Early the next morning, after Ji Shu briefly freshened up, he told Xitao:
"Go and prepare the carriage. I have to go to the street to run some errands today."
At the beginning of Si Shi, Ji Shu's carriage left the Wuding Hou Mansion and ran towards Zhuque Street, one of the four streets in the capital.
The east street of Zhuque Street is full of sellers of rice, flour and miscellaneous grains. The carriage stopped at the street entrance, and Ji Shu took Mu Li and got out of the carriage.
Xitao didn't know why and asked in a low voice:
"What are you doing here, madam? There is no shortage of food in the house."
"You don't understand, you'll find out later."
Ji Shu was anxious and ran to several shops non-stop. He opened his mouth to order hundreds of stones of rice flour, which frightened several grain shop owners.
However, Ji Shu was generous and asked Cunyu, immediately paid the deposit and ordered them to move the things to the granary on Qinglong Street.
After running to the grain store and buying some seasonings on the street, Ji Shu only rested for a quarter of an hour, then went straight to the blacksmith shop on West Street and ordered a bunch of pots and pans.
Finally, they ran to North Street and bought a pile of hay. In the cold weather, the two men broke out in sweat.
Xitao also understood a little bit, food and hay, these are the things for military preparations.
She suddenly felt sad and said while wiping Ji Shu's sweat:
"Young lady has such a good heart, she was so hurt by the second master, and she still wants to send him military supplies! It's a shame that the second master is blind!"
Ji Shu sneered, "He is indeed blind, so there is no point in me running for him. And he has already fled back to the capital, so of course there is no need for these things."
"Then I don't understand. Why did the young lady buy these military supplies for nothing?"
The two got into the carriage while chatting. It was warm inside the carriage. Ji Shu warmed himself up for a while before asking Xitao:
"How did Qi Chengxu spend the six years in Weihai Customs safely?"
Xitao thought for a while and said, "Because the general who guards the Wei Customs is the prince of Wudinghou! The second master's eldest brother!"
Ji Shu nodded.
Qi Ye, the eldest son of Marquis Wuding, and Qi Chengxu were half-brothers. Qi Chengxu's biological mother, Mrs. Li, was the stepwife of Marquis Wuding.
Qi Ye lost his mother when he was young, grew up with his grandfather, and joined the army at a young age.
Now, having been weak for seven years, he has become a majestic guard general.
This eldest uncle had been staying at Weihaiguan to guard the place until this year. Even when Ji Shu and Qi Chengxu got married, he never came back and only asked people to send gifts.
Ji Shu heard many of his deeds and always admired him. Because of this, what happened to Qi Ye later made Ji Shu resentful.
Throughout the dynasties, there have been generals who shocked the emperor due to their outstanding achievements and were hated by the emperor.
The same is true for Qi Ye. In the past life, it was this year's battle. Da Qin was originally the dominant side, but later it was trapped to death due to insufficient supply of food and grass.
The emperor dragged away the grain and refused to distribute it, and the Wei customs general was hungry for nearly two months. He fought with his back to the wall and suffered heavy casualties before holding the pass.
Qi Ye sacrificed an arm for this, and unfortunately injured his descendants and lost his heirs. Marquis Wu Ding ruthlessly deprived him of the title, leaving Qi Chengxu to pick up the slack.
Ji Shu sneered, Qi Chengxu, why should he?
She thought of her eldest uncle who had extended a helping hand to her several times in her previous life, and thought of the scene where he died alone, old, sick, and secretly clenched her fists.
In this life, she not only wants to protect her eldest brother's descendants, but also wants to make his family full of descendants.
The Marquis dream that Li mother and son longed for completely dissipated.
Xitao: "I understand, I understand. It turns out that the young lady wants to send food and grass to the uncle."
"Yes, I will give it away in the name of the people supporting the army." I understand that the old emperor did not dare to say anything more.
It was just after noon and it was still early. Ji Shu knocked on the carriage and told the groom: "Go to Ji Mansion."
Since marrying into the Wuding Hou Mansion, Ji Shu has rarely gone home.
The Ji family is a century-old Confucian family, and rules are more important than mountains. In fact, Ji Shu is not a boring person. Unfortunately, the environment dictates that even if he is not boring, he has to pretend to be boring, otherwise he will be punished.
After the carriage stopped, the porter came forward to greet us.
"Miss, you are back. It is a sunny day today, and my wife and several girls are at the Huxin Pavilion."
After the concierge welcomed her in, the maid took over and walked through the hall and corridor.
Ji Shu looked at the scenery in the house and felt in a trance.
After a while, we arrived at the Huxin Pavilion, which was really lively.
Her mother and grandmother were there, and several concubine sisters were accompanying her, talking and laughing, and having a good time.
Mrs. Ji was very kind. When she saw Ji Shu, she called to her side and pulled her to sit down:
"Why are Shu'er back? Are you all busy with the Wuding Hou Mansion?"
