Young widow in her boudoir

The next morning, when she got up to do her hair, Jin Yue styled her hair into a low bun. Since she was a widow and could not wear pearl ornaments, Jin Yue went to the courtyard to pick some jade hairpins that were still wet with dew. She then selected two of the best-blooming flowers from the flower basket and placed them by her temples.

Xie Rutang raised her hand to stroke the petals, smiling helplessly, "Why should I, a widow, dress like an unmarried young girl? No one will be watching anyway."

Yuanlang will never see her doing her makeup in front of the mirror again.

He used to love drawing her eyebrows and applying the popular "pear blossom" makeup style in the capital.

As soon as Shen Yuan finished painting, before he even put down his vermilion brush, his warm sleeve brushed against her, and a cool touch gently covered the pear blossom petals on her forehead.

A deep, indulgent voice escaped from his throat.

"Xiuxiu is so beautiful. All the girls in the capital combined are not as beautiful as my Xiuxiu."

Xiuxiu was her childhood name.

After her mother passed away, her father remarried.

From then on, apart from her elder brother, no one remembered her nickname anymore, except for her husband Shen Yuan, with whom she shared a harmonious and loving marriage.

What did she say to him back then?

They had only been married for two months at the time. Although Shen Yuan was tall and strong and quiet outside, he was very clingy to her at home.

After kissing the pear blossom mark, his thin lips slowly moved down, brushing against her delicate skin, until they reached her nose. Then he wanted to kiss the sweetest spot, her cherry lips.

Xie Rutang blushed and playfully pushed him away, saying, "Second Master is still waiting for you outside for your hunting trip to the forest. Isn't it alright for you to leave him waiting in the side room instead of going to greet him?"

Moreover, if Pei Zhiheng outside were to hear Shen Yuan kissing her inside the room...

Xie Rutang was easily embarrassed, and under Shen Yuan's smiling gaze, her ears burned with embarrassment.

She suddenly realized, her almond-shaped eyes widening in grievance, and she angrily pounded his chest, "Yuan Lang, you did this on purpose!"

She blushed, and her cheeks flushed as if a rouge box had been spilled, spreading in all directions, creating a breathtakingly beautiful scene.

Shen Yuan suddenly stopped smiling, and his eyes darkened.

He reached out and touched her soft earlobe, his eyelashes drooping as he drew closer, preparing her mentally, "So what if Yuanzhi hears?"

"We are husband and wife, it's perfectly normal for us to be intimate."

Xie Rutang's slender fingers, which were resting on the back of his hand, gradually froze.

She looked at him blankly. Was this normal?

It's just a kiss, that's all?

"good."

Shen Yuan guided him step by step, saying, "There were two mothers in the family who disciplined him, and the family education was extremely strict. When Yuan was young, he was even more demanding and self-disciplined than I was when he was studying at his desk."

"Yuanzhi is used to being diligent and self-disciplined, so he would never do anything like eavesdropping."

Xie Rutang parted her lips slightly, as if she wanted to say something.

The next moment, however, he was blocked by Shen Yuan.

Shen Yuan, like someone who had been thirsty for a long time in the desert, swallowed her broken sobs.

……

Xie Rutang picked up the wooden comb that Shen Yuan had used to comb her hair on the dressing table, and her eyes gradually reddened.

She didn't know how long it had been since she heard his voice calling her Xiuxiu.

Embroidery, embroidery.

—When we return home, I will earn you military merit to exchange for an imperial title. From then on, my Xiuxiu will be an imperial title lady.

Large tears instantly smudged the makeup on her face.

Xie Rutang hurriedly and carefully wiped it off with a handkerchief, and then asked Jinyue to apply powder to her again.

Today is the middle of the month, June 15th.

Xie Rutang was well-dressed, with a gentle smile on her face. As usual, she offered incense to her deceased husband Shen Yuan's memorial tablet on the fifteenth day of the month, with fruits and offerings already laid out.

She never forgets this day of the month.

After offering incense, Xie Rutang was helped by Jin Yue to Shou'an Hall.

After Yuanlang's death in battle, the old lady's rules for her became increasingly perverse and harsh.

