Full House Spring

Chapter 60 Happy conversation
Lu Lingyan narrowed his eyes and said in a cold tone, "Are you asking me to do something for you?"

Xiangru lowered his eyebrows slightly, calmed his mind and said:

"I dare not think so. I have no choice but to do so. Only by becoming the head maid can I grasp more opportunities and serve the Third Master better..."

Lu Lingyan stared at Xiangru with a very oppressive look. In such a cold day, a thin layer of sweat broke out on her forehead. Just when she was about to be unable to bear it, he said almsgivingly:
"It's not impossible for me to lend you a helping hand, but you have to show me your loyalty."

Xiangru bit her lip, her eyes showing a hint of nervousness and uneasiness. She stammered, "Third Master...what do you want me to do?"

Lu Lingyan's eyes wandered over her wantonly, and he said in a low voice: "I want you to take off your clothes..."

Xiangru was stunned for a moment, then his face turned red, and he said in a trembling voice:

"Don't be ridiculous, Third Master. Since you want me to climb onto the prince's bed, you shouldn't destroy my innocence..."

Lu Lingyan stared at her with an arrogant look in his eyes, full of disdain and contempt for her. He said leisurely:

"What are you dreaming about? Just obey me, why are you talking so much nonsense? Are you going to take it off or not?"

Xiangru's eyes were full of struggle. She dug her nails into her palms without feeling anything. She said with tears in her eyes:
"Third Master, please forgive me and ask me to do something else. Why do you have to humiliate me like this?"

Lu Lingyan played with the jade pendant on his waist and said casually:

"Do you think I can do what I want? You are worthless in my eyes. If you can't even undress, then don't ask for too much..."

Lu Lingyan turned and left without showing any mercy. When he was about to open the door, Xiangru raised his voice and said:
"I am willing to take it off. If I do as you ask, will you do as I wish?"

Lu Lingyan turned around, crossed his arms, looked frivolous, and said in a cynical tone:
"That depends on your performance. I am the master. If you want something, you have to pay the price. I am not going to be taken advantage of."

Xiangru didn't have the confidence to bargain with him. She closed her eyes in humiliation and took off her clothes with trembling fingers...

It's ironic that she originally wanted Xia Li to lose her innocence here, but unexpectedly, in the end, she was the one who lost her innocence. She began to doubt whether there is such a thing as karma.

When the last layer of fig leaf fell to the ground, what greeted her was Lu Lingyan's unscrupulous gaze, as if in his eyes, the sweet rush was just an ornament with no temptation at all.

Xiangrui opened her eyes and was met with his contemptuous gaze. That kind of contempt made her want to die. Lu Lingyan didn't care about her feelings at all and said jokingly:

"Your body is really boring. If you don't take the trouble to carve it, I'm afraid my good brother won't even take a look at it."

Xiangru was not sure whether she was cold or angry, but she couldn't stop trembling. She said in a hoarse voice, "Since Third Master has seen enough, can I put on my clothes?"

Lu Lingyan raised his hand and said, "Put it on. Just be obedient like this in the future. I will get you the position of the head maid you want. What do you want to do with Chan Yi?"

Xiangru shivered as she put on her clothes. She said numbly:
"Although Sister Chan Yi is outspoken, she has never harmed me. I just want her to withdraw from the competition, not to harm her."

Lu Lingyan's knife-thin lips uttered a few words indifferently.

"I didn't realize you had some humanity. Come on, I'll make my own arrangements for this matter. Just remember, don't let Fang Xiali doubt the relationship between you and me."

Xiangru finally put on the crabapple-colored jacket and said self-deprecatingly:
"How dare I get involved with the Third Master? I won't say anything nonsense, so please relax."

Lu Lingyan stretched out his hand to pinch her chin unhappily, narrowed his eyes and said dangerously:

"Stop saying those sarcastic words to me. If you ever displease me, I will make sure you die a more miserable death than Zhao Xiaohui!"

He hit her hard, and tears rolled down her cheeks. She begged for mercy, "Third Master, please forgive me. I said the wrong thing. I won't do it again next time. If you leave marks on my face, I won't be able to explain it to others..."

Lu Lingyan stared at her with sharp eyes until she completely surrendered, then he let go of her hand. He wiped his fingers with a handkerchief in disgust, then threw the handkerchief away, turned around and left without saying a word.

Xiangru looked at the open door of the warehouse and listened to Lu Lingyan's footsteps gradually fading away. Then she collapsed to the ground and burst into tears. She would get back from Lu Lingyan a hundredfold the humiliation she had suffered today.

