Ning Qiu snorted coldly and said through gritted teeth:
"Pah! You? Do you even know who this is? This is General Ning's wife! And you're still putting on airs, calling her 'Brother Huaizhi'!"
Upon hearing Ning Qiu's words, Qing Lan was so angry that tears streamed down her face.
"You, how dare you speak to me like that! You, Yang Liu, what are you standing there for? Go and beat her up!"
Seeing this, Yang Liu was about to rush forward and tear at Ning Qiu when Jiang Yuwei stepped forward and kicked Yang Liu in the stomach.
"This is not your place to run wild in our house. Get out!"
The servants following behind hurriedly helped Yang Liu up from the ground, while Qinglan, who was standing to the side, never expected that Jiang Yuwei would actually hit someone herself.
"You, you are not good enough for Brother Huaizhi at all. I don't believe you are his wife. Even if you are, I will make Brother Huaizhi divorce you!"
Jiang Yuwei frowned upon hearing this, looked at Qinglan, took a few steps forward, stared intently at Qinglan, and said:
"What are you planning? To make him divorce me so you can marry into the family?"
At this moment, Ning Huaizhi, dressed, came out of the house. Upon seeing Ning Huaizhi, Princess Qinglan's eyes immediately reddened.
"Brother Huaizhi, you're finally out! I was so scared just now. Your maid actually tried to hit me."
Ning Huaizhi frowned upon hearing this and looked at everyone in the courtyard before speaking:
"What's going on? Qinglan is a distinguished guest at our home. There must be some misunderstanding. Alright, you all go ahead and do your work. Oh, Ningqiu, prepare extra food for tonight. I want Qinglan to stay for dinner."
Then he turned to look at Qinglan, reached out and touched her hair, and smiled:
"Little girl, you've grown so much in the blink of an eye. Girls really do change a lot as they grow up. If you hadn't come looking for me, I wouldn't have recognized you on the street."
Qinglan blushed and whispered after Ning Huaizhi touched her hair:
"I'm not a little girl anymore, Brother Huaizhi. Don't always treat me like a child. I'm a grown woman now, and I'm well past the age where I should be getting married!"
Ning Huaizhi laughed loudly upon hearing this:
"Haha, good, good, good, our Qinglan has grown up and it's time for her to get married!"
Then he looked at Jiang Yuwei and said to Qinglan:
"Qinglan, this is my wife. You should call her sister-in-law."
Upon hearing this, Qinglan immediately pouted and said unwillingly:
"I won't yell! She was rude to me just now and kicked my maid. She's so fierce! I've never seen such a shrewish woman before!"
Upon hearing this, Ning Huaizhi frowned and looked at the maid being supported by a servant, then said in a deep voice:
“Your sister-in-law isn’t one to be unable to distinguish right from wrong. There must be some misunderstanding here. Alright, let your maid help you to the back to rest for a while. Let’s go to the front hall and sit for a bit. You can stay here for dinner tonight.”
Upon hearing this, Qinglan glared fiercely at Jiang Yuwei, then turned to Ning Huaizhi and smiled sweetly:
"Okay, Brother Huaizhi, I'll do whatever you say. Let's go."
As she spoke, she took Ning Huaizhi's arm and entered the front hall.
Watching the two figures walking intimately apart, Jiang Yuwei felt a pang of sadness. She then turned to Yang Liu, who was clutching her stomach and groaning in pain, and said:
“Our courtyard is small, and there’s no place for you to rest. If the pain becomes unbearable, we’ll have someone take you to the clinic to see a doctor. If you don’t want to leave, you can sit on the stone bench in the courtyard for a while.”
After saying that, Jiang Yuwei pulled Ning Qiu to the backyard.
Tie Zhu stood guard in the front yard with great vigilance, keeping a close eye on Yang Liu and the servant, fearing that they might do something bad.
Seeing this, Ning Qiu said in a fit of anger:
"Sister Yuwei, if you ask me, we should just kick that Princess Qinglan out. Look at her smug look. She's like a fly to dung when she sees Brother Huaizhi."
Hearing this, Jiang Yuwei suppressed a laugh, lightly patted Ning Qiu's shoulder, and whispered:
"Don't call your brother Huaizhi shit."
Ning Qiu realized she had misspoke, quickly slapped her mouth a few times, and whispered:
“Sister Yuwei, I’m just so angry for you. You know that Princess Qinglan is a grown woman. She knows she’s reached the age to get married, yet she still tries to get handsy with Brother Huaizhi. I think she has no good intentions.”
Ning Qiu slapped her thigh suddenly, turned around and went into the kitchen. She took out the teapot and teacups from a tray, handed them to Jiang Yuwei, and said:
"Sister Yuwei, don't stand here in the backyard with me. You don't need to worry about what happens in the back. Go take the tea to the front hall and keep an eye on that little hussy, so she doesn't cause any more trouble."
Jiang Yuwei took the tray, and upon hearing Ning Qiu's words, she gripped the plate tightly. Then, she smiled and nodded at Ning Qiu, saying:
"Alright, I'll go to the front and bring them some tea. You and Aunt Zhou can cook dinner."
Ning Qiu nodded hurriedly and pushed Jiang Yuwei out.
Jiang Yuwei took a deep breath and carried the tea to the front hall.
Princess Qinglan sat down in Jiang Yuwei's seat without any hesitation, chatting and laughing intimately with Ning Huaizhi, and occasionally whispering a few words in his ear.
Princess Qinglan glanced at Jiang Yuwei impatiently as she entered and said:
"I knew it! No wonder Brother Huaizhi married you. It's because you take such good care of him. You even do all the work for the maids and servants. Alright, put down the tea and you can leave now."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuwei wanted nothing more than to throw the teapot in her hand at her head, but she suppressed her anger and silently prayed, "Her grandfather was kind to Huaizhi. I'll spare her this time for the sake of the deceased General Sun."
Ning Huaizhi's expression darkened upon hearing Qinglan's words.
"Qinglan, how can you speak to your sister-in-law like that? Your sister-in-law and I have lived through hard times together. We were just ordinary people, not servants or maids. Your sister-in-law is my wife, and you are not allowed to be rude to her!"
Seeing that Ning Huaizhi was angry, Qinglan quickly reached out and gently patted his chest, laughing:
"Oh dear, Brother Huaizhi, look at you, why are you still angry? I was just joking with my sister-in-law, right? Is she angry with me too? I really didn't mean any harm, Brother Huaizhi, don't you know me? I say what I think and don't keep anything to myself. That's why Grandfather is always worried that I'll get into trouble outside."
As she spoke, Qinglan picked up a handkerchief and began to wipe away her tears.
"Now that Grandfather is gone, no one protects me anymore. Even Brother Huaizhi is mean to me, boohoo..."
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