A Good Country Wife
Chapter 260 - 251 Indifferent_1

Chapter 260: Chapter 251 Indifferent_1

Zhao Lingxiang first went to Zhao Xinglin’s home; this time, it was Han Family’s daughter-in-law who received her. Her attitude was neither cold nor warm, and she refused to accept Lingxiang’s gift. Zhao Lingxiang insisted on leaving the items, and when she left, Han Family’s daughter-in-law still returned a gift of comparable value. The implication was clear to everyone; Zhao Lingxiang smiled and bid farewell to the Han wife. Once she got into the sedan chair, her face fell and darkened noticeably.

"What kind of person is that! It is merely Zhao Xinglin becoming an arrest officer, what’s there to be proud of? Such an ingrate!" Zhao Lingxiang cursed angrily, thinking about how she would explain this to the old Master Wei. To be honest was definitely not an option; the Master would surely blame her for being useless. She finally had a few comfortable days, and she did not want to be back serving in the main house as a maid every day again.

Zhao Lingxiang had served Master Wei for so many years and understood him well. Indeed, as soon as she returned to the Wei Residence, a servant led her straight to see Master Wei as she stepped out of the sedan chair.

"How did it go with your task?" Master Wei was leisurely sipping tea with a pretty little maid massaging his shoulders. Lingxiang glared at the pretty maiden briefly before turning her attention to Master Wei.

"When I went there today, my cousin was not back from the government office. His wife treated me quite courteously and even prepared a return gift to bring back to you. Would you like to take a look?" Zhao Lingxiang chose her words cautiously.

"Hmm," Master Wei nodded. The maid, who had been assigned to accompany Lingxiang by the Lady, presented the return gift, and Master Wei’s face darkened upon seeing it.

"Didn’t you say your cousin’s wife was relatively friendly? Why then return these items? You do understand the implication here, don’t you? Is this how you handle matters for me?!" Master Wei looked at Zhao Lingxiang with some anger. She was utterly useless—not only failing to win his favor, but she couldn’t even manage such a small task. What use was there in keeping her around?

Zhao Lingxiang sensed the disgust in Master Wei’s eyes and knew she wouldn’t have any easy days ahead unless she could justify herself. She had felt a change in the Lady’s attitude towards her that morning; it was not just disdain as before but now included more disgust and hatred. Surely, some wretched girl had slandered her to the Lady, causing her to be seen unfavorably. At this moment, her only hope was the Master.

"Master, of course I understand, but after all, it was my first meeting with my cousin’s wife. After all, we are not so familiar. Moreover, they did accept our gift and did not send it back. Isn’t that better than last time? Haven’t you said, Master, that relationships are gradually nurtured? I will visit my cousin’s home more often, and once I am familiar with his wife and know her preferences, I will send her a few things she likes, and we’ll surely succeed," Zhao Lingxiang decided to risk it all, using the words Master Wei had once said to her to appease him—and it worked.

Master Wei’s expression softened somewhat after hearing Zhao Lingxiang’s words; he had been too eager for quick success. He had not expected Lingxiang to handle Zhao Xinglin in one attempt, and the outcome was better than he had initially expected. "There is some sense in that. In the future, you should visit your cousin’s place more often. If you need anything, just tell the Lady, and take it from the storehouse as needed. As long as Zhao Xinglin agrees to cooperate with me, everything is negotiable."

Seeing that Master Wei had been persuaded by her, Zhao Lingxiang breathed a sigh of relief, "Yes, I will follow Master’s orders."

"Mm, you’ve worked hard today as well, head back early and rest. Is this maid assigned to you by the mistress? Let her stay with you from now on, she will serve you exclusively. Also, I will come to your room tonight, have yourself prepared and wait for me." Since Wei Xingye wanted Zhao Lingxiang to work for him, he didn’t mind giving her a little incentive to encourage her to serve him more devotedly.

"Yes, thank you Master, thank you Master." Zhao Lingxiang was somewhat pleased and surprised when she heard the master was assigning the maid for her use, but she was thoroughly delighted at the news that the master would come to her room that night. She walked back in high spirits, knowing that the master’s visit was her chance to conceive a child. She must perform well that evening, striving to keep the master in her room in the future. She no longer dared to hope that she could become the mistress herself, but if she could just achieve the same standing as Mistress Zhou, whom the master favored, she would be completely satisfied.

Mistress Zhou was indeed very capable. She had been in the Wei Residence for many years without ever falling out of favor. She could usually disregard the mistress’s mood and live comfortably, and the master also showed her partiality. Even the newly arrived, beautiful concubines couldn’t compare with her. The master always spent several days a month in her room, and with a son to establish her position, she need not worry about the latter half of her life.

Zhao Lingxiang had been in the Wei Residence for quite some time, and even towards the mistress, she only showed outward respect, her heart filled with resentment, never truly submissive. The only person who commanded her respect was Mistress Zhou, who, despite the master’s favor, had never treated those who weren’t favored badly. The other concubines in the Wei Residence got along well with Mistress Zhou, probably because she was genuinely a good person.

These days, Lin Yue was entirely focused on embroidering that Embroidered Picture, setting aside other matters except for the ones that only she could deal with. She wanted to finish the embroidery as soon as possible, so as to settle her account with Jiang Ziqi and be at peace, knowing that nothing less than perfection was acceptable for the Empress Dowager’s birthday gift.

"Wife, you’ve been embroidering all morning; don’t keep at it. Take a break and go out for a walk. You really shouldn’t overwork yourself," Zhao Erhu said as he watched Lin Yue start embroidering as soon as dawn broke and barely eat anything. It had been almost three and a half hours since, and she hadn’t taken a break yet; it seemed she didn’t plan to stop any time soon. He spoke up to remind her as his little wife was always so diligent in her tasks these past few days.

"I’m not tired. There’s just a little bit left of this section. I might as well finish it now," Lin Yue replied without looking up, feeling only a slight soreness in her neck but otherwise not especially tired. She could keep on embroidering; stopping now would only mean more time spent finding her rhythm again later.

Zhao Erhu knew his wife’s character all too well. If he really waited for her to say she was tired, she would be at her limit, "Every time you say it’s just a little bit, it ends up being one or two more hours. No matter how little it is, take a break first. After lunch, you can continue embroidering. Are you neglecting your health just for this Embroidered Picture?"

Lin Yue neither agreed nor disagreed with Zhao Erhu’s words, "It’s not as serious as you say. It’s just my neck feeling a bit sore, I don’t feel tired at all."

Listen to that, her neck is sore, and yet she claims she’s not tired! Zhao Erhu felt somewhat helpless regarding his wife’s unconscious behavior, knowing that words alone wouldn’t make her listen. He simply pulled her away from the embroidery frame.