Reborn in the last years of Kangxi

Chapter 136
After returning from the banquet that day, Lu Mei didn't go to ask Zhao Jia for his order because Mrs. Zhao Jia rested early.

Early the next morning, Mrs. Zhao Jia got three pieces of news: the first, when Aunt Lu came back, she had extra head jewelry; I rested at Aunt Jade's place yesterday.

Zhao Jia was still furious when he heard the first one, but after hearing the second two, his anger dissipated.She bowed her head and thought for a while, then decided to stand still and wait for two days before talking.

For several days, Cao Quan did not go to Lumei's house.Lu Mei started to have a hard time these days, the meat dishes disappeared at all, and the hot dishes began to change to cold dishes, and the vegetarian dishes changed to pickled dishes, and the amount of meals gradually decreased.

At first, Lu Mei thought Cao Quan was just annoyed for a while, but based on her understanding of Cao Quan's bed and curtains in the past few months, she felt that as long as Cao Quan was greedy and came to her again this time, she would be able to tie him tightly. .So in the beginning, when she looked at the unremarkable food, although she was angry, she didn't make any noise, she just took the money in private and asked Fuyun to prepare it for her.

However, Lu Mei sent Fu Yun to Cao Quan's study to look for him, but Fu Yun was blocked by someone before he entered the door; Lu Mei himself saw Cao Quan at Zhao Jia's place several times, but Zhao Jia's presence was hindered. , she couldn't say anything, her seductive eyes were fixed on Cao Quan.Cao Quan turned a blind eye and ignored her.

Cao Quan never came, and the food got worse all the way, and Lu Mei felt a little panicked.In such a house, if the master is not welcome, the servants can trample her to death.Now, she asked Fuyun to go to the kitchen to cook private meals, but she couldn't do it anymore.I don't know if the cook was ordered by Mrs. Zhao Jia, or because of his snobbish eyes, seeing that her second wife has fallen out of favor, he refused to cook for her no matter what.

Lu Mei barely ate dim sum for a day or two, but her mouth and stomach were sour, and then she felt like she was sick, and she couldn't eat anything, so she felt nauseous just by smelling the dim sum, so she barely ate two bites Spit clean again.

On this day, Lu Mei vomited again, and Floating Cloud came over to wash her mouth with scented tea, and couldn't help but said: "Miss, let's invite the doctor to come and have a look. The servant will look at you... When you are happy with the servant and sister-in-law How about it. Didn't you change your clothes this month..." Lu Mei brought her from Lu's house, so she was called that way.

Lu Mei was stunned, but she had never thought about it.At the beginning, she had been taking the medicine for many years, and she always thought that it would take three to five years before she could conceive. After careful calculation, it turned out that the sunflower water of this month was more than ten days late.Lu Mei grabbed Fu Yun's hand nervously, but she was so happy that she couldn't say a word, she just said to herself, Amitabha, God is so sorry, God really helped!
Lu Mei was happy for a while, calmed down and thought carefully, now she can't tell Zhao Jia, otherwise the child will be ruined, and she should go to Cao Quan.Lu Mei opened the box, gritted her teeth, took out some personal money, and handed it to Fu Yun: "Go to the study to find the master. If anyone blocks you, stuff the money until they make way. You must see the master and tell him personally. There's something about pregnancy."

Fu Yun answered and was about to leave when Lu Mei called her back again: "It just so happens that the pickled vegetables are not poured out today, so hurry up and put them out! Turn around and ask the master, you just say that the food is like this every day."

After waiting for a while, Cao Quan didn't come, but sent a servant to invite the doctor quietly.The doctor saw that it was indeed a happy pulse, and Lu Mei hurriedly asked Fu Yun to send double the consultation fee to the doctor.After a while, Cao Quan came.

Lu Mei sat on the bed with her knees hugged, wearing only a tulle shirt, her hair loose, no makeup on, tears glistened in her eyes, when she saw Cao Quan, she timidly called out: "Master..." Then, the teardrops The child rolled down, her cherry lips trembled, and her face was full of grievances.

Cao Quan sighed, sat down, took Lu Mei into his arms, and stroked her back. Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly saw the food on the table. Can't stop saying to Lu Mei: "You have been wronged."

