Chapter 14
Madam Jiang snorted coldly, and just pretended that she didn't have a younger sister like Xiao Jiang in the future.
Zhang Xihua disdained to argue with Xiao Jiang because she knew very early on that it was useless to argue with others with words. Only by taking action to slap someone in the face would that person feel the pain.
"Then I would like to congratulate my aunt in advance on her finding a good husband."
After saying this, Zhang Xihua and Madam Jiang both walked away in anger.
Zhang Songning hurried out to see Zhang Xihua and Madam Jiang off, and had no intention of going back to Madam Jiang to suffer her wrath.
Xiao Jiang sat there motionless.
Nanny Zhen, who came with her as a dowry, then spoke up to persuade her, "Second Miss, why is it so hard for you to be so estranged from the eldest Miss? You'll always be able to meet her again when you return to your parents' home. They're all your own sisters. Isn't this just a clash of teeth?"
Xiao Jiang showed a look of resentment. "I am not willing to accept this. My parents have always favored my elder sister, the eldest daughter, since I was a child. My elder sister is beautiful and intelligent, while I am mediocre in appearance and talent. As long as my elder sister is around, others will not notice my existence. Even when I grew up and got married, my parents chose the eldest son of the Zhang family, the Yongjia Marquisate, for my elder sister, but chose a newly-minted Jinshi from an ordinary scholarly family for me. Fortunately, God has a good eye. My elder sister gave birth to two daughters in a row, while my first child was a son. My elder sister is now a widow, and my husband has a prosperous career. I thought that I would return to my parents' home. Finally, I was able to gain the respect of my parents. But my parents still focused all their attention on my sister. Zhen Ma, even though my sister's husband died, her eldest daughter is a noble concubine in the palace, her second daughter is a prince's consort, and Erlang became a scholar at the age of fourteen. How can I lose to my sister in matters of children? Minde is playful and is not as good as the eldest son born to that lowly concubine. Baoyin is foolish and got pregnant before marriage, which really makes me lose face. It's my sister's fault for what happened to Baoyin. If my sister had agreed to Baoyin and Erlang's marriage earlier, how could Baoyin end up like this? "
Nanny Zhen listened quietly and was too lazy to even offer any advice.
Xiao Jiang has been dwelling on a dead end and will definitely not listen to any kind words.
After Zhang Songning sent Zhang Xihua and Mrs. Jiang off, he returned to his room.
Xu Minyan personally brewed tea and served it to his wife. "After the New Year, I will be transferred to Wuhu County as the magistrate. If you come with me, you won't have to endure mother's anger at home all day long."
"My mother-in-law has been repeatedly asking me to stay and help her with household chores these past few days. I'm afraid that I'll lose her favor and make it difficult for you to behave in front of her." Zhang Songning really hated being bullied by Xiao Jiang.
"She's not your real mother-in-law. My biological mother had a difficult birth because she had no children and wanted to take me away to raise. She's been acting like a loving mother to me in front of others these years, but what mother would put a concubine in her twelve-year-old son's room? What mother would bribe her son's servants to coax him into visiting brothels? She's been doting on me on the surface, but in reality, she wants to spoil me. I won't fall for her trap." Xu Minyan already had a good reputation and wasn't afraid of leaving home or even falling out with Xiao Jiang. "Song Ning, you don't have to put yourself in a difficult position to please mother for me. You and I will live together in the future."
Zhang Songning nodded shyly, "I will go to Wuhu County with my husband after the New Year."
*
The next day, Zhang Xihua returned to Zhang's home to study and arrived at the classroom early.
The students had just returned to school after a long vacation, and most of them were still focused, so the classroom was bustling with people talking about interesting things they had experienced during the New Year.
Seeing that Zhu Mingji had not arrived at the classroom yet, Chen Ang pulled Xu Pingzhi and Jiang Yang to Zhang Xihua's desk and wished Zhang Xihua a happy new year.
The three young gentlemen gave Zhang Xihua the gifts they had prepared, and Zhang Xihua gave them gifts in return.
"You have all been to Mantingfang, but I am the only one who hasn't been there. Can you take me there to broaden my horizons after school today?" Zhang Xihua said.
Xu Pingzhi: "If that prince knew we led you to such a bad place, he would tear all three of our heads off."
Jiang Yang married his wife, Chen, last year and promised his wife that he would not go to places like Mantingfang after marriage.
"I promised to go home and have dinner with my wife, so you don't have to include me in the drinks."
Chen Ang laughed at Jiang Yang's fear of his wife and said, "Pingzhi, we will risk our lives to accompany the gentleman. After all, Xihua has never lost a fight with the prince. If the prince wants to turn our heads, Xihua will of course fight for us and the prince."
Zhang Xihua patted his chest and promised: "Tonight, let's order the most beautiful girls and the strongest liquor at Mantingfang. If anything goes wrong, it will be my fault."
Xu Pingzhi: "Then what have Aang and I become? If anything goes wrong, we'll all shoulder the responsibility together."
Jiang Yang thought it was a rare opportunity, and under Chen Ang's instigation, he also agreed to go to Mantingfang together after school.
As soon as Zhu Mingji entered the classroom, he saw Chen Ang and two others surrounding Zhang Xihua. His handsome face suddenly showed displeasure, and he just sat down quietly behind a desk in front of Zhang Xihua.
Chen Ang and the other two hurriedly saluted Zhu Mingji and said Happy New Year.
Zhu Mingji treated them with a cold expression and indifferent words.
Chen Ang and the other two knew that Zhu Mingji was in a bad mood, so they didn't dare to offend him and quickly returned to their seats.
