The Eldest Daughter-in-Law [Reborn] - Chapter 23

Xie Yunchu sat on the bed beside her and talked to her. Although Concubine Lu was a bit old, she was well maintained. She had fair skin and tender flesh, and with a layer of makeup, she looked even younger and more beautiful. She wore a red and gold headpiece with a colorful phoenix, which symbolized the principal wife, and a crimson bridal robe, which gave her the aura of a mistress of the house. Concubine Lu looked at herself in the mirror and felt a hint of excitement as she thought about how her years of planning had finally come to light.

Xie Yunchu sat aside nonchalantly drinking tea, met Lu’s eyes in the mirror, and smiled, “You have served Father for nearly twenty years. Today is the honor you deserve.”

These words touched Concubine Lu’s heart. Xie Yunchu always took her into consideration. Concubine Lu had no defense against her. She thought that from then on, she would be Xie Yunchu’s stepmother. On one hand, she was moved by her true feelings, and on the other hand, she also wanted to show off her abilities.

“Chu’er, you don’t know that Xiu’er is not by my side, and I feel closer to you. I heard from your father that my son-in-law will be sent to Jiangnan in three months, so I was worried about you. Son-in-law is naturally a very good man, but men are men after all. Once they go to a place where you can’t keep an eye on them, they can do anything.”

After hearing this, Xie Yunchu looked up at her while holding the teacup, thinking, wasn’t Concubine Lu the person her father met when he was traveling around the country? She went from being a helpless merchant girl to the wife of the chief academic officer of the Imperial Academy, and the teacher of countless scholars in the world. She must be very proud of herself.

Concubine Lu was indeed relieved. She turned around and said to Xie Yunchu, “You still have to give birth to a son as soon as possible. If you can give birth yourself, that would be great. But if you can’t, you can raise the one born by your maid and you can rest assured.”

Worried that Xie Yunchu would be displeased, Concubine Lu smiled bitterly, “I am not just trying to rub salt into a wound. I am speaking from the bottom of my heart. If I didn’t treat you as my own daughter, I would never dare to say such words to you. In the next three months, you can serve by yourself. If that doesn’t work, arrange for someone around you to serve. By the way, are there any suitable maids among the four around you? If not, I will pick two from my family.”

Almost all the maids in charge of the Xie family were Concubine Lu’s people. Xie Yunchu narrowed her eyes slightly. Concubine Lu had also said these words in her previous life, so Concubine Lu had always wanted to get someone around her, but it was a pity that she couldn’t see through it at that time. Xie Yunchu’s heart tightened a little in an instant, and she flexed her slender fingers slightly, saying solemnly, “I will carefully weigh your words.”

Concubine Lu smiled and continued to dress up. After a while, a maid came to report that the auspicious time had arrived and the master invited Concubine Lu and Xie Yunchu to go to the ancestral hall. With a different identity, Concubine Lu no longer walked cautiously, becoming gentle and generous. Xie Yunchu was beside her and glanced at the slightly raised corners of her lips.

Unfortunately, she soon would stop smiling.

First, a grand sacrificial ceremony was held, and then Xie Hui asked someone to fetch the family tree, ready to fill in Lu’s name in public. The sun’s halo grew darker, and thin dark clouds covered it without a trace, and the sky outside the door gradually dimmed. A gust of wind and sand blew up, making the family tree that had just been spread out rustle, and also forced Xie Hui, who was about to pick up the pen, to retreat. He stood up and rubbed his eyes. Everyone’s eyes were fixed on Xie Hui’s pen.

Different expressions. There was a flash of contempt in Second Madam Li’s eyes, and some clan elders also showed displeasure and even regret. It was not that they disliked Concubine Lu, but in their minds, the clan wife should be the daughter of a prominent family, well-educated and well-mannered, and should not be a concubine. Only the old lady and Xie Yunchu looked normal.

At this moment, a servant suddenly came running in from outside, sweating profusely and kneeling at the door. “Master, it’s bad. There’s a fire in Furong Garden in the southwest corner.”

As soon as these words were spoken, there was an uproar in the solemn ancestral hall. Concubine Lu almost couldn’t stand and had a bad feeling in her heart.

A highly respected elder of the clan quickly stepped out, his face showing anger, “Zhao Lin, the southwest corner is ruled by the Earth Mother. The fire in Hibiscus Garden means that the Earth Mother is angry. We must not continue today. Let’s do it another day.”

No matter how clever Concubine Lu was or how virtuous she was, she still couldn’t stand up to those old pedants who stick to the old ways. Elders of the clan gradually said that they would choose another day to add her to the family tree list.

Xie Hui’s face turned ugly. He looked at the tearful Madam Lu, thinking of her years of hard work and dedication, and felt ashamed. He gritted his teeth and said, “Even if it’s another day, I have made up my mind to make Lu the legal wife. This intention cannot be changed.”

People were very particular about taboos, and the fire in the yard today was a bad sign.

“From today on, Lu is my wife. As for the family tree, I will add her to it on an auspicious day.”

Xie Hui’s words were binding and no one could change them, but their dissatisfaction grew deeper. Members of the Xie family left the ancestral hall one after another. Concubine Lu was the last one to step out of the threshold. The sun shone through the clouds, stinging her eyes and causing pain.

What did that mean by saying that the Earth Mother was angry? There must be someone who couldn’t bear to see her glory and was secretly plotting against her. If the first plan failed, there might be a backup plan, so Concubine Lu suddenly became nervous.

At Xie Hui’s insistence, the family dinner continued. Because she had something on her mind, Concubine Lu begged Xie Yunchu to host the banquet for her, and hurried back to the courtyard. As soon as she entered the door, she grabbed her trusted Mama, with a fierce look on her face that she could not suppress, saying, “Go, check it out quickly, I want to see who is making things difficult for me.”

The Mama was frightened by her terrifying appearance. She calmed herself down and immediately went to look for her confidant in the outer courtyard. Concubine Lu was leaning over the dressing table, looking at her own loss-of-control self in the bronze mirror, and she took a few deep breaths to try to calm herself down.

She called the maid to do her makeup again and hurried back to the hall. She was thinking about the suspicious person in her mind while entertaining the guests absent-mindedly. The Second Madam Li used illness as an excuse to not show up, and the rest of the people gathered in the hall and forced a smile. Soon Xie Hui also arrived and the family dinner began.

Halfway through the banquet, Concubine Lu’s trusted Mama whispered something in her ear. Concubine Lu’s face changed constantly and looked extremely ugly. After thinking it over again and again, she found an excuse to leave.

Leaving the hall, Concubine Lu was no longer as calm as before, and asked in a low voice, “What is he doing here? Can you find out who is causing trouble?”