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He Heng and Qu Qing Ju interactions in this chapter that was brought to you by me, ororomunroe90, and leecherleechleech (I always have a game show voice going on in my head when I type this). Enjoy!
Chapter Fifty Five Fortune and Misfortune
Qu Qing Ju didn't know what kind of feelings He Heng had towards He Ming as his didi, but she felt that it wasn't to the point of indifference. Qu Qing Ju was only certain that his desire to see He Ming recover and regain a healthy body seemed sincere.
The items on her list weren't extremely rare but they were certainly valuable and definitely suitable for He Ming's consumption. She placed the paper aside to dry before standing up, "After two more days, si shu will be back in Jing. Wang ye shouldn't worry too much."
"I remember, when I was younger and living in the palace, I used to play with si di for a long time. But when the schoolwork started increasing, our interactions gradually lessened, " He Heng started to reminiscence about the past. Even though he was not as important as He Yuan in fuhuang's eyes, He Heng was still treated much better compared to He Qi. Out of his four brothers, the most neglected one was He Ming, "As we grew up over the years, the feelings have diminished, but we're still brothers so there is some lingering camaraderie."
Back then, right after si di had been born, it wasn't known what Shu guifei had said to fuhuang which made him start to neglect si di and si di's birth mother. No other imperial children were born after that. Perhaps his romantic of a father had promised something to Shu guifei. But whatever had happened between his father and Shu guifei wasn't that important to He Heng.
He Heng didn't really have much thoughts and feelings towards his fuhuang. He was just a silly man. Otherwise, the Da Long Dynasty wouldn't be currently showing slight signs of decay instead of prosperity.
Qu Qing Ju saw that He Heng's face held disdain. She stared for a beat and then understood. No one would be happy to have a father who treated his children like the Emperor did, "The feelings between two people in childhood are probably the purest."
"Qing Ju's words hit me at my heart, " He Heng smiled but didn't want to discuss what occurred in the past. He remarked, "Lao san added a ce shi to his fu. It's not some major event, but our fu should send a gift."
Lao san had been quite sneaky, and hadn't properly notified his brothers. But as his gege, it was only proper that he paid attention.
Qu Qing Ju felt that He Heng didn't have any good intentions. Clearly, the Emperor had already expressed dissatisfaction towards He Yuan for taking a qie. But he just had to say it was a happy occasion. Was it really good to stick a knife in his brother like this?
"The day after he took the qie, I had someone deliver a gift, " Thinking about how she felt when the news first reached her ears, Qu Qing Ju couldn't resist sighing, "My maternal family is becoming more and more unpresentable. A di noble daughter of a duke going to become a ce fei of a wang fu, and it wasn't even because someone in the palace had made the match. It's such a laughing stock."
"Why worry over such minor things? You are my wife, therefore you are of my Duan Wang Fu. How Chang De Gong Fu acts has no connection to you, " Assuming that Qu Qing Ju would feel bad because of such a thing, He Heng reiterated his thoughts, "You are you, Chang De Gong Fu is Chang De Gong Fu, I won't confuse the two."
Qu Qing Ju saw his face was serious and understood that his words were mostly sincere. At least, he seemed genuine at this moment. And if his attitude somehow changed in the future, well, that wasn't something she could control, "Wang ye treats me well, I know." Leaning her head on acthis shoulder to disguise the calm in her eyes, "Like I said before, being able to marry wang ye was my good fortune."
The women who married He Heng and He Ming would be slightly more fortunate than the other two He brothers. He Qi's wife would be forced to become an obedient steward. Marrying He Yuan would most likely be the biggest challenge in any woman's life.
Disregarding the fact that He Ming had an honest and generous personality, He Heng might have a deep and complicated mind, but he didn't have that attitude of He Yuan where he used the bottom of his foot to look at women. This was a lucky happenstance of her time-travel.
Gently patting the back of the person in his embrace, He Heng felt an unspeakable joy in his heart. It wasn't that he had never seen beautiful women before, and this woman certainly wasn't the most beautiful woman, but he felt that she was a perfect fit for him. Even with her small temper and occasional cheating at weiqi, in his eyes, that was extremely attractive.
Suddenly thinking of the phrase "beauty is in the eye of the beholder", He Heng couldn't help but smile. No one would believe it and even he was surprised that a man like him could feel that rarest feeling of them all for a certain woman. If he really did fall in love, then wouldn't everyone else in the world be romantics?
Maybe it was only because that he felt she was good and thus she appeared beautiful in every way. Maybe after some time, she wouldn't be any different from the other women in the fu.
Loosening his grasp of the woman he embraced, He Heng raised his hand to pinch at her soft earlobe, "After si di returns to Jing, I'll take you to that estate in the suburbs to soak in the hot springs."
Qu Qing Ju gave a smile, "That will be wonderful. After a few more days, the apricot, peach and pear flowers will have all bloomed. We could go sightseeing outside the fu."
"Alright, we'll have them prepare some barbeque. It will be a picnic." He Heng didn't blindly follow the rules. During his leisure time, he enjoyed his life. When Qu Qing Ju mentioned the blooming flowers, he immediately thought of a picnic.
"That's a good idea, " Qu Qing Ju clapped her hands, "Hot springs, barbeque, flowers. It's would be a great experience."