"I'm afraid my sister is lonely. It's been six years since Mr. Qi left and his whereabouts are still unknown. There is no man in the family, so my sister will have to run home."
The woman behind Mrs. Ji covered her mouth and said, her smile and words were very ambiguous.
"Feifei, Hu Qin, what the hell?"
Mrs. Ji scolded her, and Ji Feifei didn't dare to say anything.
Ji Shu looked over and saw that Ji Feifei was not hiding the hostility on her face, and looked at her with jealousy and hatred.
Ji Feifei was only half a year younger than her. When the Wuding Marquis Mansion was discussing marriage, Ji Feifei was also considering it. Although she was a commoner, her biological mother's family background was not low.
She was interested in Qi Chengxu, but she was not chosen. She has not yet left the cabinet. Since then, she has disliked Ji Shu no matter how she looked at him.
What a pity. If it had been six years earlier, she would have given this precious opportunity to Ji Feifei.
Ji frowned, "There's no news about Second Master Qi? This is already the sixth year, it's the end of the year soon, and he hasn't come back yet. Is the war so urgent?"
The war is indeed urgent, but the second master is not in a hurry. He still has time to create a pair of twins in six years.
Xitao said: "Second Master Qi came back yesterday."
"came back?!"
"real!"
"Congratulations, eldest sister, for keeping the clouds clear and seeing the moonlight!"
The concubines and concubines congratulated each other, and Ji Feifei's eyes also lit up. Only Mrs. Ji looked solemn and raised her hand to signal everyone to be silent.
She saw something wrong with Ji Shu's expression and asked, "Shu'er, second master Qi came back, but who did he bring with him?"
Ji Shu said calmly: "He brought two five-year-old children with him and wanted to raise them under my knees."
"What?!"
Everyone in the pavilion in the middle of the lake was startled.
Mrs. Ji blushed angrily, "It's so outrageous... so..."
Ji Feifei said happily:
"There's nothing we can do about it. Why can't the eldest sister catch Mr. Qi? If this is..."
If it were her, she would not have let Qi Chengxu go to Wei Customs six years ago.
Ji Shu looked at Ji Feifei teasingly:
"The second sister is still in the pavilion, but she is so proficient in the art of charioteer, and she knows the feeling of loneliness better than me who is married... Aunt Pei has neglected her duty. It is time to choose a bride for the second sister as soon as possible. Look at the second sister's love for her now. What does it look like? I am so open-mouthed that a man is lonely."
"You!" Ji Feifei's face suddenly turned pale.
Mrs. Ji chopped the crutch hard and shouted sternly: "Mother Yan, slap your mouth!"
The maid behind him stepped forward and slapped Ji Feifei on the face.
"Grandma, forgive me, Feifei knows I was wrong..." Ji Feifei covered her slightly swollen face and did not dare to speak anymore.
She was so carried away for a moment that she even forgot that the old lady was here.
"Go back to your yard and reflect!"
Ji Feifei glared at Ji Shu fiercely and left reluctantly.
Ji's mother wiped her tears: "Shu'er, it's a done deal. As a mistress, you need to be able to accommodate others. It's just two concubines. It's not a big deal. You can take advantage of this moment to get along well with Mr. Qi and try to conceive a legitimate son. !”
Ji Shu: "Qi Chengxu told me that he was injured on the battlefield and would not have any more children."
"What!"
Mrs. Ji and Mr. Ji were surprised.
Ji Shu said: "The matter has come to this. I have agreed to adopt the two children. When I came back today, I specifically told my grandmother and mother."
Mrs. Ji glanced at the people at the table and warned: "This is a serious matter, so you all should keep your mouths shut and don't go out to talk!"
The few concubine ladies should be well-behaved.
"Qi Chengxu went too far to deceive others. But right now, there is really only one way." Mrs. Ji sighed repeatedly, comforting Ji Shu.
Ji: "Fortunately, the children are still young and don't remember things. If you treat them better, they can still take care of them in the future. It's a good thing that Qi Chengxu can't have any more children. No one can shake your position in the future. You can coax him well and he will stay in the capital." , you are looking forward to getting ahead."
Ji Shu's left ear went in and the right ear went out, and he dealt with it.
She had other plans for coming today: "Grandma, mother, why don't you see eldest brother?"
"There has been heavy snowfall everywhere this winter. Chengfeng has been sitting in his room writing notes. Do you miss him?" asked Ms. Ji.
If Ji Chengfeng knew about Ji Shu's grievances, he would definitely rush to the Hou Mansion and beat him up on the spot.
"I have some thoughts. Mom sent a message to me, asking my elder brother to come and see me when he is free."
"I know." Ji smiled and nodded.
Ji Shu didn't stay long, he said nothing and led Xitao away from Ji's house.
As soon as she got off the carriage, a plump and round servant girl blocked her way.
"Young Madam, please tell me to wait! My old arms and legs are about to freeze off! You've been away from home all day, how can you still look like the eldest daughter-in-law of the Marquis! The First Madam is so embarrassed!"
