The Road to Doting Wife

Chapter 107 The Man Is Angry

Xu Lan met Zhao Chen.

When her father discussed marriage with Marquis Yanping, she was not as dissatisfied as her mother.Although Zhao Chen has been raised in the countryside, he is the eldest son of the Hou Mansion after all, and judging by the attitude of Yan Ping Hou, personally arranging a marriage for him, it is obvious that he still values ​​him.Besides, Marquis of Yanping himself, at that time he had already taken the position of the right servant of the household department, and he had real power in his hands. If it wasn't for the suppression of Zhao Chenyou's government, as Marquis of Yanping, he would not look down on his own family who had money but no real power. .

But she didn't look forward to such a man who disappeared in the capital for several years, so she didn't feel disappointed when the marriage proposal ended without a problem.However, after the palace change, the Zhao family rose with the tide, and she felt a tinge of anticipation again, but in the end, she waited for the news that Zhao Chen was married.

For the man who almost became her husband, Xu Lan was inevitably curious. When she went out as a guest, she accidentally heard people mentioning the Zhao family's affairs, and she would pay attention to it, and then she knew that Zhao Chen was shining in the paddock. It's over.Third Grade, Zhao Chencai!
Xu Lan couldn't help but wonder what would happen if the marriage came true, but that was impossible, Zhao Chen had already married a wife, and she couldn't marry him again, Xu Lan could only hope that Zhao Chen would not look good, so she would It will be better.On the day the emperor returned to Beijing, she couldn't wait to go to see people on the imperial street, and couldn't wait to see an ugly man, so that she would no longer feel sorry for the failure of the marriage, but she found that Zhao Chen was not ugly at all, and there were so many guards around the emperor. One is comparable to him, like a bright pearl exuding a cool breath, bewitching people's minds.

After returning home, Xu Lan kept thinking why Zhao Chen fell in love with a country girl.She pretended to ask Guo Baoyan casually, and Guo Baoyan praised Lin's beauty, and his eyes revealed that Lin was more beautiful than her.Xu Lan didn't believe it, but seeing it with her own eyes today, she was jealous, jealous of Lin's beauty, jealous of her good luck, and hated her for stealing her son-in-law!
So she wants to teach her a lesson.

Xu Lan lifted her chin slightly, waiting for the other party's answer, a country bumpkin who hadn't seen much in the world, she had to see how she would deal with it.

Ah Ju frowned.

She has always felt that whether some people can make friends can be seen more or less when they meet for the first time.Just like Mrs. Qin, no matter how kind they pretend to be, an occasional inadvertent look can reveal what they are thinking in their hearts, even their words. They said to her that it is obvious that only by fooling children can they succeed. Are you sure that she has little knowledge and can't tell the truth?
Ah Ju doesn't even understand where these people's confidence comes from, are the villagers all fools?
"Baozhu!" Pulling Guo Baozhu who was about to come forward to reason, Ah Ju didn't ask who the other party was, but looked at the little maid who was kneeling there still twitching, and explained calmly: "This girl, your maid is reckless. Shi ran out from the front, and Ruyi was worried that something might happen to me, so she stopped me..."

"She blocks people whenever she blocks them. Why push my maid on purpose?" Xu Lan interrupted in a cold voice, glaring at Ruyi, "I don't understand any rules. This is the palace, not a place to show off your strength!"

Ruyi's face remained unchanged, as if she had never heard of it.

This girl has a really big temper and is too arrogant. Ah Ju smiled and asked back: "Since the girl knows that this is the palace, why do you allow her to run around? Just now I heard that she has something urgent to do for the girl. I don't think it was intentional." The one who broke the rules, and Ruyi is my maid, naturally put my safety first, and it is understandable to push her unintentionally when she was protecting me, otherwise she would really bump into me and spoil the happy day of the palace , we are all to blame, aren't we?"

