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In order to win him over, the emperor not only asked Prince Huan to find him, but also asked the queen to find Hualan. However, the queen mother found out later and Hualan was called to the queen mother's palace and was not allowed to stay with the queen for long.

The Queen personally hosted the polo match this time, and one can tell what the purpose was. If she can see it, others can naturally see it too.

After lunch, Minglan went to Shulan's yard again and prepared to say goodbye and leave.

Zhou Chen originally wanted to tell Minglan about Qi Heng, but after thinking about it, he decided not to say it. Qi Heng is now an official's man. Even if they are brothers-in-law, they each represent their own interests. If he says too much, it will not be a good thing.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but think of Gu Tingye again. Although Gu Tingye was not his brother-in-law like Qi Heng, but in this way, he had a better relationship with Gu Tingye.

If it were Gu Tingye, he would not hesitate at all and would say whatever he thought of.

However, Gu Tingye is probably still scheming with Xiao Qin in the Marquis' Mansion, and it is unknown when the fight will come to an end.

As time went by, the disputes between the emperor and the empress dowager became more and more frequent. The court was in turmoil because of the fight between the two palaces. Han Zhang, as the prime minister, tried to persuade them to make peace several times, but to no avail.

But Zhou Chen understood that the situation was becoming increasingly unfavorable for Empress Dowager Cao. After all, the emperor was no longer a young child. He had been on the throne for a year, and because of the kindness he had shown, the ministers' minds had changed.

In fact, this is very normal. After all, not everyone can become Wu Zetian or Empress Lu. Empress Cao's skills were still a little lacking. Another point is that the power of civil servants in the Song Dynasty was really terrifying and could already pose a threat to the imperial power.

In the eyes of the civil servants, letting the empress dowager rule the country from behind the scenes was just a way to stabilize the situation and protect their own interests.

But now that everything is stable, the civil servants will naturally side with the government, and there is no need to disperse power too much later.

Sheng Hong has been very troubled recently, but the reason for his trouble is not because of official affairs, but because of his family.

Ever since Lin Qinshuang returned to the Sheng Mansion, the eldest lady Wang Ruofu has never treated him well, and even the old lady treated him coldly.

What comforted him was that Lin Qinshuang at least obeyed him in everything, making him feel the long-lost love again.

But recently, he was very annoyed because Lin Qinshuang had been urging him to find a suitable in-law for her daughter Molan. He had mentioned several, but none of them caught the eyes of Lin Qinshuang and her daughter. These two were too ambitious and insisted on finding a lord's family.

But as a civil servant, he had no interactions with the nobles. Even if he spoke to them from time to time, they were mostly doing so for Zhou Chen's sake and had no personal relationship with him at all.

Moreover, this matter concerns marriage, and it is not easy for a grown man like him to bring it up. If Wang Ruofu is willing to help, it would be easy to talk to her, but the problem is that Wang Ruofu doesn't like Lin Qinshuang and her daughter anymore, so asking her to help Molan find a marriage is simply wishful thinking.

As for the old lady, there is no need to even mention her. I guess she will scold him as soon as he opens his mouth.

In desperation, he could only "compromise" and go to Wang Ruofu, saying all the sweet words, coaxing her carefully, and explaining so many reasons, before Wang Ruofu slightly relaxed and said that if there were any gatherings like polo clubs in the future, she would bring Molan with her.

Sheng Hong also wanted Wang Ruofu to talk to Hualan. If Hualan, the wife of the Duke of Jingguo, came forward to help, it would definitely give Wang Ruofu more face than that.

But as soon as he said it, Wang Ruofu mocked him, leaving Sheng Hong with nothing to do but hold his nose and dare not refute.

When Zhou Chen came back from work that day, Hua Lan told him what happened today during dinner.

"Sir, you are right. My aunt is here again. I asked the concierge to tell her that I was not here today, so she left. I guess my aunt will come again in the future."

Hualan had a strange expression on her face when she said this. When Aunt Kang had a falling out with them last year, she had vowed that Aunt Kang would never come again.

But now it seems that I was really wrong, and Zhou Chen was better at judging people.

Zhou Chen was not surprised, he just said: "I know you are kind-hearted, but this Aunt Kang is not ordinary, you still have to be careful."

