Chapter 18 Chapter 18 An An, will your father...

Chapter 18 Chapter 18 An An, will your father...

Perhaps it was the word "Daddy" that prevented Cheng Yian from speaking immediately.

Cheng Mingyu was not in a hurry and enjoyed the quiet moment with his daughter.

This was the first time they spent time together as father and daughter. No, to be more precise, it was the first time they spent time together with the grown-up An An.

Thinking back to when Xia Fu gave birth, he rushed back to Hongnong in the rain overnight, stood in the rain all night behind a wall, and only breathed a sigh of relief when the child was born safely.

The first time he saw her was on her one-month-old day. The old lady handed the child to him. She was a soft and pretty baby, very much like him.

Later, I watched her grow up day by day. She loved to play under the banyan tree at the corner of the back alley of Nanfu. She had two small buns on her head and looked delicate and pretty. She was chased by boys and her clear laughter echoed in the whole corner. She accidentally tripped and fell headfirst. When she raised her eyes, two long lines of tears hung down her cheeks.

He felt so heartbroken that he immediately picked her up. She stopped crying when she saw the candy in his palm. Her big black eyes were filled with tears. She sat on his lap, biting the candy and smiling at him. She was so adorable.

When he was old enough to remember things, the old lady didn't allow him to see her, for fear that the child would become suspicious, so he just stood and watched from a distance.

He was the tribe leader, so he always had a way. All five-year-old girls had to go to school, so he started to take time out every day to go to the tribe school to supervise their homework. Whatever was learned during the day, he would recite in front of them.

The little girl came to him with staggering steps, her almond-shaped eyes turning around, looking here and there, reciting the poem with stumbling blocks. Occasionally, she was naughty, and when he raised the ruler high up and brought it down gently, she was frightened by his serious look and wanted to cry. When she found that it didn't hurt, she ran away as if she was afraid that he would regret it.

Later, when she grew up, she hid in the attic all day long, embroidering flowers, and he could no longer see her.

Cheng Mingyu took a deep breath and didn't speak for a long time.

Cheng Yian broke the silence first.

"Is my mother really doing this voluntarily?" This is what Cheng Yian is most worried about.

It would be such a shame to be forced to have sex with a strange man. She was worried that the old lady was covering up the truth to make things look good.

Cheng Mingyu looked at her quietly, his eyes full of bitterness and helplessness, "An'an, Daddy can't force your mother, and there is no need. I am sure that she agreed to this."

Yes, given Cheng Mingyu's pride, he would not agree unless the other party was willing.

Cheng Yian felt a little better. He looked at him awkwardly for a long time and asked awkwardly,

"What about you? You weren't forced? You weren't being plotted against, were you?"

Her grandmother is a person who will not stop until she achieves her goal. It is not impossible that she would use some dishonorable means to kidnap Cheng Mingyu.

This made Cheng Mingyu even more amused and helpless.

"Don't worry, An An, Daddy must have agreed to it personally. It's impossible for Daddy to be tricked in this matter."

He had encountered many such things, whether it was with Princess Minglan or noble ladies in the capital, or even some in his own clan, but he had never let himself be involved in unnecessary rumors.

Of course he refused at first. He had sworn not to marry, so why bother with this? Later, they kept asking him three times a day, saying that if he didn't accept, they could just choose someone else in the clan, either an unmarried man or someone who had a wife and children. There were also widows who had lost their wives, or people with bad character, or who were too lustful, so they would eventually remarry. After all the searching, he was the only one left.

My mother also came to persuade me.

"Don't refuse. I've seen Mrs. Xia before. She has a decent character and will not bring disgrace to you. She is also worthy of being the mother of your child. Moreover, she has made it clear that she only wants a child, to leave an heir for the fourth room, and will never get involved with you after the matter is completed. Isn't this a character that suits you?"

"She is really pitiful. She is born weak and has no man to take care of her at home. She has no one in her natal family, so anyone can bully her. Just treat it as a favor. Her sister-in-law is guarding against her like a thief. If you show up, who in the Cheng family will dare to disrespect her? No one in the entire clan will gossip about her, and there will be no disturbance. You are the clan leader, and you have no shirking your responsibility."

His mother also had selfish motives. Perhaps because she saw that he was a widower, she hoped that he and Xia would become a couple so that they could have a companion when they got old.

Cheng Mingyu's words made Cheng Yian breathe a sigh of relief.

They did it voluntarily, which at least showed that her background wasn't that dirty.

Cheng Mingyu knew that the child had a burden in her heart, and was afraid that she would feel inferior and give up, so he hurriedly said,

"An An, your father and mother are looking forward to seeing you. You must not take Cheng Mingyou's words to heart. You are the best girl. When you come back, you will have your own grandmother, brother and sister-in-law, and two sisters. Everyone will love you very much."