Xu Lan didn't expect Ah Ju to be so talkative, so she couldn't help but look at her in surprise.

Guo Baoyan took the opportunity to smooth things over, and said apologetically to Ah Ju: "Sister-in-law, don't be angry, my cousin is outspoken and always protective, thinking that one of her own is being bullied like this. Sister-in-law, are you okay, were you surprised just now?"

Ah Ju didn't deal with Guo Baoyan many times, and it was only today that she found out why Guo Baozhu didn't like her.If he really wanted to persuade them to fight, Guo Baoyan should have revealed their identities before Xu Lan opened his mouth. They were more or less relatives. No matter how arrogant Xu Lan was, he would not make trouble at the palace banquet.As for Xu Lan, Ah Ju couldn't help thinking about her mother Su's vague hostility towards her.

Just now Xu Lan's maid suddenly ran out, was it intentional or not?If it was intentional, what kind of hatred is there between them that makes Xu Lan want to harm the child in her womb?
Ah Ju didn't have a clue, so she decided to ask Zhao Chen about it at night.

"Baozhu, let's go." Aju said, not wanting to stay with the cousins ​​anymore, looking at Guo Baozhu.

Guo Baozhu hugged Ah Ju's left arm in a guarding posture, and deliberately walked away from the side away from Xu Lan's two daughters, and "whispered" said: "Sister-in-law, be careful, the name of the noble girl in the capital sounds good, but in fact there are good and bad. , Some of the ladies are really well-behaved, while others are very vulgar, don't know the slightest bit of rules, and try to turn black and white with their voices."

Ah Ju pursed her lips and smiled, without looking back at Xu Lan's reaction, she gently squeezed Guo Baozhu's hand: "Okay, don't be unreasonable, it seems that we care about everything if it spreads." Because it was impossible to determine whether the collision was intentional A quarrel made everyone look bad, Xu Lan was arrogant and rude, but she didn't want to accompany her.

Guo Baozhu looked at her, and said from the bottom of her heart: "Sister-in-law, you have a really good temper, and it's very comfortable to be with you. No wonder my uncle likes you so much, and only a gentle girl like you can get along with a cold person like him. , if it were me, I would probably have to fight with him every day!"

Zhao Chen is cold?
Thinking of her husband's entanglement and sweet talk in private, Ah Ju felt it was funny, and asked, "What kind of husband does Baozhu want to marry?"

Guo Baozhu's smile froze, and he suddenly pointed to a lot of hibiscus flowers in the distance and said, "Sister-in-law's flowers are beautiful, let's go there and see..."

Knowing that she didn't like to hear such words the most, Ah Ju smiled without saying a word, and walked slowly with her.

When the noon banquet officially started, everyone moved to the main hall of Princess Jing.

Although so many people have been invited, those who can really go to the palace to eat with Princess Jing are the family members, such as Mrs. Tai, who are honorable or official wives, just sit in the small garden outside the palace. Everyone has similar identities, and there are few rules. Some, but also leisurely.

Ah Ju sat obediently beside Mrs. Tai, and basically said nothing except when others asked her. She always had a gentle smile on her face, and her eyes were calm and soft, which won the secret approval of many wives.Mrs. Tai is very satisfied with this. The eldest grandson's daughter-in-law has done a good job on the surface, especially when she returned to Princess An before, her man must have told her early. She can say it verbatim, which is not worthless.

Men's laughter could be faintly heard in front of them. Not long after, a group of nuns and maidservants surrounded the nurses and carried the emperor's grandson back, and went directly to the main hall.All the female relatives sitting there watched the emperor's eldest grandson with their eyes, and did not speak until they were out of sight.

Mrs. Tai tilted her head and whispered to Ah Ju: "My concubine is so lucky to have a boy in one fell swoop. Since you are here today, I hope you can be more happy, so that you can give me a big, fat grandson."

Ah Ju lowered her head and pretended to be ashamed.

