Chapter 41 Extravagant

While sealing the gate of the mansion, Master Ye sent people to the capital city Yamen, the Joint Defense Department, and even the left, center, and right armies of the Imperial Guard to report the case, asking them to send people to quickly investigate. Although the Ye family came from a humble background and had a small official position, Ye Jieyu was the only woman favored by the emperor, and she was the woman with the highest status in the three palaces and six courtyards. Thinking that the next emperor would probably come from her, the people did not dare to neglect, and immediately sent elites to investigate, and immediately put on official uniforms and entered the palace to report.

In order to show off the national treasure, the Ye family posted invitations to all the top clans in Yanjing. The noble families disdained dealings with the merchants, most of them refused, and several were increasingly declining, so they condescendingly agreed only because of Ye Jieyu's face. Others just wanted to watch the fun or find fault, otherwise they didn't even want to step on the Ye family's land, lest they dirtied the soles of their shoes. And the most typical representative was undoubtedly the eldest princess.

Now that she was locked in Ye Mansion and not allowed to leave, furthermore there were officers and soldiers who come and go to investigate, frequently inquiring, and treat her like a prisoner, how could the eldest princess not angry? She slapped the soldiers who were blocking the way, and shouted coldly, "This Palace will come if she wants to, and leave if she wants to, see who dares to stop me! This Palace can even come and go freely in the imperial palace, but actually detained for no reason in your Ye Mansion. Is your Ye Mansion's style even bigger than the imperial palace? Ye Jieyu is just a Jieyu, she has never been promoted as the empress, don't take yourself as a serious imperial-in-law. It's not the turn of some horse dealer from the border to be my Great Wei's imperial-in-law, so I don't have to lose face!"

The soldiers hurriedly knelt down and pleaded guilty, and finally retreated to both sides to send her away. Seeing that the eldest princess was gone, several prominent clan wives also wanted to go home, but they were stopped, and they couldn't help but attack with anger, bluntly saying they wanted to report it to the emperor, to punish the Ye family's great disrespect.

"My master and General of the Household have already entered the palace to report this matter, and the emperor's decree will come down in less than half an hour. Please wait patiently, sirs, madams, and misses, please don't panic. Fan'er and I will go to Ganquan Palace and ask niangniang to help come up with an idea, after all, what was destroyed was a gift from the emperor, and it's extremely valuable, so my Ye Mansion would not dare to be too arbitrary." While Liu shi's asked the maids and grannies to serve the refreshments, she led Ye Fan, who was dressed in splendid clothes, to prepare to enter the palace and meet Jieyu niangniang.

When the female guests heard her mention the emperor and Ye Jieyu, they had to shut up and sit down to drink tea, but the resentment and anger in their hearts were not less, but actually getting deeper and deeper. If there was no support from the emperor, what kind of thing was the Ye family, the body that was full of horse feces and horse urine smell, sprinkled with incense powder and wore a crown, could it pretend to be a person? How ridiculous!

Zhao Chunxi was surrounded and comforted by several little sisters whose identity were not as good as her, and felt impatient. Hearing that Liu shi was going to enter the palace, she quickly ran to beg, "Grandma, I haven't seen my eldest aunt for a long time, I miss her so much, please bring me too. I'm very good, I will never talk nonsense, and I will not run around at will."

Liu shi really loved her two grandchildren, seeing her eyes full of admiration, she agreed after a little thought. A group of people drove quickly to the palace gate in a carriage and handed over for a sign card to request a meeting.

In the Ganquan Palace, Ye Zhen threw the sign card and said coldly, "This Palace is still grounded and can't receive guests, just reward them a few items and send them away."

"Niangniang, this time something big has happened, you can't not see." Yong He said anxiously, "The old madam just said that the red coral tree you gave to the mansion was shattered by some thief, the Imperial Guard and the Capital Guard has checked and checked, rechecked and rechecked again, but couldn't find any trace, and there were more than a dozen servants who were responsible for guarding the coral. Don't you think this is strange, but it's unknown who is it coming for, the Ye family or the emperor?"

