The Marquis Is Innocent

Mrs. Zhu was stunned.

Nowadays, the age for first marriage for men is 14-year-old to 19-year-old and for women 13-year-old to 17-year-old. Such as Zheng Chuyu, 18-year-old and not married yet, is rare. Unless there is a special reason, physical illness, or the family is poor and cannot afford to prepare a trousseau.

When she lost her husband and eldest son, Mrs. Zhu was left with only one son, Wei Shao, and shifted all her focus to her only son. Originally, she wanted her son to marry her niece, but Zheng’s birth was not enough. She knew Mrs. Xu would not allow it, so she decided to take her as her son’s concubine. So, she could keep her niece with her. However, as Zheng’s girl grew older, there was no progress in this matter. Mrs. Zhu became anxious over the past two years and pushed Wei Shao even harder. But he did not yield, and on his first night of return, he did something like that, which made her lose face in front of the servants.

She did not blame her son for spoiling her reputation, but put all her anger on the Qiao girl. This morning, when she saw her son and his new wife were late, she thought that the Qiao girl has bewitched her son. That’s why he was late in getting up. She was upset. When she was thinking about this, she heard Mrs. Xu ask her to stay behind and say all this. Her heart thumped, and her face showed distress.

“Why don’t you say anything? You can’t find a suitable family or can’t prepare the trousseau? If you can’t find someone, I will. And I will provide the trousseau.”

When Mrs. Zhu couldn’t say anything, she heard Mrs. Xu say this nonchalantly. She raised her eyes and met her gaze. Seeing her mother-in-law’s single eye on her, she felt weak and forced a smile. “How could it be for this reason? Mother-in-law should also know that in the past two years, even the servants at home have been treating Chuyu as Zhong Lin’s woman, so I’m afraid it would be inappropriate to marry her off ……”

Mrs. Xu said: “The servants are ignorant. You are the mother of the Wei family. Not only you do not discipline them, but how can you also be affected by the servants? In a family like ours, even if a man takes a concubine, he has to go through the rituals. First, she has no etiquette, and second, she has no title. When did Zheng’s daughter become a member of Zhong Lin’s house?”

Mrs. Zhu didn’t dare to look at Mrs. Xu directly, but said, “Mother-in-law is not aware of this, I have already told Zhong Lin about this, and Zhonglin didn’t say no. It’s just that he has been away before, and now he has just come home and married a new wife, it’s not right to mention this right away. I wanted to wait for some time and then get it done.”

Mrs. Xu hummed: “I heard on the first night of Zhong Lin’s return, an old lady went to the west room to eavesdrop, causing Zhonglin to get angry and break down the door. What kind of woman would dare to offend him like that? I’m old and lazy, so I’ve left all the family matters to you, and this is how you discipline your servants?”

Mrs. Zhu’s face is full of shame. She did not expect Mrs. Xu to know about this. She no longer dare to make a sound and lowered her head.

“I know it’s been hard on you over the years. I’ve seen it all in my eyes.”

Mrs. Xu’s voice eased down. “You keep Zheng girl with you. It was because of love and affection. But love is love. If you continue to be foolish like this, it will only delay the girl’s life. I meant nothing else when I asked you to stay and talk, but just to remind you.”

Mrs. Zhu bowed her head and said with tears in her eyes, “I know my mother-in-law’s good intentions. When I return, I will do as my mother-in-law said and find a suitable family for Chuyu, and I won’t dare to delay any longer.”

Mrs. Xu smiled and nodded. “I am relieved that you think so. There is nothing else, so you can go now.” Mrs. Zhu took a handkerchief to wipe away her tears. Excused herself and returned to the east room.

After dismissing her servants, she told Zheng Chuyu about the conversation with Mrs. Xu earlier. Zheng Chuyu froze. Her eyes reddened, and she cried as she bent over the couch. She bowed down and said, “Aunt is very kind to Chuyu. Chuyu has nothing to repay. It is better for me to leave early, lest I stay behind like this, causing aunt to be caught in the middle and creating trouble!”

Mrs. Zhu loved her niece and stayed by her side for many years. Treating her as her daughter. Not to mention, she believed in the shaman’s words that Zheng was her lucky person. Seeing Zheng crying, she was distressed and hastened to hold her arm to comfort her. “Don’t be sad. I was just making false promises at the old lady’s place. I have long regarded you as Zhong Lin’s person. How could I arrange another marriage for you?”

Zheng Chuyu choked up and said: “Chuyu is useless. If I remained in the Wei family like this, I would be embarrassed and waste my time. But this is all fine. Even if no one wants me for the rest of my life, I would serve my aunt. However, now the old lady can no longer tolerate me. How can I make things difficult for aunt? I’d rather marry someone else, and I’m not picky. ……”

“Nonsense! How can aunt do that?”

