"Miss, Shouning Hall exploded again."
When Zi Su stepped into Shen Yuyao's boudoir, Shen Yuyao was staring at herself in the diamond-shaped mirror in front of the dressing table.
The furnishings of this room were exactly the same as the boudoir she had in the Duke's Mansion in the capital before she got married.
Even some of the stories she had read, the poems she had written, and the peach blossom she had worn in her hair were brought to the Duke's Mansion in Haozhou.
These small items are neatly arranged and spotless.
Someone should come to clean and wipe it every day.
Shen Yuyao looked at these little items and felt deeply that her parents missed her day and night, but they never mentioned them in their family letters.
Shen Yuyao was a little surprised when she heard Zi Su say that Shouning Hall had exploded.
Zi Su looked at Shen Yuyao's puzzled eyes and explained, "This time it was the Duke and his wife who had an argument."
"I'll go to Shouning Hall right away." Shen Yuyao stood up. Xia Xiaoxian was still sound asleep. She turned around and said, "Zi Su, you should stay here and wait for the little princess to wake up."
Zi Su knew that what Shen Yuyao was worried about was that Xia Xiaoxian would feel unfamiliar when she first arrived at the Duke's Mansion, and would be scared when she woke up and didn't see her mother.
Zi Su smiled and said yes.
No wonder people say that mothers always care about their children the most.
As soon as Shen Yuyao reached the door of Shouning Hall, she heard what her father Shen Ao said.
"Don't even think about it!"
When you suppress one problem, another one pops up.
Mrs. Shen agreed to marry Xie Cuihua into the Duke's Mansion, but Shen Ao refused to comply.
Early in the morning, Shen Ao lost his temper in Shouning Hall.
He was so angry that he wanted to smash things, but he found that all the big bottles and jars in Shouning Hall had been smashed by Xie Cuihua, and only some small ones were left, which didn't seem to make any difference.
Chen Ao was so angry that he kept rubbing his hands together, and walked back and forth in Shouning Hall with red eyebrows and green eyes.
"I already agree that she can be my co-wife, what else does the Duke want?"
Although Madam Shen knew what Shen Ao meant, she still felt a little uncomfortable, and her words had a sour taste.
"Is this all you need to agree to?" Chen Ao got even angrier when he heard this. "I've lived for decades, and I've never seen a woman like this! She changed into a bun and came to ask for marriage!"
"Your Majesty has never seen it, but now you have." Madam Shen glanced at Shen Ao, "You are young, beautiful, and strong. The emperor treats you like a brother."
"You!" Shen Ao became even more angry when he mentioned the emperor, "Brother?"
"Women's opinion!"
Shen Ao was indescribably distressed. He looked up and saw Shen Yuyao walking in. "Yuyao, come and persuade your mother. Even she forced me to marry that reckless woman!"
"Greetings to my father and mother."
Shen Yuyao changed into women's clothes and looked almost the same as before she got married. Seeing that the Duke was still angry, she hurried forward and took her father's hand, then her mother's hand, and clasped their hands together.
"Father, Mother has already agreed. She knows your pain."
Shen Yuyao saw that her parents' expressions had softened, and she continued, "Yesterday, I told mother the reason why I wanted to marry Xie Cuihua."
Seeing Madam Shen nod slightly, Shen Ao sighed.
He was extremely reluctant to marry such a reckless woman, but Shen Ao knew in his heart that the emperor's decree had been issued and he had no choice but to marry her.
"If I must marry her, she can only be my concubine!"
Shen Ao insisted on his stubbornness. He always wanted to give Mrs. Shen, with whom he had been in love for many years, some outlet for her resentment.
"Isn't that still disobeying the imperial order?" Madam Shen stood up and sighed softly.
"Yaoyao told me yesterday that she knew Xie Cuihua would save your life again, so..."
Mrs. Shen felt a little scared when she thought of what Shen Yuyao said.
If he didn't marry Xie Cuihua, the Duke would die on the battlefield, which was really not what she wanted to see.
When faced with two evils, choose the lesser one.
Madam Shen walked to Shen Ao's side and said softly, "Duke, Xie Cuihua has been practicing martial arts since she was young, and she will be able to take care of you on the battlefield in the future!"
"I have already retired from office, why should I go to the battlefield?"
Shen Ao was a little skeptical. Today, the Great Xia is peaceful and prosperous. A founding hero like him should be "put away the bow when the birds are gone."
"Then Dad, do you dare to make a bet with me?" Shen Yuyao also walked to Shen Ao and said with a smile.
"What are you betting on?" Shen Ao became interested when he heard it.
"If within three days, Daddy receives an imperial edict to send troops to fight the enemy, Daddy must marry Xie Cuihua." Shen Yuyao pursed her lips and tilted her head to look at Shen Ao.
"Okay!" Chen Ao was born for the battlefield. If there really was a war, marrying a wife would be nothing. "If we can really go to war, the day we return will be the day for our wedding!"
"Then it's settled. Your daughter wishes you a successful start."
Shen Yuyao bowed gracefully. She should be in Yanjing on the day of her father's triumphant return. The journey was too long and she was afraid that she would not be able to be there in person.
"Mom, mom..." Before Xia Xiaoxian even entered the house, her cute voice had already melted the hearts of the three people in Shouning Hall.
"Mother, look..." Xia Xiaoxian held a small flower drum in one of her chubby hands, and two drumsticks made of rattan in the other. "It sounds good!"
Xia Xiaoxian learned it by herself and was able to use the drumsticks to beat out rhythm on the small flower drum.
Before Shen Yuyao got married, her parents were very lenient with her. She could often go out for outings and had seen many rare and interesting objects, but she had never seen this kind of small flower drum.
"Sister Liu from the mansion made this for the young master a few days ago. I saw it yesterday and thought it was interesting, so I asked Sister Liu for it."
Zi Su, who was following behind Xia Xiaoxian, said with a smile, "The little princess can sing a tune just by holding it. She really has some talent."
[The gods in heaven all listen to this. It sounds good and can explain things.]
[Rich families sell Rome, poor families sell their sons, I have no sons to sell, I travel around with my flower drum on my back...]
[This is how it's sung in the Heavenly Court's storybook.]
Shen Yuyao found it quite pleasant to listen to, but she felt it was a pity that she was the only one who could hear such a tune.
Suddenly I remembered that the young master that Zi Su mentioned just now should be my third sister-in-law's youngest son. The child is only a little over one year older than Xia Xiaoxian.
This time when she returned to the Duke's Mansion, she hadn't seen any of her brothers and sisters-in-law except her parents. Shen Yuyao felt a little strange and asked, "Dad, Mom, are my brothers and sisters-in-law at home well?"
Since marrying Prince Ning, Shen Yuyao has rarely seen her brothers and sisters-in-law at home. Shen Yuyao is now looking forward to getting together with them.
"Your eldest and second brothers are still at the border, your third brother is in Jingren Hall in Haozhou City, and your fourth brother..." Madam Shen paused for a moment, "Your fourth and third sisters-in-law are not on good terms. They've been angry these past few days and haven't come to Shouning Hall."
What Mrs. Shen didn't say was that because of Xie Cuihua's incident yesterday, she asked her daughters-in-law not to go to Shouning Hall.
"I've sent word today from the servants that everyone will be in the Lily Hall at noon to welcome you and the prince."
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