The Road to Doting Wife

Chapter 69 Indifferent
That night, Ah Ju didn't sleep well.

It was pitch black inside the canopy, and the sound of flowing water outside made the pitch black even more bleak.

Fortunately, there is a warm chest by my side.

Aju leaned on her husband and closed her eyes again.

She once thought about what the bridal chamber would be like, a beautiful and shy one, retiring from Meng Zhongjing and marrying Zhao Chen, and then thinking about the bridal chamber, Meng Zhongjing and Ru Niang's figure and voice at the Bangzi field would always come to her mind suddenly.Later, Zhao Chen and her became more and more intimate, and when he was in love, his mind was so confused that he couldn't think of anything. All the sadness and sadness were not worth the warmth of the people around him.When last night was about to come, she was afraid and nervous, and that scene flashed again, but before she had time to express any emotions, Zhao Chen slowly and domineeringly took away all her emotions.

It hurts, she hurts, her only thought is to beg him to stop quickly, no shyness, anticipation, and sadness can compare to that pain.

This is living life, no matter how much you think about it, it’s just fantasy, the real bridal chamber is like that, it hurts, after going to bed after the pain, you have to live how you should when you wake up.He is her husband, and the two work hard together to live a good life and have children in the future.So what about the Hou Mansion, isn't it the same for husband and wife?It's just that a man's way of supporting his family is much higher than that of farming, and the women she associates with in the future are more complicated than the village wives, but they are still the same after all.

It's his now, she will follow him wherever he goes.

But she still wants to hit him, the more soundly he sleeps, the more she annoys him, her usual words are sweeter than anything else, he listens to whatever doesn't make her hurt or cry, and in the end, doesn't she only care about herself?

Thinking wildly, he fell asleep again.

Then he woke up to the sound of voices next door.

"Mother, Ah Ju caught a cold last night and was a little seasick, so I didn't let her get up. I'll let her come over and talk to you when she gets better."

"Have you caught a cold? Have you ordered your servants to make medicine?" A new orchid bloomed in the house, and Ning was looking at the flowers. When she heard that her daughter-in-law was ill, she hurriedly turned around, "I'll go and have a look."

Hearing this, Aju was about to get up in a hurry, but when she turned around, her waist felt sore, and she couldn't help but clutch her stomach.

Zhao Chen had already supported Ning Shi to sit down on the couch, looked at Lan Hua and explained: "Mother, don't worry, she is just a little uncomfortable, just take a good rest for a while, if you go to see her, she will be very restless. "What a coincidence, the orchid in the pot bloomed, and his Aju also bloomed last night.

The young man's face was rosy and his lips were smiling. Ning looked at him suspiciously. By coincidence, Zhao Chen turned his head to look at Lan, and a red mark behind his ear was clearly exposed.Ning is not a young girl who hasn't left the court, how can she not understand now, it must be that the son made a fuss last night and made the daughter-in-law unable to get out of bed.

It's not easy for her as a mother to say anything about this kind of thing, so she simply followed his words: "Since you say so, I won't go over, that's all, she is uncomfortable, you go and guard her, breakfast you two Eat, come back when the noon is better."

Zhao Chen was thinking about his wife, so he got up and went out.

Ning watched him leave, and whispered to Wenmei: "Let the kitchen add two bowls of soup for the young master and the young lady." Young and vigorous, normal and normal.Asked Mei Xin to understand, smiled and went.

Over there, Aju heard Zhao Chen's footsteps getting closer, so she hid under the quilt in shame, pretending to sleep face inward.

It's cold, the curtains inside have not been drawn, the wind can't get in, and the breath from last night can't get out.

Stepping lightly to the couch and lying down, Zhao Chen looked at her with his arms propped up, his face was so red that he couldn't help wanting to kiss her, so he sneaked closer, and suddenly found her eyelashes trembling non-stop.Zhao Chen snickered, pretending to be asleep even though he was awake, why is his wife so cute?He didn't expose her, he just stretched his right hand in...