"Shattered?" Ye Zhen was shocked and raised her voice, "Someone shattered it?"

"Yes! At first, this servant also thought that was just some nonsense." Yong He showed a look of fear, just because the thief came and went without a trace, like a ghost.

"Help This Palace to change clothes, This Palace will go to see the emperor. You bring mother and the others in, This Palace will quickly return after receiving the Holy's intention." Ye Zhen quickly put on makeup, her expression looked anxious.

The red coral tree was very impressive because of its appearance, color, height, and posture. It could be regarded as a national treasure. However, the emperor did not love these. When she was brought into the palace, it was at her "relapsed from old poison" time. Because of guilt, he opened his private warehouse, and pulled some things near the warehouse's gate to Ganquan Palace. This tree coral was one of them. Because of this, only Ye Zhen knew that the national treasure was not rewarded because of the emperor's favor, only by a mistake.

But a national treasure was a national treasure after all, she could give it away, but not destroy it. Now that the Ye family was involved in this matter, if they couldn't catch the culprit, they would be charged with a few crimes.

Only at this time did Ye Zhen realize that the emperor's warning could not be counted as a slap in the face, this disaster really hurt the bones. It would be fine if it was quietly broken in the Ye Family's warehouse, but it was broken in front of many people. This thief clearly did it on purpose and wanted to discredit the Ye Family!

At the same time, Emperor Sheng Yuan met Master Ye and General of the Household in the imperial study. After the two finished speaking, he said unhurriedly, "If you can't find any suspicious point or catch a suspect, then let it go." No one in the Wei Kingdom knew better than him why the incident happened. But now he wanted to revise the law and reset the official office, and he hated that he couldn't break a quarter of an hour into half of an hour. Where he had the time and energy to waste on such trivial matters?

A coral tree was also worthy of being called a national treasure, and it had provoked all kinds of envy, all kinds of jealousy, and in the end toiled this many manpower and material resources, causing many troubles. Even the Capital Yamen, the Joint Defense Department, even the three armies of Imperial Guard had been dispatched repeatedly, as if it was a major case of overthrowing a country… If there was not this matter, he didn't know that the Ye family still had this capabilities.

Emperor Sheng Yuan took a deep breath and told himself that he must be lenient and compassionate towards his ministers, so he suppressed the killing intent.

Master Ye didn't dare to look directly at the holy face, so he couldn't see the expression of suffocating anger and extreme patient covering the emperor's face, and said unrelentingly, "How can this matter be let go? This coral is a gift from the emperor, and that thief dares to attack it, isn't it coming after emperor? Now that Old Thief Xue has become the ruler in the west, and there are many remnants of the previous dynasty in the capital, cannot be said that this matter is not planned by them. Since they can target Ye Mansion today, how can we know that they will not dare to assassinate the emperor tomorrow? For the sake of the emperor's safety, we must be thoroughly investigated to the end!"

Emperor Sheng Yuan tapped his finger on the table and said slowly, "Zhen will correct you on four points: First, that red coral is not a national treasure, but a dispensable decoration, and Zhen never pay attention to it; Second, that red coral was rewarded by Ye Zhen to Ye Mansion, its not a gift from the emperor. Don't use Zhen's dragon power to build momentum for your Ye Mansion. Third, the defense of the capital is decided by Zhen, and no one else can intervene. Fourth, Zhen have said before that if it is not for the enemy's troops coming to the city wall, or rebels and traitors plotting to usurp the throne, and the Wei Kingdom is in the brink of crisis, the three armies of Imperial Guard and the Joint Defense Department are not allowed to move without authorization, otherwise they will all be punished for treason, and will be killed without pardon!"

As soon as he finished speaking, General of the Household, who accompanied Master Ye to meet the emperor, was already sweating like a waterfall and shaking like a sieve, his heart even cried out that he was cheated on by the Ye Family! The emperor did not dote on Ye Jieyu like the rumor said, let alone obedient and took her words as his own.

