Chapter 422: Meeting
Editor: Atlas Studios
The Zhaohua Courtyard where Mu Yangling and the others lived was not far from Zhaode Hall. There was only a very small garden between them, putting the two residences about 200 meters apart. Also, there was a small door connecting the two courtyards to the garden. According to Mu Yangling’s understanding, this door was usually closed at night. These two side-doors were guarded by a maidservant, and the key was in her hand.
As this was not Zhaohua Courtyard or Zhaode Hall, if she wanted to have the person replaced with her own, she had to tell Qi Haoran and let him handle it.
Mu Yangling mentally calculated the number of people and decided to choose a maidservant from her residence to guard this door. Although she could climb over the wall without going through the door in an emergency, she felt that it was more normal to go through the door.
This way, there would be even fewer people for her to assign to Zhaohua Courtyard. It was inevitable that she would need a few servants arranged by the Qi Residence.
Mu Yangling directly handed the matter to Mama Wang and said, “You can arrange for the people sent over from the Qi Residence. The key positions should be held by our people.”
Mama Wang said, “Fourth Madam, since there’s no small kitchen in the residence, why don’t we deploy the people in the small kitchen first?”
When they came, they brought along the people who worked in the kitchen. They planned to set up a small kitchen for Li Jinghua, but there was no such precedent in the Qi Residence. They all ate together in the big kitchen, so those people could not be deployed.
However, Mu Yangling said with a smile, “Don’t worry, your Fourth Young Master will arrange it.”
Considering this was Qi Xiuyuan’s first legitimate child, Qi Haoran naturally had to be very careful. He definitely had to separately handle something as important as food, so they would certainly set up a small kitchen in Zhaode Hall.
That night, the Qi family reunited. Mu Yangling and Li Jinghua finally met the master of the Qi Residence, Qi Feng, as well as his two sons, Qi Shaosheng and Qi Shaotai, and their children.
Qi Shaosheng had a three-year-old son, Qi Ming, while Qi Shaotai had a one-year-old daughter, Qi Jin. Both of them were legitimate children. As they were still young, their wet nurse followed them around. Mu Yangling and Li Jinghua simply prepared some small gifts for them and that was it. The children were too young and had been taught to be obedient and quiet. They were indeed not much fun to play with since they were sitting obediently in the wet nurse’s arms.
Madam Wu was still fuming about the fact that Mu Yangling had sent all the servants from Zhaode Hall back. Seeing that the two of them wore sullen expressions, Qi Feng had even taught Qi Haoran a lesson in the afternoon. However, Qi Haoran had straightened his neck and shouted, “This is for the sake of the baby in Sister-in-law’s stomach.”
Qi Feng was furious. “Is there anyone in the family who would harm her?”
Qi Haoran sneered. “Father, if you dare to vouch for these words, I’ll let you make the arrangements. However, if anything really happens to the child in Sister-in-law’s stomach, don’t blame me for disregarding our father-and-son relationship. When the time comes, no matter if he’s the Emperor, I’ll dare to slaughter him!” As he spoke, his eyes met Qi Feng’s ruthlessly.
Qi Feng was even angrier. It was not only because of Qi Haoran’s attitude, but also because he did not dare to make this guarantee. Qi Feng felt waves of pain in his ribs. He felt that his youngest son’s return could shorten his lifespan by ten years.
He clutched his chest and said, “Up to you. If anything happens, don’t look for me.”
Qi Haoran snorted. “Of course not. What’s the use of looking for you?”
Qi Feng’s face contorted for a moment. Thinking that he was still waiting for His Majesty to summon him, he took a deep breath and softened his voice. “Do you know how to reply when you see His Majesty?”
Qi Haoran said inexplicably, “Of course I’ll speak the truth. Could it be that Father actually wants to deceive His Majesty?”
Hence, Qi Feng was angered again.
At this moment, when he saw Mu Yangling and Li Jinghua, he naturally did not have a good expression. However, he was a father-in-law, so it was not appropriate for him to teach his daughter-in-laws a lesson.
