"I didn't expect that his concubine had held a grudge against him for so long. I only scolded her a few times, and she immediately retaliated. We Miao people say that concubines in the Central Plains have very little status, so why are you all so temperamental?"
Miao Cuifang kept talking nonstop, recounting the scene from the other side, while Cen's mother picked up a cup of tea and slowly blew on it, occasionally interjecting a few words.
"Didn't you drug her?"
"My medication only exacerbates irritability; if she doesn't harbor resentment, the medication is useless."
Cen Ang touched his temples twice and said to him.
"How can someone not feel resentful when they're a concubine? Only they know the bitterness of using their looks to serve others. She's got quite a temper."
"Master, you have no idea, the prefect's child went missing right after he left."
Cen Ang looked at him, signaling him to continue.
"That night, after the concubine realized she had accidentally killed him, she hurriedly gave the child to her former lover, then went back to the Marquis's mansion to pack her valuables and prepare to escape. That's why she was caught on her way back. If you ask me, she was just too greedy. If she hadn't gone back to get the money, she could have escaped anyway."
"She became a concubine for these things. If people weren't greedy, there would be no evil people in the world."
"That's about it. I'll head back now?" Miao Cuifang stood up and bowed to Cen Ang with clasped hands.
The woman nodded and waved. After they left, she carefully recalled what Liu Xu and Ru Yi had said to her that day.
You know, she's the daughter I raised by my side, she's so clever.
Having the concubine commit murder resolves all concerns. With the man dead and the concubine imprisoned, it's time for the prefect of the border town to be reassigned.
That day, after the two girls finished telling her Huo Xiaolong's idea, Mother Cen called Miao Cuifang over and told her to go to Beining after the Lantern Festival and find a way to get the concubine to take action against Prefect Cheng.
It's just some irritating powder; it seems the prefect isn't a good person either.
The concubines who lorded it over him all harbored resentment towards him, and he lived a rather unsuccessful life.
Cen Ang looked at Huo Xiaolong, who was sleeping in a mess in the inner room, and a gentle smile appeared on his lips.
As long as you grow up safely, that's all that matters. As for anything else you want to do, the adults will help you accomplish it.
"I don't want to get up, I don't want to! Waaah!"
When Huo Xiaolong was pulled out of bed by Cen Ang, he simply hugged her tightly and couldn't be pulled up no matter how hard she tried.
The little dumpling was so sleepy, how could she be so sleepy? It wasn't even dawn yet, and the Hou family's carriage was already waiting at the door. At this time of year, one had to get up early to travel, so that they could find a place to stay at the post station at night.
Seeing his daughter about to cry, Cen Ang had no choice but to wrap Huo Xiaolong in a quilt, leaving only his nose sticking out.
"Sis, why didn't you let her get up and clean up? You've spoiled her rotten."
The little dumpling nestled on Cen Ang's shoulder, its tiny mouth peeking out, glistening with tears.
"Kids need a lot of sleep, she's probably still half asleep. Let's just take her to the stroller and let her sleep there."
He Qingzhu arranged five carriages, one for luggage and the other four for passengers.
The carriages were specially lined with wool blankets, so people could take a nap on them if they got tired.
The braziers filled with silver charcoal were placed at the four corners of the carriage, so the temperature inside the carriage was not low.
These were all specially brought back from Beining by the young lady. Money is meant to be spent, and spending money is an art.
"Mother, I want to go find my little sister Long'er."
"Your little sister Long'er isn't awake yet. We'll wait for her to wake up."
Hou Xiangxiang was overjoyed last night when she heard that Huo Xiaolong would be going to Beining with her. She was so happy that her mother scolded her, which displeased her maternal grandparents.
"What's wrong with the child being happy? As for your man, if he died, I wouldn't set off firecrackers at the door, that would be out of respect for the emperor who personally appointed him as the prefect. What is he anyway?"
Meanwhile, He Yi is also dissatisfied, her hands starting to itch as she watches her daughter's unrestrained posture.
Huo Xiaolong lay on the carriage, stretching her legs high onto the legs of Chunying and Mantuo, who were sitting next to her, and had her two older sisters put socks on her.
He Yi thought to herself, "This child is really spoiled. I have to make sure she goes to school when we get back from Beining, otherwise she'll become unruly."
The two girls at the brothel indulged her and simply put socks on her.
"Long'er, get up and dress yourself," He Yi said sternly.
"No, no, I don't want to get up!"
The little dumpling rolled over and snuggled against He Yi again. Looking at her daughter's mischievous appearance, the woman pinched her cheeks twice, got up, got out of the car, and went to find Cen Ang.
They were halfway to the post station when the caravan found a place to rest and started cooking.
"When we get back, it'll be time to get Long'er back to school, sister."
"Didn't you say you'd let her start school at six? Why the sudden change of heart?"
The cold wind lifted the carriage curtain, and Cen Ang saw the scene inside.
Huo Xiaolong rolled around on the blanket, groaning, because he didn't want to wear the prickly but warm jacket underneath.
"It's time to read it..."
Her two mothers didn't expect her to become a talented woman in the future, they just hoped she wouldn't still be throwing tantrums on the ground when she was a teenager.
He Yi and Cen Ang had a premonition that if they didn't teach this child what was right and wrong, he might do something like sitting on the ground and crying when he was only a teenager.
The two mothers' premonition was correct; that was exactly what Huo Xiaolong was thinking.
"Little Dragon Sister, are you up yet?"
Hou Xiangxiang had been holding back all morning, and she was finally able to get off the carriage to play with her friends, but after searching around, she couldn't find anyone. The little girl called out from outside the carriage.
"Get up! Get dressed right away!"
The curtain was lifted, and Huo Xiaolong, wrapped in a blue cotton-padded coat, hopped off the carriage.
"The butterflies on your dress are beautiful, I want one too."
Hou Xiangxiang is no longer the reserved little girl she was when she first came to Pingyang County. Now she says what she wants directly, expresses her joy and happiness frankly, and expresses her feelings directly. At the same time, she faces her own shortcomings, accepts praise from others, and also praises others in return.
"My sister Liuxu embroidered this for me, isn't it pretty?"
The little dumpling is so vain! Her sister's family is in this business, so if something can make her like it, it must be the best thing ever.
"It's beautiful! How was it embroidered?"
The little girl tugged at her clothes, turning them over and over to examine them for a long time, but still couldn't understand. She then happily skipped back to her mother's arms.
"Mother, my little sister Long'er has a butterfly embroidered on her dress, it's so pretty! But I don't understand the stitching. Could you take a look at it for me later?"
"good"
After arriving in Pingyang County, Madam Hou felt that her daughter had changed completely. She had become much more lively and approachable, transforming from a quiet and reserved young lady from a secluded mansion into someone who rarely spoke.
I remembered what my daughter said to me when I first returned to my parents' home.
"Mother, if you don't divorce my father and continue to live with me in the Marquis's mansion, one day I'll be pushed into the pond by the child born to a concubine. If I'm gone, you'll really have nothing left."
It was this sentence that made the Lady Hou, who had already resigned herself to her fate, decide to divorce the Prefect. Her child was everything to her. She could cry and complain, but she couldn't bear to watch her child leave her.
A mother's exemplary conduct and protective nature are like the heavens; she safeguards her child and eliminates all dangers in the world.
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