth and said to the others, "The only person my mother-in-law wants to see today is Sister Xie, so you all go back."

Everyone stood in Huiming Hall for more than an hour, their legs and feet were sore, but they got this sentence.

But in the end, no one was slapped in the face, and everyone left in a hurry.

Xie Fei also winked at Fu Yu, who understood and bowed before leaving.

Facing the main hall, Xiao Shirong stroked the ruby ​​ring on his hand, his eyes sharp and arrogant.

"Don't think that just because you are my concubine, I can't do anything to you. After all, a wife is a wife and a concubine is a concubine. In front of me, you will always be inferior to others!"

Xie Fei readily responded, "Of course. There is a huge gap between me and the lady, so how can we compare?" The night fog gradually spread, and Xie Fei's legs and feet became weak as he stood. Moreover, due to the fragrance of sandalwood, his eyelids were so heavy that he couldn't even lift them up.

After an unknown amount of time, the sounds of chanting and beating wooden fish in the hall finally stopped.

The drowsy Xie Fei immediately perked up, hoping to meet the old lady as soon as possible and rush back to the farm to have a bite of steaming hot noodle soup.

Seeing her suddenly transform from a listless, curled-up bird into an eagle that seemed about to go out to hunt, Xiao Shirong thought that she was trying to get close to the old lady and couldn't help but laugh at her.

"The old lady is not as easy to get along with as you think. If you want to climb up this high branch, you should first consider how low your own bones are."

Xie Fei was not the type to swallow his anger. Besides, he had already torn his face with Xiao Shirong a long time ago. He didn't care whether it would make their relationship worse or not, and replied with a smile.

"A lowly person has his own way of living. You are from a hundred-year-old clan, and you are very noble. I hope that one day you will not be reduced to the point where you need to beg for mercy."

Xiao Shirong snorted coldly and was about to answer when the door to the main room opened.

A kind-looking old woman, dressed simply, came out and bowed slightly to Xiao Shirong in the yard.

"Madam Xiao, please come in."

Xiao Shirong had always been arrogant, but he restrained his arrogance in front of this old woman and only entered the house after returning the greeting.

Xie Fei was a little surprised. After all, according to Xiao Shirong's personality, an ordinary old woman would not even get her attention.

Entering the main hall, you will see two huge Buddha statues in front of you. In front of the Buddha there are flowers and fruits as offerings, and incense burners, scriptures, wooden fish, etc. are also neatly arranged.

A woman dressed in the same simple manner was kneeling on a cushion, chanting scriptures and praying for blessings.

Xiao Shirong bowed and said, "Mother-in-law, how are you?"

Xie Fei knelt down behind Xiao Shirong and bowed deeply, "My name is Xie, and I am honored to meet you, old lady."

Sitting on the cushion, the woman opened her eyes and the Buddhist beads in her hand paused slightly.

"Are you the concubine sent by the Xie family?"

It was a very cold voice, but there was no hostility. Xie Fei lowered her head and said, "I am stupid and shallow. I did not greet the old lady in time. Please punish me."

The woman closed her eyes and began to twirl her Buddhist beads again, her tone still indifferent: "I don't like people disturbing my peace, so you don't have to come and pay your respects all the time."

After a pause, the woman asked again: "Have you met the young master?"

This "young master" refers to Pei Yuan. Just as Xie Fei was about to answer, Xiao Shirong spoke up first, "Mother-in-law, Sister Xie is not pretty, and the master doesn't like her, so I..."

The kind-looking old woman next to him interrupted, "Madam, although you are the boss now, I think our old lady can still have a say, right?"

Xiao Shirong's expression changed slightly, and he clenched his fist unwillingly, "...Yes."

The old lady said again: "You go and see him. Since you have entered Pei's house, you should remember who your master is."

"I thank Madam for your instruction." Xie Fei's heart was beating fast.

After coming out of Huiming Hall, Xie Fei was taken to see Pei Yuan.

An old lady in front was holding a lantern and leading the way. Xie Fei kicked away the pebbles on the road with an expressionless face.

Before coming out, Xiao Shirong looked as if he wanted to eat her alive.

But she herself didn't want to see Pei Yuan even more. Needless to say, the mere mention of Pei Yuan made her feel nauseous.

The courtyard where Pei Yuan lived was surrounded by the guards of the mansion.

Xie Fei suspected that even if Yuan San, a tomb robber who had been thieves for generations, came, he would have to bow down to the swords and spears.

The old lady spoke to the guard and he let the person in.

(End of this chapter)