This was Cheng Mingyu's biggest concern. Every time he thought about taking her back, he was afraid that the child would not be able to withstand the rumors and would get into trouble. After all, Xia Fu died in such a way, and he really couldn't accept Cheng Yian leaving him.

Therefore, they guarded secretly and dared not go beyond the line.

This time, Cheng Yian clearly saw his red eyes and cautious look.

She smiled quickly, "Don't worry, I'm not as overwhelmed as you think. I'm fine, I just feel sorry for my mother."

If it were her in her previous life, she was shy and didn't know what would happen. But now it is different. It is better to live a miserable life than to die. Nothing is more important than being alive.

"I want to ask you one last question: how did my mother die? Did she jump off the cliff because she couldn't bear the news that Cheng Mingyou was alive?"

As soon as these words were spoken, Cheng Mingyu's expression changed significantly.

It was like a person who had been stabbed in the soft spot. He retracted all his sharpness and sharpness and became silent as if he was in a trance.

Cheng Yian didn't dare to urge him and could only wait quietly.

After a long while, Cheng Mingyu finally spoke.

"Your mother died before Cheng Mingyou returned to Beijing. She didn't know he was alive when she died."

In other words, she did not commit suicide because she could not live with herself after Cheng Mingyou returned to Beijing.

"Did you know when my grandmother had the idea again?"

Upon hearing this, Cheng Mingyu's handsome face suddenly became very gloomy and strange, and he said self-deprecatingly,

"Know."

He confessed to his daughter,

"And I agreed."

Cheng Yian's hands trembled, and he was stunned.

Cheng Yian knew the weight of these words and what they meant.

She looked at Cheng Mingyu, a man who was as tall and majestic as a mountain and whom people admired and even dared not to blaspheme.

He told her so straightforwardly that he agreed to the second marriage.

Cheng Yian was indeed very unexpected.

Cheng Mingyu looked at her painfully.

"An An, you must be disappointed. Your father is no different."

He is the head of the Cheng family and the crown of the aristocratic family. Many literati and patriots in the world regard him as a role model. He is regarded as the gentleman with the most upright character in the eyes of the world and has always engraved rules in his bones.

He was no different, just an ordinary man, but in the end he could not escape the drive of desire.

"If I hadn't agreed, maybe your mother wouldn't have died. An An..." Cheng Mingyu's eyes were as deep as a cold pond that could never be explored to the bottom, an abyss that could never be filled up.

"As a father, I bear the unshirkable responsibility for your mother's death. If you want to hate someone, hate me."

He ultimately could not escape the curse of being unlucky with his wife.

Cheng Yian could feel that Cheng Mingyu was looking for an outlet for his pain, as if someone hated him.

The sin on earth will be lighter.

How could that period of time, when "the couple got pregnant after three months of being together", be easily covered up by a few simple words?

What they said was all good, and they would no longer have any contact with each other from now on, but they were human beings, and human beings have seven emotions and six desires.

She suddenly understood why her mother died...

Cheng Yian felt sorry for them.

"So is there really no trace of my mother's body left?"

Cheng Mingyu lowered his eyes slightly, his face gradually becoming dull, "Yes, I was in Suzhou at the time. When I heard the news, I immediately rushed back to Xiangshan Temple and sent two thousand people to look for him. We searched the vast forest for five days and five nights, and searched an area of ​​thirty miles, but only found a piece of clothing."

Cheng Yian was most worried that his mother would be eaten by a beast. How painful that would be.

"Have you found any wild animals?"

Cheng Mingyu shook his head in silence.

Cheng Yian closed his eyes, tears streaming down his face.

She really wanted to hold on to a glimmer of hope, but when she thought that seventeen years had passed and there was still no news, she dared not hope for it.

I understand the whole story now.

Cheng Yian sniffed, raised his sleeves to wipe away his tears, and asked him, "Is that piece of clothing still there?"

Cheng Mingyu was stunned for a moment, then he slowly stood up, walked across the table to the row of shelves behind the antique display case, found a secret compartment, and a small drawer came out from the inner wall. He took out a brocade box from it and handed it to Cheng Yian.

Cheng Yian looked at him and took it. Cheng Mingyu sat opposite her, silent.

Cheng Yian could not wait to open the brocade box. Inside was a piece of clothing with a few tiny yellow osmanthus flowers embroidered on it. One could see that the stitches were very fine. Could it have been embroidered by her mother?

The edge of the piece of clothing had traces of tearing and was covered with dust. It was obvious that it had not been washed when it was first brought back. It must have been placed inside without being moved. Cheng Yian looked at it for a while and was about to close it when his eyes suddenly fell on the frame of the brocade box. This was a brocade box made of huanghuali wood. It was quite old, with mottled patterns and an obvious thick layer of pulp.

Cheng Yian turned around to look at Cheng Mingyu. Cheng Mingyu had his hands on his knees, not knowing what he was thinking, and his face looked very indifferent.

