Yao Niang was supposed to have lunch with Yu Shi, but as luck would have it, her father also came back, so the three of them sat at the same table. Yu Shi quickly stood up to serve the dishes, but Luo Zhizheng glanced at her and said, "You should sit down too."
"Yes." Yu sat down obediently.
Yao Niang originally wanted to talk to her mother about how to deal with the matter of Mrs. Shan, but since Luo Zhizheng had returned, it was not convenient for her to talk about it. She just focused on eating. In the middle of the meal, Yu insisted on serving soup to Yao Niang, and Yao Niang pouted and got angry.
"Mom, I don't like fish soup. Why do you always serve me fish soup?" Yao Niang was tired of eating fish, but her mother loved fish. Whenever she came over for dinner, there would be fish on the table. She had mentioned it many times. Especially, her mother believed in "like cures like", and always asked her to eat fish eyes, saying that they could improve eyesight.
Before Yu said anything, Luo Zhizheng immediately taught her: "Don't talk while eating or sleeping, and don't talk too much." But he also said to Yu: "You are the same. She didn't want to drink, but you forced it on her. If someone forces you to drink something you don't like, would you like it? Don't always say it's for someone else's good. You are not her, how do you know what she wants?"
Luo Zhizheng gave each of them fifty lashes of the cane, but both of them thought what he said was quite right and were convinced.
After the meal, Yao Niang personally poured tea for her parents. Luo Zhizheng knew at a glance that Yao Niang wanted to gossip. His daughter was born in the year of the dog, and she knew everything about the place. She wanted to know everything and gossiped about everyone every day.
He just wanted to listen.
Sure enough, when Yao Niang saw that Luo Zhizheng was not leaving, she whispered to Yu: "Mother, what are you going to do? Do you really want to persuade the second sister? I don't think there is any need to persuade her. She is now relying on her father's power, so the Shan family dare not really do anything. Otherwise, she can't even leave the house. Why bother to go to the government to file a complaint? Since ancient times, if a wife sues her husband, even if the complaint is true, she will still be sentenced to two years in prison."
Yu suddenly realized: "Yes, so what you mean is——"
"If she really can't live anymore, then just get a divorce. I have no complaints even if my marriage is implicated. What I'm most afraid of is that she has other purposes. You want her to ask the Shan family for 60,000 taels. You want to keep things peaceful, so are you willing to spend money for me? Wouldn't she be taking money from both sides then? Not only that, she relies on father's face to deal with the government." Yao Niang didn't want her mother to be controlled by Luo Shizhen.
Luo Zhizheng raised his eyebrows after hearing this, thinking that people's hearts have changed and the world is becoming more corrupt. They can actually come up with such a method.
Yu said, "You are right, but the Shan family can't seem to do anything to her now? If she doesn't file a complaint with the government, she can hand it over to her political enemies, right?"
Finally, Luo Zhizheng couldn't help it: "He has been exiled to the people, so how can he be a political enemy? The struggle between scholars will not end in death. However, what Yao Niang said is very right. We can't let her do whatever she wants by relying on my power. If she is really wronged, let her sue Shan Yujing herself. I won't stop her."
Yu nodded: "I will talk to my second sister-in-law now. Shi Zhen's matter must be properly resolved."
Yao Niang nodded and prepared to go back to her room, but Luo Zhizheng stopped her and said, "Why are you leaving so soon?"
Yao Niang turned around and looked at her father. She felt that he had also become a gossiper, so she asked, "Dad, what do you want to say to me?"
"You can also tell me what you usually talk to your mother." Luo Zhizheng said with a smile.
It was rare for Dad to be so kind, Yao Niang actually sat down and said, "Dad, it's just some family matters, your daughter and I just said whatever we thought."
"In that case, let's play a round of hands-on games." Luo Zhizheng smiled.
Yao Niang also nodded in agreement. In fact, she didn't like playing chess very much. Instead, she liked playing the piano, especially French music. She was even talented in painting, embroidery, and reading. However, it was easy to fall into a trap when playing chess.
But it's also good to be able to accompany Dad, so Yao Niang sat down.
Yu hurried to the second room. She first found Jiang and asked, "Second sister-in-law, what should we do? What happened to Shizhen's child?"
