Chapter 88, the sweet romance plot.
Looking back on what happened a year ago when she first transmigrated, she had already lost her memory, and the argument between mother and son was about the concubine.
Zhao Xian propped her head up and thought for a long time. Why did she insist on giving Jiang Heng a concubine in the first place? He really wasn't that old.
I remember now, I heard other ladies talking about how they arranged for concubines to be married to their sons before their weddings.
In some cases, the son would arrange for a concubine to be his wife during her pregnancy.
She happens to have two sons. Some things she hears might seem wrong the first or second time, but after the third or fourth time…
She was already trying to adapt to the rules of this era, and she went along with the trend, applying these bad habits to her son and daughter-in-law.
"Ha!" Zhao Xian was speechless, and even she herself laughed.
It seems she had the potential to become a wicked woman.
The reason she had such a serious argument with Jiang Heng, even to the point of losing her memory, was probably because she discovered that neither of her two sons listened to her; one was secretly defying her, and the other was openly contradicting her.
If she hadn't lost her memory, would she have become the kind of wicked mother-in-law described in the book, causing trouble for her two sons and daughters-in-law?
Because both sides were already on edge.
Exhaling a breath of stale air, Zhao Xian glanced at the clear sky outside.
How could she live such an obnoxious life? Jiang Liangxu himself has never taken a concubine, so why does she forget her roots and insist on making her son miserable?
In retrospect, the ending she met in the book seems quite reasonable.
If she had no modern memories from the beginning, and had grown up, come of age, married, and raised children as she always had.
This era was dominated by the concept of 'filial piety,' and her fate would likely be the same as those of the noblewomen.
Unfortunately, she retained her memories, and she taught her two sons with modern thinking; they were not blindly filial in the traditional sense.
Jiang Heng realized that his mother didn't seem to be listening to him. He didn't want to be too blunt, but he couldn't help himself: "Mother? Are you listening to me? I'm getting married the day after tomorrow. Will you be able to finish the wedding ceremony?"
"I'm not made of mud, how could I not last? Don't worry, I won't melt in the sun."
Zhao Xian waved her folding fan, her tone casual, with a hint of teasing.
Jiang Heng felt a sense of relief. He knew his mother; as long as she could still laugh and joke, then everything was fine.
As the mother and son were talking, the voice of a maid coming from behind the screen announced something.
"Madam, the eldest young master has returned and wishes to pay his respects. Would you like to see him?"
Zhao Xian glanced at Jiang Heng, "Your older brother is back."
"Then perhaps the case is finished. Perfect, you can accompany me to the Lu family to welcome the bride."
Hearing a sound from inside, Peony recognized the voice as belonging to the Second Young Master before she could even be surprised. But she had been guarding the door the whole time. How did the Second Young Master get in?
Then they heard the lady's voice, "Let the eldest son in."
Jiang Wei stepped into the room, saw Zhao Xian, and bowed. His movements were precise and standard, and his voice was calm and steady. "Son greets Mother. How are you feeling, Mother?"
"I'm fine, please sit down."
Even when he sat down, Jiang Wei sat upright, completely different from the more relaxed Jiang Heng beside him.
After losing her memory, she only saw them as male protagonists in angst-filled and sweet romance novels, judging their personalities solely from the few words described in the books.
Zhao Xian's gaze shifted back and forth between Jiang Wei and Jiang Heng several times. "Wei'er, I suddenly realize that I owe you so much."
When Jiang Wei was just beginning to remember things, she neglected many things because of Meng Yingniang's death. At that time, she was extremely irritable and pregnant, and she ignored many things, including Jiang Wei.
Knowing that Meng Yingniang chose to commit suicide to protect her, Zhao Xian's guilt overwhelmed her. After giving birth to Jiang Heng, she didn't take care of the child much, but instead went to pray to gods and Buddhas. At that time, she begged Meng Yingniang to go back and continue living in the modern world for her.
She was almost obsessed at that time. She had two children. The younger one was taken care of by a wet nurse and didn't need her. She had no interest in caring about the older one.