Cheng Yian locked the box again, held the box and asked him softly,

"Can you return my mother's belongings to me?"

It doesn't seem to be suitable for him.

Cheng Mingyu's slender fingers trembled noticeably, and he avoided her gaze, hesitantly pulling the corners of his lips, "Okay..."

Very light tone.

Cheng Yian looked at him deeply, then stood up holding the golden box and bowed to him.

"Then I'll take my leave."

Cheng Yian walked out.

Cheng Mingyu sat in silence, not moving.

He didn't know how long he had been sitting there. It was probably a night wind, and the cold wind rushed in through the window slits, blowing up the corners of his thin clothes. Cheng Mingyu couldn't stand the cold, and he covered his chest and coughed violently. This alarmed the night watchman, who immediately came in to serve him.

"Oh, Master, why are you wearing so little? Come, I will help you into the inner room. You must take Doctor Fan's medicine on time..."

Cheng Mingyu ignored the old servant's nagging, pushed his hand away, and walked into the inner room alone.

*

Cheng Yian couldn't help but admire Lu Xusheng's abilities.

By the time she was there, she had received the divorce papers, and not only that, she had also completed the paperwork with the government.

"It's so late, can the government still help you?"

Cheng Yian asked him when she got in the car. Lu Xusheng was pouring tea for her. The man sat there calmly without saying anything. Instead, Qiu Qing, who was catching up with the car, smiled and said, "Madam, don't you see who our master is?"

Huanghuafang, where the Cheng family lived, belonged to Daxing County. All household registration and marriage books were kept in the household registration office of the Daxing County government. People like Lu Xusheng only had to take his name card over and the officials on duty would immediately process it for him.

Her mother finally left the Cheng family cleanly.

Cheng Yian didn't even bother to drink tea. He carefully found a towel and wiped the tablet clean. He then told Qiu Qing,

"Let's go to our newly bought house in Chongnanfang."

Some time ago, Cheng Yian fell in love with a house and bought it without saying a word.

Now that Qiu Qing was assigned to Cheng Yian's command, he would not ask about Lu Xusheng's opinion. The carriage would go wherever Cheng Yian told him to go.

Lu Xusheng couldn't help but ask, "Why don't you just take her home and wait for me to buy a house next door for my mother-in-law?" The south of the city is very far away, and he was worried that Cheng Yian would be too tired to run back and forth.

Cheng Yian didn't want the Lu family to say that her mother-in-law was an easy person to get along with. She didn't have any support in the Lu family and didn't have any status. "No need. My mother likes quiet life. She can stay in the other courtyard. I'll go to pay my respects to her every now and then. It's good to relax."

Lu Xusheng said no more.

Just now, Cheng Yiyan accompanied him to have a meal in the side hall of the North Palace. Guessing that Cheng Yian didn't have time to eat, he prepared a lunch box for her.

So he took the tablet and brought the food box to her, "Your body is your capital, fill your stomach first."

Cheng Yian listened to the advice. He washed his hands with a wet towel and opened the food box. Various aromas filled his nose. The food box had three layers. He put everything down one by one and placed it on the small table in the carriage. There were actually eight side dishes and two cups of soup.

A bowl of Gastrodia elata pigeon soup, a bowl of pork ribs and yam soup, a bowl of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, a small dish of zongzi, rock sugar bird's nest porridge, shrimp rolls, a small dish of Sichuan fried chicken, a small dish of eggplant soup, ham stewed pork elbow, etc. Each one is not much in quantity but extremely exquisite and luxurious. For example, the chicken is the tenderloin meat with few bones and not much oil, the meat is fresh and delicious, and the ham stewed pork elbow, the pork elbow skin is very delicious. Deep-fried until crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, the snow meat melts in your mouth and is not greasy at all. I cut some diced chicken, corn, peas and radish, fried them in oil for a short while and then added some coriander, green onion and garlic. It is so fragrant that it makes you drool. What's even more rare is to pick two tender green cauliflowers and wrap them around the bowl. I put two roasted shrimps and two slices of ham on the side of the bowl, and it becomes a perfect dish with color, aroma and taste.

Just a small snack box made Cheng Yian feel the wealth of the eldest son's family.

Cheng Yian was very hungry, so he immediately picked up his chopsticks and started eating.

Just as he was about to put it in his mouth, he suddenly heard Lu Xusheng on the opposite side let out a "tsk".

"What's wrong?"

Lu Xusheng stared at the dish with a complicated expression, "Cheng Yiyan is really not afraid of offending me. He came to accompany me just now, and the meal he had was not as good as the standard of your food box. It is really unbecoming of a wealthy family to be so partial to one and neglect the other."

Cheng Yian smiled, "It must be because you said something rude last time, and Second Brother is holding a grudge against you."

