After Marrying The Paranoid God of War (Rebirth) - Chapter 25.1
Chapter 25: Mansion Struggles and Idle Efforts
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“No… no objections.”
Under Huo Pingxiao’s cold and eerie gaze, Concubine Zhang dared not even breathe loudly. She immediately restrained her previously arrogant demeanor and reverted to her usual timid appearance in front of Madam Gao.
Madam Gao cast a disappointed glance at Concubine Zhang, silently sighing in her heart, considering her quite useless.
Concubine Zhang was no longer a servant but a legitimate mistress with her own courtyard in the Huo mansion. Despite this, every time she saw Huo Pingxiao, she behaved like she was paying respects to her ancestors.
Seeing that Concubine Zhang had lost her usefulness, Madam Gao had to defend herself.
She forced herself to remain calm and said, “Look at the way you’re talking. I told you this morning that I would teach you about the affairs of the mansion. The servants in the laundry usually wash clothes in the morning, expose them to the sun in the afternoon, and only collect them in the evening after checking for any damage. It’s the perfect time to have everyone present. I just…”
Huo Pingxiao furrowed his brows lightly, interrupting Madam Gao’s defense, and asked sternly, “Madam, do you usually go to the laundry yourself?”
Madam Gao was startled, but the man continued with a cold tone, “Clearly, the laundry is not an area where the mistress should come. Although your residence is close by, you usually send your housekeeper to take care of it. I really don’t understand. Madam suddenly calls my cousin here; what ulterior motive do you have?”
Listening to Huo Pingxiao’s aggressive questioning like rapid-fire, Madam Gao’s heart pounded fiercely.
She had no chance to talk back!
After the fearsome Huo announced his marriage, she had thought he would surely protect his delicate wife and had prepared for it, but she didn’t expect him to be so protective!
Madam Gao felt that she and Concubine Zhang hadn’t said anything particularly harsh; they merely criticized her for being late.
After all, she was the little cousin’s elder and mother-in-law, why was Huo Pingxiao so furious?
Madam Gao felt indignant but dared not say anything more in front of Huo Pingxiao.
—”My cousin has been unwell since our time in Shu. When the mansion opens, I don’t expect her to manage household affairs. Besides, there is Wei Yuan to take care of things, so the main mother need not bother teaching her.”
After saying this, Huo Pingxiao didn’t speak further with Madam Gao and Concubine Zhang. He took Ruan An’s hand and left the laundry garden.
Once the two left, Madam Gao finally revealed her irritation.
Trembling with rage, she spat at Concubine Zhang and said through gritted teeth: “What kind of high-ranking family is the Huo family anymore? Look at the eldest son of this family, he’s just been ennobled by the Emperor, and dares to disrespect even his own mother!”
Concubine Zhang blinked a few times, thinking that even before the Marquis of Huo was bestowed with a title, he was someone you couldn’t afford to provoke.
She said, “Madam, calm down. This couple is about to move out. Let’s turn a blind eye and avoid trouble. Isn’t the eldest daughter of the He family going to marry into this household? She is the real daughter-in-law. You honestly don’t need to bother about the cousin from the Fang family.”
Concubine Zhang’s words somewhat eased Madam Gao’s pent-up anger. She snorted and recalled what Huo Pingxiao had said earlier.
That arrogant Marquis actually said there was no need for her little cousin to handle the mansion’s affairs.
In the whole city of Chang’an, which high-ranking family’s mistress does not manage household affairs? If outsiders knew this, wouldn’t they laugh at them to death?
Indeed, Huo Pingxiao is not her biological son. He can raise his young cousin as a parasitic vine or handle his Marquis residence however he likes.
In the future, when Changjue inherits the Marquis title, the assets of the Marquis of Dingbei’s mansion might be squandered by the Living Yama and that little cousin.
Under the moonlight, Huo Pingxiao exuded a cold and oppressive aura. Ruan An tried her best to keep up with his pace.
She couldn’t see well at night, so she couldn’t walk too fast.
Ruan An glances at him; despite the darkness, she can sense his extremely solemn expression.
Feeling Ruan An’s gaze, Huo Pingxiao also turns to look at her. His rough, clearly boned hand still holds her delicate one but then stops moving.
He lowered his eyes and asked, puzzled, “What’s wrong?”
Ruan An asks softly, “My Lord, have you… never called the main madam ‘mother’?”
“It’s not like she’s my birth mother,” Huo Pingxiao replied, releasing her hand.
Speaking in a somewhat heavier tone than usual, he says, “Also, why are you so naive? It’s obvious that Madam Gao wants to suppress you with her schemes. You believed her when she said she would teach you household management and just waited to be bullied by her?”
Seeing his little wife blink in confusion, Huo Pingxiao doesn’t want her to feel scolded. He tries to lower his voice to teach her about the intricacies of household politics.
Then he hears Ruan An ask again, “Husband, there’s one thing I’ve never understood.”
“Ask.”
“Why is your courtesy name ‘Zhong’? Aren’t you the eldest son? Logically, it should be ‘Bo’.”
Ruan An wasn’t intentionally diverting the topic; Madam Gao, the mother-in-law, wasn’t worth her attention. After the events of today, Madam Gao wouldn’t dare to trouble her again.
