Chapter 077 What can you do to me?

He An took out the iced fruit from the bucket, picked up a grape and put it to Ruan Qinghuan's mouth, saying flatteringly: "Madam, please be generous and calm down."

"I don't want to eat... hey you..."

The grapes went into his mouth while he opened it. Ruan Qinghuan had a cold face, but the cool feeling made him feel comfortable.

Facing He'an, who was feared by everyone in the court, Ruan Qinghuan, as his wife, felt a deep sense of powerlessness. He was a man who would not take any soft or hard words at home. Whenever she got angry, he would act in a flattering manner, calm and unaffected.

It made him feel like he was hitting cotton.

"Now that the second prince is under house arrest, will Pei Chong regret marrying Ruan Xiaoyue?" Ruan Qinghuan got back to the point.

If this move was Pei Chong's plan, now that the Second Prince was doomed, he, a fourth-rank commander of the Southern Camp of the City Defense Army, could not cause any trouble.

"It is the people who are banned, not the ambitions."

Ruan Qinghuan understood what He An meant. The second prince might not give up on seizing the throne. "Now that the private soldiers have been eliminated and the Wu family has fallen, it will be even more difficult for them to make a comeback."

He An ate a grape. It was sweet at first, but the skin was sour. He peeled the grape skin and fed it to Ruan Qinghuan: "Maybe he has a backup plan?"

"So, the Ruan family will never be able to remain unscathed."

"The situation is unclear now. Since they are engaged, we can only take it one step at a time."

Ruan Qinghuan: “…” That’s all we can do.

On the way back, many neighbors came out to watch, and when they learned that Ruan Qinghuan had been given an imperial decree, they said all kinds of things.

"At first, the second branch of the Ruan family always said that the eldest daughter was arrogant and unreasonable. Look at her now. She has been conferred the title of Lady of Imperial Concubine."

"She is still a first-rank imperial lady."

"The Ruan family's business is all run by the eldest wife. Who knows if the second wife is jealous and deliberately smearing the eldest daughter's reputation?"

"Hey, so what if she was conferred the first-rank imperial decree? Didn't you hear that on the day of the wedding, the Prime Minister took a girl back home? Although he sent her away later, who knows if anything happened to her?"

"real?"

"I have a relative working in the Prime Minister's Mansion. How could this be false?"

Zhou Yunzhi looked unhappy after hearing these words and wanted to step forward to argue.

Ruan Qinghuan, on the other hand, didn't care and took her mother back to the inner courtyard: "The mouth is on someone else's body, how long will mother continue to fight?"

"It's all your aunt's fault. She has caused us so much trouble over the years." After saying that, he looked at He'an worriedly: "My dear son-in-law, don't believe those nonsense. Qinghuan has always been sensible."

He An smiled and nodded: "Don't worry, mother-in-law, I know what I am doing."

Zhou Yunzhi was relieved to see that he looked normal.

After looking around and not seeing Grandma, Ruan Qinghuan wondered, "Why don't I see Grandma today?"

Zhou Yunzhi sighed, "Don't mention it. Recently, your second aunt has been bothering your grandmother every day, asking her to give Xiaoyue more dowry. Last night, she made a scene again, saying that your grandmother was partial to you, giving you 20,000 taels when you got married, but only 5,000 taels when Xiaoyue got married."

Ruan Qinghuan frowned: "The remaining 15,000 taels of silver, isn't that the dowry my grandfather gave me?"

"Yes, I have said that, but she refused to believe it and said we lied to her." Then he went into the flower hall. The servants brought tea and snacks. Ruan Chengfu, who had hurried back from outside, smiled and said, "Oh, I was in a hurry when I went out this morning. I didn't expect to come back late."

Ruan Qinghuan glanced at her mother. She thought her father had moved in with Ye Fang, and her expression was not very friendly.

Zhou Yunzhi explained: "Recently, your father has been taking care of Qingzhou's business."

