Chapter 58: The Fallen People

  Sheng Qiye pondered for a long time, then whispered to Wang Shi: "Their skills are beyond your imagination. Fortunately, they have no interest in the imperial court; otherwise, do you think Xia Shi could have held onto this position?"

  How dare you mention the imperial family by name!

  Wang's eyelids twitched uncontrollably, and she let out a long sigh. With her hands clasped together, she faced the western sky in prayer before asking Sheng Qiye, "If their ambitions aren't set on the imperial court, then what do they want you for? Don't they still have the Divine Farmer's Decree?"

  Wang thought these people were from Xia Mingdi's faction, dedicated to finding a cure for Xia Mingdi, which is why they coincided with Sheng Qiye.

  Sheng Qiye shook his head, a puzzled expression on his face. "They're not doing it for the Emperor. I've been there for so long, but I'm still not very clear about their purpose. All I know is that each of them is extremely powerful, but they all have short lives. Most of them don't live past thirty. They call themselves 'Fallen People', and it seems like they've been searching for a place and a person for generations. Apparently, finding that person will lead to finding that place, which can allow their clan to live well, but so far, there's no clue. I help them test the formula while also taking the opportunity to do my own thing. This is the condition they discussed with me. They support me in testing my own formula while also helping them test theirs."

  Wang was curious, "What kind of prescription is this? Who among them fell ill? Was their short lifespan due to illness?"

  "Hmm." Sheng Qiye nodded heavily, "They all have congenital illnesses. Once they fall ill, it's a miserable life, and they're all pitiful people. Ah, yes, that's where I met the Crown Prince of Zhou Shenjiang."

  When mentioning Zhou Huai Xuan, Wang thought of the scene five years ago when Sheng Si Yan was kidnapped by a man in black and then Zhou Huai Xuan was taken away by a man in black. She couldn't help but ask Sheng Qi Ye: "This young master Zhou, also has a fate with our Si Yan? The person who took him away, is the same as the one who took you away back then?"

  "It should be. Otherwise, how could it be so coincidental? They all went to the same place?" Sheng Qiye followed Wang Shi back to the inner room.

  "What is Young Master Zhou doing there? Does he also know medicine?" asked Wang Shi while helping Sheng Qiye take off his clothes.

  Sheng Qiye changed into his nightclothes, got onto the bed, and pulled Wang Shi down beside him. He chuckled and said, "He's gone to test the medicine." As he spoke, he lowered the bed curtains.

  "...Today is just the right day, you and I must make an extra effort, give Siyan a little brother..."

  ……

  After a few days, Sheng Qiye received a reply from those people, saying that everything had been taken care of.

  Wang was surprised, "So soon? Won't there be any omissions?"

  "They handle things better than your Flying Fish Guard." Sheng Qiye burned the note in the lamp flame.

  "We can deal with Tuo now." Sheng Qiye instructed Wangshi.

  "...If you're not satisfied, just make her unable to speak." Wang still couldn't make up his mind. Moreover, she was the woman who had given birth to a child for Sheng Qiye, and she worried that Sheng Qiye would regret it later.

  "She's reaping what she sowed." Sheng Qiye glanced at Wang Shi. "I'll take care of it myself. I started this, and I'll put an end to this karma." He apologized to Wang Shi again, saying: "I didn't mean to. My heart was suffocating back then, and I had too much to drink. I said a few words, and she happened to overhear them."

  Not only did he listen, but from then on, he started plotting to replace his wife with me.

  Fortunately, Wang heard what Sheng Qiye said from Sheng Siyan, and she didn't feel estranged in her heart. She sighed and dusted off Sheng Qiye's robe, saying: "We've been apart for so many years. If you don't even miss us mother and daughter, I'd be heartbroken."

  "Aren't you blaming me?"

  "It's strange, of course it's strange. - From now on, you're not allowed to drink." Wang said with a smile, "Don't bother about Tuo's place."

  ……

  Mr. Tu has been very busy lately, so busy that he almost doesn't have time to eat.

  She was in charge of the monthly distribution within the Shengguo Gongfu. The silver money flowed from her hands like water, making her feel a different kind of satisfaction amidst her busyness.

  She was very confident and knew that this national government office was destined to be hers, so she worked hard to learn various ways of managing the household from Wang Shi.

  "Second Aunt. The Duke has arrived." The maid at the door lifted the curtain, and Sheng Qiye, dressed in a blue shirt and white robe, walked in.

  "Seventh Master has arrived!" Mrs. Tu exclaimed with surprise and delight, "Quickly take a seat, I'll serve Seventh Master tea. —— Seventh Master, please sit for a while, let me finish calculating this account before I come to keep you company drinking."

  Sheng Qiye stood at the door with his hands behind his back and said, "I've quit drinking."

  "Quit drinking? Seventh Master is really good at joking. Can a man still be called a man if he doesn't drink? My elder brother gets drunk every day and has also taken in a concubine, I was thinking of bringing my parents, sister-in-law and nephews to Beijing to live together. Just like Da Lai's grandparents, uncles and aunts." Mrs. Tu said with a smile while quickly calculating on her abacus.

  "My relatives, not considered as relatives. Do your in-laws still want to socialize with us?" Sheng Qiye furrowed his brow. When he had taken her as a concubine initially, he had given them money; how did this family then consider themselves as his in-laws?

  Tu was somewhat unhappy, but didn't argue with Sheng Qiye, only saying: "Of course we're not relatives now."

  But it will be later... Mr. Tu added a sentence in his heart.