Mrs. Zhu stopped her and held Zheng Chuyu in her arms to comfort her, saying: “Don’t worry, I’ll use the excuse of finding a suitable family to delay the old lady’s side. I expect she won’t be a problem for a while. On Zhong Lin’s side, Aunt will think of a way for you to get things done as soon as possible. You will not be married off like this.”

……

Zheng Chuyu is not from a noble background. She became an orphan girl at ten year-old. Her father’s clan was not reliable, but fortunately, she was sheltered by her aunt, Mrs. Zhu, who was the Wei family’s matriarch. After being received into the Wei family, she was well-clothed and well-fed and was surrounded by maidservants. Living the life of a noble person. It was easy to go from poverty to luxury, but difficult to go from luxury to simplicity. And Wei Shao was young and handsome. Her heart was long pinned to him, so how she could bear to leave him? When Mrs. Zhu intended to match her with her son, it was exactly what she wanted.

At first, not that she had not thought of being married to Wei Shao as a legitimate wife. She knew her status was not enough. When she saw Mrs. Zhu believed in witchcraft and obeyed the shaman of Mount Yu, she secretly prepared a bribe and begged the shaman to speak for her in front of Mrs. Zhu. The shaman accepted the money and worked for her. Therefore, she became Mrs. Zhu’s lucky person, and since then Mrs. Zhu has valued her.

Unfortunately, Mrs. Zhu was not the one who had the final say in the Wei family. Not only was Mrs. Xu at the top, but even Wei Shao was not obedient to his mother. Zheng Chuyu knew marrying Wei Shao as his wife was an impossible task, so she had to settle for the next best thing: a concubine.

The years have passed, and she’s already dragged herself to the age of eighteen. But Wei Shao didn’t t even give her a second glance when he returned in the past two years, not to mention accomplishing her mission. She was anxious, but the good thing is Wei Shao has not been married. There is no other woman around, and she waited day by day with consolation. However, at the end of last year, she learned that Wei Shao had married Yanzhou Qiao’s daughter in Xindu, and Mrs. Xu had sent her sidekick, Old Zhong, to take charge.

When she heard the news, Zheng Chuyu’s heart was like scratched by a cat. She thought about it. The two families had an enmity and Wei Shao, married to Qiao’s girl, should have an ulterior motive. Even if Qiao’s girl married over, her life would not be easy in the future. Wei Shao would not treat her as a wife. Eventually, he would have to marry a wife. She didn’t expect to be his main wife, and it was a good thing for her he married such a wife.

Even though Mrs. Zhu loved her a lot, once she left Mrs. Zhu’s quarters, the rest of the Wei family would not take her as the official master. Even the servants dare to talk about her climbing the marquis’ bed and becoming an aged girl behind her back. She is not unhappy in her heart. She thought this Qiao girl would be treated coldly in the future and, compared to that, she was not a joke anymore. Therefore, her heart not only became comfortable, and vaguely hope she will come here earlier.

When she learned Wei Shao and Qiao girl had returned home, she followed Mrs. Zhu back home from Mount Yu. She knew her aunt would never give Qiao girl a good look, so she came back to watch a joke. But she never expected that the Qiao girl would be beautiful as a goddess. Zheng Chuyu, who was also proud of her beauty, was dull compared to her. Seeing her and Wei Shao standing side by side, saluting Mrs. Zhu as if they were a pair of Heavenly couples, she was devastated. Wei Shao did not let her enter his room at night, as Mrs. Zhu had requested. Wei Shao found the servant who had been asked by her aunt to snoop. Although the servant was shocked at the time, she came back and described Wei Shao and the Qiao girl as sleeping together.

Zheng Chuyu is disappointed. She worries a lot these days and has been watching the west house movement. Hoping there is news about how Wei Shao treating the Qiao girl. This morning they came late and seems to be ambiguous. Mrs. Xu, who has always been lukewarm to her, seems to be quite tolerant of the Qiao girl. Zheng Chuyu is jealous and full of hatred. Her heart is in turmoil. When Mrs. Zhu returned and said that, she was not faking when she was crying. The good thing is that her aunt’s attitude is firm. Zheng Chuyu leaned in her arms to receive her comfort, and it slightly settled her heart. She said in tears: “Things have come to this. Is there any way to keep me, aunt?”

Zhu hesitated and said, “Let’s find a time. I’ll go to Mount Yu to find the shaman and ask for divination, and then make a plan.”

……

Three days later, Mrs. Xu’s birthday arrived.

