An embarrassed smile appeared on Qu Qing Ju’s face. She lowered her head to avoid meeting He Heng’s gaze. She was a vain woman. She liked other people complimenting her. But this person in front of her that complimented her wasn’t that simple, she didn’t believe that this was purely a compliment.
The two hadn’t interacted together for long periods before so after they sat down, they didn’t have much to say. Thankfully, the presentation of food disrupted the silence between the two.
The protocol was to not speak while eating so when the two remained silent during eating, there wasn’t an awkward atmosphere. Qu Qing Ju looked at He Heng’s eating and had to admit that this man in front of her had the most beautiful eating motion of all she had seen before. Those motions were much more soothing to the eye than the so-called higher nobility of her previous life.
The supposed feast for the eyes was this situation. The state of He Heng was enough to arouse the appetite of Qu Qing Ju who couldn’t resist adding another bowl of rice. But in the eyes of others, it became “Of course, wang fei is definitely in love with wang ye, with wang ye here, she would even eat more.”
He Heng hadn’t thought that Qu Qing Ju would be so casual in his presence. In front of him, the other women in this fu would take small sips of soup, and quietly eat vegetables. When it came to wang fei, he kept on feeling strange with wang fei’s gaze on him.
After the meal was finished, Qu Qing Ju saw the yahuan that knelt in front of her with a copper bowl raised high. She quickly washed her hands and let the other stand to the side.
He Heng looked at Qu Qing Ju before taking away his gaze: “Now that wang fei has recovered, ben wang feels much less worried. In the future, you should manage this houyuan well. If you don’t understand anything, don’t worry. Qian Chang Xin and Ming He are the stewards of this fu. Any problems can be given to them.”
Taking the silk handkerchief that Mu Jin presented to wipe her hands, Qu Qing Ju said: “These past days, qie’s body was constantly ill, and couldn’t help wang ye manage the houyuan. Qie is embarrassed to face wang ye.” Finishing, she looked at Qian Chang Xing and Ming He who were in the corner, “These two were very good at managing the big and little things. In the future, qie wouldn’t have much to worry about.”
Hearing wang fei’s words, Qian Chang Xin and Min He buried their heads deeper to express their humbleness and respect. Even if wang ye depended on them, wang fei was the true mistress of this wang fu. Wang fei taking charge of houyuan was the natural order of things, what was the two of them?
Putting the tea for rinsing to one side and wiping clean his mouth, He Heng saw wang fei, with a smile on her lips, lean back lazily on her chair. The corner of his own mouth rose: “When they were in charge, this houyuan was a mess. In the future, you will have to spend effort.” He lowered his face, looking at the green flowers on the tea cup on the table as though he didn’t place any importance on the women in the houyuan, “You are ben wang’s zheng fei[1], the others cannot compare to you.”
These words were probably a pretty impressive promise that a man of the Imperial House would make to his “big wife.” Qu Qing Ju looked from the corner of her eye towards He Heng and at the same time, the other raised his head. Their eyes met and both allowed the smile on their own faces to become even more friendly, as though they were an old couple that had no visible flaws.
“Qie has no skill but can only make the best effort, to help wang ye find a place to relax at home, if nothing else.” Qu Qing Ju’s smile became blinding, “The trust that wang ye places in qie, is qie’s honor.”
He Heng looked at the bright smile of the woman in front of him and thought about her birth. She was a di daughter of Chang De Gong Fu, but soon after her birth, her birth mother passed away. The fact that the Duke of Chang De liked his second wife had already spread through all of the city of Jing. It was rumoured that the two had been involved even when the original wife had been pregnant and had been expressing his emotions through borrowing from the “Poems of Luo Shen.[2]” He had actually used the “Poems of Luo Shen” to name his daughters which had been the subject of much admiration of many wives and girls in the city of Jing. Unfortunately, they all forgot the previous Duchess of Chang De and her young daughter.
Actually, his own wang fei’s name came from “she wore shoes embroidered with delicate designs, what trailed behind was a garment as light as the mist.”[3] He named the daughter borne by his deceased wife using a name that represented the depth of love he had with his present wife. The Duke of Chang De was either too in love or had no love but what was certain that this daughter borne by his previous wife was to be pitied. Thankfully, she had a reliable maternal family. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be certain that she would have grown up. The He Heng which had grown up in the Imperial Family was very clear about those dark schemes. Wang fei’s personality after the marriage was dull, he hadn’t been surprised. But these two days, he was very surprised at what wang fei had done.
Was it that his wang fei in the past, living in Chang De Gong Fu, had suppressed herself in order to survive and was really showing her true self now that she was at wang fu?
Qu Qing Ju wasn’t interested in what He Heng thought. She leaned back in the chair with a smile on her face, waiting for He Heng to speak first. This man wasn’t simple. She didn’t want to speak without preparation and make it difficult for herself.
“Wang fei does not have to worry needlessly. You are ben wang’s wang fei, your position is high. If the servants in the fu do not perform well, then just discharge them,” He Heng narrowed his eyes, “My Duan Wang Fu will not tolerate servants who disobey.”
“Yes,” Qu Qing Ju smiled and turned to more minor topics.
The two discussed for another fifteen minutes before He Heng stood and said: “You’ve just recovered, take a noon rest. I’ll come back at night.”
Finding that He Heng had changed what he called himself from “ben wang” to “I”, Qu Qing Ju understood that this Dung Wang had at least respect for her. She stood as well and walked him towards the door. Seeing him gradually walk far away, she finally let go of the smile on her face.
Mu Jin, standing behind her, saw her expression was calm and hesitated before speaking: “Wang fei, wang ye is coming over at night, is there anything to be done?”
Qu Qing Ju raised an eyebrow. In this present situation, she wasn’t as unreasonable as to not be willing to sleep in the same bed as wang ye. She used a handkerchief to wipe at the non-existent sweat on her forehead, “Do what is needed, I’m going to rest. In two hours, serve me as I bathe.”
Seeing wang fei’s expression was normal, a faint smile appeared on Mu Jin’s face: “Nubi will order the others to prepare.”
Nodding, Qu Qing Ju lowered her head and rubbed an ear. To be with somebody unfamiliar so quickly, there was just the slightest bit of embarrassment.