Chapter 31 Chapter 31 "Government officials are so busy, why would they...

Zhou Congshan smiled and patted Fang Ying's hand. "Don't worry. The emperor is only asking if Ji Liulang has any brothers, and how this somewhat legendary marriage of yours came about."

"The government is so busy with all sorts of things, why would they ask about such trivial matters like ours?" Fang Ying was still puzzled.

"One is that two or three princesses have reached marriageable age. As you know, marrying a princess to a royal family isn't just about marriage; it's also about showing favor. The emperor hasn't been very happy with his trusted ministers lately, finding them arrogant and complacent. It just so happens that your father and son have made great contributions, so the emperor took a fancy to you and wanted to marry a princess to you. However, Ji Liulang is the youngest son, and there are no unmarried sons left. So, he had to give up the idea."

"Is the Emperor dissatisfied with his old ministers? Which ones are they?"

"It must be Han Jixun, Li Hansheng, and the others. My father has been avoiding them lately, and I guess it's because of this."

These people were genuine founding heroes who had supported the emperor. They were also brothers with Uncle Zhou in the past. Now it has come to the point where even Uncle Zhou is avoiding them?

"What about the second one?" Fang Ying asked.

"Secondly, the emperor probably heard that your marriage was related to Master Lu, so he asked a few more questions."

Fang Ying guessed so. Ji Yanlang's safe return was a strong confirmation of Master Lu Tian's physiognomy. The emperor would only be more convinced of the prophecy that the Zhou family would have three queens. "Have you thought about it?"

"I told my father that anyone would do, as long as it wasn't the two born to Concubine Zhang. He was also very hesitant. In fact, according to him, he didn't want to get involved in the fight for the throne."

"Ji Liulang said that the Prince of Yan and the Prince of Qin have both been appointed to the Secretariat to oversee state affairs. Isn't the Emperor just putting them together and letting them fight?"

Zhou Congshan sneered, "Perhaps he feels that no matter how hard they fight, these two will never escape his control."

"So he's taking these two along with him?" Fang Ying pondered, "If we conquer Northern Zhao, the emperor might have a plan in mind. I'm afraid the Prince of Yan will favor him even more..."

"It's not that much of a favoritism. If I really did favor it, I wouldn't let the King of Qin treat him the same way."

"Doesn't that mean you're determined to marry the King of Qin? What does your father think of him? Ji Liulang keeps praising him, but I'm afraid he might be a misjudge of people, so I don't dare to fully believe him."

Zhou Congshan laughed and shook his head: "You should restrain yourself a little. If he finds out, it will be a disaster."

The two of them were talking in Fang Ying's room. Lichun was guarding the door, so she couldn't help but say, "If we had no choice, I really hope we would never marry."

Zhou Congshan was surprised: "What? Did Ji Liulang bully you?"

"Not really." Fang Ying forced herself not to mention the fact that Ji Yanlang was particularly disturbing during his sleep. "With my wife protecting me, he wouldn't dare. Without mentioning him, it seems your marriage will have to be postponed until after we conquer Northern Zhao, right?"

"That's right. We'll definitely be going on the expedition next month. If we succeed..." Zhou Congshan frowned. "Then it won't be delayed until the New Year. It has to be done anyway. Forget it, there's no need to worry about that. Why is your Fourth Lady so dull?"

Fang Ying said, "She's been weak since she was young and rarely sees outsiders, so she's developed this unsociable personality. That's why I feel she's not suitable to marry into the royal family. Let alone a family with a larger population, like ours with five brothers, I'm afraid she wouldn't be able to handle it."

"What should we do? Among all the powerful people in Beijing, who doesn't have a few brothers?"

"Our wife has been keeping an eye on families with only two or three brothers. We don't seek wealth, as long as our son-in-law knows how to make progress."

Zhou Congshan thought about it and nodded, "That's true. All five of your brothers have entered officialdom, some are civil and some are military. You don't have to worry about not being able to take care of me."

"That's exactly what I mean. The three sisters were all promised to high-ranking families, but now the eldest and third sisters are in official posts with their husbands, so it's difficult to take care of them, not to mention the second sister..." Fang Ying briefly explained the severance of ties between the Cui and Ji families. "Ji Liulang escaped death, such a big thing, but they didn't send anyone home to ask about it. And the county lord has returned to the capital several times in recent years, but he never said a word. I guess they must be disappointed."

Zhou Congshan found it unbelievable. "How could such a daughter exist in the world? After getting married, she really cuts off all ties with her parents' family just because her husband's family doesn't allow it? Even if she disregards her parents' kindness, isn't she afraid that her husband's family will be able to take advantage of her and treat her harshly?"

Fang Ying replied, "I heard that the Madam had sent someone to visit, but our second aunt actually replied that the Madam had taught them that after marriage, they should put their husband's family first and not worry about their own family. So she will obey her parents-in-law's orders and no longer have any contact with the Ji family. She also asked her parents not to worry about her anymore."

"...From this perspective, she and the Cui family are quite compatible."

Fang Ying felt sympathetic. "Duke Deng didn't even say he would sever ties with the Ji family, but they..."

Halfway through the conversation, Lichun outside raised his voice to remind her: "My lady, the time is running out."

The Ji family held a banquet today, and many female relatives came. This banquet was also to celebrate Ji Yanlang's return from meritorious service and the reward and official title he received. Li specially brought Fang Ying with her to introduce her to the ladies of each family. For unmarried young ladies like Zhou Congshan, she arranged for her fifth sister-in-law Gao and Ji Si Niang to entertain them.

Just now, all the guests arrived and took their seats, gathering in groups of three or four to talk. When Fang Ying had some free time, she reported to Mrs. Li, went to find Zhou Congshan, brought her to her room, and talked to her alone for a while.

