Chapter 15, "What is our relationship?"...
Mentioning Xie Daojian made Ling Zhenli's eyes light up. Pei Xuanlin noticed her curiosity about Xie Daojian's complicated background and became interested in it, so he asked her about it.
"Are you curious why General Chen's stepson doesn't take General Chen's surname?"
"curious."
Ling Zhenli wanted to know what had happened to Xie Daojian during the years they had been apart, and Pei Xuanlin was willing to tell her.
"Empress Hui came from a butcher's family. The current emperor met her when he was a prince and was traveling incognito. He later brought her into the palace, and Empress Hui's family was also brought to the capital. General Chen had to separate from his lover, Lady Xie, from his hometown. After they separated, General Chen went to the battlefield to make meritorious contributions, while Lady Xie married and had children. However, General Chen never forgot her and never remarried. After Lady Xie divorced, he brought her and her son, Xie Daojian, back to the capital. General Chen loved Lady Xie very much and obeyed her every word. Naturally, he also doted on Xie Daojian because of his love for her, allowing him to continue to take his mother's surname."
Ling Zhenli only knew about Madam Xie's affairs, but not about General Chen's affairs.
Only after hearing Pei Xuanlin's explanation did I realize that Xie Daojian was doing very well in the capital.
If it weren't for Princess Wuyang causing the destruction of Ling Zhenli's family, perhaps one day Xie Daojian would have achieved great success and returned to marry her, and she and Xie Daojian could have formed such a happy marriage.
pity……
Seeing that Ling Zhenli seemed lost in thought, Pei Xuanlin served her some food, pulling her back from her reverie.
"Your Highness, I was just lost in thought..."
"Do you think General Chen and Madam Xie are very loving?"
"Yes." Ling Zhenli forced a smile.
Forget it, Pei Xuanlin treats me very well now, so I should cherish what I have and continue to play the role of a harmonious couple with him.
Pei Xuanlin was unaware of what Ling Zhenli was thinking, and was only focused on taking things further with her.
“We should do the same, Ah Li. From now on, don’t call me Your Highness all the time. In private, just call me San Lang. We are husband and wife. We should not only respect and love each other, but also be more intimate.”
"Sanlang?" Ling Zhenli called out tentatively.
"That's good." Pei Xuanlin smiled with satisfaction, then hesitated and said, "Princess Jin'an, whom you met the other day, will also be attending the banquet. Stay away from her to avoid any conflict."
"Who is that young man beside Princess Jin'an? I noticed that he and Princess Jin'an are behaving intimately, which doesn't seem like a normal relationship."
Ling Zhenli asked curiously, "That day, I saw that Princess Jin'an and Pei Xuanlin listened to him very well, so I couldn't help but wonder about his identity."
Pei Xuanlin's expression changed instantly, and he coldly replied, "Him? The former Crown Prince Yang Chengxiu. He was the one you were originally going to marry."
Upon hearing this, Ling Zhenli, who should have been terrified and apologetic, changed her approach to dealing with Pei Xuanlin. She turned her head away arrogantly, looking angry, and ignored Pei Xuanlin.
Just as she expected, Pei Xuanlin fell for it, and he immediately softened his voice.
"Ah Li, I was wrong. I shouldn't have joked about this. I only took his position to marry you, so don't be angry with me."
"You just said I was your wife, that we would respect and love each other, and then immediately started making fun of me. Your Highness, you really do keep your word."
Ling Zhenli's big eyes were brimming with tears, as if she had suffered some great injustice.
Pei Xuanlin felt sorry for her and quickly hugged her, saying, "I'm bad, I'm bad, my wife can punish me however you want."
Ling Zhenli was finally pleased by him and smiled proudly.
"You said it yourself."
*
Princess's Residence
As dusk fell, Xiao Chongheng arrived late with Pei Chanlian. Pei Chanlian had thought that once they returned to the Princess's residence, Xiao Chongheng would at least pretend to be a loving couple with her. However, as soon as he got off the carriage, he turned around and left without waiting for her at all.
Enraged, Pei Chanlian remained seated in the carriage, refusing to get off.
"My lord, the princess is still in the carriage and hasn't come out yet. Why don't we go back and fetch her?" Banhe, the personal attendant, advised.
Xiao Chongheng ignored him and kept walking forward, coldly saying, "She insisted on coming, but when she arrived she wouldn't get out of the car. If she wants to stay in the car, let her stay."
"You can't say that, my lord. When you see the eldest princess later, she'll probably ask where the princess is."
“Mother, feel free to ask. Pei Chanlian is her niece, not mine. Besides, she's the one who caused this mess. If you keep pressuring me, I'll let her niece remarry my elder brother.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Pei Shen'ai came out of the house and looked at Xiao Chongheng with a solemn expression.
The mother and son locked eyes, and the air froze instantly.
After a long stalemate, Pei Shen'ai raised her hand, glanced at her personal maid, and instructed the maid to invite Princess Roujia into the mansion. Then, she asked Xiao Chongheng to accompany her to the study for a talk.
Although Xiao Chongheng was impatient, he still followed his mother to the study.
Upon entering the study, Xiao Chongheng bowed respectfully.
"Mother."
Pei Shen'ai ignored him and sat down on her own.
"What nonsense were you spouting outside? Weren't you afraid of being overheard? Is it something you can just talk about about your brother like that?"
“My mother knew perfectly well that I didn’t like Roujia.”
"She is your wife."
“Your elder brother’s father was also your husband.” Xiao Chongheng looked coldly at Pei Shen’ai.
Pei Shen'ai was taken aback, then sneered: "What do you mean by that?"
