Chapter 227 The Tang King Wants to Marry Qingling as His Second Wife?

Qingling sneezed and rubbed her nose.

Lou Yue was alarmed and asked if she had caught a cold, then hurriedly ordered someone to add more charcoal to the brazier.

Xia Chan said, "It's too hot inside. Going outside in the wind will only make you more likely to catch a cold."

She walked to the door and carefully checked the crack. A little wind was seeping in, but it was alright.

She added another basin of charcoal fire by the door, then remembered something and said, "I've heard that some wealthy and powerful families, who find their houses stuffy and cold, hang a curtain at the door and then choose a young and pretty maid to stand by the door to block the wind. These maids are called 'beauty screens.' In the dead of winter, let alone standing at the door all day, even standing still for an hour would freeze you into an icicle."

“Lou Yue, you are young and beautiful, and you have a big figure. If you were in the home of the powerful and wealthy, you would definitely be used as a screen at the door.”

"I won't be a screen." Lou Yue spat at her and said to Qing Ling, "Miss, look at her, all she knows is how to bully me."

She was holding a half-eaten pastry in her hand, and she didn't dare to eat it anymore.

Qingling glanced at her and said, "I didn't ask you to be a screen."

She is kneading dough.

This flour contains yam powder, almond powder, poria cocos powder, and coix seed powder.

She is making pastries.

Lin Shiyuan told her that when he was in prison, Lin Qiao brought him food. He ate a kind of pastry that he thought was the best pastry in the world. At that time, he didn't know when he was released from prison, and he only ate one piece a day. Even if rats and insects stole it, he would fight them to get it back.

However, since he was released from prison, he has never been able to eat that snack again.

Those words sounded pitiful, yet they also revealed someone's strong intentions.

Qingling was amused by him, and took advantage of the free time before the New Year to make some snacks for the man who was fighting with rats and insects.

Lou Yue stuffed the remaining half of the pastry into her mouth. Qing Ling looked at her bulging cheeks and said seriously, "However, this beauty screen has another use in the summer. First, have this young and pretty maid take a bath in ice water until she is completely cool, then go to the master's bed and be the master's ice beauty to cool him down."

"I'm not asking you to be a screen, but I do get hot in the summer, so I can be an ice queen. You're so chubby, it'll be cool and soft to hug, and I'll be able to sleep well."

"Miss, even you are bullying me." Lou Yue stomped her foot angrily. "I'm not talking to you anymore."

No sooner had she finished speaking than the loud voice of the Imperial Censor's wife rang out from outside the courtyard: "Sister, I've brought you New Year's gifts."

Xia Chan hurriedly went to the door to greet her. As soon as she opened the door, the Imperial Censor's wife stepped over the threshold with a smile: "Hey, you're such a clever girl."

After praising Xia Chan, he turned around and saw Qing Ling kneading dough.

She was taken aback: "Hey, what are you doing?"

Qingling simply said that she had nothing better to do than make some pastries to give away.

"Hey, what a coincidence." The Imperial Censor's wife placed a basket on the table, saying, "These are sausages and cured meats cured using the method from my hometown. As usual, I brought some to add to your meal."

Qingling smiled and thanked her.

When they were in the new city, the two families exchanged gifts back and forth, and that's how they became familiar with each other.

Lou Yue added tea and water, and brought over a fruit platter.

The censor's wife sipped hot tea to warm herself, watching Qingling's delicate, slender hands deftly knead dough and add jujube paste filling.

"This scene is so beautiful, what's it called again?" she thought for a moment, "A feast for the eyes!"

He thought to himself, "Why doesn't that bastard Zhan Xingzhuo know how to cherish things?"

He actually started living a quiet life with Zhou Zhining.

They don't know how to cherish their own son, but they dote on the son of that sinner like a treasure. They simply can't distinguish between what's important and what's not.

However, that kind of man is not worthy to appear in front of Qingling, and the Imperial Censor's wife is not one to spoil the mood.

But she was also worried about Qingling: "Girl, after having a child, you'll face even more things, and you'll also have a weakness, so you need to be more careful."

