On the other hand, after sending Yaoniang and Xiaobao away, Qiao-shi would usually take a nap at this time, but she didn’t feel sleepy at all.
She chatted with the maids and when the topic of discussion came to how Xiaobao had coaxed Yueyue into calling him Chen Gege, Qiao-shi laughed very hard.
Then a maid named Ying Ge came in, holding a folded cloth bag in her hand.
“Madam, this servant forgot to mention that the Sixth Young Miss gave me a scented sachet when she came by earlier.”
“A scented sachet?” Qiao-shi took the cloth bag and opened it. Looking at the familiar colours and embroidery on the sachet, she sighed. “Xiuli is really… Knowing that I like smelling this mint fragrance, she specially made this for me. I’ve really troubled her.”
Ru Meng smiled and said, “How is this troubling her? Even if she doesn’t do it, this servant can do it. But since she has the heart, madam should accept it.”
Qiao-shi said angrily, “You lazy maids. You’ve clearly been shirking on your duties, yet you’re still trying to make such noble excuses.”
The maids chuckled, not taking what she said to heart. To be honest, it wasn’t that they were shirking their duties, but it was the Sixth Young Miss who was diligent in giving the sachets. Madam had liked this scent ever since she was still in the boudoir. The Sixth Young Miss said she had dried a lot of mint before coming to the capital. Now that she was sending the sachets over every so often, everyone understood that she was trying to please madam.
“Take it away and hang it up somewhere. I’ve had enough of smelling this scent over this past while. I wanted to tell her that there was no need to send it over anymore, but it’s already been sent over.”
Just as she was speaking, Shizi hurried inside.
He seemed to have just returned from outside. He was wearing a big cloak, bringing in a gust of cold wind with him.
Sun Mang had been doing errands for Emperor Hongjing ever since he was a teenager. In the last few years, he took over the position of commander of the Imperial Guards. These were the guards who guarded the palace. This position was generally held by the emperor’s confidant, and the last commander was Duke Zhenguo, Sun Mang’s father.
Duke Zhenguo was regarded as one of the emperor’s closest ministers. The position he held was not as glorious as some of the others, but for him to become one of the emperor’s closest ministers, he was extremely loyal. And this loyalty was not to the court, but His Majesty.
As soon as Sun Mang walked in, Qiao-shi greeted him and took off the cloak for him.
“Husband, why did you come back at this time? Have you eaten anything? Should I ask the maids to prepare something for you?”
Sun Mang pressed on her hand and said, “No, I already ate outside before coming back.”
Meanwhile, Ying Ge took away the scented sachet to hang it up. Ru Meng and the others brought over some hot water and a handkerchief and served Sun Mang to wash and change his clothes.
After changing into more comfortable clothes, Sun Mang sat down on the Kang and asked, “Where’s Yue’er?”
Qiao-shi said softly, “Today, Side Consort Su from Jin Wang Manor was here, and she also brought over their young master. The two children had a great time playing together. After eating, our daughter became sleepy, so I had the nurse take her to sleep.”
Ru Hua brought some tea over. Sun Mang reached for his cup and took a sip. “What were you laughing at? I heard the laughter even before I entered the door.”
Wearing a smile on her face, Qiao-shi recounted the story of how Xiaobao convinced Yue’er to address him as the older brother. “Our daughter isn’t that bright. How could she call him gege so easily?”
Sun Mang laughed and said, “I think Yue’er resembles you.”
“Are you calling me stupid?” Qiao-shi grew sullen and she couldn’t help but glance at Sun Mang.
Her brows were furrowed together and her eyes were full of anger. Sun Mang couldn’t stand seeing her like this. Seeing that the maids had all wisely retreated, he stretched out his long arms and carried her over to sit on his lap.
Qiao-shi was seven years younger than Sun Mang. Rumours had spread that he brought bad luck to his wife. He had gotten engaged before and even married another, but they both passed away. Now that Qiao-shi stayed by his side, Sun Mang pampered her very much.
He was also willing to spoil her. It wasn’t that Sun Mang had never had tongfangs¹ before, but he knew that Qiao-shi didn’t like them, so he sent them out of the manor. The husband and wife had been married for several years and were very affectionate. Duchess Zhenguo disliked Qiao-shi, not only because of her low status as a daughter of a merchant but also because of this.
Seeing her husband’s eyes, Qiao-shi couldn’t help but feel the urge to hide. Yet, with his arms wrapped around her, she couldn’t go anywhere. She could only hold on to his head and let him plunder her mouth as he wished.
After kissing and sucking for so long, Sun Mang’s breathing was a mess and his eyes had turned a faint red. His large hand reached down to untie the thin belt that was in the way, but Qiao-shi pressed his hand down, her face as red as a cooked lobster.
But with her strength, how could she hold him down? She could only beg in a low voice while glancing towards the door.
“You’re already the mother of two children, yet you’re still so shy. Don’t worry, they know what they should and should not do,” muttered Sun Mang. Qiao-shi panicked and tried to cover his mouth, but while she was trying to do one thing, she neglected the other. The hand she used to block his mouth was the same hand holding his hand down. By the time she reacted, she could already feel that her skin was exposed to the cold air.
Her embarrassment was immediately replaced by fiery passion, Qiao-shi bit down on her lower lip, trying to stop her moan from slipping out. But Sun Mang enjoyed seeing Qiao-shi losing control of herself the most, so he increased his speed. Qiao-shi couldn’t help but let out soft whimpers.
Beyond the door, stood Ru Meng and Ru Jia, blocked by a layer of beaded curtains, blushing and pretending to be calm.
By the time they finally stopped, Qiao-shi’s voice was already hoarse. Sun Mang pulled out a clean cloth from a nearby cabinet and cleaned up the two of them. Then he leaned against the pillow beside her.
“It’s okay for you to associate with Jin Wang’s Side Consort, but don’t talk about things beyond household affairs and the children.”
Qiao-shi hadn’t been married to Sun Mang for only a year or two, so she knew what her husband could and could not condone.
Still breathing heavily, she said in a low voice, “I can tell that Side Consort Su didn’t come here with that kind of purpose. How should I describe her? She seems like the kind of person who is unaware of the affairs in the outside world.”
Sun Mang nodded then asked, “Just now when I came in, I heard that Qiao Anhe’s sister came here again?”
Qiao-shi nodded, “We talked for a while then she left.”
“She really cares about you. Alright, I’ll let people bring Qiao Anhe out to socialize in a few days. As for whether he can benefit from this, and how much he can benefit, it will all depend on his own good fortune.”
Qiao-shi made a sound of acknowledgement and didn’t say anything else. Despite Qiao Anhe and his sister sharing the surname Qiao, and her father writing a letter asking her to take care of them, she didn’t try to put in a good word for them.
It was because of her sensibility that Sun Mang liked her so much. She was knowledgeable and polite, and she never said anything that shouldn’t be said. After sitting in his position for so long, he had seen too much manipulation and schemes. As a cunning person himself, he didn’t enjoy the presence of sly people around him.
