Chapter 107 Hurry up and have one!

Lu Jinlan's expression changed, and a flame shot straight into the sky.

Xiao Heng rushed over, looking at her expression, and said nervously, "Did I scare you? I... I saw you've been so busy these past few days and didn't seem very happy, so I bought some fireworks to surprise you..."

Xiao Heng became increasingly guilty as he spoke, "If you don't like it, we won't play anymore. I also think it's pretty... pretty childish."

As he spoke, he threw the firework on the ground, intending to stomp it out.

Just as Lu Jinlan was trying to dispel the gloom in her heart, she hurriedly said, "Don't step on it, give me a few. How many did you buy? Take them all out, and bring the children out too, so we can all have some fun together."

Xiao Heng breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, "I bought a lot, enough for fireworks for the New Year."

He hurriedly arranged for people to set the table in the courtyard, and Lin Cheng, Yu Mian, and Qi Lang came out one by one upon hearing the commotion.

The stay-at-home dads didn't know why they brought the baby over, but when they heard that Hou Jun wanted to see the child, even those who were still sleeping were pulled out of bed, wrapped up tightly, and carried to the yard.

Lu Jinlan had four husbands, five children, plus a large group of wet nurses and servants. In the blink of an eye, the courtyard was filled with people, making it extremely lively.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Countless fireworks soared into the night sky, vibrant and dazzling.

The eldest child has already recognized people. Lu Andong waved his arms in Yu Mian's arms, like fluttering little wings, wanting to be held by Lu Jinlan.

Yu Mian smiled and said, "Lord Hou, quickly hug her. She missed you so much after not seeing you all day. Don't let her small size fool you; she's very clever, just like her mother."

Lu Jinlan took the child and heard Xiao Heng snort coldly.

He couldn't stand Yu Mian's behavior; she would always use the child as an excuse to cling to Lu Jinlan all day long.

At this moment, Xiao Heng said in a sinister tone, "Does she look like her mother? I think she looks more like her father, with big, darting eyes and a belly full of tricks."

Everyone burst into laughter. Yu Mian, not to be outdone, retorted sarcastically, "Our child will naturally resemble both of us. I wonder if your child will look more like a Qu or Hua person? You should at least have one born first before judging our Dong'er."

Xiao Heng was so angry he almost fell over backwards. He grabbed Lu Jinlan's clothes in a panic, "Look at him! He has no respect for me and makes fun of me for not being able to have children."

Lu Jinlan smiled, leaned close to his ear and whispered, "Then you should try your best and have one quickly."

Xiao Heng rolled his eyes at her angrily, "I can't catch a glimpse of you for two or three days, how am I supposed to give birth by myself?"

Lu Jinlan laughed and said, "I'll come to your place tonight. Let's work hard together, and you'll definitely give birth to a big, healthy baby girl next year."

Xiao Heng's eyes lit up. "You're a man of your word. If you go to someone else's house tonight, I'll fight him."

Seeing the two whispering to each other, Lin Cheng quietly moved closer and patted Lu Jinlan's back. "Where have you been? Look, your clothes are all dirty. I had some new winter clothes made for you. They were just finished yesterday. Come to my place and try them on later."

Xiao Heng hurriedly said, "Send it to my place. My wife is coming to my courtyard today."

Lin Cheng glanced at Lu Jinlan and said to Xiao Heng, "Then I'll have someone send it over in a bit. It's rare for the mistress to want to go to your place, so you don't get many chances. You'd better serve her well."

There are many men in the family, and they are always jealous and competitive.

The two of them were teasing each other. Lu Jinlan was watching the fireworks and eavesdropping, not noticing that Anton in her arms picked a withered leaf from her and silently put it in his mouth.

When Lu Jinzhao arrived with her husband, Madam Yan, they witnessed this scene.

Yan exclaimed "Ouch!" and said angrily, "Look at you fathers, how do you take care of your children? This child is eating tree leaves, and you're just watching the show!"

Yu Mian exclaimed in surprise and hurriedly tried to pry the leaves out, but An Dong wouldn't let go. A group of adults surrounded her anxiously, but she just kept giggling with the leaves in her mouth.

Madam Yan then berated the men, "The child is so young, you have to keep an eye on her all the time. You just leave her with her mother and don't care? She's a woman, how could she take care of a child? You're all busy with important national affairs every day, and you can't even take care of a child properly."