The banquet was over soon, the guests were about to leave, Mrs. Tai also stood up, and was about to lead Ah Ju to go out together, when a blue-clothed mother in her forties suddenly walked out of the main hall, looked around, and went straight to Mrs. Tai is here.

Everyone stopped for a while and looked at the nanny curiously.

The mother in blue walked up to Ah Ju with a smile on her face, saluted and said, "Are you the wife of Commander Zhao of the Marquis of Yanping?"

Aju seemed to have returned to the moment when she just walked into the palace, she was at a loss for the kindness of Princess Jing arranging the soft sedan chair, so she could only nod instinctively.

"Wangfei asked Madam to talk in the inner hall, and also asked Madam to come with me." The blue-clothed mother turned around with a smile, and stretched out her hand to signal Ah Ju to go first.

The female relatives looked at Ah Ju with envy.

King Jing's power is not as powerful as King Rui's, but he is the son of the empress after all, he is the only son of the emperor, and now he has added the eldest grandson of the emperor. Get lively.With so many female relatives in the courtyard, Princess Jing was the only one who showed a difference to Ah Ju. How could this honor not make people look differently?

Ah Ju didn't have time to think so much, and followed Mrs. Tai to the inner hall with the blue-clothed mother under her complex gaze.Ruyi was a little unsure whether to follow, Cuiyu quietly shook her head at her.

In the inner hall, Concubine Jing was sitting on the couch in full dress, lowering her head and smiling softly at the eldest grandson in her arms.Princess Rui and Princess An sat on her left, right and lower heads respectively, softly praising the eldest grandson of the emperor.In addition to King Jing Rui, the emperor has two other princes. The fourth prince is born of a court lady. He is 15 years old now. He will not leave the palace until the concubine is selected in the future. The fifth prince is the brother of King Rui, who is just nine years old. .

When Ah Ju came in, the three princesses all looked up at her.

Ah Ju kept in mind the rules taught by Madam Jiang, she lowered her eyebrows and did not dare to look at the nobleman, so she bowed her knees and was about to salute.

Concubine Jing promptly ordered the nurse beside her to support her, "Madam Zhao is pregnant, so these red tapes can be avoided."

Ah Ju thanked gratefully.

Concubine Jing introduced the two noble ladies beside her, and Aju wanted to salute, but Princess Jing waived the courtesy first, and naturally both of them also waived Aju's salute.

After taking his seat, Ah Ju quietly took a look at the person in front of him.Concubine Jing looks like she is in her twenties, she just gave birth, her slightly plump cheeks are rosy, her complexion is very good, soft and dignified.Concubine An and Aju didn't look too much. As for Concubine Rui, she should be two years younger than Concubine Jing. The ruby ​​wind tail hairpin on her head made her facial features bright and compelling, and her smiling eyes seemed to be very happy.

Ah Ju drooped her eyes, remembering Zhao Chen's words, Princess Rui had been married for three years and hadn't given birth yet.

Ah Ju didn't want to find out how much Princess Rui's joy was true or false, but Princess Rui smiled and said to her, "I heard from Mrs. Huang that during the Lantern Festival, Mrs. Huang had a relationship with Mrs. Zhao?"

Ah Ju was slightly startled, looked up at Princess Jing, saw her nodding with a smile, stood up and said: "My wife was indeed fortunate to meet Wangfei once, but it's a pity that I couldn't meet on the spot, please forgive me for my rudeness."

Concubine Jing raised her hand to signal her to continue sitting, and said with a smile: "At that time we were wearing ordinary clothes, Madam naturally didn't recognize me. This time I invited Madam over to thank Madam personally. That night Madam and Master Zhao were ahead of us to watch the lanterns and wait for us. For a long time, the lord and I should have taken the initiative to give up the lamp, but because of my selfishness, Madam Lao gave up love."

