stingy landlady

Chapter 178 Dazhu Takes a Concubine (3)

That evening, after Dazhu finished dinner, Li urged him to go find Chunlan. When Dazhu went to the room Li had prepared for Chunlan, Li was initially quite happy. Dazhu was quite obedient to her.

It was nearly midnight, almost the second watch, and Dazhu still hadn't returned! Guiling was already asleep, and Li was also a little sleepy. She drowsily asked Zhou Qiong:

"Xiao Qiong! Do you know what happened? Where did Master go? Why isn't he back to sleep so late? I'm so sleepy!"

Zhou Qiong whispered:

"Madam! Master went to Aunt Lan's place tonight!"

Li was a little confused.

"Going to Aunt Lan's place and not coming back to sleep? No way! I have to go check on her!"

As Li stood at the door of the west wing, before she even pushed it open, she heard panting coming from inside, followed by a soft voice:

"Master! Master, be gentle! I can't take it anymore! Master! You're so strong!"

Li stood still, and Zhou Qiong didn't dare to utter a sound.

"Chunlan! Lan'er! Your master loves you! You are so good! You are good in every way! Let me kiss you! Let me kiss you properly! And give me a big, healthy son! Haha!"

A familiar voice, yet it spoke unfamiliar words! It was a man's love for a woman!

Li listened for a while before returning to her room, her face flushed red! She was no longer sleepy!

"Xiao Qiong! Go to sleep! I'll sit for a while longer!"

Li said dejectedly.

"I didn't know! I thought, I thought having a son would be enough! I was so stupid! Waaah!"

Li burst into tears!

Zhou Qiong was at a loss.

"Madam! Madam! I...I'm going to find the master!"

"Come back! Don't go!" Li shouted!

"Xiaoqiong! I... I don't know what's wrong with me! I suddenly felt very sad! I'll feel better after crying for a while! Maybe it's because I was thinking about the child I miscarried!"

"Sigh! Xiaoqiong! Go to sleep! Don't tell anyone about what happened tonight!"

Zhou Qiong went to sleep, but Li Shi lay on the kang (a heated brick bed), unable to sleep with her eyes open! She had never known she would care so much about Dazhu! Just thinking about the sounds she heard, sounds that used to be hers alone, were now being shared with another woman!

Li was unsure whether to feel regret or resentment! It wasn't until dawn, when Zhou Qiong brought in a hot towel, that Li came to her senses. Looking at Li's swollen eyes, Zhou Qiong sighed inwardly and said:

"Madam! Please wash your face! Aunt Lan will be coming to serve tea soon!"

Helpless, Li wiped her hands and face, feeling much more refreshed! Before breakfast, Dazhu and Aunt Lan walked in unsteadily.

Dazhu and Li Shi sat side by side in the seats of honor:

"Madam! Let me help you wash up!" Chunlan eagerly stepped forward to serve Madam Li.

Li was too lazy to reply.

"No need! Xiao Qiong! Let Aunt Lan serve the tea!"

Chunlan offered tea, but Li stared blankly at her. Remembering the lewd sounds she'd overheard the previous night, a pang of sorrow gripped her heart. She looked at Dazhu; he was still as gentle and handsome as when they had first married, but his eyes no longer held only Li.

Dazhu's eyes were now only on Chunlan. Seeing that Li Shi hesitated to take the teacup, and Chunlan's swaying body seemed about to collapse, Dazhu, heartbroken, quickly took the teacup and placed it in Li Shi's hand.

"Madam! Please have some tea!"

Li looked at the teacup in her hand, feeling a mix of emotions. She turned and stared blankly at Dazhu.

Dazhu had no time to worry about anything else.

"Madam! Quickly drink the tea that Chunlan has offered. I have breakfast and still have a lot to do!"

A single sentence shattered the two women's scheming and rivalry. Everything was a lie; the man before her had many other things occupying his mind besides women!

"Chunlan! Madam hasn't been feeling well lately! You should continue cooking and doing housework as before, Madam! Take good care of yourself. Zhou Qiong! Take good care of Madam and Miss!"

Alright! Let's eat! Stop with the fuss!

After saying that, Dazhu ate first, ignoring the lawsuit between the two women! There were still many things to arrange, and he needed to spread the word in the village that Old Zhou should collect shepherd's purse!

We'll need to harvest wild vegetables later, and I'll also need to check on the vegetable garden to see how they're growing! Dazhu is an experienced farmer, and even though there's someone in charge, he won't feel at ease unless he checks it out himself!

And then there's the old house. Zhao was already lucky. There were so many more people eating, and they were even concubines. She didn't care about anything else; even when she was pregnant, she wasn't carrying Erzhu's child.

Not working, just resting during pregnancy? Fine! Bring the money! Zhao didn't see Wang Yifei's copper coins; he was chanting "three sevens" every day! There was no other way! In September, she had no choice but to ask someone to send a message to Wang Yifei, asking him to give the old lady some money to keep.

Just consider this a way to dismiss Zhao's nonsense! Although it has nothing to do with Dazhu, Li is in confinement after childbirth, and the whole mess of her sprouting beans has fallen on Dazhu's shoulders!

The old lady couldn't talk to her daughter-in-law, Li, but couldn't she at least chat with her son?

Li stopped complaining about being bored. The rivalry between the wives and concubines finally taught her a lesson in wisdom!

While Guizhi and the others were busy, Xu Hong returned! He also brought back a lot of orders and deposits.

"Miss! Our timber is all top-quality! These are all orders from the woodworking workshop! This is the deposit we received."

As he spoke, Xu Hong took out a 1,500 tael silver note and handed it to Guizhi.

Guizhi accepted one thousand taels, took out five hundred taels and returned them to Xu Hong, saying:

"I don't know anything about carpentry, so you'll have to find someone to buy the tools. I'm currently building houses in Changping Village; I've built several brick and tile houses, and also some thatched huts."

We'll stick to the old custom: married couples will live in thatched huts. Uncle Xu Hong and Uncle Lin Qian will each have a brick house in Changping Village. After Wanrou's baby is born, she'll live in a spacious brick house.

Once the house is built, we'll all move in! Uncle Xu Hong, we still need to make some furniture to put inside. Five hundred taels might not be enough to build the house, but don't worry, once we get orders, we can process the wood planks and sell them.

Money will keep flowing in. Uncle Xu Hong, go check on Wanrou first! Her belly is quite big; she's probably about to give birth!

Gui Hong's shop business is quite stable right now! In the beginning, when no one was interested, Gui Hong got really stressed out at the shop. Her teeth hurt and she got blisters on her lips.

Upon learning this, Guizhi dropped everything she was doing and took a carriage straight to Xiangmanlou. She sought help from Madam Qu, the shopkeeper's wife. Madam Qu readily agreed, taking several ladies and young women to the shop to see if they could patronize the business.

Madam Qu and her companions were surprised that the small shop had even put up a "No Men Allowed" sign. Since men were not allowed, the women Madam Qu had brought were relieved. They wouldn't have to worry about their reputations being ruined next time they came here!

The shop's interior was a completely different world. It was clean and tidy, with various women's pajamas and sleepwear hanging on the walls.

There was a shelf on the floor displaying women's underwear and menstrual belts. They were all quite new. Gui Hong was wearing a set of loungewear, which looked elegant and comfortable.

Guizhi's silver tongue came in handy at this moment, describing the underwear as something unheard of. Guizhi couldn't help but laugh.