When Zhao Xian recovered from her daze, she realized that Jiang Wei no longer smiled, always had a stern face, and was not as close to her as before.
By then, Jiang Heng had reached the age where he could remember things. Jiang Wei, aside from having a stern face and not liking to smile, was exceptionally sensible.
It was precisely because of his understanding nature that Zhao Xian neglected him even more.
That's how he developed that awkward personality.
"Your mother wants to make it up to you."
After Zhao Xian finished speaking, the two brothers exchanged a glance. Jiang Wei frowned slightly and said, "Mother has not wronged her son, so there is no need for compensation. This is fine."
Jiang Heng chimed in, "Yes, Mother, what's this talk of compensation? We're a family, we don't care for those empty formalities."
Zhao Xian rested her chin on her hand, watching their flustered reaction, and laughed, "Don't worry, I'm not going to give you concubines."
Yes, she once used the excuse of compensation to give them concubines, claiming that other young masters in other families also had them, and they should be the same.
After recalling everything, Zhao Xian realized that she had really been out of her mind back then.
As soon as the words of compensation came out, Zhao Xian sensed that something was off about the two men's intentions, and there was no response to her explanation.
"Your eyes are bloodshot. Go back and rest, and spend more time with Lianniang."
"Go and keep an eye on the wedding arrangements, and take care of your own affairs."
After giving each person a word of advice, Zhao Xian let them go back to their respective homes.
However, the day after tomorrow is the wedding day of the male and female protagonists in a sweet romance novel.
Zhao Xian had no time to grieve over the passing of autumn. She summoned Granny He to inquire about the wedding arrangements and learned that everything was being prepared as usual, and no one had slacked off.
As night fell, Zhao Xian leaned against the soft couch, reading a book and waiting for Jiang Liangxu to return.
Because he took leave to stay with her while she was in a coma, there were a lot of things to do, so he had been coming home quite late these past few days.
"Why aren't you asleep yet?"
Zhao Xian looked up, not even noticing that he had returned. "I have something to ask you. Please sit down."
She had been leaning against the couch, but then she put her legs down, and Jiang Liangxu sat down beside her.
After figuring out whether she should be the person she was in her past life or the person she is in this life, she suddenly thought of the day the Sixth Prince got married.
Although both of them were from another time, Lang Zhizhi was treated differently by her.
"What happened to Miss Lang after she caused such a scene at the Sixth Prince's wedding banquet?"
Lang Zhizhi is too outspoken. After the Third Prince's stab, who knows if he has any chance of survival.
Zhao Xian realized that even though she understood herself better, she couldn't change the habits she had cultivated for so many years, such as her current indifference.
"Lang Mingxuan deceived the emperor and has been imprisoned. He is still under trial." Jiang Liangxu rubbed his nose, dropped his disguise, and rested his head on her lap, completely unlike his usual self. "There is no news of that Miss Lang. Her fate is unknown."
Jiang Liangxu held Zhao Xian's hand against his cheek and said in a low voice, "Based on what she said at the Sixth Prince's residence that day, I'm afraid that as long as she has a breath left, His Majesty will order someone to save her."
When asked about the day of the Sixth Prince's wedding, Jiang Liangxu launched into a long explanation: "...The Third Prince was demoted to a commoner and placed under house arrest in the Prince's residence."
"Is he really plotting a rebellion?"
"He wouldn't dare, but His Majesty is well aware that the Third Prince is eyeing that position with envy." However, the Third Prince lacks the necessary talent, is somewhat arrogant and self-willed, and not broad-minded enough; he is not the best candidate for the throne.
Zhao Xian remembered that last year, when the Third Prince's Consort was flooded, she had raised money for the disaster-stricken people. It was during that incident that Li Lianniang's reputation was damaged.
She suspected that the Crown Prince of Yu might have set them up. If the Third Prince's wife wanted to gain fame, why did she stop making any moves afterward?
Zhao Xian chuckled for a moment. After all, he was the emperor's son; even killing someone in public would only result in him being demoted to a commoner.
--
After returning to Yunzhu Garden yesterday, Jiang Wei told her about his greetings to Zhao Xian.