After Xiangru vented his emotions and made sure there were no traces left on his face, he walked out with a normal expression.

When she returned to Leshou Hall and was asked where she had been, she made up an excuse to get away with it. She was not an important person, so no one investigated the matter further.

However, in the middle of the night, she developed a high fever and felt unbearable pain in her body. She could not bear it any longer and had to knock on Shi Mi's door.

Shi Mi was a steady person and took good care of the maids. When she saw Xiangru's condition, she quickly put on her clothes and took care of her.

She always had pills on hand, and after finding the medicine by lighting a candle, he quickly gave it to Cymbopogon citratus and sent her back to the room to lie down. From time to time, he wiped her forehead with a towel to cool her down, and she finally calmed down after tossing and turning all night.

The next day, neither of them could perform their duties. Maidong heard the news and went to visit anxiously. Looking at Xiangru lying on the couch, with his eyes sunken due to his thinness, there were some things she really couldn't ask.

Maidong bent down to tuck in the corner of the quilt for her, and whispered softly, "Just take a rest, I'll take care of your meals."

Xiangru nodded weakly in agreement without saying much. Seeing that she closed her eyes and didn't want to talk further, Maidong swallowed the words that were about to come out of his mouth and turned away quietly.

She felt very upset and wanted to find someone to talk to. Before she knew it, she walked to Xia Li's room. Xia Li was sitting under the eaves, basking in the sun and doing needlework. When she saw Mai Dong, she called out, "Come and sit with me."

Mai Dong pulled out a smile that was uglier than crying. She said in a depressed mood, "I just went to see Xiangru. You went to the temple to meditate in such a cold weather but you didn't catch a cold. I don't know why she got sick. She looks so haggard."

Xia Li was too lazy to put on a show, she said softly:
"The weather has been getting warmer these past few days, and the temperature is uneven. If you sweat a little without paying attention, you'll get sick easily. She's still young, so if she takes good care of herself, she should be fine."

Maidong couldn't hold back his anger and cried, "Xia Li, why didn't Xiangru look for me last night? Is he really alienated from me?"

Upon hearing this, Xia Li stopped what he was doing, looked up at her and said:

"She was seriously ill at the time. We all know that Sister Shi Mi always has pills. It's only natural for us to go to her. Don't think too much about it."

Mai Dong pursed his lips and said, "That's not the case. In the past, she would have come to me first and asked me to help her run errands to find Sister Shi Mi. But now she is not close to me." Xia Li took out a silk handkerchief from his arms and handed it to her, saying earnestly:
"We are not children anymore. If Xiangru is really alienating you, it only means that you two have different paths and cannot make plans together. Everyone has his or her own path to walk. It is not easy to walk together for a period of time. Even if we are not alienated now, we will still go our separate ways in the future when we each get married, sooner or later."

Mai Dong said sadly, "Can I just accept it? Can't I just do it this way?"

Xia Li didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and said, "You can't always be sick of her for the rest of your life, isn't it enough as long as she lives a good life? Some relationships end quietly, don't force it, respect her and don't make things difficult for yourself."

What Elsholtzia had done was obvious enough, so what else could Ophiopogon do? She stayed with Xia Li for a while, watching her do needlework, helping her to organize the threads from time to time, and her mood gradually calmed down.

People with simple thoughts have emotions that come and go quickly, so Xia Li is not too worried about her.

Xiangru was sick, and all the maids who were close to her went to visit her, even Chanyi went. During this period of time, everyone was watching closely, wanting to see who would take the position of the head maid.

However, no one expected that at this last moment, news came out that Chan Yi was going to get engaged, and the person she was engaged to was Hu Wanyou, the big manager of the Second Master.

Hu Wanyou was a shrewd man and a good businessman. Although he was seven or eight years older than Chan Yi, he was a favorite in the eyes of the maids in the mansion.

As soon as this matter showed signs of happening, the old lady agreed. Not only did she personally arrange the marriage for the two, she also gave a generous dowry. Naturally, the position of the head maid fell into Xiangru's hands.

Xia Li was busy making clothes for the old lady. When she learned the news, the matter was already a foregone conclusion. She guessed that Xiangru must have done something about it, so she went to find Chanyi to find out the reason.

When she passed by, Chan Yi was packing up boxes in the house. Seeing her coming, she smiled for the first time and said in a cheerful tone, "Come in and sit down. We can talk inside if we have anything to say."

After that, he quickly poured her some hot tea. Xia Li held the teacup and saw that she was not unhappy. He felt relieved and said jokingly, "It seems that you chose to marry voluntarily. So how can Hu Wan please you?"

