“Master.”
Lin Zhijin followed Xiaocui into the inner room and saw a charmingly beautiful woman sitting on the edge of the bed, feeding Master Chen his medicine.
“Mm.” Master Chen looked Lin Zhijin up and down. She had delicate features, and although her skin was not particularly fair or smooth, it was clear that she had a good complexion underneath. With proper care, her skin would become fairer. More importantly, her large, watery eyes held a timid, vulnerable look that naturally inspired sympathy.
“Have you paid your respects to Madam?” Master Chen pushed away the charming woman’s hand as she tried to feed him his medicine, then took the water Xiaocui offered and rinsed his mouth. “Where did Madam arrange for you to stay?”
“Yes, I have. Madam and my elder sisters are all very kind. Madam asked me to stay in Wenzhu Courtyard because it is close to your room, making it convenient for me to take care of you.” Lin Zhijin cautiously glanced at Master Chen, but the moment he looked at her, she immediately lowered her head again.
The corners of Master Chen’s mouth lifted slightly. He turned to the charming woman and said, “Xiaoyue, you can go back for now. Little Ninth can attend to me here.”
Xiaoyue pouted unhappily and began acting coy.
“No, Master. Ninth Concubine is so young and has never learned how to serve someone properly. How could she possibly be as capable as I am?
Master, you must not forget your old love just because you have found a new one. Let me take care of you, please, Master!”
Lin Zhijin felt goosebumps rising all over her body. Good heavens! Xiaoyue was a formidable woman. She could actually act coquettishly in front of Master Chen looking like that. She really had no shame.
Master Chen clearly enjoyed Xiaoyue’s jealousy. Since Lin Zhijin was too thin for his taste, he decided to let her put on some weight first.
“All right, all right. Stop shaking me. My old bones are about to fall apart.”
He paused before continuing, “Besides, Little Ninth worked hard taking care of me last night, so she should rest properly today. Xiaocui, have Shi Qing pick out some things and send them to the Ninth Concubine.”
Master Chen waved his hand, signaling Lin Zhijin to leave.
At his words, Lin Zhijin nearly burst out laughing. She had Xiaoyue to thank. Now she could avoid dealing with the old geezer and still receive gifts for free.
She obediently returned to Wenzhu Courtyard with Xiaohong. As soon as they entered the room, Xiaohong could not help complaining.
“Hu Xiaoyue did that on purpose! Today is your wedding day, yet she still had to compete for Master’s favor. Fortunately, Master cares about you enough to have Shi Qing send you gifts. Otherwise, the people in the household would have laughed at you.”
Lin Zhijin looked at her in confusion. “Is Xiaoyue one of Master’s bedchamber attendants? And who is Shi Qing?”
“Xiaoyue was brought into the Master’s room last year as a bedchamber attendant. She is fairly favored. Shi Qing is Master’s trusted aide. By sending him to deliver gifts to you, the Master is showing everyone that he respects you.” Xiaohong explained happily.
Lin Zhijin nodded in understanding and pretended to be delighted.
“Really? That’s wonderful! I must thank my Master properly later.”
Who knew whose side Xiaohong was really on? Whether it was Xiaohong, Nanny Zhang, or the two young maids who looked so honest and simple, Lin Zhijin did not trust a single one of them.
After waiting for a while, Shi Qing still had not arrived. Instead, the people from the sewing room came first.
“Ninth Concubine, you are rather slender. Master and Madam are concerned about you and want you to eat well and put on some weight.
Should we make your clothes a few inches larger?” Nanny Zhang asked tentatively after the tailor finished taking Lin Zhijin’s measurements.
Lin Zhijin glanced at her. Master and Madam were concerned about her?
Wasn’t it simply that Master Chen preferred plump women? She had figured that out the previous night.
If Master Chen had been healthy, she certainly would not have wanted to put on weight. However, he was on the verge of dying. She might as well take this opportunity to improve her health. After all, this body belonged to her now, and she would be the one suffering if she fell ill in the future.
“All right.” Lin Zhijin obediently nodded.
She flipped through the clothing designs. They were mostly qipaos, traditional Han clothing, and Western dresses. They were beautiful, but she would not be able to wear most of them in the future.
“Are there any other styles?”
“Do you dislike these designs, Ninth Concubine?” The tailor took out another catalog. “Please have a look at this one.”
It contained straight cut qipaos, traditional tops with standing collars and wide sleeves paired with skirts, and embroidered qipaos. These were the simplest designs in the collection.
Lin Zhijin chose all three styles, then quietly mentioned that she also wanted shirts and coats.
“I saw someone wearing them, and they looked especially nice.” She pressed her lips together, then deliberately put on a frightened expression.
“If they cannot be made, never mind.”
“Do you prefer these styles, Ninth Concubine?” The tailor took out another catalog. “Have a look at this one. These designs feature shirts, jackets, and trousers that are fashionable in the West.”
