First Concubine

Chapter 80: The art of alienation (4)

Yao Cheng waved his hand: "Instead of steamed buns!"

 Hai Bo was dumbfounded!

 After breakfast, Yao Cheng walked out of the house. He had a day off today and he had a whole day to wait for Xiao Xi!

Leng Wei didn't take the anti-fetal medicine properly last night, and she bled again in the middle of the night. Mrs. Yao was so worried that her hair turned white. She hurried to Leng Wei's yard early in the morning. On the way, she saw Yao Cheng wearing regular clothes. He took a weak breath, his son didn't go to court early today? Or... he doesn't want to go to court early?

 “Yao Cheng.” Mrs. Yao stopped him with a smile.

Yao Cheng turned around and saluted with a complex expression: "Son, I wish my mother well."

Mrs. Yao thought of Leng Wei's mental condition and felt that Yao Chengzhen needed to comfort Leng Wei. She bit the bullet and said, "Son, how do you think about what mother told you yesterday?"

Yao Chengcheng asked: "What's the matter?"

"I asked you to move into Leng Wei's courtyard for a few days." Mrs. Yao was puzzled. When she mentioned this to him yesterday, he became so angry that he seemed to not remember it today.

Yao Cheng's eyes widened: "My son said that Zhuge Xi will only be his wife in this life, and he will not recognize another woman even if he and I are divorced!"

 Why do you still say this? Mrs. Yao was so angry that she stamped her feet!

Yao Cheng left the Yao Mansion without looking back, and took a carriage to the gate of the Zhenbei Prince's Mansion. Thinking of the guard's words, "The Yao family and dogs are not allowed to enter," he became so angry that his hair stood on end! Then, Leng Yixuan's carriage stopped at the gate of the palace. He opened the curtain and jumped off the ground. He saw Yao Cheng scratching his head and wandering not far away. Leng Yixuan raised his thick eyebrows. Yao Cheng clearly saw him and Zhuge Xi alone yesterday afternoon. Why don't you give up yet? And doesn’t Yao Cheng need to go to court early today?

At this time, Yao Cheng discovered Leng Yixuan. His eyes lit up and he ran over and said with a smile: "Yixuan, are you looking for Xiao Yu? I happen to have something to look for him too, let's go together!"

Leng Yixuan was completely stunned...

On the fourth day after the prince's wedding, the Zhenbei Palace announced the wedding date of Zhuge Yu and Shui Linglong: the tenth day of August.

After Shui Chenxiang lost her position as the Jade Concubine and Shui Lingxi lost her position as the Crown Princess, the news of the marriage undoubtedly hung like a rainbow over the gloomy Shangshu Mansion.

There was a smile in Shui Hangge's eyes. Originally, he asked the old lady to cancel the engagement, but the old lady arranged a marriage exchange and let Shui Lingqing, who was confused, replace Shui Linglong. He thought that Zhuge Yu and Shui Linglong's marriage was certain. , I didn’t expect that the two of them actually became a couple! The daughters' marriages all had twists and turns, but Shui Linglong and Zhuge Yu persisted until the end.

The old lady was also very happy, but unfortunately she was so angry about Bingbing that she couldn't even get out of bed.

Mama Wang stopped taking the medicine and went into the house. Shui Linglong also opened the curtain and went in. Shui Linglong smiled brightly and said, "I'll do it, Mama Wang."

Mother Wang hurriedly bowed and gave the medicine bowl to Shui Linglong, brought an embroidery stool, and spread a soft cushion before inviting Shui Linglong to sit down.

After drinking the medicine, Shui Linglong gave the old lady a candied fruit in her mouth and said with a smile: "Grandma's complexion is better than yesterday."

 The old lady leaned on the soft pillow and said solemnly: "Half-dead, that's it."

Shui Linglong blinked and said, "Grandma, you are just suffering from a depressed heart. It will heal in a few days. You must relax."

 The old lady patted Shui Linglong's hand: "I know you are filial, so you should be filial."

Shui Linglong smiled and said nothing. The old lady paused and then said, "Is Governor Jiang's request to marry your second sister true or false?"

Shui Linglong didn’t show much worry: “It seems...it’s true.”

The old lady's gray eyebrows twisted: "That's strange. Your father told me that when he wrote to him about this marriage, he didn't specify who he would marry. Why did he have to marry your second sister? ?”

