Chapter 202

"Go to Wutong Courtyard for dinner?" Jiang Shi frowned.

Suyin nodded and smiled. "Old Madam said that today is a reunion, so she plans to cook a few of her signature dishes herself and invite the master and madam to taste them."

Jiang Shi didn't really want to go.

Her relationship with Old Madam Du was not harmonious, and they had been in a state of "well water not interfering with river water" for many years, except for meeting during festivals, they basically didn't disturb each other.

It's strange today; the old woman not only invited her actively but also did it herself.

A bit weird.

However, as a daughter-in-law, she still had to give this face, so Jiang Shi nodded. "Alright, you go back and tell Old Madam that we will go over after the master returns from the Ya Men."

Suyin agreed and walked out of the room.

Jiang Shi sat at the table for a long time, tapping her two fingers on the edge of the table, not knowing what she was thinking.

Her confidante maid, Lianyi, who was standing behind her, stepped forward and whispered: "Madam, Wutong Courtyard suddenly did this, I'm afraid it's not well-intentioned."

"Of course I know." Jiang Shi curled her lips into a cold smile. "That old thing has never liked me, just because she was wary of my family's power, so she has been enduring it. What 'reunion,' it's just a Hongmen Banquet."

Lianyi was puzzled. "Since that's the case, why doesn't Madam find an excuse to decline?"

Jiang Shi shook her head. "Only by knowing yourself and the enemy can you win every battle. I want to go and see what kind of ghost ideas she has, so I can deal with it early."

She didn't know how many of these back-house tricks she had seen in the Marquis Mansion since she was a child; wasn't her legal mother more powerful than the old woman, and what was the result? Wasn't she still calculated by her?

Now, although she didn't have the help of Nanny Kang, she wasn't afraid.

"Lianyi, go and guard the second gate; if the master returns, stop him and let him come to the inner courtyard quickly, don't go to the study again."

Du Ren Mei hadn't returned to the inner courtyard for several days.

He said that the magistrate was busy with the bandit suppression in Yugui Shan and had no time to handle official business, so the work fell on his assistant magistrate, and he often had to work until late at night, so he had to rest in the study.

The reason was perfect, but Jiang Shi knew very well that the facts were not so.

Du Ren Mei was hiding from her.

As for the reason...

A look of shame and annoyance appeared on Jiang Shi's ordinary face.

When night fell, Lianyi carried the wind-proof lamp and finally waited for Du Ren Mei, who was late, at the second gate.

"Master, Madam invites you to return to the main courtyard, saying there is something to discuss."

Du Ren Mei subconsciously tightened his buttocks, and his eyes began to drift. He put his hands behind his back and put on the posture of the head of the family. "I'm busy, how can I have time to return? Let Madam decide those small things herself, don't come to bother me."

After speaking, he turned and wanted to slip away.

After walking two steps, Lianyi's voice reached his ears from behind. "Madam said, if the master doesn't return today, don't ever return again."

Du Ren Mei: "..."

Who are you threatening? If I don't return, I don't return, are you afraid of me!

He walked back to Lianyi angrily and looked at her with a straight face. "Then why don't you lead the way?"

Lianyi's mouth twitched, and she hurriedly led the way with the lantern.

Jiang Shi was waiting in the room, and seeing Du Ren Mei enter, she only raised her eyelids slightly.

Lianyi was very sensible and went out, thoughtfully closing the door.

"Madam, calling me over so urgently, is there any emergency?" Du Ren Mei asked.

Jiang Shi swept her gaze over her husband and said: "Take off your clothes."

Take off... take off clothes?

Du Ren Mei's feet went soft, and he almost slipped.

Sure enough, it was still for that matter, he knew it!

"Madam, this, this is too early, right? I haven't eaten yet..." Du Ren Mei forced a smile.

It's not that he doesn't want to serve Jiang Shi, it's really that his heart is willing but his strength is lacking.

