Chapter 371, Bottom Line
Sending Princess Guan back to the main courtyard as usual, and after a busy wait, Guan Xiuyan dragged her exhausted body back to the courtyard where she lived.
As soon as she returned to her room, Guan Xiuyan went to bed without washing, leaned against the corner of the wall, and curled herself into a ball.
Hui Er saw it, and felt a little distressed: "Girl."
Guan Xiuyan raised her head blankly: "Did I do something wrong?"
Hui Er couldn't answer this question.
Guan Xiuyan said to herself: "I just thought, my cousin is soft-hearted. With so many years of affection, he can always protect me well. Isn't this better than marrying into another family where I don't know?"
"I know that the family my cousin showed me is not too bad, but whether a woman can gain a foothold in her husband's family depends on her mother's family."
"And I am a person without a family."
"Although the life in the palace is not satisfactory, my aunt is a blood relative after all. Even if it is difficult to take care of her, she will never harm me."
“I really just want a place to live.”
"I want to leave the palace. I'm just a piece of duckweed. Without the protection of my aunt and cousin, I'm nothing. So I can't leave the palace. I have to stay with my aunt and cousin."
Hearing these words, Huier felt distressed, and stepped forward to hug Guan Xiuyan: "Girl, everything will be fine."
Guan Xiuyan's eyes lit up suddenly: "Really? Will it be okay? Will my cousin accept me? Will he be angry with me? Will he not like me from now on?"
Hui'er shook her head and said, "No, the third master has always been very kind to the girl."
Guan Xiuyan thought of Chu Yao's secret care for her all these years, and secretly breathed a sigh of relief: "As long as my cousin doesn't hate me, I promise, I will be obedient and won't compete with my cousin for his favor, as long as he thinks of me occasionally to visit me."
Speaking of Shi Fuxin, Guan Xiuyan was worried again: "I seem to have offended my cousin to death today. Even if I was pointed out to my cousin by the queen mother, as the main wife, it would be easy for her to take advantage of me."
"Biao sister-in-law is very powerful, Huier, tell me, will she harm me, prevent me from gaining a foothold in the palace, and drive me out of the palace?"
Feeling Guan Xiuyan's panic, Hui'er hurriedly said: "No, girl, don't think too much, as long as you firmly hold the heart of the princess, with her protecting you, the third lady will not dare to do anything to you."
Guan Xiuyan: "Yes, I still have my aunt, no, more than that, I also have my cousin, my cousin will not ignore me, my aunt and cousin will protect me."
After a while, Guan Xiuyan's mood stabilized a little: "I really don't want to be an enemy of my cousin, and I can't help it. The queen mother issued an order, and I am not as bold as my cousin, so I can't defy it."
"My aunt also wants her to stay by her side. I can't disobey her. I really can't help it."
"I don't want to be a concubine either, but I've never been able to be my own master."
While talking to herself, Guan Xiuyan leaned against Huier's arms, closed her eyes tiredly, and in a daze, Shi Fuxin's words "I think highly of you after all" always sounded in her ears.
That contemptuous look made Guan Xiuyan's heart tremble. She was in a daze and couldn't find a reason to deceive herself.
She knew that she was afraid of marrying into someone else's family to suffer hardship, afraid of being bullied by her in-laws, and afraid of never seeing her cousin again, so she let go of her dignity and would rather be a concubine for her cousin!
Supervision Department.
Meng Moling stood at the door of Chu Yao's office room. From time to time, he hooked his head and glanced at Chu Yao who was buried in the errands in the room. His face was full of hesitation, and he endured it. Finally, he couldn't help it, and asked at the risk of being beaten: "Brother Yao, you really don't want to go back to the palace?"
Chu Yao did not respond.
Meng Moling dawdled for a while and then said: "Nowadays, anyone who is well-informed probably knows that the Empress Dowager ordered you to point out a concubine."