With the Wei family’s status in the north today, not only were many nobles in Youzhou proud to receive invitations on her birthday but also the governors of nearby places such as Bohai, Renqiu, and Leling also rushed to Yuyang to congratulate her on her birthday.

Those who could not come in person sent people to present gifts on their behalf. Mrs. Xu came from Zhongshan state, and the current King of Zhongshan, Liu Duan, is her distant nephew. Although he did not attend, he sent a messenger to congratulate her. On that day, many people came to the Wei family’s door to pay their respects to Mrs. The news deeply touched Mrs. Xu.

Mrs. Xu, brought Wei Shao and Wei Yan to the people outside the gate to return the greeting.

Mrs. Xu seems to have liked the hand-copied silk scriptures Xiao Qiao presented as her birthday gift.

In this era, paper appeared, but the texture is crude and not durable. A formal book is still mainly written in simple and silk books. A simple book is bulky. If one copied this Infinite Life Sutra in a simple book, one’ll need a cart to carry. Silk script is light but valuable. Because of the material, when copying there should not be any negligence. One word is incorrect and the whole silk will be ruined, very painstaking.

Xiao Qiao presented this scroll of infinite life sutra. The binding is elegant and beautiful. The font is exquisite. The sutra has won Mrs. Xu’s heart. When she knew it was Xiao Qiao’s handwriting, she deliberately transferred the script to nearby people.

Among the guests were the Bohai’s Gao Heng, a famous calligrapher, and painter, who came to Yuyang with the Bohai’s governor to congratulate Mrs. Xu on her birthday. He saw the silk script and appreciated it.

Gao Heng is a calligrapher. He is skilled in calligraphy and painting, specializing in gold and stone, and has the reputation of “Bohai Champion”. When he praised Xiao Qiao, the rest of the people naturally did not hesitate to praise her. Mrs. Xu was happy and gave the scroll back to Old Zhong, ordering her to keep it well.

At noon that day, the Wei family set up a banquet in the front hall with many guests. Among the Wei clan, Wei Shao had an uncle who followed Wei Jing during his attack on Li Su ten years ago. To save his young Lord, he was stabbed several times and died of his wounds, leaving behind an orphan and a widow who was treated well by Mrs. Xu. Now, the child has become an adult and is the same age as Wei Shao. He has established a family, and just had a son a year ago. Coincidentally, his son was born on the same day as Mrs. Xu, and today he was one-year-old.

Mrs. Xu asked the child’s grandmother, Mrs. Zhang, to visit two days ago and discuss the celebration of his first birthday. And let the child be brought over to celebrate together, adding to the festivities.

Although Mrs. Xu said it was to add to the festivities, the child’s grandmother understands this is Mrs. Xu’s hospitality. How could she decline? She happily made preparations. At noon this day, the guests filled the hall, and the child was dressed up beautifully and carried out by his birth mother, and placed on the couch.

After zhuazhou is done, the birthday feast will begin.

Zhuazhou is a modern name. In this era, it’s called “test the child”, initially popular in the Jiangnan area, but now also emerged in the north. Although the names are different, it’s similar and contains the expectation of the elders for their offspring.

T/N: Zhuazhou is a Chinese ritual held at a child’s first birthday party.

The child was a little chubby with a strong head. He was wearing a new suit and was placed on a couch by his mother, accompanied by his wet nurse. They placed books, arrows, and talisman seals, followed by beads and shells, ivory, and rhinoceros horn, in the closest place to the couch. Then, far away, out of his reach, were some food and toys. After putting down the child, the wet nurse teased and led him to grab the surrounding things.

There were many guests today, and all of them were influential, so to make sure that nothing would go wrong, the child’s family had already fed the child before he came and taught him repeatedly to grab the book and the bow and arrow. When he was at home, he practiced very well. However, he was suddenly placed in the hall, and there were people he didn’t know on all sides. It was unclear whether the child was frightened or sleepy from eating. He sat there and didn’t move. He didn’t go to grab the object in front of him, even though his mother was teasing him. The child’s mother saw the situation and hurriedly go up to tease him. The child is not taking anything and looks stunned, not moving.

Mrs. Xu intended to celebrate his birthday on the same day as hers. She wanted to give the child some glory, but she didn’t want the child to have stage fright. She didn’t expect this would happen, and the guests were waiting for the child to finish grabbing things before the birthday banquet.

The scene is slightly awkward.

The child’s mother’s voice is getting harsher because of her anxiety, but the child is stunned and crying. She looks at the old madam standing next to her and is about to tell her and find an excuse to take the child. Suddenly she heard a woman’s voice with laughter behind her saying: “There is nothing in his eyes and a hundred rivers in his heart. Standing on the wall with no desire. This child will grow up with a broad vision and will not be a mediocre person.”

