Black Belly Wife

Chu Changge murmured, "Ever since we were little, my Mom would point to Chen Ting's tablet and told Xie-er and me that our lives were in exchange for his life. At that time, I only thought he was a benefactor of the Chu family. But now, I realise that he was not a benefactor of the Chu family, but a benefactor of Xie-er and me."

At those words, some scattered fragments began to turn up quickly in Murong Yunshu's mind, piecing together into a vague outline. And this outline left her stunned. She was unable to speak for a long time. After a long moment of silence, she asked in disbelief, "You mean......the little prince he was looking for......is you?"

"This is just my guess." Chu Changge whispered.

Murong Yunshu silently nodded. She finally understood why Chen Ting's death would bring such a significant impact on him.

If Chu Changge was really the little prince, then Chen Ting was more than a mere 'life-saving benefactor' to him.

Murong Yunshu didn't know how to comfort Chu Changge. After pondering for a long time, she just pressed the side of her face against his back and whispered, "He won't die in vain."

This revenge would be avenged one day.

*

The fact that Chu Changge could possibly be a prince was not deliberately hidden from anyone; on the contrary, he told everyone about it straight away.

North, South, East and West all had unbelievable expressions on their faces. For such a big scourge, fortunately, he was not placed in the Imperial Palace. Otherwise, he would bring calamity to the country and the people.

While Lu-er was concerned about a different issue. "Since Guye is a prince, won't the future young miss and young master all have to take his surname?" No matter how many people there were in the Murong family, they were no match for the royal family!

At these words, the room fell silent.

The corners of Murong Yunshu's forehead jumped for a long time. Her face darkened before she slowly shifted her sight towards her maid. No one will take you for a mute if you don't speak!

Lu-er hung her head innocently as she defiantly muttered, "It's just that there are many people in Guye's families in the first place. A bunch of concubines give birth to a bunch of princes. These bunch of princes then marry a bunch of concubines. These bunch of concubines then give birth to a bunch of young princes. These bunch of young princes then......"

"Shut up!" Murong Yunshu rubbed her eyebrows as she started to get a headache and said helplessly, "You're so noisy. Maybe I should just sell you into the palace for you to give birth to the Emperor's son."

"Don't, Miss!" Lu-er had a panicked look on her face. Then she hastily covered her mouth, not daring to say one more word.

Chu Changge's mood had been heavy, but when he was amused by them like this, he actually laughed out loud. "This is called the will of God is hard to disobey." Of course, the son had to take his father's surname.

Murong Yunshu smiled and did not say anything. He was at a low point right now; she would not argue with him and let him be happy first. There were still several months before the baby was born anyway. They could still continue to discuss it. If they really couldn't negotiate, with the child was still her belly, at worst, she could just control the Son of Heaven to command the nobles.

Thinking of Chu Changge's stamping his foot in the future, Murong Yunshu could not help smirking. She would not let her son take his surname. Let's see what he would do then.

"Miss, are you calculating something again? Your smile is so creepy." Lu-er asked.

"Yes, I was calculating on how to sell you for a good price." Murong Yunshu said without good humour. This girl had taken the wrong medicine today, hadn't she? Why did she keep on ruining her mood today?

"Miss, I don't have much meat on me. So Miss can only sell me for a few coins." Lu-er argued weakly. Hopefully, her own master would not try to make a fortune on her.

Murong Yunshu looked at her speechlessly. She then picked up her cup of tea and gently blew the hot air from the mouth of the cup. Afterwards, she spoke as if she were talking about how pale the clouds were and the light breeze was blowing, "Although you can only be sold for a few coins, I can still gain a profit from the sell since there will be one less person for me to waste food on."

Lu-er began to shed tears. "I can eat less from now on."

How can there be such a stupid person! North Guardian couldn't stand watching it anymore that he had to speak out to rescue the little white sheep being fooled by a particularly big black wolf. "It's time for you to go and cook." He said.

"Ah! The pot is still boiling water. I almost forgot!" Lu-er rushed to the kitchen.