Shui Linglong's face was not red and her heart was not beating. "Second sister is well known for her beauty and beauty. Governor Jiang is the queen's cousin and must be well aware of the goings-on in the capital. He is obsessed with her beauty and thinks that she can no longer be found in the capital." A better husband, so he mustered up the courage to propose marriage to his father, and the betrothal gift he promised to his father was no less than the original betrothal gift given by the prince. "

 Let me put it this way...Governor Jiang really values ​​Shui Lingxi. The old lady showed a hesitant look, and after a moment, she murmured as if she was minding her own business: "Your second sister is sick, and the prince broke off the engagement. It's really not easy to marry a good family..."

 The attitude is consistent with Shui Hangge, and they agree to let Shuiling River become a stepping stone for them to achieve their goals!

 But will things really go as the old lady wishes?

The smile on Shui Linglong's lips seemed to be gone: "Grandma, I have something to discuss with you."

 The old lady looked at her: "What's the matter?"

Shui Linglong lowered her eyes and said seriously: "You are not feeling well and should not work hard, and I am too young and vigorous. I want to... give the gift to my mother."

"What?" The old lady's eyes almost fell down, "There are still more than three months before you get married. I will be fine in a while. Your mother's virtue may have caused the Shangshu Mansion to become something like this. This matter Don’t mention it again!”

Shui Linglong responded very obediently: "Yes, grandma."

After leaving Fushouyuan, Shui Linglong said meaningfully to Mrs. Wang: "The old lady is not feeling well. As a daughter, it is a sin not to be filial to her. It is also good to write a letter to comfort the old lady. What do you think, Mother Wang?”

Mother Wang was slightly stunned. Is the eldest lady prompting her to write a letter to Mr. Shui? Shui Guiren can't protect himself, so what can he do to help the old lady?

 Dark clouds were rolling in, the sky was overcast, and the air was very hot.

Shui Linglong raised her eyes and saw that heavy rains have continued this year, and floods in the south are unavoidable. Shui Linglong went to Shui Lingqing's yard with the candied date cake she brought back from Zhenbei Prince's Mansion.

 Inside the room, Shui Lingqing looked at herself in the mirror as if she had matured by three years, and showed a satisfied smile.

Qiao'er held Shui Lingqing's hairpin and said gently: "A person depends on his clothes. When the young lady is dressed up, she is no worse than the concubine Zhen!"

Shui Lingqing smiled shyly, and she liked herself better now. After Qiaoer left, she opened the drawer and took out a bracelet woven with flowers and grass. The grass had withered and the flowers had withered, but she couldn't bear to throw it away.

She suspected that she was sick. Why did her eldest sister miss her eldest brother-in-law, but she missed him so much? She thinks about him while eating, sleeping, and even when going to the bathroom. She even dreams about him countless times in her dreams. Could she have gone crazy?

"Fifth Miss, the eldest lady is here to see you." Qiaoer poked his head in and reported with a smile.

Shui Lingqing hurriedly stuffed the things into her wide sleeves and stood up. Just in time, Shui Linglong twisted the food box and put it in. Looking at her embarrassed look, she couldn't help but joked: "What's wrong? Are you in a hurry? Did you do it?" What bad thing are you afraid of being discovered by me?"

Shui Lingqing was so excited that she waved her hands and retorted: "No, no! I didn't do anything bad! I...I just feel a little urgent to urinate. Sister, please wait, I have to go to the toilet."

 Speaking, he lowered his head and walked boldly out of the door.

Shui Linglong grabbed her arm and said with a stern tone in her voice: "The clean room is not over there, you are going in the wrong direction."

"Oh? Oh!" Shui Lingqing quickly turned around again. Shui Linglong raised her eyebrows, quickly grabbed Shui Lingqing's arm, pulled it, and a withered grass bracelet fell to the ground.

Shui Lingqing turned pale in shock, and hurriedly bent down to pick it up, but Shui Linglong picked it up in her hand before her, and then said in a cold voice: "I don't remember that you know how to knit bracelets, who gave it to you?"

Shui Lingqing wanted to hang her head down to her crotch: "No... no one... it was... the third sister... sent it..."

Shui Linglong said coldly: "Your third sister's hands are so useless that she can't even hold a pen stably, but she can still make bracelets? Okay, I'll ask her right now to see if she made it. If not, I will definitely make it today." I won’t break your hand!”