"Yes, she sent me a message saying that she couldn't live any longer. What could I do? She said that her son-in-law didn't care about them at all. He was so impulsive and adventurous right after passing the imperial examination, ruining his future. He also hung out with his cousin and spoke rudely to her. But this is fate. As women, don't we follow our husbands wherever they go?" Jiang had no solution.
What Yu wanted to hear was a solution, not this kind of fatalistic talk.
Jiang just shook her head and said, "Divorce, it's impossible. My husband and I don't agree to it. If this gets out, what will our Luo family do?
Yu had no choice but to return in dismay. At this time, Luo Zhi was instructing Yao Niang on how to play chess: "Look, you should move here. You were too impulsive just now. You should think more about it.
Luo Zhizheng was worried because his daughter's chess playing was so mediocre. She would think ten steps ahead when she saw the Prince of Chen make one move, but it was already very good that she could think of three steps ahead. Wouldn't it mean that she would be worse than the Prince of Chen in everything in the future?
"Okay, I get it, Dad." Yao Niang agreed obediently.
Seeing how well-behaved his daughter was, Luo Zhizheng could say nothing more. Forget it. Perhaps that was just her qualifications, and there was nothing else that could be done.
Yao Niang never thought about the image of herself as a fool in her father's eyes. When she saw Yu Shi coming back with a unhappy look on her face after playing chess with Luo Zhizheng, she guessed that Yu Shi must have hit a wall. To be honest, if it wasn't for her, Yu Shi would definitely not care.
Both sides have separated, and those are the affairs of the second house. Unfortunately, I am afraid that it will affect Yao Niang's reputation. After all, if people know that she is a girl from the Luo family,
Even though she was always coquettish and had a little temper with Yu, she cared about Yu the most, so she went back to her room and took the sachet she had embroidered and said to Yu: "Mother, look, this is the sachet I made, take a look, do you like it? This smells very nice. It is purple oil agarwood, which comes from India. It can cure chest tightness, qi stagnation and pain, wind and phlegm obstruction, and is better than agarwood. And this is Qianmu incense, which is produced in Persia. I heard that its fragrance can cure all diseases."
Smelling the fragrance was secondary to Yu's concern. She saw that the sachet was so delicately embroidered that she immediately fell in love with it.
Luo Zhizheng had never thought that his daughter was an expert at making incense, and each of her incense pieces was extraordinary. But what should he do with it for Yu Shi? Giving it to her would be like a cow chewing a peony.
I spent half a day with my daughter but got nothing.
Whenever Yu saw something beautiful and exquisite, her eyes would sparkle. Yao Niang liked to see her mother like this, so she said, "After the New Year, I will embroider a portrait for you. When you are old, it will be interesting to see your current face again."
Yu said angrily, "I'm not a big shot."
"No way, mother is the dearest person in my heart. In fact, I made a headband for mother, but because it was a pair with father, father's one was not finished yet, and mine was not finished yet, so I didn't bring it." Yao Niang smiled.
When Luo Zhizheng heard Yao Niang say this, he looked much more relieved.
There was no further news about Luo Shizhen for a while, but Yu Yan was about to move in. She was not an ordinary maid or concubine who could be bought and sold, but Yu's niece, who was pregnant. Jiang did not express her opinion openly, but privately arranged a very luxurious residence for Yu Yan.
Yu Yan was no longer the innocent girl she used to be. Her hair was all tied up in a bun, with a few red velvet flowers in her hair, revealing her oval face, which made her look more submissive and docile.
She used to live in the Xinghua Courtyard of the eldest house, and had little contact with the people of the second house, but she knew the reputation of Jiang Shi, who was a famous jealous person. Otherwise, she would not be thirty years old without any children.
From her aunt, she learned to be gentle, and as long as she was gentle, she could win the favor of men.
Little Jiang was also looking at Yu Yan. Yu Yan was in her twenties, with a slightly protruding belly. Her features were somewhat similar to those of the eldest daughter's aunt, but she was not as kind as Yu. Instead, she was more calculating.
Immediately, Xiao Jiang changed her strategy. She smiled and said, "Sister Yu, we are old acquaintances. I asked our Second Master to take you back several times. People outside said it was because of me. But think about it, at my age, I just want our Hui Jie to have someone to rely on. If Second Master can leave a descendant, I can meet the ancestors of the Luo family in my grave."