Lu Xusheng said nothing. How could he not see through Cheng Yiyan's trick? But Jin'er doted on his sister, hoping that she would recognize her ancestors as soon as possible. The Lu family was already rich enough, but it was still far inferior to the Cheng family. His daughter-in-law was now the youngest daughter of the eldest son of the Cheng family. With Cheng Mingyu's personality, who knows how he would dote on her. By then, he, the son-in-law, would be outdone.

Cheng Mingyu's family is extremely wealthy and he has plenty of money to spend on Cheng Yian, but he is different. The little wealth he has seems shabby in front of Cheng Mingyu.

No, I have to get the title of Duke back as soon as possible.

While Cheng Yian was having his meal, the carriage drove very steadily, though not fast enough. It was already noon when they arrived at the villa in the south of the city. The alleys in the south of the city were not as smooth as those in the north and had fallen into disrepair. Unfortunately, it started to rain, and the ground was full of potholes and mud. The carriage broke down halfway, and Cheng Yian stood under the eaves holding the tablet to avoid the rain.

Rulan and Ruhui, one holding an umbrella and the other holding her cloak tightly, protected her on both sides.

As for Lu Xusheng, on the one hand, he ordered people to rent a carriage from a nearby carriage shop, and on the other hand, he asked someone to drive a carriage back home just in case. He then sent someone to see if a carriage could be sent to pick him up. The man followed the guards to drag the carriage out of the pit, and was bending down and looking down to check the wheels.

Cheng Yian felt extremely guilty, probably because he felt that he and Lu Xusheng were not that familiar with each other yet and he always felt that he was a burden to him.

After a while, Lu Xusheng washed his hands with rainwater and returned to the eaves. His brown knee-length skirt was already half wet, and his shoulders were covered with raindrops. When he came back, he saw her face was downcast but she was still smiling.

"Don't worry, it will be fine in a moment."

And comfort her.

Cheng Yian's eyes turned red.

Recalling that in her previous life, she once went out of the city to burn incense at a temple. On the way, she encountered heavy rain and the carriage was blocked halfway up the mountain. Fan Yulin was full of complaints at the time, blaming her for not picking a good day to go out, hiding in the carriage and letting the servants mess around outside. She saw that the servants were disorganized, so she had no choice but to come out herself with an umbrella to take charge. At that time, she was weak and caught a cold and later fell ill.

On the other hand, Lu Xusheng didn't even frown when the carriage lost anchor just now. He settled her down and then hurried to deal with the problem. He was in a stable mood and didn't complain at all.

Lu Xusheng is actually a very temperamental person, but he never loses his temper and he is always trying to solve problems.

"Sorry to have delayed you." Cheng Yian said.

Lu Xusheng sneered, "We are husband and wife, why should we delay?"

Cheng Yian smiled slightly, and seeing that the raindrops on his shoulders had not yet fallen, she stood on tiptoe and raised her hand to brush them away for him. Lu Xusheng probably did not expect her action and was stunned for a moment. Cheng Yian blushed and quickly retracted her hand, looking at the rain mist outside the eaves.

Lu Xusheng looked at her quietly, cleared his throat and said nothing.

Even if two people have done the most intimate things in bed, they are still not used to being intimate in broad daylight.

Also

The secret guard who had gone to the villa was the first to return, pulling a large carriage. The couple hurried to the villa, settled everything down, set up the Buddhist altar, and placed the cushions, kowtowed and burned incense for most of an hour, and finally returned at the end of the hour of midnight.

Everything is ready, and my mother's matter is settled.

May her soul rest in peace in heaven.

Thinking of her mother's tragic death, Cheng Yian couldn't help but burst into tears on the way back in the carriage.

Fortunately, Lu Xusheng was the only one in the carriage, and the crackling sound of rain outside covered her crying voice and did not alarm the servants.

Lu Xusheng was most afraid of women crying, but he also knew that Cheng Yian had experienced a drastic change today and had a lot of emotions in her heart that needed to be released, so he let her cry. However, after crying for more than a quarter of an hour, Cheng Yian still didn't stop, so Lu Xusheng panicked.

"Hey, Cheng Yian, let's stop crying. Don't let your crying hurt your health."

I frantically searched for a handkerchief and handed it over, then asked with a headache, "Have you cried enough?"

Cheng Yian was sitting on a small table between them, with her arms resting on the car wall, crying heart-wrenchingly and very hard. When she heard his voice, she raised her eyes and looked at him eagerly.

The man placed his left hand on the small table, and with his right hand he handed a handkerchief to her. He turned around and faced her, but there was a clear distance between them because of the small table.

This stupid man didn't even bother to lend her his arm.

Cheng Yian took the handkerchief from his hand, wiped away her tears, and stopped crying.

Yi An ignored him during this journey. When she returned home at night, she changed her clothes and went to bed, lying down, leaving him with her back.

Lu Xusheng was covered in mud and took a long time to wash. When he came back, he saw that his wife was farther away from him than usual.

What's going on?

