The Road to Doting Wife

Chapter 68 The Belated Bridegroom

One stone stirred up a thousand waves. For the Yanping Hou Mansion, the news that the uncle is coming back is the big rock that broke the peace of the mansion for many years.

The husband failed to win over, and Qin returned to her Weifang Garden in great disappointment.

Before she got married, she was a much-loved girl in the Duke's Mansion, and she brought a dowry that would never be used up in several lifetimes. In addition to flattering her mother-in-law and giving her a few good things, Qin still held a lot of money in her hand .She has always been extravagant, and she is dressed up magnificently inside and outside the house, but no matter how good-looking she is, her husband didn't stay here for an extra night because of the comfort.

Qin's expression was slanted on the couch, holding a delicate diorama in his hand, which was a good gift from the palace. It was much clearer than the bronze mirror, and even the fine hairs on his face could be seen.Qin stared at the beauty in the mirror, slowly moved her fingers down from her forehead, her eyebrows were as distant as ever, her skin was as smooth as fat, and at the age of 26, she seemed to be the same as when she was 16 years old.What does Ning Lanrong, who has been remembered by her husband and cannot be completely forgotten by her husband, look like?No matter how good-looking she is, can she compare to herself?
Is her son coming back?
Qin put down the mirror, leaned on the pillow, and tried hard to recall Zhao Chen's appearance.He was nine years old when he left home, and it has been nearly nine years now. She can't remember his appearance for a long time, but only remembers that Zhao Chen is very similar to her husband. Her husband's son, and her son is the real son of the Marquis, she wants her son to inherit her husband's title.

After giving birth to Han'er, she worked hard to win him the position of the eldest son that he should have. It is also Mrs. Hou, her status is so much higher than that of Ning's, why can't her first son be the eldest son?Zhao Chen did not die, but she was slapped by her husband, but so what, Zhao Chen's position as the eldest son is gone, the late emperor personally issued an edict, even if Zhao Chen comes back now, he is just a useless person raised in the countryside , and even married his wife in a small place in the countryside, one can imagine how his knowledge compares with her well-bred Han'er?
Thinking of her husband's love for her son, Qin could not help but smile.Now that her husband's revenge has been avenged, there is no gap between him and her, and he values ​​her son again, as long as Zhao Chen doesn't like him, as long as his son speaks kindly about her in front of her husband, and as long as he comes to her side again, she will serve her with care. Once he untie the knots of these years, her life will be better and better.

"Ziying, you should watch carefully these two days to see which yard Hou Ye plans to let the uncle and his wife live in." Qin ordered lightly, "The uncle has lived outside for so many years, and it is rare to come back. As a aunt , you have to back up the gift properly."

Ziying looked at the still charming woman on the couch, and asked in a low voice: "Madam, what gift do you think of?"

Qin nodded with a smile, but didn't say what it was.

Ziying didn't dare to ask again, she turned around and backed out, her brows furrowed as soon as she went out.Madam is obsessed with Master Hou and can't see clearly. They servants all understand that Master Hou has never seen Madam in his eyes. This time when Master comes back, is Madam trying to play tricks?If that's the case, she must persuade her. Madam Li, the nanny of the old lady, was beaten to death by Lord Hou's order because she relied on the support of the Duke's mansion to advise her to frame the uncle. She didn't want to follow Nanny Li. follow in the footsteps.

Over there, after the three Zhao Qing brothers and sisters came out of the side hall, they went on the same road for a while, except for the two who were lighting lanterns in the front, the maids and servants followed behind, so that the three masters could talk well.

Zhao Yi still followed Zhao Qing to the left, and asked him curiously: "Second brother, does the eldest brother also look like his father? Does he get along well?" The two elder brothers in the family followed their father's expressions, but the second brother was gentle Ruyu lacked the cold and heroic spirit of his father, and the third brother was young and mature, but given his age, the more calm he put on, the more interesting he looked.

Zhao Han didn't look sideways, but listened intently.

Zhao Qing smiled slightly: "Second brother really doesn't remember clearly. I was not as old as you when elder brother moved out. How could I remember? But as I just told my father, it must be very pleasant for elder brother to be willing to play with me when he was young." Gentle, we brothers and sisters respect him, the elder brother will take care of us, and the younger sister can talk to the elder sister-in-law to relieve boredom."