Yu Yan herself had lived in the Lin family. Her husband was only a descendant of a hundred households, so he always had to consider other people's opinions when doing things. He had great ambitions but little talent and was not motivated. Instead, the whole family was eyeing her dowry, but they were only concerned about her aunt. She spent all day watching other people living a glamorous life. In the entire Lin family, people like her were just begging for money to the wife of Marquis Zhongjing and the wife of the Crown Prince.
She didn't want to live under someone else's roof anymore. In the Luo family, she and her grandmother lived in a remote garden outside the Luo family. Later, when she married into the Lin family, she had to follow her mother-in-law around to socialize with the host family and bow to everyone everywhere, which was even worse than when she was in the Luo family.
Now that she is pregnant and her aunt is the wife of the eldest son, little Jiang dare not do anything. Look, now even little Jiang has started to speak softly.
Yu Yan was somewhat proud, but she was not stupid, so she did not dare to show her pride. Instead, she said, "Second Madam, what are you talking about? I just want a place to stay and someone to protect me. I don't dare to think about anything else."
Little Jiang smiled and said, "Don't be polite. If you are polite, I'm afraid that the Second Master will say that I treat you badly. Forget it. You will know what kind of person I am in the future."
Yu Yan was accompanied by two maids. Little Jiang looked at her background for a long time and couldn't calm down. Then she said to Mingyue: "My mother's family has prepared two Yangzhou skinny horses. Go and tell my mother to send them over."
At the end, Jiang's voice became tearful.
明月不忍：“二奶奶，要不然別讓她們過來了，那郁姨奶奶肚子裏的未必是男孩兒了，若只是個女孩兒呢。您毋須緊張，最緊要的是您要調理身子。”
“此話不必再提，我這個身子我是知道的，早年生慧姐兒落下的毛病，後來又沒有好生保養，如今到了這番田地。”她是決計不會放過郁嫣的。
現在這個郁嫣就能讓二爺大老遠從尼姑庵裏接回來，她身份又在這裏，将來也許是可以扶正的。
小蔣氏沒學過三十六計，但是卻天然知道什麽叫做借刀殺人。
郁嫣哪裏知道這些，她進了自己的院子，但見此處布置的不錯，心中暗自點頭。下人也是羅敬法買給她的，她們從胡同過來這裏，仿佛跟進了皇宮似的，都歆羨着郁嫣：“姑娘，這裏真好，您看就連椅子上的墊子刺繡都這麽好。”
“沒見識，這點算什麽。”郁嫣固然并非羅家姑娘，但是姑母面子上做的不錯，她和祖母住的杏花苑還是很好的，甚至嫁去林家之後，才知曉丈夫雖然是個百戶還是侯府旁支，但是和自己在羅家根本不能比。
也是，姑父是大官，累世名宦，聽外祖母曾經說過羅家以前去世的那位老夫人嫁妝豐厚異常，姑父是三代單傳，錢財十分豐厚，姑母管着家，肯定也撈了許多，只是手指裏漏出一點給她罷了。
