Chapter 668, Stepmother Comes
The news of Xiqu City being recaptured quickly spread throughout Daxia, and both officials and common people cheered.
Ordinary people care about the results, while officials are more concerned about the process.
As a result, the mysterious Lord Xiao of Jinling Guard once again came into people's sight.
Ningmen Mansion, Guo family.
Mrs. Guo and Guo Xueming were also discussing this matter.
Guo Xueming: "Mother, when Chen Jiarou came to see me yesterday, she accidentally mentioned that many people outside were saying that Mr. Xiao in Northern Xinjiang was my cousin."
Mrs. Guo wanted to say that it was impossible, but when she thought of her husband's proud look every time he talked about Xiao Yeyang, she swallowed her words back silently.
Guo Xueming continued, "Mother, I remember that we haven't seen my cousin for about half a year. Even if he's very busy, it's impossible for him not to show up on weekdays. Do you think the rumors are true?"
Mrs. Guo glanced at her daughter, pondered for a long moment, and said, "You'll have to ask your father about this. He's sure he knows."
Guo Xueming hesitated: "Father, you probably won't tell us this."
Mrs. Guo smiled faintly: "It's definitely not possible to ask directly." After saying that, she immediately ordered the kitchen to prepare some food, and then asked the servants at home to send it to the military camp.
Guo Xueming watched curiously, not quite understanding what her mother was doing.
The servant came back that afternoon.
Mrs. Guo called the servant over and questioned him for a long time before letting him leave.
After the guards left, Guo Xueming walked in. Seeing Madam Guo's expression of deep sorrow, he couldn't help but ask, "Mother, have you heard the news?"
Mrs. Guo looked at her daughter and sighed, "Mother never expected that Xiao Yeyang, who was so unruly when he was young, would grow up to be so successful."
Hearing this, Guo Xueming's expression brightened: "Mother, are you saying that my cousin is really that Lord Xiao?"
Mrs. Guo nodded: "One hundred percent."
Guo Xueming was puzzled: "How did my mother find out?"
Mrs. Guo smiled and said, "Didn't I send food to your father today? Two of the items were for Xiao Yeyang. The servant came back and said that your father and Xiao Yeyang had finished the food."
Guo Xueming was confused: "Is there any problem with this?"
Mrs. Guo laughed and said, "The two dishes I gave to Xiao Yeyang were his least favorite, but your father insisted that they had finished eating. What does this mean? It means that your father is covering for Xiao Yeyang and that Xiao Yeyang was not there at all."
Guo Xueming's face suddenly showed enlightenment, and then he looked at Mrs. Guo with a smile: "Mother is still amazing."
Mrs. Guo smiled proudly: "I may not know Xiao Yeyang very well, but don't I know your father well? I can tell the truth from the facts." As she spoke, the smile on her face slowly faded.
"I originally thought that Xiao Yeyang would grow up to be a dandy boy without any education or discipline in Zhongzhou. But without the instigation of those people in the palace, he actually grew up to be more outstanding."
Guo Xueming smiled and said, "Isn't this great?"
Mrs. Guo shook her head: "Silly daughter, if Xiao Yeyang is a bit of a fool, there may be fewer people paying attention to him. Now that Xiao Yeyang is so promising, do you think there will be few families interested in him? The first one is the Jiang family."
Marrying into the royal family is actually a contest and game between families. The more outstanding Xiao Yeyang is, the more families will participate, and the more likely the Guo family will fail.
Guo Xueming's expression froze: "Maybe, we don't have a chance at all. My cousin has someone he loves."
Madam Guo snorted coldly, "Xiao Yeyang's legal wife cannot possibly be Yan Yiyi. Prefect Yan is only a fourth-rank official. Do you think the Emperor would arrange a marriage for the Yan family?"
Guo Xueming was silent for a while: "It's unlikely that it will be directed at my daughter."
Madam Guo: "Over the years, our family has gradually withdrawn from the imperial court. When your father returns to the capital after completing his term as Governor, he will likely be given an unemployed position and remain at home. Since our family is so considerate, the Emperor should compensate us."
As he spoke, his expression darkened.
"However, we also have to be careful. If Yan Yiyi really bewitches Ye Yang, and he makes great contributions in the Northern Frontier, and foolishly asks the Emperor to arrange a marriage for him, we will be disgusted to death."
