After learning from the maid that the ungrateful Mr. Lu had accepted the second wife's boy named Linfu as his apprentice, Fang was so angry that she smashed the teacup in her hand to the ground.
"This is too much, it's really too much!"
The scene of Mr. Lu rudely refusing to accept Wei Chengqi was still vivid in her mind, which made her even more determined to train her son with all her strength, so that he could see clearly in the future who was the most outstanding child among the younger generation in the Duke's Mansion.
But now the other party has accepted another disciple, and he is a servant in the mansion!
"The Crown Prince's wife is clearly trying to slap you, the First Madam, in the face! Not only that, she also intends to humiliate the Fourth Young Master. This is..." Nanny Zhang fanned the flames.
Taozhi glared at her unhappily, interrupting her unfinished words: "Madam, you have finished your work, why don't you go back to work?"
Aunt Zhang was somewhat reluctant, but she did not dare to go against her.
"Madam, don't worry. Calm down and think about it carefully. Although the Crown Prince's wife has been a little sharp recently, she is not a brainless person. Moreover, the Fourth Young Master has always been the eldest princess's favorite. No matter how brave she is, she dare not use the Fourth Young Master to speak for herself. If this gets to the ears of His Highness, she will probably not get any benefit at all." After Nanny Zhang left, Taozhi couldn't help but persuade her.
Fang sneered: "She can even ask my brother to divorce his eldest sister-in-law, what else is there that she dare not do? Isn't it because she is afraid that Qi Ge'er will be better than her son in the future, thus threatening the status of the second branch, that she is trying every means to suppress our first branch!"
"She did this just to prove to her father and mother that Qi Ge'er is not only inferior to her son, but also inferior to a servant around her son!!" At this point, Fang could no longer suppress the hatred on her face.
"If it weren't for Shen's help, would Mr. Lu have taken the initiative to come to my house and take a servant as his apprentice? I don't believe that a wild child who came from nowhere can know more than Brother Qi!"
Taozhi opened her mouth to persuade her again, but Fang had already reached out to interrupt her: "You don't need to say more. Shen has bullied and humiliated me in the past, but she should never have set her sights on Qi Ge'er!"
Taozhi sighed inaudibly when she saw this.
As long as the matter involves the Fourth Young Master, the Madam will not listen to anyone's advice.
When Yang found out, she was naturally furious.
"That's fine with Lin'er. He's the eldest grandson and grew up with his grandfather. We, Zhao and Yue, would have given in. But now even a servant can climb over our heads. I just can't swallow this!!"
After saying that, Yang rolled up her sleeves and rushed out to find Shen Xinyan to argue. Fortunately, Meiying beside her quickly grabbed her and said repeatedly: "Madam, you can't do that, Madam, you can't do that!"
"Don't pull me in. The Shen family is rich, but now even the cats and dogs around her can surpass us. No matter how hard you try, she is wrong!"
"Madam, Madam, don't be anxious. Wait and see what happens over there." Meiying held her tightly and nodded in the direction of the main house.
Yang was stunned for a moment, then immediately understood what she meant. She slapped her thigh and said, "Look, I'm so angry. Don't worry, don't worry. I'm not in a hurry this time. Anyway, there must be someone more anxious than me!!"
Qi Ge'er was the golden nugget of the eldest son's family. Now he was outshined by a servant. Fang Shi must be more angry than she was. She would wait for Fang Shi to come forward, and she would just follow behind and wave the flag and shout, and by the way, she would seize the opportunity to try to make up for it.
After realizing this, Yang's anger gradually subsided.
At this time, Mr. Lu also informed the Duke of England that he wanted to take Lin Fu as his apprentice.
The Duke of England was a little surprised: "Sir, do you really want to take that kid as your apprentice?"
"Of course, I never joke about such things." Mr. Lu looked serious.
The Duke of England stroked his beard and smiled, "Mr. Lu actually took the initiative to accept me as his disciple. This kid must have some extraordinary qualities."
"It is true that he has some outstanding qualities." Mr. Lu said without any modesty.
The Duke of England laughed.
"There is only one more thing..." After a moment, Mr. Lu said hesitantly.
"Sir, please feel free to speak." It was rare to see him showing such a hesitant expression, and the British prince was interested.
"I want to redeem this child Pingfu." Thinking that Pingfu was really a servant in the mansion, Mr. Lu's first thought was to redeem him. After all, slaves did not have the qualifications to take the imperial examination.
The Duke of England understood his intention immediately and had no reason to refuse, so he immediately ordered someone to go to the Grand Princess to get Lin Fu's indenture.
Since this child has caught the eye of Mr. Lu, it is clear that he is really an extraordinary person. Moreover, even though he has been stripped of his status as a child, he is still studying with his eldest grandson in the mansion. They have grown up together and will surely be a capable assistant to his eldest grandson in the future.
But after a short while, the servant who went to the Grand Princess returned empty-handed.
"Your Highness only said that Lingfu is not a servant in the mansion, but the son of an old friend of Master Huiming. The master entrusted him to the Crown Prince's wife, and now he is just temporarily staying in the mansion."
"He is the son of Master Huiming's old friend. No wonder Mr. Lu fell in love with the child at first sight." The Duke of England was a little surprised by Lin Fu's background.
