Troubled times: Start practicing spiritual practice by taking care of your sister-in-law.

Chapter 656: Changing Wife to Concubine

Outside the palace examination hall.

Guo Ning originally didn't have many friends in Xiangyang, but after he won the top prize in the imperial examination last time, many people came to interact with him, and he made a lot of friends as a result.

Here, Guo Ning had just come out of the examination room when Sun Cheng and Jiang Quyang, who he had dealt with a few days ago, came around and asked each other about the exam.

Seeing that Guo Ning and Sun Cheng both performed well, Jiang Quyang sighed and said, "It seems that I will not be able to become a Jinshi. I did not answer the test questions very well."

After the palace examination of the Song Dynasty, the candidates were divided into three classes. The top three in the first class were awarded the title of Jinshi, commonly known as the top scholar, the second place was called the Jinshi, the first place was called the Chuanlu, and the third class was awarded the title of Tong Jinshi.

Judging from previous palace examinations, the number of people admitted each time ranged from thirty to one hundred, but never exceeded one hundred.

Jiang Quyang has no confidence in himself and is afraid that it will be difficult for him to make it into the top three.

"Brother Jiang, there's no need to underestimate yourself," Guo Ning consoled.

Sun Cheng and Jiang Quyang were more familiar with each other. He patted his shoulder and said with a smile: "If you don't win, you can try again next year. If you can't make it to the top three, what's the point of reading this book?"

"Forget it, I'm not you, Brother Sun. I don't want to go through the hardships of preparing for the exam again. If I were Brother Wei, I would be like Brother Lin Zhong, going to faraway places to benefit the people." Jiang Quyang said with his ideals.

Jiang Quyang actually didn’t know Lin Zhong, it was Guo Ning who told him.

Jiang Quyang said that this person was very much to his liking, and added that if he had the chance to meet him in the future, he would definitely make friends with Lin Zhong.

Guo Ning laughed softly and said, "Brother Sun, if people outside heard what you said, they would probably rush over and beat you up."

Many people feel satisfied if they can pass the provincial examination.

If someone heard Sun Cheng say, "You didn't even make it into the top three, so what's the point of reading this book?", he would definitely be so angry that he would beat him up.

Sun Cheng felt a little scared when he heard this and looked around.

Guo Ning and Jiang Quyang both laughed when they saw him like this.

"Brother Guo, Brother Sun, I have prepared a banquet at Fuze Restaurant to entertain all the scholars. I hope you three can do me the honor and come along."

Qin Shizheng called some people to go to Fuze Restaurant. After seeing Guo Ning and the other two, he immediately invited them.

Guo Ning and the others knew that Qin Shi's father was the president of the Linhuai Chamber of Commerce, so they naturally would not refuse him face and nodded in agreement.

Just as the group was about to head to Fuze Restaurant.

Guo Ning suddenly heard someone calling "Guo Xian".

Hearing this, Guo Ning looked over and saw the "family of three" looking up at the gate.

"Brother Guo, get in the carriage." Seeing that Guo Ning did not move, Qin Shi invited him to get in the carriage.

"Wait a moment."

Guo Ning said this and walked quickly towards the "family of three".

"Are you looking for Brother Guo, old man?" Guo Ning looked at Dai Ling, who looked like he could be his father.

"Who are you?" Dai Ling was nearly forty years old, which could be considered an old man in the Song Dynasty. It was not strange for him to be called old gentleman.

"My name is Guo Ning." Guo Ning said.

"Master, the first place in the imperial examination?" Dai Ling couldn't help but ask. He had a deep impression of the first place in the imperial examination.

"I don't deserve it, sir. Are you the relatives of Brother Guo?" Guo Ning asked.

Dai Ling nodded and said hurriedly: "We came from Cangzhou to look for him. Sir, have you seen him?"

Surrounded by scholars and soldiers maintaining order, Huang Zhaodi, who had never seen the world, suddenly became reserved. She spoke hesitantly and simply stopped talking, nodding with her child.

"He left the examination room first. If you didn't see him just now, he must have left. You can go to General Zhang's house in Zhang's mansion to find him." After saying that, Guo Ning smiled and touched the child's head, and said to Dai Ling: "Your son is so good."

After that, he got on Qin Shi's carriage and left.

Dai Ling wanted to explain, but it was too late.

In Qin Shi's carriage.

"Brother Guo, who were those people just now?" Qin Shi asked curiously.

"Oh, Brother Guo's relatives came from Cangzhou. They should have come to seek refuge with him." Guo Ning answered while muttering to himself that it seemed that he had really made a mistake.

Guo Xian is Guo Xian, not Dai Tu. His relatives all came from Cangzhou.

As soon as Guo Ning said this, gossip immediately broke out in the carriage.

