The Marquis Is Innocent

Before dawn the next morning, Wei Shao got up and left. He went to Wuzhong City to pick up his grandmother, Mrs. Xu, back to Yuyang. It would take about three or four days for the round trip.

Wei Shao didn’t want Xiao Qiao to serve him, but Xiao Qiao got up with him.

It was impossible for her to sleep until late, like when she was in Xindu.

A son can skip the morning and evening’s greetings because he was busy, but as a daughter-in-law, there is no excuse to avoid it. Even if you know your mother-in-law hates you, you still have to go through the routine.

She finished her makeup and prepared to go to the east room. When she left the room, she found that the box Wei Shao had asked her about last night had disappeared.

When Xiao Qiao came to the main room of the east house at dawn and stood under the corridor waiting for Mrs. Zhu to summon her, the entire Wei family’s servant was spreading the word about what happened last night.

It is said that Mrs. Zhu asked someone to eavesdrop upon the master and lady. Master found out, and he was furious. He cut off the door with his sword.

Mrs. Zhu was not well liked in the house. When this strange incident happened, the servants spread the words behind the scenes.

Xiao Qiao and the servants in the east room stared at each other. Then a steward surnamed Jiang, came out with a strained face and said she could go in.

Xiao Qiao entered the room where she had been yesterday. Mrs. Zhu was still in the same position as yesterday, sitting on the couch. But there was no Zheng Shu.

Mrs. Zhu’s face was unsightly. When Xiao Qiao greeted her, she turned her head away and did not say a word.

Old Jiang coldly said: “As a Wei family woman, there are some rules you should know. Yesterday, Madam didn’t have time to teach a lesson. At this moment, the servant will do it for her. Listen carefully.”

Xiao Qiao said in a respectful voice: “Please advise me, I will be respectful.”

“As a Wei family’s woman, you must be able to perform women’s rites, keep women’s morals, respect your aunts, uncles and the family, and be respectful. Don’t do anything for personal gain or external affairs. Do you remember?”

Xiao Qiao repeated and answered yes.

“Excellent. Madam has not eaten breakfast yet. Can you cook a bowl of soup for her?”

Xiao Qiao raised her eyes and looked at Mrs. Zhu.

Her eyes were half open.

There is no such thing as not having breakfast yet and cook for her. It’s a deliberate attempt to send her to work and torture her. Xiao Qiao was sure if she really cooked and brought it over, Mrs. Zhu would pick at her and ask her to redo it. It would be an infinite cycle. If she ate it and became sick with vomiting and diarrhea, or even poisoned and bedridden, she would seriously be in trouble.

When Old Jiang saw that Xiao Qiao did not move, a cold smile appeared on her face. “Why? Is the lady unwilling?”

Xiao Qiao already had an excuse. It’s ready-made, so just borrow it and use it. She said, “I don’t dare. It’s my duty to cook for my mother-in-law. How can I refuse to do so? It’s just that it’s a little inconvenient. The 60th birthday of grandmother is coming up. When I found out, I made a wish in front of the Buddha, and I would copy a volume of the Infinite Life Sutra for grandmother for her birthday. The scriptures were lengthy, and grandmother’s birthday was close, so although I was diligent in copying every day, my progress was still limited. I did not dare to slacken off in the morning and evening. If grandmother’s birthday arrives and my vows made before Buddha are not fulfilled in time, I am afraid it would be against my intentions and I would be unsuccessful.”

“Also, there is one more thing.” Xiao Qiao paused and said, “To show my sincerity, I made a vow before I completed the scriptures. I will be a vegetarian. My body will not touch meat and fish. I’m afraid it’s unclean for me to go in and out of the kitchen. I beg mother-in-law’s forgiveness. When I have finished copying the sutra, I will come back to serve mother-in-law.”

After Xiao Qiao finished speaking, she bowed her head.

She was certain if she brought out Mrs. Xu, the Buddha, Mrs. Zhu could not force her.

Buddhism is now popular in Luoyang. According to the information Chun Niang inquired, Mrs. Xu also worships Buddha. She copied sutras for her birthday greetings and prayed for her. What could be more important than this?

As expected, Mrs. Zhu’s face became more ugly.

The room was silent. A few moments later, Xiao Qiao finally heard Old Jiang reluctantly say, “In that case, you should go.”

Xiao Qiao bowed to Mrs. Zhu and got up to leave. When she returned to her own quarters, she changed into casual clothes and plopped down on the couch. When she remembers the look on Wei Shao’s mother’s face just now, she wanted to laugh, but she was also a bit troubled.

She was not worried about the scriptures.

In her previous life, she grew up in a family of scholars and her parents were both university professors. She learned calligraphy when she was a child and persisted for over ten years. She could imitate the extremely beautiful, small script of Zhao Mengfu. Because of her sickly constitution, she passed away in her twenties, and somehow woke up and became the current Xiao Qiao. In the East County, for passing time, she copied a volume of Infinite Life Sutra on silk scrolls, which is now highly respected by the public. The book is precious nowadays. When she got married, she packed it up and brought it. If she wants to use it for Mrs. Xu’s birthday celebration, she can take it to be framed in a couple of days.