Before Princess Guan and Guan Xiuyan left the palace, the Supervisory Department received news that the Queen Mother had ordered Guan Xiuyan to be a concubine to Chu Yao.
And in order to make things a certainty, the queen mother also publicized this matter.
"Brother Yao, you really don't want to go back home to appease my sister-in-law? My sister-in-law might be very angry now!"
Chu Yao finally raised his head from his official duties, with complicated eyes flashing across his eyes, will Shi Liu really be angry because he has an extra concubine?
If it was another woman, she might be jealous and angry when she knew that her husband had more concubines, but when it happened to Shi Liu, he was not sure.
Because he really didn't know how much weight he had in Shi Liu's heart.
Will Shiliu be jealous because of such a thing?
Seeing that Chu Yao didn't respond, Meng Moling asked again: "Brother Yao, do you care about your sister-in-law? Why are you not panicking when such a big incident happened?"
Chu Yao looked over: "Why should I panic?"
Meng Moling: "Because you want to take a concubine, let me tell you, women are jealous, and my sister-in-law will definitely have trouble with you."
Chu Yao is not too worried about Shiliu. He knows very well that Shiliu has a strong tolerance and is difficult to be influenced by the outside world, but when he thinks of Guan Xiuyan, he has a headache.
He felt pity for this cousin who lost his parents, especially when the palace was isolated and helpless, she helped him many times, so that he couldn't ignore her.
However, he has absolutely no affection for her.
Thinking of the empress dowager under Yizhi, Chu Yao squinted his eyes. No wonder the emperor has been preventing the empress dowager from returning to the palace. Sure enough, the most powerful person in the Wei family is still the empress dowager.
As soon as he made a move, he didn't even have time to prepare.
Meng Moling continued: "Brother Yao, let's just have my sister-in-law's temper. I think you'd better go back and tell her clearly."
Chu Yao looked at Meng Moling: "Why, in your eyes, when something happens, I have to take the initiative to find Shi Liufu first? Why didn't she come to me in a hurry?"
These words made Meng Moling stunned for a moment: "Aren't you always brother Yao, you are at a disadvantage?"
Chu Yao turned dark on the spot: "Who says I'm at a disadvantage?"
Meng Moling scratched his head: "Isn't it?"
His appearance made Chu Yao so angry that he picked up a book and threw it at it.
After Meng Moling ran away bluffing, Chu Yao lowered his eyes and began to think.
Now the news that he wants to take his cousin as a concubine is widely known. If he stands up and refuses at this time, with his cousin's temper, he will probably be too ashamed to live.
But if you don't refuse, is it true that you really want to accept your cousin as the Queen Mother wished?
At this moment, Meng Moling ran back again, "Brother Yao, Shi's son-in-law is here."
Before Chu Yao could speak, he saw Shi Dinghao striding in.
Seeing that Shi Dinghao's face was not looking good, Chu Yao waved to Meng Moling to let him back down, and then looked at Shi Dinghao: "Why is Jiulang here at this time?"
Shi Dinghao didn't answer, just looked at him: "You really want to take your cousin as a concubine?"
Chu Yao frowned, his cousin was not what he wanted to accept, but now being scolded by Shi Dinghao, he was very unhappy: "I don't want to accept, it is the queen mother's order."
Shi Dinghao: "Then quickly find a way to push this matter away."
Chu Yao did not answer this question.
Shi Dinghao was a little furious: "Why, you don't want to?"
Chu Yao: "If I want to do this, my cousin will not be able to survive."
Shi Dinghao stood up abruptly: "Cousin, cousin, you only have your cousin in your heart, where did you put my sister?"
Chu Yao looked at her: "Your sister will always be my wife, and no one can change this."
Hearing this, Shi Dinghao became even angrier: "Do you think your wife's position is very popular, do you think my sister is rare?"
"I won't talk about it once your royal family pushes things aside, and you can't choose your parents' background, but you can decide whether you want to take a concubine or not?"
