Chapter 23

  At night, the clouds were densely packed, covering half of the bright moon.

  Shui carried a delicate little basket, walking on the quiet, goose-egg-stone-paved road. In the basket were more than ten packages of melon seeds.

  Shui walked with extremely light steps, carefully looking around him as he went.

  She deliberately got rid of Bi Fu early tonight and came to the small house where there were melon seeds and some miscellaneous things, wanting to secretly take away some melon seeds. Fortunately, the house was not locked, so she could open the door smoothly.

  Mrs. Shui nervously and somewhat flusteredly packed up over ten packages of melon seeds, hastily putting them into a basket, planning to send them to Old Man Xia overnight.

  She didn't dare make a sound, afraid that her daughter would find out, and could only walk while carefully looking around.

  Little did she know, all her movements had long been caught in the eyes of Xia Ting, who was standing not far away, and Shui Shi was still unaware.

  Wan Yu whispered hesitantly, "Miss, shouldn't we stop the madam?" When Master Bai came over to ask for melon seeds earlier, wasn't Miss extremely angry and forbade anyone from giving them to him? Why is she now watching as Madam goes to deliver melon seeds to Master in the middle of the night without intervening?

  As she saw the figure of Shui Shi getting farther and farther away, Xia Ting Cong withdrew her gaze, shook her head lightly and said "Never mind, let her go. I can stop this time, but can I stop her next time, or the time after that?"

  Her mother's heart is obviously tied to her cheap father. Moreover, for the sake of her mother's long-term plan in the future, she cannot make things absolute either. She will probably have to leave the house and live separately in the future, but what about her mother? In this era where husbands are the backbone, ideas have long been deeply rooted, and it is feared that they cannot jump out of those frameworks.

  Her previous idea of taking her mother out of the house now seems unrealistic. If she were to leave the house in the future, but her mother insisted on staying behind, then she would have to make arrangements for her mother first.

  It's just right to take advantage of today's matter, let that cheap father know the goodness of his mother, and make him feel grateful. Only in this way will his doting on his mother be more lasting.

  Although she didn't want to admit it, she had no choice but to bow her head to reality. If Mother wanted to live a good life in the Xia household, she would have to gain the favor of the master of the house. Her nominal grandmother was not someone she could rely on, so all that was left was her cheap father.

  Wan Yu seemed to sense that his young mistress had other plans and tactfully stopped asking questions.

  Xia Ting stood for a long time before continuing, "Let's go back to the house. Bi Tan did well today, I'll tell her later that her monthly silver will be doubled." She had always been generous with rewards for those who were loyal to her. On the other hand, those melon seeds she had just ordered from Yixing City were given away again to that cheap father, thinking about it still made her angry.

  Wan Yu nodded and followed Miss Zijia back to the house slowly.

  On the other hand, after leaving Liyuan, Shui's side had to go through a long corridor before arriving at Xia Lao Ye's study where he usually worked. There was no one guarding outside the study, but the lights inside were still on, and it was clear that Xia Lao Ye had not yet returned to Qinghua Hall to rest.

  Mr. Shui happily walked forward and knocked on the door. Soon after, he heard Old Man Xia's voice from inside saying "Who is it? Come in."

  Having obtained permission, Shui rushed in and gently pushed open the door. Xia Lao Ye saw that the one who walked in was his own concubine, Shui Lan. His face showed great surprise: "Lan Er, it's so late, how did you come?"

  Shui's slender hands placed the basket on the desk, lifted the white floral cloth covering it, and smiled saying "Master isn't planning to get some melon seeds today? I thought this time would be like last time, Master is going to use these melon seeds as a gift, right? If things are delayed, that wouldn't be good, so I'll personally wrap some up and send them over."

  Mr. Xia looked at the basket with a dozen or so plump pumpkin seeds, his face full of surprise and delight, but in an instant he thought of his own daughter, and his face suddenly became somewhat awkward "Ning Er that..." The underlying meaning was self-evident.

  Shui also knew that Lao Ye was worried about his daughter's reaction after knowing, so he comforted him saying "These were secretly taken out by me, Ning Er doesn't know yet. But it's alright, after a few days, I'll tell her that I ate them myself, and she won't say anything else."

  The daughter has always been filial, as long as she doesn't know that the melon seeds were given to her father, she will never argue with her mother over this matter.

  Xia Lao Ye's heart was deeply moved at that moment. Lan Er was indeed the most understanding, and it was true that he had not taken her in vain back then.

  He was originally still secretly worried, tomorrow there would be no melon seeds to give to those high-ranking officials who came to ask him in person, and his career might also be affected. Just when he didn't know what to do, Lan'er immediately sent the things over to resolve his urgent situation. At this time, Mr. Xia's gaze towards Shui's family became even warmer.

  "Master, I know that Cong'er's words today were indeed rash and offended you. I hope you can see it from my perspective and not hold it against her. In the past few years, since your return to Kyoto, although we mother and daughter three have not suffered much hardship, we often had to endure other people's cold eyes and ridicule. Cong'er's temperament is also very strong-willed, so she has some resentment in her heart. I hope you can see it from her young age and not hold it against her..."

  As he spoke, Mr. Shui's words became choked with sobs.

  Xia Lao Ye saw that Shui Shi's eyes had reddened, and I saw the pitiful look on her face. My heart immediately softened, and I hastily pulled her into my arms, gently coaxing her: "Lan'er, don't cry, it's all my fault. In the past, I wasn't able to bring you back, which is why you've suffered so much hardship. It's understandable that Ning'er has grievances in her heart. You can rest assured, Ning'er is also my daughter, and I won't hold anything against her."

  Although today's events have indeed made him lose face, seeing his beloved concubine in tears and thinking that he has indeed wronged the three of them over the years, the unhappiness accumulated in his heart suddenly disappeared.

  Shui listened and then burst into tears of laughter "Thank you, sir. Sir must be busy dealing with official documents, I'll come to help you grind them."

  Xia Lao Ye burst out laughing and said "Alright, it's cold tonight, you might as well not go back. You can rest with me in the study tonight."

  Shui's face turned slightly red as she nodded.

  In the Qinghuatang, Mrs. Li sat on a round stool, looking left and right, occasionally gazing towards the door, but she couldn't see her husband's figure returning to rest in their room.

  Just as she was lost in thought, a young servant who had been serving beside Old Man Xia came running over in a hurry. Li recognized him as the one she had bribed with silver, and his haste must mean that he had some urgent news to report.

  As expected, the little servant entered and said with some difficulty breathing "Madam, it's not good. The master will be resting in the study tonight and won't be returning to Qinghua Hall. Shui Yiniang is accompanying the master in the study right now."

  "What?" Li exclaimed in surprise.

  She slammed her hand on the table and stood up, "How dare that sly vixen sneak into the study at midnight to seduce Master! I'll have her skin torn off!"

  Li's face turned red with rage, she wanted to rush into the study. She said how could it be at this time, Master Li had not returned from the study yet, originally he was seduced by that cheap woman Wang.

  Qian Mama, who was standing by, felt that something was amiss. This Qian Mama had been a maid accompanying Li Shi since she was young and knew her temperament very well.

  If she knew that, she would have rushed over there in a huff and probably would have gotten into a fight with the wet nurse on the spot. This is not a good thing, it will certainly displease Master.

  The old woman hastily reached out and grabbed Li's hand, advising "Madam, you can't go over there now."

  Digression

  Friends, like it and collect it. The collections of these days are unbearable, is the writing of clipping not good?