Concubine

Chapter 242 Propose Marriage to Hong Ling

After Song Qing and Qin Zhihui got off the sedan chair, Yang Qiuchi gave a brief introduction, and then walked into the gate side by side with Li Chengming.Nan Gongxiong and other six personal guards stayed close at every step.Li Chengming's wife, Long Shi, came forward with her concubines, hugged Qin Zhihui and Song Qing affectionately, and followed into the room.Xia Ping and the female guards also stayed close to each other.

The maids and servants kneeling in the yard, it seems that Li Chengming's whole family mobilized for this family feast.

A group of people first came to the living room to talk and greet.

Li Chengming first introduced his wife, concubine and children, and asked them to formally greet Yang Qiuchi.Then, Yang Qiuchi also introduced Qin Zhihui and Song Qing.

When Song Qing was introduced, Yang Qiuchi noticed that Li Chengming's eldest son, Li Ying, and second son, Li Jie, both stared at Song Qing with bright eyes. It turned out that brothers Li Ying and Li Jie were staring at the little girl Hong Ling standing behind Song Qing.

Yang Qiuchi smiled slightly, the red silk was indeed very beautiful, no wonder Li Ying looked like a pig, and couldn't help but think of the first time he saw the red silk, probably not much better than them.

Can't help but think of Liu Ruobing, Liu Ruobing is different from Hong Ling, but Yang Qiuchi is sure that if Liu Ruobing comes, those pig buddies will never dare to look directly at her, just take a peek at her Be afraid for a long time.

After introducing and meeting each other, they formally entered the table.

Yang Qiuchi took the first seat, Li Chengming accompanied him in the main seat, and his two sons Li Ying, Li Jie and other children sat in turn.Li Chengming's wife and several concubines accompanied Qin Zhihui and Song Qing.

At the banquet, Li Chengming was deliberately flattering, and his wife, concubine and children were also very good at talking, and the atmosphere quickly became harmonious.

At the banquet, Li Chengming mentioned the political envoy Qian Bu, and formally accompanies Yang Qiuchi for the concierge Wang Ke's marriage with another wife, and let his disabled niece meet Yang Qiuchi.

Yang Qiuchi had a very good impression of Li Chengming, but he was a little offended by the way brothers Li Ying and Li Jie secretly looked at Hong Ling from time to time.

Butler Xiao arranged a song and dance to add to the fun.The band played Miaojiang music, and amidst the melodious dance music, a group of young girls dressed in Miao costumes came to the venue and danced. The two leading dancers not only danced gracefully, but also dressed and looked exactly the same. They were obviously twins with beautiful looks. Gentle, her eyes are looking forward, and her tenderness is affectionate.

Yang Qiuchi, Qin Zhihui, and Song Qing had never seen this kind of folk dance before, and they were fascinated by watching it, and they kept applauding.

After the song and dance ended, Li Chengming said: "Master Yang, you and I hit it off right away. I admire Master Yang's character and talent, and I want to give him some decent gifts as a meeting gift. I heard Mr. Qian, the chief envoy, said that Mr. Yang We are rich, so I am afraid there is nothing that Mr. Yang would like in this poor country. I thought about it with the cheap Nei, and thought of a small gift for Mr. Yang, so don’t refuse it."

Yang Qiuchi was a little dizzy from drinking, and said with a smile: "Mr. Li, since we hit it off right away, you don't need to be polite. Thanks to your kindness, you still want to give me a gift. I'm a thick-skinned person. Others gave me a present." Things, I have never refused. Hehehe."

"That's great!" Li Chengming clapped his palms and smiled, beckoning to the two beautiful girls in Miao clothes who were leading the dance just now, and the two girls stepped forward and knelt down with their heads down.

Li Chengming said: "Master Yang, these two sisters are named Shuang'er and Xue'er. They are twins. They are 16 years old this year. They are Miao people I bought from Miao Village, but their Chinese is not bad. What do you think?" ah?"

Yang Qiuchi looked at the twin sisters with a smile, and said, "It's as cute as jade carved in powder, with dancing postures and singing voices, which is amazing."

Li Chengming laughed and said: "Since that's the case, I will give this pair of lovely people to Master Yang as a gift."
Yang Qiuchi didn't expect that the gifts Li Chengming gave him were actually two little girls. They were really cute, and he liked them very much. It would be the icing on the cake if they could join Yang's private song and dance troupe led by Ke'er.

Yang Qiuchi laughed and said, "Well, how embarrassing is this."