Qingling nodded. The Censor's wife said, "If only there were a man to help you, to support you and protect you."

In this world, a woman's strength alone cannot overcome everything.

Take the Marquis's mansion, for example. They're practically her maternal family. How did they treat her?

They almost killed her!

As a widow and orphan, the better Yao Qingling does, the more people will covet her.

"I heard that the Tang Emperor wants a second wife and has taken a fancy to you."

The Tang King is over fifty years old. His old queen has passed away, and he has a large number of concubines in his household, but none of them have a son. They either died young or are daughters. Hearing that Yao Qingling has given birth to a son, he wants her to be his second wife.

Qingling was stunned: "Me?"

She laughed in anger, "Isn't the Tang Emperor afraid of offending the Grand Princess, or being criticized for disrupting ethical norms?"

The Tang Emperor and the Grand Princess were half-sisters, and Qingling was once the Grand Princess's daughter-in-law. How could anyone come up with such a thing?

The censor's wife said, "You don't know, in the common people, even marriage between uncles is very common. The world is in chaos, it's hard to find a wife, and it's even harder to find a woman who can bear sons. Who cares about these things?"

In the past, it was difficult for divorced women to remarry, but nowadays, as long as a woman has given birth to a son, it is very easy for her to get married.

In some families, when their son dies young and his body is barely cold, the in-laws are already eager to sell their daughter-in-law to another family, desperately trying to earn a dowry.

However, Qingling's status was much better than that of ordinary people, so she wouldn't be sold by her husband's family.

But it's not much better.

Ultimately, it's nothing more than the survival of the fittest.

What does Qingling's strength amount to in the face of absolute power?

These men, if they set their sights on a woman, would have someone find a way to deliver her to them, let alone ask for her.

I heard that the Tang Emperor took a fancy to the daughter-in-law of an official in the Ministry of Rites. The daughter-in-law was already pregnant, but she was still sent to the Tang Emperor's palace.

Qing Ling sneered, glancing at the Imperial Censor's wife, "Madam, you're not here to be the matchmaker for the Prince of Tang, are you?"

The censor's wife glared at her: "I'd rather push you into this pile of flour and choke to death than become a matchmaker."

She wouldn't do anything that would be struck by lightning.

"But Qingling, you still need to think about the future. Even if there is no Tang King, there will be someone else. If you get married and have a man, it will be better than being watched by those people."

As the Censor's wife spoke, she took a sip of tea, leaned towards Qingling, and lowered her voice, saying, "The Left Vice Minister's wife told me that the Marquis of Zhongyong has submitted a memorial requesting that his son be granted the title of Heir Apparent. If the Emperor agrees, then the Marquis's mansion will have no chance with Zhao'er."

The Imperial Censor's wife knew that Qingling intended for her son to inherit the title, but the child was too young and there was no suitable opportunity, so she told her to make preparations as soon as possible.

Qing Ling had anticipated this.

She knew this day would come sooner or later, especially since Marquis Zhongyong had met Ma once before she was sent to the estate.

The conflict between Qingling and Zhongyonghou has now been brought to the forefront because of Zhan Xingzhuo.

Qingling thought that after Zhao Qie took over, she might obstruct the Marquis of Zhongyong from being granted a title for the sake of her future children.

Qingling pressed the dough into the mold and arranged them neatly on a wooden tray.

A tray was filled with food, and Lou Yue took it to the main kitchen to bake.

The censor's wife washed her hands, rolled up her sleeves, and made another kind of rice flour pastry with Qingling.

The two chatted and made pastries, and time flew by.

Qingling invited the Imperial Censor's wife to lunch, and she returned home in the middle of the afternoon.

Lin Shiyuan arrived that evening.

Qingling placed the pastries she had made in front of him.

The man found the pastries to be more exquisite and beautiful than before.

He glanced at Qingling, his beautiful peach blossom eyes crinkling into a smile, and immediately grabbed one and stuffed it into his mouth.

Qingling rested her chin on her hand and watched him eat without saying a word.

Lin Shiyuan glanced at her: "Something on your mind?"