她一個寡婦，再嫁能嫁給什麽人，自從新寡回家之後，她就知道自己要留在羅家，不願意再嫁去別人家。
姑母不懂自己，她出身官家小姐，即便嫁給人做填房也是嫁給姑父這樣的人家，享受榮華富貴，而她從小寄人籬下，只想要富貴地位。
她不想冬日用不起銀霜炭、紅蘿炭，只能用些木炭，成日家咳嗽。
夏天用冰也不暢快，總是悶熱，讓人無法透氣來……
她想的是生下男孩後，從此在後宅仿佛是握有智珠一樣，将來小蔣氏也不敢如何了。可郁嫣不知道，很快年前羅敬法那裏收了一對雙胞胎姐妹花，把郁嫣抛諸腦後。
瑤娘也聽說了此事，郁氏卻和她提道：“她自己選擇的路，我是管不了了。瑤娘，姑娘家一定持身要正，你這位敬法哥哥連親戚家的姑娘都忍不住偷雞摸狗，可見他本就是個見異思遷之人。”
“知道了，我不會如此的。”瑤娘點頭。
今年過年，朱氏又有了身孕，她真的是一位賢妻，不僅僅照顧羅敬淵無微不至，甚至和秦姨娘關系也很融洽。
羅家沒有提前放妾侍的習慣，朱氏卻在自己有孕後，把貼身丫鬟給了羅敬淵，這點讓郁氏很贊賞，因此主動對瑤娘道：“你要記得，這才是體貼男人，男人才會敬重你，像你法二嫂嫂那樣的，千般提防也沒用，男人現在越納越多了不是？”
這就是在警告瑤娘，別飛蛾撲火，相信男人。
瑤娘當然不相信，人都有劣根性，如果女人能娶多位丈夫，也許會搖擺不定。
可惜，她要追求的就是一心一意，這話當然不會跟郁氏說，大人們有大人們的想法，自己也有自己的想法。
不料這日在園子裏，她卻碰到了郁嫣，郁嫣雙眼通紅似乎是哭過了，她也沒想到居然在這裏看的瑤娘了，她好似更美了一些。
“瑤娘，聽說你成了皇子妃了，還沒來得及恭喜你呢。”想到這裏郁嫣甚至想跪下來磕頭。
瑤娘搖頭：“你客氣了，外面風大，我先回去了。”
現在二人身份不同了，本來郁嫣是郁氏的侄女，因為此事，郁氏還怕二房覺得她在從中故意的，如果自己再過從甚密，那叫什麽了。
況且郁嫣也從未想過郁氏的處境，自己又憑什麽同情她呢？
她可不是什麽心胸寬廣之人。
郁嫣幽幽的道：“難道表妹現在嫌棄我的身份了嗎？”她在這個家逐漸沒有靠山了，她托人找姑母，姑母根本不理會，如果能和這位未來的宸王妃交好，她在家也有支持。
瑤娘看了她一眼，笑道：“那表姐你現在是什麽身份了？我不知道。我就知道，人既然選擇了什麽路，就不要抱怨，好了，我要走了。”
博取別人的同情沒用，你都做了對不起別人的事情，還要別人對你好，那不可能。
郁嫣是沒想過瑤娘這麽絕情的，她一時氣憤：“表妹出身好，又有爹娘寵愛，前程都替你選好了，當然不明白我的苦惱。”
瑤娘聽了這話只是想笑，前世她就是不明不白的嫁了個總旗的兒子，自己燒飯縫補衣裳，甚至是為了兒子和自己，親自做了乳母。一位官家女，父親是禮部尚書，曾經還做過侯夫人，她都沒覺得有什麽委屈的。
人嘛，自己選的路，就是再陰暗逼仄都應該走成一條通天大道。
因此，她懶得再言語，提腳就走，這話當然傳到了小蔣氏的耳朵裏。小蔣氏捏着拳頭道：“真是得來全不費工夫，若是長房的人照拂她，我還能想個其他的法子，哪裏知道她也不中用，哼。”
明月張了張嘴，還是沒說什麽。
實際上她還是想讓郁嫣生下孩子之後再說，可惜小蔣氏心裏只想出氣。
郁嫣的結局到底如何，瑤娘已經能夠預測到了，壞又壞的不夠徹底，從來只抱怨自己出身不好。
回來後，瑤娘把遇到郁嫣的事情告訴了郁氏，郁氏點頭：“嗯，你做的沒錯，總是這樣拉拉扯扯的也不好。”
郁氏有時候也會很欣賞女兒的做法，很幹脆，能夠直接拒絕，不會拖泥帶水，不喜歡什麽直接說出來。
“嗯，娘親。這次過年二姐會回來麽？”瑤娘問。
郁氏點頭：“會回來，只是我卻不好管，這種事情還得你二伯父和二伯母管，否則我們隔房的人很難管，不過你爹已經派人取回他的帖子了。去年玉京犯事了，你爹怕她們日後為難，特地留了帖子，這次把帖子取了回來。”
吏部侍郎的帖子無論在京，還是在外地都非常有權，因為吏部掌管天下官員升遷大事，誰都要給幾分面子，以前羅至正是吏部文選司郎中的時候，和三品外藩官員都平起平坐，更何況如今已經是二品大員。
瑤娘點頭：“爹爹把帖子取回來就好，她若真的和單家過不下去，也應該正常和離，而不是欺詐別人。”
“你說的沒錯，反正我們和單家本是老親，你二姐姐也是我們家的姑娘，正好兩邊都不相幫。”郁氏也想開了。
“至于她和離影不影響我，我不能這麽自私，就因為我，難道讓她們和怨偶似的麽？況且我們兩家早已分家了。”瑤娘知道如果時貞的事情真的鬧的很難看，肯定會被別人大做文章的，但是她們也不能強迫羅時貞如何。
實際上拿掉羅至正的帖子就已經算是釜底抽薪了，單家看到羅至正的态度，當然不會和以前那般畏懼如虎。
偏這個時候羅敬柔焦急的上門了，她對郁氏道：“二姐姐的事情我知道了，這叫何事呢？她怎麽能和離呢，和離不是害我們全家人嗎？我還好，可瑤娘已經定了那麽好的親事，萬一傳出去可如何是好啊？”
郁氏也不會覺得羅敬柔好心，只當是羅敬柔怕影響她，故而道：“你放心吧，這事兒比二伯和二伯父去處理了。”
“我知曉，可萬一真的和離了，這可如何是好？我們家從無這種和離的姑娘，到時候傳出去，親戚們會說她嫌貧愛富的。”
“原本我也是這麽想的，單家是我們家老親。可是瑤娘反而勸我說，總不能讓二姐姐成怨偶吧，她不怕受影響。”郁氏嘆道。
羅敬柔聽說是瑤娘說的，心道，難道她這麽自信，覺得自己已經是板上釘釘的三皇子妃了嗎？這件事情讓她丈夫所在的輔國公府對自己都有些微詞，因為已經鬧開了。
