Scent Of Time

Chapter 27

Zhong Yelan shook off my hand. The force was so strong that I almost fell. Luckily, Qian Zhi held me up in time. He turned away, seemingly unwilling to look at me. Since he didn’t repudiate me even though the truth was clear, I don’t have to pretend to be dignified and virtuous. Let’s see how long he can tolerate me.

After he left, Mu Yao looked at me while holding the decree and asked: “You did this?”

“Who else could it be?” I shrugged.

Mu Yao was silent before looking at me coldly, “Do you think if I become a side consort, it will make it easier to bully me?”

“Mu Yao, you have always been smart. Why are you confused now?” I smiled back, “Which do you think is better to bully, a maid or a side consort?”

Mu Yao frowned. She also understood that compared to a side consort, a maid has even less status. But she was still unwilling to believe that I was doing it for her good.

“I know you don’t believe me, but I really don’t want to compete with you. Otherwise, how would I surrender my hand? You can remain wary of me. I don’t care. It’s only a matter of time.”

After saying that, I no longer wasted my words, turned around, and returned to my courtyard. It would be better for me to interact less with Mu Yao. She has a female main aura to protect her, and getting close to her is not advantageous for me.

After returning to the courtyard, I began to prepare for next month’s side consort wedding banquet. To consolidate a good image for myself, I want to make a big deal out of it and do it in style.

After several days of busy fixing the specifications of the banquet and invitation lists, Hua Shen came to my door to look for me.

These days, Zhong Yelan did not stop the people from the Hua Family again, so Hua Shen was free to come and go.

“Is Sister preparing next month’s banquet for the side consort? I ran into that maid on the road just now, and only after saying a few words did I recognize that she was the person I saw coming out of King Jin’s study before. I told you earlier, but you didn’t listen, and now she is on top.”

Looking at Hua Shen, who was obviously idle but still talked about everything and stayed with me, I frowned and didn’t pick up on his words, “What did elder brother get into again?”

Hua Shen smiled awkwardly and spoke, “Nothing. I just missed you and came to take a look.”

I ignored his words, picked up my teacup, and blew on the tea froth before speaking, “Why did elder brother hide here with me if nothing happened? Tell me, what did you do to make father angry again?”

“Sister is clever. I can’t hide anything from you.” Hua Shen squeezed out a smile on his chubby face.

Seeing I was silent, he lowered his head and said carefully, “It’s not a big deal. It’s just that I gave someone a concubine.”

I frowned. What kind of thing is this? I heavily slammed my teacup and spoke, “Are you still not telling the truth? Why would you hide here if it was only for this matter?”

Hua Shen scowled and shrunk his head before curtly saying, “Then I’ll say it. Sister, remember to put in a good word for me in front of our parents. They have always listened to your words.”

“Say it first, and I’ll deal with it at my discretion.” I wasn’t in a hurry to oblige.

“It’s not a big deal. A few days ago, my friend took a fancy to a concubine in my courtyard, so I gave her to him. I didn’t expect that girl to have a strong temperament, and she killed herself at the entrance of the Hua Mansion. I originally hid this matter from the public, but I don’t know which bitchy servant girl spread it out, so I didn’t dare to return to the mansion in the past few days.” Hua Shen’s tone seemed to be extraordinarily annoyed.

My heart was as if I had just swallowed a ball of fire, searing my organs with smoke. What made me even more angry was he thought I would protect him. Why? Just because my attitude towards him has improved over the past few days?

“Get out.” I tried to control my temper as I spoke.

“Sister ……,” Hua Shen softened his tone and begged.

I finally couldn’t hold back the suppressed fire in my chest, “Hua Shen, I thought that the pile of women in your backyard was only a bunch of women who wanted to climb up the ranks. That’s why I never interfered with your backyard’s affairs. Now, it seems I was wrong.”

Looking at Hua Shen’s uncomprehending chubby face, I erupted like a volcano, “Hua Rongzhou, you take Hua Shen back to the Hua Mansion ……”

After I said that, I felt that it was wrong. Hua Rongzhou was just a government soldier by my side. He might be bullied if he went to the Hua Mansion, so I changed my order, “Forget it. Help me invite Nan Feng over.”

Hua Rongzhou pursed his lips and bowed. In a quarter of an hour, Nan Feng came over. Hua Shen looked somewhat restless at this point.

After watching Nan Feng salute, I speak, “Guard Nan, I’m troubling you with one thing today, counting it as me owing you a favor.”