Guo Xueming was a little anxious: "Mother, what should we do then?" Although she had married her cousin before because of her family's suggestion, after meeting her cousin in person, she was also happy in her heart, and even had some expectations.
Mrs. Guo pondered for a moment, "Don't worry, let me think about it."
In mid-September, Daohua gave Deshou a batch of newly made pills and asked him to send them to the northern border. Seeing that Gu Jian looked bored, she was worried that he would get sick from being bored at home, so she suggested that they go out for a walk to relax.
Gu Jian showed an interest. In order to take care of his sister, he hardly ever went out over the years. Now that his sister was gone, he wanted to go out and see the world while he was still strong.
So, Daohua wrote a letter home, explaining the reason, changed into men's clothes, and left Taohua Village with Gu Jian.
The two of them had no destination, they just walked around casually, took in the local customs and culture, looked at the beautiful mountains and rivers, and tasted local delicacies.
In the blink of an eye, it was October.
One day in early October, several carriages stopped in front of Yan's mansion.
"Who are you? Leave now if you have nothing to do. This is the prefect's house. You can't park your car randomly."
An old lady with half-white hair got down from the carriage. She looked at the gate of the prefect's house with a little fear in her heart, but when she remembered that she was the mother of the prefect's wife, she immediately raised her chest.
"I am the mother of your prefect's wife. Why don't you quickly ask your wife to come out and greet me?"
Upon hearing this, the people at the door looked at each other in confusion. Didn't the lady's family only have two uncles? They had never heard that there was an old lady.
Although full of questions, the doorman did not dare to delay and quickly went into the backyard to report.
When Mrs. Li heard what the doorman said, her face instantly darkened. Without thinking, she asked the servant to go and drive the man away.
Unexpectedly, the old lady was shameless. When she heard that Madam Li did not recognize her, she immediately threw a tantrum, crying and making a fuss, and scolded Madam Li for being unfilial. Soon, countless people gathered to watch.
But within a short while, the news that the magistrate's wife did not recognize her mother spread throughout the streets and alleys.
When Mrs. Li found out, she was so angry that her face turned blue and she wanted to go out and argue immediately.
Seeing that Mrs. Li's face looked unhappy, Han Xinran was worried that things would get worse, so she quickly grabbed the person and sent someone to call Yan Wenxiu.
When Yan Wenxiu arrived, he asked Madam Li directly, "Mother, is that old lady at the door really my grandmother?"
Madam Li gritted her teeth and said fiercely, "What grandmother? Your grandmother died a long time ago. That woman was just your grandfather's second wife. I really didn't expect that she would have the nerve to come to my house."
Yan Wenxiu frowned after hearing this. He knew something about his maternal grandparents' family. This step-grandmother was not an easy person to get along with. My mother and two uncles suffered a lot at her hands. She almost married my mother to an old man. Later, my two uncles gave up the family property and divided the property with her before taking my mother away.
If this happened in any family, they would not continue to interact with each other. The step-grandmother was really shameless to dare to come to the door.
After a moment's silence, Yan Wenxiu spoke up, "Mom, we can't let her keep making such a fuss. This is Dad's last year as prefect, and the year-end assessment is coming up soon. The previous incident of losing military rations has already left a stain on Dad's political record. We can't let any bad reputation spread about our family now."
Madam Li frowned tightly, "So why bother inviting that old witch in? You've never come into contact with her, so you don't know how shameless she is. Once you're infected, it's like a dog-skin plaster, you can't get rid of it no matter how hard you try."
Yan Wenxiu: "Since things have come to this, let's call them in. Once we enter the mansion, we will be able to take control of the situation."
Madam Li rubbed her swollen forehead and nodded: "After calling the people in, lock them up in the yard and don't let them wander around."
Yan Wenxiu nodded in agreement and left quickly.
Yan Wenxiu came to the front door and saw Madam Li's stepmother, Li Wangshi, bringing her son, daughter-in-law, grandchildren and all of them over, looking like they were seeking refuge. He felt a little depressed.
This family obviously came prepared!
Although he was annoyed in his heart, Yan Wenxiu did not show it on his face. He watched Li Wangshi's performance silently until she could no longer perform. Then he called her into the mansion.
(End of this chapter)
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