Murong Yunshu looked askance at North Guardian with a faint smile and said, "You go and help her."

"Why?" North Guardian countered with a question.

"I don't like people who just eat and don't work."

"A gentleman stays clear of the kitchen, and I won't go there even if you beat me to death. What's more, I have work to do."

"Really?" Murong Yunshu looked to South, East and West.

The three East, South and West shook their heads very righteously and unanimously, "No."

North Guardian instantly wailed, "The three of them framed me! I do have work. Do you know how many strikes I got yesterday? My body is hurting all over. If you don't believe me, I'll show you." He tried to take off his clothes to 'verify his integrity', but he was unable to move because he was just being frightened by Chu Changge's words――

"What are you going to show her?" A faint voice, thick with murderous intent, sounded.

North Guardian really wanted to bang his head against the wall. How could he forget that even if Madam was outwardly kind but inwardly evil, she was still a woman! Men and women should not touch hands when giving or receiving things. Not to mention that the Leader was still here......

That was an unwise move. Truly unwise move.

An awkward North Guardian laughed hollowly and said as he walked out the door, "I'll go and cook, really go and cook......"

When West Guardian saw North Guardian's reaction, he teased him bluntly, "Didn't you say that a gentleman stayed clear of the kitchen, and you wouldn't go there even if others beat you to death?"

"I'm not dead yet, am I?" Better take refuge in the kitchen while you're still alive.

*

As soon as North Guardian left, Murong Yunshu told Chu Changge, "Do you know that our Murong Mansion has a rule?"

Chu Changge raised his eyebrows. "What rules?" His intuition told him that it must not be a good rule. [+]

"When you marry into the Murong Mansion, you must have dowry maids." Murong Yunshu glanced at the South and East duo and said, "Since you will be joining the family in the future, the two of them will be your dowry maids."

The two men looked horrified. "Why us?"

"You two look pleasing to my eyes." Murong Yunshu explained.

"Thank you very much, Madam." South and East resisted the urge to burst into tears and made a flattering face instead. They spoke to themselves, 'now, we may look pleasing to your eyes. Then, if we didn't, would you have long treated us like we're people but do not resemble people, and ghosts do not resemble ghosts?

West Guardian looked aggrieved. "I don't look pleasing to Madam's eyes?"

Murong Yunshu: "Nothing of the sort."

"Then why don't I also become the dowry maid?" West Guardian asked.

"I'll give you the opportunity!" East and South Guardian spoke in unison.

Murong Yunshu directly ignored those two unharmonious voices and asked the West Guardian, "Who said you won't become a dowry maid?"

"Didn't you just say that the Leader's dowry maids would be Old East and Old South?"

"Oh. I haven't finished yet. You will be North Guardian's dowry maid." Murong Yunshu explained indifferently.

"Ha?!" All three people, East, South and West, were dumbfounded. What was this situation? Could it be that the person Madam really wanted to set up was not them, but Lil North, who had been sent away? But Lil North didn't have a marriage partner yet! Could it be that......

The three of them all looked at Leader Daren, who had been calm and immobile as a mountain. Could it be that Madam wanted to......sit back and enjoy the happy fate of the man from Qi?

Chu Changge had been watching the drama with great pleasure when he suddenly felt three complicated and strange gazes. He couldn't help but frown. "What's this have to do with me?"

"......Madam just said that Lil North is also marrying into the Murong Mansion." East Guardian said.

"I know." Chu Changge did not take East Guardian's words seriously.

"Master Murong only has one daughter."

"I know."

"There is no other person for Lil North to marry other than Madam......"

Chu Changge raised his knife-shaped eyebrows. "Lu-er is not a person?"

Lu-er? Lu-er! The trio received a devastating strike.

"You guys aren't idiotic enough to think that Lil North is going to share a wife with this Leader, are you?"

Sharing a wife? Leader, what a loyal dog you are!

"Well, then…... I'm going to chop some firewood."

"I'm going to fetch some water."

