usatvline Chapter 380 Changes in the Family
Chapter 380 Changes in the Family
The first palace of the nine-palace residential area.
The eldest is Madam Mingzhu, sent by Beishuo—Ba Tuo Mingzhu, who is twenty-five years old this year.
Her husband died in the Northern War, and his remains were never recovered.
Her father was already unconscious, and her second brother, in order to please Lin Chen, disregarded her pleas, dressed up, and sent her to the bridal sedan chair.
She sat by the window, watching the busy women in the courtyard, her eyes filled with complex emotions.
Sitting next to her was Ba Tuo Baozhu, who had come with her. She was eighteen years old and her younger sister, born of the same mother.
Baozhu used to be lively and cheerful, but she can't be lively anymore.
I've been living here for almost two months, feeling cooped up every day, I'm practically turning into mold.
"Sister," Ba Tuo Baozhu whispered, her chin resting on her arm as she leaned on the table, "when do you think... he'll be back?"
Ba Tuomingzhu shook his head: "I don't know."
Ba Tuo Baozhu bit her lip: "Now that he's back... will he want us?"
Ba Tuo Mingzhu paused for a moment, his fingers unconsciously tracing the rim of the teacup, and said softly, "I don't know."
Ba Tuo Baozhu sighed, buried her face in her arms, and said in a muffled voice:
"I'm so bored... I want to go out and play... I want to ride a horse... I want to eat roast whole lamb from Beishuo..."
Ba Tuo Mingzhu glanced at her but didn't say anything.
She also wanted to go out and have fun.
She also wanted to ride a horse.
She also wanted to eat the whole roasted lamb from Beishuo.
But she knew they weren't there to have fun.
They are gifts.
You have no right to make demands about gifts.
Princess Amuyi of Loulan lived in the next courtyard.
Loulan was a small kingdom in the Western Regions, and Amuyi was the only one on the beauty list, so she was naturally sent to curry favor with Lin Chen.
Amui is eighteen years old this year. She has a high nose, deep-set eyes, and wheat-colored skin. Her curly hair is draped over her shoulders like a piece of silk.
She was a wild girl in Loulan, skilled in horseback riding and archery. But when she arrived at the Dongshan Villa, she was confined to this small world and was going crazy.
She was standing in the yard, kicking pebbles at a tree in the corner, making loud thuds as she muttered something under her breath.
After kicking all the pebbles, she squatted down to pick them up, then continued kicking them, like a small animal trapped in a cage.
In the room next to her lived three girls sent by the Southern Yue tribe: A-Cai, A-Luo, and A-Sang.
The mountains of Nanyue are high and the forests are dense. The three girls sent were all daughters of tribal chiefs. They had dark skin, bright eyes, and a set of white teeth when they smiled.
At this moment, A-Cai was sitting on the doorstep weaving grasshoppers, her fingers flying across the paper, and she had woven one in no time.
A Luo squatted down beside him and watched intently.
Asang was sleeping in the room, snoring softly like a cat.
After finishing one, A-Cai held it up to look at it, but wasn't satisfied, so she unraveled it and started over. A-Luo whispered:
Why are you making this up? Nobody wants it anyway.
A-Cai didn't even look up: "Just making this up for fun, I'm bored anyway."
After thinking for a moment, A Luo squatted down, picked up a blade of grass, and began to weave it.
The three of them weren't that sentimental.
When I was in southern Vietnam, I lived in a bamboo house and ate wild vegetables and roasted meat.
Upon arriving at the Dongshan Villa, every meal was filled with all sorts of delicious food I'd never seen before, and every day there were all kinds of spiritual fruits. My clothes were washed, and my house was cleaned. Life there was so much better than in Nan Yue.
As for whether Lin Chen wanted them or not, they didn't really care.
Take it or leave it.
Anyway, the food and accommodation are good, so it's not a bad deal.
……
The main courtyard, afternoon.
Qin Shuyan, eight months pregnant, walked slowly along the corridor, supporting her waist with one hand and resting every few steps.
Xiao Yulou was also walking, but she walked quickly and with great vigor, not at all like a pregnant woman eight months along.
Qin Shuyan watched her retreating figure and shook her head helplessly: "Walk slowly, don't hurt your back."
Xiao Yulou turned around and smiled, "It's alright! I'm in good health!"
Before she could finish speaking, the baby in her belly kicked her. She cried out "Ouch!" and bent over to hold onto the pillar.
Qin Shuyan was startled and quickly went over: "What's wrong?"
Xiao Yulou grimaced: "It's nothing, it's nothing, this little brat kicked me."
Qin Shuyan breathed a sigh of relief and couldn't help but laugh: "I told you to slow down, but you wouldn't listen."
Xiao Yulou rubbed his stomach, straightened up, and walked more slowly this time.
Ye Qingying sat on a chair under the eaves, engrossed in reading a book.
She was seven months pregnant, and when she sat, her belly rested on her lap. The posture looked tiring, but she was completely oblivious, her eyes glued to the pages of the book, not moving an inch.
Murong Xue and Su Xiaoxiao sat in the pavilion in the middle of the courtyard, with a chessboard in front of them.
Murong Xue played white, and Su Xiaoxiao played black. The two played seriously, taking a long time to make a move.
But in reality, neither of them was focused on the game.
Su Xiaoxiao placed a piece and suddenly asked, "Sister Murong, do you think my husband will bring another woman back when he returns?"
Murong Xue didn't care and chuckled, "So what if I bring it? It's not like I've never brought one before."
Su Xiaoxiao pouted: "That's not what I meant... I meant... with so many people in the house now, can he manage to take care of everyone?"
Murong Xue paused for a moment, then placed a piece:
"We have to take care of everything, even if we can't manage it all. We're a family, not just a business."
Su Xiaoxiao thought about it and agreed that it made sense. She nodded and continued playing chess.
Wen Ruoxi came out of the house, holding an account book in her hand, beaming with joy, and muttering to herself.
She was calculating this month's income and expenses.
The arrival of the people from Zhongzhou caused Zuiyuexuan's business to skyrocket, which made her extremely happy.
She walked to the pavilion, sat down on the stone bench, opened the account book, and began to calculate each item one by one.
Su Xiaoxiao peeked out and saw a dense array of numbers that gave her a headache, so she quickly shrank back.
The old lady was still sunbathing in the courtyard, her eyes half-closed, her prayer beads moving slower and slower, as if she were about to fall asleep.
Su Wanqing sat next to her, embroidering the fat tiger. She had already finished most of it, only the tail was missing.
She stitched slowly and deliberately, occasionally glancing up at the women in the courtyard with a smile on her lips.
The family is thriving.
This is a good thing.