"Let's go. Once they go to attack Northern Zhao, we'll have plenty of time to talk." Zhou Congshan stood up first and said.

Fang Ying and her held hands and went back to Yunxiu Pavilion. They sat down next to Li and Zhou Congshan's stepmother respectively, and listened to the ladies talking about whose family had a happy event recently, and whose family had a fat grandson and was going to have a wedding banquet. After a while of lively conversation, it was time to start the banquet.

Most of the guests at the banquet were from the powerful families of the Chen Dynasty. Apart from relatives by marriage and those who were really close to the Ji family, there were few families of old officials in Shu.

Mrs. An, An's mother, couldn't even find anyone to talk to. Seeing that Li had only brought Fang Ying, who came from a humble family, to entertain the distinguished guests and ignored her daughter, she was filled with anger. After the banquet, she went to An's room and complained, "Your mother-in-law's behavior is getting more and more outrageous. Look at who she invited today! Is she trying to prove her ingratitude and betrayal of her former master?"

She thought her daughter would agree with her, but An said, "What do you mean by betraying your former master? Mother, please stop saying such things in the future! It will only cause trouble! Besides, our wife is the eldest princess, and she doesn't miss her husband, so why would anyone else have so much to say?"

"Who are you talking about? Someone else?" Madam An stood up. If it were just the mother and daughter, it would be fine, but now that her daughter-in-law, who had come to the banquet with her, was standing next to them, Madam An felt embarrassed. "I think you've learned from Ji Erniang. After getting married, you have your husband's family but not your own family, right? Fine, fine, I'll leave. I'll come to your house again next time..."

An quickly hugged her mother's arm, pulled her down to sit, and coaxed her, "Mother, what are you thinking about? Of course, I'm not criticizing you. I'm just telling you not to listen to other people's nonsense. We're about to conquer Northern Zhao, and even the emperor is content to be the Duke of Deng, not missing Shu. What's the point of bringing up old stories from Shu?"

"I'm just feeling sorry for you," Madam An said angrily. "Your mother-in-law treats that happy-go-lucky Fang like a treasure. She never invites you to the front even when entertaining distinguished guests. All these years you've spent in her presence have been for nothing."

Upon hearing this, An's face lit up with indignation. "What can we do? After all, our Sanlang isn't Madam's biological son. A concubine's son, no matter how well he does, can never compare to a legitimate son. I wasn't convinced at first, and tried to drag them into a fight with the Second House, but they were each more useless than the other. Fang, a little maid, already frightened Concubine He and Cheng, and Sanlang was so frightened when he saw his father that he dared not utter a word."

"He doesn't need to say anything. He can make more military achievements under the Duke. He's still his own son, and his future is not a problem. But you, on the other hand, must not admit defeat. What is Fang's background? What is your background? Even if we ignore that, you are still his sister-in-law. How can you let her be superior to you?"

"Now it's not just her who's putting me down..." An's eyes welled up. "My whole courtyard is about to be turned upside down! Sanlang is such a heartless ungrateful bastard. I have to be filial to my stepmother, raise my children, and take care of my stepmother and my stepmother-in-law. I've also been working so hard to fight for him with the second wife, and yet he brought back a pregnant bitch..."

Telling her mother about this made her feel even more aggrieved. She tearfully recounted the incident a few days ago over the pregnancy-preserving medicine. This immediately infuriated Madam An, who scolded Ji Sanlang for being worthless and for quarreling with his first wife over a concubine. "He's really bullying the An family because there's no one there! Where's that pregnant bitch?"

"I'm too lazy to care anymore. I've sent it to Aunt He's place." An said, wiping her tears. "Out of sight, out of mind."

Mrs. An rolled her eyes and suddenly laughed: "This is a good move..." She leaned close to her daughter's ear and whispered something, which made An nod frequently, her eyes becoming brighter and brighter.

"It has to be the biological mother. No one else would teach a child these things." An burst into laughter through her tears.

"Needless to say?" Madam An patted her daughter and warned her, "Don't listen to your sister-in-law Cheng anymore. Be more careful."

An agreed repeatedly, but she didn't know that at this moment in Cheng's room, Cheng's mother was also saying to her daughter: "Don't go into battle with your third sister-in-law anymore. Things are different now. Liu Lang has caught the emperor's eye, and the county lord is on their side. Don't offend people for something that can't be accomplished. Focus more on Si Lang and the children."

Cheng agreed, but still couldn't help saying, "I'm just mad at Fang Ying for pretending like that. She's clearly a sharp-tongued, wild girl, but she pretends to be so pitiful in front of Madam..."

"Why do you care what she's pretending to be? She's her, you're you. Sooner or later, we'll have to live separately. As long as you win over Silang and educate the children well, will you be afraid of not being able to compete with her in the future? Besides, with your Liulang's temper, he's just a novelty now. She'll have her own time to cry later."

"That bitch in that wing..."

"Let's talk about it after she's born." Mother Cheng held her daughter's hand. "As women, we must be patient. Don't rush things and look back. The one who laughs last is the real skill. Okay, there are guests outside. You are the host, so don't leave the table for too long. Go back and sit for a while. It's time for me to leave."

The mother and daughter held hands and walked back to Yunxiu Pavilion, where they met Fang Ying and her stepmother Pan walking out. They greeted each other and passed each other.

Pan waited until no one else was around before whispering to Fang Ying, "My lord told me to tell you this. The Duke insisted on giving our family a three-story house. I'd be disrespectful to refuse it, and I'd feel guilty to accept it. You see..."

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The author has something to say: Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or irrigated nutrient solution between 2020-12-02 01:26:51 and 2020-12-03 23:59:06~

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