After Nanny Wu gave Hong Jiu a few more buns, she turned back to the courtyard and saw the curtain of the main room was lifted. Third Lady You looked curiously and asked, "Nanny Wu, what's the matter with all this noise outside?"
“It's nothing, a few beggars are fighting.”
Nanny Wu couldn't help but complain, "These despicable bastards are really turning around. When I went out and scolded them, they tried to scold me back. If it weren't for bringing out the name of Lord Sun, I wouldn't have been able to scatter them.”
Upon hearing that several beggars were causing trouble, Third Lady You immediately lost interest and put down the bamboo curtain, then turned around and returned to the inner space.
At this moment, Second Lady You had already changed into a pink lucky outfit and was organizing her makeup in front of the mirror.
Seeing the emerald on her end, at least a hundred taels of silver were needed, Third Lady You couldn't help but feel a little jealous. She leaned closer and rubbed against her, saying, "Sister, don't forget to lend this jewelry to me after a while.”
“Go away.”
Second Lady You pushed her aside half truthfully and half falsely, jokingly saying, "I don't know who said that ”with the precious sword given by my lover, even the mountains of gold and silver are not worth looking at.” Now, how can you care about my head jewelry?”
A few days ago, Liu Xianglian came to her door and dropped an ancestral sword, saying that it was a pair of males and females, which happened to be a love token.
Third Lady You received this sword as if she had obtained a precious treasure. Simply put, it was ”easy to seek priceless treasure, rare to have a lover.” Even gold and silver mountains couldn’t be more precious than the precious sword given by the lover.
Now being stopped by her sister's words, Third Lady You raised her eyebrows and pulled out her sword from the wall. She held it in her hand and sang, "Ha! What a mischievous little woman! Now that the Great King is holding the sword, say it, will you let me borrow it or not?”
“Be careful not to scratch my clothes.”
Second Lady You quickly hid behind and scolded, "You are about to get married soon; why are you still being childish?”
Upon hearing this, Third Lady You secretly curled her lips and said to herself, What is there to be so anxious about for a pink auspicious dress? When I get married, I will put on a bright red wedding dress; that's hot and festive?!
Not to mention the auspicious dress dedicated to a concubine; the gold, jade, and emerald on her sister’s head was truly eye-catching.
Therefore, Third Lady You put down her sword and went forward for a while to be obsessed.
She finally got her sister's promise to lend her this headpiece of jewelry on the day of her wedding. Third Lady You was full of joy and was waiting to continue her efforts. She simply begged for some precious jewelry too, so as not to be too shabby after marriage.
Unexpectedly, Old Lady You hurried in from outside. Seeing this situation, she quickly poked her forehead and scolded, "You heartless thing, get up quickly; don't mess up your sister’s makeup.”
As she spoke, she carefully scanned Second Lady You again and repaired all the subtle flaws. Then she smiled and said, "Good girl, from today on, we can count on you as reliable support. After you pass the door, you must strive hard, at least giving birth to a son.”
Without waiting for Second Lady You to be shy, she hurriedly urged, "The auspicious time is almost here. You should quickly take another inventory and see if any items should be taken with you that haven't been brought yet.”
As they spoke, the mother and daughter counted the peach branches wrapped in red thread, the happy money given to sedan bearers and matchmakers, and so on.
Confirming that nothing was missing, Old Lady You just breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Third Lady You pull out a handkerchief from under her pillow. She chuckled and said, "Sister, don't forget, there's something very important hidden here.”
Upon seeing the bloodstains on the handkerchief that resembled falling plums, Second Lady You immediately blushed and jumped up to grab it in her hand. She angrily said, "What are you flipping through your house, little child?”
Third Lady You curled her lips and said, "You just said I'm getting married soon. Why are you talking about being a child now?”
Second Lady You couldn't stand her, so she simply put away the handkerchief in silence and didn't argue with her.
At this time, Old Lady You was uneasy and said, "You both wait here. Let me go outside to see if the bridal sedan chair is coming soon."
As she spoke, she hurried out again.
Upon seeing her mother being busy around and her attitude toward Young Master Liu being vastly different, she couldn't help but feel a bit sour and jealous. She sat heavily on the bed and sneered repeatedly, "You are not willing to be a proper mother-in-law, but you are rushing up to become a servant at someone else's house.”
Even Second Lady You was scolded by her, but she didn't bother to pay attention to her. She silently held the peach branch wrapped in the red thread in her palm and didn't know what she was thinking. Her face turned red with two blushes.
Third Lady You complained a few times in a row. Seeing that her face was flushed with a spring-like expression, she changed her face again and curiously asked, "Sister, what exactly is this relationship between men and women like? I was listening to you ”dying” inside that day, but I don't know if it was comfort or suffering.”
“What are you talking about?”
Second Lady You was also thinking about the situation that day. When she heard her sister say ”dying,” her hands and feet trembled with embarrassment, and she couldn't help but start fighting with her.
At this moment, she suddenly heard Nanny Wu shouting in the courtyard, "It’s here, it’s here! The Sun family's sedan chair has arrived.”
Second Lady You immediately ignored the others and quickly took the cover and covered her head.
Not long after, Old Lady You led two more women in and happily helped Second Lady You out.
As she was a concubine, rituals such as crying in sedan chairs and paying farewell to her parents were eliminated. Zhao Zhongji, who was responsible for welcoming the bride, only handed a heavy red envelope to Old Lady You and ordered the firecrackers to be lit, carrying the sedan chairs carried by four people and heading back home.
There were no words said along the way.
