"This won't do. We can't keep dragging this on. Xiaoqi is 15 now; it's time to get her married. Let's discuss it some more."
“Mother, as you know, daughters-in-law usually let their children make their own decisions. But we should ask them about Xiao Liu and Xiao Qi’s marriage. Mother, you don’t know, Xiao San and his wife are almost a resentful couple now.”
"To this day, we don't even have a child."
Consort Hui frowned when she heard her daughter-in-law say that.
"What happened?"
"They've been married for three or four years now, and there's still no news?"
Consort Hui frowned not only because she heard He Zhuo say that his mistress Hongwei and his wife were not good, but also because she would frown unnaturally whenever she heard the name of his mistress's wife.
The third wife was Empress Yuan's niece, of the Hesheli clan.
When Consort Hui was a concubine, her life under Empress Yuan was not easy. Even when she was pregnant, she still had to serve the Empress every day. Even when she was eight or nine months pregnant, she could not stop. On snowy days, she would walk to pay her respects with her big belly.
Moreover, Consort Hui had always suspected that Empress Yuan was responsible for Chengqing's death, and she harbored deep resentment towards Empress Yuan's lineage. Naturally, she would not treat Empress Yuan's niece well. Fortunately, Consort Hui was now a grandmother and did not want to see the mistress's daughter-in-law, so she would not deliberately make things difficult for her.
He Zhuo sighed, "In the past two years, the Crown Prince has been reinstated, and it's one thing for the Third Sister-in-law to act like a sister-in-law to the Fourth and Fifth Sisters-in-law. But she doesn't restrain herself in front of Hong Yu and Hong Fang's wives either, and she looks down on them for being from Mongolia. She can't get along with any of the sisters-in-law. That's bad enough, but the key is that she can't get along with Hong Wei either, and she's always causing chaos. Hong Wei only has two concubines, and now one is dead and the other is injured."
He Zhuo glanced cautiously at Consort Hui, whose brows furrowed deeper and deeper. She swallowed hard and continued speaking.
“Hongwei doesn’t like going to her room, so he comes to my room all day to cry and complain. As his mother-in-law, I can’t interfere.”
Consort Hui glared fiercely at Hezhuo, slammed her hand on the table, and pointed at him, saying, "It's because you're useless that you let that Hesheli woman ride on your neck. Show some respect for your mother-in-law, and she won't dare to be arrogant anymore."
He Zhuo served her like a dutiful daughter-in-law, saying, "Yes, yes, Mother, please calm down. Have some tea."
"Look at you, you're a grandmother now, how come you can't stand up for yourself? You're being ridden on by a young wife."
I must have owed you all in my past life. After worrying about the eldest son, you finally got married, and now I have to worry about you. Tell me, how many of your children have I worried about? Now that the children are all grown up, I thought I, as the grandmother, could finally enjoy my retirement, but now I have to worry about my grandchildren.
How can you be so useless!
Consort Hui's disappointment in her son's lack of progress was mixed with a touch of self-satisfaction.
As I get older, I'm afraid of having nothing to do. The children still need me, and this feeling is wonderful.
"Alright, I'll ask about Xiao Liu and Xiao Qi in a bit. Have Qiao'er go and tell the children to come here for lunch. You shouldn't leave either; stay and have lunch."
He Zhuo was glared at by Consort Hui again.
"What do you think about the mistress? How about your mother goes to your father and asks for a decree to grant her a concubine? How can the mistress's household be managed with only one shrewish aunt, Hesheli?"
He Zhuo swallowed hard, never expecting that Consort Hui would be the matchmaker.
She quickly waved her hand, "Mother, I've already asked the mistress about this. She said she wants to wait a couple of years; there's no rush to have an heir. It would be a bit much if she married a concubine before her brothers..."
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