Beautiful step by step

Chapter 65

The freshly picked chrysanthemums in the vase beside the dining table are in full bloom, and the green and juicy maids quietly shuttle through the banquet, changing the dishes and teacups. .

But Wu Shi's scream pierced the sky like a sharp blade, instantly shattering the harmony on the surface, revealing the hideousness inside.

Realizing that something was wrong, Mrs. Wu clutched her stomach, took advantage of the situation and fell into Shizi's arms, and pointed to the door.

"Jin Yi, ah... hurry up and call the imperial physician."

Shouting these words feebly, she closed her eyes and covered her face with resentment.It's Wei Wei again!Why is it so difficult to calculate her once!She just wanted to keep Wei Wei out of the crown prince's sight, but she didn't expect that she would marry and leave the capital far away after marriage, so she would still occupy the crown prince's mind.

Not only the eldest son, but even Lord Hou has her in his heart.

Concubine!

With the family status of the Marquis of Zhenbei, it is also possible for an official's family below the fifth rank to come in and be a concubine.Wei Wei is a maid, and her parents are all servants of the Hou family for three generations. This background is not enough to be a noble concubine.

In the ups and downs of her heart, she once again realized Wei Wei's position in the hearts of the three generations of the Hou family.It was right to drive her out of the mansion by any means at the beginning, and if she was allowed to stay, there would be no place for his wife in the Hou mansion.

"It hurts, my son, our child..."

Wu opened her eyes and looked at the undisguised concern on Shi Zi's gentle face.For the first time in the past two months, her cold eyes were stained with pure worry, sweetness appeared in her heart, and her voice unconsciously showed coquettishness.

"don’t worry."

Chu Lian's mood was very complicated. He was full of joy when he learned that Mrs. Wu was pregnant two months ago.His child will softly call him Dad in the future.He will not be as indifferent as Chu Ying, he will personally teach the child to read and write, and teach him the principles of life.

But in the past two months, he has noticed Wu's tossing again and again.She provoked Ah Yao in the Jinxiu Pavilion, and she colluded with the concubine sister to destroy Ah Yao and Yanli.Chu Lian admitted that he couldn't let go of his friendship with Ah Mao for more than ten years, and his attitude towards the two was biased.If her starting point was because she couldn't get used to Ah Mao, even though he was uncomfortable, it was understandable.

However, Wu's is not only that, Ah Mao is just an excuse for her perverseness.The old lady was kind to Mother Wei and Ah Mao, so she would not come to pay her respects to the old lady because she was pregnant; the servants of the Hou family got along well with Ah Mao, so she picked on people other than the Wu family's dowry; Even today, when her father finally came out to have a family dinner, she couldn't help but become emotionally unstable when she mentioned Ah Mao a little bit.

Chu Lian didn't understand, the child obviously belonged to two people, why he was the only one who had the self-consciousness of being a father, and Wu only took the piece of meat in his stomach as the gold medal for avoiding death.

Comforting Wu Shi, and noticing the resentment in her eyes that had not dissipated, the last bit of warmth in Chu Lian's heart completely cooled down.

He waved to the maid next to him in frustration: "Help Madam to the bed."

The old matriarch Feng was very concerned about the fetus in Wu's mansion, so he hurriedly said: "Madam Shizi can't move around, carry her to my bed inside. Chu San, you go to the door and guard, if the imperial doctor comes, take him directly Come here."

Chu San led the order to retreat, and the old lady Feng was supported, and went in to appease the Wu family.

Chu Lian, who was supposed to follow, felt a weight on his feet.After a pause, he sat opposite his father and also poured a glass of wine.He held it up high as a signal, and without clinking his glass, he swallowed it down in one gulp.

"Father, you..."

"Brother Lian, you..."

The father and son spoke at the same time, and kept silent at the same time.

In the end, it was Chu Lian who couldn't bear it first: "Dad just mentioned Ah Mao, could it be you..."

