Chapter 75 The End of the Third Round

It turned out that when Uncle Zhongqin passed by Yu Street one day, he encountered a group of fierce street thugs molesting a young lady in the street. Uncle Zhongqin did not want to meddle in other people’s business, but the young lady ran straight towards him, shouting, “Master, save me!” When she ran to Uncle Zhongqin, he could see her tearful and pitiful face. After a moment’s shock, he finally felt compassion and helped the young lady scare off the group of fierce street thugs.

The young lady was grateful to him for saving her and said she wanted to repay his kindness. Seeing that the young lady went out alone without her father and brother to protect her, Lord Zhongqin asked her why she went out alone. This question made the young lady burst into tears. While looking at Lord Zhongqin with tears in her eyes, she told him her life story. It turned out that the young lady was not from Bianjing. She came to Beijing with her father for medical treatment. Her mother was taking care of her father in the rented house. Dear, she came to buy medicine for her father, and perhaps because of her outstanding appearance, she was targeted by a group of thugs in the market. Speaking of her father's illness, it was because a rich businessman took a fancy to her beauty and wanted to take her as a concubine, but she refused to yield, so her father was beaten. Her family could not survive in their hometown because of the rich businessman, so they came to the emperor, hoping that with the emperor's protection, there would be no more bullying of men and women, but they did not expect that they could not escape this fate.

The young lady cried more and more sadly. As Uncle Zhongqin was hesitating about how to comfort her, she suddenly fainted. Uncle Zhongqin held her in his arms and sent her to the clinic. After the doctor examined her, he found out that the young lady had fainted from hunger due to shock and grief. The young lady's family had not eaten for several days to take care of her father. Uncle Zhongqin lamented that the beauty had a bad fate. When the young lady woke up, she knew that it was Uncle Zhongqin who saved her and held her in public. She blushed and wanted to speak but didn't. Uncle Zhongqin understood that they had a physical relationship. Although it was done in a hurry, it did damage the young lady's reputation. Later, under the sincere request of Zhongqin Bo, the young lady was welcomed into the mansion as a concubine. The young lady's father was also cured. Zhongqin Bo bought them a small house on the prosperous Panlou Street for the two old people to live in. Everything was perfect.

The only one who felt unhappy was Zhongqin Bo's wife. She was furious that Zhongqin Bo brought back a concubine. She made a fuss for several times. Later, Zhongqin Bo's sister, Madam Huang, stepped forward to warn Zhongqin Bo's wife, and Zhongqin Bo's wife was at peace for a while. But since Concubine Liu (the young lady) entered the mansion, the wife of the Duke of Zhongqin no longer had time to take care of the affairs of her two sons. She thought about fighting with Concubine Liu every day. Although Concubine Liu was from a small family, she was young, had a good figure, and spoke softly. She blushed when she looked into the eyes of the Duke of Zhongqin. The Duke of Zhongqin was so fascinated that he only wanted to rest in her yard. She was afraid that she would be bullied by the wife of the Duke of Zhongqin, so she gave her a lot of manpower. Therefore, the wife of the Duke of Zhongqin was determined to punish the concubine who had seduced the Duke of Zhongqin, and she didn't care about anything else.

This is not the end. Without the old lady, there is still the eldest lady. She often plays tricks on Hualan. Hualan is now pregnant and can't stand the torture. Therefore, one day, Yuan Wenchun (the elder brother of Yuan Wenshao) went home after drinking with his colleagues and brought back a concubine, saying that it was sent by the superiors and it was difficult to refuse.

So far, the three of the Yuan family, father and son, all took concubines at about the same time. Not to mention the chaos in the Yuan family, the news somehow got out, and then people made fun of it at some official gatherings and banquets.

The news spread and reached the eldest lady. When the eldest lady heard the news, she suddenly felt dizzy and said that her daughter had a miserable life. She also blamed Sheng Hong for finding a family with a crooked upper beam and a crooked lower beam. Sheng Hong just pretended that he had just heard the news, and apologized to the eldest lady and accompanied her in scolding the Yuan family. The eldest lady stopped talking when she was tired of scolding.

The eldest lady stopped talking, but she was still upset. She asked someone to invite the eldest aunt and the aunt to the Sheng family. They came, but only Yuan Wenshao came.

Yuan Wenshao must have heard the rumors outside and knew why he was called by his father-in-law and mother-in-law. He was also straightforward. When he saw Sheng Hong and Wang Ruofu, he lifted his robe and knelt down, which shocked Wang Ruofu and choked. The words she wanted to curse were stuck in her chest.

Sheng Hong had experienced ups and downs in officialdom, so he was able to remain stable. He spoke slowly, and it was impossible to tell whether he was happy or angry. "What are you doing, my good son-in-law? Why do you perform such a grand ceremony?"

Yuan Wenshao buried his head even lower and muttered, "It's my fault. I broke the promise we made during the wedding and made Hualan suffer."