And Master Ye was a businessman, he was more sensitive to his interests, quickly understood the meaning of the emperor's words: First, I don't value the red coral, so I don't value your Ye family's daughter; Second, the Ye family taking advantage of the dragon power to win over court courtiers have touched the bottom line of Zhen's patience, please self-discipline; Third, the Ye family is humble and unqualified to participate in the government; Fourth, mobilizing the Capital defense without authorization has already a capital crime, if Zhen is unhappy, I can pull you down at any time and behead you!

One after another, vague warnings hit the eardrums, causing Master Ye to almost lose his mind. Daughter, aren't you very favored? Why it seems so different now? But the situation was so critical that he couldn't think deeply. He hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed, begging for forgiveness. His sweat soaked his inner clothes, leaving streaks of water stains on his court clothes, looked very embarrassing.

Emperor Sheng Yuan picked up a memorial and flipped it through slowly, waiting for the two of them to break their foreheads before saying, "The Joint Defense Department and the three army guards who leave their posts without permission will be punished with one hundred sticks, and they will be demoted three grade. The Ye family's blessing is shallow, difficult to bear the Holy grace, so the Heaven felt it, and denounce it with shattering the tree. There is no need to investigate this case, just drop it."

Master Ye and General of the Household who escaped the death penalty promised again and again. Just as they were about to kowtow to resign, they heard Ye Jieyu's voice begging to see from outside.

What are you doing to join in the fun at this time? Master Ye didn't think that the emperor would give face to his daughter. On the contrary, the anger that had just been extinguished was likely to rise again, and as expected, he heard the emperor say, "Let her go back, in the future, the study will not allow any concubines to approach, any trespassers will be killed without mercy!" Baifu complied with his promise, and went outside to pass the order.

Glancing at the two people who were paralyzed like a soft mud, Emperor Sheng Yuan waved his hand and said coldly, "Disperse. Master Ye can go to Ganquan Palace to talk to Ye Jieyu, so as to avoid the Ye family not listening to the advice and make a mistake again. That life-saving grace is not enough for you to wear down your whole life, so save it for a while."

Master Ye was already scared until his soul flying, and there was no luck anymore. He stepped out of Weiyang Palace one foot at a time, it seemed that he had just returned to the world from King of Hell Palace, almost collapsed and cried. General of the Household, who had a close personal relationship with him, said fiercely, "Punished with one hundred stick, even demoted three grades. What an imperial-in-law with hand and eyes to the sky! When I leave the palace gate, I have to tell everyone the Ye family's 'Honored and favored' by the emperor for Master Ye!" When the words fell he went to the Department of Justice to receive the punishment.

Master Ye was horrified in his heart, and repeatedly apologized, but because Baifu was around, he didn't dare to chase after him, so he could only watch him drifting away. Baifu stretched out his hand to invite him, "Master Ye, please. The emperor can let you and Ye Jieyu meet each other at this time, is already beyond the law. Otherwise, if he doesn't mention a word, and your Ye family continue to do things, no matter which month or which year, if you commit a taboo, you wouldn't even know how you die. This servant warn you, the feelings of the past is indeed easy to use, but giving too much kindness can lead to resentment. Don't endlessly waste His Majesty's tolerance, you must know that the monarch's prestige is hard to fathom, the emperor is ruthless, and the time can change in a blink of an eye."

Master Ye had been repeatedly warned that at this time his internal organs were completely broken, and while wiping the cold sweat, he respectfully promised, how could he still have the high-spirited and arrogant energy from this morning. However, he didn't know that the emperor's hand was just knocking the mountain and shaking the tiger, but the Guan family's father and son were going to break all of their bones.

It's not too late for a gentleman to take revenge for ten years, but a gentleman's revenge must also carry a lot of weight.

General of the Household: the main commander of the imperial palace and the guards of the imperial family.

knocking the mountain and shaking the tiger: a deliberate show of strength as a warning.

