CH 8

“So what about…? Oh..”

When Gong Zhuoliang looked at the handkerchief again, he finally understood what’s wrong with it. Because of it, the atmosphere became awkward for a while. 

Originally, he had thought of throwing the handkerchief away after using it, but when he finally understood what the thing was originally used for, he couldn’t do it anymore. He really had screwed up here.

“How could you be such a fool?!”

Feeling so ashamed and angry, Qiao Yingze instantly snatched the handkerchief away, stuffed it inside the quilt, before he himself wrapped his own with the quilt and faced his back to Gong Zhuoliang in a sulking manner.

“I’m very sorry, Yingze. I really didn’t mean to do it…. Husband? Husband, please don’t be mad at me” 

Gong Zhuoliang was afraid that the little beauty would get angry even further, and so he made use of his cute little appearance and started acting coquettish; leaning and hugging Qiao Yingze on his back. As for why he called the other as ‘Husband’, Gong Zhuoliang had automatically classified it to share the same meaning as ‘Wife’. ***

“Please get off me… Don’t make trouble anymore. It’s already late, so let’s go to bed now”

Qiao Yingze tried to get Gong Zhuoliang off him for a long time, yet to no avail, due to him desperately clinging to his body. Left with no strength to struggle, he could only smile amusingly at Gong Zhuoliang’s shameless act of coquetry, causing his recent anger to deplete.

“You’re not really mad at me anymore? Then let us sleep now”

Gong Zhuoliang instantly stopped his act before he went too far, and helped Qiao Yingze take off his outer red nightdress, before doing the same thing to himself as well. After that, he got out of the bed to put down the curtains, then laid down under the quilt, next to Qiao Yingze.

After having to spend the entire day moving around, Gong Zhuoliang was totally exhausted; mentally and physically. Although it is quite reasonable, considering how he’s in the body of a child.

Once his whole body slackened, due to fatigue, his eyelids quickly shut together. 

“… Umm…. Since you’re not Gong Zhuoyan, can you tell me your name then?”

Qiao Yingze suddenly asked a question after a moment of silence, with his back still facing Gong Zhuoliang.

“..Gong Zhuoliang… The ‘Liang’ from the Chinese character of 'Good and Honest'…” 

While his eyes were closed, Gong Zhuoliang responded in a low voice as he turned over to Qiao Yingze, shifting to a comfortable position.

“You abhorred the idea of myself calling you Wife… So shall I call you Zhuo Zhuo instead?”

As soon as another moment of silence passed, Qiao Yingze slowly turned over to face Gong Zhuoliang, lowering his eyes, as he asked another question.

‘Yan’ is not his name. He shouldn’t also call him ‘Liang’. So he’s only left with ‘Zhuo’ to use. 

“Ah?….Mmm…”

Gong Zhuoliang was already in the verge of falling asleep. Hearing Qiao Yingze’s words, he forced his eyes to open up in order to look at him. With satisfaction, he embraced Qiao Yingze with half of his body laying on top of the other, like hugging a pillow, before he finally slept peacefully

“…”

Gong Zhuoliang was pressed close to Qiao Yingze and so he did not dare to move. After a while of being frozen stiff, as soon as he noticed that Gong Zhuoliang had truly fallen asleep, he slowly relaxed his body. 

He stared at the child’s exquisite little face for a moment, before he secretly stole a kiss from the other with a blush, then he slowly fell asleep….

…..

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“Zhuo Zhuo…Time to wake up now…” 

Qiao Yingze grabbed the naughty little hand off his clothes, and softly patted Gong Zhuoliang on the shoulder, until he saw the red marks on half of the other’s faceーprobably caused by sleepingーand then he couldn’t help letting out a chuckle at the sight of it.

“… Ngh… It’s way too early, ahh…”

Gong Zhuoliang moaned with displease, and rubbed his eyes as he sat up in daze, his little face scrunching with loath.

“Come on, you have to get up. Today, we must make a visit to the elders and serve them tea. If we had free time in the afternoon, we’ll go back to sleep again.” 