"Well, I don't know what my sister-in-law looks like, I really want to take a quick look." Zhao Yi said cheerfully.She is a concubine, no matter how good she is in the Hou's mansion, she will be neglected when she goes out, and every time the Qin family reluctantly takes her out, she is also reluctant to go out, but there are no sisters at home, if the elder sister-in-law is kind If so, she has companions.

Zhao Han also smiled, but a hint of worry flashed in the depths of his eyes.He already knew the grievances between the elder brother and his mother and grandfather. The elder brother might be kind to the second brother and sister, but he might have resentment towards his younger brother.

Just at the intersection, Zhao Qing touched Zhao Yi's head, told the maid behind her to show the girl the way, and then went to the other side with Zhao Han.Other people's family has a clear lineage, but his father arranged him and his third brother to live in the same courtyard, and they usually teach together.Zhao Qing has no opinion on this, as for his third brother...

Zhao Qing looked sideways, and the third younger brother beside him was wearing a royal blue round-neck robe, with a calm face and downcast eyes, wondering what he was thinking.

Compared with the Qin family, this third younger brother is much more stable. He is less than ten years old and already has a city.

What was the elder brother like when he was nine years old?
Of course Zhao Qing remembered.

My aunt died early, my father got married, my elder brother seemed to be a different person, there was no smile on his face, only gloomy eyes, he looked at everyone with hatred, only in front of him, the elder brother probably felt that both of them were children and there was no need for them Only those who are on guard will show grief and sadness on their faces.Because of his embarrassing status, he didn't dare to say anything, so he just sat there with his elder brother.Later, Qin wanted to harm her eldest brother, so she took him along with her. He was also there when her eldest brother fell into the water. From the outsiders' point of view, he was the one who pushed her into the water.The two brothers had a serious illness together. Just when Zhao Qing thought that the elder brother would never play with him again, the elder brother apologized to him, saying that he was the one who caused him trouble. Zhao Qing remembered crying.

He has a biological mother, and his biological mother is just an aunt, except that he can go to see it on the [-]th day of every month, and his father does not allow him to see his aunt.

He has two aunts, and neither of them has ever looked at him directly. The Ning family doesn't care, and the Qin family doesn't like it.

In the whole Hou Mansion, for the six-year-old him, apart from his aloof father, only his eldest brother was sincere to him.

The eldest brother believed him, and he cried like a mess.

Not long after his illness, the elder brother was about to leave. Before he left, he told him expressionlessly that as long as he treated him as an elder brother, they would always be brothers.

After so many years, the child at that time has grown up. I don't know if the elder brother remembers such a light sentence.Zhao Qing remembers, take it to heart, but people's hearts are changeable, he doesn't know what Zhao Chen has become now, he only knows that if he is still willing to play with his concubine brother, he is willing to accompany him.

As for the third brother, let's see his fortune.

On the canal, before dawn, the boatmen had eaten early, refreshed and untied the cables, and continued rowing.

In the sound of rushing water, there was the sound of oars paddling.

Jinmo should be on duty today, and he came early to take over from Lu Yun who was watching the night. As soon as Lu Yun finished folding the quilt, he pointed inside and whispered: "Young master and grandma are not up yet."

Jin Mo nodded, and smiled to help her choose the curtain.

When Luyun left, Jin Mo looked at the small compartment, picked up the handkerchief and wiped it lightly.

The whole boat is divided into three tents, the boatmen live in the front, the maids live in the back, and the hot water and food are also prepared in the back.The canopy where the masters live is the most spacious. A partition in the middle is divided into two rows, left and right, with three compartments in each row.

After wiping, Jin Mo washed his hands, went out and poured water directly into the river, and when he came in again, he heard no movement inside, so he sat on the couch with his head against the wall, ready to take a nap for a while.Several of their maidservants slept in a big bunk, next to Cuiyu last night, the little girl was dishonest and snatched her quilt, causing her to wake up from the cold in the middle of the night, and she couldn't sleep well even after snatching the quilt.

When he was about to fall asleep, he suddenly heard a movement, like something had hit the plank of the boat, Jin Mo sat upright in shock, rubbed his eyes and listened carefully, except for the familiar sound of running water, he couldn't hear anything.

Across the board, Ah Ju's heart almost jumped out.