Mr. Lu was also surprised, but he thought about it again and felt that it should be so. The child's eyes were clear and bright, and he was as smart as Wei Chenglin, but his temperament was gentler than Wei Chenglin. If Wei Chenglin was a sword that had not yet been sharpened, then this child was more like a tough and sharp scabbard that could tolerate everything.
"Since he is not a servant in the mansion, and Mr. Lu has accepted him as his disciple, why not let him move to the west courtyard and live with you? What do you think?" asked the Duke of England.
"It would be great if we could live together and take care of each other, but it depends on what Linfu himself wants." Mr. Lu stroked his beard and smiled.
When the Duke of England saw that he cared so much about Linfu's opinion, he knew that he took the child to heart. He smiled and ordered someone to go to Fu Ning Court to invite Linfu over.
Funing House.
"That's not how you embroider it. You have to do it the way I showed you just now." Xiao Yingzhi put her hands on her hips and glared angrily at Pingfu who was threading the needle clumsily.
Pingfu frowned in distress: "This is so difficult! Can I just not learn it?"
"No, you can learn boxing from your brother, so you have to learn embroidery from me, that's only fair!" the little girl retorted directly.
"But this is something only girls would do..." Pingfu retorted in a low voice.
The little girl was speechless after being refuted by him. After a while, she said in a taunting tone, "I don't care. You have to learn embroidery from me anyway. Come on, embroider quickly. If you don't embroider well, I won't give you snacks!"
Pingfu looked at her with a wronged look. The little girl felt a little guilty when he looked at her. The next moment, she straightened her chest and imitated the tone that Shen Xinyan used to teach her: "Pingfu, you are not a good child. You are not a good child if you don't listen!"
“Okay, okay…”
Qiu Tang, who heard the conversation between the two clearly outside the house, laughed: "The fourth lady is 'teaching' Lin Fu how to embroider again?"
Chun Liu covered his mouth and laughed for a long time: "That's right, this master is barely even halfway through his studies, let alone the apprentice. It took him half an hour just to pick up the needle."
Qiu Tang couldn't help laughing either.
"My two sisters are here. The Duke has sent a message to invite Lingfu over." The servant who was ordered to invite Lingfu stepped forward to greet them and explained his purpose.
The two did not dare to delay and hurried into the house to call Pingfu.
Lin Fu put down the embroidered screen as if she had been pardoned, and hurriedly said "I'm leaving first" and ran away, making Xiao Yingzhi so annoyed that she pouted and stomped her feet several times.
"Pinfu, you go first. Don't keep the Duke waiting. I'll catch up with you in a moment." Halfway through the journey, the servant who was taking Pingfu to see the Duke held his stomach and said something, then ran away in a hurry without waiting for Pingfu's answer.
Pingfu scratched his ears and walked forward obediently. After walking for a while, he turned back to look to see when the other party would finish his escape and catch up with him.
"Ouch..." He walked and looked back again, but bumped into a warm body. His feet were unsteady and due to inertia, he sat down on the ground.
"Are you okay? Are you hurt?" A woman's pleasant voice rang out, and at the same time, a pair of fair hands reached out to help him.
Pingfu raised his head subconsciously and met a pair of gentle eyes full of concern, in which two little selves were reflected.
"No, it's okay." He avoided the other's hand a little uncomfortably, climbed up, and patted the dust off his body. The woman saw that he moved swiftly and did not look hurt, so she felt relieved. Just as she was about to ask him a few more questions, another woman in blue who had been following her half a step behind gently tugged at her sleeve.
The woman came to her senses, nodded apologetically towards Lin Fu, whispered "sorry", then lowered her head and left with the woman in green.
"The people sent by His Majesty are just ahead. Madam, please hurry up. Our prince will have someone take good care of Miss Yuwei." The woman in green lowered her voice and said after leading the woman out of the Duke's Mansion away from everyone's sight.
Zhao nodded and was about to leave with the person who was sent to pick her up, but she stopped and turned back to warn the woman in green, "If it's okay, please ask someone to check if the child is injured."
"Don't worry, ma'am."
***
"Madam, I have just received a piece of news about the child named Linfu of the Crown Prince's wife." Madam Zhang approached Fang with a mysterious look on her face and reported in a low voice.
Fang, who was just thinking of ways to vent her anger, became excited when she heard this: "What news? Tell me in detail."
"Madam, do you know that Lin Fu was brought back to the palace by the Crown Prince's wife not long ago?"
"Do you need to tell me this? If it wasn't brought back by Shen, could it be that he ran here on his own?" Fang said unhappily.
"Then, Madam, do you know that Lingfu once lived in Lingyun Temple for a while?"
Fang's face darkened: "Is this what you want to say?"
Seeing her unhappy expression, Nanny Zhang didn't dare to keep her in suspense any longer and said hurriedly, "No, no, no, Madam, please listen carefully. I have an old sister who went to Lingyun Temple to burn incense a few months ago. She heard that a thief had appeared in the temple, but because no one had caught it, it was never brought to light. But my sister saw with her own eyes that the thief had crawled into the room, and when he came out, he had a few buns in his arms."
Fang was already feeling a little impatient, but when she heard the latter, she became more alert and straightened her back immediately: "Could it be that the little thief you are talking about is Pingfu?"