Lin Zhijin flipped through several pages and was amazed. Someone who did not know better might have thought these were clothes from her own era. No, they were even more fashionable and attractive than the clothes she had worn back then.
“I don’t really know which fabrics are suitable for which clothes, so could you help me decide? I would like several shirts, both long sleeved and short sleeved, as well as several jackets and pairs of trousers in different thicknesses. If there is any fabric left over, please make some vests and skirts. Could the scraps be used to make hair ties and headbands? Also, would it be possible to get some wool yarn? I would like a few sweaters.”
These clothes suited her taste and were practical. If she took good care of them, she would not need to buy any new clothes for more than ten years.
“There is no need to worry about that. Madam has instructed us to fetch whatever you need from the storeroom,” Nanny Zhang said with a smile.
Lin Zhijin did not refuse. Why turn down something that was being given to her for free?
After the tailor from the sewing room left, Shi Qing finally arrived at Wenzhu Courtyard with several maids and matrons carrying a considerable number of gifts.
Besides bolts of fabric, jewelry, and nourishing supplements, there were also two boxes, one filled with silver peanuts and the other with silver melon seeds. She was told that these were for her to use as rewards for other people.
Lin Zhijin once again witnessed just how extravagantly wealthy the Chen household was. No wonder Xiaoyue was so eager to climb the social ladder. The rewards were genuinely generous.
Forget the fabric and jewelry. Even those two boxes of silver peanuts and silver melon seeds contained more money than an ordinary family might earn in an entire lifetime.
“Thank you for making the trip, Steward Shi. Please convey our Ninth Concubine’s gratitude to the Master.” Nanny Zhang took a handful of silver peanuts and gave them to Shi Qing.
Only after he and the others had left did she turn to Lin Zhijin and apologize.
“I’m sorry, Ninth Concubine. I took the liberty of giving Steward Shi a handful of silver peanuts just now, but I only meant to…”
Lin Zhijin waved her hand dismissively.
“I understand. Nanny Zhang, I don’t know much about these matters, and Xiaohong is still young. From now on, I will have to rely on you to handle the social obligations and gifts for our household.”
Nanny Zhang nodded in satisfaction. Just as Nanny Sun had said, this girl was obedient. As long as she remained obedient, Nanny Zhang would have much less trouble on her hands.
After being busy all morning, Lin Zhijin was genuinely tired. She sent Xiaohong and the others away because she needed some time alone.
Once she was certain that no one else was in the room, her shoulders immediately slumped. She sprawled across the bed without a trace of elegance.
So far, no one in the household had taken her seriously. That was a good thing for her. She hoped it would stay that way so she could spend the next two months in peace.
Wait, there was still the matter of Master Chen being drugged and the original owner being set up. She absolutely could not let her guard down.
Otherwise, she would lose her chastity and end up having a child. That would be horrifying!
While she was drifting in and out of sleep, Xiaohong woke her.
“Ninth Concubine, you shouldn’t sleep too long during the day. Otherwise, you might have trouble falling asleep tonight.” Xiaohong helped her wipe her face and then tried to help her get dressed.
“It’s fine. I’ll do it myself.”
When Lin Zhijin stepped out of the inner room, she saw four dishes and a soup arranged on the table.
“This is today’s lunch. The concubines have a fixed meal allowance, but if you don’t like the food, you can also pay extra to exchange it for something else.” Seeing that Lin Zhijin did not seem displeased, Xiaohong took a covered bowl out of an insulated food container. “This is bird’s nest soup made with premium ingredients. Would you like a bowl to soothe your throat first?”
Good heavens! Did wealthy families use bird’s nest soup just to soothe their throats?
Although Lin Zhijin had earned a decent salary in her previous life, she had been saving diligently because she wanted to buy a house and a car. She had never even tasted bird’s nest soup. Since she had the opportunity today, she might as well give it a try.
After taking a few sips, she smacked her lips thoughtfully. How should she put it? The soup tasted good, but that was mostly thanks to the chef’s skill.
As for the ingredient itself, it was nothing particularly special.
The small bowl of bird’s nest soup was gone in just a few mouthfuls, and Lin Zhijin began eating her meal. The food was equally delicious, especially the red braised pork. The fat was rich but not greasy, and the meat practically melted in her mouth. It was the best red braised pork she had ever tasted in her thirty years of life.
After lunch, Lin Zhijin settled into a chaise longue by the window. She admired the asparagus ferns in the courtyard while rubbing her stomach.
This was decadence. Pure decadence!
If she had not known what would happen in the future, she could happily have spent the rest of her life as a wealthy widow in the Chen household.
Two days passed like this. Just when Lin Zhijin thought Master Chen had forgotten all about her, someone came to summon her to his courtyard.
Seriously? Why had the old geezer suddenly remembered her again?
As soon as she entered Master Chen’s courtyard, she heard Hu Xiaoyue acting coquettishly once more.
“Master, I want to stay here with you a little longer!”
Lin Zhijin immediately got goosebumps. She took a moment to compose herself before entering the room with her head lowered obediently.