When they arrived at Sun Mansion, the sedan chair entered through the corner door, but instead of going to the small courtyard where Sun Shaozong was located, they headed straight toward the main courtyard of the backyard.
According to the current rules, a concubine must be nodded by the Eldest Wife before she could enter the wedding ceremony. Now, although Sun Shaozong has not yet had a legitimate wife, there was an Eldest sister-in-law at home. Therefore, Second Lady You needed to first visit Jia Yingchun before she could be sent into the bridal chamber and wait for Sun Shaozong's favor.
When the sedan chair stopped in the courtyard, the two women helped Second Lady You down, and immediately, Siqi came out diagonally from the inner room. Without a word, she pulled off the cover and casually hung it on the treetop.
This was also the difference between taking a concubine and taking a wife.
When getting married, the veil could only be lifted by the groom in the bridal chamber; But when taking a concubine, the cover must be taken off as soon as she got off the sedan chair and it should be hangedon a nearby tree, claiming to be ”one step higher.” In fact, it was a sign of desperation, warning the new concubine not to forget her dignity and inferiority.
Second Lady You knew this rule for a long time, and she didn't think much of it. She let the two women help her to the door and pretended to dust off the dust. Then she entered alone, timidly kneeling in the middle and respectfully saying, "Greetings to the Eldest Lady.”
Jia Yingchun didn't answer, and Xiuju next to her brought a cup of hot tea.
Second Lady You held her hands and took a few steps on her knees to reach Jia Yingchun. She then respectfully said, "I invite the Eldest Lady to have tea.”
Jia Yingchun just let out a ”hmm” and reached out to take the hot tea. Just as she was about to take a sip, she pretended to take it. Unexpectedly, as she had just pressed the cup to her lips, she suddenly felt a stir in her stomach. She quickly left the cup and covered her mouth with a few dry retching sounds.
At the sight of this, Second Lady You's face suddenly changed color, and her heart was both shocked and angry. She was so aggrieved that she almost shed tears.
Jia Yingchun also knew it was inappropriate, but she couldn't help but retch a few more times. Her face was red and her ears were about to explode when she suddenly heard Ruan Rong asking, "Madam, when did you start retching?”
“I…”
Jia Yingchun covered her mouth and sneered, "When I woke up this morning, I didn't feel much, but now I don't know... Nauseous…”
Speaking halfway, she couldn't help but retch again.
Only then did Second Lady You realize that she didn't just dislike herself in that way. Just as she breathed a sigh of relief in her heart, she suddenly heard Ruan Rong say happily again, "Madam, this is similar to when I was pregnant. Xiangling, is it the same as yours?”
Xiangling nodded fiercely on the side and said, "It doesn’t count on what we say. Let's invite the doctor to come and take a look.”
Jia Yingchun couldn't tell whether she was happy or worried. Being able to conceive a child was naturally a good thing, but how should she handle her relationship with Sun Shaozong in the future?
She had a lot of worries here, and Siqi and Xiuju were vying to pass messages in the front yard. Suddenly, everyone forgot about Second Lady You completely.
It was Ruan Rong who saw that she had been kneeling on the ground, but there was no way out, so she helped Jia Yingchun sit back in place and smiled. "Madam, since she brought you luck, it’s not appropriate to hang her here, right?”
Jia Yingchun regained her composure and smiled apologetically at Second Sister You, saying, "I was feeling unwell for a while and neglected you. Get up now.”
When Second Sister You got up, she pointed at Ruan Rong and Xiangling and said, "Greetings to the two sisters.”
Shiliu rushed forward and handed the tea left by Xiuju to Second Lady You.
Second Lady You held the tea ceremony and greeted. First, she met Ruan Rong and then Xiangling. After both of them had eaten the tea, Jia Yingchun promptly greeted them and said, "Someone, please send the bride into the bridal chamber.”
The two women outside just stepped forward and helped Second Lady You to the Sun Shaozong courtyard.
The new house arranged for her was also located in the west wing, adjacent to Xiangling's house, which also has three rooms inside and outside. Although it was decorated, it was slightly better than Xiangling's house because Xiangling was a gift, and in terms of status, it couldn’t be compared to being carried in a sedan chair.
Second Lady You was sitting on the bed covered with dates, peanuts, longans, and curtains, feeling uneasy and afraid to move around. She didn't know how long she had been waiting, but suddenly she heard the faint sound of firecrackers in front of her, but it was a hundred times more lively than the sound she had when she went out.
Thinking about it, could the Eldest Lady really be pregnant?
Suddenly, there was a hurried sound of footsteps outside, and then Sun Shaozong pushed the door in. He got drunk and approached her, looked at her up and down a few times, and said with a chuckle, "You're lucky. This is what Big Brother rewards you.”
As he spoke, with a flick of his sleeve, he heard a ringing sound, but six golden objects fell.
Seeing the six gold bars weighing heavily on the bed, at least one of them weighed around ten taels, which could be converted into silver and not be as large as six hundred taels. Second Lady You was stunned and trembled for a long time, saying, "How can this... How can I be granted these?”
“How can't you be granted? Since you happen to catch up with the matter, it's your luck.”
As Sun Shaozong had already tasted her from head to toe, he wouldn’t be polite. With a hint of alcohol, he chose the most important part to ravage.
Unexpectedly, after tossing and turning for a while, she still stared at the six gold bars in a daze.
Sun Shaozong simply grabbed two and stuffed them around her collar. The cold and hard thing slowly slid down her delicate and smooth skin, and the icy thing made Second Sister You shudder several times.
But after the shiver, she felt the heavy weight of the gold bar, and Second Sister You felt as if she had a lump of charcoal fire in her heart, her burning breath becoming heavy.