Chapter 3 Chapter 3 The distance was so close that he almost crushed her. …

Facing Zhu Chentan's open praise and covert criticism, she remained in a good mood and replied in a gentle voice, "Don't worry, elder sister, Yin Luan won't do that."

She would not have anything to do with the Marquis and the Prince who was the head of the capital's aristocratic family.

"It's better not to." Zhu Chentan looked at her coldly and said, "It's your blessing to be able to marry into the Wei family. If you don't know how to behave and curry favor with the powerful, and if it gets out and makes our Zhu family lose face, then you'd better be careful."

Although her sister was only a concubine's daughter and had a poor family background, she was extremely pretty. When she was at home, even if she wore several old clothes all year round, it was difficult to hide her good looks.

If her mother had not kept her at home in the name of recuperation and rarely seen by the noble families, she would have been overtaken by the title of the beauty of the capital.

It was obvious that she was a restless girl. She had been kept in the back house for several years. Her teacher was not the best, but she was able to learn needlework very well. She also read a lot of books, recognized many words, and was good at painting. It was really enviable.

Not only is he born well, he also has a good life.

She had been lucky enough to get this marriage opportunity in the first place, and now with Wei Ruzhuo's gradual promotion, her life had become better and more luxurious. The carriage she rode in, the maidservant following her, and the clothes she wore had all become more numerous and better.

But thinking back on it, she felt regretful. If she had not married into the Luo family, wouldn't Zhu Yinluan's good life be hers now?

Wei Ruzhuo's connections in the court were cleared. From what his father and the Luo family said, he was highly valued by them. If he did well in this secondment, he would most likely be promoted to one of the Li and Hu departments. He was so outstanding at such a young age, and it was still unknown what position he would hold in the future.

On the other hand, Luo Xuan has not shown any signs of promotion in several years. He makes no progress all day long and even goes out to drink and play with prostitutes. He is really afraid that others will find something wrong with him and impeach him.

Zhu Chentan became more and more angry as he looked at the beautiful and quiet half-sister in front of him.

But then she thought about how Wei Ruzhuo would come along on the previous occasions. Although he didn't come as often later, he still asked Zhu Yinluan to send her a lot of fabrics and jewelry on his behalf. They were all items she loved in the past. However, Zhu Yinluan didn't know about this.

Thinking of this, Zhu Chentan's mood calmed down a little.

So what if her illegitimate sister missed out on her good marriage? Her husband didn't even have her in his heart.

Even though Zhu Yinluan excels in everything, she still cannot win people's hearts.

"Didn't you bring anything here today?" Zhu Chentan asked dissatisfiedly.

"I came in a hurry today...I forgot." Zhu Yinluan whispered.

Pang Shi was in poor health, so she had to take care of her. At the end of each month, she had to pay the maids their monthly wages, keep an eye on the accounts around the house, and inspect the shop. In addition, the Wei family was gradually gaining power, and the ladies of wealthy families would always send them invitations. She had to deal with all these things decently so that no one could find fault with her.

After finishing the work, I still have to reply to Pangzi, and carefully consider every word.

She had been married for several years, but her health had not improved. Mrs. Pang was very dissatisfied, and the relationship between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law became increasingly tense.

In the past two years, Zhu Yinluan was indeed panicked. After all, she and Wei Ruzhuo were still in a good relationship, but she just couldn't get pregnant. She privately consulted a doctor, who said that she was weak but nothing serious.

But in the past two years, the harder Pang Shi pushed her, the more she didn't know what to say.

How should I tell my mother-in-law that Wei Ruzhuo goes out early and comes back late, and rarely touches her?

If she really spoke up, Pang would definitely be ashamed and angry, and would say that she was incompetent.

She also mustered up the courage to hug Wei Ruzhuo from behind at night, but his words "You're tired today, so rest early" completely shattered all her courage to ask him out.

"Why, you're giving me a cold shoulder after asking me a few questions? If you don't want to give it to me, you don't have to. It's not a rare item anyway."

Although Zhu Yinluan had concealed her feelings, Zhu Chentan could still tell from her silence that she was in a depressed mood.

"No, I'm just thinking and worried about my elder sister." Zhu Yinluan changed the subject in time.

"Why should I worry about my own affairs? If Luo Xuan goes to the brothel to drink and flirt with Hua Niang again, I will definitely not let it go!"

"The Luo family is well-off, but is my Zhu family inferior?"

Zhu Yinluan didn't respond. She only knew that she envied her elder sister for having such confidence.

The second elder brother in the family passed the imperial examination this year and is now working in the court.

Although he did not hold a high-ranking official position, he borrowed his father's influence and did some secret mediation, but he was finally under the Three Provinces, which were above the Six Ministries.

The second brother and the eldest sister are from the same mother, so the second brother is naturally the eldest sister's support.

So whenever the eldest sister was dissatisfied, she dared to make trouble with Luo Xuan, relying on the fact that she was the most favored eldest daughter of the Zhu family.

No matter what she did wrong, her parents would cover for her.

Zhu Yinluan was very clear and sad. As a daughter of the Zhu family, she... had nothing.

From childhood, one must be respectful, gentle and obedient in everything, only then can one gain a foothold in the family and in the Wei family.

