)

  How did things end up going in this strange direction with her on top of a quilt?

  Just as she returned to the house, she subconsciously used other words to cover up the unease in her heart. Qi You was too sharp, and she didn't want to be seen through like a transparent person in front of him.

  Third Aunt's words served as a reminder to her, but also made her feel afraid. She was very afraid that she would also become like the other women in the inner courtyard who, for the sake of self-preservation and for the sake of their children, would stop at nothing.

  She must have children, and it's even more unquestionable to protect the child. If Third Aunt wanted to make her uneasy, then she succeeded.

  She didn't dare to tell Qi You about her unease, no one could protect anyone for a lifetime, let alone that Qi You was the master of the Qi Manor, and the dirty secrets within the inner courtyard were completely different when laid out in front of him.

  But then got drunk? And even had a one-night stand after drinking?

  It's not entirely true that after getting married they didn't drink and didn't have much to do, it was almost like a daily celebration.

  After rolling around on the bed for a while without finding any explanation, Hua Rujun resignedly sat up, looked at the marks on her body, lifted the curtain and got out of bed, put on a belly band, and then called out to those outside, "Come in and serve."

  "Yes."

  The person who came in was Dongfei, one of the few maids who spoke the least. She told Qi You that Dongfei had learned a little bit of medical skills, but in fact, Dongfei had disguised herself as a man and followed her father's good friend, a famous doctor in the Jianghu, to study for four whole years until she was about to get married.

  She didn't like to deal with people, so Hua Ru initially thought of ways to find rare medical books for her to study diligently and didn't require her to be by his side at all times.

  "Is it you today? Where are the others?"

  Dongfang made a square bow and said, "I'll take the lead in serving everyone in the main hall, let me attend to it."

  Hua Ru Chun can almost imagine what Yun Shu said, no more than how important she is. Dong Fei's hands are not for doing heavy work, just reading a few more medical books, and when she gets pregnant, she should try her best, and in the future, the young master will also need Dong Fei to make an effort.

  She smiled slightly and asked, "Has your husband left early?"

  "Yes, Master told us not to disturb when he left."

  It's really... Hua Ru didn't say anything good, sleeping in every day. If this continues, her master will be laughed at.

  "We're all very happy."

  "Really?"

  "We have a good relationship with our uncle and we are all very happy."

  Looking through the mirror at Dongfei's delicate face, Hua Ru sighed and said, "Dongfei, although you don't like to interact with others, among the few maids, you are the most perceptive and have the quickest mind. At that time, sending you to study medicine was not a bad decision."

  She glanced at the person in the mirror, Dongfei's movements didn't stop, saying "Good to the maid, the maid will be grateful for her whole life, being able to follow is Dongfei's good fortune, no servant can have the opportunity to study medicine like Dongfei."

  "Speaking of which, after all, I'm doing this for myself too." Recalling something her father had mentioned unintentionally at home, Hua Ruochu smiled mischievously, "Dongfei, if your senior brother were to come and propose to me, would you agree or not?"

  Dong Fei's hand tightened, and her scalp was pulled up, painful to the point that Hua Ru's eyebrows were furrowed. Dong Fei quickly loosened her grip, and she shrank down by half a head, "Servant girl... please punish me."

  Rubbing her scalp, Hua Ruochu let out a sigh. Was she going to be punished? This was all her own doing. Who told her to say that while braiding her hair, "Get up, we're not going anywhere today, just braid your hair loosely."

  "Yes."

  It was a while before either of them spoke again. Not until her hair was tied up did Hua Ru Chuu say, "Dong Fei, what are you thinking? Do you dislike your senior brother?"

  Dongfei's lips were white with anger, and Hua Ruochu suddenly realized that she had neglected this little girl. Compared to when she was at home, Dongfei had lost a lot of weight and her complexion wasn't good either. Was this... being troubled by love?

  Turning around to face her, "Dongfei, answer me."

  Dongfei quietly knelt down, her voice trembling, "I... don't like Shixiong, I don't want to get married, I've long since come to understand that. I'll study medicine well and take care of my body, then in the future, I'll protect Young Master, that's all."

  Can't even get married? If there's no one in her heart, that's fine, but Dong Fei is like this, how can she not have anyone in her heart? If she really didn't like it, she wouldn't have such a desperate tone. "You just got married, as long as you're willing, you can still follow me."

  Dong Fei shook her head, "But the maid is just a servant girl, how can she qualify to marry into such a family as his wife? Even if he doesn't mind, his family won't be able to accept it. Rather than ending up with mutual resentment later on, it's better to cut off any thoughts of this now. You once said that you'd rather be the wife of a poor man than the concubine of a rich one, but how can a rich man let a servant girl become his wife? Everyone will laugh at him."

  "You're quite perceptive, get up." Hua Ruochu stood up, took the willow branch to brush her teeth with salt, and accepted the handkerchief from Dong Fei to wipe her face.

  "You're still young and can afford to wait, don't rush. Look at your senior's sincerity, if he's really genuine, I have a way to make you enter his family with dignity. If he's wishy-washy and lacks determination, it's better to break off early, my daughter can't be let down."

  “……”

  "Let's go, I'm getting a bit hungry."

  Hua Ru Chu didn't feel hungry at all, and after eating a bowl of porridge, she went out of the house. Seeing the lively scene outside, she couldn't help but smile.

  Yun Shu saw her hastily walking over and greeting her, "Greetings."

  "Where did you find all these flowers and grasses?"