Persuading her not to cry ended up ruining the matter?

Lu Xusheng moved over and stretched his arm to her waist, trying to hug her, but Cheng Yian slapped his hand away and looked at him sideways.

“You want it?

Lu Xusheng looked at her tear-swollen eyes and said speechlessly,

"You're already in such a state of pain, do I really need to go on such a rampage?"

Cheng Yian asked, "Then why did you touch me?"

Lu Xusheng was obviously stumped by the question.

"Isn't it because you feel uncomfortable and I want to comfort you?"

Cheng Yian said aggrievedly, "Why didn't you comfort me in the carriage just now? Is it because of this incident that you won't touch me anymore?"

Lu Xusheng paused, realized something, and without saying a word, he hugged his wife in his arms.

Cheng Yian pushed him away angrily, as if she was begging him.

She turned away again, giving him an even colder look.

Lu Xusheng rubbed his brows and laughed. He was silent for a moment, and finally wrapped Cheng Yian and the quilt in his arms. This time, Cheng Yian did not struggle anymore.

*

I caught a cold last night and got up the next morning with a high fever.

Lu Xusheng went to the yamen before dawn. He received the news at noon and came back to see her early. Cheng Yian was lying on the couch in a daze. He drank the medicine, sweated slightly, and fell asleep again.

Lu Xusheng did not dare to disturb them, so he retreated from the inner room and sat in the main room to ask Li Madam,

"When did you call the doctor?"

Nanny Li replied respectfully, "I asked the mansion's doctor to come and see her this morning. I was worried, so I asked Qiu Qing to take your name card to the Imperial Hospital to ask for the doctor. Hearing that the young mistress of the Duke's Mansion was ill, the deputy director of the Imperial Hospital, Doctor He, came in a hurry. The two doctors wrote a prescription together. She just took the medicine and started sweating. It seems that the fever has subsided. Madam wants to sleep, so I let her do it."

Li Ma is indeed a person trained by the old lady. She speaks clearly and concisely. She then said, "My Lord, grandma is not feeling well. I took the initiative to send Rulan to the upper room to apologize. So the second lady exempted our grandma from the morning and evening visits."

Lu Xusheng nodded approvingly.

Just at this moment, Cheng Yian's call came from inside again. Nanny Li brought Ruhui in hurriedly, and Lu Xusheng also lifted the curtain and watched from the side. It turned out that the medicine had taken effect and she was sweating profusely. Ruhui and others were busy wiping her body and changing her into clean clothes. Only then did she fall asleep peacefully.

Lu Xusheng had lunch in the east room, then wrote a few letters and gave them to his attendants to deliver to the Governor's Mansion. When he came in to visit for the last time, he heard Cheng Yian mumbling something.

"Water..." After sweating, her mouth was dry, so Lu Xusheng poured her some water. Just as he was about to pass it to her, he heard her suddenly turn over and cry, as if she was having a nightmare.

"Fan Yulin, please go away..."

When Lu Xusheng heard this, he was stunned. A slender arm came towards him, knocking the teacup askew. The warm tea flowed down his knees and wet half of his body. Lu Xusheng sat there motionless, and suddenly a feeling of sadness and discomfort surged in his heart.

Hasn't that pretty boy already found a mistress? What are you still thinking about?

Lu Xusheng stood up and got out of the bed.

Taking two steps forward, she heard her whimpering voice from inside the bed, "Thirsty..."

Lu Xusheng glanced at his wet clothes, refilled a glass, resigned himself to going back to the bed, and helped Cheng Yian out of the quilt. Cheng Yian's eyes were still tightly closed, and her little mouth was red as if she was looking for something. Lu Xusheng handed her the water cup, and she gulped down the water to quench her thirst. She tilted her head and went back to sleep contentedly.

Lu Xusheng pushed her into the quilt, went into the bathroom to change clothes, and never came back.

He was silent for a long time in the hallway. He was not going to get angry about such a small matter. He forced himself to put the scene from his mind and prepared to go out.

It rained heavily last night and it cleared up today. It is just past noon now and the sun is at its brightest.

When Lu Xusheng was about to reach the gate, a wide carriage stopped and a man came out from behind the curtain. It was Cheng Yiyan.

"Shenzhi, where are we going?"

Lu Xusheng stood on the steps and returned his greeting, "I was planning to go to the palace. I wonder why Brother Yan Ning is here?"

Cheng Yiyan raised his hand, signaling the maid to take the things off the carriage, and he went up the steps with his robe, and said to Lu Xusheng,

"I heard my sister was ill, so I brought some herbs with me. Maybe they can be of use to you."

Lu Xusheng narrowed his eyes upon hearing this, and his expression turned unhappy. "You are really well-informed!"

Since Cheng Mingyu already knew that Cheng Yian was his daughter, there was a chance that some of these concubines were from the eldest wife's family.

