Hua Xiaoling didn’t speak again. Actually, that incident happened because Xie Wenzhao was drunk that day and mistook her for someone else. If it weren’t for the Old Madam taking charge, Xie Wenzhao would never have taken her in as a concubine.
So she actually also knew why Xie Wenzhao didn’t like to go to her place, but this kind of thing wasn’t something she could easily talk about with others.
Nowadays, Xie Wenzhao went most often to Qu Hanyan’s place every month. Although Qu Hanyan said Xie Wenzhao came to her place to listen to qin, he would also occasionally spend the night at Tingshui Pavilion. With a man and woman alone, sleeping together—if absolutely nothing happened, Hua Xiaoling really couldn’t believe it. And before Qu Hanyan entered the residence, Xie Wenzhao would spend the whole year sleeping in the study.
Li Yue put down his hand and pondered for a moment. He felt that this sort of matter should count as a big issue in the inner residence. Now that he was standing in for Meng Fu, it was necessary to handle this matter cleanly and beautifully—best if everyone ended up happy, and the inner courtyard of the marquis manor could quiet down a bit.
He immediately saw that the root of the matter lay with Xie Wenzhao. If in the future he were made to go more often to this Hua Concubine’s place, wouldn’t that solve it? He picked up a servant’s teacup, sipped lightly, and asked Hua Xiaoling: “Do you want Xie Wenzhao to go to your place?”
Hua Xiaoling nodded her head like pounding garlic.
“Then how many times a month do you think Xie Wenzhao should go to your place?” Li Yue asked again.
Hua Xiaoling didn’t understand why Li Yue was asking this—it sounded a bit sarcastic and strange—but she didn’t care about that. Since Madam didn’t reject her like before, that meant there was still a chance. She subconsciously glanced at Qu Hanyan, then gave a flattering smile and said: “I’ve observed that His Lordship goes to Tingshui Pavilion at least ten times a month. I can’t compare with Sister Qu who can play the qin and dance—if His Lordship could go to my place five times, that would be enough.”
Qu Hanyan snorted coldly in her heart. Five times? Hua Xiaoling sure thinks well of herself. She doesn’t even consider how many times His Lordship goes to Meng Fu each month—not even once.
Li Yue put down the teacup. There were three concubines in Xie Wenzhao’s residence. If each got five days, that still left half the month.
Can’t let him be idle—once this man has free time, he tends to stir up trouble.
Seeing that Li Yue’s face looked displeased, Hua Xiaoling quickly corrected herself: “Madam, this concubine knows she was greedy. If not five days, then three is fine too.”
Before Hua Xiaoling could finish, Li Yue interrupted her and said: “Let’s do it this way—you’re all sisters, so let’s be fair. Ten days for each.”
“I was wrong, Madam. Just let His Lordship come see me once at Linglong Pavilion, just once—” Hua Xiaoling’s voice suddenly stopped. She abruptly realized what Li Yue had said. Her eyes widened as she stared blankly at him, her voice somewhat trembling: “Madam… you said… ten days?”
She simply couldn’t believe what she just heard.
Ten days?
Each person ten days?
There could even be such a good thing!
Since she entered the residence, the total number of times Xie Wenzhao came to her place hadn’t even reached ten.
Qu Hanyan, who had been watching the show from the side, frowned at once when she heard this and said: “This won’t do.”
She still had some feelings for Xie Wenzhao. What was this supposed to be now—treating Xie Wenzhao like pork? Everyone gets a slice. Did anyone even ask the pork how it feels?
Li Yue thought it over carefully and also felt ten days was improper. He gave a “hm” sound, nodded, and said: “It won’t do.”
Qu Hanyan immediately let out a breath of relief upon hearing that. Just now, what Meng Fu said was just a joke—only someone like Hua Xiaoling, that silly girl, would take it seriously.
“Xie Wenzhao’s body doesn’t look too good,” Li Yue thought they shouldn’t push him too hard and needed to leave a bit of leeway. He said, “Then each person gets nine days. Let Xie Wenzhao rest for two.”
Qu Hanyan’s face turned ugly. Was Meng Fu not even considering the pig’s feelings at all?
And Hua Xiaoling really wasn’t very clever. When she first heard Li Yue’s arrangement, she didn’t even realize what it meant. She was just thrilled at getting nine days and almost wanted to run outside and laugh out loud. Only after a while, when she recalled what Li Yue said earlier, did she realize that he seemed to be saying that each of them would get nine days.
Hua Xiaoling immediately started counting on her fingers: three sevens twenty-one, three eights twenty-four, three nines twenty-seven, four nines thirty-six… She counted for a long time before finally understanding that Li Yue had pretty much allocated all of Xie Wenzhao’s days in a month.
She had always been a person who was greedy and insatiable—so long as it was something good, she never refused, the more the better. But now, after she clearly calculated the number of days, Hua Xiaoling actually, strangely, felt a bit guilty and embarrassed in front of Li Yue. Earlier, when Li Yue scolded her, she had already thought about how to complain about him to the Old Madam when she was summoned—yet now, how could she still have the nerve to speak badly of Meng Fu?
Aiya aiya!
Regardless of whether this matter would succeed in the end, the madam’s attitude had already been shown. Hua Xiaoling, although sometimes indeed a little ungrateful, this time really wanted to get a share of the pork.l
But nine days each was only enough to divide among three people. She chuckled “hehe” and asked Li Yue: “Then Madam, what about you?”