Chapter 42 Kindness

Ye Zhen, who was chased away by Baifu, was still in a daze before arriving at Ganquan Palace. The sentence "No trespassing in the study area, anyone who violates the order will be killed without mercy" had made her heart shattered, as if she was in an abyss. Back then, the Weiyang Palace, the imperial study, and even the emperor's bedroom, where she was not allowed to pass freely, and it was unknown when the emperor started to alienated or even on guard against her.

Why? It was clear that when Zhao Luli got married, he kept telling her to stop cherishing the past and work hard for the future; he was gentle and caring to her, but his attitude changed drastically in the blink of an eye. That's right, his indifference, alienation, and precaution all started when she intervened in Zhao Luli's back house, frequently made face for the Ye family, and made trouble with the Guan family everywhere.

Guan Family, everything was because of Guan Family, could it be she owed them something in the previous life? Ye Zhen hated the "Guan Family" to the bone, but now there was no way to turn it back. She sadly realized that her weight in the emperor's heart was probably not as much as that of Guan Family. They were the giants of Confucianism, leaders of the literary world, the humerus of the country, and the close ministers of the emperor, and the Ye family had nothing but a life-saving grace – no outstanding descendants, no honest family style, no good reputation and no noble blood. There was no foundation or support at all.

So everything had to rely on her to fight, to rob, to go to great lengths, to do whatever it takes. All of a sudden, Ye Zhen felt very tired, and there was a sense of fear that she would keep falling and would eventually be shattered. That's why, when she stepped into the main hall and saw Liu shi and the others, she didn't want to say a word.

Zhao Chunxi wanted to call her mom, but she didn't dare to make trouble, so she could only look at her eagerly. She had a lot of grievances she wanted to talk about, but she also knew that the top priority right now was the destruction of the coral tree. Liu shi really couldn't hold back her words, hurriedly greeted her, and opened her mouth to asked, "Niangniang, what did the emperor say? Has there been decree to seal off the entire city and search for suspects?"

Ye Zhen glanced at her coldly, and sat down in the main seat with a sullen face. The emperor refused to see her, and now she could only wait for the news from her father.

Ye Fan was the best at observing words and expressions, holding Liu shi and persuading her, "Auntie, Niangniang has just return, why don't you let her drink some hot tea and catch her breath. In such a big case, the emperor has his own decision, we just need to sit and wait."

Zhao Chunxi was very obedient. She picked up the teapot before Yong He and poured tea for her mother. Her face was full of joy at seeing her close relative and eagerness for mother's love. Ye Zhen gave her a fixed look, feeling very tired inside. If it wasn't for this useless thing to send in the news and ask her to help restrain Guan shi, would she put Ye Fan in the Marquis Mansion? Would she intervene in the inner houses affairs of a minister? Would she go up against Guan shi thus lifting up the Ye family and slapped the Guan family in the face?

Without Zhao Chunxi's encouragement, she would at most snuff out Guan shi's reason to enter the palace, and there would be no bad things that follows, nor would she directly confront the Guan family, so that she accidentally hurt the Holy's face and lost all her favor. The more Ye Zhen thought about it, the more she hated this daughter, she seemed to forget that Zhao Chunxi's temperament ten out of ten was like her. Even if Guan Suyi obediently got married and kept to herself, she would never leave the matter alone.

A woman's jealousy was the sharpest weapon in the world, and also the most terrifying poison.

Zhao Chunxi was a little chilled by her mother's strange gaze, and was about to say a few soft words to provoke her pity, when she saw her grandfather staggering in, his official hat was crooked, his hair was messed up, his clothes were half wet, and his face was like gold paper, seemed that he had turned a few laps on the Asura field, looked like a sorry figure.

"Master, what did the emperor say?" Liu shi immediately went up to ask, and finally said in a trembling voice, "How could you end up like this, did you fell?"

Master Ye waved away his wife and said solemnly to his daughter, "It's inconvenient here, let's talk in private, the lots of you don't follow me, just sit outside and drink tea."

Realizing that the situation was not good, Ye Zhen hurriedly led her father into the inner hall, and dismissed the palace people to have a private discussion. Master Ye had no intention of beating around the bush, and went straight to the point, "Tell me honestly, how is your relationship with the emperor?"