As he spoke, fireworks were still booming and shooting into the sky. The noise was so loud that he had to shout at the top of his lungs.

Everyone wanted to laugh but had to hold it in, and their faces turned red from holding it in.

Lu Jinlan laughed and said, "Dad, don't be angry. The leaves aren't poisonous, it's alright. Let's watch the fireworks, look how beautiful they are."

Madam Yan then fell silent. Lu Jinzhao, standing beside Lu Jinlan, noticed the worry in her eyes and couldn't help but ask, "Has something happened?"

Lu Jinlan quickly replied, "It's nothing."

Lu Jinchao then asked, "So what day is it today? You've asked people to set off fireworks, there must be a reason, right? Are you celebrating some happy occasion?"

Looking at the flowers in the night sky, Lu Jinlan thought for a moment, "Today is an ordinary day, but isn't an ordinary day a good day?"

"Let's celebrate the peace and safety of our family. You and Dad are in good health, the children are all healthy and without illness, and the husbands are very considerate. It's so good that our family is together."

Lu Jinlan sighed as she finished speaking, "Let's all make a wish, that we may have this day every year, and this morning every year."

Madam Yan scolded, "You child, don't you even know to avoid using your mother's name? Oh dear, what happened to your clothes? Look, look, look, they're all dirty. Why didn't anyone change them for her? How do you all serve her?"

Since becoming a father-in-law, Madam Yan has acted even more like one. She loves to nag and frequently scolds her husbands for not taking good care of her.

Lu Jinlan laughed and said, "Dad, stop nagging. I'll go change it right away. We'll eat after I'm done; I'm starving."

Madam Yan hurriedly said, "Then let's set the table quickly. Didn't you mention wanting to eat ham a few days ago? Butler Zou went to great lengths to buy a genuine Jiangnan ham, which is said to be a top-quality product that has been cured for a full five years. I saw it, and the ham was clearly red and white with a bright color, and the fresh aroma was so strong it wafted into my nose."

"For the parts with less meat, Dad had the kitchen make ham and winter melon soup. For the parts with more meat, he sliced ​​them thinly and made steamed ham. He also made ham and chestnut chicken, stir-fried ham and bamboo shoots, and your favorite stewed bamboo shoots. Today, we're having a ham feast."

Lu Jinlan changed her clothes and washed her hands. Holding the hot and fragrant ham and winter melon soup, she looked out the window. The first snow was falling outside.

A timely snowfall promises a bountiful harvest, and she believed she could definitely make everyone's lives better and better.

*

It snowed outside the window all night, and Lu Jinlan and Xiao Heng fooled around all night.

When it was time to attend court, Xiao Heng forced his eyelids open and woke Lu Jinlan, saying, "My lady, get up, it's time to attend court."

Lu Jinlan opened her eyes a crack, saw that it was pitch black outside, and thought that the snowy road would be difficult to travel, so she didn't want to get up.

She had been dreaming all night, and now her mind was a mess, and she was feeling agitated. So she simply said, "I'm not going. I feel unwell. I'll have Ximo ask for leave for me."

Xiao Heng touched her forehead and exclaimed, "Why is she so hot? Oh no, she must have caught a cold."

He hurriedly said to the outside, "Quickly send someone to Jiu'an Hall to invite a physician to come and examine Lord Hou."

Lu Jinlan pulled him back into bed. "It's not even dawn yet, what are you yelling about? Come sleep with me and don't make a fuss."

Lu Jinlan didn't want to make a fuss because she knew she wasn't sick. At most, she had just stayed up too long on the mountain yesterday and caught a chill, resulting in a slight fever.

The system store has fever reducers; just take one and you'll be fine.

But she didn't want to be idle. Suddenly learning about her background, she hadn't recovered yet and had many questions she couldn't figure out. So she decided to take this opportunity to be lazy and stay home for a few days.

But others didn't think that way. Her family members were extremely worried when they heard she was sick.

Lu Jinlan was still asleep when she vaguely heard Madam Yan call Xiao Heng out and interrogate him.

He was convinced that Xiao Heng had been fooling around with Lu Jinlan, which was why she had fallen ill. Xiao Heng felt guilty and was afraid that this was really the reason, so he didn't dare to argue and just kept crying.