"Back then, Mother married my elder brother's father, Emperor Wen's cousin, in order to curry favor with Emperor Wen. But you despised him and the son he had with him. To ruin my elder brother's career, you didn't hesitate to cripple his legs. Also, even though my elder brother liked Roujia, you insisted on giving her to me. Now you even say that Roujia is my wife? You want me to love Roujia, but you've forgotten that you don't respect your husband either."
"presumptuous!"
Pei Shen'ai was furious when her secret was exposed. "Do you expect me to just stand by and watch you bring that prostitute from the brothel home and marry her as your wife?! Let the whole world laugh at me for having such a lustful son like you in Wuyang!"
Xiao Chongheng was not afraid at all and immediately retorted: "Didn't your affair with Monk Zu Hui cause a great uproar back then? Now you're criticizing your son."
Not satisfied with just that, she added, "You see how I'm doing now, shouldn't you think I'm the most like your child?"
Pei Shenai was furious and regretted giving birth to such a rebellious son as Xiao Chongheng, who was always going against her.
"How could I have given birth to such a wretched child! Everything I've done is for your own good!"
"For my own good?! What kind of person have I become in my brother's eyes! If Roujia had been pregnant back then, would the child have called me father or my brother father?"
During the argument, there was a sudden, urgent knock on the door. A servant outside announced that Princess Roujia and the eldest son were arguing.
After hearing this, Pei Shen'ai glared fiercely at Xiao Chongheng, while Xiao Chongheng looked on with a mocking smile, as if he were watching a good show.
"Mother, let's hurry and go see your dear niece, lest she and her older brother get into a fight... or perhaps rekindle their relationship."
"You wretched child, shut up now! I'll deal with you later!"
After warning Xiao Chongheng, Pei Shenai immediately got up and walked out.
"Why not watch a good show?" Xiao Chongheng followed behind Pei Shen'ai, ready to watch the show, but was glared at by Pei Shen'ai and restrained himself slightly.
Yang Chongzheng's leg injury was sustained while he was in the army. Although it was serious, it was not enough to leave him disabled.
Pei Xuanlin's parents died at the hands of Emperor Wen, a blood feud he would not let go of anyone with the surname Yang. Although many people knew that Yang Chongzheng was not a true member of the Yang family... since he had the surname Yang, he was very likely to be eliminated by the Crown Prince's faction.
Therefore, Pei Shenai ordered him to pretend to be disabled. On the surface, it was because he disliked him and wanted to ruin his career, but in reality, it was to prevent the Crown Prince's faction from eliminating Yang Chongzheng when they were purging the Yang family's power.
However, a few months ago, at Xiao Yuzhen's coming-of-age banquet, Pei Chanlian, drunk, mistook Yang Chongzheng, who was changing clothes in her room, for Xiao Chongheng. Yang Chongzheng, who already admired Pei Chanlian, became infatuated with her, and the two consummated their relationship. However...
The person who came to ask Pei Chanlian to get out of the sedan chair was Pei Shen'ai's personal maid. Pei Chanlian dared not act childish anymore and had no choice but to accept the way Pei Shen'ai had given her.
As soon as he reached the front yard, he encountered Yang Chongzheng, who was about to leave. Yang Chongzheng remembered that Pei Chanlian had said that she did not want to have any contact with him in public, so he pretended not to see her and had his servant push him away on a roundabout way.
As a result, Pei Chanlian stopped him.
"Yang Chongzheng!"
The maids waited where they were, while Pei Chanlian stepped forward alone, seemingly asking Yang Chongzheng why he hadn't greeted her. At first, she was quite amicable, but her voice grew louder and louder, and they gradually started arguing.
Pei Chanlian said fiercely, "Didn't you think you humiliated me enough at the Duke's mansion last time?!"
Yang Chongzheng sneered: "Didn't you ask me to stay and serve you, Princess? Now you're turning around and accusing me of bullying you? Then I'll stay even further away from you. I'll leave the capital tomorrow and return to my fiefdom."
After Yang Chongzheng finished speaking, he was about to leave when Pei Chanlian called him to stop.
"What, can't I say anything to you? You're leaving after just a few words."
"What kind of relationship do we have? I don't need to stay here and listen to you scold me, Princess."
"Are you really leaving and never coming back?"
"no longer."
"Can you bear to part with me?"
Yang Chongzheng turned around and said coldly, "What do you mean by that?"
"Literally, it means Xiao Chongheng doesn't love me, and you're all I have left." Pei Chanlian feigned sorrow, taking advantage of Yang Chongzheng's affection.
After she finished speaking, she threw herself into Yang Chongzheng's arms, and Yang Chongzheng held her tightly in return. The two of them, so reluctant to part, were clearly seen by Pei Shen'ai and Xiao Chongheng, who rushed over.
"Mother, lovers can never be separated."
Xiao Chongheng smiled meaningfully, coldly watching his nominal wife embrace his elder brother, wanting to take the opportunity to get Pei Shen'ai to agree to a divorce and let Pei Chanlian remarry.
“If you had treated Roujia well, how could she possibly still have contact with your older brother?”
Xiao Chongheng smiled again.
“We’ll see then, Mother. Don’t you dare secretly transfer my eldest brother away from the capital. If you do, Roujia will probably chase after him.”
Faced with her son's constant sarcasm, Pei Shenai finally lost her temper: "If you dare to say another word, I'll have someone cut your tongue out. At the polo match in a few days, you'd better stay by Roujia's side. If you try anything funny again, I'll tear down the tower you built in the suburbs. Don't think I don't know what you're hiding in there."
After saying that, Pei Shen'ai turned and left.
Her threat was very effective, and Xiao Chongheng's smile vanished instantly.
The tower that my mother mentioned was built at great expense by him in Huaiming Temple on the outskirts of Beijing, where the memorial tablet of his unborn daughter with Ling Zhenli is enshrined.
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