Wang Ruofu wanted to reprimand Yuan Wenshao when she heard this, but Sheng Hong gestured to stop her and told her to stay calm. "What are you talking about, my good son-in-law? Why don't I understand? I just wanted to invite you and your wife to come home for a reunion dinner today. Why are you the only one who came back? Where is my eldest daughter Huaer?" Sheng Hong ignored Yuan Wenshao's words and just asked why Hualan didn't come.

Wang Ruofu finally came to her senses. She was so angry that she only wanted to scold Yuan Wenshao, saying that something was wrong and her daughter didn't come back!

"Yes, where is Hua'er? What did you Yuan family do to my Hua'er?" Wang Ruofu was so anxious that she wanted to get up and pull Yuan Wenshao to question him.

Sheng Hong sighed helplessly. The eldest lady was so impatient that he held Wang Ruofu's hands to prevent her from arresting anyone. He spoke again in a stern voice, "Yuan Wenshao, where is my eldest daughter?" Yuan

Wenshao was frightened by the eldest lady's actions just now and forgot to answer the question. Sheng Hong suddenly raised his tone and stopped calling him a good son-in-law. Then he remembered to explain, "Don't worry, father-in-law and mother-in-law. Hualan is pregnant. That's why she didn't come with me today."

Sheng Hong knew about it in advance, so he didn't react much. The eldest lady was happy at first, thinking that it was good that Hualan was pregnant. If she was pregnant, she would have a firm foothold in the Yuan family. Suddenly she screamed again.

"Hua'er is pregnant, you still dare to take a concubine? Yuan Wenshao, you are such a treacherous man! How did my daughter do anything wrong to you? You actually took a concubine when she was just pregnant. Do you think my Sheng family has no one left?" Wang Ruofu cried with every word, and she burst into tears while saying these words.

"Mother-in-law! Mother! It was not my son-in-law's intention to take a concubine. My mother took one for me when I was not at home. I have never touched a finger of that concubine. Jingshu sent her to the side yard a long time ago, and I have never seen her. Mother, what I said is true. Father, father, please persuade mother for me." Seeing Wang Ruofu burst into tears, Yuan Wenshao hurried to explain. Seeing that she was still crying, he ran to Sheng Hong on his knees and begged him to persuade Wang Ruofu.

Sheng Hong squeezed Wang Ruofu's hand, trying to hint her to stop crying. Since her son-in-law had given an explanation, she should stop while she was ahead. However, she was pushed away by the eldest lady, who glared at him and said, "Men are all bad!" After saying that, she felt something was wrong and added, "Except my father!"

Sheng Hong had nothing to say. He reached out to help Yuan Wenshao up, "My good son-in-law, please get up quickly. Since there is a misunderstanding, just resolve it!" Yuan Wenshao wiped his sweat and smiled awkwardly.

"Good? What's good about it? His mother, that old lady is like a sewer without a ruler - she is deliberately not kind! Isn't the child in my Hua'er's belly her grandson? Who would add someone to their son's yard when their daughter-in-law is not even pregnant? She is not adding someone, she is making things difficult for my Hua'er. Are you trying to hurt my Hua'er? If anything happens to my Hua'er, I will never forgive you Yuan family!" Wang Ruofu pointed at Yuan Wenshao, her anger increasing instead of decreasing.

"From pregnancy to childbirth, I don't know how many times a woman has to go through the gates of hell? You men don't know how to feel sorry for your daughter-in-law, but I feel sorry for my daughter! I'm going to pack my things and go to see Hua'er!" Wang Ruofu was about to leave in a hurry.

"Be calm, don't scare Hua'er!" Sheng Hong did not stop and warned loudly.

After Wang Ruofu left, Sheng Hong's eyes fell on Yuan Wenshao again, "I believe everything the wise son-in-law said, but the concubine is there, which will always make the couple feel separated. It's better to deal with it!"

Yuan Wenshao understood what he meant, nodded repeatedly, and said he would take care of it. Sheng Hong said no more and let him go.

Wang Ruofu went to Yuan's house with Yuan Wenshao. Seeing Hualan's haggard appearance, the eldest lady wanted to bite off the old lady and eat her flesh and blood. She sent Hualan a lot of tonics and herbs, and listened to Jingshu's vivid description of the old lady's fight with Aunt Liu and the open and secret struggles between the eldest lady and Yuan Wenchun's concubine, and she felt relieved.

After Yuan Wenshao came back, he decided to marry the concubine off and sent her away. Hualan and Wang Ruofu were happy to hear the news.

By the time the old lady of the Yuan family lost the fight with Aunt Liu and wanted to vent her anger on her young daughter-in-law, Hualan was pregnant with her second child. The first lady no longer cared about the affairs of the second room. Yuan Wenchun's new concubine was pregnant not long after entering the house. That was the one who could compete with her future children for the family property. Naturally, she had no energy to pay attention to the affairs of Hualan and her husband. But these are all later stories. Now Hualan is living a comfortable life and can wait for the birth of her child with peace of mind.