With Multiple Babies, Who Still Wants to Be the Marquess’s Wife? - Chapter 40

Chapter 40: His Affection

After speaking, she added, “I didn’t understand what she was up to before, but now it’s clear—she really cares about that maid of hers.”

“I had the wrong idea earlier. I only thought about making her obedient, and the methods I used were too harsh.”

“If we change our approach and use that maid to control her, it might work better.”

Hearing this, Nanny Zhang quickly responded, “Madam, you’re truly wise!”

Madam Zheng smiled. In her opinion, it was far too easy to get a handle on Lan Qingxi.

Though the Lan family had money, they were merchants.

And Yu Junshu worked at the Ministry of Revenue—it would be incredibly simple to bring pressure down on the Lan family.

Yu Junshu had said that now was the best time to play the emotional card with Lan Qingxi. For the time being, they should gather evidence of the Lan family’s wrongdoings, and then use that to make Lan Qingxi obedient.

Madam Zheng thought his suggestion made perfect sense.

Concubine Qin, upon hearing about what had happened between Madam Zheng and Lan Qingxi, remarked with a hint of admiration, “Our young madam is quite a formidable woman.”

When Lan Qingxi had asked her to cooperate, she had already felt curious about how things would unfold.

All she did was play along, and Lan Qingxi managed to make Madam Zheng deal with the maid herself.

Such skillful maneuvering—Concubine Qin admitted she couldn’t compare.

Her maid, Yu Qian, voiced her concern, “The Young Madam and the Heir are still husband and wife after all.”

“Even if there’s tension between them now, if they reconcile in the future, I’m afraid you’ll be caught in a bad position.”

Concubine Qin smiled. “They’ll never reconcile.”

Yu Qian looked at her, puzzled, not understanding why she was so certain.

But Concubine Qin offered no explanation. “When we encounter the Young Madam in the future, there’s no need to treat her too politely. Stir up some little troubles now and then.”

Yu Qian looked even more confused.

Concubine Qin said slowly, “Don’t ask why. Just do as I say.”

When Yu Junshu returned, a servant immediately reported the whole incident to him.

In fact, he had known from the beginning that Madam Zheng was planning something against Lan Qingxi. Since Lan Qingxi didn’t come to him for help, he pretended he didn’t know a thing.

He had been waiting for her to beg him.

Now that Madam Zheng had handled the matter in this way, he didn’t think much of it. It was just dealing with two insignificant maids.

Still, he figured this was a good opportunity to show how much he cared about her.

After thinking for a moment, he brought a physician with him to her residence.

As soon as he arrived, he said, “I was busy with official duties yesterday and got home late, so I didn’t know about any of this. I’m sorry you had to suffer.”

“Those disrespectful servants who stirred up trouble behind your back deserved to be punished.”

“You are my wife. I won’t allow you to be wronged, not even a little, in this household.”

Lan Qingxi knew this man had a way of turning shamelessness into something that sounded perfectly righteous—bold and brazen.

And he had shown up at just the right time.

In a gentle voice, she said, “Li Qiu is badly injured. I have no suitable maids left in my room. I’d like to go and purchase a few.”

Yu Junshu replied, “Buying from outside is troublesome. Why not have Mother assign you a few?”

Lan Qingxi responded softly, “The Heir knows that the household already has few maids. Lately, quite a number have been sold off.”

“Mother has been ill recently, and she barely has enough people serving her. How could I possibly take anyone from her?”

“I was thinking, since I need to buy maids anyway, why not purchase a few extra to assign to serve Mother as well?”

This was the first time in a long while that she had spoken to Yu Junshu so calmly. Seeing her gentle expression, Yu Junshu didn’t want their just-softened relationship to become tense again.

So he said, “You’re so thoughtful. Mother will definitely be very happy when she finds out.”

Lan Qingxi softly added, “This time, when Li Qiu got hurt, it was all thanks to Mother’s sharp insight. Otherwise, I might have been deceived by Concubine Qin.”

Seeing her yielding attitude, Yu Junshu felt a bit smug. He said affectionately, “Qingxi, no matter what happens, you and I are husband and wife.”

“Concubine Qin was Father’s mistress for so many years. Now that she’s returned to the residence, she must be up to something. You must stay on guard.”

Lan Qingxi nodded. “I’ll be wary of Concubine Qin from now on.”

At this point, the doctor had finished examining Li Qiu and said she was no longer in serious condition.

Lan Qingxi thanked the doctor. After he left, Yu Junshu looked at her and said, “Though I’m often busy with official duties and not always home, if anything happens, you can always send someone to find me at the office.”

Lan Qingxi looked at him. He took her hand and said, “No matter what happens, I’ll always have your back. I’ll always stand by your side.”

Lan Qingxi pulled her hand back and lowered her head. “Of course I believe in you, my lord.”

“It’s just that there are some things I still haven’t fully figured out. Please give me a little more time.”

Yu Junshu heard the subtle change in her tone and nodded slightly. “Alright.”

The two stood under the corridor and exchanged a few casual words before Yu Junshu took his leave.

As soon as he left, Lan Qingxi immediately asked for a basin of water and scrubbed her hands harshly several times.

If it weren’t for making him agree to let her buy some new maids and servants, she would never have humored him with false kindness.

Yu Junshu, on the other hand, thought he had successfully coaxed her. To appease her, he didn’t visit Zhao Yan’er that night and instead slept in his study.

He even made sure one of the maids from her quarters passed that message along to her.

When she heard it, she felt utterly disgusted, though her face remained gently shy on the surface.

Lan Qingxi’s medical skills were good, and the medicine she used was excellent. Though Li Qiu’s injuries were quite severe, she was improving day by day.

After about seven days, her wounds had scabbed over. With another ten days to half a month of rest, she’d be able to get out of bed.

With Yu Junshu’s permission, Lan Qingxi had been preparing to personally go to the broker’s shop to pick out some maids over the past few days.

But just as she reached the front gates, she ran into Dao Shisan.

As soon as he saw her, Dao Shisan cupped his hands and said, “Miss Lan, the Prime Minister requests your presence.”

Lan Qingxi lowered her gaze slightly. Judging by the timing, Song Linyuan’s wounds should be fully healed by now, and it was time for his medicinal bath.

She nodded and stepped into the carriage.

As the carriage passed through the market, Lan Qingxi saw someone selling candied hawthorns. She pulled out some silver and asked Dao Shisan to buy three skewers.

He remembered how she had treated him previously and did as she asked, buying her three skewers.

But when he handed them over, she gave him one in return. “It’s my treat.”

Dao Shisan thought eating candied hawthorns was childish, but when he saw her smiling eyes, he couldn’t bring himself to refuse. He took a bite and was surprised by how good it tasted.

And so, on the way to the Prime Minister’s residence, Dao Shisan finished the entire skewer.

This was Lan Qingxi’s first time going to the Prime Minister’s residence in days. During this time, she had also come up with a plan regarding Song Linyuan.

But just as she reached the gates, she unexpectedly ran into Su Meishi again, and her heart sank.

She had barely managed to fool Su Meishi last time. This time, running into her again at the Prime Minister’s residence wouldn’t be as easy to explain.

Su Meishi frowned when she saw Lan Qingxi. “You again? What are you doing here today?”