宮裏當然也不乏有人在洪貴妃面前提起此事，有人挑撥離間道：“若是早些知道，娘娘你那裏就能早些做決定了。”
“是啊，貴妃娘娘，您看這羅二娘子因為丈夫失勢就要和離，還不能容忍丈夫納妾，這樣的女子怎啧啧。”
……
洪貴妃聽了心中當然也是微微不喜的，雖然在外人面前維護羅家，但是當着高玄策的面就說了此事。
高玄策笑道：“您來羅家也有姑娘嫁給汾陽王府啊，一向名聲是很不錯的。豈能因為她家裏八竿子打不着的親戚就說這些話，哪家沒有幾個這樣的人。”
“這倒也是，無論如何，你岳父羅侍郎仕途大好，瑤娘這個姑娘我認得好多年了。”洪貴妃點頭。
Gao Xuance stood up and said, "Mother, you must not mess things up. Some people are hoping for us to mess things up. If the girl from the Luo family has a grudge against us now, then Lord Luo will never help me in the future. Besides, you also know the character of Yao Niang after she has been in the palace for so long. Her character and appearance are rare in the world, and my son loves her to the bottom of his heart."
Seeing her son's expression, Concubine Hong joked, "I know. Don't worry. The imperial decree has been issued. There will be no problem."
Gao Xuance seemed to be relieved, but in fact he was thinking, why is there so much trouble in the Luo family, and he still has to bite the bullet and express his love to Luo Yao Niang, alas!
But he recalled the day when he went to Luo's house and met Yao Niang, she still had sweat on her forehead, and he was a little crazy for a moment...
Yao Niang was playing the piano at home. Because she liked Buddhist music very much, her playing sounded like the sound of Buddha coming to life, and everyone around her was mesmerized by her. Just then, she saw Yu coming back from the Shan family, and she stopped playing a song in peace.
"Mom, how is my second sister doing?" Yao Niang asked.
Yu said angrily, "Your second sister lent money privately and the Shan family found out about it. Your father took back the letter, and the second branch refused to support her. The Shan family and she each had something on their side. Now she is not clamoring for a divorce. Instead, she said that she was jealous and she even apologized to your second brother-in-law in person. Your second brother-in-law still has feelings for her, and they reconciled and poured tea for us again!"
Yao Niang heaved a sigh of relief after hearing this and loosened her clenched fists. She had finally made the right bet again. She got her father's invitation back and her second sister had no cards to play at all.