Ruan Chengfu chuckled twice when he heard this. He knew that his daughter was prejudiced against him and it was difficult to explain.

Zhou Yunzhi brought the topic back to the topic: "Actually, adding more dowry is not a big deal. I agreed to it. After all, Xiaoyue is a member of the Ruan family. It was your grandmother who was unwilling. In the final analysis, she was not optimistic about this marriage."

Ruan Qinghuan was puzzled: "Why?"

Zhou Yunzhi shook her head. There were some things she couldn't say. But Ruan Chengfu spoke up: "It's because of the rumors that the two of them had a secret meeting and got engaged. This has become a concern for your grandmother. She thinks the Pei man is not reliable."

Ruan Qinghuan: “…”

This is true. In the original book, Ruan Xiaoyue thought she was better than Ruan Qinghuan and had found true love. She ignored worldly ethics and got together with Pei Chong. It was not until half a year later, when Ruan Qinghuan was divorced from the prime minister's residence, that the Pei family married her.

At that time, the Ruan family had lost the support of the prime minister's residence, and later Liu Yueru became the concubine of the second prince. All these things seemed to be conspiracies that had been planned long ago, but the original owner was deeply involved in them without knowing it.

In the end, it not only harmed himself, but also the Ruan family.

Now everything has changed. The incident between Ruan Xiaoyue and Pei Chong happened more than a year earlier, and the Second Prince has been under house arrest. Although the Second Prince still has the ambition to seize the throne, it will not be easy for him to make a comeback. Will the Pei family still raise money for him?

Upon learning that Ruan Qinghuan had returned, Ruan Xiaoyue dressed up specially before coming. She wore a light pink silk embroidered long skirt with a light green satin belt around her waist. This was top-grade Jiangnan brocade, very valuable. The style was novel, and it must have been newly made at the time.

Compared to Ruan Qinghuan's ease and casualness, Ruan Xiaoyue was indeed very flashy, but there was a hint of jealousy between her eyebrows and a hint of anger in her expression, so her demeanor changed instantly.

Especially when she met Ruan Qinghuan's calm and composed eyes, she felt a sense of being despised. She felt no surprise, no envy, and even less jealousy. Excessive calmness was equivalent to ignoring him. Ruan Qinghuan actually ignored him like this.

Thinking of this, she couldn't help but say something a little sour: "My cousin is different because she was conferred the title of a first-rank imperial lady. Her eyes are on the top of her head, so how can she look at me, her cousin?"

Ruan Xiaorou came in from outside at this time and advised, "Sister, don't talk nonsense."

"How dare I talk nonsense? She is a first-rank lady. I can't afford to offend her." After saying that, he bowed in the direction of He'an and sat down on the chair opposite him and Ruan Xiaorou.

Ruan Xiaorou was really happy when she learned that her cousin was conferred the title of Lady of Imperial Concubine: "Congratulations, cousin, for receiving the title from the Emperor. I have prepared a gift for you and will give it to you later."

Ruan Qinghuan nodded. She didn't want to compete with Ruan Xiaoyue anymore. She wanted to go to Jingxin Pavilion to see her grandmother. Ruan Xiaoyue followed her out and said in a sinister tone, "Don't try to persuade my grandmother to lose my dowry."

Ruan Qinghuan was speechless: "Grandma will naturally give you what she wants to give you. But why do you feel so guilty and afraid that she won't give it to you?"

Ruan Xiaoyue pursed her lips.

She knew that she couldn't hide the rumors, but she was already engaged to the Pei family, so she had nothing to be afraid of: "I don't feel guilty, I'm just afraid that you are plotting against me. When you got married, your family gave you a lot of dowry. Do you want to covet my money? Besides, you're already married, so you can't interfere in the affairs of the Ruan family."

Ruan Qinghuan couldn't help but sneer, and looked at her with a cold look: "Didn't you just say that I am a first-rank imperial lady? If I want to interfere in the affairs of the Ruan family, what can you do to me?"

Ruan Xiaoyue: “…”