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

Chapter 95 Parents, Sisters

Zhuang Wenxiu deliberately made things difficult for him, saying, "You are just a lowly concubine, not the legal wife of the Pei family. If your father hadn't asked you something, you wouldn't even be qualified to go back to your parents' home. Why, relying on the influence of the Pei family, do you think you are of noble status and want to live in the wing room?"

When Fu Yu heard this, he couldn't help but get angry.

"Madam, please do some good deeds! The emperor wants legitimate daughters, so you let our daughter replace the legitimate daughters and marry him as a concubine. If it weren't for our daughter, the lowly person you are talking about now would be one of your two daughters!"

Zhuang Wenxiu glared at them, "How dare you, a little girl, act so unruly in front of me? It seems that the saying "a dog takes advantage of the power of others" is very true of you!"

Fu Yu wanted to curse back, but Xie Fei raised his hand to stop him.

Xie Fei said quietly, "I hope my father will not offend His Majesty again because of his outspokenness. Otherwise, His Majesty will be angry and will grant marriage to the legitimate daughter again. Then you two will be the only ones left unmarried in the family."

Zhuang Wenxiu's face changed slightly.

Xie Fei smiled again, and walked out with Fu Yu, raising his voice and saying, "If there really comes a day when the legitimate daughter becomes a concubine, Madam, you might as well find a piece of white silk and hang yourself from the beam with the lowly person you are talking about."

The servants in the courtyard were all listening. They felt sympathy for Xie Fei, but also felt that Zhuang Wenxiu's behavior was indeed not kind.

The Sixth Miss became a concubine because she was there to protect the Fifth and Seventh Misses from disaster.

Not only did the lady not comfort the man, she also called him a lowly person.

Fortunately, the Sixth Miss had a good temper. If she were hot-tempered and aggressive, she would have started a quarrel with the Madam long ago.

However, no matter how much Zhuang Wenxiu ridiculed him verbally, she did not dare to openly relocate Xie Fei to the place where he used to live.

At the Xie family, it was the first time that Xie Fei lived in a room that was not leaky and not dark and damp.

Fu Yu was making the bed, still angry about what Zhuang Wenxiu had said.

"The eldest lady doesn't have the demeanor of a principal wife at all. Even if she hates you, she shouldn't use your being a concubine to make things difficult for you. She doesn't even think about whether being a concubine is what you want to do. If it weren't for you, wouldn't her two daughters be lowly concubines?"

Xie Fei opened the window and looked at the dark clouds gradually gathering in the sky.

"Let her talk."

It might snow again in this weather.

I don’t know if the people in the village will feel cold at night.

As he was speaking, a maid came running over and asked Xie Fei to come over.

"Our girls heard that Sixth Miss has returned, so they specially made some tea and invite you to come over and talk."

Xie Fei did not refuse. He let Fu Yu rest and went over with the maid.

It was winter now, and Qingxin Garden was quite bleak. It used to be full of flowers, but now it was withered and desolate, without even a trace of green.

Fifth Miss Xie Jing was sitting by the pool, brewing tea around the stove.

Xie Fei went in and said, "Your yard is too desolate. At least move some potted plants from the flower hall."

Xie Jing said calmly: "The scenery of each season is different. Spring has its own vitality, and winter has its own uniqueness. There is no need to force it."

Xie Fei looked at the lifeless yard.

What's so unique about it?

Xie Jing brewed the tea and presented it to Xie Fei with both hands.

"I planted my own tea trees, harvested the tenderest buds in spring, and boiled them with mountain snow water."

"You know, I'm not particular about tea." Xie Fei took a sip and felt that there was no difference. At most, it was a little bitter, with a stronger aftertaste.

Seeing her face wrinkled by the bitter taste, Xie Jing smiled instead.

The most beautiful woman in the capital, she is proud and cold as snow when she is not smiling. But when she smiles, she is like a ray of setting sun on the snow-capped mountains, very charming and graceful.

Xie Fei put down the teacup and said, "You seldom come to the capital to celebrate the New Year."

Xie Jing lowered his eyes and said, "My mother came here in person, first to persuade my uncle and aunt, then to the mountain to find my grandmother."

It was really noisy and disturbed my grandmother's meditation. Xie Jing had no choice but to come.

The Xie family has four daughters. The third daughter is older and has already married and moved to another place with her husband's family.

The remaining fifth girl, Xie Jing, and the sixth girl, Xie Fei, were born in the same year.

After Xie Jing was born, Zhuang Wenxiu fell seriously ill and did not get better for several months.

When meeting an ascetic monk, he said that Xie Jing and Zhuang Wenxiu were incompatible.

So when Xie Jing was a few months old, he was sent out of the capital to be raised by his maternal grandparents and uncle's family, and he seldom came to the capital.

When Xie Jing grew up, his reputation spread far and wide, and every year there was an endless stream of people proposing marriage to him, and his door was often visited by many people.

In order to avoid those who wanted to propose marriage, she simply did not come to the capital during the holidays. But this time, she could not withstand Zhuang Wenxiu's verbal bombardment and had to come.

During the New Year holidays, each family holds the most banquets, and Zhuang Wenxiu will force her to attend.

If a mistress of a certain family takes a fancy to you, marriage proposal is inevitable.

Xie Jing knew that she had been dragging it out for several years and her mother would not let her go on like this.

Xie Fei also knew the reason and sighed, "If it really doesn't work, you can find a good husband to manage the inner courtyard and treat each other with respect. Or you can be like the old lady of Pei Mansion, who doesn't care about worldly affairs and always stays with the green lamp and the ancient Buddha."

At most there will be some discussion outside, but it won’t actually have much impact.

Xie Jing said calmly: "I'm married, how can I wait for him to come back?"

Xie Fei didn't know what to say and just drank his tea.

After a long silence, Xie Jing asked again, "They are all talking about me, what about you?"

"Horse bandits?" Xie Fei said, "It's just a rumor."

Xie Jing believed it, nodded, and asked again, "Where is the Pei family?"

"Pei family?" Xie Fei thought for a moment, then sneered, "The master is a playboy, and the mistress is a vicious person. The old lady is even more troublesome."

It seems like I have been through so many ups and downs in just a few months since I got married.

Xie Fei's tone was calm, even with a hint of playfulness, but it made Xie Jing feel very guilty.

If it wasn't Xie Fei, it would have been her or Xie Yang who married as a concubine.

Seeing through her thoughts, Xie Fei said: "You don't have to blame yourself. With my status, marrying into the Pei Mansion is not a bad thing."

Otherwise, when she reaches a certain age, she will be randomly assigned to a poor scholar who only has a thatched cottage and two acres of thin land.

Then there is a mean and ungrateful mother-in-law and a bunch of snotty-nosed brothers and sisters.

I have to take care of the household and farm every day, and worry about money.

If her husband is ambitious and can pass the imperial examination, that would be good. But if he is not ambitious and just studies hard all his life, all the affairs at home will weigh on her like a mountain.

Although there was swordplay in the Pei Mansion, at least they could live in peace on the farm, and they didn't have to worry about food and clothing, and they received a lot of rewards during the holidays.

As a concubine, she lived a richer life than any other girl in the Xie family.

Just as Xie Jing was about to ask further questions, the maid came in and said that the master had returned and asked the Sixth Miss to go over and answer the questions.

Xie Jing said: "Father is angry about the rumors outside, I will accompany you."

Xie Fei stood up, patted his sleeves, and said, "He's angry with me, what's the point of you going?"

Anyway, what Mr. Xie wanted to scold were still the same old things.

Xie Fei arrived at the study, where his father was waiting.

(End of this chapter)