Nan Feng hurriedly arched his hand and saluted, “Princess Consort doesn’t have to be like this. I’m a servant of the royal family. Just say directly.”

“Okay. Take some people to go to the Hua Mansion. I will give you my token. You can say that it is my command. It’s about those women in my brother’s backyard. If anyone is willing to leave, bring them here. I will give them a settlement fee that is enough for them to live the rest of their lives without worry.” I raised my hand to signal Qian Zhi to bring the token over.

Nan Feng was Zhong Yelan’s man, so I expected that Hua Xiang wouldn’t dare to stop him.

Hua Shen panicked and stood up to speak, “What are you doing, sister?”

“Does elder brother think that you’re still innocent? Is a human life not even worth mentioning to you?” My hand had clenched into a fist.

“That’s just a slave girl. After we bought her, the Hua Family owned her life. It’s her fault for not being able to think straight. What does it matter to me?” Hua Shen sat back down again in annoyance, turning his back and not looking at me.

That is the characteristic of this era. Human life is worthless, especially the life of slave girls. One doesn’t need to compensate for harming others because nobody will pursue it due to the victim’s identity, so they all feel justified.

I opened my mouth again, but my voice was trembling. Unsure whether it was angry or sad: “Only a slave girl? But a slave girl is also a human. She also has her relatives. If I was the one who experienced such a thing, would my elder brother say I deserved it? Put yourself in her shoes. How would that maid’s family feel?”

Hua Shen hung his head, seeming to have a few moments of weakness, and said softly, “That maid is a criminal, an orphan, and has no relatives.”

I felt there was no need to talk to him anymore. So I said to Nan Feng, “I’ll trouble Guard Nan. Please escort my elder brother back and tell my father; if he fails to discipline his son, then I’ll do it for him.”

Guard Nan hesitated for a moment and then agreed.

Hua Shen, however, was unconvinced and still wanted to speak. I glared fiercely, “You should be glad that your identity is that of my elder brother, or else, at this point, you wouldn’t be able to stand here intact at all.”

After Nan Feng took Hua Shen away, I fell back into my seat. This family was never going to be at peace.

Nan Feng brought four women with him when he returned, so I asked Qian Zhi to give them money and then sent someone to protect them as they left.

After they left, I sat alone in the courtyard. It was rare for someone to have a backbone. After all, here, we are all about ‘becoming a chicken if you marry the chicken,’ so most women are usually married for a lifetime and do not care about how that person is. They only think about living with it.

That’s why I want to leave. This idea seems uncommon to me.

Perhaps seeing me in a bad mood, Yin Xing came over and spoke softly: “Princess Consort, the peach blossoms in the backyard of the Royal Palace are in bloom. Does Princess Consort want to go for a walk?”

As I looked at Yin Xing’s apparent concern for me, I could not afford to brush her off, so I followed her out of the courtyard. Hua Rongzhou saw this and hurriedly followed. I didn’t say much.

When I arrived at the peach blossom forest, I saw someone had already gotten there first.

Zhong Yelan and Mu Yao stood in the peach blossom forest like deities. I paused on my feet and spoke while looking into Yin Xing’s uneasy eyes, “Forget it. We’d better go back.”

Yin Xing lowered her head in response, and we turned around to leave.

The atmosphere of going back was too dull, so I looked for something to say, “Has Guard Hua grown taller? Last year, when you first entered the mansion, it seemed like you were still about the same height as me, and now you’re a bit taller than me.”

Yin Xing said first: “Guard Hua still grows his body and will grow more in the future.”

Hua Rongzhou hung his head without saying anything. I smiled and answered: “But Guard Hua’s face looks still childish. Your body is thin, and your face still has baby fat, so it even appears younger.”

Yin Xing didn’t understand what baby fat was, and she asked: “Princess Consort likes babies?”

“Well, sort of.” I nodded, “Little children’s faces are all chubby. They are delicious and make people want to take a bite.”

That was my disease. Whenever I saw a baby’s round little face, I wanted to pinch it, and sometimes I liked it so much that I couldn’t help but want to bite it, but of course, it wasn’t a hard bite.

My words felt inappropriate, and when I saw Hua Rongzhou staring at me, I hurriedly added: “Don’t worry, I will not bite you.”

This time, Hua Rongzhou’s expression was confused, and Yin Xing on the side couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

The atmosphere wasn’t so dull anymore. I realized this period was too comfortable, making me more unrestrained and releasing some words without thinking. Hua Shen’s matter was a wake-up call for me. It turned out that the ordeal I should suffer was far from simple. So, in the future, I must mind my words and behavior.