Although he had no ill intentions, Lu Xusheng didn't want Cheng Yian to have any spies around him.

Cheng Yiyan was also a smart man. He quickly sensed the implication of his words and hurriedly explained with a sneer, "No, this morning someone from the mansion took your name card to the Imperial Hospital to ask for a doctor. They said that the young mistress was ill. The Imperial Hospital reported the news to my father. My father was worried about An An and asked me to come and visit her."

Overnight, the news that Cheng Yian was Cheng Mingyu's biological daughter spread throughout the city.

Those who cannot please Cheng Mingyu on a normal day will have to find opportunities to show their courtesy to him.

Only then did Lu Xusheng clear up his doubts.

Poor man, who was just full of jealousy, was in a bad mood at the moment. He sent the guest away with a fake smile.

"Alright, I appreciate Brother Yan Ning's kindness. Yi An is asleep, and it's inconvenient for you to see her. Leave the things here, and go back."

Lu Xusheng was really rude.

Cheng Yiyan was so angry that he laughed, but he still said,

"If my sister's condition improves, please ask Shenzhi to let someone know so that my grandmother and father don't worry."

Lu Xusheng agreed, sent the man away, and immediately went to the palace.

As soon as he left, the news was reported to the eldest lady.

Yesterday's incident shocked the entire capital, and the Lu family was of course the first to bear the brunt. Since yesterday evening, all kinds of people have been coming to the gate of the mansion to inquire about the news, and Madam Lu simply closed the door and refused to see them.

Cheng Yian suddenly became Cheng Mingyu's biological daughter, which was very disadvantageous to the Lu family's eldest branch.

How could Cheng Mingyu not help his daughter get the reward from the Duke's Mansion? Even if Cheng Mingyu was a man of high moral integrity and disdained to interfere in the Lu family's household affairs, the old lady of the Beifu, who was known as a woman of great virtue, would definitely not watch her granddaughter being bullied by the Lu family.

The eldest lady was almost restless.

"What a pity! Your second aunt has finally got what she wanted." The eldest lady said sourly, and then said to the eldest daughter-in-law Liu,

"Look, Brother Xu's daughter-in-law is sick, shouldn't we go see her?"

Grandma Liu gave a bitter smile.

It was not uncommon for the sisters-in-law to go out for a walk whenever they had a headache or a fever, but Cheng Yian was different. Since she entered the mansion, the sisters-in-law rarely went to Ningji Hall. The first wife nominally wanted to win over Cheng Yian, but in private she was wary of her and did not really take her seriously. As for the second wife, the second madam did not like Cheng Yian, and the third wife, Mrs. Bai, did not dare to approach Cheng Yian rashly. Only the third wife had taken her daughter to Ningji Hall.

Cheng Yian's status is rising now. If he doesn't go, he will offend the Cheng family's head branch. If he goes, he will be suspected of flattering the powerful and bullying the weak, which is embarrassing.

The eldest lady quickly came up with an idea, rubbed her forehead and said,

"How about this, I'll just say I'm not feeling well, and you take a box of bird's nests and go check on our head room."

Grandma Liu was heartbroken: Look, this thankless task now falls entirely on her shoulders.

Who called her the mother-in-law? The eldest lady resigned herself to going to the storehouse to get the bird's nest, and took two maids to Ningji Hall.

As soon as there was any movement on her side, the news was quickly passed to the third grandmother, Bai's room. Bai immediately came to Mingxi Hall to seek instructions from the second wife.

"Mother, the eldest sister-in-law of the eldest house has gone to Ningji Hall. We are in the same room, so we shouldn't fall into the lower class."

Bai had long wanted to make friends with Cheng Yian, but her mother-in-law disliked Cheng Yian, so she did not dare to act on her own. Now Cheng Yian has become the apple of Cheng Mingyu's eye, and her future is limitless. If she does not take advantage of her illness to visit her, her future will be blocked.

In fact, Bai knew very well in her heart that if the second wife passed away early, the second house would have to rely on Lu Xusheng to support it. There was no need for her to offend her sister-in-law and make herself unpopular in the future.

Second Madam Wang had a headache all night. She was not completely happy because she had offended him badly before. How could she not be happy? Xu Sheng was able to marry Cheng Mingyu's daughter, which was a happy event no matter what.

"You go ahead." The second lady said uninterested.

She was not so embarrassed as to bow to her daughter-in-law.

Bai twisted her handkerchief and asked awkwardly, "Then mother, what should my daughter-in-law bring when she visits? It's the first time, I can't go empty-handed."

The second wife raised her eyes and glanced at Mrs. Bai.

Bai lowered his head in shame.

Her husband, the Third Young Master Lu Jisheng, is currently studying at the Imperial College and lives on the monthly allowance from the mansion. Unfortunately, the Third Young Master was spoiled by the Second Wife since he was a child, and is very particular about food, clothing and other expenses. Bai Shi has given him a lot of money privately, so he is not well off.