Zhu Mingji was waiting for Zhang Xihua behind him to come and say Happy New Year to him.
Zhang Xihua was reading "The Art of War" in her hand. After the bell rang for class, she ignored Zhu Mingji who couldn't help but look back at her frequently.
After Mr. Zhuang finished his one-hour lecture on current affairs, Zhu Mingji took the opportunity to let the students take a break. He turned around and took the book from Zhang Xihua's hand, rolled it up and tapped Zhang Xihua on the head.
"How have I offended you?"
Zhang Xihua: "You didn't offend me, but your cousin did."
Zhu Mingji: "Which cousin? The one sitting in the throne room? I have many cousins."
Zhang Xihua leaned closer to Zhu Mingji's face, met his eyes, and said, "Zhu Mingqing offended me. You and he are cousins, and you and I are sworn brothers. There's a difference in closeness, so you're definitely on his side."
Zhu Mingji smelled the cool fragrance of Hanmei cakes emanating from Zhang Xihua, and his Adam's apple rolled.
"His father and my father are not from the same family. My father and the late emperor were brothers. Old Prince Jing and my father have to go back at least six generations to share the same ancestor. With just this little blood relationship, why would I side with him? I'll naturally side with you."
"Since you are on my side, do me a favor and invite Zhu Mingqing to Mantingfang. I want to team up with Chen Ang and others to beat Zhu Mingqing up." Zhang Xihua said.
"What?" Zhu Mingji was not very happy. "How could he deserve your beating? You hit me, and I had nothing to say. Now you even hit someone like him. Are you comparing his importance to mine?"
Zhang Xihua: “…”
She was a little confused about Zhu Mingji's strange train of thought. She originally thought that Zhu Mingji would have emotions about the word "Mantingfang", but she didn't expect that he would have emotions about her beating Zhu Mingqing.
Zhang Xihua didn't just want to beat Zhu Mingqing up, she had other plans.
"Actually, beating Zhu Mingqing is not my ultimate goal. My ultimate goal is to make Zhu Mingqing write a divorce letter."
"Do you promise not to hit him?" Zhu Mingji asked.
"I promise not to hit him, and I swear, I will only fight with you in my life." Zhang Xihua knows best how to coax Zhu Mingji, the idiot.
Zhu Mingji smiled with his eyes curved, then he realized that the word "Mantingfang" made him uncomfortable, and his expression suddenly became cold and serious.
"Why did you insist on asking me to meet Zhu Mingqing at a place like Mantingfang where people are looking for pleasure? Did you secretly go to Mantingfang without telling me? Did you hold hands and kiss the girls there? Zhang Xihua, how could you be so self-degrading——"
Zhang Xihua quickly interrupted Zhu Mingji.
"Today is my first time going to Mantingfang. Do I really need to go there to hold hands and kiss the ladies?"
"It's worth it... It's worth it..." Zhu Mingji pondered Zhang Xihua's sentence structure and suddenly realized, "I understand, you really don't need to go to Mantingfang and get close to those young ladies. The maids in your room, Qingque and Feiyue, are beauties——"
Zhang Xihua had a headache and interrupted Zhu Mingji, saying, "I'm so miserable that I still pick on the grass near my nest."
"Don't be picky about the grass near your nest." Zhu Mingji looked as if he had suddenly realized something. "I understand. Could it be that you have taken a fancy to those beautiful maids in my house?"
Zhang Xihua really wanted to pry open Zhu Mingji's brain to see if there were any wrinkles in his brain.
"Don't try to understand me anymore. This has nothing to do with anything. I'm a clean person and I don't like women."
"Not interested in women." Zhu Mingji suddenly realized again, "I understand. No wonder you and Shen Fuzhou are so close. It turns out that you and Shen Fuzhou both have the habit of being gay and sharing peaches——"
Zhang Xihua felt hopeless and banged his head against the table a few times. He was too weak to explain to Zhu Mingji, the wise king of the Ming Dynasty.
"I was right, right? You're so ashamed and angry that you want to commit suicide by slamming the case." Zhu Mingji held Zhang Xihua's face in his hands and looked at her sharply. "Erlang, you like men. This is a disease that needs treatment. I'll write a memorial to the capital and ask His Majesty to send the imperial physician to Prince Jing's mansion to treat you. Even if I have to spend all my father's wealth, I will cure your disease."
"Listen to what I have to say. I am not interested in women or men, and I am not sick. You don't have to spend all your father's wealth, but you do need to ask the imperial physician to see if you have a brain disease." Zhang Xihua pulled Zhu Mingji's hand away with force, and his fingerprints were left on his face.
"Mantingfang is not a good place. If you go there today, you might fall in love and be misled by women." Zhu Mingji was worried about Zhang Xihua going to such a filthy place.
"I want to use the beauty trap to trick Zhu Mingji. Where can I find beauties if I don't go to Mantingfang? Are you going to put on makeup and wear a silk dress to seduce Zhu Mingqing?" Zhang Xihua gradually lost her patience and spoke a little angrily.
"It's not difficult for you to get a beauty. You can just use the female assassin trained by my father. I'll pick a female assassin according to Zhu Mingqing's taste to coax him into writing a letter of divorce. Besides, you can chop off Zhu Mingqing's hands and feet or poke holes anywhere on his body." Zhu Mingji said.
Zhang Xihua thought it would be better to use a female assassin, "Then we'll cut off Zhu Mingqing's offspring."
This way, Xiao Jiang's dream of making Xu Baoyin the Princess of Jing came true.
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