During her days living in the Prime Minister’s residence, she had roughly figured out the relationships within Huo Pingxiao’s family. He got along well with his brothers of the same generation. Huo Changjue and Huo Leshi both respected him genuinely from the inside out, and it seemed that there had never been any conflicts among the three brothers.
However, Huo Pingxiao’s relationship with his father and stepmother was so distant that it seemed abnormal.
Huo Pingxiao’s rugged facial contours gradually disappeared into the dim night, casting a shadow on the stone pavement, and enveloping the girl in front of him.
The man’s silence this time seemed a bit prolonged, making Ruan An feel that perhaps she shouldn’t have asked her previous question.
Finally, Huo Pingxiao spoke in a faint voice, “My mother originally had twins. The first one, a boy, came out before me, but he died shortly after birth.”
He spoke of the past in a languid voice, once again taking Ruan An’s hand.
Then, Huo Pingxiao let out a self-deprecating laugh and added, “I was the tough one. The servants say that when I came out of my mother’s womb, I cried loudly and was healthy. Some even said that it was I who caused the death of my elder brother…”
“No, there’s no such thing as one twin causing the death of the other.”
Ruan An gently interrupted the man’s words. The more indifferent Huo Pingxiao’s tone became, the more it tugged at her heart.
So, there was such a past in his childhood. Presumably, Huo Lang and the first wife also deeply mourned the child who passed away first, hence preserving the “Bo” character and naming Huo Pingxiao, who was supposed to be the second son, as Zhong Xun.
“Pregnant women carrying twins naturally endure more hardships during pregnancy than usual. When I was practicing medicine in Guizhou, I treated several women with twins. One of them lost the heartbeat of one child at five months of pregnancy. This happens due to insufficient nourishment in the womb. However, with proper care and special prenatal formulas, the other healthy child can be safely born.”
“So your elder brother wasn’t harmed by you.”
In the faint moonlight, Ruan An spoke with a focused expression. In her clear apricot eyes, there was a sense of dedication and tranquility typical of a Doctor.
Huo Pingxiao silently gazed at her face.
He suddenly found her explanation, spoken in a soft and gentle voice, exceptionally sweet and endearing.
Thinking of this, a faint smile appeared on the man’s cold lips.
He bent down slightly, gradually getting closer to her face, suddenly wanting to kiss her.
But this time, the man didn’t harbor any deliberate teasing intentions. Everything seemed to flow naturally.
Even more so, it felt somewhat uncontrollable.
However, as expected, when he made a move to kiss her, Ruan An turned her face away nervously.
Huo Pingxiao halted, not pressing further.
After standing up slowly, he took hold of her retreating hand, not driven by instinct to force her, but simply drawing her a bit closer to him.
Suddenly, he asked in a soft voice, “And what about you?”
Because she couldn’t see, Ruan An’s remaining senses became sensitive in the night.
Accompanied by the gentle spring breeze, her hearing and touch were amplified. His unusually gentle voice and his fresh breath made her thoughts chaotic.
Ruan An didn’t quite understand his question and asked in confusion, “Hmm?”
“Did it hurt when you gave birth to Huo Xi?”
Listening to the man’s textured and deep voice, Ruan An suddenly felt that the past of finding out she was pregnant with Huo Xi was already distant.
She couldn’t elaborate on those experiences, only softly replied, “Any woman who has been a mother has to go through that. There’s no such thing as… not hurting…”
“I’m sorry.”
After saying this, Huo Pingxiao gently placed his hand on his wife’s flat stomach.
Through the layers of thin clothing, the softness of her belly was distinctly felt under the warm heat of his palm.
She bashfully lowered her eyelashes, unsure of what to say in response.
But the man’s following words were not so serious. He patted her stomach with his hand and said in a low voice, “Next time you’re pregnant, I will make sure to stay by your side.”
As the words fell, Ruan An’s brain buzzed, and her cheeks suddenly blushed several shades.
How could he say such embarrassing things again, and again, and again!
***
A month later, Huo Changjue and He Xinruo, the eldest daughter of the He family, officially married. The beams and plaques of the residence were once again wrapped in festive red silk by the servants.
The morning after He Xinruo entered the mansion, Wei Yuan visited the courtyard to report on the progress of the Hou Mansion’s renovation to Ruan An.
He mentioned that within ten days, they would be able to move in. Moreover, she and Huo Pingxiao don’t need to bring anything from the Minister’s mansion, as the new house is fully furnished.
After Wei Yuan left, Ruan An sat calmly at her desk. She took out several medical books from her case, planning to silently recite the medical theories and prescriptions from them once more.
Unlike Huo Xi, she didn’t have a photographic memory, and as a physician, it was essential to frequently review medical texts.
As the light outside the window brightened, Ruan An put down the books.
Since the conflict between Huo Pingxiao and Madam Gao in the laundry yard that night, Madam Gao had simply exempted her from the daily morning and evening rituals.
For the past month, Ruan An had been waking up naturally, with no one rushing to her courtyard to check on her.
However, today was the day He Xinruo entered the mansion, and as the elder sister-in-law, Ruan An couldn’t neglect the proper etiquette.
So, just after the morning hour had passed, she walked toward Madam Gao’s courtyard with a few maids.
On the way, the group moved gracefully and leisurely.
