The Dreamer in the Spring Boudoir

It was just that Nie Chenyu’s life was too comfortable and leisurely. She had never acted within the propriety of her status. No matter how high her status was within Nie Clan before she married, once she was married, she had to be content with her new station in life. If she kept acting as if was still in her previous position, it would make people feel very annoyed with her.

—

After bringing Doctor Li to Linghan Courtyard, Ji Man saw Marquis Moyu sitting by the bedside and holding Liu Hanyun’s hand as he said, “It’s my fault for being so incompetent and failing to take good care of you.”

Liu Hanyun faintly smiled and said, “Hanyun has already been blessed enough in this lifetime. My lord, you don’t need to blame yourself.”

Stopping by the side to watch, Ji Man thought that Ning Yuxuan was truly talented in showing expressions of love. He could look at any women with a deeply affectionate gaze that said he would love you for a thousand years. What was he really feeling? Who was actually in his heart?

If someone said that his heart still had Wen Wan, Ji Man wouldn’t believe it. Just from Wen Wan’s current status, Ji Man could tell that Ning Yuxuan didn’t have his original deep love for Wen Wan. Otherwise, he absolutely wouldn’t be letting her remain a servant girl.

—

A new person replaced the servant that had been responsible for tending to the plum trees. Xia-shi continued to not be punished for her actions. Not only was Nie Sangyu protecting Xia-shi, even when the matter had been brought to the marquis’s attention, the marquis had also sided with her.

Muxu couldn’t figure it out. She wasn’t a lowly servant girl anymore. She was an honored concubine that had a son. People were supposed to look up to her. Why did she still have to suffer being mistreated? Why wasn’t anyone taking charge of the matter for her and punishing Xia-shi?

When Li Zixiu came to visit Muxu, he saw her sitting in her room with a gloomy expression.

In a low voice, Doctor Li said, “I have something that I want to say.”

Luqiao tactfully left the room and closed the doors shut on her way out.

When there were only two people left in the room, Li Zixiu finally said, “My mother is very sick. She wants to see her grandchild. Find a time today and bring our child to see her.”

Muxu wasn’t happy with his request. “What if someone sees? Beside, when I brought Fu-er to visit her last time, your mother almost dropped him when she was holding him. I haven’t even said anything about that to her.”

Li Zixiu helplessly said, “My mother isn’t very strong to begin with. At worst, just don’t let her hold Fu-er this time. She’s very old and only has so much time left to see her grandson. You can’t be so heartless.”

Muxu frowned. It was true that she didn’t like going to that broken-down house. If she took Fu-er there too many times, he might get infected with a disease.

But, she was afraid of making Li Zixiu angry and could only unwillingly agree. “Alright, wait until after lunch. There will be less people walking around then. Prepare a carriage at the back gate.”

There were only four people that knew who Fu-er

‘s real father was. Other than Muxu and Li Zixiu, only Li Zixiu’s mother and Luqiao knew the truth.

Marquis Moyu had only favored Muxu twice. She hadn’t been prepared the first time, but she had been fully prepared the second time and had dug a pit for Ning Yuxuan to jump into.

That’s right, she had given him a very beautiful green hat.

(T/N: Giving your husband or boyfriend a green hat is a Chinese expression that means you cheated on him.)

This affair had started during the time when Muxu had become a concubine, but hadn’t been favored. She went crying to Li Zixiu and said that she had been framed and didn’t have any other choice. While it was true that Li Zixiu was feeling sad about this, he didn’t have any reason to refuse Muxu when came onto him.

Li Zixiu was an honest person and had also studied Buddhist scriptures, but there would always be a time when a man didn’t think with his brain and let himself be tricked by a woman’s dishonest words into willingly becoming an adulterer.

So much so that when Muxu became pregnant later and came to him in panic, Li Zixiu had helped her out by giving her a suggestion, just say that Fu-er had been prematurely born and that the baby was Marquis Moyu’s.

And now, Muxu’s status had already been raised to an honored concubine because of her son, and Li Zixiu’s mother wanted to see her grandchild because her illness had gotten worse. Muxu wasn’t happy with these visits, but she couldn’t say her true feelings either, so the hostility gradually grew between them.

As expected, after lunchtime, most people were curled up in their warm quilts and taking a nap. Mu Shuiqing was the only that was walking outside. She wanted to take advantage of this less busy time to go to Feiwan Courtyard and chat with Nie Sangyu.

Since returning the marquis’s estate, Mu Shuiqing had been so well-behaved that she seemed also nonexistent. Still, she had a good idea of many things that were happening in the various areas of the estate. Why? It was because Marquis Moyu had assigned her a group of servant girls that loved to idly gossip everywhere.

She had prepared a pile of household matters that Madam might be interested in knowing. Just as she was passing through the corridor by the back gate, she happened to see Li Zixiu with a woman that was wearing a large cloak with the hood up. They were hurriedly walking towards the back gate.

Who was this woman? Curious, Mu Shuiqing stopped walking away and hid behind a vermilion pillar to look.

The old guard at the back gate greeted Doctor Li. Li Zixiu stuffed something into the old guard’s hand, then he helped the woman in the cloak into the carriage that was waiting outside the gate.

It was unclear what had exactly happened from the angle that Mu Shuqing was looking from, perhaps the woman in the cloak had just bumped into something, but as the woman got into the carriage, Mu Shuiqing suddenly heard a baby crying.

Startled, Mu Shuqing wondered; which baby was Doctor Li taking out of the estate?

After the carriage hurriedly left, Mu Shuiqing lifted her skirt, ran to Feiwan Courtyard, and told Nie Sangyu what she had seen and heard.

“Kidnapping a baby to sell?” Ji Man rubbed her eyes. “Li Zixiu doesn’t have the guts to do something like that.”

Mu Shuiqing pursed her lips and said, “This servant is very curious who that woman and baby were. There’s definitely something suspicious about choosing to leave the estate at a time when no one else would be around except the guard.”