“Ah—” Shui Lingqing trembled in fright, “No…don’t…”

Shui Linglong slapped the table hard, causing the cup to jingle: "I didn't learn well at a young age, and I started lying to my eldest sister! Qiao'er, bring me a ruler!"

Although Qiao'er was Shui Lingqing's maid, she had automatically developed a fear of Shui Linglong after being together for such a long time. She took the ruler from the inner room without any hesitation: "Miss, here it is. "

Shui Linglong gave a cold look: "Roll up your pants!"

Shui Lingqing was so frightened that she burst into tears, but she didn't dare to disobey Shui Linglong, so she had no choice but to bend down and roll up her pants above her knees, and lift up her skirt. Shui Linglong spanked her white calf. , while beating, said: "Are you brave? Are you going to fool me? Lie? I will give you a long memory today!"

 Once again and again…

Shui Lingqing cried out in pain: "I don't dare anymore, big sister, I don't dare anymore... wuwu... it hurts so much..."

Qiao'er turned her face away unbearably, not even Aunt Feng had ever dealt such a harsh hand to the fifth young lady. Except for the former Jin Shang Gong, only the eldest young lady dared to do this.

Shui Linglong dropped another ring ruler hard, and bright red marks were all over Shui Lingqing's calves. She felt uncomfortable, but if Shui Lingqing didn't educate her, she would have a hard life in the future! Shui Linglong said sharply: "Do you still dare to lie in front of me in the future?"

Shui Lingqing shook her head desperately, her **** wet with tears: "I will never lie to you again..."

Shui Linglong threw the ruler on the table and gasped: "Then tell me the truth! Who gave this thing? And what have you been hiding from me during this time?"

Shui Lingqing sniffed and sobbed: "It's...it's from Ah Jue. On the third princess's birthday, I was playing in the pavilion, and I...accidentally bumped into him. I started crying in pain, and he...he He apologized to me and made me a bracelet, and then we chatted for a while.”

 Ah Jue? Feng Yanying’s cousin? Shui Linglong took a breath and traced her memory back to the first time she met Ah Jue. At that time, she went to Feng Yanying's yard with Brother Zhi, who was worried about gains and losses, and had a quarrel with Feng Yanying because she misunderstood that Feng Yanying had ulterior motives. After she left, she met Ah Jue who gave her a date cake. She was still wondering at the time. She made her cousin cry, so he showed his favor to her? !

Shui Linglong looked at Shui Lingqing: "That's all? What's the matter with the candied date cake?"

Shui Lingqing answered truthfully: "I...he...he asked me what I usually like to eat, and I...I told him that I like sweet things."

"Then?"

Shui Lingqing bit her lip: "Then he asked me if you...liked it. I said you didn't like it. You only like spicy food and leave all the sweet ones to me."

Shui Linglong frowned: "Then he stuffed a note into the candied date cake for you, right?"

“Ah? Sister, how do you know?” Shui Lingqing was confused.

"You!" Shui Linglong was furious. She was actually taken advantage of by a young boy! She went to Yao's house several times, and each time Ah Jue gave him a sweet cake. She didn't take it seriously at the time. Firstly, she thought Ah Jue just wanted to please her with Jiangnan-style pastries. Secondly, Shui Lingqing likes to eat... How long has she been a free correspondent for Ah Jue? Ten days? A month?

With such deep scheming, who knows whether that chance encounter was really a chance encounter?

Shui Linglong couldn’t help but have such a stubborn mind. Even if Shui Lingqing was just a concubine, she was still the daughter of the Shangshu Mansion! Outsiders all know that her baby Shui Lingqing, that is to say, Shui Lingqing has lost her reputation as a concubine of the Shangshu Mansion, and also has a hidden backer of the Zhenbei Prince's Mansion. Ajue's parents died early and stayed in the Yao family. The Yao family saw that Feng Yanying treated him well in terms of his reputation, and she would help him get married and have children in the future, but if they didn't get married, how much would the Yao family care about her?

Shui Lingqing is more than enough to match Ah Jue.

Shui Linglong pulled Shui Lingqing to sit down next to her, and said sincerely: "He is not sincere. If he really likes you, he should tell me, or tell the elders in our family, instead of doing this once the incident comes to light." You want to destroy your reputation."