Lu Mei was sobbing in a low voice, but when she heard this, she suddenly grabbed Cao Quan's skirt and began to cry, Cao Quan's heart tightened, and he hugged her even tighter.

The two hugged each other for a while, Lu Mei gradually calmed down, raised her tear-stained face, and smiled sadly: "Today I can see the master Mei'er is enough. Mei'er knows that the master is angry, so she doesn't dare I beg the master to forgive me. I only hope that I can leave a man and a half woman for the master, so that the kindness that the master treats my sister is not in vain, and I will die without regret."

Cao Quan just stared at the leftovers on the table, and was silent for a while, then told Fu Yun, "Go to the kitchen and tell me, my dinner is here tonight."

Floating Cloud went down in response.Cao Quan wiped the tears on Lu Mei's face: "Don't cry anymore when you are pregnant, so as not to make you sick. I won't mention the past. You are smart, and you should know how to advance and retreat. If you are happy, don't worry about it beforehand." Zhang Zhang, the old lady, the mother of the sister-in-law of the Dongfu, will arrive in two days. Go over and salute her, and then talk about the matter of your body, and the wife will not make things difficult for you. From now on, you still have to do your duty The second wife in this yard, otherwise don't blame the family law for being ruthless."

After he finished speaking, seeing Lu Mei's terrified expression, thinking that she was intimidated by his words and afraid of the family law, or that Zhao Jiashi would harm her and the child, he comforted her a few more words, and rested here again Sleep.

Lu Mei's heart was overwhelmed, but how could she sleep when she lay down?If you go to see the old matriarch of Dongfu, don't you also have to see Mr. Cao?Once exposed, this life will be over.But if he pretended to be sick and refused to see him, Cao Quan would definitely be annoyed, and if Zhao Jia knew about the child, he might not be able to keep it.If there is no child and Cao Quan's favor, it will be extremely difficult to gain a foothold in this sect.

Lu Mei thought about it, and held a little bit of hope—in case Mr. Cao had forgotten her long ago.Thinking of this, she felt a little contradictory and uncomfortable. She had always been conceited of her beauty, and she really didn't want to believe that a man who had seen her face could forget her. However, at this moment, she still had to hope that Mr. Cao forget about her.

Or, this kid can help.Lu Mei put her hands on her still flat stomach.If it really happened, then the child would be her only talisman.

*
On the tenth day of June, Mrs. Gao was taken back to the Cao Mansion.The next day, Cao Quan and his wife came to visit with their whole family.

Mrs. Gao always liked children the most, and she was a little happy when she saw Cao Shuo, and when she heard Cao Quan say that both Zhao Jia and Lu Mei were pregnant, the old man was even more happy, and held them both hand in hand, asking questions.

It was only then that Zhao Jia knew that Lu Mei had a body, and she hated her so much, but in front of her elders, she had to pretend to be virtuous.Therefore, although Zhao Jia had a smile on his face, his eyes were like knives, and he only greeted Cao Quan.

Lu Mei didn't see Cao Yong when he entered the door, and he was secretly relieved. He only prayed to Buddha and hoped that he would not see him today.After being praised by Mrs. Gao and hearing Mrs. Gao ask her about her child, she gradually became more at ease in her heart, and replied respectfully to Mrs. Gao's words.

Mrs. Gao saw that Lu Mei was beautiful, and she was quiet, with the not-so-elegant Zhao Jia in contrast, she couldn't help feeling a little more fond of Lu Mei, and became more and more amiable.

Lu Mei looked at Mrs. Gao's attitude towards herself and the Zhaojia family, she couldn't help but feel pleased, she was still complacent, and more or less fantasized about her own scene after giving birth to a son, when she suddenly heard the maid outside reporting: " Uncle, the third girl is here." This sound was like a thunderbolt from the blue sky, which awakened Lu Mei's sweet dreams, and frightened her to the point of tearing her liver and gallbladder.

The curtain was opened, and brothers and sisters Cao Yong and Cao Yi came in from the outside.

Cao Yi didn't want to see Mrs. Cao Quan and Mrs. Zhaojia at first, but he couldn't avoid it, so he had to follow his elder brother. First he greeted Mrs. Gao, then Mrs. Zhaojia, and then he also said hello to his aunt Lu Mei according to the rules, and retreated to the side.