  Sheng Qiye sighed and asked her: "Don't you want to be a concubine?"

  Tui's secret passage, if there were other choices, who would want to be a concubine? But of course, she couldn't say that to Sheng Qiye, so she smiled and said: "Being a concubine for Master Qiye is the good fortune I accumulated in my past life. I only hope to serve Master Qiye for a long time."

  Sheng Qiye saw that she was obstinately refusing to listen, and he didn't try to persuade her anymore. He shook his head and said, "You go ahead, I'm leaving." With that, he turned around and left.

  Tu Shi hastily put down his abacus and chased after him, but saw that Sheng Qi Ye had already walked far away.

  Looking at his somewhat lonely back, Mrs. Tu felt a little uneasy in her heart. For the first time, she began to doubt her own choice. But thinking again, being a wife has many more advantages than being a concubine, and Wang had a huge handle on her, it was simply unacceptable for her not to take action and push her down!

  After Sheng Qiye left, Wangshi asked someone to call Tu Shi over and said she wanted her to take charge of the kitchen as well.

  Tu Shi was overjoyed, thinking that Wang Shi was really too weak. With just a little scare, she had already handed over the power of the inner courtyard. She was very pleased: as long as she kept it from Sheng Siyan, that little maid, Wang Shi was like meat on her chopping board.

  Tu Shi went to the kitchen with great enthusiasm to check on things.

  "Congratulations to the second aunt! Congratulations to the second aunt! The chores of managing the kitchen have all been taken over by you, and from now on, this inner courtyard will all be under your control!" Chen Paozi, who was originally in charge of the kitchen and was a yes-woman to Wang Shi, had suddenly shifted her allegiance to Tu Shi, which made Tu Shi very pleased.

  This is what it means to be a discerning servant!

  "What are these dishes?" Ms. Tu saw a table full of various dishes in the kitchen, none of which she recognized.

  "Second Aunt, you have a good eye for things! This is what I've prepared for the mistress and young ladies' midnight snack: mushroom juice goose liver beef strips, steamed crab roe, pearl shrimp eggs, and this. Stir-fried fish roe, and another dish of creamy goose liver rolls that are sweet."

  Tu Shi looked at those especially fragrant and thick dishes and couldn't help but say: "So many, can the mistress and the two young ladies finish them all?"

  "Of course, we can't finish it. Second Auntie, come, you try some first." Chen's wife smiled and served a small portion of each dish into a small plate for Mrs. Tu.

  Tu Shi ate everything in sight, almost swallowing his tongue along with it.

  It's really delicious!

  "Can you also send a table over for me? I'll be having a midnight snack tonight." Mr. Tu asked tentatively.

  "Don't worry!" Old Lady Chen patted her chest and guaranteed, "I'll take care of it myself!"

  So Chen Po-po "fawned" on Tuo, every day three meals were specially cooked for Tuo with a small stove to make these nutritious high-protein dishes.

  Tu Shi was originally born plump. After entering the Guo Gong Fu, she ate better than in the countryside and didn't have to do any chores. Every day, she would lie on the couch, look at the account books, and instruct the kitchen on what dishes to prepare. She lived a carefree life.

  Being nourished by these high-fat and high-protein foods for nearly half a month, Zhuo's weight increased again, to the point where he couldn't even stand up.

  Every time her three children came to see her, she had to be supported by someone to sit up and talk to them.

  Her children didn't think she was fat and would just walk away after talking to her. They are all busy with their own things now, each having their own tasks to attend to.

  Tu's love for foie gras and crab roe grew stronger. He almost hated to eat anything else as snacks every day.

  The servants in the kitchen saw that Erniang's food expenses were even more than all the masters combined, and they were all tongue-tied, saying that the mistress was too kind-hearted to let this country-born concubine climb to the top.

  These words somehow reached the ears of Mrs. Tu. She was furious when she heard them. With a slap on the edge of the bed, she actually stood up herself, pointing at the door and ordering the few maids who had spoken earlier: "Get out! Kneel down with your knees on broken tiles until evening, don't dare to get up!" Only after saying this did she feel her legs ache, and with a thud, she fell back onto the bed.

  It's still morning, and the sun is scorching outside. They actually have to kneel on the ceramic tiles with their knees exposed outside.

  Several young maids turned pale with fright. However, Mrs. Tu was still the mistress in front of them, and what she said, the maids had to listen to.

  An older sister of one of these punished maids happened to be among them, and she couldn't bear it, so she secretly went to Wang Shi's place to seek help.

  Wang's wife hastily brought over a few servant girls and saw three or four young maidservants kneeling in the middle of the Cui Zhu Xuan courtyard, their knees covered with broken ceramic tiles. She became angry and shouted through the window to Tu Shi inside the house: "Second Auntie, what mistakes have they made that you want to punish them like this?"

  Tui heard that Wang had arrived, but she didn't even bother to move, let alone go out to greet her. She thought she already had a good grasp of Wang's weak personality and didn't take her seriously at all. Lying lazily in the house, she said: "Their mouths are too long. I haven't sewn their mouths shut with needles yet, that's already being lenient. What else do they want? Are they not afraid of offending the master?"

  The first update is delivered. Today is still the third watch (⊙o⊙)! Yesterday, everyone's pink votes were really powerful! I forgot today, if there are still pink votes, you can also vote a little~~~

  ……

  ps：

  Thank you to He Shi Bi for the reward in the early morning. Thank you to everyone who rewarded Ping An Fu yesterday. Reminder to those with pink tickets, you can vote now! The third update is relying on pink ticket support o(n_n)o!