Ah Ju hurriedly said: "Princess is too polite. In fact, you should get the lantern. The master said earlier that the lantern is for children to play and have fun. The concubine is pregnant with Liujia and deserves it. Guessing lantern riddles is extremely cheeky."

"Ms. Zhao is right, sister-in-law, please don't be so polite." Princess Rui interrupted the two of them with a smile, and leaned over to look at the eldest grandson of the emperor, "That's our Fu Geer's lantern, Fu Geer hurry up When you grow up, let's see what kind of good lantern your father won for you."

The eldest grandson of the emperor looked at her with big black eyes, and a bubble popped from the corner of his mouth.

Princess Rui's heart softened and soured, but she boasted.

Princess Jing gently wiped the corners of her son's mouth, and said to Ah Ju: "I have been hanging that lamp in the house, and gave birth to him safely last month. The prince praises that lamp for good luck, and I feel the same way. Now my wish is fulfilled." Well, madam happens to be pregnant with Liujia, if madam doesn't mind, how about I return the lantern to madam?"

How could Aju be disgusted?Not to mention the lantern with special meaning, it is her great honor for Princess Jing to give anything at will.

She thanked me happily.

Concubine Jing asked someone to fetch the lamp, and gave Ah Ju some supplements for nourishing the fetus, and then let her go. She was not particularly enthusiastic, as if seeing her was just to return the lantern.

Aju was very happy, playing with the still brand new fox lantern in the carriage, and couldn't put it down, but when the carriage arrived at the Hou Mansion, Aju slowly restrained her joy.When walking out of the palace, Mrs. Tai kept pursing her lips, as if she was not very happy.

"What did the princess tell you to go in?"

Mrs. Tai sat on the couch and asked solemnly.In the eyes of others, it is a great honor for Princess Jing to invite the eldest grandson's daughter-in-law to the Marquis of Yanping. Mrs. Tai also thinks it is a good thing, but Princess Jing only called her eldest grandson-in-law and not her. It was so hot that it was like being slapped on the face by someone.She is the Madam of the Hou Mansion, and any rewards from the Hou Mansion should be given to her!
Ah Ju didn't quite understand where Mrs. Tai's anger came from, but she didn't do anything wrong, so she briefly mentioned the reason.

She looked calm, and Mrs. Tai became more angry when she saw it, and said sharply: "Why didn't you tell me in advance about such a big matter? Do you think I, an old woman, are dead!" Compared with the angry King An, King Jing Wang is a real dragon son, it's a rare opportunity to have a relationship with King Jing's mansion, but she was kept in the dark?

Ah Ju flinched, lowered her head, and said the truth: "Grandmother, don't be angry, in fact, I was also sent by the palace. After hearing about it, I realized that the person I met that night was the prince and concubine. The husband never told me before. Tell me not to say anything, lest others think that I have the heart to climb the dragon and the phoenix, so I didn't dare to say more."

The eldest grandson's worry was indeed justified. The wife calmed down a bit, but she still warned with a calm face: "Of course you can't mention it to outsiders, but I'm your grandmother. What can't you tell me? If you tell me, I can still help you." Make up your mind, unlike today, you went in unprepared, who knows if you said something wrong to offend the princess? Forget it, forget it this time, and if you have anything to do in the future, you have to tell me first, remember ?"

"Remember." Ah Ju whispered.

Seeing that she seemed to be frightened, Mrs. Tai softened her voice for long-term planning, and sighed: "Don't blame grandma for speaking so harshly. It's because you have little experience at a young age and don't understand the twists and turns. Grandma I want to give you some good advice while my head is still clear, and when grandma gets old and confused, you can take care of yourself, and then grandma can go without worry, don’t you think?”

She said it sincerely, but Ah Ju felt that it was extremely hypocritical, and she had to pretend to be with her: "Grandmother, don't say that, I understand your kindness. In the future, if I have something to do with my husband, I will definitely inform my grandmother first, and ask my grandmother to take the money." idea."

