The Road to Doting Wife

Chapter 6 Marriage
Before sunset, Zhao Chen finally arrived home.

In the afterglow of the setting sun, a neat farm was isolated at the east end of the village, about a mile away from the nearest farmhouse.

Zhao Chen stood at the door, looking at the village with a cold and calm face.

"Master?" Chen Ping lowered his head and reminded him in a low voice.

"Move things directly to Madam's yard." Zhao Ping said without looking back.

Chen Ping immediately ordered the porter to call for someone.

After entering the courtyard for the third time, Zhao Ping walked straight back along the corridor, and passed through the moon gate. His footsteps stopped.

The yard in front of me was full of orchids, and as the sun was setting, a woman in a white embroidered orchid gown was standing in front of the flowerbed, looking down at the flowers.She was facing this side, her gentle face was dyed with a faint golden halo, demure and sweet, as if the years had left no trace on her body, and the heavy past had never affected her in the slightest.

Just looking at her peaceful silhouette, no one would have guessed that this lady from a rich family in the eyes of the people nearby was once the second daughter of the servant of the Ministry of Rites, the wife of Yipin Marquis of Yanping, and had... suffered so much.

"Mom, I'm back." He called out loudly and went down the steps.

"Why did you come back so late, and the business in the county was delayed? I thought you wouldn't come back today." Ning raised her head, surprised and complained.When Zhao Chen came to her side, she patted him on the shoulder, looked at him with his arms, and said distressedly: "Recently you have been running around all the time, and you are all tanned. Ask Mei, go and tell the water room Prepare water."

"Ma'am, you have told me early in the morning that there is always water prepared, and the young master can use it whenever he wants." The slender and oval-faced and beautiful servant girl behind her replied with a smile.

Ning smiled angrily at her son: "It's all about you, that's all, you go wash up first, it's time to eat later."

"No hurry, when I came back, I went to Pinlanju on the way, and brought some good things for mother." Zhao Chen helped his mother to go to the main room, when he entered the room, he saw Chen Ping leading five servants from the courtyard gate. When he came over, he helped his mother to sit down, and he stood aside, watching the servants put all the orchid bonsai screens in the middle of the main room.With his eyes, he signaled Chen Ping to hand over the painting scroll in his hand to Wenmei, and asked him to lead a few people down.

Ning was the first to notice three pots of orchids, two of which were the rare Cymbidium fairy green, and the other pot was emerald green...

"Mother, this is the first-class product I mentioned to you last year. The Zhou family's craftsmanship is really good. I thought I would buy it for you when I returned to Beijing." Knowing that his mother didn't know him, Zhao Chen explained softly.

Ning was very surprised, and murmured to Lan Hua: "Sure enough, there are people out there, and there are hidden dragons and crouching tigers in small places."

Zhao Chen slightly nodded his head in agreement, looked at the sky outside, and said: "Mother, look first, I'll go take a bath, and come back later."

But Ning raised her head, and said when he was about to step out the door: "Chengyuan, your father wrote today, saying that he can come and stay for a few days next month. He also picked two daughters from two families for you to see. One is the girl from Li Hanlin's family, and the other is the youngest daughter of Hui'an Houfu, I have already seen the portrait, and I will show it to you after dinner?"

Chengyuan is Zhao Chen's word.

He didn't look back, just asked: "What did my father say in the letter, did he pick it, Mrs. Tai, or that woman?"

Ning continued to look at the flowers, and the corners of her lips curled up into a faint sneer: "He said he chose it himself. Just looking at the identity of the woman, it matches your current identity. After all, you are just a girl who is not liked by your father. The eldest son of the Hou family raised in the countryside, a real rich and noble daughter, will definitely look down on you."

"Mother, please decline for me, father listens to you the most." Zhao Chen walked away after finishing speaking.

Listen to her the most?
Ning looked at her son's back, shook her head and smiled wryly, she was just telling the truth, why should the brat take her into the army again?
If Zhao Yunting had really listened to her, he would not have forced her to go home back then, nor would he have been exiled by the whole clan in the Ning family. Dominate her and let her be his wife Zhao Yunting forever.But fortunately he was stubborn, so she was able to retreat unscathed and take care of her son herself for so many years, watching him read and practice calligraphy, watching him archery and martial arts, watching him grow in wings, instead of being a fledgling waiting for him to shade as Zhao Yunting hoped.