He had just walked around outside, his hands were cold, Ah Ju shivered when he touched her, and hurriedly hid inside.Knowing that he had seen through him, Ah Ju buried her face in the quilt, and refused to look at him no matter what, feeling ashamed and annoyed.

"Do not……"

Ah Ju could hear the complacency in the man's voice, just as his big hand was dishonestly stretched in, she grabbed it and pinched it hard.Zhao Chen took a breath, but he didn't hide, he pinched her obediently, and continued to say nonsense, "Ah Ju, I can't wait to arrive in Beijing soon, there will only be the two of us in the room, you wait, See how I deal with you."

"Stop talking!" Ah Ju pushed his hand away, hid in his arms and said, "You are not allowed to make trouble until you get off the boat." He wanted a bridal chamber, and she had already given it to him, but the place on the boat was too small. His movements were so big that she was terrified, afraid of being noticed by the mother-in-law next door, she never wanted to experience that feeling again.

Zhao Chen didn't want to agree, but before he could open his mouth, Cuiyu's voice came in from outside: "Master, grandma, breakfast is ready, now it's time to bring it in..."

Ah Ju is in a hurry, she hasn't dressed yet!

Zhao Chen kissed her face, turned his head and said, "The dinner will be served in a quarter of an hour."

The sound of footsteps outside has gone, Ah Ju hastily pushed Zhao Chen: "I'm going to get up."

Pulling up the curtains, fresh wind blows in, taking away the charming atmosphere of the room.

Zhao Chen wanted to serve Ah Ju to wash up, but Ah Ju couldn't help it, so he had to follow him and sit at the end of the long couch waiting for him to serve him.When the husband and wife were tired, Cuiyu didn't look sideways, and led the little maids to set up the breakfast, and then went out with the water basin.

Going to the low table, Ah Ju immediately noticed that there were two more bowls of soup on the table. When she was in Tongwan, her mother-in-law would order the kitchen to cook for them every three days.Come again today, is it a routine, or did the mother-in-law hear what happened last night?

With her face burning hot, Ah Ju made up her mind that even if Zhao Chen talked wildly before getting off the boat, she would not indulge him.

Zhao Chenzhen has been vegetarian for half a month...

Just like a beggar who sleeps on the street, if he has been living that kind of life of starvation, he will get used to it after a long time, but one day someone suddenly invites him to the best restaurant for a full meal, and then he can only Seeing that you can't eat it is almost worse than death.

If he's ruthless enough, it's definitely okay to run wild, but can he be ruthless?

I had no choice but to grit my teeth and endure it, threatening her in her ear every night.

Ah Ju was still afraid at first, but after thinking about it, what if he arrived in the capital, at worst, it would hurt again, anyway, he couldn't hide it, so he slept on his own, stayed with his mother-in-law during the day, and didn't give Zhao Chen a chance to touch his feet .

Ning was happy to watch her son's excitement, and pretended not to know anything, and only let the kitchen stew a few times of winter melon and lotus leaf soup to relieve Zhao Chen's anger.

It was the first time for Ah Ju to go out, and she got all her knowledge about the towns on both sides of the canal from Zhao Chen.The sun was high that day, and the couple stood in front of the railing to enjoy the scenery. Ah Ju pointed to the small but busy pier ahead and asked, "Is this Tianjin Wei? How far is it from the capital?"

Her peach blossom eyes were sparkling and full of curiosity. After all, it was her first time traveling far away, so excitement was inevitable.Zhao Chen leaned sideways on the railing, reached out and brushed the snow-white fox fur on the edge of her cloak, but because there was a maid standing not far away, she didn't touch her rosy white face, just glanced at the front and said: "It's Tianjin , if you land here, you can reach the capital in two or three hours, let's walk slowly, find a yard to stay at night, and we can arrive at noon tomorrow."