Ah Ju pulled the quilt to cover her face, not wanting to say anything.

Just hugging quietly like this, and waiting for the sound of Ning's getting up from the next door, Zhao Chen reluctantly let go of Ah Ju, not too cold, directly lifted the quilt and stood on the board, and dressed slowly.When Ah Ju pulled back the quilt, she accidentally looked over there, just in time Zhao Chen was halfway up his trousers, and when she saw her looking over, he stopped on purpose, he was an extremely rascal.

Ah Ju turned around quickly, hid under the quilt and quietly pulled up the underpants.

When she got into the bed and put on her coat, Zhao Chen helped her with his own hands, with a gloomy look.Thinking of the intimacy just now, Ah Ju lowered her head with a blushing face, her eyes dodged, she looked at the low couch on the left for a while, and at the window covered by cotton curtains on the right for a while. On the mattress sheet, there is a part of the lower part of the big red mattress sheet that is obviously darker...

Ah Ju suddenly thought of the strange sound of water, and immediately blushed.

Seeing Zhao Chen, he followed his wife's line of sight, hurriedly looked away to force himself not to think about that moment of beauty, and strode out of the house.Ah Ju stood there for a while, and quickly folded the quilt before the maid came in to tidy it up, so as not to be discovered.After finishing her work, she walked around the room awkwardly, not wanting to meet Zhao Chen, but Zhao Chen urged her to go outside.

Knowing that the man was waiting for her to help him wash, Aju pulled up the curtains and let the wind blow for a while, making sure her face wasn't so hot, she pretended to be calm and walked out.

The little maid had already prepared the hot water for the two to wash. Zhao Chen stood in front of the shelf, facing the door of the inner room sideways.Jin Mo stood near the outer door with his head slightly lowered, without looking sideways.The young master is a rare and good husband. At present, only the young mistress is in his eyes. Except that the young mistress has a cold face to others, she should behave well. First, she will stand firmly beside the young mistress and become her confidant, and then she will adapt to the situation in the future.

After the couple finished washing one after another, they went to Ning's side to pay their respects.

The cold wind on the river was even stronger in winter, except for taking a walk outside occasionally to breathe, the three of them sat in the boat tent and chatted, mainly because Zhao Chen told anecdotes about places of interest in various places, and Aju, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law listened with a smile.After drinking two bowls of tea in a row, Zhao Chen looked at the two women in front of him, and joked, "Now that I've become a storyteller, I wonder how much reward the two ladies plan to give?"

Aju couldn't help laughing, Ning's face didn't change, she asked Aju in a negotiating tone: "How much do you think should be rewarded?"

Zhao Chen also looked at his wife, his eyes were bright and smug, as if he was certain that he would get a lot of rewards.

The mother-in-law and her mother-in-law were making trouble together, so Ah Ju thought about it seriously, and looked at Zhao Chen critically: "Other people's stories are fascinating with ups and downs, but you talk about what you think, with a flat and boring tone, and don't ask yourself to sit down, without any respect Mom, I think we'll give him a tael of hard-earned money, so let's send him away quickly." The family has been together for so long, and Aju has long since lost her original embarrassment, especially Ning, who treats her like her own daughter. Ah Ju also regards her as her mother.

Zhao Chen looked at her with raised eyebrows.He tried so hard to please her, she only gave him one or two taels of silver, how courageous he was.

Ah Ju pretended not to see the deep meaning in the man's eyes, and turned to look at her mother-in-law.

Ning shook her head, "That's not right, this son has a mischievous eye, he kept spying on you again and again, and told someone to throw him into the river, let him learn a lesson."

One sentence made fun of the young couple, Zhao Chen had a thick skin and just looked at Aju and smiled, Aju was so ashamed that he called mother, bowed his head and remained silent.

Having an extra daughter-in-law by her side also brought a lot of excitement. Ning was in a good mood and ordered Wenmei to bring over the chessboard. She sat beside her and gave up the space to the two of them: "Someone finds it tiring to talk, so let's play chess, huh?" Ju, you have two matches with him, and he loses, we have dinner at noon, let him go to the back to eat with the servants."

Zhao Chen immediately sat down on the side of the low table, looked at Ah Ju and asked, "What if I win?"