She used to hope that Zhao Yunting would listen to her and let her go, but now she doesn't care because she has a son.

What she really wants, the son will give her bit by bit.

Just like this big one, Zhao Yunting said that he had raised a lot in Xinlan Garden, and would pick her up when he was successful, but he didn't know that her son had already sent her off first.

Of course, you still have to go back, no matter what your capacity is.

She wanted to see that proud daughter of heaven who sent her whole clan into exile for robbing her of a man.

She wanted to see her fall into a quagmire, even the man she snatched from could not save her.

"Master, the water is ready."

Zhao Chen stepped into the main room, and the two big maids Ning's prepared for him, Jin Shu, Jin Mo, bowed their heads in blessing.

Zhao Chen didn't squint, and went straight into the side room.

Jin Shu and Jin Mo followed, and when Zhao Chen stood still, the two stepped forward to undress him one from the left and the other from the right.

Normally, Zhao Chen would not look at them, but for some reason today, he lowered his eyes, and for the first time carefully looked at these two maidservants who had served him... for three years.

Three years ago, he was 14 years old, and there were two other maids by his side. He couldn't remember his appearance clearly, but he only remembered that he should be better than these two. One of them behaved a little frivolously in private. After mentioning it, his mother replaced him with two new ones that day.

Now these two can barely be regarded as above average in appearance.

Jin Shu has fair skin, a calm and steady face, and a slender figure. It seems that he has never said a word more in his impression.

Jin Mo's complexion was slightly dark, his eyelashes trembled slightly, and he looked like he didn't dare to look up at him. His stature was slightly taller than Jin Shu's, but also rounder.

"How old are you?" Zhao Chen closed his eyes and asked casually.

"Back to Young Master, Jin Shu is fifteen." Jin Shu hugged Zhao Chen's outer shirt and pulled it to one side, his voice was as calm as before.

"Jin Mo is also 15 years old." Jin Mo was still taking off Zhao Chen's underwear, revealing a fair but strong chest in front of her, and she immediately blushed.This is the first time the young master took the initiative to talk to them, or is there any special meaning at this time?The madam warned them to behave, but if the young master took the initiative, the madam wouldn't mind, would she?
She was nervous and her hands trembled slightly.

Zhao Chen felt it.

He opened his eyes, his eyes flicked from Jin Mo's face, and fell on her gently rising and falling chest.In the midsummer season, he was already wearing thin clothes, and he was a head taller than Jin Mo. Just look at it like this, and you can see the slightly green and plump scene of the girl inside.His throat was dry, and the desire to be provoked in the carriage resurfaced.He didn't think about what a woman is like three years ago, and he hasn't been curious about it in the past three years, but today he seems to be possessed, and he suddenly wants to know.

Sensing the man's undisguised scorching gaze, Jin Mo's face became hotter and hotter. Even though he was willing to do so in his heart, he was shy after all, so he quickly took off Zhao Chen's underclothes, and stood on the side with his head bowed like Jin Shu, waiting for Zhao Chen to act as usual He also told them to go out.The young master has always only let them serve here when he takes a bath.

Zhao Chen stood there for a while, and walked around behind the screen, "Jin Shu goes out, Jin Mo stays inside to serve."

Jin Mo couldn't help but clenched the underwear that still had a man's body temperature in his hands.

"Give it to me." Jin Shu said softly, and when Jin Mo stiffly handed the things to her, she backed out unhurriedly.

The moment the door curtain of the side room fell, Jin Mo's nervous heart almost jumped out.The young master is very handsome, both civil and military, and can do business. If he can serve such a man and be his first woman, even if she is nameless, she is willing...

The sound of water suddenly came from behind the screen, Jin Mo quickly suppressed his nervousness and shyness, and walked over there with his head down.

"No need, you go out too."

But before she got around the screen and saw the man sitting in the tub, the familiar cold voice came over and stopped her.Jin Mo couldn't believe it, as if the money he was holding in his hand just now was suddenly taken back, "Young Master, Young Master doesn't need Jin Mo to serve you anymore?"