When Cao Yong saluted, he didn't look at Lu Mei very carefully. A nephew stared at his uncle's concubine as a matter of dignity.Jia Road Mei kept his head down, and he didn't pay much attention.

Bianlu felt guilty, lowered his head for a while, and listened to Cao Yong talking with Li Shi and Mrs. Gao. It seemed that there was nothing unusual, so he secretly looked up at Cao Yong.Cha Cao Yong smiled and faced Mrs. Gao to listen to her, and the two faced each other.

The moment Cao Yong saw Lu Mei, although he was calm, he was also amazed in his heart.How is this going?The so-called Daotai clan niece and second uncle's concubine, could it be that "famous prostitute" Tang Jiaojiao she met in Beijing? !
At first glance, he also thought that he was wrong, it was just that they were similar in appearance. After all, Tang Jiaojiao's virtuous appearance was completely different from the coquettish appearance at that time.However, Tang Jiaojiao's frightened expression and the three-inch golden lotus that was revealed when she subconsciously stepped back told him clearly that she was right.

In the officialdom, marriage is a common method, whether it is one's own daughter, niece, niece or clan daughter, they all have it.It is not uncommon for a daughter of his surname who has no blood to marry her adopted daughter.However, the majestic fourth-rank Daotai recognizes the next bitch as a clan daughter and sends it to Cao's mansion. How can this be a relationship?Isn't he afraid of the Cao family's revenge after the Dongchuang incident?This is really weird.

Besides, Tang Jiaojiao was supposed to be in the capital!

Cao Yong seems to have found some eyebrows, but it is like a layer of mist, so that he can't see clearly.

Lu Mei, or Tang Jiaojiao, almost lost her wits right now.I'm really afraid of something.She told herself over and over again that she was a young lady of the Lu family, with the Lu family as her backer and her children as protection, as long as she refused to admit it, she would be able to escape.Although she herself didn't believe in these things, she could only rely on them to calm herself down.

Even mental hypnosis did not restore the color to Lu Mei's pale face.Mrs. Gao noticed her abnormality, and asked her in a warm voice if she was not feeling well.Lu Mei immediately borrowed the slope to get off the donkey, and went back to the mansion with apology to Mrs. Gao.At this moment, she just wanted to escape for a while.

*
Although Lu Mei is gone, Cao Yong is not at ease.There is such an unknown woman in the family, who knows if it is a disaster?After pondering for a while, he still went to Kaiyang courtyard.

Cao Yin was strolling around the yard with a walking stick. His illness had gradually recovered, and he was tired of being in the house every day, so he went out to exercise his muscles and bones while the sun was not yet full.

Cao Yong saw that his father was already sweating profusely on his forehead, and he was still panting slightly, so he hurriedly stepped forward to support him: "Father is not in good health yet, and now he has fallen into the ambush again, let's go back to the house!"

Cao Yin sighed helplessly: "After all, people are old, it's less than half an hour!"

Two fathers entered the house, Xiu Luan and Jinlu Duan Shui twisted the veil, and Cao Yong handed it to his father himself.Cao Yin sat on the chair, wiped his face, and felt much more relaxed.Two ice basins were placed in the room, which relieved a lot of heat, but it was cooler than outside.

When Xiuluan served the tea, Cao Yong sent her and Jinlu down.When there were only father and son left in the room, he opened his mouth to reveal Lu Mei's identity.

Cao Yin's face suddenly darkened. Although he had never made a show in front of people these years, the entire Jiangnan officialdom, counting from the governor, was not polite to him.Although he has a low position on the surface, he is at the same level as the governor when he is the lowest viscount.Now, he has only been ill for a few months and has not died yet, yet someone came to bully him like this! !Using a bitch to act as a good family, and actually became the second wife of the younger brother, isn't this a slap in the face of the Cao family?It seems that I have been suffering from this disease for a long time!

"Father, who is that Lu Daotai? It's always a bit weird. The capital is not close to Jiangning. Even if you want to take advantage of the beauty of the fireworks girl, it won't be so troublesome!" Cao Yong was a little puzzled.

