Chapter 12 Tea
He did not refuse her touch, so Shen Wangshu followed him closely, raised his head and asked: "I am new to the Duke's Mansion, can my husband tell me about the situation in the mansion?"
She actually knew the general situation of the Duke's Mansion. The person with the highest status was the respected old lady. The old lady gave birth to two sons. The eldest son inherited the title of the Duke's Mansion and was the head of the family today, while the younger son guarded the border. A few years ago, they both died in the battlefield due to an accident, leaving only the two brothers Chen Ting and Chen Hao.
It’s strange to say, Chen Ting is 28 years old this year, but the little guy Chen Hao is only 6 years old. Despite the age difference, Chen Ting can still give birth to a younger brother.
Although the eldest brother is like a father, Chen Ting followed his parents to the battlefield when he was a teenager and seldom returned to the Duke's Mansion. Xuanji Courtyard was empty all year round, and Chen Hao was basically raised by his aunt in the first house.
Now that my elder brother has married, I naturally have to go back to Xuanji Courtyard to be educated.
The eldest wife in charge of the Duke's Mansion, that is, Duke Rong and his wife, have quite a few children. However, the Duke's wife has only one legitimate daughter, named Chen Zhi, who is seventeen years old this year. The number of children born to the concubines and illegitimate children adds up to seven or eight.
Chen Ting thought about it and told her about the personalities of the elders: "My grandmother likes quietness when she gets old. She goes to the Stone Sutra Temple to meditate from time to time and likes to study Buddhism. My aunt is straightforward and strong-willed, and my uncle is gentle and likes to laugh. He has a good temper and doesn't get angry easily."
Shen Wangshu had a rough idea in his mind. Chen Ting said that the Duke's wife was straightforward and strong, which meant that she might speak unpleasantly. Duke Rong loved to laugh and was not easily angry, but when he got angry, it was hard to say. He should be a smiling tiger.
However, you will only know the details after you have met them. It seems that there are only these three big masters in the Duke's Mansion, and I'm afraid there will be many more contacts in the future.
There is also the second wife's youngest son, who was born in middle age. No one knows what his personality is like now... But from the gossip Taohong heard, he is a naughty little bully and will have to be kept by her side in the future.
After a while, we arrived at Jingsi Hall.
In front of the hall, Chen Ting took the initiative to grab Shen Wangshu's hand. When the cold nail touched his palm, a trace of surprise flashed in the latter's eyes, but he quickly suppressed it and was led into the house obediently.
The old lady sitting in the main seat was wearing a plain brocade dress, her hair full of silver hair was neatly combed up, her old eyes were bright and deep, without any trace of turbidity or old age. When she saw the lovely couple coming in hand in hand, a touch of kindness appeared in her eyes.
The middle-aged couple at the bottom should be the couple from the first house. The elegant and noble lady of the Duke's house, wearing pearl hairpins and kingfisher feathers, stood next to a handsome young boy with a white and greasy face and a pair of black eyes moving around. When he saw Chen Ting coming in, he ran over happily and said, "Brother!"
Chen Ting stopped the reckless boy with a look: "Call someone."
Chen Hao looked at Shen Wangshu obediently and said, “Sister-in-law.”
Shen Wangshu smiled and nodded at him, then followed Chen Ting to meet the old lady: "Greetings to grandma."
The old lady smiled at her grandchildren and their wives and said, "Good, good children, come to grandma and let grandma take a closer look."
The original body was, after all, a young lady from the capital city, with a gentle temperament and good manners, and there was nothing wrong with her in any way. She had a pair of clear and well-behaved eyes, and the old lady fell in love with her at first sight.
It turned out that Shen Wangshu had a lot of aunts and uncles at home, so he was very adept at dealing with the elders. He showed it to her openly, and made the old lady happy with just a few sweet words.
After meeting the old lady, the two elders of the eldest house could not be neglected. It was the first time they met, and everyone was quite friendly. Although Shen Wangshu heard that the Duke's wife, who was smiling but not smiling, was secretly complaining about Chen Ting slamming the door and leaving last night - but she didn't say it to her face, leaving her some dignity.
Although he didn't say it on the surface, he still despised it in his heart.
"Girls from small families just don't know the rules. She displeased her husband on the first night of her marriage. Does she still want to stay in this Duke's Mansion in the future?"
"She's just pretty...her manners are passable, but her family background is still too low!"
"Hao Ge'er will have to be raised by her in the future. How can such a soft-hearted person suppress that devil? I'm afraid he will come back crying."
"Alas, how come Hao Ge'er is not my biological son? I have kept him by my side for so long, and now I am about to send him away. Suddenly, I feel a little reluctant to let him go."
The wife of the Duke was the one who expressed the most thoughts in the room. She really lived up to Chen Ting's words that she was "straightforward". If they had not been holding hands when they came in, she would have probably spoken out loud the contempt in her heart.
However, she doesn't have a mother-in-law or a father-in-law in the second house, so she probably won't have much contact with the first house on a daily basis...all she has to do is please the old lady.
With Chen Ting's face, Shen Wangshu respectfully offered tea to the elders and accepted a bunch of kingfisher jewels. The atmosphere was quite harmonious.
After it was over, the two people from the eldest wife left first. The old lady asked them to stay for breakfast. Chen Hao was going to go back to Xuanji Courtyard soon, so he also stayed.
"How long will it take you to go back to the military camp this time?" asked the old lady.
Moyun City is the largest city in the north of the Great Zhou. Further north are some small border towns on the border line, where the military camps of the generals guarding the country are stationed. When there is no war on weekdays, Chen Ting returns to the Duke's Mansion. Once a war breaks out, they can assemble and go there as quickly as possible.
In recent years, the situation on the mainland has been turbulent. The old emperor has been licentious and natural disasters have occurred frequently. The Great Zhou has long lost its former strength. The northern barbarians and the Hu tribe are ready to make a move. The other major powers are also waiting for an opportunity to take advantage of the weakness of the Great Zhou...
The last time Chen Ting came back was half a year ago. The old lady felt sorry for her grandson's youth being wasted in wars. Even when she knew that the Xiahou Mansion had secretly changed the bride, she felt more helpless than angry - of course she could see that the emperor had granted marriages with ill intentions. Now she only hoped that her grandson would not end up alone.
If there was a close friend by his side, no matter what his background was, who could make him think about his family and not go to the battlefield with the idea of never coming back, the old lady would feel relieved.
Chen Ting said, "The northern barbarians were just beaten back and lost two cities in a row. There shouldn't be any movement in the near future. I'll ask Chen Wei to stay over there and report back as soon as there's any news. Grandmother, don't worry."
The old lady smiled and said, "Grandma, why should I worry? I am just worried that you just got married and you are leaving in a hurry before you can spend a few days with Nian Nian."
Chen Ting remembered that he had left someone alone in the empty room last night, and he didn't know how to answer. He turned around and saw the beauty's cheeks were tinged with pink. She said timidly, "Grandma, my husband's business is more important."
Chen Ting was depressed. She rejected him so decisively last night, so why did she act like there was nothing innocent between them today?
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