Chapter 6: Concubine 2

6. Concubine 2

Although the Ren family was considered a prominent and respectable household in Pingcheng, their wealth was ultimately limited!

When Duan Yuran married, she brought four dowry maids, one dowry nanny, and two households of attendants. Even if the monthly stipends for the attendants were paid by Duan Yuran and did not cost the Ren family a cent, it would still look bad to marry off with such a massive crowd of people!

The two households of attendants did not live in the Ren residence; instead, they managed the shops and manors that were part of Duan Yuran's dowry. The dowry nanny was Nanny Huang, a trusted aide to Madam Duan.

Among the four dowry maids, aside from Yunzhu, who had grown up with Duan Yuran since childhood, Bizhu, Lvzhu, and Zhenzhu were all maids purchased for the Duan household when she was twelve. Among them, Bizhu was a straightforward yet clever girl who had been promoted to a first-class maid by Duan Yuran, while Lvzhu and Zhenzhu were second-class maids.

Just after marrying into the Ren family, Duan Yuran was met with a bizarre demand from her groom, Ren Feiteng, who hadn't even taken off his bright red wedding robes yet—he demanded permission to marry his cousin, Cai Shan-niang, as a "equal wife" (pingqi)! Otherwise, he would refuse to consummate the marriage!

Duan Yuran had heard of shameless people, but this was her first time encountering someone truly this despicable!

When Ren Feiteng made such a demand, Duan Yuran's immediate impulse was to throw off her bridal veil and run back to her parental home! She truly had to thank Ren Feiteng for not making this demand after the consummation; otherwise, it was entirely possible she would have lost her temper and castrated him!

Only after being dissuaded by Nanny Huang and her maids did Duan Yuran endure until the day of her return visit to tell her parents about this absurdity. Master Duan and Duan Yanghang stormed the Ren family's gates that very same day!

Master Ren and Madam Ren clearly had not expected their son to be so outrageous over Cai Shan-niang! They repeatedly assured Master Duan that the Ren family was a scholarly lineage and shared the same ancestry as the Duke of Anguo's manor in the capital, and they would absolutely never do something as scandalous as taking an equal wife!

In Duan Yuran's mind, this marriage should be considered void, or they should divorce! But this was feudal ancient times, not an era where one could simply pick up a divorce certificate whenever things became unbearable! Master Duan coaxed her repeatedly, using both soft and hard tactics to forbid his daughter from being "willful"! Left with no choice, Duan Yuran had to temporarily remain in the Ren household!

At first, Master Ren and Madam Ren were quite good to Duan Yuran out of guilt, which was also why Duan Yuran had selected some items from her dowry to give to the elders.

To achieve his wish, Ren Feiteng truly refused to consummate the marriage with Duan Yuran (he wanted to, but Duan Yuran wouldn't allow it)! Not only that, he also did something disgusting—he slept with Lvzhu, who had thrown herself into his arms! This was no different from slapping Duan Yuran in the face! It was even more malicious than a slap!

When Lvzhu knelt before her to beg for forgiveness, Duan Yuran merely gave a mocking smile. She had Nanny Huang pack up Lvzhu's belongings and sent her, along with her things, to the East Courtyard! From then on, whenever Ren Feiteng entered Xiaoyue Residence, he went straight to the East Courtyard, acting just like a married couple with Lvzhu!

Seeing that Duan Yuran not only failed to use soft words to win her son over but instead treated him with cold indifference, as if they were strangers, the two elders became somewhat displeased! Later, through some private discussions among the three members of the family, they brought Cai Shan-niang into the manor as a concubine five months ago!

Duan Yuran showed no reaction to these matters. She had never had any feelings for Ren Feiteng to begin with, so it was impossible for her to be angry! It wasn't until Concubine Cai became pregnant that she wrote a letter to her father proposing a divorce from Ren Feiteng!

Now, Lvzhu was weeping profusely and pleading for her to stay. When she had climbed into his bed and later when she was flying high with Ren Feiteng, she hadn't spared a single thought for Duan Yuran, her true mistress! Even after Concubine Cai entered the manor, the person Lvzhu flattered all day long was the beloved Lady Cai, having long forgotten she was a servant of the Duan family!

"Young Mistress, I beg you, for the sake of the years I served you with all my heart, please forgive me and let me stay in the Ren residence!" Lvzhu's forehead was already bleeding from the impact, but she continued to kowtow and plead to Duan Yuran.

Duan Yuran remained silent, waiting only for Bizhu to bring back word.

To be honest, Duan Yuran's dislike for Lvzhu was not because the maid had climbed into a bed, but because of her betrayal!

After about fifteen minutes, Bizhu returned in a hurry!

As Bizhu entered the main room, Lvzhu, who was kowtowing until she was dizzy, lifted her head and looked at her expectantly, "Sister Bizhu, the Master, he..."

Ahem, the male lead will appear soon. To be honest, he really is a "male pig"...