"I understand." Hua Lan replied seriously.

Just as Hualan had guessed, a few days later, Aunt Kang came again, but this time she brought Wang Ruofu with her. Even if Hualan didn't want to see her, she had to meet her for her mother's sake.

She was also very dissatisfied with her mother Wang Ruofu's behavior. She had said this before, but her mother still did it knowingly, which made her very embarrassed.

Aunt Kang's attitude this time was much better than last time. She spoke all kinds of flattering words. She originally wanted to pay a visit to Zhou Chen's mother, but when Mrs. Zhou Xu heard that it was her who was coming, she didn't show up at all, giving her a cold shoulder.

But Aunt Kang had nothing but thick skin and didn't care at all. After talking to Hualan for a while, she found an excuse to go to Shulan's yard and see Shulan and her two children.

Speaking of which, she has a special relationship with Zhou Chen's two women.

Hualan is her niece, and Shulan is also related to her a little, because Shulan's younger brother Sheng Changwu's wife is her daughter Kang Yuner, so she and Shulan are also relatives.

During the conversation, she mentioned Sheng Changwu from time to time, saying that Sheng Changwu was lucky and followed Zhou Chen, and now he is an eighth-rank officer.

Hua Lan understood what was going on as soon as she heard it. It was nothing more than envy and jealousy. Zhou Chen had promised to give Kang Jin a ninth-rank position, but she was disgusted and refused.

As a result, this opportunity was given to Sheng Changwu. In just one year, Sheng Changwu was promoted from the ninth rank to the eighth rank. This speed of promotion was entirely due to Zhou Chen.

What's worse is that Kang Jin failed again in this year's imperial examination.

So she is very regretful now. If she had agreed at the beginning, Sheng Changwu's position would be her son now, and with Zhou Chen looking after him, he would definitely have a bright future and might even become the next Gu Tingye.

But even though she regretted it so much now, there was nothing she could do, so she could only try her best to mend her relationship with Zhou Chen and Hua Lan, hoping that Zhou Chen could help her son again.

Aunt Kang and Wang Ruofu stayed in the Duke's Mansion for a long time and left only before Zhou Chen returned.

Although Aunt Kang tried her best to say nice things today, Hualan still remained vigilant. Zhou Chen told her that the emperor and the empress dowager were fighting fiercely at this time, and both sides were trying to win him over, so it was best to keep a low profile recently.

Of course she was not welcome to have Aunt Kang come to visit, but every time Aunt Kang used her mother as a shield, her mother was willing to do so. It was useless to say anything, which was very annoying. She didn't know what kind of confusing soup Aunt Kang had fed her mother.

But a few days later, when Aunt Kang brought a concubine of the Kang family to the Duke's Mansion and said that she wanted her to be Zhou Chen's concubine, Hualan got furious on the spot.

As soon as Zhou Chen returned home, he heard Hua Lan yelling angrily: "Get out, take her away, get out now, we don't welcome you in our Duke's Mansion, please don't come to our house again in the future."

Then Zhou Chen saw Aunt Kang and an unfamiliar girl being forcibly pushed out by Cui Chan and several maids.

"Dong Jingguo."

Aunt Kang had been struggling, but when she saw Zhou Chen, she screamed as if she had seen a savior.

"Duke Jingguo, please take care of this. I am your aunt. Hualan is such a disrespectful child that she even wants to drive me away. You have to take charge of this for me."

Zhou Chen didn't even look at her, and asked Cui Chan, "What's going on?"

Cui Chan said with dissatisfaction, "Master, it was this Aunt Kang who insisted on sending her concubine to you as a concubine. The Madam disagreed, but she was still making trouble and insisted on keeping her. She even cried and wailed. The Madam couldn't stand it anymore, so she asked me to drive them away."

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 1160: Slapping Aunt Kang, Chaos in the Court

Hua Lan heard the voice and came out. When she saw Zhou Chen, she called out softly, "Sir, you're back."

"Ah."

Zhou Chen responded and walked to her side. He had been married to Hua Lan for so many years, but he rarely saw Hua Lan so angry. He half hugged Hua Lan, patted her arm gently, and comforted her: "It's okay, leave it to me."