Shui Lingqing shook her head: "No, eldest sister! He is not this kind of person! He just has too low self-esteem and feels that he is not worthy of me, so he has never dared to come to propose marriage. He said that he will definitely come to propose marriage once he has passed the examination. mine."

How come this scene reminds Shui Linglong of Shui Hangge and her mother?

Shui Linglong felt unreliable: "You are still young, there are many people of all kinds in this world, don't trust others casually!"

Shui Lingqing blinked her watery eyes: "No, actually I know who is sincere and who is fake. In the house, Aunt Feng and the eldest sister are really good to me, and the third sister also helps me, but she is afraid I drag her down, and other people...well, the elders...they look at me like a cat or a dog. I can't explain why, but that's how I feel."

This is the first time Shui Lingqing has heard Shui Lingqing say such valuable words. What she said...is very correct! However, Shui Linglong was still worried about Ah Jue, "Does your leg still hurt?" She simply ignored the topic.

Shui Lingqing's nose felt sore: "It hurts, but I will never make a mistake again. Can you please not be angry with me?"

Shui Linglong glanced at her red and swollen calf and felt distressed: "Go and lie down on the bed, I will apply medicine for you."

 “Then you’re not angry anymore?”

"Um."

Shui Ling burst into tears and smiled: "Hee hee."

I applied medicine to Shui Lingqing and practiced the piano with her for a while. Shui Lingqing was probably really scared, and she was always afraid that Shui Linglong would never want to talk to her again, so she endorsed, embroidered, and played the piano again. , exerting her usual hard work to the fullest, until finally she was so tired that she fell into a deep sleep, still holding Shui Linglong's hand.

Qiaoer reported at the door that Mama Du wanted to see her, and Shui Linglong withdrew her hand, tucked Shui Lingqing into bed, stood up and left.

 There was no sunshine in the afternoon and the sky was still gloomy.

When Mama Du saw Shui Linglong, she bowed respectfully and said, "Miss, Crown Prince Xun has come to propose marriage, saying that he wants to marry the second lady as his concubine!"

 This east wind...is finally here!

She never expected Shui Lingxi to really marry Governor Jiang from the beginning. She was just betting that the old prime minister would still protect Qin Fangyi and her daughter, and that Xun Feng couldn't bear to let the power of the prime minister's house fall into the hands of Yunli's family!

As for Governor Jiang falling in love with Shui Lingxi, this is perfectly normal. Governor Jiang already has children and does not need to rely on Shui Lingxi to carry on the family line. Moreover, he is already old. He doesn't really care how many years Shui Lingxi can live. Let's have a romantic affair. If he hadn't been of this temper, he wouldn't have asked to marry the young Shui Lingqing in his previous life.

Shui Linglong's hands were trembling a little and her breathing was a little rapid. This was the excitement of meeting a powerful enemy. If the previous fight at the Plum Blossom Banquet was just to attract Xun Feng's attention, now this fight is a complete fight with Xun Feng. Contradiction.

 From now on...there is no way out!

 Half an hour ago, inside the carriage.

Yunli patted Xun Feng on the shoulder and said slowly, "You don't have to be like this."

Xun Feng said calmly and calmly: "Miss Shui has the appearance of a flower shy of the moon, and the grace of a fish sinking into a geese. It would be my blessing to marry her. However, after several negotiations between me and my father, my father did not agree to marry her." It would be wrong for her to give her the position of concubine.”

"It is not easy to marry someone who has been disowned by the royal family, and it is not easy to be the concubine of the crown prince of Pingnan Palace." Yunli didn't feel much guilt towards Shui Lingxi. After all, she was the one who stole Shui Linglong's marriage first. Otherwise, Now his wife should be Shui Linglong, but such a woman is the cousin of the Crown Princess. When the Crown Princess cried and said Shui Lingxi was so pitiful, he was in a dilemma, but Xun Feng was present at that time, so Xun Feng took the initiative to propose To rescue the Crown Princess...

Yun Li said seriously: "I understand your sincerity. To me, although you are not siblings, you are better than brothers."

Being called brother to the prince of a country is simply a supreme honor. A joyful smile appeared on Xun Feng's handsome face: "I will try my best to persuade Shui Shangshu to betroth his daughter to me." After a pause. , and said, "I'm just afraid of Governor Jiang's side..."

Yunli then said, "I'll go and tell him that he is my mother's cousin, and he has to sell me some face no matter what."

 …

 (End of this chapter)