Matriarch Rules, Scumbag Begs - Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Your Mouth Smells

The cloth tightly grasped in Liu momo’s hand was now completely stained red with blood.

She was in so much pain that her face was contorted, the veins on her forehead were bulging, and sweat was dripping down like rain.

The scene made the maidservants present shudder with fear, their body hair standing on end, and they didn’t even dare to breathe loudly.

Shen Qiuci’s gaze lightly swept over them,
After a moment, she smiled and asked in a teasing tone:

“Do you all know how to serve properly from now on?”

The maidservants were so scared that their legs went weak, and they all knelt down together, their voices trembling:

“Main, Main mother¹Zhumu- a term used for addressing a main wife, please calm down, your servants know their mistakes.”

Later, without Shen Qiuci needing to say another word, they busied themselves with sweeping snow and cleaning dust, each one moving quickly and efficiently.

Xia Shang watched all this and couldn’t help but sigh:

“If the eldest miss had half of your courage, second miss, she wouldn’t have been bullied in the Marquis’s mansion for so many years.”

Shen Qiuci’s eyes flashed with a hint of sadness, but she didn’t respond, instead standing up and saying:

“Let’s take a walk around the mansion.”

The master and servant walked leisurely in the courtyard, Xia Shang reported on the situation in each room:

“The one who is most favored in the Marquis’s mansion now is Xue Xiao’niang. Last year, Xue Xiao’niang gave birth to a son for the Marquis’s mansion, and her status has risen rapidly. It’s said that the Old madam has given her the key to the storeroom, allowing her to manage the household.”
“Song Xiao’niang and Qin Xiao’niang rely on Xue Xiao’niang, and they often give the eldest miss a hard time, both openly and secretly.”

“As for Lin Xiao’niang, she’s actually a sensible one, and she’s never talked back to the eldest miss.”

Shen Qiuci passed by each room and saw that the masters were not there, so she asked:

“Where is everyone?”

Xia Shang replied:

“The servant girl heard that Qin Xiao’niang is pregnant, and the Old madam is overjoyed. She took the remaining concubines to the Buddha Temple in the suburbs to fulfill a vow, and they’re expected to return in two days.”

Shen Qiuci’s gaze fell on the Bodhisattva statue in the center of the courtyard’s lotus pond, and suddenly her eyes darkened, her voice cold:

“No rush, we’ll deal with them one by one, slowly.”

“Heir, be careful, the steps are slippery!”

A commotion came from a distance,

Shen Qiuci looked in the direction of the sound and saw that Pei Yuanzhou’s face was flushed, apparently having drunk a lot, and he was being supported by two servants as he stumbled towards the courtyard.

Xue Yinshuang was following closely behind him, anxiously calling out:

“Lan Cui, did you prepare the hangover soup I asked for? Quickly bring it over for Heir to drink, it’ll make him feel better.”And she also carefully wiped the sweat for Pei Yuanzhou,

“Heir, be careful with your feet.”

Pei Yuanzhou grasped Xue Yinsong’s hand, mumbling:

“Shuang, don’t worry! Even if Shen can’t die, I won’t go back on my promise to you!”

His eyes were hazy, and he was drunk, but the deep affection in them was hard to conceal,

“I said I would make you my official wife, I won’t disappoint you!”

Watching the two of them being so intimate, Shen Qiuci’s eyes gradually overflowed with boundless hatred, and she felt that it wasn’t worth it for her sister.

She was about to step forward when she heard Xia Shang’s soft reminder in her ear:

“Second miss, maybe we should go back to the room and avoid this? When the Heir is drunk, he’s prone to acting crazy!”

“Hmm.”

Shen Qiuci’s lips curled up into a cold smile of disdain,

“Then let’s see who can act crazier.”

Shen Qiuci walked calmly to Pei Yuanzhou’s front, her face serene as she looked at him.

Even though he had already heard about her recovery and return,

But suddenly seeing the person who was once on the brink of death, now standing in front of him radiant and glowing,

Pei Yuanzhou was shocked, his eyes widened, and he stumbled backward involuntarily.
Shen Qiuci reached out to support him, her voice gentle:

“Long time no see, Heir, how have you been?”

“Don’t, don’t touch me!” Pei Yuanzhou looked like he had seen a ghost, hastily pushing her hand away.

His scattered gaze fixed on Shen Qiuci’s cold and beautiful face, and he couldn’t help but be surprised,

“You didn’t die? You’re actually really alive!”

Shen Qiuci was still smiling, her every movement exuding elegance and refinement,

“Thanks to the Marquis’s mansion’s great fortune and the heavens’ mercy, this sick body of mine has largely recovered now.”

As she spoke, Xue Yinshuang had already kneeled down and bowed to her,

“Your servant greets the Main mother.”

Her voice was soft and sweet, like a gentle stream flowing into Shen Qiuci’s ears, which made Shen Qiuci take another look at her.

Xue Yinshuang had a standard oval face, peach blossom-like beautiful eyes, a clever nose, and cherry lips, her frown revealing a charming and enchanting aura,

She wore a crimson-purple fur coat with a pattern of peony and cloud, which was tailored to fit her slender figure, highlighting her full bust.