“Little Ninth, you’re here? Come over.” Master Chen beckoned her closer.
Seeing that her complexion had improved, he nodded in satisfaction. “I heard you asked a physician to help you improve your health?”
“Yes. Nanny Zhang said you prefer women who are a little plumper, so I asked a physician to help me improve my health. I was worried that the smell of the medicine on me might offend you, so I didn’t dare come to see you these past two days.”
The physician treating Master Chen was highly skilled, so Lin Zhijin had taken the opportunity to benefit from both the physician’s expertise and the Chen household’s medicinal supplies.
Master Chen was extremely pleased with her answer. A bride purchased to bring him good fortune was actually so considerate and understanding. She must have already fallen under his spell. It seemed his charm had not faded with age.
In a good mood, Master Chen waved his hand generously and ordered another pile of gifts to be brought out.
“Master, Ninth Concubine gets gifts, but what about me? Don’t I get anything?” Xiaoyue clung to Master Chen’s arm, gently rubbing her chest against him.
Master Chen immediately became amorous.
“Of course. Everyone gets something.”
Lin Zhijin genuinely admired Hu Xiaoyue’s determination. By comparison, standing there doing nothing made her look rather wooden. After all, she had received so many valuable gifts from Master Chen, so she might as well sit at the foot of the bed and massage his legs.
She treated it as a caregiver tending to a patient. Besides, she was massaging him through the quilt, so she was only going through the motions.
Master Chen was very pleased, but Hu Xiaoyue was practically dying of anger.
She had worked so hard to become Master Chen’s bedchamber attendant and had been trying to find a way to conceive his child so she could be promoted to concubine. Then Master Chen had inexplicably fallen ill, and a Ninth Concubine had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
Lin Zhijin was nothing more than a country girl, yet she had somehow been promoted to concubine ahead of her. Hu Xiaoyue had clearly believed that she should have been the Ninth Concubine herself.
She could not understand what the principal madam had been thinking.
This was supposed to be a marriage to bring good fortune, so why had she chosen such a beautiful girl? Master Chen had not even consummated the marriage with Lin Zhijin, yet he was already so captivated by her that he had lost his senses.
No, this would not do. Hu Xiaoyue had to find a way to get rid of the Ninth Concubine.
Lin Zhijin looked up and met Hu Xiaoyue’s furious gaze. She immediately lowered her head in apparent fear, but alarm bells were ringing in her mind.
Hu Xiaoyue was definitely planning to target her. Could she have been the one who had plotted against the original owner?
“All right, I’m tired. You can all go back for now.” Master Chen had not yet recovered his health. After only a short while, he was already exhausted, so he waved them away.
Seeing this, Lin Zhijin immediately left with Xiaohong, giving Hu Xiaoyue no opportunity to pick a fight with her.
“Ninth Concubine, there was no need to leave so quickly. You are a concubine, while she is merely a bedchamber attendant. If you want to show her respect, you can call her Concubine Hu. If you don’t, you can even make her serve you tea. You really don’t need to be afraid of her.” Xiaohong said unhappily.
Lin Zhijin glanced at Xiaohong. Was this girl trying to stir up trouble or what?
“It’s better to avoid trouble whenever possible. I have only just entered the household, so I should avoid making enemies.” Lin Zhijin shook her head timidly, putting on the appearance of someone weak and easy to bully.
That’s right. She was a pitiful little victim who desperately needed the People’s Liberation Army to come and rescue her.
Meanwhile, Hu Xiaoyue returned to her own room and angrily smashed a teacup.
“Hmph! That shameless seductress! She pretends to be honest and simple, but she’s nothing more than a fox spirit!”
“Oh my, Sister Hu, who has upset you so much?”
A woman with delicate features and a gentle, refined demeanor pushed open the door and walked inside.
“Wang Xiuzhu, what are you doing here?” Hu Xiaoyue asked irritably when she saw who it was.
“I’m here to give you a child.” Wang Xiuzhu sat down directly across from Hu Xiaoyue and smiled.
“What child?” Hu Xiaoyue asked, frowning at her.
“Sister Hu, don’t you want to conceive Master Chen’s child? I have a way to help you.”
Wang Xiuzhu leaned close to Hu Xiaoyue’s ear and whispered.
Hu Xiaoyue shot her a sidelong glance.
“You? If you have a way, why don’t you get pregnant yourself?”
“You should know that I have been pregnant before, and I was carrying twins. If my health hadn’t been damaged when I miscarried the second child, I would still be able to conceive.” A trace of hatred flashed through Wang Xiuzhu’s eyes as she spoke of her children.
Hu Xiaoyue’s breathing grew heavier.
“Do you really have a way? But what about Master’s health?”
“I told you I have a way, so I have a way. As long as you do what I say, you can have a child.”
Wang Xiuzhu’s voice was full of temptation.
Hu Xiaoyue gritted her teeth.
“Fine. Tell me what to do. I’ll do whatever you say.”