What she was worried about was although she had got rid of Mrs. Zhu’s troubles this morning by using Mrs. Xu’s birthday, but how long would she be able to use this excuse? When Mrs. Xu’s birthday was over, how should she respond if Wei Shao’s mother continued to have trouble with her?

When she thought of the future, she would live the rest of her life in this way with Wei Shao’s mother, Xiao Qiao suddenly felt bored and her eyes were dark.

……

A few days later, Xiao Qiao went to a framing store in the city.

With the Wei family’s status, they could have asked the store to come over. But this was a birthday gift for Mrs. Xu, and even though she was prepared to be disliked by Mrs. Xu, Xiao Qiao still wanted to make the framing as perfect as possible. Going to the store herself would give her more choice of patterns and colors. This afternoon, she sent someone to the east house side to prepare the carriage, and she went out.

This is her first time outside.

Yuyang City is quite large. Through the Wei family’s three generations of governance, the number of households in the city is over 10,000, with hundreds of thousands of people. The streets are lined with houses. There are constant streams of carriages, horses and people, bringing all kinds of goods from the north and south.

One of the city’s best craftsmanship is on a street in the city’s east. Because the street was narrow and there were many passers-by, Xiao Qiao had the carriage stop at the street entrance and entered the store herself, accompanied by Chun Niang and another maid.

Her appearance is outstanding, and after walking a few steps, she attracted a lot of attention. Passers-by were looking towards her.

Xiao Qiao entered the store. Although she did not show her identity, but the shopkeeper has a pair of keen eyes. He saw although she was young, just 14 or 15, but she was dressed as a woman. Her clothes were elegant, and she was beautiful. She must be the new wife of a big family in the city. Her attitude was very respectful. Xiao Qiao took out the scroll of silk and spread it. The shopkeeper saw the words and his eyes lit up. He praised: “In all my life, I have framed countless silk scrolls, but this is the first time I saw such a high quality and elegant words. I wondered whose handiwork it came from?”

Zhao’s work is not available in this world, and Xiao Qiao is merely imitating it. She said a few words and explaining the intention. The shopkeeper didn’t dare to be slow when he heard it was for celebrating the Wei family’s old lady’s birthday, and showed many color patterns.

Xiao Qiao took her time to choose, and she found a pattern of vermilion silk and gold. But the shopkeeper shook his head and said, “Unfortunately, this vermilion silk and gold have been ordered by a customer. This is the only one. If you are in a hurry, can you choose something else?”

“If she likes it, let her have it! I’ll change it!”

A loud voice came from the doorway.

Xiao Qiao looked up and saw a man who looked twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old rolled off the back of a fat horse. He threw the reins at his attendant and stepped into the store.

The man is vigorous, and his appearance is quite heroic. Although he was in ordinary clothes, his attitude was unrestrained, as if no one else was around. It was obvious he should be a person of status. When he got close, his eyes were shining at Xiao Qiao, showing a vague look of amazement.

Xiao Qiao was used to the attention of men. But this man, his gaze at her, contains a kind of intimidation, accompanied by slight aggression.

She feels offended and turned around.

But the shopkeeper recognized the man. With a flattering smile on his face, he went up to him and bowed. “Mr. Wei, the birthday banner you asked for will be ready tomorrow, and will be delivered to your house. Why would you come here personally?”

The man surnamed Wei said, “I am returning today, and I was passing by, so I just wanted to ask.” His eyes were staring at Xiao Qiao’s back while speaking.

The shopkeeper laughed and said, “How dare I postpone something for the old lady’s birthday celebration? Don’t worry, sir!”

The man named Wei laughed and said nothing, signaling him to serve Xiao Qiao.

The shopkeeper was stunned. He understood and smiled at Xiao Qiao. “The one you’ve chosen is the one this gentleman Wei has ordered. But Mr. Wei said, if you like it, you can have it.”

The man was surnamed Wei, and mentioned it was used to congratulate the birthday of some old lady.

Xiao Qiao subconsciously turned her head. She glanced at him and bumped into his gaze. She couldn’t help but frown.

“No need, I’ll change it to another.”

She said indifferently. She pointed out another pattern, set the date, left a deposit, and left without looking at the man again.

The man watched Xiao Qiao’s back and saw her board the carriage parked at the street entrance. When he was lost in thought, the shopkeeper followed him and said, “It’s a coincidence the silk she wanted to frame was also a birthday gift for the old lady of your house. But she did not mention she was from that family.”

The man looked surprised, hesitated, took the reins of the horse from the attendant, and get onto the back of the horse.

Xiao Qiao went back to the Wei family, and was not worried about this minor episode. In the evening, news came that Wei Shao had picked up the old lady and had arrived home.