It was precisely because of this that she didn't understand why her elder sister had been so close to her over the past year.

Is it really because of the rise of the Wei family? Although the Wei family has risen, it is still far behind the Zhu family and the Luo family. Could it be because of... Wei Ruzhuo?

Thinking of this, Zhu Yinluan's heart suddenly felt tight.

Back to the point, the eldest sister asked her for something...

Wei Ruzhuo did give her something some time ago - it was new material from a textile shop in the capital.

No, it's not possible.

She was keenly aware of these, but quickly suppressed them.

She shouldn't have thought like this, it was too absurd and dirty. Her elder sister was already a married woman. Although Wei Ruzhuo was not as passionate about her as before in recent years, there was a reason for it. It was all because he was too busy with court affairs.

He had been held back by his family for many years, and when he finally made it big, he would certainly try his best. Besides, he was a very good person, and she was not pregnant. His mother-in-law asked him to take in a maid or a concubine, but he refused.

What's more, he would occasionally ask people to buy her clothes, fabrics, jewelry, hairpins and rings. These gifts were not given once or twice, but many times.

Even if Wei Ruzhuo did say that she should not go empty-handed when visiting the Luo family to see her sister, it was ultimately out of consideration for the etiquette of the two families, not simply because of her sister.

She should trust the person beside her. They have been together for many years.

She didn't know how to talk about Zhu Chentan and Luo Xuan, so she changed the subject and said, "I did prepare it, but I forgot because my mother-in-law hasn't been feeling well recently and I had to take care of her. I'll have someone send it to you later." She explained to Zhu Chentan.

"Well, if that's the case, then I won't bother with you. What's wrong with not being a mother-in-law?"

"An old problem. A headache caused by the wind."

"I see." Zhu Chentan thought, his eyes rolling, "Have you consulted the imperial physician?"

“…No.” The imperial physician was a doctor who served the emperor and his concubines. If an official wanted to see an imperial physician, he had to be of the first or second rank to be eligible. The Wei family did not have such an honor, so they just found a doctor in the capital.

"Mother wasn't feeling well a few days ago, and father asked the emperor for permission to grant the imperial physician permission to see her. Why don't I write a letter to her and ask her to talk to the imperial physician and go to the Wei family to see your mother-in-law."

"If that's really possible, then I have to thank you very much, sister!" Zhu Yinluan thanked her immediately.

Zhu Chentan waved his hand, pulled her and smiled, "You and I are sisters, why bother talking about this."

Seeing that her elder sister was in a much better mood, Zhu Yinluan left without staying here for long.

Zhu Chentan asked people to prepare a lot of supplements for Pang Shi's health.

Seeing these supplements, Pang Shi smiled and nodded. Although she didn't say anything, her eyes vaguely passed over Zhu Yinluan, and the contrast and disgust between them were self-evident.

Then Zhu Yinluan mentioned the imperial physician, and the smile lines on Madam Pang's face widened. "Your sister is thoughtful. She is a really good person."

"Don't blame me, your mother-in-law, for speaking harshly. I have been ill for a while now, and I can't sleep or eat. Since you have an imperial physician at home, have you ever thought of asking your stepmother for help?"

"The mother-in-law is right to reprimand the daughter-in-law, but she was not thoughtful enough."

It’s not that she doesn’t want to do it, but she knows nothing about what’s going on at home. Her stepmother deliberately conceals it, so how could she know it out of thin air?

Besides, even if she knew, would her stepmother be willing to help her? Maybe she would be willing to help her for the sake of the Wei family? It was hard to say.

There was no point in saying more, so Zhu Yinluan did not make any excuses.

"Alright, alright, go down, and don't wait for me to have dinner." Pang Shi was angry when she saw her submissive attitude. "If you have time to think about Zhuo Ge'er, you should pay more attention to him!"

"Yes, my wife knows."

Wei Ruzhuo has been resting in the office these days and has not come back.

Although Zhu Yinluan had no appetite for dinner, she insisted on eating a few bites. While busy with the work at hand, she noticed that it was raining outside, and the raindrops hitting the bluestone road made a crisp sound.

The window was not completely closed, and the cold wind blew in, and she couldn't help shivering.

Seeing this, Mingya quickly asked someone to bring her a cloak to put on.

Even though she was wearing it, Zhu Yinluan still felt cold. However, the monthly wages for the maids had to be paid out early, so she forced herself to check the account book and transfer the money to the manager. It happened that the manager brought her the accounts of the accounting department for this month, and she looked through them.

Maybe it was because she thought too much today, but she felt so tired and dizzy. Mingya noticed it and advised her to go and rest.

She was really tired, so she nodded and got up. After all, she had to muster up energy to go and serve Pang Shi tomorrow.

Zhu Yinluan fell into a deep sleep and instantly fell into unconsciousness.

In a daze, she had a very strange dream.

In the dream, there was a man whose face she couldn't see clearly. He was tall and strong, looming over her, tightly and tightly, like a small mountain.

He spoke very intimately in her ear, his voice was intermittent, deep and hoarse. She couldn't hear what he said, but she felt that the distance between them was too close.

He was almost completely pinning her down, and just as she was about to push away, his big hand suddenly grabbed her wrist and pulled her over, instantly bringing them even closer.