Turning to look at Aunt Kang, Zhou Chen asked in a cold tone: "Didn't you say last time that you would never visit my Zhou family again? How come you treat your words as fart?"

Aunt Kang's face suddenly turned ashen, and her body was shaking uncontrollably with anger.

If anyone else was insulted in person by Zhou Chen like this, they would probably be so angry that they would curse loudly. Even if they didn't dare to curse, they would definitely not be able to stand the insult and would walk away in anger.

But Aunt Kang is not an ordinary person. She was really angry, but when she thought of Zhou Chen’s current prestige and her own family’s decline, she forced herself to hold back her anger.

"My Lord, you misunderstood. I was just speaking in a fit of anger. We are real relatives. It's not right to take a joke between relatives seriously."

"Aunt, this is just a joke. You are the elder and you must set a good example for us youngsters. You must keep your word." Zhou Chen was not polite at all and deliberately stabbed Aunt Kang in the heart.

Aunt Kang pretended not to hear and forced a smile, saying, "Duke Jingguo, as your elder, I saw that you had no one to serve you, so I thought of sending someone over. This is my daughter Kang Zhaoer, who is beautiful and knows how to serve. If you accept her, she can serve you well and work for Huaer at the same time, killing two birds with one stone."

Hua Lan said coldly: "I don't need her to help me. Our Duke's Mansion is not short of people yet. Aunt, please take her back quickly."

Aunt Kang said, "Hua'er, although you are the eldest lady of the Duke's Mansion, you should also consider Duke Jing more. Which Duke's Mansion has only one concubine? You don't know how people talk about you behind your back, saying that you are jealous. I let Zhao'er enter the Duke's Mansion for your own good."

"Aunt, please stop talking. Do it for my own good. I don't have this blessing. You'd better stop doing it for my own good. Take your people and leave quickly. Otherwise, don't blame me for really sending people to carry you away."

Aunt Kang looked at Zhou Chen: "Duke Jingguo."

As she spoke, she pushed Kang Zhaoer who was beside her.

Kang Zhaoer looked unhappy, but he still succumbed to the pressure from Aunt Kang and knelt down in front of Zhou Chen and Hua Lan.

"Duke, cousin, please accept me. If you don't accept me, I will die. Please accept me. I know everything and can do anything. As long as Duke and cousin ask me to do it, I can do it. Please keep me..."

While talking, he kowtowed, and after several kowtows, his forehead turned red.

Zhou Chen didn't say anything, but Hua Lan's expression showed a little bit of reluctance, but it only lasted for a moment, and soon became cold again.

"You don't have to put on an act in front of us. Our Duke's Mansion doesn't need you to do things. You should go back with your aunt and don't come here again."

It is true that she is kind-hearted, but she has been a mistress and housekeeper for many years after all, so she is not too kind-hearted.

You are pitiful, who is not pitiful? There are so many pitiful people in this world, is it possible that she should be asked to help everyone?

"cousin……"

"enough."

Zhou Chen interrupted coldly, this Kang Zhaoer should be the daughter of the Kang family who was sent to Minglan and Gu Tingye in the plot, but now she was sent to him.

Kang Zhaoer may be pitiful, but her pity is not caused by herself. She was forced to come here by Aunt Kang, but what does this have to do with him?

"Take her, get out, now."

Faced with Zhou Chen's cold gaze and tone, Aunt Kang was frightened, but she was a psychopath. Although she was frightened, she was more unwilling and angry.

"Duke Jingguo, I am your elder. How dare you tell me to get out? This is simply disrespectful and treasonous. I..."

"Snapped!"

There was a crisp slap sound, and Aunt Kang's body turned twice. Then, with a thud, she fell face down on the ground.

"Have I given you face? You act like an elder in front of me. What the hell, are you worthy of that?"

This sudden scene stunned everyone present, especially Aunt Kang who was beaten. She lay on the ground with a buzzing in her ears and her brain seemed to lose the ability to think in an instant.

Seeing Aunt Kang lying on the ground in a miserable state, a strange scene happened.

There were seven or eight people present, but everyone came forward to help her up. Even Kang Zhaoer, who she brought with her, was either still kneeling on the ground or simply didn't want to go over to help. In any case, she just stared blankly at the embarrassed Aunt Kang.

