This was just one of the reasons. In fact, the real reason was to silence those in the military camp.
Xiao Jinghan had been doing this for years. A sudden change would surely invite criticism. It was most appropriate to let Lu Tianzuo handle this matter.
After having some tea and taking a short rest, Ruo Hong returned.
"I've taken care of what the mistress asked me to do," Ruo Hong said, bowing.
"What's that?" Xiao Jinghan felt that Yi Qing had been rather busy since she came back.
"Just my bad luck. As soon as I came back, I ran into Qin Miao, the one who bullied me. So I asked Ruo Hong to gather the three mistresses of the son of the Earl of Dongyang. They can just keep Qin Miao, who's bored during her pregnancy, company," Yi Qing said, looking completely at ease.
Xiao Jinghan burst into laughter. That Qin Miao was really stupid to have offended his wife.
"Come on. Let's go and watch the fun," Yi Qing said as she got up and walked away.
But they were a bit late. The four women were already fighting like crazy, each claiming to be Du Xinghuai's favorite and listing all sorts of evidence, which actually turned out to be Qin Miao's dowry.
At this moment, Qin Miao was so angry that she could have killed someone. It wasn't enough for her to order her servants to fight. She rolled up her sleeves and got into the fight herself. And then... she miscarried.
The rouge shop was in complete chaos.
"Lady Xiao is an excellent doctor. She must be able to save Lady Du," someone shouted.
The people outside quickly went to look for Yi Qing.
Yi Qing was sitting on the opposite building, watching the fun. She immediately shrank into Xiao Jinghan's arms, hiding herself tightly.
"Don't want to save her?" Xiao Jinghan covered Yi Qing with his large sleeve.
"It's not that I don't want to. There's simply no way to save her in this situation," Yi Qing said impatiently. "The baby is already lost. Any doctor can handle this. If I go, I'll only get myself into a lot of trouble."
Xiao Jinghan didn't care about Yi Qing's reasons. As long as he knew that she didn't want to go, that was enough.
The servants of the Du family went to the Xiao Mansion but found no one. When they came back, other doctors had already arrived, and the baby was really lost.
Xiao Jinghan and Yi Qing didn't return home until late at night. When they got there, they saw that there were still people waiting at the door.
"They're really patient," Yi Qing said as she walked straight towards the gate.
"Hey..." Xiao Jinghan wondered why Yi Qing, who had avoided these people during the day, was now walking towards them on her own initiative.
"They don't recognize you, husband. Just don't reveal your identity," Yi Qing said as she walked over.
When the people waiting at the door saw someone coming back, they immediately perked up.
"Servants, drive these people away. How could the entrance of our General's Mansion become a resting place for beggars?" Yi Qing said coldly.
The guards at the door looked at General Xiao. Xiao Jinghan gave them a signal, and they immediately went to drive the people away.
"We're the military households of the General's Mansion. Now that the general hasn't given us the reward, we won't even be able to celebrate the New Year," a man said in a hurry.
"You can eat whatever you want, but you can't talk nonsense. There are no private soldiers in our General's Mansion. How could you possibly be the military households of the General's Mansion?" Yi Qing stared at those people.
"No, no," the man quickly explained. "Our family members died in battle following General Xiao. The general has given us rewards every year, but not this year."
"Why should the general give you rewards?" Yi Qing asked directly.
"My son died in battle for General Xiao."
"You're wrong! Your son died to defend our country and protect you. General Xiao just led them so that fewer of them would die and their deaths would be more meaningful."
"But the dead are to be respected. How could the general just stop giving the rewards?"
"The dead are to be respected, but you're still alive," Yi Qing said mockingly, looking at those people. "They died on the battlefield. Did the court not give you pensions or preferential treatment in taxes? As for the rewards from the general, that's his kindness, not something he owes you and must give."
The man was stunned for a moment. "Who are you? We want to see the general."
Yi Qing knew these people's tricks. When they couldn't argue their way out, they would stop talking to you and then pick on someone who was easier to deal with.
"It's your business if you want to see the general. Just don't stand in front of my house," Yi Qing said, signaling to drive them away.
"This is the General's Mansion. Why can't we be here?"
"Before you cause trouble, make sure you know the situation. Now this General's Mansion belongs to me. If I say you can't be here, you can't," Yi Qing said as she ordered the servants to drive them away. "Let me tell you one more thing. The general has been punished by the emperor and has no more silver. It's no use for you to make a scene here."
It was true that Xiao Jinghan had been punished by the emperor and that he had no more silver, but these were two different things. But when Yi Qing said it like this, others would think that Xiao Jinghan had no silver because he had been punished by the emperor.
"You're lying," the man said confidently. "There must be a lot of silver in such a big General's Mansion."
Yi Qing sneered. "According to your logic, General Xiao should sell everything he has to give you the rewards."
"Don't try to fool me. General Xiao has plenty of silver," the man didn't dare to admit that was what he meant.
Yi Qing looked at Xiao Jinghan. If Xiao Jinghan still couldn't figure out what was going on, then he had lived in vain for so many years.
"Drive them all away," Yi Qing said, not wanting to waste any more time talking to them.
The previous words were for Xiao Jinghan to hear, not because she really had the mood to talk to these people.
The group of people cried and made a fuss, but they were no match for the guards at the General's Mansion and were all driven away.
Yi Qing had originally planned to let Jushuang handle this matter tomorrow, but she didn't expect these people to be even more excessive than she thought. They were even willing to suck the marrow out of Xiao Jinghan's bones just to get some benefits for themselves.
Xiao Jinghan was very silent, and Yi Qing didn't say anything either.
"Mistress!" Sang Sang saw the mistress coming back and quickly came over to report.
Yi Qing gave her a signal, and Sang Sang immediately stood to one side.
"I have something to do in the study," Xiao Jinghan said as he walked away.
"What's wrong with the general?" Sang Sang asked in a low voice.
Yi Qing thought that Xiao Jinghan was probably hit hard and didn't want others to see his weakness. "It's okay. What do you want to say?"
"The Du family came this afternoon to invite the mistress to see a patient. But the mistress wasn't at home," Sang Sang said quickly.
"Oh, anything else?" Yi Qing was glad that she wasn't at home. If she had been caught this afternoon, she would surely have been accused of refusing to save someone's life.
"The families of those military households outside are asking the General's Mansion for food. I'd like to ask the mistress what we should do," Sang Sang said.
Yi Qing scoffed. "Don't bother. Let them make a scene."
"Ah?" Sang Sang thought she had misheard.
"If you have nothing else to do, go to bed early," Yi Qing said as she walked away.
Although the mistress didn't seem to care about anything on the surface, she was actually very kind-hearted. She didn't care about those people, which meant that those people must have done something to anger her.
Yi Qing gently knocked on the door and then pushed it open a crack to look at Xiao Jinghan. Seeing Xiao Jinghan smile, she walked into the room and closed the door behind her.
"Are you unhappy because of those military households?" Yi Qing squeezed into Xiao Jinghan's arms.
Xiao Jinghan put his arms around Yi Qing. He had always thought about those military households, but he never expected such an outcome. It really broke his heart. "It doesn't matter. They're just some insignificant people."