"I'm going to set something on fire."

The three men, South, East and West, disappeared in a flash.

Murong Yunshu was stunned. She could understand chopping wood and fetching water, but setting something on fire? Did they really think they were bandits?

*

Time flew. Another month had gone by. During this month, no outsiders came to the island. The days passed at an extraordinarily leisurely pace. Ever since the matchmaking between North Guardian and Lu-er had been finalised, the two began to get disgusted with each other and decided that they would grow old and die without having had any dealings with each other. In regards to this phenomenon, apart from the two parties involved, the rest were happy to see the match happen. [+]

On this day, Lu-er protested for the eight hundredth time, "Miss, I don't want to marry that straw bag!"

Murong Yunshu was painting, and without raising her head, she said indifferently, "So, I asked him to marry you."

"......" Lu-er was in tears. "I don't want to be married to him."

"I didn't force you to marry him."

Lu-er looked at the sky. "But we're already engaged! It's only a matter of time before we get married."

"Who says you must get married when you decide to get married? You can also withdraw."

Lu-er was overjoyed, "Will that be okay?"

"Yes."

"Great!" Lu-er started to run out, ready to tell North Guardian that she would break off their marriage. But just after she ran out, she felt something was wrong. She turned back and asked, "Miss, did you do this on purpose?"

"Do what on purpose?"

"Purposely trying to see me being bullied by that straw bag." If she had been able to withdraw from the marriage, Miss would not have fixed their marriage.

After hearing this statement, Murong Yunshu put down her brush, looked up with a big smile, and said something that made Lu-er's mind wish to put an end to her remaining years very much. "You finally got it."

The corners of Lu-er's mouth twitched unrestrained as she glared at Murong Yunshu with an accusing face for a long time, exclaiming, "Miss, you must be so bored!"

<img src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NPtGjvbCBsk/YR5rlDyLYjI/AAAAAAAADW0/dfOGtHOQ3RkdUTN5bP7INIjedqBdmi0bgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1024/crabs%2Bfighting%2Bby%2BQi%2BBaishi.jpg">

Crabs (Fighting) by Qi Baishi

Image Credit | Qi Baishi via China Online Museum

"I know." Murong Yunshu picked up her brush and sighed softly at the painting that she was about to finish. If she weren't bored, she wouldn't be here drawing crabs fighting.

"But......" Murong Yunshu suddenly said while painting, "It is not just a whim to let you marry North Guardian."

"But I......"

"He will be kind to you."

Lu-er blushed and said with stubborn denial, "Who wants his kindness......"

At that moment, North Guardian rushed in just in time, shouting with delight, "Madam, the ship is here!"

Lu-er's face reddened even more, not daring to look at him.

Murong Yunshu smiled faintly and asked, "What kind of ship is it this time?"

North Guardian answered, "King Sheng's ship. I saw a big flag hanging on the ship with the word 'Sheng' written on it."

"Good. Go call your Leader back. Tell him a guest has arrived."

"The Leader, he......already on board."

"Already on board?" Murong Yunshu frowned, "Isn't he practising his sword?" If he had not been unable to accompany her because he was practising his sword, and her body was not suitable for the cold, she would not have been bored to draw crabs at home.

"He was practising his sword, but after King Sheng's boat appeared, he immediately got on the ship."

"What is he doing onboard?"

"Practising his sword."

"......is he thinking of taking someone to practice swords with him?"

North Guardian did not speak, which could be regarded as acquiescence to her statement.

Murong Yunshu immediately threw down her brush and hurried towards the seaside. He knew that King Sheng was his brother, so why did he have to go on the ship to 'practice his sword'? Was it possible that he thought that if they didn't fight, they wouldn't build any friendship......

<img src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Dhon793qZ-Y/XzUCHSY3vOI/AAAAAAAACb8/f44anIooxlwLTLcly_Gn_ufN5otdIxFkwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/oie_transparent.png">

Everyone's 'favourite' villain will return in the next chapter. He never gives up, isn't he?