The Prime Minister is a man of great family fortune, with many children and grandchildren. His wife is even more remarkable, bearing three sons, all born of the principal wife, and in addition, four sons born of concubines surround her.
This whole family, just thinking about it makes me excited!
The Prime Minister's Mansion has always attached great importance to the careful cultivation of the next generation. Therefore, whether they are legitimate sons or illegitimate sons, they all achieve academic success and, through their own efforts, pass the imperial examinations and become officials, bringing glory to the family.
Perhaps influenced by the Prime Minister's words and deeds, his sons also had prosperous harems after they got married and started their own families, with many wives and concubines and numerous offspring.
However, as the saying goes, "where there are people, there is a world of its own." While a large family may seem lively, it also brings its share of troubles.
Xie Chong and Xie Xizhu, as the eldest grandsons of the first branch of the family, should have enjoyed endless honor and favor, but the reality was quite different. Only...
Because the family had high hopes for them, expecting them to surpass their parents and become the pillars of the family's future.
Therefore, if they make even the slightest mistake or commit any error, it will attract a lot of discussion and criticism from everyone in the mansion.
Faced with such immense pressure, even the most intelligent Xie Chong and Xie Xizhu could not help but feel overwhelmed and unable to cope.
When a person is drunk, their seemingly indestructible willpower becomes as fragile as paper. Even the slightest touch can cause them to pour out the truth that has been suppressed deep within their heart like water bursting its banks.
Xie Xizhu usually had a dignified and composed demeanor, like a cold moon hanging high in the sky, making people only able to look up at her from afar and not daring to get close to her easily.
However, at this moment, as the alcohol coursed through her body, she seemed like a completely different person, and once she started talking, she couldn't stop.
Those bitter memories that were usually hidden deep in his heart were continuously revealed from his mouth along with the smell of alcohol.
Rong Ning sat quietly to the side, her gaze fixed on the somewhat distraught woman before her, and a ripple of emotion stirred within her.
For some reason, looking at Xie Xizhu's slightly dazed face due to drunkenness, she couldn't help but think of her elder sister who was far away in Dajing.
As women, burdened by the expectations of their families and the heavy weight of traditional Confucian precepts, they seemed trapped in an invisible cage, unable to break free or escape.
Both Xie Xizhu and her elder sister had to walk carefully in this complicated world, always adhering to the so-called rules and etiquette.
Faced with their family's arrangements, they had no choice but to obey, even if they were unwilling; and for those unreasonable demands, they could only silently accept them, even if they were full of resentment.
Countless times, they wanted to rebel and shout, but in the end, they could only bury their helplessness and bitterness deep in their hearts, with no one to confide in and nowhere to vent.
Rong Ning felt inexplicably complicated. She moved the wine jars off the table, beckoned A Ying over, and whispered, "Have their two personal servants come in and take them back to their own courtyards."
Rong Ning disliked large crowds, so none of the servants entered the courtyard, leaving only A Ying inside.
Ah Ying responded and went downstairs.
After a while, the maids and servants who had been waiting outside the courtyard came in and took their young master and young lady away.
With everyone gone, it became much quieter. Rong Ning got up and went back to her room, plopping down on her back.
"Aying, go prepare a bowl of hot soup for me. I want to cool off from the alcohol."
"Your Highness, I noticed you drank a lot today and must be feeling unwell, so I prepared some hot soup. Please wait a moment, I'll go get it right away."
"good…"
The courtyard prepared by the Prime Minister's residence has its own small kitchen, but there is no cook provided, so A-Ying has to cook for herself. Earlier, Xie Xizhu had told her that if she didn't like the food prepared by the cooks in the residence, she could ask the cooks from the palace or the princess's residence to come over.
Their considerations were so thorough that Rong Ning felt embarrassed and refused on the spot.
She wasn't picky about food; Rong Ning had never been particularly attached to food, as long as she could fill her stomach.
Not long after, Aying returned with a bowl of hot soup. She looked around the courtyard before entering Rong Ning's room and closing the door.
"Your Highness...please drink it while it's hot!"
She handed the hot soup to Rong Ning, saying, "Your Highness hasn't drunk this much in a long time. I originally thought I'd get them both drunk and find out something, but they seem to know nothing. It's all for nothing that Your Highness has drunk so much."
Rong Ning nodded in agreement. Although she wouldn't get drunk due to her constitution, drinking alcohol was still harmful to her health. After finishing the hot soup and catching her breath, she asked, "Did you gain anything from your interactions with the servants of the Prime Minister's residence today?"
"There's been no progress yet. The Prime Minister's household is extremely strict, and as an outsider, I'm on high alert. They dare not say a word. I'll wait until I'm more familiar with the Prime Minister's household before we see how things go."
“Hmm…no rush…” Rong Ning rubbed her temples. “My elder brother said I don’t need to do anything, just make a ruckus in the Prime Minister’s residence. But if they don’t make any mistakes, I won’t have any grounds to attack them. You can be bolder when you ask those servants for information tomorrow.”
Everyone knows why I'm here; no one really thinks I'm just here to learn the rules.
"Your Highness is right... I'll try it tomorrow..."
"It's a pity that our intelligence network started late, and the Prime Minister's residence is like an impregnable fortress, making it difficult to place people. Our people can only come into contact with trivial matters..." Rong Ning said, sounding tired.
“Something is better than nothing!” Ah Ying advised. “Although our people are insignificant, many things can be addressed by starting with small things.”
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