Chu Lian didn't say the second half of the sentence, but Chu Ying understood it.After Chu Lian's biological mother passed away, he didn't reunite. He was alone in the backyard, and the aunts who served by him were already old and frail.It is indeed a bit charming to ask a maid who is green and tender.

Chu Ying shook her head: "I don't mean to take a concubine, Ah Mao is Hong Ling?"

Chu Lian was sure that what his father cared about was Hong Ling.I don't know if it was his illusion, but he could see a touch of nostalgia from his father's expression.

"Well, she and Wei's mother have left the house, and they have also changed their names to Ah Wei. It is also a predestined relationship. I taught her to read. Dad should remember that on the first day of school, I said that I should learn to read and learn to teach Wei. My mother's little sister Hong Ling."

Chu Ying's expression was completely lost in memory: "There is such a thing."

"When I came back from school on the first day, I took the book and taught her. When I turned to a random page, she recognized the character '嫤'. At that time, I hadn't learned the character. The branch gestured out. She said the word was nice, and changed her name to Wei Wei after leaving the Hou's mansion."

Chu Ying smacked: "Wei Wei, there are so many beauties in Yanzhao. The beautiful Yan Ruyu is indeed more beautiful than Hong Ling. I vaguely remember that at the beginning of the year, Mrs. Wu took her away from her mother, saying that she was going to be placed in your room. Why now? Both he and Wei's mother have left the mansion."

Filling up a glass of wine again, Chu Lian didn't know what to say.He even knew about Wu's request for Hong Ling, so why didn't he know anything about such a big event later?
Across a wall, a shrill cry came from the bedroom.Chu San led the imperial physician in, and Chu Lian nodded slightly. After the two of them entered, his mood became serious, and his mouth was full of bitterness.

"I didn't know that my father also valued Ah Mao so much. Perhaps it was because my grandmother and I treated Ah Mao's mother and daughter too well, which caused Wu's dissatisfaction. She intentionally transferred Ah Mao to my room as a roommate, and then gave Mama Wei a lie. Set it up, give Ah Maoan the charge of stopping the drug without authorization and be expelled from the Hou Mansion."

Chu Ying was a little emotional: "Hong... Ah Mao has your child?"

Chu Lian took a sip of wine: "I think, if Ah Mao is such a good girl, the child she will give birth to must be very good. But she doesn't want to be young, and I can't force her. During the few nights we were together, we were very happy. It's the same as when I was a child, sitting on the bed counting stars, guessing lantern riddles, telling jokes, doing nothing innocently."

Chu Ying repeated: "I don't want to be petty with others, I am worthy of her daughter."

Then he asked again: "What's the matter with the trick?"

"Father also knows that Wei's mother has been helping grandma to manage the property outside the Hou Mansion. The other stewards tried their best to make money, but she was the only one who was always clean. Grandma liked her and gave her a lot of rewards every time. Take Mother Wei would usually buy some property for rewarding silver and silk. The Wu family saw the opportunity and used her own dowry as a bait to lure Mother Wu into being fooled. After the event was completed, she said that the servants of the Hou family were deceiving the master and embezzling the property of the eldest son and wife."

After drinking twice as much, Chu Lian's face turned slightly red. She didn't know if it was from embarrassment or from the drunkenness.

"Mr. Wu is not relentless, and it is said that this incident will damage the reputation of the Marquis. It happened that something happened to Ah Mao, so Wu said that Ah Mao should make amends on behalf of Wei's mother. On that day, General Wu just won a great victory in the Northwest, and his class teacher returned to the court and was promoted to Minister of the Ministry of War. The Wu family is powerful, and the Hou Mansion can only avoid their edge, so they fulfilled Wu's wish and took Ah Mao to appease her anger. I am useless, I only know how to enjoy myself these years, and I can't support the Hou Mansion at critical moments."

When it came to the end, Chu Lian's voice trembled a little, and Chu Ying felt uncomfortable on the other side.

The son has gone his old way again.He had seen Wei Wei's girl before, and her appearance was completely inherited from Wei Wei's mother.He grew up with Wei's mother back then, and Wei's mother was agile since she was a child. She did all the cleaning, cooking, embroidery and other tasks in an orderly manner as a maid.