Li Chengming said with a smile: "This pair of sisters are good at singing and dancing, and also understand Miao language. Not only can you watch them sing and dance to relieve boredom and refresh your spirits in your leisure time after the heavy official duties, but also can be useful for Mr. Yang when he goes to the countryside for official business and so on. This is a help. So my ladies and I thought and thought, I am afraid that only this gift can please Mr. Yang." After a pause, he turned his head and said mysteriously: "Mr. Yang, they are all still young girls. oh."

Yang Qiuchi couldn't help laughing, thinking, who do you think I am, you fat winter melon?There are many beauties around me now, except for wives and concubines, I have never touched any other beauties.However, just thinking of this, Liu Ruobing's resentful eyes appeared before her eyes again.

Quickly shook his head, got his thoughts back, turned to look at Qin Zhihui and Song Qing, and saw that although they were also smiling and looking at him, there was a clear warning in their eyes: You yourself said you would never take concubines again, don't see them The little girl is beautiful, and she moved her mind again.

Yang Qiuchi blinked his eyes, meaning to reassure them.Then he cupped his hands and said, "In that case, thank you Li Yuanwai."

Li Chengming bowed his hands to return the salute, and said to the twin sisters Shuang'er and Xue'er who were kneeling on the ground: "You will be the people of the magistrate Yang from now on, and you will serve him with all your heart."

The two sisters readily agreed, kowtowed to Yang Qiuchi, Qin Zhihui, and Song Qing, and then got up and stood behind them.Housekeeper Xiao handed over the deed of selling their lives to Yang Qiuchi.Yang Qiuchi handed it to Qin Zhihui for her to keep.

Li Chengming thought for a while, and said with a smile on his face: "Master Yang, the dog Li Ying is already in his thirties this year, but their husband and wife have not yet given birth to a son and a half daughter. I am very anxious and don't know what to do."

Yang Qiuchi said with a smile: "Isn't that easy to do? Young master, he is a good-looking talent, and the family has a lot of money. Isn't it easy to take a concubine?"

"Yes, this old man also has the same idea, but there has never been a suitable candidate." He raised his eyes and peeked at Yang Qiuchi's expression, and then continued: "I heard that Master Yang has a little maid named Hong Ling, She is extremely charming, beautiful and heavenly, and it is rare to have excellent cooking skills, can there be such a person?"

Yang Qiuchi was startled, turned to look at Hong Ling, and saw that she was also looking at him in surprise.An ominous premonition arose in Yang Qiuchi's heart. Could it be that the fat winter melon was playing Hong Ling's idea to accept her as Li Ying's concubine?

Song Qing said first: "Thank you for your compliment, Hong Ling is the little maid behind me."

"Oh~! Look at me, I'm old and dim-sighted, I should have noticed it earlier." Li Chengming smiled and looked Hong Ling up and down, and sighed a few times in admiration. Well-deserved reputation!" After a pause, he asked again: "I wonder if Miss Hong Ling is married?"

Song Qing replied with a smile: "Not yet married, our master is still in love."

"Oh? Yes, it's no wonder Mr. Yang loves such a pretty girl." Li Chengming looked carefully at Hong Ling again, and asked, "May I ask, Mr. Yang, how old is Miss Hong Ling this year?"

Yang Qiuchi replied lightly, "Sixteen."

"Oh, hehe~! Very good," Li Chengming rubbed his chubby palms, thought for a while, and then mustered up the courage to say: "Master Yang, hehe, the so-called male university should be married and female university should be married. Since Miss Hongling Not yet married, the old man has an idea, but it's a bit abrupt, and I'm embarrassed to say it."

"But it's okay to say." Yang Qiuchi had already guessed what the fat winter melon was going to say.

Sure enough, Li Chengming's chubby face was narrowed into a crack with a smile, and he said respectfully: "I take the liberty of proposing marriage to Mr. Yang, and I want to ask Mr. Yang to give Miss Hong Ling to the dog as a concubine. I don't know what you want?"

Yang Qiuchi cursed inwardly, so you old boy sent me two little maids with ulterior motives.

Before Yang Qiuchi could open his mouth to refuse, Song Qing had already said: "Okay! This is really a well-matched marriage!" Turning to Yang Qiuchi, she said, "Husband, Hong Ling is sixteen years old, and she is not young at all. You can't keep her by your side forever, right? You have to find a good family for her, right? Now Li Yuanwai has proposed a marriage. It's just right for our red silk. What do you think?"

Yang Qiuchi's heart was burning with anger, and Song Qing agreed to the marriage without asking Hong Ling, without even asking herself first, Yang Qiuchi gave Song Qing a hard look, and snorted, but, On such an occasion, he couldn't get angry with his concubine, so he turned his head to look at Hong Ling, only to see her look desolate, her head bowed in silence.

