Chapter 280: Chapter 280 Rough
A stone causes a thousand ripples.
The maids and old women in the courtyard exchanged glances.
Their eyes were like ripples on a lake, filled with wild thoughts.
The maids held their breath, listening intently, trying to discern whose panting was coming from the creaking of the bed in the room.
To gather around and eavesdrop on their master’s affairs in broad daylight, no other household would do this.
The Master and Madam were both inside the room.
The Old Madam would not come.
The Third Young Master and Second Miss did not dare to come.
They felt secure in their actions.
"Qing He is here," a maid whispered.
Everyone looked over and still saw the tear marks on Qing He’s face.
She was the maid hurriedly sent by the Third Madam, driven out from the Third Master’s bed.
Seeing her stumbling steps, frowning with each move, the little maids, untouched by such affairs, thought she was just showing off.
For these maids, being matched with a servant by their masters was considered good luck, but they feared making mistakes, being beaten to death, or sold off.
Becoming a concubine at least guaranteed a stable life, and if one could bear a child for the master, it was like becoming a phoenix perched on high.
They were all maids, why was her destiny so good?
The old women looked heartbroken.
In the morning, the eldest young master had sent spring medicine, and the third master had no reaction after taking it. Hearing the movements in the room now, it was clear this was no ordinary medicine.
Qing He, in her innocence, at a time when she should be cherished, was harshly tormented by the Third Master. Had the Third Madam not rushed in, she might never have survived to become a concubine.
A little maid went over to support Qing He and asked, "Are you okay?"
Qing He shook her head bitterly.
"I’m fine," she said.
"What about Mrs. He? You came out, but she hasn’t," the little maid gossiped.
Qing He stiffened.
She suddenly gazed towards the inner room.
Earlier, when the Third Madam entered, she was being pinned by the Third Master...
The Third Madam angrily told her to get out, but with the Third Master on her, she couldn’t move.
The Third Madam came to pull the Third Master off.
When the Third Master shrugged his arm,
The Third Madam collided with the small table by the bed, her forehead hit, and she fainted.
The Third Master was startled stiff.
Taking advantage of his distraction, she grabbed her clothes, put them on hastily, and ran.
Now, there was a loud commotion inside, but no sound from the Third Madam. Was she still unconscious?
But if she was, why hadn’t Mrs. He come out?
"Hey, I’m asking you, why hasn’t Mrs. He come out?" The little maid saw Qing He was lost in thought and gave her a nudge.
Qing He snapped back and said, "Mrs. He fainted."
"No wonder...,"
The crowd’s suspicions were cleared.
Thinking about the scenes they had imagined, they couldn’t help but feel a bit sordid, cheeks slightly red.
Inside the room, the Third Madam was fainted on the floor.
The bed’s canopy was fluttering.
Outside, the maids and old women had been eavesdropping at the wall for half an hour.
The bed creaked endlessly, yet did not collapse, its quality truly impressive.
After another quarter of an hour, the noise gradually subsided, peace returned, as if the storm had passed.
The Third Master had a very pleasant dream.
In the dream, he had a fleeting encounter with a girl who left ripples in his heart, a moment of passion, happiness, and satisfaction; he gave her everything he wished.
Her exquisite skin, every smile and frown, tugged at his heart and soul.
The Third Master felt someone in his arms, reached out, and touched, finding only roughness beneath his palm.
The Third Master woke up with a start.
A face full of wrinkles was magnified before his eyes.
Before his mind could process the situation, his foot had already reacted.
With a kick,
Mrs. He was knocked off the bed, coincidentally landing on the Third Madam.
The Third Madam let out a cry, but only half emerged before Mrs. He covered her mouth.
As the Third Madam regained her senses, Mrs. He, with reddened eyes, said, "Madam, don’t scream."
The Third Madam did not scream.
She was so furious she couldn’t make a sound.
Mrs. He hurriedly dressed.
The Third Master sat on the bed, his face twisted as if he’d swallowed a fly.
Mrs. He was ten years older than the Third Master, yet looked no younger than the Old Madam.
Looking at the Third Madam’s angry face, the Third Master boiled with rage.
She dared to be angry?!
If she hadn’t come, he would have been with a maid.
Because she came, he ended up with an old woman...
The more he thought about it, the more disgusted and furious he became.
He had never seen anyone so jealous!
Wanting to never see the Third Madam again, the Third Master dressed and left.
Qing He was standing outside, tear-streaked face looking at him.
A delicate and charming face, with a bit more allure between her brows.
As the image of Mrs. He’s face flashed in his mind, his detest for the Third Madam grew stronger.
"Raised to concubine, rewarded three hundred taels," the Third Master said.
Fortune falling from the sky, Qing He was stunned.
By the time she remembered to thank him, the Third Master was already gone.
A nearby little maid nudged her, "Blissfully stunned, huh? The Third Master wants you to attend his bath."
Qing He came to her senses and quickly followed him.
The little maid went inside to serve, seeing the Third Madam weeping as she sat.
The little maid didn’t know how to console the Third Madam and quietly asked Mrs. He, "Mrs. He, are you alright?"
"What’s wrong with me?!" Mrs. He snapped.
"...."
The little maid was left bewildered.
She was genuinely concerned.
Why such a big temper?
"Qing He said Mrs. He dragged her, was thrown by the Master, hit her head on the table and fainted. I was only worried about your headache when I asked," the little maid said, feeling aggrieved.
A weight lifted from Mrs. He’s chest.
Qing He had covered for the Third Master’s face, saving her life too.
"I’m fine, have someone come in to change all the bed linens," Mrs. He instructed.
The little maid nodded in agreement.
Mrs. He wanted to help the Third Madam up.
The Third Madam shoved away Mrs. He’s hand, the maids observing were puzzled, quickly assisting the Third Madam.
After returning to her quarters, Mrs. He dismissed the maids and knelt to apologize to the Third Madam.
The Third Madam was so angry she cried.
She blamed Mrs. He for not struggling, even if she had shouted.
Mrs. He deeply regretted.
Widowed for many years, lonely for a long time, when the Third Master held her and covered her mouth, she forgot to scream.
The Third Master would never raise her as a concubine.
She had alienated herself from the Madam over this, and for what purpose?
"I, as a servant, should not have followed into the room. What happened inside, no one knows. Once this passes, I will atone with my life," Mrs. He said, eyes reddened.
Mrs. He was the Third Madam’s trusted confidante.
If she suddenly died, it would surely incite gossip.
Qing He said she had fainted, and everyone believed it. Now she could only pretend nothing happened, perhaps keeping her life for now.
In the bathroom.
The Third Master soaked in the tub.
The pills prepared by Su Jin, their effects were potent, had tormented him for more than half an hour, yet hadn’t completely subsided.
But the thoughts of romance rising in the Third Master’s mind were quickly dispelled by the image of Mrs. He’s face, akin to old bark.
Such repeated torment nearly drove him insane.
The Third Master clearly knew his hard-won recovery was back to zero.
Yet these matters, the Old Madam knew not.
At this moment—
She knelt before a Buddhist mat, joyfully thanking the Bodhisattva for protection.