Ah Ju knew that he was just casually saying that their boat sailed directly to Tongzhou at the end of the canal, which was the closest to the capital.

The river is vast and sparkling, Ah Ju looked at the water surface, did some calculations, and suddenly his expression darkened: "Tomorrow is the new year, and in previous years, my father led Xiao Jiu to clean the house together, and my mother led me to follow the new year." Ah Zhu does the laundry and cuts the window grilles and prepares for lunch..." As he spoke, his eyes were red with tears.

"Don't cry, the wind is strong, and your face is easy to wrinkle when you cry." Zhao Chen immediately stood up straight and raised his hand to wipe away the tears for her, "Father-in-law and mother-in-law will come to the capital at this time next year, let's make it a point this year, follow me Spend the new year together?"

He whispered softly, Ah Ju felt warm and nodded.

Zhao Chen held her hand, "Let's go, let's go inside."

Ah Ju wanted to withdraw her hand, but when she raised her head, she realized that Jin Shu who was originally standing there had turned and walked forward, and looked at Zhao Chen again, with a smile in her phoenix eyes.Ah Ju finally understood that these maidservants are all smart, and they know how to read their master's face best.But she didn't hide anymore, and obediently let him lead her.

Before he had gone a few steps, a loud shout came from behind him: "Young Master!"

Ah Ju instinctively turned her head, but the man beside her had already let go of her hand and strode forward, "You go to find your mother first."

Ah Ju looked at the black-clad boat that was rowing this way in front of him. The distance was too far, and he could only see two men in dark robes standing at the bow of the boat. His faces were unclear, and he didn't know why the other party was so close. I recognized Zhao Chen.There are only two boats of our own here, and Zhao Chen happens to be the young master of the Hou Mansion, so the person who came here must have recognized the wrong person.

There is a difference between men and women, Ah Ju didn't stay any longer, and went to find her mother-in-law, "Mom, we seem to have met someone we know." He told the outside story again.

Ning was a little surprised, and then greeted Aju to sit down beside her as usual, "I'll find out when Chengyuan comes back later." The son's acquaintances, businessmen he met in Dengzhou would not call him young master, this kind of The servants can only address the master as someone from the Hou's mansion. Two men, who else can there be besides him?
The person who came was Zhao Yunting's master and servant.

Zhao Chen was very surprised, when the boat approached, he stretched out his hand to help Zhao Yunting come over: "When did father arrive in Tianjin?" No wonder he wrote to ask what boat they were on, so he dared to wait here.

Zhao Yunting didn't use him to help him, so he stepped over steadily. After Zhao Yuan also came up, he glanced at the canopy behind Zhao Chen, and explained with a smile: "The imperial court is resting, it's rare to be free, so I came to pick you up. You Where's mother?"

Zhao Chen raised his chin towards the boat canopy: "Ah Ju is also here."

Zhao Yunting stopped raising his feet, and said to Zhao Yuan: "Go and tell the boatman to dock at the front pier."

Zhao Yuan took the order and went.

Zhao Yunting looked away, saw that the eldest son was calm and did not intend to ask, he smiled and said: "I have made arrangements for Zhuangzi, let's rest there tonight, and leave tomorrow after dinner at noon, and return home before dark That's fine. Chengyuan, this year's new year, let's live together as a family."

He was nearly forty years old, he looked much younger, with a solemn face, he was not angry and pretentious, but now he smiled, like a bright moon piercing the dark clouds, gentle and kind.

Facing his father who was in good spirits but thinner than the last time he met, Zhao Chen was momentarily speechless.

Small year?

Since he was seven years old, no family has celebrated the New Year.

When his wife mentioned her family's young years, he would feel sorry for her when she was away from home, and he didn't think about himself. Now hearing this from his father, he felt a little uncomfortable for no reason.Toss and toss, who is to blame?If father would rather give up his future and be with mother...