Jiang Shi, from a young age, had a stronger demand for bedroom affairs than ordinary people, and she must have it at least once every two days, or even more.

Du Ren Mei's body had been well-maintained over the years, and he could satisfy her on weekdays.

But ever since Nanny Kang died, things had been a bit wrong.

Every time they reached the critical point, Du Ren Mei felt a pair of eyes staring straight at him, cold, and the face of Jiang Shi under him inexplicably turned into Nanny Kang's face!

It scared him into shrinking on the spot, so where would he still have the interest?

This happened several times, Jiang Shi couldn't get relief, and naturally had complaints.

Du Ren Mei had bitterness he couldn't speak of.

How could he say it? Say that when they were intimate, he saw Jiang Shi as Nanny Kang? If he really said that, Jiang Shi would bite him to death.

Because of this, Du Ren Mei became more and more afraid of having marital affairs with Jiang Shi; there was no way, he could only hide in the study.

Unfortunately, he could hide from the first day but not...

Seeing Du Ren Mei like that, Jiang Shi knew what he was thinking, and was angry and annoyed again. "Eat what? Your mother said, let's go to her side for dinner tonight. Why don't you hurry up and take off your official uniform and change it? Do you want your mother to kneel and eat with you?"

Oh, so that's it, he thought Jiang Shi was craving his body again.

Du Ren Mei's expression was awkward, and he hurriedly changed into a set of casual clothes, then leaned over and accompanied with a smile: "Alright, Madam, we can set off."

Jiang Shi snorted coldly, stepped out of the room, and walked toward Wutong Courtyard.

Her face was ugly all the way.

Du Ren Mei didn't dare to make a sound, following Jiang Shi timidly, for fear of touching her bad luck.

After walking for about fifteen minutes, they arrived.

Wutong Courtyard was brightly lit, and the maids and old women serving Old Madam Du had long been waiting at the door, very diligently leading the couple into the dining hall.

The round table in the dining hall was already set with bowls and chopsticks, and there were a few home-cooked dishes.

Braised eggplant, pan-fried tofu, and chives with scrambled eggs, plus a plate of big shrimp.

Such dishes were naturally very rich for ordinary families, but in their Du Fu, especially for a rare reunion dinner, it seemed a bit shabby.

Seeing Old Madam Du not valuing her, Jiang Shi felt a bit unhappy.

She looked at Suyin on the side and asked coldly: "Where is Old Madam?"

"Old Madam is in the small kitchen..."

Before she finished speaking, Old Madam Du had already walked in from the door.

"Isn't it because I heard that Renmei has been busy with official business lately, and I'm worried that he will ruin his health, so I thought about making some supplements for him."

Old Madam Du put the soup bowl in her hand in front of her son. "Mother made it specifically for you, it's been stewed for more than an hour, drink it while it's hot."

Du Ren Mei gave her face and drank two sips, smiling: "Mother still loves me."

"You are Mother's only son, if Mother doesn't love you, who would she love?"

The mother and son were harmonious.

At the dinner table, Old Madam Du asked about the recent situation in the mansion, asked how her son's health was, whether the servants were obedient, whether the dog named Laifu raised by the gatekeeper had given birth to puppies...

Only she didn't mention Du Mingzhu at all.

Jiang Shi's eyes were filled with coldness, and she smiled without smiling. "Mother cares about those outsiders one by one, why don't you even ask about your own granddaughter?"

Old Madam Du put down her chopsticks and said lightly: "It's enough that you care about Zhu'er, I won't join in the fun."

After a pause, she said again: "However, I still want to remind you that as a girl, chopping hands and feet at every turn, if it spreads out, not only will it damage her own reputation, but it will also be unfavorable to our Du Fu. You, as a mother, should discipline her more in the future."

Jiang Shi's anger surged instantly.

Why did Zhu'er chop hands and feet? Wasn't it because she was in a bad mood?