Ning smiled and raised her chin at Ah Ju: "If you win, ask your wife for a reward. She can give you whatever she wants."

Ah Ju only learned how to play Go after entering the Zhao family, so she couldn't compare to Zhao Chen, she immediately declined and said: "Mother, you should play with him, I'll watch from the sidelines."

"As far as the two of us are concerned, my mother's chess skills are too superb. I have never beaten my mother before, so I can try it with you." Zhao Chen said eagerly.

Ah Ju didn't know if what he said was true or not, so she insisted on asking Ning Shi to sit down, Ning Shi just wanted to watch the fun, no matter how Ah Ju tried to persuade her, she refused, Zhao Chen kept urging her, Ah Ju couldn't help it , I had no choice but to bite the bullet and follow him.

She was serious about everything she did. After picking up the chess piece, she quickly forgot who the person opposite was, and forgot that the two of them had done the most embarrassing thing early in the morning. She just stared at the chessboard and thought about every move. .It was okay at the beginning, but as time went by, her speed of making moves became slower and slower. After making two moves, she suddenly found that she made a mistake, and Zhao Chen could end the game with one move.Ah Ju suddenly raised his heart, and looked nervously at the opposite husband, and saw that his right index finger and middle finger were playing with black stones, his eyes slowly swept across the entire chessboard, and suddenly the corner of his mouth was raised, and he glanced at her triumphantly, and then when she decided When you must lose, the chess piece falls in another place.

Ah Ju hurriedly blocked her blind spot, couldn't help but snicker, laughing at herself for being lucky, laughing at Zhao Chen's stupidity, who only pretended to scare people.

But after three consecutive narrow escapes, Ah Ju suddenly realized something was wrong, Luo Wanzi raised his eyes, and sure enough, he met the man's doting smile, which was too late to put away, like an adult coaxing a child.She couldn't help looking at Ning Shi again, Ning Shi saw that this simple daughter-in-law had finally found out, and knowing that she was thin-skinned, she would be embarrassed, so she hurriedly said, "Come on, Ah Ju sit here and watch, let's see how mother can beat him , You will be proficient in the future, even if he wants to think about you."

She moved this way, and Ah Ju involuntarily went in to make room for her mother-in-law.

In order to divert his wife's mind, Zhao Chen replied while accepting the son: "Mother, I wanted to miss you too, but if you say that, then don't blame the son for being rude."

"I don't need you to be polite." Ning picked up Baizi skillfully, and said to him, "Let you go first."

Zhao Chen was also not polite, and made a move directly.

The mother and son really didn't let anyone else, Ning wanted to avenge his daughter-in-law, Zhao Chen wanted to show his strength in front of his wife, so naturally they put a lot of thought into the chessboard.Aju's brain has long been exhausted, her eyes are fixed on the chessboard, often she is still thinking about her mother-in-law's chess moves, while her husband has already made moves quickly, like a soldier on a battlefield, chasing after every step.

After playing for a whole day, the mother and son have been playing chess all the time. In the last game, Aju wanted to go to the ground. When she got up, her skirt stuck to her back because she had been sitting for too long. Zhao Chen glanced at it unintentionally. I took my mind elsewhere and quickly lost the game.

Ning scorned her son in her heart. After being married for so long, she is still so worthless.

The boat did not move at night, but was docked on the shore, swaying with the rolling river.

It's like sinking into a dream, dreaming that she fell into the river, the waves are surging everywhere, and she can only cling to the only driftwood beside her, and she has no strength to use except for this movement. Where will the driftwood take her? She can only follow.She is still alive, but the feeling of being alive is not at all pleasant. She closed her eyes and prayed to go ashore quickly and end this suffering as soon as possible.

The driftwood slowly and firmly led her to the shore, and when it finally stopped, Ah Ju's muscles and bones seemed to be falling apart.

With infinite grievances in her heart, she curled up in the man's arms and cried.

Zhao Chen's heart was as soft as water, he kissed her eyebrows and eyes in the dark, coaxed her patiently, until she stopped crying and fell asleep in his arms, he was relieved, and couldn't help being glad that he was on the boat .If it was in the house, she might ignore him in a fit of anger, but on the boat, the place is so big, she can only endure him.

Tonight he will definitely not dare to ask for it again, maybe he can try again tomorrow night?
(End of this chapter)