Every day at the hour of Chen (7-9 AM), regardless of wind or rain, or even if she was unwell, she had to appear at Shou'an Hall on time to serve her parents-in-law.

Xie Rutang's attitude softened considerably today.

She wanted to go back to her parents' home to plead with her father to save her brother, so Xie Rutang wanted to ask her mother-in-law to allow her to return home for one day in the future.

Unexpectedly, Xie Rutang was knocked to the ground as soon as he arrived at the entrance of Shou'an Hall.

"Madam, are you alright?"

Jin Yue helped her up.

"fine……"

Xie Rutang was helped up. She was always gentle and kind, but even after saying that, she still hissed in pain.

Jin Yue quickly opened her palm and discovered that her soft palm flesh had been cut by pebbles on the ground, and was bleeding profusely.

The maid in red who bumped into the lady cried out "Ouch!" and got up by leaning against the tree. Turning her head, she saw that the fruit in the basket was broken all over the ground, and her face immediately fell with heartache.

The maid, named Zhulan, pointed at Xie Rutang's face and berated her without any politeness.

"Madam Shen, these are gold and silver peaches that the Second Master ordered to be delivered from Jin by fast horse as a tribute to the Old Madam. Do you even deserve to see them broken?!"

The maids passing by were so frightened that they didn't dare to breathe.

This Zhu Lan is a first-class maidservant that Second Master brought from the Pei family. What kind of family is the Pei family? A distinguished family with high-ranking officials and scholars, a household full of beautiful women.

Nowadays, which family in the capital isn't vying to send invitations to the Pei family?

Because of her years of service to Pei Zhiheng, Zhu Lan was not only highly senior, but also had influence with the two old ladies, making her a favorite of theirs.

To put it bluntly...

Zhu Lan's status is now higher than that of Madam Shen, a widow.

Xie Rutang lost her husband, her mother-in-law disliked her, and her family members rarely showed up.

Before Xie Rutang married into the family, she was a merchant's daughter. Now, she has a lowly status and an awkward situation in the household.

She couldn't compare to the other sisters-in-law in the Shen family, let alone the illustrious Pei family.

Any of her powerful servants could bully her.

Jin Yue said indignantly, "Miss Zhu Lan, it was clearly you who wasn't watching where you were going, yet you're the one who's accusing me first!"

Xie Rutang frowned slightly. It was because Zhu Lan hadn't been watching where she was going that she bumped into her.

Judging from Zhu Lan's appearance, she didn't seem like someone easy to get along with. She was arrogant and spoiled, so she must be someone highly respected in Pei Zhiheng's household.

She was already finding it difficult to move around in the manor, and she didn't want to offend the elders of the Pei family.

Xie Rutang twisted the handkerchief, lowering her posture, "Miss Zhulan, it was my fault."

"How many copper coins do these gold and silver peaches cost? I'll pay Second Master..."

Zhu Lan sneered, "Copper coins?"

"What are you joking about, Madam Shen? These honey peaches have the effect of prolonging life, and a pound of them costs at least several tens of taels."

"Can Mrs. Shen afford to pay the compensation?"

Xie Rutang pursed her lips, clenched her fists, and felt a sharp pain.

Zhu Lan rolled her eyes. "I doubt you can afford to pay for it!"

Xie Rutang raised her eyes, her gaze clear and resolute. "I will pay you."

"never mind."

The Pei family wouldn't bother with such a small amount of money, and the Second Master certainly wouldn't care about a mere few dozen taels.

Zhu Lan squatted down and picked up the peaches from the ground.

Xie Rutang endured the burning sensation of the wound on her palm, her soft skirt brushing the ground as she was about to pass by Zhu Lan.

But a disdainful voice came from behind her, carried by the wind into her ears.

"As expected of a widow, she first killed the eldest master, and now she's ruining the longevity peaches that the second master was offering to the old lady..."

"What bad luck."

The servants around were also whispering among themselves, "It's pitiful, even the maids are more noble than the madam."

"What's so pitiful about her? Madam killed Master Shen. If I were her, I wouldn't even have the face to stay in the Shen family anymore, yet she still refuses to leave..."

Xie Rutang lowered her eyes.

The wound on my palm split open a little when I exerted force.