He Heng saw her face was full of joy and couldn't help but laugh. Standing guard outside, Ming He, Mu Jin and the others heard the laughter and chatter inside and relaxed in response. As servants, if their owners were happy, their lives became easier.
At this time, He Yuan had returned to his fu, and saw Qin Bai Lu sitting with a crowd of yahuan and mama in the garden. His concubines were also kneeling on the ground, including the one he had recently taken, Qu shi. His mood hadn't lifted and his face became even darker after taking in the scene. He stared coldly at Qin Bai Shuang: "Wang fei, why have you made all these shiqie kneel here and obstruct ben wang's path?"
The expressions of Qin Bai Lu and the concubines instantly changed. The former because she had just been publicly humiliated, the latter because of the uncaring attitude wang ye showed towards them. The gardens became silent.
"Get lost! What are you all kneeling here for? If you really want to block ben wang's path, why don't you all go kneel at the main gate?" He Yuan kicked aside the manservant kneeling nearby. He pointed at Qin Bai Lu and berated her, "This was a good wang fu. Look at what you have done to it. Ben wang gets bothered just looking at it."
Qin Bai Lu knew that wang ye may have been reprimanded by the Emperor at the palace. Qu shi was the one who caused all this trouble but he raged at her instead. Her heart felt ill just thinking of it. She lowered her head to glare at Qu Yue Su standing close by. Barely suppressing the rage inside, she said in a somewhat gentle tone, "Wang ye doesn't have to get so angry. You were just taking a qie. Fuhuang certainly wouldn't be angry at you because of that."
"Are you allowed to surmise fuhuang's thoughts?" He Yuan's face darkened. As He Yuan thought about fuhuang's eyes when he had admonished him, he felt that his own rage was unsightly. Turning, he saw Qu shi standing submissively on the sidelines and said, "Qu shi, come with ben wang. Everyone else scatter!"
Qin Bai Lu ground her teeth as she watched wang ye lead that slut Qu shi away. She could only hatefully point at the other concubines and scold harshly, "You can't even serve wang ye well. What's the use in keeping all of you here, leave!"
The shiqie who became wang fei's punching bag hastily retreated. They hated how unkind wang fei was and also hated Qu shi for her trickery. These days, wang ye was constantly spending the night at Qu shi's place. Was there any room for them to survive?
Qu Yue Su wasn't being tenderly loved like they all imagined. He Yuan's actions against her were brutal and merciless. To him, she was nothing more than a plaything, something used to vent his anger and desires on. He loved tormenting her but she couldn't speak of it. Every morning when she woke up, she looked at the bruises on her body and then at the valuable items He Yuan bestowed upon her. She felt both humiliated and resentful. She hated the Heavens for being unfair and He Yuan for his cruelty.
After suffering through another round of He Yuan's venting, he stood up and left, leaving her to lie alone on the spacious bed. For some strange reason, Qu Yue Su thought of Qu Qing Ju as she heard Yao Xi murmuring and sobbing. What was she doing now? Was she sleeping in an embrace with Duan Wang or sleeping soundly alone in a soft large bed?
"Zhuzi, nubi will get you a bath, " Yao Xi looked at her mistress, her face looking vacant as if she had lost her soul. Her voice rose in pitch as she repeated her words, "zhuzi, nubi will get you a bath."
"Yao Xi, what do you think da jie is doing right now?" Qu Yue Su woodenly stood up and allowed Yao Xi to support her into the bathtub.
Yao Xi stilled and she responded a beat later: "It's late now. She is probably preparing to sleep."
"Yes, sleep, " Qu Yue Su raised a hand to cover her face and laughed loudly.
Qu Qing Ju let the servants put away the qi board and insatiably said to He Heng: "Wang ye, don't you think that my weiqi skills have improved a lot?"
He Heng's expression faltered briefly: "En, improved a lot."
"It's all due to wang ye's efforts, " Qu Qing Ju walked up to him and kissed his cheek, "Then, we'll continue to play next time."
He Heng touched the spot she'd kissed before picking her up and carrying her to the bed, "Qing Ju makes me happy. I will certainly make Qing Ju satisfied in return."
Qu Qing Ju twisted her waist, indicating his words were too perverted. As a woman with proper upbringing, she expressed her embarrassment of his words.
And then she reached out to pull at his belt and looked up at him with a clueless face, "What happy and satisfied?"
If anyone could still resist at that point, then they weren't a man. He Heng pressed down on the person underneath him. The Yun brocade robe on Qu Qing Ju's body was pulled off, the under-robe was heartlessly torn off. When pulled by his big hand, the chest covering embroidered with peach blossoms easily fell off.
Qu Qing Ju raised her left hand to cover her chest, her right hand pulling the other's lapel, trying to express her hope to share in good fortunes and in nakedness.
Men were always skilled at undressing, especially on the bed.
When the two of them nakedly started moving, Qu Qing Ju thought that it was delusional to think that He Heng was becoming more enthusiastic of late.
In the end, Qu Qing Ju was carried by He Heng to the bathtub. As was their usual custom, they mutually washed each other, He Heng groping her occasionally. After putting on their clothes, she pouted for He Heng to carry her back to bed.
Her reason was that...... her endurance had all been used up. So He Heng was most willing to carry her, his face blooming with pleasure.
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