In the final analysis, it was all the fault of that bastard Du Ruo; if she hadn't harmed Zhu'er, Zhu'er wouldn't have gone to jail, wouldn't have been disfigured, and wouldn't have vented her anger on the servants.

Seeing the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law at daggers drawn, Du Ren Mei hurriedly changed the subject.

"By the way, Mother, you called us over for dinner today, is there anything you want to say?"

Old Madam Du nodded. "There is indeed something."

She sighed. "People often say that there are three kinds of unfilial acts, and having no descendants is the greatest. Your wife injured her foundation when she gave birth, and the doctor also diagnosed it, saying that it would be difficult to have children in the future."

"For so many years, I have never forced her, nor have I said anything about her, thinking that perhaps heaven would have pity, and you couple are so loving, maybe a miracle would happen."

"It's just that now more than ten years have passed, and her stomach has never moved; for the sake of the inheritance of the old Du family, Mother has to come forward and be a villain."

Du Ren Mei felt guilty and looked at Jiang Shi.

Jiang Shi's hands on her lap were clenched tightly, and she curled her lips. "Yes, the daughter-in-law is not promising and failed to give birth to a grandson for the Du family, and I feel guilty in my heart."

Old Madam Du was about to answer, but Jiang Shi added another sentence immediately.

"The daughter-in-law has also mentioned to the husband many times to take a few concubines, so as to continue the family line for the Du family. It's just that the husband loves me and refuses to agree, saying that having one daughter, Zhu'er, is enough for this life, and at worst, he will recruit a son-in-law. The daughter-in-law has no choice..."

As she spoke, she kicked her husband without a trace.

Du Ren Mei reacted immediately and hurriedly echoed, "Yes, yes, yes, Madam has mentioned it to me, I didn't agree..."

"Bastard!"

Old Madam Du was furious, slapped the table, pointed at his nose and scolded, "You think you are doing this for her own good? Wrong, very wrong! You are harming her!"

Du Ren Mei was scolded into a daze.

Jiang Shi also narrowed her eyes, having a bad premonition.

Sure enough, the next moment she heard Old Madam Du say: "Your wife can't give birth to a son, so it is her duty for her husband to take a concubine, but you refused without even thinking about it; this is trapping her in injustice! In the future, when outsiders talk about it, they will only say that Jiang Shi is jealous and cannot tolerate others, and is not virtuous. How can you let her have the face to see the ancestors of the Du family after a hundred years?"

Du Ren Mei was speechless.

Jiang Shi was also pale, but unable to refute.

Old Madam Du waved her hand. "Alright, this matter will be decided by me, and someone will be added to your room."

"But..."

"There is no 'but'." Old Madam Du interrupted her son's words. "You have to agree whether you agree or not; do you want to become the eternal sinner of our old Du family?"

Du Ren Mei looked at Jiang Shi in fear.

It's not that he doesn't want to take a concubine, he also wants a son, but he doesn't dare; based on his understanding of Jiang Shi, Jiang Shi will absolutely not allow other women to appear by his side.

Jiang Shi smiled. "It seems Mother already has a candidate in mind?"

"I do have a candidate."

Old Madam Du took a sip of tea to moisten her throat. "I met someone when I went to Ling'an Temple to pray for blessings today."

"Who is it?" Du Ren Mei asked curiously.

Old Madam Du looked at him and slowly said the name of that person: "Hui Niang."

Hui Niang? Du Ren Mei's heart moved slightly. "Does Mother mean..."

Old Madam Du nodded. "It was indeed our Du family who failed her back then; so many years have passed, and Hui Niang is still alone, which shows that she still misses you in her heart and can't forget you."

"She now lives in Longquan Cun, living with her daughter and son-in-law, living a life of living under someone else's roof. I thought, why not just take her back to the Du Fu; one is to make up for the debt back then; the other is to let her continue the descendants for our Du family and give birth to another son."