Seeing He Qing like this, the red - clothed woman realized that her words had been too direct and hurt the other party. She forced a laugh and said,
"If you have no children, after Xiaowu enters the mansion, she will surely allow you to stay in the Grand Tutor's Mansion. You don't need to worry."
He Qing lowered her head and said nothing.
The red - clothed woman had no choice but to continue in a softer tone,
"Just relax. Xiaowu has a gentle and kind nature. After she enters the mansion, she won't bully you concubines."
He Qing still said nothing. Her eyes were wide open, but she couldn't hold back her tears.
This appearance was the most heart - wrenching. The red - clothed woman couldn't help but stand up, sit beside her, and gently pat her on the back.
"Don't cry. This is the fate of concubines. After all, he is the legitimate eldest son of the Grand Tutor's Mansion. He has to get married."
"My lady... I understand..." He Qing choked with sobs.
"Good that you understand." The red - clothed woman nodded, looking at her with pity. She gently fanned He Qing with a fan in one hand.
"As long as the mistress is kind and magnanimous and can tolerate you, life won't be hard. After the legitimate son is born, you can also give birth..."
Suddenly, her hand that was fanning stopped.
"Who gave you this jade pendant?" she asked, pointing at the jade pendant on He Qing's waist.
He Qing looked up blankly, with tear stains still on the corners of her eyes. Her gaze followed the red - clothed woman's finger and landed on the jade pendant. "It, it was given to me by my young master."
"Take it off and let me have a look!" The red - clothed woman frowned slightly and urged He Qing to take off the jade pendant.
He Qing had just been hit hard by the news of Zhao Yujin's upcoming marriage and was in low spirits. After crying, her reaction was a bit slow. Although she was confused, she still obediently took it off.
It was a crystal - clear and emerald - green Liuguang Liyu. The whole body was as smooth as cream, with delicate patterns. It was strung with a green rope, and there was a small sachet of the same color at the bottom. It was obviously very valuable.
The red - clothed woman snatched the jade pendant, lowered her head slightly, lifted a corner of her veil, and gently sniffed the small sachet beneath it.
Then her face changed. She lifted the curtain of the carriage and threw the jade pendant out.
He Qing was completely stunned by the red - clothed woman's series of smooth actions. By the time she came to her senses, the jade pendant had already been thrown out of the carriage.
"My jade pendant!"
She immediately panicked. Disregarding all the rules, she stood up, lifted the curtain, and jumped out of the carriage.
The red - clothed woman shook her head, sighed deeply, and then got out of the carriage after her.
Outside the carriage at this moment, the maid and two servants who had originally been with He Qing had already been sent away by herself. Only the servants beside the red - clothed woman were standing on one side.
Everyone watched calmly and indifferently as He Qing rummaged around on the ground in a hurry and was almost on the verge of collapse, looking for her jade pendant.
"Don't look for it anymore." The red - clothed woman looked at her back and finally felt a bit sorry for her.
He Qing was so anxious that tears were about to come out. She blurted out, "Even if you, my lady, are not happy to see me wearing the young master's jade pendant, you can't just throw it away like this!
Do you know, my lady, that this was given to me by the young master when I first entered the Grand Tutor's Mansion. It has accompanied me for so many years. It is more important than my humble life!
I know you, my lady, look down on me. But no matter how humble I am, that jade pendant was given by the young master. It shouldn't be treated so roughly by you!"
Hearing He Qing's sobbing voice, the red - clothed woman sighed deeply and finally said, "I've never looked down on you, but that jade pendant is not a good thing."
"Yes! You, my lady, are used to seeing good things, so you naturally look down on that jade pendant. But to me, it is the best in the world!"
After saying that, He Qing ignored her and continued to search around in the grass and under the shade of the trees.
The jade pendant was originally all green, and even the rope was green. Now that it had fallen into the green vegetation, it was very difficult to find.
He Qing searched everywhere but couldn't find it. Big tears fell from her eyes, but her searching hands never stopped.
Seeing her so determined, the red - clothed woman couldn't help but shake her head.
"Qinglian, you go and find the jade pendant."
Qinglian responded in a low voice, "Yes," and then led a few servants to help He Qing rummage in the grass.
Hearing the commotion, He Qing's expression softened a bit.
The red - clothed woman stepped forward and took He Qing's arm, saying gently, "Let's go back into the carriage. You can't see clearly with all these tears in your eyes. How can you find it?"
He Qing was extremely reluctant, but she also knew that she couldn't see clearly while crying. Searching was just a waste of effort.
She looked back and saw that the servants led by Qinglian were searching very carefully, not missing any corner. They were obviously very experienced. Only then did she follow the red - clothed woman back into the carriage.
This time, He Qing no longer had the flattering look from before. She just looked out of the carriage indifferently.
Seeing this, the red - clothed woman smiled gently. "I know you're still blaming me."
"I wouldn't dare, my lady." Although she said so, her tone was very cold.
The red - clothed woman didn't seem to care about her attitude. She just continued calmly, "There are some things I didn't want to tell you at first, but seeing how much you care about that jade pendant just now, I can tell that you're truly in love with Zhao Yujin."
These words finally touched He Qing. She turned her head and looked at the red - clothed woman with bright eyes.
"Whether you, my lady, believe it or not, I'm completely and truly in love with the young master."
"I believe you." The red - clothed woman nodded. She fanned herself idly with a silk fan, her expression calm. "Before, I was still wondering why you've been Zhao Yujin's concubine for so many years and yet have no children."
"Why?" Hearing this, He Qing sat up straight.
The red - clothed woman gave a meaningful glance at her waist. "Do you know that in Yongding City, among these wealthy young masters, if they're marrying a woman of a lower status, it's okay. But if they're marrying a woman of a higher or equal status, they're absolutely not allowed to have children before getting married."
"Before getting married, they can't... have children?"
He Qing felt as if something had stabbed her heart hard.
A terrifying thought immediately popped up in her mind, but she didn't dare to think about it in detail. She shook her head hard, trying to make this terrifying thought disappear.
But the red - clothed woman wasn't going to let her off. In the quiet carriage, her voice was faint and slowly reached He Qing's ears.
"Although it's said like this, not every young master can do it.
There are also some who are impulsive and get their beloved pregnant. Because they're too soft - hearted to abandon them, they secretly raise the child outside. They only let their wives know a few years after getting married.
I originally thought that since Zhao Yujin has only had you as his concubine for these six years, he should be deeply in love with you. So when you said just now that you still have no children, I was half - skeptical.
But when I saw that jade pendant..."