Mrs. Tai nodded in satisfaction, looked at her stomach, waved her hand and said, "Okay, you've been tired all day, go back and have a rest."

Ah Ju saluted and said goodbye.

Back at Wangzhuxuan, after tidying up briefly, Ah Ju leaned on the kang, closed his eyes and recalled the events of the day.Mother Jiang taught her to think about everything when dealing with people in the capital. She used to stay in the Hou Mansion and didn't go anywhere, so she didn't feel that way. Today, she encountered so many things when she went out once, so she couldn't help being lazy.

She has long understood Princess An's hatred, but what is puzzling is the hostility of Xu Lan's mother and daughter and Princess Jing's kindness.

Rui Wangfu.

Prince Rui and his wife went to the inner room together, and Princess Rui first asked her maid to help her remove the cumbersome jewelry on her head, and then went to serve the prince who smelled of alcohol herself.

Tang Tao lay on the couch drunkenly, blinking his eyes from time to time, looking at the beautiful princess in front of him who was attentively serving him, and when the maids all retreated, he said in a hoarse voice: "There is a lot of noise in front, I didn't see the child Clearly, you have seen it, everyone said that she looks like the father, does she really look like him?"

Princess Rui helped him up, stuffed a pillow embroidered with precious flowers for him to lean on, then handed him the hangover tea, then smiled lightly and said: "The child who is only full moon, how can you tell who he looks like? "In her opinion, it was King Jing himself who put gold on his face and tried all kinds of tricks to please the emperor.

I don't know if it was because of the hangover tea, Tang Tao's eyes regained clarity, he looked at the princess, but didn't speak.

Whether the emperor's eldest grandson looks like is not up to the emperor's brother. The father must have felt the same way when he saw the child with his own eyes, so he rewarded countless good things.Things don't matter, what matters is the father's mind. Except for his status as a descendant, he is better than that sick brother in every way, but he loses to his heirs.

He likes this princess, otherwise he wouldn't have let the concubines take medicine for three years, but now, he doesn't want to wait anymore.

It's not good for the emperor's grandson's family status to be too low, and it's time for him to choose a side concubine.

"By the way, I heard that the emperor's sister-in-law met a lady?" Having made up his mind, Tang Tao thought of the rumors he heard during the dinner.

The husband inquired, and of course Princess Rui told the whole story about the backyard, and she also had some guesses: "The Zhao family is in full swing, is the emperor's wife trying to win over the Zhao family?" Otherwise, why bother talking about a broken lantern? long time.

Tang Tao rubbed his forehead.

Even if it's a win over, so what, he has a ladder and is not too enthusiastic, so it's just an anecdote to the ears of the emperor.

However, in the Zhao family, Zhao Yunting is one of the six ministers, and Zhao Chen is in charge of the Jinwu Guard to guard the imperial city, so it is indeed worth wooing.

The Zhao family doesn't seem to have any girls of the right age?In the Zhao family's in-laws...

Tang Tao glanced at his wife again, and decided to send someone to inquire about it.

Soon it was dusk, when the people sent out by Tang Tao whispered the news back to the master, Zhao Chen came out from the palace and hurried back to the Hou's mansion.Today was the first time his wife went out alone as a guest, and he felt uneasy. He had to see someone quickly to see that she was safe and well before he could rest assured.

"Aju, are you alright?" Without thinking about changing clothes, Zhao Chen strode directly into the inner room.

Ah Ju took a nap in the afternoon, she was in good spirits, she was leaning on the kang to read a book, when she heard the movement outside the house and wanted to go down to the ground to greet someone, the man had already walked in.Seeing him sweating profusely, Ah Ju smiled and said, "It's okay..."

"What's wrong with your hand?" Zhao Chen's gaze was fixed, and he landed on her right hand that was supporting the kang. There was a crooked nail print there, even if there was only a trace of blood, it made his chest burn.

(End of this chapter)