Qin Zhihui looked at Yang Qiuchi, then at Hong Ling full of pity, and wanted to say something, but she still didn't say it.

Yang Qiuchi suppressed the anger in his heart, and then thought to himself, he has decided not to take concubines, so he can't let Hong Ling be his slave for the rest of his life, she will marry sooner or later, and now the rich man Li Chengming proposes marriage and wants Hong Ling to marry her To be the concubine of their patriarch's son, this should be regarded as the best affiliation for a maidservant.I can't delay her future just because I like her.The worst thing is, this Song Qing has already spoken out, Hong Ling is her maid, she is in charge, even if she doesn't want to part with it, what can she say?
Yang Qiuchi hoped that Hong Ling could overturn this decision, as long as Hong Ling was unwilling, then he could speak easily, so he coughed and said, "Hong Ling, come here."

Hong Ling lowered her head, walked slowly in front of Yang Qiuchi, and knelt down.

Yang Qiuchi asked: "Hongling, as I said before, you are the one who decides your own affairs. Now Li Yuanwai is proposing marriage for her young master, and wants to take you as his eldest son's concubine. Are you willing?" There was a pause. After a pause, he emphasized again: "It's okay, you can say whatever you think. It doesn't matter if you don't want to, I'm here with the young master."

Hong Ling squinted at Li Ying slightly, and saw that he was looking at her with ecstasy, his eyes were shining, the halazi was about to flow down, and he wished he could swallow him with water immediately.

I have seen Hong Ling with such eyes a lot, she smiled sadly, turned her head, kowtowed to Yang Qiuchi and said, "Young Master, no one has ever treated Hong Ling so well as Young Master. Hong Ling was determined to serve Young Master wholeheartedly for the rest of her life..."

Speaking of this, a teardrop slowly rolled down her cheek, and she continued in a low voice: "But Hong Ling knows that the young master has difficulties, and Hong Ling understands very well in her heart...so... Hong Ling is willing to marry into the Li family. "Crawling on the ground, his thin shoulders shrugged slightly, and wept softly.

Hearing what Hong Ling said, Yang Qiuchi was dumbfounded. She thought Hong Ling would refuse, but she had already seen that Song Qing would not let her have the opportunity to become her concubine, she was unwilling to make things difficult for herself.

Since Hong Ling herself agreed to marry into the Li family in person, what else could Yang Qiuchi say, he could only give Song Qing another hard look.

Li Chengming's eyes lit up with joy, and he said with great joy: "Great! Miss Hong Ling, don't worry, if you marry into our Li family, we will treat you as well as Master Yang, and treat you as our own daughter. hey hey"

Li Ying was even more elated, and knelt down and kowtowed to express his gratitude to Yang Qiuchi.Li Ying's younger brother Li Jie stood in the distance, although he was happy, there was a trace of jealousy at the corner of his mouth.

Yang Qiuchi raised his hand to let Li Ying get up, feeling very uncomfortable, and said: "Miss Hongling's maidservant Wen Qi is still in my inner office. It's getting late today, so I'll bring it in tomorrow morning."

"It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter, I'll send Butler Xiao to pick it up at the yamen's house tomorrow morning." Li Chengming smiled until his eyes narrowed.Instruct Housekeeper Xiao to take Miss Hong Ling down to arrange a place to stay.

Hong Ling kowtowed to Yang Qiuchi, Song Qing and Qin Zhihui a few times, then got up, followed Steward Xiao with her head down.

Li Chengming couldn't stop expressing his thanks, but Yang Qiuchi had lost interest and didn't want to drink, so he got up and left under the pretext of being drunk, and all the people went back to the county office.

It was late at night, after Yang Qiuchi asked Qin Zhihui to arrange the residence of Shuang'er and Xue'er sisters, he ignored Song Qing and rushed back to the room alone.

Song Qing knew that she had caused trouble, so she shrank into the room timidly, looked at Yang Qiuchi who was sitting on the edge of the bed with a livid face, and asked in a low voice, "Are you angry?"

Yang Qiuchi glanced at him, but said nothing.

Song Qing carefully sat beside Yang Qiuchi, and tugged at his sleeve: "I'm sorry, it was Qing'er's fault, she agreed to marry Hong Ling into their family without asking your opinion, why can't Qing'er apologize to you?" ?”

Yang Qiuchi finally broke out, and shouted: "It's not the problem! You didn't respect me, but you didn't respect Hong Ling! Ask yourself, do you treat her as a person in your heart? In your eyes Here, is she a person or an animal?"