The next morning, before dawn, Li Lianniang hadn't slept well after hearing Jiang Wei's words, and after much hesitation, she still came to Haitang Residence.
She arrived very early; Zhao Xian hadn't even had breakfast yet.
Upon entering the house, she greeted her mother and said, "Your daughter-in-law greets Mother and wishes her good health. Your daughter-in-law will serve Mother her meal."
Seeing her reach for the food box and act like a submissive, timid wife, Zhao Xian paused for a moment, then stood up and went to Li Lianniang, placing her hand on her forehead. "You don't have a fever, what's wrong with you?"
When did she ever ask her to serve her meals?
Zhao Xian paused abruptly. Yes, after Li Lianniang married into the Jiang family, Zhao Xian disliked Li Lianniang because of her stepmother Zhou's actions. Although she had not been mistreated by her mother-in-law, she had naturally learned a lot of tricks from those noblewomen after spending so much time with them.
She was once asked to serve her meals.
"Sit down, sit down. You're pregnant now, you can't move around like this. Have you forgotten what I told you when your stepmother came? We have servants in our house, they're paid to do the work, don't take over their jobs."
Peony smiled and opened the food box to set out the meal.
Looking at her gentle and straightforward mother-in-law, Li Lianniang felt a lump in her throat. Had she been seeing things the other day? She had been restless these past few days, but now she realized that she had been worrying too much.
He reached out and tugged at Zhao Xian's sleeve, "Mother, I'm too early, I haven't had breakfast yet."
"Just add a pair of chopsticks," Zhao Xian said, glancing at the dishes already laid out on the table. She smiled and said, "Perfect, there's something you like to eat."
While having breakfast, Zhao Xian looked at Li Lianniang across from her and vaguely sensed that something was wrong.
Why would she be so cautious and courteous in her greetings? It's more like a test.
But what was she testing?
Zhao Xian suddenly realized that Li Lianniang was testing her to see if she was still the same person she used to be!
When Zhao Xian saw Li Lianniang's ingratiating smile, the slight displeasure she felt from being tested vanished, replaced by heartache.
Of all the people in the Jiang family, the one who suffered the most from her old feudal mindset was Li Lianniang.
It's likely that Li Lianniang discovered something amiss when her memories returned.
However, Zhao Xian herself was still deeply mired in the quagmire of her past and present lives and did not notice Li Lianniang's abnormality.
Zhao Xian was amused by herself again. Her memories returned as if the whole thing had been turned upside down, but she realized that she had wronged everyone.
--
Before they knew it, it was the day of Jiang Heng's wedding, which was also the day when the Sixth Prince's two concubines entered the household. Since the two concubines were entering the household at the same time, this time it was not as grand as when he married the principal wife last time, and the Sixth Prince did not need to personally go to welcome them.
Instead, he mingled with the crowd and came to the Jiang family's house to join in the fun, and together with Han Mu, he delivered a congratulatory gift.
If Jiang Wei were to go through the wedding process again, Zhao Xian, having regained her memory, would be more experienced in these matters and would be able to handle them with greater ease.
Listening to the servants repeatedly reporting where the bridal sedan chair had arrived.
Zhao Xian was somewhat dazed; the male and female protagonists of a sweet romance novel had gotten married three years ahead of schedule!
I didn't have much of an impression of sweet romance novels before, but now I suddenly remembered that, according to the plot of the book, when the male and female protagonists of a sweet romance novel get married, Zhao Xian does not sit in the first seat waiting for the newlyweds to kneel and worship.
In the book, she pretends to be sick.
Just a few days before the wedding, she learned that her second son had been exiled with the Lu family all those years, not because the city guard was too busy and he was transferred to another post and couldn't come home.
She also discovered that her two sons had conspired to deceive her about this.
Zhao Xian: "..."
In a daze, the matchmaker's joyful voice came from outside the door: "The newlyweds are here!"
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The author says: It just so happens that I feel like I'm just going through the motions, but the result is that I'm extremely miserable.
I know the outline and what I'm supposed to write, but for some reason, my writing has been terrible lately. [Crying][Crying][Crying]
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