In China, from the emperor to civilians, all people believed that you would nourish the corresponding body part by what you eat.

The next morning, Ci walked out of Nima"s bedroom. In a short while, all the people in Nima Mansion knew that Nima allowed Ci to sleep in his bedroom. It was unprecedented.

If a sleeping woman looked so pure and naive that others couldn"t bear to wake her up, she would be regarded as a lucky woman. For women, having a good posture in sleep was very important because it would bring luck to them.

After was.h.i.+ng her face and rinsing her mouth, Ci went to the main hall. The maid Yan took Ji Jing"s arm and helped her walk into the main hall. Ji Jing was the last to arrive. Juxian didn"t seem to sleep well last night because she looked wan and tired, her eyelids swollen. Yang Zhen sat in a chair, carefree and relaxed.

Ci quietly stood nearby and dared not take a seat.

According to the rules set by Juxian, maids should wait for the master and hostesses to finish eating before they were allowed to eat the leftovers.

"Ci, come and sit here," Nima ordered.

Ci obediently sat down. Juxian threw her chopsticks on the table, her face livid with anger, and said, "Master, she"s just a maid. If you allow her to eat with us, how can I manage the servants in the future?"

Ji Jing who was a weatherc.o.c.k, immediately echoed, "What Madam said is quite right. She is just a maid. Master, although you have slept with her, she is still not eligible to eat with us."

Nima said impatiently, "Alas, you guys upset me. Er, I will take her as my fourth wife this afternoon. Now she has the right to eat with us."

Ci knelt down and kowtowed to him. "Thank you, Master."

Then she glanced at Juxian and felt a little scared.

Yang Zhen said, "Please get up. From now on we are sisters."

Despite being displeased, Ji Jing kept her temper under control. "Master, you are always tired of the old and fascinated by the new."

In reality, all men would be fond of the new lovers and tired of the old ones.

To be more exact, all human beings would abandon the old for the new.

The premise was that their new lovers were better than the old ones.

For breakfast they had porridge made with meat paste. It tasted sour and whetted their appet.i.te. Yang Zhen said, "The porridge tastes good. Master, please give the cooks some small ingots of silver as a reward. The dished they have prepared these days are delicious."

Ju Juxian said, "Humph! They don"t deserve a reward because they are all lazy."

She vented her anger by accusing the cooks of being lazy.

Ci filled a bowl with the porridge and handed it to Nima who took it and said, "No need for you to do that. You can ask the maid to serve me."

The maid, Yan stood by and felt resentment against Ci.

"Ask the butlers to buy some fine clothes. I want the wedding to take place this afternoon." Nima put down his chopsticks and stood up.

Ci watched Nima walk out of the main hall.

Ju Juxian flung the bowl to the ground with anger and said sarcastically, "How can Master take her as his fourth wife? She"s just a low woman."

Ji Jing soothed, "Take it easy. Although Master is intrigued by her now, the novelty will wear off quickly. By then she is nothing compared to you."

Yang Zhen took Ci"s hand and ignored their taunts towards Ci. "Ci, follow me to my bedroom. I have a gift for you."

The gift was the lute which had been accidentally broke in two by Ci yesterday but now was skillfully glued together. The join was barely visible.

"Sister, how did you know..." Ci was deeply moved, on the verge of tears.

"It was just a piece of cake for me. I asked someone to get the lute back last night. Take it easy. I did that because I really like you." Yang Zhen put her hand on Ci"s bosom and gently pinched her breast. "Your skin is much too delicate."

Ci picked up the lute and asked, "The lute is repaired so well. Sister, what kind of glues did you used?"

"The familial glue." Yang Zhen smiled, "I am so glad that you like it. Only when Master is in a good mood can we live an easy life."

The lute made of red sandalwood was a birthday gift from Ci"s father. Ci"s father had carved two lines of verse on the back of the lute--

"Girls of 13 and 14 are slender and graceful, like the budding cardamom flowers in February."