Chan Yi closed the box, walked over to Xia Li and sat down, saying in a gentle voice:

"I originally wanted to live with my old lady like Shi Mi, but when Hu Wanyou said that he would take me on business trips after we got married and would not let me stay in the backyard for the rest of my life, I was immediately attracted."

Xia Li was surprised and couldn't help but remind him:
"Is he trying to trick you? What if you have children in the future? You won't have the chance to run away again."

Chan Yi blushed immediately, she leaned close to Xia Li's ear and whispered in a low voice:

"Hu Wanyou has told me the truth. He was attacked when he was a merchant in his early years. Although he is no different from a normal man, he can no longer have children, so I don't have to worry too much."

After hearing this, Xia Li didn't know whether to be happy or sad for her. He pondered for a while and said, "People don't have to live to carry on the family line. If you can live your life to the fullest and understand it, then your life will not be in vain."

Chan Yi smiled when she heard this, and she said with emotion:

"I know you can understand me. This second half of my life couldn't be better for me. Even if Hu Wanyou is not a good-for-nothing, I can still return to the mansion and work again without any burden in the future. It's not a loss at all."

Xia Li also smiled, and Chan Yi looked at her and continued:

"I don't believe that if Elsholtzia didn't play a role here, no matter whether her intentions were good or bad, the result was what she wanted, so you don't have to worry too much about it."

Xia Li raised a beautiful arc on her lips and said generously:

"If you don't care about me, why should I worry about it? I feel the same as the old lady and hope you are well."

Chan Yi felt warm inside. They chatted for a while. If Xia Li didn't have other work to do, Chan Yi would not have let her leave.

Xiangru's promotion did not attract much attention. In a blink of an eye, it was the tenth day of the first lunar month, the day when the second girl was to get married. I don't know if the emperor was afraid of accidents or what, the wedding date was set hastily and all the procedures were a bit rushed.

The eldest wife spent a lot of energy on the second girl's dowry, and finally collected more than 120 pieces. After all, she was marrying into the royal family as a princess, so her dowry could not be too shabby.

Although the dowry was paid by the public office, the eldest wife paid out of her own pocket to add one thousand taels of silver to the bottom of the box, the second wife also generously gave one thousand taels, and the old lady secretly added ten thousand taels. The second girl's dowry was indeed generous.

Although the wedding date was set hastily, both the man and woman tried their best to make it decent, so on the wedding day the Duke's Mansion was filled with joy.

Xia Li came to see the second young lady on the old lady's orders. As soon as she stepped into the courtyard, she saw the eldest young lady walking in with a girl who was as elegant as a quiet lily.

She took a look, then immediately stepped forward with her eyes lowered and bowed, "I greet the girls!"

Lu Qinghe hurriedly helped her up and said uncomfortably: "Xia Li, this is the eldest daughter of the Gao family..."

Xia Li greeted Gao Mingyu respectfully. Gao Mingyu pursed her lips and smiled. Although she felt that Lu Qinghe's behavior was strange and didn't understand why she was so polite to the maid, she didn't say much.

Lu Qinghe put away his thoughts and whispered to Gao Mingyu:
"This girl is our ancestor's treasure. None of us granddaughters can compare to her in pleasing the ancestor. You will know in the future."

Gao Mingyu had heard from her mother that the old lady had a smart girl by her side. She didn't expect to meet her today. She said softly:

"I've seen the tongcao peony you made. It's really lifelike. The exquisite clothes the old lady is wearing are also made by you, right?"

Xia Li raised her lips slightly and said modestly, "Miss, you are too kind. The old lady's clothes were made by the sisters in the courtyard together, not just by me alone."

Gao Mingyu was impressed by her beautiful appearance, well-mannered manners, and dignified manners. She smiled and said:

"You probably don't know that people out there are talking about you as a miracle, and they all want to snatch you back. I also like to do some embroidery work on weekdays, and I would like to learn a thing or two from you when I have time. Do you think it's feasible?"

Gao Mingyu spoke to Xia Li in a negotiating tone, without showing any superiority. Xia Li smiled with curved eyebrows and said:
"Young lady, you can come over anytime. It's a rare opportunity to discuss things with each other, so I won't miss it."

Xia Li was good at speaking. Her words were precise and gentle, which left a deep impression on Gao Mingyu.

The two of them were talking happily, but Lu Qinghe felt awkward. She stepped forward and said:
"The bride is still waiting inside, let's not miss the time."

(End of this chapter)