It’s not that she was reluctant to give things to Cheng Yian, but she simply didn’t have much to offer and was afraid that Cheng Yian wouldn’t like it.

The Second Madam saw through Bai's predicament and ordered the nanny beside her, "Take the key to open the storeroom and give the old mountain ginseng that the Wang family sent last year to Xu's daughter-in-law, and give the four taels of bird's nest that the Pingling Marquis' Mansion gave a few days ago to Ji's daughter-in-law."

Bai knew that Yanwo was doing her a favor, so she immediately kowtowed to express her gratitude, "Mother-in-law, your kindness is so great that I will remember it in my heart."

The people from the first and second houses all went to Ningji Hall, and the third wife's trusted nanny also urged her,

"Madam, would you like to ask my sister to go and have a look as well?"

The third wife shook her head wisely, "No need, An An is recovering from illness, and may not be able to see anyone right now. They have something on their mind, and they are in a hurry to mend the barriers. We are honest people, so we are not in a hurry to heat up the stove now. We should wait until An An is better."

In order not to be left behind, Third Grandma Bai quickly took a shortcut and ran into First Grandma Liu in the long corridor on the west side of Ningji Hall. The two sisters-in-law looked at each other and understood what she meant.

Well, let's embarrass everyone together.

The two of them chatted and laughed all the way to the moon-shaped gate of Ningji Hall, but they saw a group of people bustling around the door, carrying brocade boxes of various sizes in their hands and sending them in.

Nanny Li at the door saw the two ladies and glanced at the brocade boxes in the hands of their maids. She knew what was going on and immediately came over to pay her respects.

"Hello, grandmas. Are you here to visit our second grandma? Please don't hang around here. Come in and have some tea."

Bai and Liu followed them up the corridor, and saw people flowing east and west into the west wing. The old woman who was in charge was bright and generous, and looked unfamiliar. She didn't look like a member of the Lu family.

"All the orders are here. Please keep them, so I can go back and report to the ancestor."

It turned out that he was from the Cheng family.

Then the gold box he brought seemed shabby.

Cheng Yian was still in a coma, and no one was seen. They left their formalities and returned to their rooms in a dusty state.

In the evening, Cheng Yian finally woke up. She slept very deeply and dreamed that Fan Yulin was arrested and imprisoned. When she went to ask for the divorce papers, Fan Yulin grabbed her clothes and begged her to save him. She kicked him away. This was really what she hoped would be the outcome.

Cheng Yian was afraid that he had returned to his previous life and broke out in a sweat in his dream. Fortunately, he was still in Lu's house at this moment and he breathed a sigh of relief.

Nanny Li told her about the visit of the two Bai family members. Cheng Yian leaned against the pillow and drank medicine while saying, "Write it down in the favor account book. If they have a headache or fever in the future, I should return the favor."

Madam Li tucked the corner of the quilt for her and whispered, "The bird's nest given by the first wife is of average quality, but the ginseng given by the second wife is really good, and the bird's nest given by the third wife is also quite good."

Although the second wife didn't like her, she was still able to feel at ease about the closeness and distance between them compared to the eldest wife.

"Let's keep those bird's nests and use them as a favor later."

Cheng Yiyan just brought a box of bird's nests, enough for her to eat for half a year. The Cheng family's eldest branch is really rich and generous.

Lu Xusheng did not come back from his night shift that night, but Cheng Yian did not think much about it.

Five days later, Cheng Yian finally recovered. After resting for another two days, news came from the palace that the emperor, thinking of the fine weather in the past few days, planned to hold a polo match at the racecourse west of Taiye Lake and invited the wives of officials of the fifth rank and above in the capital to watch.

The eldest grandmother Liu told everyone what she had heard.

"I heard that they want to find a princess for His Royal Highness Prince Ning."

Prince Ning is the emperor's only son and has a noble status. Which noble lady in the capital who is waiting to be married would not want him?

The eldest lady's daughter is already married, and Lu Xusheng is a backbone of the imperial party. The emperor is unlikely to marry another girl from the Lu family, so there is no need to compete for the second lady's youngest daughter Lu Shuzhi. The third wife has two girls waiting to be married, but no matter how you choose, you can't choose the third wife, so this time the girl from the Lu family can go out and play without any burden.

The fifth lady, Lu Shuzhi, is eager to form a polo team.

"Sister-in-law, can you play polo?"

Cheng Yian sat in the crowd without saying anything. Upon hearing this, he immediately replied, "I'm not very likely to do that."

In her previous life, she never left the capital city. Later, she went to Yizhou. Fan Yulin taught her to play polo a few times, but she really had no talent for it.

Lu Shuzhi invited her enthusiastically, "Come on, come on, sister-in-law has prepared a set of riding clothes, even if you don't play in the competition tomorrow, you can still have some fun."

Cheng Yian hadn't exercised for a long time, so he agreed.