Qiao Yingze smiled and pinched the red mark on Gong Zhuoliang’s face. When he was finally completely awake, as soon as he sat up, he suddenly felt something strange coming from his lower body. Then suddenly recalling about the handkerchief buried under him, he blushed then snatched it out, crumpling it into a ball but he didn’t know what to do with it.

“Uh, this…. I-I’ll look for an opportunity to wash it later on”

When Gong Zhuoliang saw this, he immediately snatched the handkerchief away from the other and shoved it inside an exquisite casket from the cabinet.

The casket was brought by his Husband’s family, which contains patches of four seasonal flower ornaments. It had a key that Qiao Yingze had given to him last night, and so he was not afraid of others discovering what’s inside of the casket. 

“..Oh…”

Qiao Yingze gave a perfunctory reply in a low voice, then hurriedly pulled the red rope that was tied along with the bell hanging from the head of their bed, in order for him to cover up his embarrassment.

Gong Zhuoliang hurriedly locked the cabinet, and then sat back by the bed again, while waiting for the maidservants to come attend them, wash them, and change their clothes. At this moment, they decided to forget about the incident with the handkerchief for now.

The door was slowly pushed open, following a lovely young girl wearing a sweet smile stepping in first, with four girls in all walking both of her sides. Ruo Lan and Ruo Zi on her left, and another two young girls on her right who seem to be around 11 to 12 years old; Each of the girls carrying a basin, clothes, towels, and other things. 

There was an unconcealed jubilance on the faces of the three unnamed girls, though Ruo Lan and Ruo Zi seemed to be smiling as well, but they looked more unnatural than the rest.

Ruo Lan was looking at Gong Zhuoliang in concern, while Ruo Zi’s attention was only directed towards the luxurious furniture inside the room with an unveiled fascination….

Although the Gong Family should be considered as one of the wealthy households as well, they did not come from any special background. They forbid the fine stuff to be employed but when they finally entered the Qiao Household, now they could truly comprehend what being extremely rich meant.

“Congratulations to Young Master and to Young Madam. I, your servant, Han Shu, shall bow to the Young Madam” 

Han Shuーone of the eldest maidservant among the three girlsーwent beside Gong Zhuoliang, and knelt down in front of him as soon as she finished congratulating them; Indicating that Gong Zhuoliang had now been officially recognized by her as her new master.

“You should get up now”

Gong Zhuoliang who’s sitting on the bedside, accepted her courtesy, then grabbed a red envelope and a small pouch that he prepared recently that was filled to the brim with more than six silver beads, before handing it over to the girl.

During this era, gold and silver were very valuable for them. But that did not count to an influential family like the Qiao Household. In addition, the amount of salary they give to maid servants were around half a top-grade of silvers. 

“I, your slave, Qinghua and Yuhua, shall bow to the Young Madam”

Following Han Shu, were the two younger maidservants who also knelt down and kowtowed to Gong Zhuoliang. He then grabbed two small pouches, containing three silver beads, and then gave them to the girls. One bashfully accepted it, while the other cheerfully accepted it.

“I, your slave, Ruo Lan and Ruo Zi, shall bow to the Young Master-in-law” 

As soon as the Husband’s maidservants finished kowtowing, it was finally the turn of the Wife’s dowry maids. Ruo Lan hanged her brows and knelt down with a smile, while Ruo Ziーwho secretly glanced at the graceful Qiao Yingzeーleisurely knelt down with a bashful manner.

“….”

Gong Zhuoliang resisted his urge to roll his eyes and thought in his mind that this mere slave girl really couldn’t help her impulse to disgrace her Young Master! Is she really that afraid nobody would ever notice her hunger of climbing her new Master’s bed?

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Han Shu and the two little maids keenly observing Ruo Zi’s actions, and this even gave Gong Zhuoliang more motivation to get rid of this girl. 

The conduct of the dowry maids emblematizes the demeanor of the daughter-in-law. If the dowry maids had shown well-behaved and frank manners, the public would naturally expect that the daughter-in-law is a capable and independent person. If the maids were charming and more outstanding, then it obviously meant that the daughter-in-law is completely the opposite, and she only had to rely on the maid to earn the favor instead.

