My Stepmother is Soft and Charming

Chapter 5 A brief encounter

So Du Jingyi stood up, put on his outer clothes and sat down on the bed, then raised his voice and said.

 “Who is making the noise outside?”

I heard some movement in the inner room, and the originally noisy place suddenly became quiet.

 Then there was the sound of the door being pushed open, and then a group of people filed in.

The leaders were naturally Yingying and Lizhu. Both of them looked a bit unhappy, but they tolerated it.

Followed by a sharp-faced woman wearing silk and green brocade, her name is Aunt Jiao, who is now the confidant of Mrs. Wei, the step-wife of the Duke.

It can be said that she is the first person to have dignity in this huge palace.

Having been in charge of the middle school with Mrs. Wei for many years, she has long developed a temperament of talking to people and telling ghosts, so before Yingtao could come forward to speak, she took two steps forward.

Standing in front of Du Jingyi, he said respectfully.

"Young madam, it's my fault that this disturbed your dream so early in the morning. But today is the first day of the general's return to the mansion, so everyone in the family is waiting in Yunjin Courtyard. They want to see the general. It's just a big day. I came here early to disturb you, please forgive me, madam."

Du Jingyi glanced at her but didn't speak immediately.

 Instead, I looked at the time outside and saw that it was already correct.

Originally, it was Chen Chu's time to say hello, but now she was almost two hours late. It's no wonder that people from Yunjin Court came over and "deliberately" said things that disturbed people's dreams.

 It turned out that she overslept, so it was difficult for her to have an attack.

So he raised a decent smile and said to Aunt Jiao.

“The general came back a little late yesterday and drank a lot of wine, so it took a long time to help him wash up. It’s my fault that I delayed paying my respects to my father-in-law and mother-in-law today.”

“What did the young lady say? We, Mrs. Wei, are the kindest people. We didn’t want to disturb the general and the young lady. It’s just that there are so many people waiting in the yard in front, so I sent an old slave to ask.”

 Ask?

If he really asked, he wouldn't be so noisy as to wake her up.

This Aunt Jiao perfectly explains what is the skill of "a person's mouth has two skins".

Du Jingyi didn’t want to get entangled with her too much, so he spoke.

"Mrs. Wei, just don't blame me. After the general and I wash up, we will go to Yunjin Courtyard immediately."

“Yes, the old slave will go back and wait.”

After saying that, he deliberately glanced at the bed before leaving. Although there were some signs of sleeping, there was no sign of a consummation of the marriage.

It seems that the young lady, who has been in the government for three years, is still in perfect condition.

 There was a bit of disdain in my heart, but on my face I acted respectfully.

After exiting the gate of Xitang Courtyard, Aunt Jiao sneered and returned towards Yunjin Courtyard.

　　Du Jingyi's good mood for the day was gone when she made such a fuss.

 “Where is the general? Are you still resting in the study?”

Du Jingyi is not stupid. These people are not charging at her with all their might. They make it clear that the person they want to see is her husband, the general.

 So it doesn’t matter whether she goes or not, but the general must come.

Li Zhu came forward with warm water, handed it to Du Jingyi to calm down his thirst, and then said.

“General Maozheng got up and went to the martial arts training ground at the back, probably to do a few sets of punches to relieve his drunkenness.”

 Maozheng?

Looking at his drunken appearance yesterday, Du Jingyi thought he was still asleep like himself.

 Unexpectedly, people are very diligent.

It seems that she, a young lady with "nothing to do", is used to being lazy.

“In that case, let’s send someone to tell the general...”

Before Du Jingyi finished speaking, he saw some footsteps coming from outside, and then heard a low but clean voice asking.

"What are you going to tell me?" I saw Shang Ji walking in at a leisurely pace.

Wearing a brocade robe with crow-green embroidery patterns on him, he made his figure look slim and handsome.

He seemed to have been washed, and the stubble on his lips had become smooth, with only a faint hint of cyan. His deep eyes looked at Du Jingyi, as if he was confused.

Du Jingyi had just stood up, naturally with a bare face.

But there is a clear water-like hibiscus, a natural and beautiful color that has been carved, but compared with last night, it has a more tired look from not having enough sleep.

When Du Jingyi saw Shang Ji coming in, he didn't take Qiao and immediately got off the couch.

“I have met the general. Aunt Jiao, who is with Mrs. Wei, has sent a message, saying that everyone in the family is waiting to see the general and that we should go over to pay our respects.”

 Hear this.

 Shang Ji's face didn't show much emotion, it was as calm as ever.

Du Jingyi just noticed that when he heard Mrs. Wei, the color in his eyes became a little darker.

 After a moment of silence, Shang Ji said.

“Since you’ve come to invite me, let’s go over and have a look. You should wash up first.”

 Then he looked around, seeming to be looking for a place to sit.

　　When he was drunk yesterday, he naturally lay down wherever he felt comfortable. Now that he had sobered up, he discovered a problem. He felt a little more unfamiliar with the main house where he had lived since childhood.

 Three years.

 Everything here has undergone earth-shaking changes.

The original azure-colored tent was replaced by autumn-colored Yueying gauze.

　　The yellow pear wood table that used to sit on the Kang was replaced with a complicated and noble style of red sandalwood inlaid with crabapple flowers.

 Especially screens used as partitions.

He remembered that in the past, it was just a cloth curtain, but now it has been turned into a Suzhou embroidery screen, with fine embroidery patterns of blooming begonia flowers in spring.

 It is worth a lot of money at first glance.

 She is indeed the daughter of a merchant! It seems that the Du family has prepared a lot of good things for her.

He turned to look at Du Jingyi calmly, and then asked.

 “You like Begonia flowers very much?”

Du Jingyi was slightly surprised.

As expected, he is a general who can recapture thirteen cities. He looks rough, but in fact he is as careful as a hair and observes carefully.

Having only been in the house for a short time, I can see that her preference is really strong.

Du Jingyi didn’t feel that this matter needed to be covered up, so he nodded.

 The two of them were speechless after that, and the scene became cold for a while.

 Just like the autumn rain that fell yesterday, it brought a bit of chill to my heart.

After coughing twice, Shang Ji was the first to break the deadlock. Du Jingyi thought that the general was going to talk loudly.

But he never thought that what he said out loud again was something else.

“I’ll go to the study to read the military report for a while, and then I’ll send someone to call me when I’m ready.”

 “I understand.”

 After Shang Ji left, Du Jingyi let out a sigh of relief. I have to say that her husband's aura was really impressive.

He has been a general who has been accustomed to giving orders for many years, and even the soft words coming out of his mouth are like military orders, which people have to obey.

 “Fetch water and help me wash myself.”

 “Yes, young lady.”

 (End of this chapter)