He ordered the sewing shop to make her a set of riding clothes overnight, but the only thing missing was a good horse. When Lu Xusheng came back at night, Cheng Yian asked him for the horse.

Lu Xusheng told her, "My horse is too strong for you to control. How about this, when we get to Shanglin Garden tomorrow, I will give you Prince Ning's little red rabbit."

"That's not good. Don't steal someone else's love." Cheng Yian said with a smile.

Lu Xusheng glanced at her.

A clean white face with a pair of big watery eyes, heartless.

Wasn't he good enough to her for still thinking about that pretty boy?

"That little Red Hare is only suitable for women to ride. He has no women, so I'll give it to you." After saying that, he fell asleep.

Cheng Yian found that Lu Xusheng had been acting strange recently. He hadn't touched her for several days and had switched to being a vegetarian? In her previous life, Lu Xusheng was a man of deep thoughts and never smiled, which made her guess hard. In this life, she would try to keep him from being suffocated.

The next morning, the sky was clear and cloudless. Lu Xusheng went to court early. Cheng Yian rubbed his sleepy eyes, got up, packed up, and accompanied the Lu family as they hurried to Shanglin Garden.

When we got here, we found it was crowded. From a distance, we could see imperial tents set up around the horse farm. To the north were seats for the royal family members, and to the left and right were the brocade tents of various families. There were many officials and nobles in the capital, and the brocade tents of each family were not spacious. Some families shared one. The brocade tent of Duke Lu's mansion was the first one on the right. The maids had already prepared tea. For fear of the cold, they also put two stoves inside. The eldest lady was good at socializing, and she took her wife to visit other places. The second lady was summoned away by the empress dowager's people when she entered the palace. The third lady was at home with the old lady today, and the remaining girls went to the stable to choose horses. Only Cheng Yian and the third grandmother Bai were left in the brocade tent.

After a while, a girl wearing a goose-yellow dress and a sable satin cape came into the Lu family's brocade pavilion. When she saw Bai, she immediately smiled.

"My dear sister-in-law, last time you said that your cousin married a beautiful sister-in-law. Who is she?"

Bai was embarrassed when she heard this, and pointed at Cheng Yian who was sitting at the table and said, "Sister Xiang'er, the second sister-in-law is here, come over and pay your respects."

Cheng Yian had already smelled the girl's voice and recognized her as Lu Xusheng's cousin Wang Yunxiang.

This Wang Yunxiang was of course not the one Lu Xusheng married in his previous life, but his cousin.

In her previous life, ever since she married Lu Xusheng, Wang Yunxiang felt very sorry for her cousin, so whenever she came to Lu's house, she would find that her nose was not a nose and her eyes were not eyes.

Wang Yunxiang really came forward to greet him, her eyes moving up and down Cheng Yian, "I've met my cousin's wife."

Cheng Yian didn't like her critical look, he just nodded indifferently and ignored it.

Wang Yunxiang was very dissatisfied when she saw Cheng Yian's cold treatment of her. She insisted on sitting next to Cheng Yian and said in a weird tone,

"Sister-in-law is now the daughter of the Cheng family's eldest son. Her tone has changed and she has learned to look down on others... To tell you the truth, sister-in-law's behavior is really not worthy of my second cousin..."

Cheng Yian's face had already fallen. Just as he was about to speak, he heard Wang Yunxiang suddenly scream. A purple-robed eunuch kicked her from behind and she flew off the steps and fell on the grass in front of the stage.

field.

This sudden change frightened everyone present. Cheng Yian was wondering who was so bold as to beat up an official and a noblewoman in front of everyone. Then he saw the eldest princess holding the hand of a palace maid and slowly walking into the brocade pavilion. She stared ahead with an arrogant look, her expression lazy and indifferent, and she was as imposing as ever.

In order not to offend the eldest princess, Wang Yunxiang was dragged away without even having the chance to cry.

Cheng Yian choked deeply and quickly stood up to salute.

Unfortunately, the slender jade fingers gently pressed on her shoulders and pushed her down. Cheng Yian was pressed directly onto the stool. The palace maid immediately brought a gorgeous armchair. The eldest princess lazily leaned on the armchair, her slender fingertips stroking Cheng Yian's shoulders, her eyes always fixed on the Cheng family's brocade pavilion opposite.

The Lu family's Jinpeng is the first room on the right, and the Cheng family's Jinpeng is the first room on the left. Sitting in the Lu family's Jinpeng, you can have a clear view of what is happening in the Cheng family across the street.

"An An, do you think your father will come today?"

Cheng Yian looked at the tortoise shell armor so close to him, the tips of which were shining coldly, and his back tensed unconsciously.

"I don't think so." He wouldn't join in such a commotion.

When the princess heard this, her momentum instantly withered. She patted Cheng Yian on the shoulder and pulled her up. "The view here is not good. Come with me to the imperial tent."