The peasant girl has a private space, and her husband is handsome.

Lord Xue was unaware that he had been tricked by Minister Kong, and that Minister Kong had people spreading rumors about his homosexuality.

Lord Xue was busy but happy.

He sent snake-repelling powder to all the ministers of the six ministries.

No one could resist such a good thing, so Lord Xue received a whole bunch of receipts.

He was busy until dark, then took the receipt to Hu Pingfan to report the situation and discuss what to do next.

Lord Xue's wife, Madam Fang, was summoned back by her family. It was through them that she learned of the rumors that her husband was gay.

Fang didn't believe it, because her husband had always treated her very well and certainly wouldn't like men.

Seeing is believing, so Fang decided to go and see for herself.

Knowing that her husband often went to Gu's Tea House, she secretly took two old women and went there in the dark.

Gu Ji has been closed for the past few days, but you can see the lights on in the lobby through the wide windows.

Her husband sat next to a goatee, his arm draped over the man's shoulder, his mouth close to the man's ear, a broad smile on his face.

Moreover, the two even shared a bowl of noodles, something only very close people would do.

It's obvious that the relationship between these two is indeed unusual.

Fang was so angry that she tore the handkerchief in her hand to shreds.

Others always envied her husband for not taking a concubine, but they never expected that the reason he didn't take a concubine was because he preferred men.

This was undoubtedly a devastating blow to women who had long been confined to the inner quarters of their homes.

She didn't know that the reason her husband shared a bowl of noodles with Hu Pingfan was to save another serving of instant noodles so he could bring it home for her.

The old woman asked, "Madam, should we rush in?"

Fang gritted her teeth and said, "I'd rather not have a disloyal husband. From now on, I'll only want his money, not him."

Actually, there's not much to admire about a person. Is it because they're fat, or because they're old?

Fang returned to the Xue residence with two old women.

She waited under the lamp until midnight before Lord Xue returned.

Lord Xue still loved his wife dearly, and specially brought her instant noodles to eat.

There was also the red date cake made by Miss Su. He got two, ate one, and brought the other back to his wife.

He saw that Fang was sitting under the lamp, not asleep, and felt very sorry for her. "Didn't I tell you? I've been busy lately and will be back late. You can go to sleep first, you don't need to wait for me."

Seeing that Fang remained silent, he touched her cold hands and said, "I brought you something good. Eat it to warm yourself up."

Lord Xue personally prepared a bowl of instant noodles with a mushroom and chicken flavor and served it to Madam Fang, saying, "Eat quickly."

Although Fang was very angry, the noodles smelled so good that she didn't want to miss out on the delicious food, so she picked up her chopsticks and started eating.

After eating, I felt completely refreshed.

"Sir, where did this noodle come from?"

"I was doing chores for Miss Su, and this was a gift from her. This red date cake is also very delicious. I managed to resist eating it, and I saved it for you."

Fang swallowed the red date cake whole.

It was so delicious! It melted in my mouth, sweet but not cloying. I wanted to eat more of it, but unfortunately there was only one.

If she hadn't seen her husband embracing and being intimate with the man with the goatee, she truly wouldn't have believed it.

After all, if it were her, she would have eaten such delicious red date cake herself and wouldn't have deliberately saved one to take home.

"Sir, rumors are spreading everywhere that you are a homosexual."

Lord Xue denied it without batting an eye, saying, "Those are just rumors spread by others; you must not believe them."

Lord Xue also took three small packets of snake repellent powder and handed them to Madam Fang, saying, "Here, this is snake repellent powder that even the imperial concubines don't have enough of. Keep it safe."

When Lord Xue saw Fang open the small paper package and smell it, he quickly spoke up to stop her.

"Don't open it, the powder will spill. Don't worry, it's genuine, made by Miss Su herself. If there's only one person in the world you can trust, that person is undoubtedly Miss Su."

Lord Xue originally didn't intend to give such rare items to his own family; he wanted to use them all to help Miss Su win people's hearts.

But tonight, Miss Su overheard his conversation with Hu Pingfan and learned that he had given away all the snake repellent powder. So she gave him ten more packets to give to his family.

He only gave Fang three packs, intending to give the remaining seven packs away as gifts.

Fang repackaged the snake repellent powder.

She held the snake repellent powder, her heart trembling.

This morning, her family called her back home and only talked about two things: one was Lord Xue's homosexuality, and the other was the snake repellent powder and snake venom antidote.

Some wealthy families managed to scramble for some snake venom antidotes, but it's said they're not effective against all snake venoms.

But I heard that the snake-repelling powder the emperor obtained from Master Tianyuan could repel all poisonous snakes, and that was the real treasure.

However, there wasn't enough to go around. I heard that the concubines in the palace were fighting tooth and nail to get their hands on the snake-repelling powder from the emperor.

I heard that many concubines disregarded their image and got into a fight in the Imperial Garden.

Holding the three packets of snake repellent powder, Fang was incredibly excited.

If others knew she possessed such a precious item, they would be incredibly envious, and she would receive even greater treatment when she returned to her parents' home.

Lord Xue explained again, "Madam, you must believe me, I am really not gay. Hu Pingfan and I were both doing things for Miss Su."

Fang: I don't believe you for a second. If men were reliable, pigs could climb trees.

Fang felt that since men were unreliable, she had to stand on her own two feet.

Once she stands up for herself, she'll have more confidence even if it means getting a divorce.

Although her husband was gay, he admired Miss Su immensely.

If she wanted to outdo her husband, she had to outshine him in front of Miss Su.

"My lord, I've heard that Miss Su has many female managers and female employees under her command. I'm stuck in the inner quarters all day with nothing to do, so I'd like to go and help Miss Su with her work. If I'm busy, I won't have any wild thoughts."

Fang thought that Lord Xue would not agree, but to her surprise, he allowed it.

Since Lord Xue decided to follow Miss Su, he has abandoned worldly prejudices against women, so he does not object at all to his wife going to help Miss Su.

Lord Xue instructed, "It's alright. I'll speak to my mother on your behalf. Just remember, Miss Su is a very capable person. When you work for Miss Su, you must be diligent."

Fang thought to herself: I need to do more than just be attentive; I must strive to replace you in front of Miss Su and outshine you.

Those who dare to betray me will pay the price.

The next evening, Lord Xue went to Gu's Teahouse and found his wife and Miss Su sitting at a table, talking incessantly about their affairs.

Hu Pingfan stopped Lord Xue, who was about to go over, saying, "Miss Su and your wife are discussing important matters, so please don't disturb them."

Lord Xue waited for a long time until Miss Su finished speaking. He wanted to go over and greet her, but he saw Miss Su and his wife go to the backyard together.

The backyard is a very important place; no one may enter without an invitation.

Lord Xue was very jealous and suddenly felt that he shouldn't have let his wife do things for Miss Su, because his wife had taken away his position in front of Miss Su.