He didn't think much at first, but when he was seven years old and able to wield the spear in the arsenal, his father, who was a general, suddenly told him, don't practice martial arts anymore in your life, and be a rich and idle person at ease. just fine.

How sad that the eagle fighting the sky is locked in a cage.No matter how luxurious the cage is, it cannot conceal the essence of imprisonment.From the age of seven to when he gradually became sensible, during those dark years, little Wei's mother was always by his side.They grew up year by year, so how could he not think of such a beautiful girl.

After he became sensible, he even thought of marrying her as the wife of the son.The purpose of left and right Chu family is to weaken their own power, so that the people on the throne can rest assured.If he marries a wife like this, everyone will be satisfied.When he revealed his thoughts to his parents, he was told that he was already engaged.It turned out that the Chu family forcibly separated in the early years, and their forces in the northwest almost suffered a devastating blow.And in that catastrophe, my father's best friend in the army died, and before he died, he entrusted the Marquis Mansion to take care of the orphans and widows.Father has made a decision for him to make a baby marriage with that girl. He likes that the maid in the mansion can take over the house, but the wife of Shizi can only be that girl.

His slender arms couldn't twist his thighs, and he knew that if he resisted, the Hou family would only take revenge on Wei's mother.He went to the girl to explain the situation, but the girl said that she only wanted to be a legal wife.He expressed his heart to Wei's mother, thinking that she would agree to him if he was full of sincerity and friendship for many years.Who knows that she only replied to him with one sentence: "I don't want to be a concubine."

And a few days after he confessed his love, his mother called him over, saying that Mingwei's mother fell in love with Wei Bang, the son of the steward of the outer court of the Hou Mansion.He knew that Wei Bang was a very ordinary person, with an honest temper and little wealth.At that time, he was very angry. Could it be that he is not as good as such a man?

After an in-depth conversation with Wei's mother, he finally understood.Wei's mother chose Wei Bang because he was honest and easy to handle.Not only him, but the Wei family has a simple population, and she must be comfortable marrying with her ability.

At the same time, Chu Ying also understood the underlying meaning of her words, she did not want to be a concubine who was under the control of her main wife for life and could not control herself.

Watching her get married, he blesses her on the face, but he is unwilling to do so in his heart.In a fit of anger, he no longer called her by her maiden name, but instead called her "Mother Wei" as if he were calling a servant.The mother in the Hou's mansion must be old, and a mother like her who is more tender than a maid is not to mention how eye-catching it is, and the more it makes him feel more unwilling.

So when the war in the northwest resumed, and as the heir of the Marquis of Zhenbei, he had to lead the troops to the front line, he brought Wei Bang with him.And how can an honest person like Wei Bang resist the cunning and vicious Wala people.Without his special care, he died there as expected.

He felt a little guilty, but beneath the guilt was joy.

Look, even though you have married a beautiful woman, she will stay in the Hou Mansion after all, and will accompany me for a long time.

He performed quite well in that battle, not because he was incapable of playing beautifully, but because after all these years he had already understood that the Zhenbei Hou Mansion would never produce another capable son.The emperor would rather see a Northwest where there are constant wars than to see a stable and powerful Northwest Army take root in the vast grassland west of the capital, which is almost empty.

Returning to court with Wei Bang's relics, he learned a piece of news that he regretted for most of his life: Wei's mother was pregnant.

He regretted it when he saw her clutching her stomach and fainting in despair when she learned that Wei Bang had died in battle.Watching her wake up, and listening to her talk about how sad a child without a father is, he hurriedly hid in the backyard.Then all he could do was to put pressure on steward Wei after learning that she had given birth to a daughter, ordering him not to force Mother Wei to adopt her son to inherit the incense of the Wei family.

And Wei's mother was stronger than he imagined, and she insisted on returning to the old lady after confinement.Borrowing the power of the old matriarch, she suppressed the Wei family's idea of ​​having a son in their arms.And with her accounting skills, it didn't take long for her to become the number one capable person in front of the old matriarch.