Shi Dinghao: "Isn't it because you didn't handle your cousin's affairs well? Didn't you take the initiative to give someone a chance to clean you up?"
"Chu Yao, let me tell you, my sister has a strong temper and can't tolerate sand in her eyes. Once you touch her bottom line, she will turn her head and leave without hesitation."
Chu Yao looked at Shi Dinghao lingeringly: "What exactly do you want to say?"
Shi Dinghao looked at him: "I have loved to cling to my sister since I was a child, and I know what kind of person my sister is. Three wives and four concubines are normal for others, but for her, it is a taboo, a taboo that cannot be violated."
"I'm not afraid to tell you today, our family is actually very dissatisfied with you, but my sister likes you, I don't want her to be sad, that's why I came to you today, you can take care of yourself."
Watching Shi Dinghao stride away, Chu Yao frowned. Before that, he thought that Shi Liu might not care too much about accepting his cousin, but now that he heard Shi Dinghao's roar, he was not sure.
Will Shiliu be angry?
Chu Yao suddenly remembered Shi Liu's decisiveness when he dumped Fan Mingyu, and became irritable for no reason, couldn't sit still, and immediately got up and went back to the palace.
Didn't Shiliu say that if he had something to ask in person, he would go back and ask her now!
Shi Fuxin didn't go back to the mansion with Guan Wangfei and Guan Xiuyan, but went to Hongyanxiao first, and asked someone to call Yandaizi, and told Yandaizi about collecting information about the Wei family before returning to the mansion.
When Chu Yao returned home, Shi Fuxin had just returned not long before taking a shower and was drying her hair.
"came back."
Not angry, not questioning, listening to Shi Fuxin's calm inquiry, Chu Yao didn't know whether to be thankful for his wife's generosity or angry that she didn't care about him.
Seeing that Chu Yao pulled his face and remained silent as soon as he came back, Shi Fuxin said angrily, "I'm not even angry, but you got angry first."
Chu Yao looked at her immediately: "Why aren't you angry?"
Shi Fuxin: "How do you know I'm not angry? I'm already angry."
Chu Yao's expression softened a little, then he frowned and asked, "Why aren't you angry with me?"
Shi Fuxin asked back: "Why should I be angry with you? You didn't provoke me."
Chu Yao: ".But I'm going to take a concubine."
Shi Fuxin looked at him with a smile: "Did you want to accept it?"
Chu Yao shook his head: "No."
Shi Fuxin: "That's it. If you want to take a concubine, or if you can refuse but don't, I will naturally talk to you."
Chu Yao was silent: "Jiulang just came to see me, he was very dissatisfied with the matter of my cousin, and asked me to find a way to push it away."
Shi Fuxin smiled lightly: "Jiulang is worried about me, and he will definitely not take your feelings into account when he speaks. You are his brother-in-law, but please don't remember the villain's mistakes, and don't be as knowledgeable as him."
Chu Yao's expression softened again, and he looked at her: "Your reaction is different from what I imagined."
Shi Fuxin looked over with a smile: "What do you think I should react?"
Chu Yao: "Why didn't you let me push the matter of accepting my cousin?"
Shi Fuxin: "The empress dowager made it clear that she wanted to vent her anger for the prince, and there would be other things if she didn't accept the cousin. Now that everyone knows about it, disobeying the empress dowager will have to pay a heavy price."
"Besides, Cousin Guan was raised by the concubine mother. You must have some affection for her. I guess you can't be cruel enough to put her in an embarrassing situation, right?"
Chu Yao was a little moved by Shi Fuxin's understanding of his feelings, and he was glad that he was right at the beginning. This is the woman he wanted to marry, but why did he still feel a little bit uncomfortable?
That's right, as Meng Moling said, women are jealous, and he was delighted by Shi Liu's calmness, but in this rationality, he probably didn't care about him.
Chu Yao was silent for a moment, then suddenly said: "I don't know whether to be happy or unhappy."