However, if the maid was a filfthy temptress, then it only means that her own family background should be filfthy as well, which will end up for the daughter-in-law to become a victim of disparagement by the public later on.

Gong Zhuoliang couldn’t understand the aesthetics and IQ of that vixen Gong, but this Ruo Zi is really annoying him. However, even if he couldn’t stand keeping these vicious people around him, in the end, this girl is his dowry. And for the sake of maintaining his prestige, he couldn’t harm her at all, which would only end up slapping his own face instead.

He really needed to find a way to deal with her. 

“You shall stand up now. Han Shu has been the one attending to me all over these years, so if you wished to inquire about anything regarding our house, simply heed to her arrangements. As for your monthly allowance, let us start with a second-rate salary for the time being”

Qiao Yingze frowned imperceptibly and observed Ruo Lan and Ruo Zi.

Instead of grabbing the two small pouches that was handed over by Han Shu, he gestured her to hand them over herself, hinting to these two girls her status as the superior out of all of them.

When he learned about Gong Zhuoliang’s identity, naturally, Qiao Yingze did not have any favorable impressions towards these two dowry maids sent by the Going Family. He feared that Gong Zhuoliang may not be able to control them, so he decided to raise Han Shu’s status, and she would be the one to teach them a lesson if ever something happened in the future. 

“This servants has understood”

Ruo Lan and Ruo Zi looked at each other in somewhat astonishment before they heeded to the Master’s command and turned to Han Shu to salute her as their Elder Sister with a strained smile.

Ruo Lan was feeling anxious for Gong Zhuoliang that he might offend Qiao Yingze in the future and so she felt very oppressed now. And as for Ruo Zi, she became somehow aware of her actions, and so her face slightly scrunched with both dissatisfaction and apprehension. Afterwards, her demeanor became more well-behaved this time.

“Zhuo Zhuo, let us hurry up too. My Grandmother must be really looking forward to meet her granddaughter-in-law soon” 

As soon as Qiao Yingze finished speaking to Ruo Lan and Ruo Zi with a stern face, his line of sight made its way to Gong Zhuoliang, and then instantly, his expression softened as if his stern face just now was just a mirage, then he quirk up a gentle smile that could overwhelm people. As he spoke, he even embraced Gong Zhuoliang’s waist intimately; washing and dressing with him.

“Mn..”

Understanding that Qiao Yingze made those actions in order to protect him, Gong Zhuoliang praised him in his heart then he started assisting him by acting docile and delicate, which greatly added contrast to Qiao Yingze’s image as a Patriarch.

When the three maid servants of the Qiao Family saw this scene, they instantly regarded their Young Master’s actions as a way of suppressing Ruo Lan and Ruo Zi, and to allow the two girls to be aware of their own position in contrast to their new Madam. This simply meant that they had been rejected to work as dowry maids inside the house. 

Qiao Yingze’s maid servants had always known about their Young Master’s temperament, and he was never a hypocrite who never kept his word at all. Naturally, he had already kept these two new maids etched in his mind, and his attitude towards Ruo Zi became even more subtle.

Ruo Lan and Ruo Zi are also smart.

When Ruo Lan recalled Qiao Yingze’s act of assertion, although she didn’t know what just happened last night, she was still nevertheless feeling a lot more eased.

However, on the other hand, Ruo Zi was still in great disbelief. This man couldn’t be swooned over beauty? And he actually never showed any hints of lusting over her and cheating on his wife? His acts should’ve been nothing but superficial!

The four maidservants started serving each of their own Masters, leaving Han Shu who was in charge of taking care of the beddings when she suddenly caught sight of a handkerchief just as soon as she lifted the bed sheets. This was the handkerchief that she had nervously placed beside them last night, but then when she saw the red stains on it, Han Shu let out a soft cry of surprise.