Someone enviously said, "I heard that Guo Xian got married to General Zhang, the Inspector General of the Imperial Secretariat. It is said that General Zhang and the King of Wei are from the same village and grew up together. He has been following the King of Wei's elders since the beginning. With General Zhang as his backer, he will surely rise to prominence in the future."

Once the news of Chen Mo and Zhang He's relationship spread, it naturally became more and more exaggerated.

"Brother Liu, there is no need to be envious. If you pass the palace examination this time, the marriage proposal that comes to you may not be lower than that of General Zhang. If you can become the top scorer, you may even be able to marry a princess." Jiang Quyang said with a smile.

"Come on, I'll be satisfied if I can get into the top three. Maybe I'll have a chance to ask the King of Wei to write a calligraphy for my bun shop. I don't even dare to think about becoming the top scholar."

As soon as the words fell, the carriage was filled with laughter.

Speaking of Dai Ling.

After searching for someone in the examination room to no avail, Dai Ling could only believe what Guo Ning said and started to inquire about the Zhang family.

There is more than one Zhang family in Xiangyang.

The person being questioned asked him which Zhang family he was looking for.

When Dai Ling mentioned General Zhang, the person being questioned immediately said "Oh" and pointed the way to Dai Ling and the other two.

On the way, Huang Zhaodi asked Dai Ling in confusion: "Uncle Ling, I heard that General Zhang and King Wei grew up together and are important figures. How come my husband is in Zhang's house?"

Dai Ling was also confused about this, and at the same time had a bad feeling in his heart.

After all, Dai Tu and Zhang He are not people of the same kind, but if they are together, the reasons are nothing more than these few.

If it wasn't for the favor, then...

Dai Ling, who has traveled all over the country, has seen a lot and thought a lot.

He immediately inquired about the relationship between Guo Xian and the Zhang family.

As a result, he actually found out some things.

Guo Xian was actually engaged to the daughter of the Zhang family, and they were going to get married soon.

Logically speaking, not many people in Xiangyang knew about the affair between "Guo Xian" and Zhang Zhu, but Zhang He loved to show off.

He boasted that he had a son-in-law who was a tribute scholar.

Show off that the King of Wei will be the witness for the two newlyweds on the wedding day.

This way, more people will know about it.

So it was not difficult for Dai Ling to find out.

When Huang Zhaodi heard the news, she felt like the sky was falling.

Her husband is engaged to another woman.

And this is not taking a concubine. This is marrying a wife.

Then what would she be as the first wife?
mistress?

What is their only son, an illegitimate child?
"Uncle Ling, maybe you made a mistake from the beginning. My husband never changed his name to Guo Xian. Maybe Guo Xian is not my husband at all."

Huang Zhaodi would rather believe that Dai Tu and Guo Xian were not the same person than believe what she heard now.

"Mom." Her son Dai Feng could feel the sadness in his mother's heart. He held her hand tightly and called her softly.

Seeing Dai Ling didn't say anything for a while, Huang Zhaodi said, "Maybe it's not the Zhang Mansion, but another Zhang Mansion. Guo Ning... He is lying to us."

As she spoke, Huang Zhaodi finally couldn't hold back her tears and started crying.

"Mom." When Dai Feng saw his mother crying, he started crying too.

"Maybe I really made a mistake."

Seeing the mother and daughter like this, Dai Ling said this after a long while, but quickly added: "After all, Zhao Di, you are the one next to him. Although I am his uncle, I am still an outsider after all, and I am not incapable of not admitting my mistake."

"Uncle, you must have made a mistake." Huang Zhaodi said hurriedly, wiping her tears.

The three of them just stopped on the road and didn't move.

After a long time, Dai Ling couldn't help but said, "Since we are already here, let's go and meet him. If it is you, Zhaodi, you will definitely not make a mistake. It's best if you are not alone, so that everyone can feel at ease."

Huang Zhaodi nodded, but couldn't help thinking the worst.

Yes, as the person living next to her husband, could she not feel that her husband was becoming increasingly colder and colder towards her? The way he looked at her gradually became like the way he looked at a stranger.

Can't you feel that the relationship between the two of them has long been dead in name only?

She just didn't want to believe it and chose to numb herself.

Arrived outside Zhang’s house.

Huang Zhaodi seemed a little hesitant, but Dai Ling helped her make up her mind, pulled her over, and said, "Even if it's not for you, we have to give an explanation to Xiaofeng."

After saying that, Dai Ling knocked on the door of Zhang's house.

Soon, the servant of Zhang's house opened the door, saw the three people, and asked, "Who are you?"

"We are relatives of your brother-in-law and we are here to look for him. Please pass the message on." Dai Ling said.

The word "relatives" was said by Huang Zhaodi.

"My uncle's relatives?" The servant was stunned. He knew that my uncle's parents were gone, but he didn't know what other relatives he had. He asked, "Who are you to my uncle?"