Shi Fuxin watched him for a while, put down her veil, walked up to Chu Yao, sat on his lap, put her arms around his neck and asked, "What arrangements do you have for Cousin Guan?"
Shi Fuxin's sudden approach made Chu Yao a little startled, especially when she saw her with draped hair, which was different from her usual side, and she was a little distracted for a while.
Seeing that he was silent, Shi Fuxin asked more specifically: "What is your relationship with Cousin Guan?"
Chu Yao: "Of course it's brother and sister."
Shi Fuxin continued: "Now that you have taken her in, do you still treat her like a brother and sister?"
Chu Yao said without even thinking about it: "That's not it." Then, with a sigh, "After all, we are the ones who hurt my cousin."
Fu Xin disagreed with this statement: "This is so unreasonable. I told her before entering the palace that you have already found a candidate for her."
"As long as she wants to live in peace, when the queen mother reveals that she wants to be your concubine, she should stand up and refuse."
"Don't say that she dared not resist. The concubine mother is on the side, and she can always say a few words for her. Even if she can't completely reject the queen mother, she can delay it for a while, but she didn't do that."
"Afterwards, I received news that I would take her to see the Queen Mother, but not only was she unwilling, but she knelt down in public and asked me to fulfill her."
"Don't act like we owe her something. Cousin Guan is a voluntary member of the game, she is not innocent."
Chu Yao was silent for a moment.
Shi Fuxin: "You haven't told me yet, how are you going to arrange for Cousin Guan?"
Chu Yao had no good solution for a while: "You are the mistress of my courtyard, and it is your business to manage the concubine's room."
Shi Fuxin smiled: "Then I will put her together with those women who were rewarded by the old princess and father before."
Chu Yao frowned subconsciously: "She is my cousin after all, the palace is so big, give her an independent yard to live in."
Shi Fuxin played with the jade pendant around Chu Yao's waist: "So, Cousin Guan is still very important to you?"
Chu Yao looked at her: "Are you jealous?"
Shi Fuxin didn't answer, but looked at Chu Yao and said seriously: "I know, a man of your background takes three wives and four concubines as a matter of course."
"Now, let me tell you what I think."
"I don't want to share my husband with any woman. If my husband is unclean, then I don't want it."
"This is the bottom line, there is no possibility of negotiation."
"I have no right to ask how you treat your cousin Guan. All I can do is to defend my bottom line."
Seeing that Chu Yao's brows were twisted into knots, Shi Fuxin stretched out her hands to smooth them out: "You must not think that I'm threatening to influence your thoughts by saying these words, no, I never try to change others, and I don't think I have such great ability."
"What choice you have is your own consideration."
"Of course, people have to bear the consequences of their own choices. My choice is that the bottom line cannot be broken. If it is broken, then I will also bear the consequences of my promise."
Chu Yao and Shi Fuxin looked at each other, with different emotions suppressed in their eyes.
After a while, Chu Yao carried Shi Fuxin to the chair next to her and sat down, then left without saying a word.
Seeing Chu Yao leaving with a sullen face, Mother Leng looked at Shi Fuxin worriedly: "Ma'am, did you say too much of what you said just now?"
Shi Fuxin said indifferently: "I'm just stating the facts." After finishing speaking, she continued to rub her hair.
Waiting for Mother Leng to come out of the room, An Ran pulled her aside and said in a low voice: "Looking at the third master's appearance just now, I seem to be really angry."
Nurse Leng sighed: "Madam's words are a bit harsh, but the cousin girl is different from other concubines. If you don't speak more seriously, it will be Madam who will suffer in the future."
An Ran: "Do you think the third master will listen to your wife? If the third master listens to your wife, then the cousin girl will only get a title."
Nurse Leng said indifferently: "That is also her choice. Madam is right, everyone should bear the consequences of their own choices. If the cousin chooses to be the third master's concubine, then she must be prepared to stay alone."
(end of this chapter)