Madam Xu and Little Madam Wu naturally wouldn’t speak up unnecessarily when their in-laws were in a bad mood. Hence, the Qi family’s reunion meal was very depressing.
At night, Mu Yangling rolled into Qi Haoran’s arms and said, “Remember to set up a small kitchen for Sister-in-law’s residence tomorrow. We’ll buy the ingredients ourselves.”
Qi Haoran hugged Mu Yangling and rubbed her body. “No problem. I’ll give the order tomorrow morning. It’ll be done in the afternoon.”
Mu Yangling slapped his hand away and said, “Also, we have to replace the people at the two side doors with our people, and the key has to be in our hands.”
Qi Haoran nodded as his hand slid into Mu Yangling’s clothes naughtily. Mu Yangling pulled his hand out and turned over, then said sleepily, “Hurry up and sleep. I still have to wake up tomorrow morning to serve tea.”
Qi Haoran felt a little regretful, but he also knew that his wife was extremely tired, so he hugged her and closed his eyes to sleep.
Due to the humidity in the room, there was still a faint smell of decay after an entire afternoon. Mu Yangling muttered, “I don’t like sleeping on the bed. I still prefer the brick bed.”
Qi Haoran patted her shoulder and said, “Let them dry the blanket tomorrow and smoke the room. If you don’t like to sleep on the bed, we’ll sleep on the couch until the weather is warmer.”
“How can you fit in it considering it’s so small?” Mu Yangling mumbled as she fell asleep. When she woke up the next day, Qi Haoran had already returned from practicing martial arts.
Mu Yangling did not expect herself to sleep so deeply that she did not even know that Qi Haoran had woken up.
When Qi Haoran came in and saw that she was in a daze, he asked, “What’s wrong?”
Mu Yangling said, “I think my vigilance has deteriorated. I didn’t at all sense that you had woken up.”
“That was because you were sleeping beside me.” Qi Haoran said proudly, “I gave you a sense of security.”
Mu Yangling instantly stopped feeling sad. She got up and said, “Get out. I want to change.”
Qi Haoran snorted. “You never admit to such things even though it’s the truth.” However, he still left the room to let Mu Yangling change.
Mu Yangling changed her undergarments before calling Spring and Rain in. It was better to leave the matching of clothes to them.
When Mu Yangling went out, Qi Haoran was already sitting at the table eating pastries. He handed Mu Yangling a bowl of porridge and said, “They made this with a small stove. Fill your stomachs first. I wonder if she’ll torture you this morning.”
There was no one else in the room, so Mu Yangling frowned and asked, “Were we too aggressive yesterday? Will outsiders say that we’re unfilial?”
Qi Haoran sneered. “Do you regret it now? Why didn’t you think of it when you talked back yesterday?”
“Weren’t you the one who flared up first? I was influenced by you.”
Qi Haoran raised his head smugly and said, “Don’t worry about her. Calling her ‘Madam’ is flattering her.” Qi Haoran sneered. “Her ‘Madam’ title isn’t even supported by a marriage contract. Even if the genealogical tree records that she has been promoted, without a marriage contract, she’s not recognized by the law as the legitimate wife. Therefore, you and Sister-in-law don’t have to be restrained. If you don’t want to salute them in the morning and at night, don’t go after tomorrow. I’ll talk to Father.”
Mu Yangling shook her head. “No, I still have to be polite on the surface. Even if I don’t go, Sister-in-law will definitely go. I might as well stay by Sister-in-law’s side.”
“Then don’t talk so much. Just eat more. Leave the inner residence to Sister-in-law. Don’t flare up when you’re wronged. Come back and tell me. I’ll avenge you,” Qi Haoran said as he stroked Mu Yangling’s hair.
Mu Yangling pursed her lips and smiled. After finishing the porridge, she went to Zhaode Hall with Qi Haoran, before going to serve tea with Li Jinghua.