No, so mother will be happy?The grandfather's family was murdered and exiled. If the father no longer wants to find a way out, no one will help the Ning family.If his father didn't deal with the Qin family so that the Duke's government would no longer suppress him, he would not be able to be promoted to the official position, and he would not be qualified to be valued by Emperor Tang Wen.If it were him, if he hadn't seen his mother's suffering, what would he do if he encountered the same situation?
Zhao Chen couldn't explain clearly, so he blamed his father for being sorry to his mother, but he couldn't hate him, not to mention that his mother was right in saying that his father had done his best to his son, and he had no reason to hate him.

He raised his foot and walked forward, stopped after taking two steps, and said in a low voice: "Father, Ah Ju is my wife and my mother's favorite daughter-in-law. If you dislike Ah Ju's low background and hate it in your heart, don't let us See it, otherwise don't blame us for not recognizing you."

"Say it again?" Zhao Yunting grabbed Zhao Chen's arm and finally reunited. The brat didn't show filial piety to him, and threatened to deny him as a father by opening his mouth?
Zhao Chen looked at him coldly: "You heard what I said."

Zhao Yunting snorted coldly, squeezed his wrist hard, then slammed it away, and replied in a low voice: "Unfilial son, if it wasn't for your mother, I would have disowned you a long time ago, and I am still waiting for you to tell me this?" After saying that, he ignored him, and quickly walked towards the front of the canopy, stopped when he turned quickly, and turned his head to signal Zhao Chen to follow.

The daughter-in-law is also inside, so he can't just break in. The eldest son no longer recognizes his father, so he can't accuse his daughter-in-law again as soon as they meet.No matter how bad it is for the eldest girl of the Lin family, how dare he show the slightest displeasure when she gets his wife's favor?
Inside the canopy, Ah Ju stood up nervously.The conversation between the father and son outside was not low, and they all heard it.

What kind of person is Zhao Chen's father, her father-in-law?

Of course, the lies Zhao Chen made up before getting married don’t count. The Marquis of Yanping that Ah Ju knows now is the domineering man that Ning Shi told her about marrying forcibly, and it’s the man Zhao Chen said that he liked Ning Shi and had to marry Qin Shi's helpless father.No matter which one, Ah Ju didn't hear hatred from Ning's or Zhao Chen's narration, but if any of them hate him, she has a reason to hate him, just because they don't hate him, and she can't figure out herself What is your attitude towards your father-in-law?She was wronged by her mother-in-law, but her father-in-law seemed to have a problem too...

As the footsteps approached, Ning also stood up, patted Ah Ju's hand and said, "Don't be nervous, just treat him as an ordinary father, don't think too much." Nothing to do with the daughter-in-law.She knew Zhao Yunting well, as a father-in-law, he would not embarrass his daughter-in-law.

With her mother-in-law's comfort, Ah Ju felt a bit more at ease.

The next moment, the door curtain was lifted, and Ah Ju saw her husband walking in first, followed by a man in a dark gray robe. The man blocked the curtain with one hand, walked in with his head down, and then raised his head.Just when Ah Ju was shocked that the father and son of the Zhao family were so similar, she felt the man's eyes sweep over her, and after a short stay, they landed on the mother-in-law.At that moment, his eyes were like river water illuminated by the first ray of morning light, shining brightly.

Ah Ju is familiar with this kind of eyes, Zhao Chen often looks at her like this, now she sees the same tenderness in another pair of deeper phoenix eyes, maybe the tenderness in those eyes is also deeper and more complicated, it is hard to tell.

It was so quiet in the boat canopy that Ah Ju couldn't help turning her head to look at her mother-in-law.

Ning has long been used to her husband's gaze, so she stretched out her hand to invite him to sit down, turned around and took the hot tea that Wenmei handed over to him, and asked curiously, "Waiting here so early?"

