Chapter 006: One time or five times

After dinner, He An suddenly proposed to play chess with Ruan Chengfu.

Ruan Chengfu, who was about to visit Ye Fang, had to accompany He'an to the study when he heard this. Zhou Yunzhi saw He'an's actions and felt both grateful and ashamed.

After all, there is nothing glorious about these backyard feuds.

After sending his grandmother back to Jingxin Pavilion to rest, Ruan Qinghuan returned to his mother's courtyard. As soon as he entered the room, his mother was coaxing Ruan Qingchi to play on the bed.

It was easy to guess that the second aunt must have quarreled with the second uncle again. Every time this happened, Qingchi would secretly run to his mother's place to hide.

After closing the door, Zhou Yunzhi handed Qingchi to Mrs. Liu's care and took her into the inner room.

As soon as she entered the room, Zhou Yunzhi raised her hand and hit her in anger: "When will you change your temper, girl? Today is the return banquet. How will He'an look at you in the future if you make such a fuss?"

"Mom, didn't you see that he is on my side?" In order to make his mother feel at ease, Ruan Qinghuan had to lie.

"That's true." The mother and daughter sat next to each other on the bench in the back room. Zhou Yunzhi advised, "Qinghuan, mother knows that you are doing this for the sake of mother not being wronged. But for some things, it doesn't matter whether you argue or not. You have to understand that in mother's heart, you and Qingzhou are living well, which is better than anything else."

"In the future, you must not act on impulse like this, understand?"

"Got it, Mom."

Zhou Yunzhi was really worried. The fact that the He family had delayed the marriage for two years was enough to show that He An did not want to marry Qing Huan.

After finally getting married, she had been worried these days, fearing that her daughter's unyielding nature would cause trouble for her. She often ordered people to hang around outside the prime minister's residence. Fortunately, nothing serious happened.

The reason why Ruan Qinghuan made a big fuss about the family affairs was not just for his mother, but also to have a way out for himself in the future.

The second wife's behavior of stealing money has become more and more rampant recently. She even dares to steal house deeds and land deeds. She relies on the fact that her grandmother is concerned about the three children in the second uncle's yard and knows that she will not make a big deal out of it.

This is also the reason why the second aunt Zheng Qiaohui became more and more powerful later on.

Zhou Yunzhi looked at her daughter. It had only been three days since she married into the prime minister's mansion. Her face looked rosy and she had not lost any weight. It seemed that she was living a good life.

Pulling his daughter closer, he asked, "Is He'an good to you?"

"fine."

"That's good. As a new wife, it's inevitable that you will feel sad. You have to be more patient and not let your temper run wild. Do you understand?"

Ruan Qinghuan nodded obediently. Since she didn't care, she didn't feel too sad. She was just living a lazy life anyway, and it was the same wherever she was.

Seeing that she seemed not to understand, Zhou Yunzhi frowned.

Mother suddenly became serious. Ruan Qinghuan was a little confused. She only heard her mother call Xia Lian, who was talking to Mrs. Liu outside, into the room and asked directly, "How many times did the young lady call for water on the night of her wedding?"

Xia Lian was immediately stumped by the question. She was a maid who came with the dowry, and her mistress had specifically instructed her about these matters before she got married.

But...but the Young Madam and the Prime Minister haven't even consummated their marriage?

Ruan Qinghuan didn't expect her mother to be so shrewd, so she quickly said, "Once."

"Five times..."

Ruan Qinghuan frowned. Xia Lian was really bold in making up such a story.

The two people said the same thing, but the results were completely different.

Zhou Yunzhi frowned, her eyes shifting from her daughter to Xia Lian. What she was worried about was probably about to happen.

Xia Lian didn't expect the young lady to answer, so she could only lower her head and remain silent. Ruan Qinghuan asked her to go down first. She wanted to reach out to hug her mother, but Zhou Yunzhi pushed her away and she immediately burst into tears.

"I said at the beginning that you can't marry into the Xiangfu. If you marry someone from a similar family, your mother can still protect you, but look at you now..."

"Oh, mother, what are you thinking about? You are asking me this question... I am so embarrassed."

"Qinghuan, tell me the truth. If He'an is really not suitable for you, then we should get divorced. Then I will send you to my grandfather's home in Jiangnan and will definitely find you a good marriage."

"No, we just got married, but he is...really nice."

"He doesn't even touch you, and you still call that a good thing?"

"No way, mother, I..." Ruan Qinghuan pretended to be shy and buried her head in her mother's arms: "I'm embarrassed for you to ask me this. Mother, please don't ask me about the affairs of the concubine's room in the future."

Zhou Yunzhi: “…”

Zhou Yunzhi was somewhat unsure. Judging from He'an's performance just now, he was obviously protecting Qinghuan. However, Xia Lian's words and her reply did not match. There must be something fishy going on.

Seeing that his mother was not easy to fool, Ruan Qinghuan had no choice but to continue making up lies. He pulled the corner of his clothes and whispered, "What Dingxiang said is true. I... I didn't want to do it, but..."

Ruan Qinghuan never dreamed that one day he would have to make up such a lie.

Fortunately, there were no outsiders around, so it wasn't too embarrassing.

"Really?" Zhou Yunzhi half believed and half doubted, "You can never lie about something like this."

As early as when her daughter got married, she had made up her mind that if life in the prime minister's mansion became difficult, she would let her daughter divorce, and then the three of them, mother and daughter, would return to Jiangnan.

"Mom..." Ruan Qinghuan pinched her thigh hard, causing her face to turn red in pain, making her look a little shy and embarrassed.

Fearing that his mother would continue to question him, Ruan Qinghuan changed the subject: "Has that brat Qingzhou replied? Did he say when he would be back?"

When this was mentioned, Zhou Yunzhi sighed, "Don't mention it. I don't know whose temperament you two siblings inherited from. Each one is more stubborn than the other. He said he would be back in two months at the earliest."

Ruan Qinghuan: “…”

A month before her marriage, she wrote many letters to Jiangnan, asking her brother to return to Beijing as soon as possible to help manage the Ruan family's business, but the boy did not listen.

In the study, Ruan Chengfu played more than ten games in a row, but because he was worried, he didn't win a single game.

He'an didn't say a word from beginning to end, and the silence in the study was depressing.

Ruan Chengfu became more and more irritated, so he wanted to find an excuse to go out: "He'an, I'm going to go out and have some rest. I'll be back in a moment."

He An, who had been silent all this time, finally spoke up: "My father-in-law is wise in business, but he is a little confused when it comes to family affairs."

"Ah?" Ruan Chengfu wiped the sweat off his forehead. Facing a first-rank official who was well versed in the laws of the Dongzhao Kingdom, the unreasonable sense of oppression made him feel that he, the father-in-law, was inferior to him.

He'an and his kind-hearted father are completely different people.

He An suddenly changed his tone: "Father-in-law, don't be nervous. Normally, I shouldn't interfere in the affairs of the Ruan Mansion, but you also saw that Qing Huan was so angry just now. As a husband, I naturally can't sit idly by. After all, she is now the mistress of the Xiangfu, and she can't lose her status."

Ruan Chengfu could only nod and say, "Yes, yes, your Excellency is right."

How could he not hear that He An was using the status of the Prime Minister's wife to make a point, and he couldn't let his wife suffer any loss? He pondered for a while and sighed, "Tomorrow, I will send Ye Fang to the other garden, so Qing Huan won't be angry anymore."

Hean smiled when he heard this and said, "My father-in-law is very righteous and strict in managing the family. I admire him."

Ruan Chengfu: "..."

For the first time, he began to doubt whether the marriage into the prime minister's mansion was right or wrong.