"No, go out."

If the previous sentence was just indifference, this time it is displeasure.

Jin Mo bit his lip, but he didn't dare to delay after a thousand times in his heart, and left in a hurry after saluting.

The footsteps disappeared, and Zhao Chen thumped the tub irritably.

It's all the fault of that peasant girl named Aju who almost made him make a mistake!

After wiping, Zhao Chen rested his arms on the edge of the tub, closed his eyes and rested his mind.

In summer, he is used to bathing in cold water. As soon as he entered the water, the dryness and heat in his body disappeared, and some memories surfaced.

He thought of Zhao Qing, the concubine brother of the Hou Mansion who was only three years younger than him.

Aunt Wan, Zhao Qing's biological mother, was the big maid beside Mrs. Tai. Before her, his father had only his mother. Mrs. Tai drank something in his father's wine, and then successfully sent her to his father.Father never touched Aunt Wan again, and Aunt Wan was lucky to have a baby overnight.

At that time, he was too young to forget whether his mother was sad, but he would worry that his father would not like him because he had an extra brother. How could his mother not be sad?So he would be happy that his father came to his mother to accompany them every night, and he was happy that his father still valued their mother and son most.

It's a pity he couldn't be happy all the time.

At the age of seven, the family changed, his mother died of illness, and his father continued to marry the queen's most beloved niece from her natal family, the much-loved first daughter of the Duke's Mansion.

Zhao Chen will always remember the scene when his father visited his stepmother on the second day of his wedding.

She was a very beautiful woman. It is said that she was only 16 years old, but no matter how beautiful she was and how well she suited her father, he would not call her mother.

His stepmother didn't like him either, he started getting sick, he started "getting into trouble".The stepmother gave birth to the second son of the Hou Mansion. In the following year, he was framed for immorality, and the position of the son was usurped by the emperor.He "drew his soul and threw himself into the lake to beg for death", and his father finally told him the truth when he saw that the Duke's government was determined to put him to death, and sent him to his mother to avoid disaster.

It turned out that his father had taken great pains for him and his mother.

The father was born romantic and suave, the stepmother met the father by chance, and she fell in love with the king at first sight, so the Duke's government had no choice but to lure the grandfather to force the son to divorce his wife and remarry.Father is unwilling, but there are grandparents and grandparents who persecute her inside, and the government of the state outside framed Ning's family and made her mother the daughter of a criminal minister. As a married woman, mother does not have to go into exile with Ning's family, but this will definitely affect her father's official career.The grandfather is incompetent, the Yanping Marquis Mansion has fallen, and the father is an ambitious man. He wants the Marquis Mansion to become a noble with real power, but the Duke's Mansion holds great power. If the father refuses to divorce his wife, he is destined to be suppressed.

Mother begged to go.

His father didn't allow it, and later either he couldn't bear his mother being bullied by his parents-in-law, or because of his ambition, he tried to keep his mother away from the place of right and wrong.

And in these years, my father had an additional aunt and gave birth to a concubine.

Perhaps the mother is still the woman that the father can't let go of the most, but it is by no means the only one.

His mother's heart was like the bottom of the sea, he couldn't see clearly.Her father had other women, and she was not sad. When his father came to visit them, his mother would welcome him without any grievances.

But Zhao Chen knew that his mother must be having a hard time.

Zhao Chen still admires his father.The Duke's Mansion bullied others, and his father hid his strength and bided his time. He secretly took refuge in King Ming and became an enemy of the Duke's Mansion and the Crown Prince.If things go well, the outcome will be known at the end of the year. Once King Ming ascends the throne, the Hou Mansion will definitely rise.This matter is of great importance, his father did not tell him, he has his own way to know.His father wanted him to be an obedient son, but he always had to think about himself and his mother.

In government affairs, he will learn from his father's every step of the way, but in the back house, he will never learn from him.He, Zhao Chen, will only have one woman in his life, and that is the wife he is marrying.Whether he likes that person or not, he will not let her experience the suffering his mother has suffered, nor will he let his children hate him for it in the future.

And this woman who is destined to spend his life with him, he has to choose by himself.

(End of this chapter)