Mrs. Xu’s heart was relieved. Turning her head, she saw that the person who spoke was Xiao Qiao, who was serving behind her. She didn’t expect that she could solve the problem in time. The problem was solved cleverly, without making a sound, and they solved the embarrassment at once.

The guests were stunned and nodded in agreement. The child’s mother was relieved. With a smile on her face, she hastily picked up the child and sent him to Mrs. Xu. Bowing to her to congratulate her on her birthday.

Mrs. Xu was all smiles and asked Old Zhong to carry the child over to sit on her lap. He was fat and white, and he must have been scared just now. She was fond of him and ordered the banquet to be opened in the outer hall, and then looked at Xiao Qiao with one eye and gave her a slight nod.

Although it was just a nod, Xiao Qiao saw a hint of approval in Mrs. Xu’s gaze, which immediately made her feel a lot more stable in her heart.

From the first moment she met Wei Shao’s grandmother, Xiao Qiao felt that the old woman, who had only one eye left, exuded a sense of being unpredictable.

If her attitude towards her was like Mrs. Zhu or Wei Shao’s, there would be nothing more to say. That is, marry her for Yanzhou’s value.

But Mrs. Xu was different.

Of course, Xiao Qiao had heard about Mrs. Xu’s previous experiences. She is an extraordinary woman. This is the reason why Xiao Qiao was so puzzled by her decision to let Wei Shao marry her, the daughter of an enemy family.

However, it doesn’t matter if she can’t figure it out, as long as Mrs. Xu is good to her.

Mrs. Xu towards her, of course, considered good, especially after seeing Wei Shao and his mother’s behavior. This old lady is like a living Bodhisattva with a circle of holy light on her head, and it simply flattered Xiao Qiao.

But that was only limited to the normal attitude of elders for the younger generation. This self-awareness, Xiao Qiao, still has.

But a while ago, things seemed to have changed a little.

Because of her brilliant idea to resolve this awkward situation, Xiao Qiao saw Mrs. Xu turn her head to look at her with a glance of approval. She knew Mrs. Xu should have more than a few different feelings for herself.

Is she unhappy?

Of course not!

She was thrilled.

To be honest, she still hasn’t thought about what to do in five or ten years.

According to the previous life’s trajectory, Wei Shao will probably lay a vicious hand on herself and the Qiao family.

Chun Niang had previously advised her to serve Wei Shao tactfully. To put it bluntly, to charm him with her sexuality and use it to change her fate.

Chun Niang was blindly confident in her. Full of expectations. But honestly, Xiao Qiao had no half-confidence in herself.

Her beauty may hook the hearts of most men in this world, but this Wei Shao, it seems, belongs to the minor group of immune people.

He hates her, or rather, the Qiao family.

She couldn’t imagine what kind of vicious words he would use to humiliate her if she stripped naked in front of him. This is a tough job that is likely to end in self-disgrace. Even if she has to lose her head tomorrow, she needs to think carefully before executing it. Since there is no way to do it for the time being, she can only focus on Mrs. Xu’s side first.

Now her luck is very good, even God is helping her.

Xiao Qiao couldn’t help but like this little chubby boy in Mrs. Xu’s arms.

He is simply Auntie’s little lucky star!

As soon as they carried the little chubby boy down from the stage, he was immediately refreshed and opened his round eyes. Looking east and west, with a very cute look. The women in the Longevity Hall gathered around, praising and competing for a turn to hug.

“You come and hug, too.” Mrs. Xu suddenly smiled at Xiao Qiao.

There is a custom of taking turns to hold the child after the testing, especially for those women who are desperate for an heir, and it is said that they will have a child soon.

The rest of the women smiled and turned their heads to look at Wei Shao, who was greeting the guests at the entrance of the Longevity Hall.

He seemed to have noticed the movement inside. He was distracted and glancing at Xiao Qiao from time to time with both eyes.

The mother of the little chubby boy took the baby and brought it to Xiao Qiao’s hand.

Knowing that Wei Shao was still there, Xiao Qiao glanced at the door and caught him looking at her.

Xiao Qiao’s face showed the shy smile of a new wife, carefully took the little fat boy from the woman’s hands, held it steady, and teased him a few times.

The little fat boy gave her face and giggled. The people at the side also laughed.

“Old Madam, this time next year, old Madam will hold her grandchild!”

A woman smiled and raised her voice in delight.

Xiao Qiao was shy. She said nothing and return the child. She could not help but glance at Wei Shao again.

There was a slight stiffness in his expression, and when someone was calling at the entrance, he paused and turned around, and walked away quickly.