Lu Jinlan kicked the blanket helplessly, "Dad! What are you whispering about outside?"

Madam Yan entered with red eyes. "Awake? How do you feel?"

"It's nothing, just a slight cold. I just wanted to take a break."

Yan didn't believe it, so she sat by the bed and began to cry and shed tears.

“You had several serious illnesses when you were a child, which almost scared your mother and me to death. You’ve always been in poor health, but you finally learned martial arts in recent years and became stronger. But you married these restless women.”

“I’ve been advising you to marry someone older, someone who can take care of you. Ideally, someone calm and quiet who doesn’t like to cause trouble. But you just wouldn’t listen. Look at the rest of your family, apart from Lin Cheng, none of them are well-behaved. They just want to mess around with you every day and don’t advise you to take care of yourself. If this continues, your health will collapse.”

Lu Jinlan was annoyed. "Dad, what are you talking about? I'm as strong as an ox, how could I be so weak? I finally got a break, can't you just let me sleep in peace?"

Madam Yan wiped away her tears. "Then go to sleep. I'll go prepare some medicinal food for you. Eat it when you wake up."

Lu Jinlan finally fell asleep again, and about two hours later, she suddenly felt a pair of cold hands deliberately touching her face.

Lu Jinlan gritted her teeth in anger, thinking: Who dares to be so presumptuous? I'm going to get angry today!

She grabbed the hand and suddenly opened her eyes. She saw Yan Wuxin and Xiang Ruzhen beside him, both of them smiling at her.

The snow outside hadn't stopped, and the two of them were shivering from the cold, probably because they had braved the snow to get here; their faces were red from the cold wind.

Lu Jinlan smiled and asked in surprise, "What brings you all here?"

Yan Wuxin smiled and said, "We came to visit you, but we were in a hurry. We rushed over as soon as court was over, so we didn't have time to buy you any fruit. We came empty-handed. Speaking of which, I'm still hungry. Do you have anything to eat here?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Lu Jinlan said, gesturing for them to sit down while having someone bring them some food.

Yan Wuxin and Xiang Ruzhen were frequent visitors to the Lu residence. They came and went as if it were their own home, and no one needed to be polite.

Lu Jinlan, dressed in her nightgown and wrapped in a blanket, said helplessly, "I had a dream all night last night, and I felt a bit hot this morning, so I thought I'd stay home for a few days to have some peace and quiet. I didn't expect to disturb you two high-ranking officials. You should know me, when have I ever been sick? Why would I need to come all the way here in this snowy weather?"

Xiang Ruzhen said, "It's precisely because you never get sick that we're afraid you really are. But what's the big deal about alarming us? Even the Emperor asked what was wrong when he didn't see you. When he heard you were sick, he sent the imperial physician to take a look at you. I reckon the imperial physician will be here soon."

Yan Wuxin said, "When the court session ended, the Emperor kept your superior, Lord Luo, behind for questioning. I bet it had something to do with you. She probably thought Lord Luo was a senior official, and she might have upset you in private, making you sick."

Lu Jinlan smiled and shook her head, "Although this Lord Luo is an old minister, she has always been prudent and discreet, never taking sides and offending anyone. Our old and new factions are fighting fiercely, but she has never targeted me and is very easy to talk to."

The three chatted for a while, and then the imperial physician came to take her pulse. Although her pulse was steady, strong, and powerful, Lu Jinlan complained that she felt unwell.

This tactic of feigning illness was commonly used by the concubines in the palace to gain favor. When a popular nobleman suddenly fell ill, the imperial physician was surprised but could only follow the rules, saying that he had been exposed to a cold and needed to rest for a few days, and prescribed some tonics.

Xiao Heng was stripped of his right to take care of Lu Jinlan, and Madam Yan switched Lin Cheng and Qi Lang to take turns caring for her.

The glowing red charcoal fire and the underfloor heating made the house warm and cozy.

Lu Jinlan lazily lay down on the soft bed, lost in thought all day.

When no one was around, Lu Jinlan asked Qilang, "Do you want to be the emperor's man?"

Qi Lang was shocked: "You don't want me anymore?"

Lu Jinlan laughed and said, "No, what I mean is, do you want me to rise to prominence and have a higher and higher status, even to the point where I can't rise any higher?"

Qilang thought for a moment, "Aren't you already at the pinnacle of success? You're already at the very top. Besides, the throne is definitely not going to be yours."