"I'm his uncle, and this is my daughter-in-law and grandson." Dai Ling did not say that Huang Zhaodi was your brother-in-law's wife. If he really recognized the wrong person, it would cause trouble.

After hearing this, the servant hurried in to pass on the message.

The main hall of Zhang's residence.

Zhang He is meeting an old friend and is not at home.

Zhang Zhu was talking to Zhang He.

"Dad has planned to settle down in Xiangyang. He has many friends here, and he has already written home, asking aunt, mother, and brothers and sisters to come and witness our wedding." Zhang Zhu did not avoid the issue at this time. He directly held Dai Tu's hand and said softly.

Dai Tu nodded.

Just then, a servant came to report that the uncle's relative came to see him. One of them claimed to be his uncle, and he was his daughter-in-law and grandson.

"Guo Lang's uncle?" Hearing this, Zhang Zhu looked at Dai Tu and said, "Guo Lang, why haven't I heard you mention him before?"

At this moment, Dai Tu's heart skipped a beat and cold sweat broke out on his back. He realized that he might have heard correctly outside the examination room before, but he explained calmly, "We are not close and we didn't visit each other often. Of course, it is possible that I found the wrong person. I will go and take a look."

Zhang Zhu nodded, but did not accompany him. After all, they were not married yet, so it was a bit inappropriate.

Besides, she is still an unmarried girl, so she has to stay away from men.

When Dai Tu and his servants were almost reaching the gate, he, who had already thought of the "worst", found an excuse to send the servants away and went over alone.

The result was just as he expected.

When Dai Tu saw Huang Zhaodi and his son beside him, he was completely stunned.

When Dai Ling saw the other party's reaction, he immediately became convinced that he had not recognized the wrong person.

"Daddy." Although Dai Feng was vaguely aware of something, the connection coming from his blood made him unable to help but call him daddy.

Huang Zhaodi's body began to tremble, and then she squatted on the ground and burst into tears.

That’s right, this man is her husband. Although the mole on his face is gone and his beard has grown longer, Huang Zhaodi would not be able to mistake him even if he turned into ashes.

Dai Tu reacted after a while. He realized that if he continued like this, when the servants came and saw this scene, it would definitely reach Zhang He's ears, and he would be exposed sooner or later.

He bent down and picked up Dai Feng, said to Huang Zhaodi and Dai Ling, "Follow me," and walked towards a street outside.

Seeing this, Huang Zhaodi and Dai Ling had no choice but to follow.

In a deserted alley.

Dai Tu put Dai Feng down, and Huang Zhaodi quickly pulled her son over and protected him behind her.

The first thing Dai Tu said when he saw his wife and son was, "Why did you come here?"

Huang Zhaodi replied with red eyes: "Is it true?"

"What's real or fake?"

"I heard that you are engaged to General Zhang's daughter. Do you want to marry her?" Huang Zhaodi still had a glimmer of hope.

Seeing Dai Tu remained silent, Huang Zhaodi lost the last bit of hope in her heart and her body became shaky. Dai Feng beside her quickly supported her mother, and Dai Ling also came to help and scolded Dai Tu:

"Dai Tu, you don't even want your wife and son. Do you know how hard Zhaodi has worked for your family? The money you spent on the imperial examination was all given by Zhaodi's family. How could you do such a thing?"

As he spoke, Dai Ling also advised him to turn back, saying that if he changed his native place to Lu'an County, Cangzhou, as long as he rejected the marriage proposal from the Zhang family, everything could start over again.

"I know." Dai Tu said.

Dai Ling breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that he was going to change his mind.

A glimmer of light also appeared in Huang Zhaodi's eyes.

But the next moment, Dai Tu said: "Zhao Di, I am sorry for you, but I can't turn back."

As he spoke, he looked at Dai Ling: "Uncle Ling, do you know the relationship between Zhu'er's father and the King of Wei? With Zhu'er, I can rise to prominence, and then my Dai family can become a great family, glorious and glorious."

"I've changed my last name, what's the point of being so glorious and beautiful?" Huang Zhaodi suddenly sobbed and burst into tears.

"This is only temporary. When I am granted a title of nobility and appointed as prime minister one day in the future, I can change it back. Then Xiaofeng can inherit everything from me." Although Dai Tu had no feelings for Huang Zhaodi, he still recognized her as his son.

"What are you going to do?" Dai Ling frowned.

"I want Lingshu and Zhaodi to keep this a secret for me." Dai Tu felt a little embarrassed when he said this, and said to Huang Zhaodi, "Zhaodi, I know I am sorry for you, but if you are willing, I can take you as my concubine in the future. I can also double, ten times, or even a hundred times the money you gave me as compensation."

When Huang Zhaodi heard this, she laughed, and her laugh was particularly sad: "Dai Tu, you are shameless."

(End of this chapter)