She hurriedly grabbed the tray beside her, untied the red silk around it, then placed the handkerchief inside the tray without forgetting to fix it in a flat position, before covering it back with a red silk and then hastily carrying it up again. 

When she walked towards Qiao Yingze and Gong Zhuoliang, she cheerfully congratulated them once again, then happily trotted out of the room.

“Han Shu!”

While Qiao Yingze and Gong Zhuoliang were still in the middle of washing up, they suddenly caught sight of Han Shu bringing up a tray with her. Seeing the tray, Qiao Yingze’s expression changed and he immediately wanted to stop the little maid from leaving, but the girl ran off so fast that he didn’t have time to stop her. In the end, he could only stand there with a red face, as his mind had already churned until it turned into a mush.

Meanwhile, Gong Zhuoliang, who was standing not far from him, was very calm and only pretended to be shy by turning his head to the side and covering his face in a shy manner, feigning to suppress his smile. 

As the ‘newly-wed wife’, he must express a ‘very shy’ reaction as soon as he is faced with this situation! Ah, he’s so shy!

When Qing Hua and Yu Hua saw Qiao Yingze’s reaction, they thought that he was just so shy, and so they immediately congratulated him with a kind smile; but they didn’t know that their family’s Young Master had been vomiting blood in his heart.

Ruo Lan and Ruo Zi were also somewhat bewildered, however, when they saw Gong Zhuoliang’s casual expression, they only both sighed and proceeded to smile with the others.

Meanwhile, Han Shu, who was carrying the tray with her, had already arrived at the courtyard where the Old Madam Qiao lived. 

There was an old lady in her festive gown, who had been waiting inside the halls for a long time. But when she caught sight of Han Shu being welcome by the old maids outside, and was happily trotting to her with evident joy in her face; With a cane in her hand, she wobbly stood up from her chair with the care of the maidservants beside her, and came to meet the maid servant herself who’s walking to her.

When the old lady removed the red silk that was covering the tray, what she saw inside the tray caused a great relief to her.

“Oh, Bless the Heavens! Finally, there is hope for my good grandson!…. There is hope for my Yingze!”

The wrinkles on the old woman’s face formed along with her smile. After the Old Madam Qiao finished conjoining her palms together and bowing in salute, she generously rewarded Han Shu and every maidservants around the room with luck money, then listened to everyone’s praises and thanks as the old lady sat back down on her chair once again, extremely contented that her smile never left her face even once. 

Whenever she remembered the danger that Qiao Yingze just faced some time ago, Old Madam Qiao still experienced fear in her heart. And so, she thought that arranging a good-luck marriage for him would be a good idea, in order to stray him away from danger. Otherwise, if she leave things as it is, and allow her son and his wife to proceed making actions as they wished, her good grandson may not be able to make it today.

However, fortunately, what she feared the most was finally avoided, and not only her little Yingze survived, but he also became a real man himself! How could she not be delighted, ne?

“Faster! Bring Yingze and my granddaughter-in-law here! Also, bring out the best purse that Zhu Qi had embroidered, as well as my casket filled with top-grade jewelries from my cabinet! I must bless my grandson’s wife with luck!”

The more she pondered over it, the more she felt like her decisions were very brilliant! 

Old Madam Qiao was smiling as she held the purse that her maid servants had rebundled together with the other gifts, looking at the exquisite design of the two Mandarin ducks on it, while in her heart, she complimentedーWhat a beautiful purse, ah!

Then over the next few years, whom she will meet next will be her great grandson, hahaha!

“The Eldest Young Master and the Young Madam has arrived to serve tea”

From outside the door came the voice of an old maid. Old Madam Qiao arched a genuine smile once again, and then when she ordered for them to come in, she saw a pair of a young couple walking in slowly while one of them carried a small Bì, together with a number of maidservants surrounding them.

________________________________________

TL/N:

I had a bad flu last Saturday, and then when I was worrying whether to post an announcement or just force myself to translate despite my flu, the next day I got better. During that day, I immediately grabbed my phone and started this chapter. Fortunately my flu never came back again XD (and hopefully I won’t jinx lol)