  "Ma Guan Jia sent it over and said you would definitely like it."

  Really like it, Hua Ru nodded at first, with the blooming flowers competing to show off, this courtyard looks much better now, and also has more vitality.

  "Did he bring it himself?"

  "No, in order to avoid suspicion, he just brought the servant to send it outside the door. It was Qiu Jian who informed Qi Guan Jia, and Qi Guan Jia led people to help send it."

  "Qi Guanjia?" Hua Ruchu suddenly thought of that seemingly loyal old man, "Did he say anything?"

  "No, the maid said you were doing embroidery, so he said he wouldn't disturb you and the maid brought up a gift."

  "It's been sent."

  Yun Shu wiped the sweat from her forehead, having been busy all morning, with mud stains on her clothes. "Master Ma wants me to tell you that the craftsman you wanted has been found."

  "So soon found?" Hua Ru Chu was overjoyed, "Yun Shu, send someone to deliver the dried mud to the other courtyard, separate and open them up, don't mix them up. Tell Ma Bo to let the craftsmen make a few according to their own methods and bring them back for me to take a look. Take good care of the mud, don't waste it."

  "Yes."

  "There is also a kiln cave, you ask Ma Bo to ask the craftsman if there is a ready-made high-temperature kiln cave, if not, let Ma Bo build one."

  "Yes."

  In the courtyard, she strolled around and offered a few opinions on the planting of various flowers. Hua Ru went to the room next to the bedroom, Qi You's study was not allowed to enter casually, so let the maids tidy up a room here, practice writing or write something also convenient.

  Lay out the paper, Hua Ru Chu writes down all the processes of making a purple sand pot that she can think of, then lays out another sheet of paper, and according to the vertical arrangement of complex characters in this world, the wording is also carefully considered, without seeking to look like it would be thrown in front of Tao Jia, even if she couldn't find any flaws.

  This is it, I've got it now.

  "It's burnt." He handed the paper that had been folded into a square to Dong Fei, and only looked away after it had turned to ashes.

  From head to toe, she took another look and made some slight revisions before putting the paper away in her drawer. She had to see what kind of craftsmanship this world's artisans were capable of first; if they were better than those from her original world, then this piece of paper could be burned.

  The door was knocked on, and Hua Ru raised her head to say, "Come in."

  "Ah, it's you, Zhen."

  What's the hurry? Thinking of what Qi You said yesterday, Hua Ru had a sudden headache. His movements were very quick, and she couldn't even drag it out if she wanted to.

  "Please go to the flower hall."

  "Yes."

  On the way to the flower hall, Hua Ru had several thoughts in her mind. First of all, how to get along with Qi Zhen was a big problem.

  Originally, she could only let her guard down in the hospital, but now she even has to wear a mask at home. If it's all said and done with her, who knows if this mask will be worn out or not.

  Qī Zhēn sat uneasily in the lower seat, her eyes uncontrollably gazing at that screen, so beautiful and exquisite, it was the best she had seen so far.

  Just thinking about her now having a embroidered cushion under her butt that others can't even buy, Qi Zhen felt a bit restless.

  "Zhen mei, have you been waiting for a long time? Don't skip words."

  Following the sound, she looked at the person who came out from behind the screen. The loose bun was different from what she saw outside, and her dress was also casual and free-spirited. Qi Zhen felt that this was most suitable for her sister-in-law.

  Hurriedly getting up, Qi Zhenfu bowed and said, "Zhen'er has seen sister-in-law."

  "Just us two, no need for so much courtesy, Yun Shu, go get some pastries and bring up another pot of flower tea."

  "Yes."

  Flower tea is easy to make, she also made some in Yangzhou, but she doesn't like drinking it, probably not suitable for coaxing little girls either.

  "No need, no need, sister-in-law, I...I..."

  "Sitting there, you've already called me 'sister-in-law', how can I still eat with you?"

  Qī Zhēn had no choice but to sit back down again, her hands twisting the handkerchief in her grasp, looking extremely uneasy.

  With such a naive and innocent look, if her mother-in-law is as shrewd as San Shu said, wouldn't she have taught her daughter well? It can't be that this young girl is also hiding her true nature, but looking at her, it doesn't seem like it either.

  "I heard your mother is teaching you how to manage a household, have you ever been here before? Would your mother be unhappy about it?"

  "No, the princess has left the palace. The crown prince's consort is going to Anfu Temple to pray for the crown prince's good fortune. At noon, a hand decree arrived summoning mother to follow her, this is a rare honor, in previous years mother was not qualified, I don't know if she will be allowed to go this year."

  Hua Ru's heart skipped a beat, "Has mother never gone before? Not even once?"

  "Yes, Princess Taizi goes to Anfu Temple every year at this time. I only have the chance to follow her this year."

  What a huge energy Qī Yòu has, even the old master may not be entirely clear about it. Since he can let Qī Wǔ follow him so easily this year, it means that in previous years, there were opportunities, but he never did it. This shows how much he dislikes his mother?

  It's enough for a mother and son to have reached this point.

  "Sister-in-law, brother asked Qi'an to tell me that you will teach me, and it's more useful than mother teaching, is that true?"

  "With those big, innocent-looking eyes, plus the promise from yesterday, Hua Ru Chun couldn't refuse and could only nod her head saying 'Look, I want to learn, but I don't know much, and besides, Mother will get angry.'"

  Qī Zhēn smiled innocently, with a hint of mischief like a little girl, "I won't tell Mother, I promised Brother."

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