Old Uncle Pu shook his head and said, "It's better to be careful. After all, the Empress Dowager is still alive. If that thing gets out, our whole family will be finished..."
Pu Yuanjie pondered for a moment and said, "The Wen family knows too much. It's time to shut them up. Wen Yan has a lot of evidence in his son's hands. I'll have the censor impeach the father and son of the Wen family in a few days."
Elder Pu nodded in agreement and said righteously, "The Wen family deserves to die. They even killed their closest relatives for a title. I wanted to get more evidence against that idiot before, but now I can't wait any longer." He added, "Alas, it's a pity for Youyou. She married into such a despicable family. I feel sorry for my old sister's trust. For the sake of this family, I let the old woman make one mistake after another and did so much evil."
Madam Pu's eyes were red again. She took out her handkerchief and cried, "How could the old man speak so harshly of me? I have no one to vent my suffering. If I hadn't been induced to give birth earlier and if Liu Ying hadn't been brought home, my eldest son wouldn't have died so early. The poor child weighed less than four pounds when he was born, drank bitter medicine every day, and was cursed by that debt collector. He died just after turning five..."
Elder Pu, the prince, disliked her mumbling. When he heard her casually utter that name again, he scolded her harshly, "You're not afraid of death, you should consider your children and grandchildren more. I say again, even if someone finds out about the Wuxiang Taoist Temple on Wuyi Mountain, the one who became a nun, married into the Wen family, and was ultimately murdered by the Wen family was the Zhao family's orphan, Zhao You, whom we secretly raised! Because I received a favor from Zhao Shicheng in my early years, I adopted that little girl whose entire family had died." He lowered his voice again and gritted his teeth, "If it weren't for the current emperor ascending the throne, if it weren't for the Empress Dowager's care, would our family have the wealth we have today? There are gains and losses, not to mention that we're working for the royal family. You've lived so long in vain, and you still haven't grasped this truth."
After saying that, he got up angrily and went to the outer courtyard.
Pu Qingjie winked at his wife and son, then quickly helped his father walk away. Madam Pu Si and Pu Deyi tried to persuade the crying old lady not to get angry with the old man.
Xu Lanyin accompanied the eldest princess and Madam Chai back to the princess's mansion and will stay here again tonight.
Xu Lanyin went to Ma's yard and saw Ma sitting under the corridor holding Zhao Mingxi, while Xu Lanyue and Chai Zixiao were sitting beside them playing chess.
Seeing Xu Lanyin coming, Chai Zixiao came forward and said with a smile, "Aunt, I asked my mother to hug my brother Mingxi more and give me another fat brother next year."
Everyone laughed. Ma dreamed of having another son, even a daughter.
Xu Lanyin knew Ma's thoughts and knew that the princess had frequently had imperial physicians come to check Ma and Chai Jun's two concubines' pulses, and they had always said they were fine. Chai Jun couldn't possibly be seriously ill, as he had not only helped Ma bear a son, but had also once impregnated Shen.
Xu Lanyin guessed that maybe Chai Jun had contact with women too early and had sex too often, which made it difficult for women to get pregnant.
She took Zhao Mingxi and whispered a few words to Ma.
Ma said uncertainly, "I heard from the imperial doctors and the maids that the best time to get pregnant is around the menstrual period."
Xu Lanyin said, "I heard it from a local healer. They say that the best doctors are found among the common people. Look at me. I listened to her advice and got pregnant right after marrying my grandfather. It's worth listening to her. Also, let my cousin be patient for the sake of having children."
Ma nodded, blushing. She couldn't help but wonder if Chai Jun would constantly pamper those two little devils for the sake of his offspring. It turned out that, for the sake of his offspring, he should have less sex...
Before dinner, the family gathered in the main hall to chat with Princess Nanyang and Prince Consort Chai. The princess recounted the incident of Wen Jiao knocking Madam Zhang into the stream, and the family then recounted the unpresentable Wen family members as jokes, including Wen Zhuoan, who had been dead for several years.
Xu Lanyin wondered when she should tell the princess about Zhao Wushi and Wen Zhuoan. If she waited until the truth was out, she might be unhappy.
After Xu Lanyin listened to their story about how angry the Pu family was, she smiled and turned the topic to the twins, saying, "Before I came to the capital, a relative in the countryside gave birth to twins. Her mother-in-law forced one to be sent away, and she cried her heart out. But my grandfather didn't believe it. He said that if I had twins in the future, whether they were boys, girls, or even twin boys and girls, he would keep them and raise them himself. He wouldn't let them be given away."
After saying this, he smiled very proudly.
Her topic was disconnected from the previous one, and it was a bit abrupt, but it reminded Madam Chai of the Pu family's past. She disapproved, "Don't act on impulse. I heard that when Madam Pu gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl, the old lady was reluctant to give one away, so the girl killed the boy, and eventually the girl died of illness. What a pity! If they had just given the girl away to someone else, and then taken her back after she got married and became part of someone else's family, they would still have their son and daughter."
The eldest princess thought for a moment and said, "I still remember that little girl. Her name seemed to be Pu Ying, but we all called her Yingying. She was extremely beautiful when she was little. The Empress Dowager loved this niece the most and often summoned her to the palace. At that time, I hadn't left the palace yet, so I met her many times and loved to tease her when I had nothing to do. It's a pity that the child killed her brother when she was five years old, and then she also died of illness. Even the Empress Dowager cried her heart out, let alone Madam Pu." She then lectured Xu Lanyin, "Zhao Wu is too impulsive. Sometimes it's a strength, but sometimes it's a weakness. It hurts both others and herself."
Xu Lanyin knew that the princess's accusation that Zhao Wu was impulsive and harmful to both himself and others was referring to the time Zhao Wu saved Xu Qingyan. To this day, many people still believed that Zhao Wu should not have saved Xu Qingyan first, but should have prioritized the overall situation and retrieved the intelligence first before considering other matters.
She nodded like a good child, accepting the suggestion, but her heart was filled with turmoil. Ying, Ying, the Queen Mother loved her very much, often summoned her to the palace, and she cried like a tearful person...
At night, after both children went to bed, Xu Lan was too excited to sleep.
She stood up and walked to the window. The moonlight spread across the courtyard like water, and the spring breeze with the fragrance of flowers blew towards her, making her feel even more cheerful.
The story is basically clear. Zhao Wu's mother's original name was Liu Ying. After arriving at the Pu family, she took the name Pu Ying. After becoming a Taoist nun, she became Zhao You. The "Yan Shang Chai" was a token of trust given to her by the Empress Dowager. Before she was five years old, she was often taken into the palace by the Empress Dowager to play.
Liu Ying was the eldest princess, a legitimate princess, higher in status than both the Nanyang and Beiyang princesses. Her fate was to be conceived at the same time as the emperor, and the empress dowager had to abandon her chance to preserve her son and their mother-son favor with the late emperor, sending her to be fostered in the Pu family...
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