With such an appearance, she was gentle, beautiful, and charming, without losing her charm, no wonder Pei Yuanzhou was bewitched by her.
Shen Qiuci withdrew her gaze, no longer looking at her, and didn’t ask her to stand up either.

Instead, Pei Yuanzhou was filled with heartache, thinking that she was deliberately making things difficult, and he quickly pulled Xue Yinshuang behind him, shouting angrily at Shen Qiuci:

“Are you blind from illness, can’t you see Shuang’er giving you a courtesy greeting?”

Shen Qiuci raised her eyes to look at him, her face indifferent,

“She knows she’s a lowly concubine, and when seeing me, it’s proper for her to kneel.”

Xue Yinshuang quickly said:

“The Main mother’s teaching is correct, I was the one who lost propriety.”

As she spoke, she made a move to kneel, but as expected, Pei Yuanzhou stopped her again,

He suppressed his full-blown anger and said to Shen Qiuci:

“What are you worth! You think Shuang’er should kneel to you? I promised Shuang’er long ago that I would make her my official wife, now that you’re not dead, wouldn’t that make me a heartless person who betrays Shuang’er?”

Xue Yinshuang’s eyes became misty upon hearing this,

“Heir, don’t say anymore…”

She seemed to have suffered a great grievance, forcing back tears as she said:

“As long as I can be by your side, whatever status I have won’t make me feel wronged.”
She had a firm grasp of Pei Yuanzhou’s temperament, and this pitiful yet resistant attitude made Pei Yuanzhou lose his rationality even more.

To protect his beloved concubine, he rushed to Shen Qiuci’s front and shouted at her:

“I’m telling you clearly today, even if you’re not dead, I will definitely make Shuang’er my Equal wife²Pingqi – equal/flat wife! You’d better prepare the dowry for Shuang’er quickly, I want to marry her with great fanfare!”

In the Qi dynasty, an equal wife was also considered a concubine.

But if there was an equal wife, that would truly be dividing the household and rivaling the main wife, with no distinction between high and low.

The sudden chill in the air, mixed with the smell of alcohol from Pei Yuanzhou’s breath, wafted into Shen Qiuci’s nostrils, causing discomfort.

She instinctively took two steps back, raised her handkerchief to cover her nose and mouth, and frowned:

“Your mouth smells, stay away from me.”

Then she turned to the servants and instructed:

“The Heir has had too much to drink, send him back to his room.”

Seeing her about to leave, Pei Yuanzhou shouted loudly:

“Don’t go!”

He shook off the servants’ support, stumbled over to Shen Qiuci, and pointed at her nose, scolding:

“After your miscarriage, you can no longer bear children, what’s the difference between a woman who can’t give birth and an animal?”
“It’s only because I don’t mind you, protect your face, and still want you to stay in the Marquis’s mansion! If you’re sensible, prepare a thousand taels of silver for the dowry quickly, don’t delay my good deed with Shuang’er!”

Listening to his nonsense, Shen Qiuci looked at him with amusement in her eyes, laughing in anger,

“You want to take an Equal wife, and I’ll pay the dowry? You think I’m your mother?”

“How dare you!” Pei Yuanzhou’s eyes were wide with anger, the veins on his neck bulging,

“Shuang’er gave birth to a son for me, doing what you couldn’t do, shouldn’t you be grateful? I’m letting you prepare the dowry for Shuang’er, that’s a favor to you, don’t be ungrateful!”

During the argument, a maidservant brought over the hangover soup,

“Heir, this hangover soup was prepared early by Xue Xiao’niang, it’s warm and perfect for drinking, why don’t you have some first?”

Shen Qiuci glanced at him and said:

“You’d better sober up before talking to me.”

She turned to leave, but unexpectedly, Pei Yuanzhou stepped forward and grabbed her forearm,

“I’m perfectly sober! I haven’t finished speaking, and you dare to leave!?”
Unexpectedly, the next moment, Shen Qiuci suddenly turned around, without any hesitation,

She picked up the purple clay teapot filled with hangover soup and smashed it heavily towards Pei Yuanzhou’s forehead!

With a crisp sound of “Kuangdang”, Pei Yuanzhou fell to the ground, blood flowing from his temple.

The Marquis’s mansion erupted into chaos, everyone swarmed forward to check Pei Yuanzhou’s injury,

Only Shen Qiuci stood calmly, patting her hands, her face full of disgust:

“I told you your mouth smells, stay away from me, how can a grown person not understand a single word?”

“Heir!” Xue Yinshuang was shocked, she knelt beside Pei Yuanzhou, busily using a handkerchief to stop the bleeding.
And she shouted loudly at the servants who were standing nearby, frozen in shock:

“What are you still standing here for? Go fetch a physician!”

The servants were about to move when they heard Shen Qiuci ask in a leisurely tone:

“Is he dead?”

“???”

The servants looked shocked, stuttering in response:

“A-answer, Eldest wife, the Heir just fainted…”

Shen Qiuci said impatiently:

“If he’s not dead, why call a physician? It’s a waste of silver!”

She gently stroked her temple hair, glanced sideways at Xue Yinshuang with a hint of a smile, and said:

“After you spend all his silver, what will he use to marry an Equal wife? Will it be deducted from your monthly allowance?”

“Just carry him back like this, sprinkle some incense ash on the wound to stop the bleeding, and that’s it.”

After speaking, she turned and walked away.

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