Cao Yin shook his head, and said disdainfully: "It turned out that he was an alternate magistrate in the middle of the capital, but because he hugged Ga Li's thigh, he got involved in a real lack of Taoism. After only one year in Jiangning, he got married with six or seven families. Shameless!" Having said this, he felt something was wrong and glanced at his son.

Cao Yong also looked at his father thoughtfully, and the expressions of both father and son turned solemn.Yes, how much money can a powerless alternate prefect have?But if, according to what Ning Chun said, this Tang Jiaojiao is the oiran of Yiyue Tower, then her net worth will naturally not be a small sum.The Lu family had six or seven relatives in the south of the Yangtze River, and people like Tang Jiaojiao may not be the only ones.Ordinary people, even if they want to establish a foothold in other places and establish more relationships through marriage, they don't need to go to such trouble, and it is planned in advance.

This is really strange, there are many things that cannot be justified, such as Tang Jiaojiao's current style, which is really not the slightest bit dusty.During this period, if you don't go through a month of special guidance, you can't learn it.

Thinking of this, Cao Yong felt annoyed and numb for a while. Since Lu Daotai is leaning on Kari, could it be that these are all arranged by the eighth elder brother?If so, it would be regarded as going deep into the Jiangnan officialdom in a disguised form, but this method is too dirty.However, if it wasn't for the eighth elder brother's envoy, the people behind the scenes would be too powerful. With the help of the big tree of Gali, they set up these eyes and ears in Jiangnan.

"Father, who do you think it is? Two, three or eight?" Cao Yong couldn't help asking his own doubts.

"This method is not popular!" Cao Yin sighed: "The one in the east is also in a difficult situation now. The incident of abolishing the crown prince last year, Long Live Lord had a heart attack, and his confidantes were almost cut down. Right now, it is with eight Elder Brother’s close relationship with Garli runs Jiangnan, so it’s reasonable for him to be anxious to get involved. The third elder brother spends his days playing and writing, and reads a lot. He wants to use this method of women’s to develop power , which is also in line with his temperament of talking about war on paper. Although Ga Li and Brother Nine are related by marriage, but he has always been greedy and shameless, how sincere is he to Brother Eight? I am afraid that Brother Nine knows this too."

Cao Yong frowned, no matter who the main envoy is, there is one thing that needs to be made clear, that is, whether this impostor is only aimed at the Cao family, or they are casting a net all over the sky.

Both father and son reached a consensus on this point.

After Cao Yin thought for a while, he said to Cao Yong: "I will send someone to the west courtyard in a while, and invite your second uncle to come over. You can avoid it for now. After all, it is not an honorable thing."

Cao Yong agreed, and went down to make arrangements, but after half an hour, Cao Quan arrived.

After he went to visit Gao Taijun just now, he thought about coming to see his elder brother, but his wife and concubine came together, and they were all pregnant and needed to be taken care of, so he thought about coming again tomorrow.But I don't want to, I just arrived at the mansion for a while, and I sent someone here to invite me.

"Brother, you look better than you did a few days ago!" Cao Quan was very happy to see that his brother came out to sit, and his face was not as haggard as before.

Cao Yin nodded, pointed to a chair, and told him to sit down.The two brothers didn't beat around the bush, and said directly: "Second brother, Lu Mei's identity is inappropriate, let's find a way to deal with it quietly! But don't, before you deal with it, ask yourself who is the master behind her?" ?”

Cao Quan's expression froze, he didn't understand what he meant for a while, and murmured: "Brother? Are you talking about Lu Mei in my room?"

Cao Yin nodded: "I only recently got a letter from the outside, saying that there is something wrong with this road platform, and there is even news about that road eyebrow. Not only is she not a daughter of the Lu family, she is not even considered a good family. The brothel girls over there in the capital!"

Cao Quan's face was gloomy, thinking that he actually hired a prostitute as his second wife, the hat on his head must be very green, thanks to the fact that he still treats her as a treasure, he already has a bit of sincerity.The more he thought about it, the more annoyed he became, but he couldn't sit still any longer, he stood up abruptly and said, "Brother, I'll go back and beat that bitch to death..." At this point, he stopped and looked at Cao Yin blankly: " Big brother, she has a little brother's child in her belly!"

For a moment, Cao Yin was also stunned.That's true, but if you don't keep it, you have to keep it first.
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(End of this chapter)