Lu Jinlan glanced at him. "That's the foolish view of a Taoist priest. Why can't it be my turn? Are kings and nobles born with a special destiny?"

Besides, she could claim some blood relation. Of course, they don't acknowledge it; she's currently just considered an illegitimate child.

Qilang pondered in silence for a while, then said, "Then you decide what to do. Anyway, I'm yours. A woman follows her husband wherever he goes. Whatever kind of life you want to live, I'll live that kind of life with you. We'll share the glory days and the hardship days. Even if we end up on the guillotine, I'll be with you."

Lu Jinlan was moved and took his hand, comforting him, "No, don't worry, I was just saying that. My parents are old, and the children are still so young, I won't be willful."

Qilang pressed the blanket over the two of them, hugged her tightly, and whispered, "I have never seen the Emperor, nor do I know what the Emperor looks like. Even if I meet him one day, and I respectfully kneel and shout 'Long live the Emperor,' in my heart I will only see her as a woman wearing a dragon robe."

“But you are different. Even if you don’t wear the dragon robe, I know you are the most capable woman in the world. You are my emperor, and I sincerely wish you a long life, a long life, a long life.”

Lu Jinlan hugged him and closed her eyes. "I know. Go to sleep. I'm sure I'll have a good dream tonight."

The next day, as soon as Lu Jinlan woke up, Lin Cheng was already guarding her bedside.

Lin Cheng brought her a cup of hot tea and said gently, "The Ministry of Rites has sent someone, and they're waiting outside. They said there are a few things they can't decide on, and they'd like you to make a decision."

Lu Jinlan was taken aback: "With Lord Luo here, just ask her."

Lin Cheng said, "I saw that you were still asleep, and I was originally going to reply like that for you. I said, 'My Lord Hou is ill, and the Minister will decide what to do,' but the messenger said that Minister Luo has retired to his hometown, so they came to find you."

Lu Jinlan thought for a moment and concluded that the Emperor had probably frightened Lord Luo. With the power struggles at court so intense, he was afraid of getting involved and simply chose not to get involved.

Lu Jinlan pondered for a moment, "Give the messenger my seal of the Left Minister of Rites and have her pass it on to Guan Shanyue, the head of the Ministry of Rites. Tell her that, as I said, Guan Shanyue should use my seal to decide on all matters. Whether she handles them well or not, I will ask her for advice after I recover from my illness, and then she will have her own judgment."

Lin Cheng smiled and said, "Coincidentally, there is a manager surnamed Guan among the people who came. I will go and talk to her now."

"Wait a minute!" Lu Jinlan suddenly asked, "Are you going to Cining Temple today?"

"Yes, I want to go and pray for your well-being. Why?"

Lu Jinlan said, "I haven't been sleeping well these past few days. There's something I can't do myself, and I can't ask anyone else to do it. After thinking it over, I can only ask you to do it for me."

Lin Cheng said, "Don't you trust me to handle things? We are husband and wife. I can't help you with important national affairs, but I can help you with some minor matters. Leave whatever you want to do to me."

Lu Jinlan beckoned him over, and the two whispered to each other for a while. Lu Jinlan then instructed, "This matter must be kept secret. Don't tell anyone."

Rin nodded repeatedly, "Don't worry."

Lu Jinlan rested at home for five days and finally decided to "recover".

During dinner, she announced that she would be attending court the next day. Lu Jinzhao's expression changed. "Lan'er, come to the study in a little while. Mother wants to talk to you for a while."

When Lu Jinlan arrived at the study, Lu Jinzhao was already waiting there.

"Mother, what do you want to see me about?"

"It's nothing, it's just that you said you're going to court tomorrow, and I'm feeling quite anxious."

Lu Jinlan smiled and said, "You don't need to worry about matters in the court. Although it's a place where dragons and tigers fight fiercely, I'm not someone to be trifled with. I won't let anyone harm me."

Lu Jinzhao shook her head. "Mother isn't worried about others, Mother is worried about you."

“These past few days you’ve locked yourself in your room, lost in thought, pondering things. Now that you’re up, I think you’ve probably made up your mind.”

"But your mother is very afraid, so I have to ask you, do you return to court with the mindset of a subject, or... the mindset of an emperor?"

Lu Jinlan was startled. "Mother, how...how did you know?"