His son and daughter-in-law were all there, Zhao Yunting quickly looked away, holding a teacup and said: "Well, I'm afraid I'll miss your boat. I've made arrangements for the capital. Let's stay in Tianjin for one night and leave tomorrow."

Take a sip, the old white tea is rich and fragrant, and you don't need to heat it up. Just thinking that this is his wife's favorite drink in winter, and it was handed to him by his wife, Zhao Yunting's whole body warms up.Turning around and putting the tea bowl on the low table, he glanced at his son, and then at the little girl beside his wife who lowered her head slightly.

Ning understood what he meant, smiled and held Ah Ju's hand, and led her to Zhao Yunting: "Ah Ju, this is your father. I couldn't see you last time, but this time I finally recognized him."

Ah Ju's cheeks were slightly hot, she didn't dare to look up, she saluted respectfully, and called "Father".

Zhao Yunting responded and looked at the daughter-in-law carefully.

I have to say that the eldest son has good eyesight, and I am afraid that there are few in the capital who are better than the daughter-in-law.His temperament looks quite demure, somewhat similar to his wife, but his wife is quiet and cold, and his daughter-in-law is more gentle.As for manners, compared with the tense and tense peasant girl in my imagination, the daughter-in-law didn't move her fingers or look around, her head didn't hang down to her chest, which was already pretty good. He couldn't ask her to behave like a real lady from a famous family.

All in all, he was quite satisfied with this daughter-in-law, or maybe it was too much beyond expectation, and he was even a little surprised to see her.

Zhao Yunting glanced at the eldest son of the old god over there again, and said: "I believe you know everything about our family. When you discussed marriage with Chengyuan, I really couldn't get away. I will talk to your parents again when I have a chance in the future." It’s not convenient to accompany you. It’s inconvenient to be on the boat now. When you arrive at Zhuangzi in a while, you and your wife have a good rest. Tomorrow morning, your mother and I will wait for you to serve tea in the hall, which can be regarded as making up for the fact that I missed you last time.” There must be more when I return to the Hou’s mansion. Tea was served once, but it was for others to see, it belonged to their family.

Toasting tea to the bride is an indispensable gift, and the father-in-law also took this matter to heart, Ah Ju was quite surprised, and was really grateful, so he hurriedly expressed his thanks.

Zhao Yunting accepted her gift, and turned to Zhao Chen and said: "Okay, I have something to say to your mother, didn't you just go outside to see the scenery? Go on, the scenery here in Tianjin is not bad."

What's there to see in winter?

Knowing his father's careful thoughts, Zhao Chen didn't expose him, turned around and picked up the cloak his wife put aside, and asked her to go out.

When the young couple walked away completely, Wenmei retreated tactfully, Zhao Yunting immediately stood up, walked up to Ning Shi and took her into his arms, lowered his head and asked her: "How did I behave just now? This father-in-law is worthy Is it due diligence?"

Ning Shi leaned into his arms and nodded slightly, at least it was better than she expected.

She lowered her eyes, and Zhao Yunting wanted to see her eyes, so he hugged her and walked to the door panel inside, let her lean against the door, he stuck it up, raised her chin and stared at her: "Since I did well, you, Kiss me?" Asked in a low and calm voice, his heart was suspended for a long time, he was afraid that she would ruthlessly refuse, in fact, he knew that she would not open her mouth to refuse, but he was even more afraid of her showing instinctive ridicule, the kind that seemed to listen to God. The mockery of the big joke.

Ning did not speak, nor did she mock him, she raised her eyes lightly and looked at him with unknown meaning.

Zhao Yunting looked at these beautiful eyes, there seemed to be water waves floating inside and stars rippling, but he couldn't see clearly what kind of feelings were hidden under these intoxicating floating lights.Is it love, hate, or indifference?
Zhao Yunting gave up, after so long, he still can't see through her.

Ning closed her eyes, letting him be as gentle as water and as passionate as fire.

(End of this chapter)