Song Qing had never seen Yang Qiuchi get so angry, she was stunned, tears welled up in her eyes: "It was Li Yuanwai's wife and concubine who quietly told me that they were going to propose marriage and let Hong Ling be the young master's concubine, please. I promise, I... I'm doing it for her own good, she's going to get married sooner or later!"

"Marry? Marry! If she wants to marry, that's her business. What's your business? Why are you so caring? Who does she like, tell us, and let's arrange the marriage for her, this is a serious family It should be done, what are you doing now?" Yang Qiuchi doesn't get angry easily, but once he gets angry, it's very scary.

Song Qing burst into tears: "I... did I do something wrong... Woooooo"

Yang Qiuchi glared at her and shouted: "Your fault is that you don't treat others as human beings! This is the habit of the eldest lady of your official family!" Yang Qiuchi stood up and walked out.

Song Qing panicked, hurriedly chased after him, and grabbed Yang Qiuchi: "Brother Qiuchi, where are you going?"

"I'm going to sleep in the study!" Yang Qiuchi shook off her hand.

Song Qing grabbed him again, and knelt down on the ground with a thud: "Husband, please, don't, Qing'er is wrong, Qing'er is wrong, please don't leave Qing'er here alone, woo woo Woohoo"

"I'm upset, I want to be alone! Let go!"

Song Qing didn't let go, but held on tighter: "Husband, Qing'er was wrong. Qing'er knew that you liked Hong Ling in her heart, but Qing'er was jealous. She was afraid that you would take her into the house one day, so she agreed to let them take Hong Ling away." After marrying, Qing'er is also a woman... Qing'er just wants to guard you, husband, and hope that you are only my husband! Every time I think of you in another woman's bed, my heart feels like a knife , do you know this kind of feeling? Woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Yang Qiuchi didn't expect that Song Qing, who was laughing and laughing all day long, would have so much suffering in her heart, yes, love is selfish, which woman would like her husband to love herself and others at the same time?Song Qing thought this way, why didn't Qin Zhihui think this way?Even the kind and virtuous Xiaoxue thought about it this way.

Every time I take in a concubine, one more person will be hurt, and the three of them will be hurt one more time!

Song Qing did this, in the final analysis, because of the maintenance of her own emotional marriage. Of course, a man hopes that when he finds another woman, his wife and concubine just smile and say it's okay. If the wife and concubine are jealous, they will immediately fly into a rage , but compare your heart with your heart, what if your woman falls in love with another man?Can you smile and say it's okay?
After understanding Song Qing's thoughts, Yang Qiuchi's heart softened. He turned around, helped her up, wiped her tears, and said in a slow voice: "Qing'er, I know your thoughts, I said You don't have to worry about it if you don't want to take a concubine anymore. Don't cry."

Song Qing sobbed and nodded.

After a pause, Yang Qiuchi continued: "No matter what your reasons are, it would be wrong for you to agree to marry Hong Ling to them today, at least you didn't respect Hong Ling. Although Hong Ling is our slave, she is also a A person is a real person, we should respect her, even if we want to find her a home, we should ask for her opinion in advance, right?"

Sobbing and crying, Song Qing said, "Didn't you ask her, and she agreed."

"Promise? What do you ask her to do in that situation? You are her master. If you say you want to marry her off, can she say no?"

Song Qing wiped her tears, sobbed, and said, "Then, let's take her back tomorrow, anyway, we haven't given them the contract yet."

Yang Qiuchi couldn't laugh or cry: "This is not a child's play house."

Song Qing didn't know what to do for a while, so she couldn't help crying again.

Yang Qiuchi patted her on the shoulder and said, "Okay, maybe this is really a good belonging for Miss Hong Ling. She follows me without a name or a role. What can I hope for?"

Song Qing nodded and said, "I thought so too, so I agreed."

Yang Qiuchi said again: "How about this, I will go to Li Yuanwai's house tomorrow morning, and ask Hong Ling in private to see how she is doing. If she is satisfied, that's the best. If she is not satisfied, let's take it. She's back."

"Hmm~!" Song Qing nodded with tears in her eyes, "I'll go with you tomorrow morning."

The next morning, when Yang Qiuchi and Song Qing hadn't woken up yet, Qin Zhihui rushed into the room, opened the tent, and shouted anxiously, "Husband...it's terrible!" It's gone! Get up quickly... something serious happened!" The voice trembled, and the heart was tightened all of a sudden.

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PS: I revised it again, it is more than 1000 words more than the original one (no extra charge), I hope everyone will be satisfied.

(End of this chapter)