Aunt Kang lay on the ground for a long time before she recovered from the power of Zhou Chen's slap and crawled up from the ground with a grim face.

"you……"

"Snapped!"

Without waiting for Aunt Kang to say anything, Zhou Chen slapped her again. He just hit her left cheek, but this time he hit her right cheek. But the same thing happened: Aunt Kang was knocked to the ground again and didn't get up for a long time.

Hua Lan looked at Zhou Chen with a stiff neck and didn't say a word. She knew that this was not a good thing, but for some reason, she felt inexplicably refreshed.

In contrast, Cui Chan acted much more straightforwardly, clenching her little fists, and looking excited that she was fighting well and wonderfully.

As Hualan's closest maid, she knows her girl best and is too kind-hearted, which is a good thing, but some shameless people will take advantage of this.

Just like Aunt Kang in front of you, isn't it because she relies on the kindness of her daughter that she becomes more and more unreasonable, and even wants to take a concubine for the Duke? Do you have any shame? Are you worthy of it?

"ah!"

Aunt Kang screamed shrilly, like a ghost howling. Zhou Chen ordered impatiently: "Shut her mouth."

The three maids rushed over without saying a word. One of them tore off a large piece of her coarse linen shirt, crumpled it into a ball, and stuffed it into Aunt Kang's mouth while she struggled.

Aunt Kang's eyes looked murderous, but she couldn't move at all as she was being held tightly by the three maids.

Zhou Chen looked at her coldly: "Take away your gaze, otherwise what awaits you is not a slap. Although you are my aunt, if I really kill you, who do you think will take care of you?"

When he said this, his eyes were full of murderous intent. As a battlefield general who had killed countless people and experienced the world of martial arts, once he got angry, his terrifying momentum would explode.

Aunt Kang was just a woman living in the inner courtyard. Even if she was vicious and had even killed people, how could she be compared with Zhou Chen?

When she saw Zhou Chen's terrifying eyes, she was so frightened that her heart trembled and her eyes dodged, fearing that Zhou Chen would really kill her the next moment.

If Zhou Chen really wanted to kill him, he didn't have to do it himself. Even if the incident was exposed later, Zhou Chen was the Duke of Jingguo. Even the emperor and the empress dowager would never punish Zhou Chen for her life. As for her mother's family, the Wang family, they probably wouldn't be qualified to step forward.

As for her own man, even if she died, she would definitely not dare to sue Zhou Chen. She might even try to make a big deal out of a small matter, and finally let it go.

Seeing that Aunt Kang didn't dare to move, Zhou Chen asked again: "Do you want me to ask someone to throw you out on the street, or do you want to get out by yourself?"

After that, without waiting for Aunt Kang to answer, he said directly: "Since you don't say anything, I will choose for you. Go and throw her out on the street."

"Well, well, well..."

Aunt Kang struggled frantically, her eyes filled with fear. If she were thrown out onto the street like this, she would lose all her face.

The last person to be thrown into the street to humiliate herself was Princess Pingning. Despite her high status, she was laughed at for a long time. Almost two years have passed, and she hardly dared to go out.

If she was thrown out by Zhou Chen, she would never dare to go out again.

After hearing Zhou Chen's instructions, several maids wanted to drag Aunt Kang away without paying any attention to her struggle. Aunt Kang struggled frantically, but when she saw that Zhou Chen was indifferent, she could only look at Hualan and beg with a "woohoo".

Hua Lan was kind-hearted after all, and she called Zhou Chen in time.

"Sir, please don't be so cruel. After all, she is my aunt and my mother's biological sister. After this incident, I don't think she will come again."

Zhou Chen's face was stern and he did not answer. The maids stopped procrastinating and waited quietly for Zhou Chen's orders.

Zhou Chen was actually keeping silent on purpose. He had never intended to kill Aunt Kang. Aunt Kang was indeed disgusting, but people like her could sometimes be useful. He just happened to have something in mind, and he might need her, so he didn't think about killing Aunt Kang today.

At least we should wait until Aunt Kang is no longer useful, then it won't be too late to get rid of her.

So he stared at Aunt Kang for a long time with his cold eyes, and then said in a cold voice: "Today, for the sake of my wife, I will forgive you once. If there is a next time, it will not be as simple as throwing you into the street. You will lose your life at that time."