Chu Ying always felt ashamed. The wife he married was always sick after giving birth to Chu Lian, and passed away within a year.After finishing the funeral, he didn't want to face Mother Wei in the mansion at all.In the end, he hid in the backyard in the name of being intoxicated with calligraphy and painting, and spent so many years dreaming and dying.It wasn't until the Wu family suddenly emerged to take control of the northwest, and the Zhenbeihou's mansion was no longer so conspicuous, that he refrained from occasionally coming out for a family dinner, and glanced cautiously at Mother Wei from the corner of his eye.

Trapped in memory, Chu Ying drank one cup after another, and the pot of wine soon bottomed out.Just as he was about to ask someone to refill his glass, the old doctor came out from the bedroom and stroked his beard to report.

"Mrs. Shizi was stimulated by something. She almost had a miscarriage. There was no danger at all. Forgive me, Madam's pregnancy is inherently unstable and she can't bear the slightest stimulation."

"Excited?"

Chu Ying has a big tongue, but her brain is clearer than anyone else.He didn't hide in the backyard for more than ten years. At first he was bored to practice kung fu, but after he mastered kung fu, he often disguised himself and went out in the market.He wasn't stupid in the first place, he had watched too many dramas in other houses, and he knew the tricks of those women better than anyone else.

The Wu family didn't have any good things, so he was dissatisfied with his son marrying a Wu family daughter.In his plan, if the two are in love, it is best for the son to marry Mother Wei's daughter.But he also understands that it is not easy to operate because of the disparity in status.Then the best thing to do is to go to Zhenbei Hou Mansion to go on the way of Wenchen. With the family status of Hou Mansion, you can also marry a good girl from Wenchen's family.

However, people are not as good as heaven, and after going around, they still married the Wu family.In the first few years, he saw Wu's tricks, but they were not too much, so he was relieved.In the past few months, he went out to travel in disguise, but he didn't expect that the Hou Mansion would be completely changed when he came back.

What's so great about being pregnant, no matter how poor the Chu family is, there is no shortage of grandchildren, and they really use the piece of meat in their stomachs as a gold medal for avoiding death.

After hearing what the imperial physician said, Chu Lian just frowned.Chu Ying was brought up by Laozhen Beihou, and his violent temper is also in the same line.

"You can irritate her even by saying a word, and people who are made of paper are not so fragile. It's still because you, a quack doctor, can't diagnose the cause. Chu San, take my name card and go to Baicaotang to invite the usual doctor of the Hou Mansion."

The imperial doctor looked unnatural for a moment, which Chu Ying keenly caught.

"I don't think there is any need to invite Doctor Baicaotang."

Taking a step forward, he directly grabbed Jinyi's neck: "You called the doctor just now, so tell me, did the Wu family do something wrong today?"

Master Hou actually saw it!Under the strong pressure, Jin Yi shrank unconsciously.

This alone is enough for Chu Ying to draw a conclusion.

"It turns out that this pair of master and servant is really playing the devil. I said, why did she stare at the bowl of rice porridge as soon as she entered the door. It is not enough to drive people out of the Hou's mansion. They must be killed quickly."

He spoke vaguely, but Chu Lian could understand.A heart that has already cooled down will fall to the bottom even more.

"Father, the Hou Mansion may not be able to support this child."

Chu Ying nodded: "It's not just the Hou's mansion, other places can't support her. The Wu family on the left and right are worried about her, so they let her go back to her mother's house to have a baby."

In the bedroom, after taking the antidote, Mrs. Wu, who was a little more comfortable, heard Chu Ying's unquestionable voice, and a mouthful of stagnant air accumulated in her heart, and she spit out a mouthful of blood.

But Chu Ying said harshly: "Others are afraid of the Wu family, but I am not. I just happen to be free and have nothing to do. During this period of time, the ups and downs of the Hou Mansion have been thoroughly investigated!"

(End of this chapter)