Li Yue thought: if Xie Wenzhao dared to get on his bed, he would break Xie Wenzhao’s legs. After all, the Old Marquis had indeed saved the late emperor, so for the Old Marquis’s sake, he’d leave those legs intact.
He said, “I don’t need it. So long as you all can behave yourselves, that’s enough.”
His tone sounded as if he regarded Xie Wenzhao as some little toy used to pacify people.
How could it be? How could Madam look at His Lordship like that? They must be thinking wrong.
This matter of dividing pork was of no benefit to Qu Hanyan. Originally, Xie Wenzhao would come to her place several times a month. If this matter really happened, how could it still show that His Lordship favored her?
But in the past couple of days, Madam’s momentum had been terrifying. After a while, she muttered: “…His Lordship wouldn’t agree to it.”
Li Yue gave a light chuckle. Did whether Xie Wenzhao agreed or not matter for something he had already decided? What a joke!
“Then let him come talk to me himself,” he waved his hand and said, “Alright, it’s settled. From now on, no more quarrels. You all go do what you’re supposed to.”
Hua Xiaoling left Tingshui Pavilion beaming with joy, while Qu Hanyan had an entirely different expression, grinding her teeth. She originally thought that Xie Wenzhao would never agree to what Li Yue proposed, but seeing Li Yue’s extremely confident manner, she suddenly felt uncertain.
It seemed like—whatever this Madam wanted to do, no one could stop her.
Impossible.
Although His Lordship had no temper, that didn’t mean he could be casually manipulated.
Having resolved the matter neatly, Li Yue leisurely left Tingshui Pavilion. He arrived at the bamboo grove behind Jixue Courtyard, picked up a bamboo pole, intending to practice sword for half an hour like in the palace, then do a round of boxing. However, idealism was full and rich, while reality gave him a direct blow to the face—Meng Fu’s body was simply too delicate. He only practiced for a short while before panting heavily, leaning against the artificial mountain, gasping nonstop. Qingping was so anxious she broke out in a sweat, wanting to call a doctor for her.
Before the mission could even start, the soldier had already fallen—Li Yue could only toss away the bamboo pole and practice something easier to build up his foundation.
Next time he met Meng Fu, he must have a proper talk with her. Even if one was a woman, the body shouldn’t be so weak. It was better to be sturdier—then whatever one did, there would be strength.
After boxing, he strolled around the perimeter of the Marquis Manor. On the way back, he saw Hua Xiaoling and another concubine sitting in the small pavilion of the garden, chatting and laughing. Li Yue listened for a few sentences. They were sighing over the nine-day method he proposed and expressing that they would definitely behave and listen to Madam in the future. Li Yue was very gratified at this.
Look, look—this piece of pork really hadn’t been handed out for nothing.
Even the pig could be said to have died a worthy death.
Yesterday in the palace, Meng Fu had especially reminded him that the concubines in the Marquis Manor might stir up trouble fighting for favor. Today, he resolved the issue this easily. He really was amazing. Later at the meal, he should eat a bit more.
But Qingping didn’t quite approve of this matter. After returning to Jixue Courtyard, she softly asked Li Yue, “Madam, do you really want His Lordship to go to their places nine days each month?”
“It’s nine days each,” Li Yue emphasized.
Qingping’s brows immediately furrowed. In this world, only proper wives complain that their husbands go too often to the concubines’ places—but who ever heard of someone deliberately pushing their man outward?
She felt that this matter simply wouldn’t work. Even if it didn’t bring any benefit to Meng Fu, it might even make her earn Xie Wenzhao’s resentment. Qingping tried to persuade: “His Lordship will definitely be angry if he finds out.”
She paused for a moment, then continued speaking: “And also, you’re assigning them nine days each month—what about yourself? Don’t you want to give birth to a little Marquis sooner? If they end up being the ones to bear children first, wouldn’t their tails stick up to the sky?” [“尾巴翘到天上去” – literally “tails sticking up to the sky,” a Chinese idiom meaning someone would become arrogant, proud, or smug.]
“Have children? Forget it,” Li Yue waved his hand and said, “Let’s at least leave Xie Wenzhao with his life. He hasn’t committed a crime deserving death.”
Qingping stared at Li Yue in complete confusion. With the logic of a normal person, she still couldn’t understand—how could that lead to death?
That afternoon, Li Yue received a letter from the secret guards, written by Meng Fu. In it, aside from detailing the situation at morning court, she also mentioned the Old Madam of the Xuanping Marquis Manor. Meng Fu was worried that the Old Madam would come to settle accounts with Li Yue over the matter of him scolding Xie Wenzhao.
These gossip-loving secret guards had originally planned to pry a little into just what kind of relationship Li Yue and Meng Fu actually had. In the end, one glare from Li Yue made their legs go soft on the spot.
They sighed inwardly: No wonder His Majesty holds this Madam in special regard—her aura, damn, is practically a second emperor!
If this Madam were to enter the palace one day and be together with His Majesty, that would be two emperors. A reinforced version of the emperor. Truly life-threatening.
Li Yue casually wrote two characters on the paper, then put down the brush, rolled up the letter and tossed it to the secret guard. The secret guard thought, Isn’t this Madam a bit too carefree? But the moment he met those eyes—eyes that looked just like His Majesty’s—he had nothing left to say.
T/N: I’ve already finished the book. I’ll post it in the shop next week.