"Naturally husband and wife are deeply affectionate." Ye Zhen's tone was firm, but her eyes flickered slightly. This was a topic she was most afraid to face, and also the root cause of her tossing and turning restlessly that made her couldn't sleep at night. If she was really favored as rumored, when there was problem like now, why would she feared Guan shi? Why would she feared Guan family? Why would she feared the other imperial concubines and empress dowager? However, in the end, she could only deceive herself, and endured all the pain and loss alone.

"You still refuse to tell the truth! The emperor's words and actions in the imperial study do not seem to have a deep affection for you at all…" Master Ye repeated the conversations in the imperial study one by one, and finally lowered his voice to force the question, "I think the emperor has only responsibility for you, and has no personal feelings. Why don't you tell me the truth? If you said it earlier, how dare I consider myself the imperial-in-law? Do you know the meaning of the emperor's shallow blessing?"

"What?" Ye Zhen's voice was trembling, it wasn't that she couldn't think of it, but she didn't dare to think of it.

But Master Ye wanted to pierce her dream, and said ruthlessly, "It means that you sit in the position of Jieyu has already push the sky, you can't bear the greater honor and wealth! Accompanying him for so long, you can't grasp his sincerity at all. How did I teach you in the past? How did you swear to remarry? I spent so much manpower and material resources to help you achieve your wish, and you repaid me with such an embarrassing situation? Do you know that once the emperor's verdict spreads, our Ye family will become the laughing stock of Wei Kingdom, and anyone can step on us; What's worse, judging from the emperor's indifferent reaction, the coral tree was probably broken by someone he sent. If you want to lift up the Ye family to suppress the Guan family, he will simply wipe all the face of the Ye family. You idiot, if you had told me earlier that your favor was false, I would have let the Ye clan tuck our tails and behave ourselves! But it's too late to say anything now. In the emperor's heart, the Ye family is probably no different from those wild foreign relatives of the previous dynasty, and it will be destroyed one day. You, you, you idiot, If I had known today, I shouldn't have helped you with your crazy idea in the first place!"

Ye Zhen's self-esteem was extremely strong and she also the one who came up with this idea. When she was poked in the heart by her father's words, she slowly stabilized her mind and became firm again, "Enough, what's the use of you blaming me? If I hadn't come up with that idea, you have already died in prison. What do you mean you help me, you ask yourself what I was doing is to save who? Who was benefit in the end? Today, I am still the emperor's person, and still the highest position Jieyu niangniang, who is still in charge of the palace, I'll stand by my word. From today onwards, the Ye family will have a difficult time, but once I become pregnant and give birth to the emperor's eldest son, all estrangements will disappear, and all the mocking will turn into high praises. The useful piece is still in my hand, what are you anxious about?"

When Master Ye heard this, he immediately turned his anger into joy, and urged, "Then you should quickly regain your favor and give birth immediately! There are many concubines in the harem, so it may not be you who come out on top."

"This Palace has its own consideration, you don't need to say more. Take those people outside, This Palace must cultivate one's own spirit, wait for the opportunity to regain the favor, and have no time to manage the mess of the Ye family. Also, in the future, tell the clansmen to behave, don't make me over here just gain the emperor's smiling face, and you stabbed the basket outside, causing me to fall again. At that time, I will not recognize my six relatives!" Ye Zhen's voice seemed to dipped in poison, very cruel.

"That's natural, don't worry." Seeing that his daughter had regained the proud posture of Jieyu niangniang, Master Ye was finally satisfied, and then led the ignorant Liu shi out of the palace.

At the same time, the guards who besieged the Ye Mansion were taken away by Baifu, and they were all demoted. Because too many people were implicated, and the eldest princess and a few noble ladies contributed to the flames, the emperor asserted the sentence "Ye family's blessing is too shallow to bear his grace" had spread quickly, and it would be known to everyone within a few days.

Not only was the Ye family unlucky, but Xu Guangzhi, who was cut off from his official path, was almost crazy, secretly hated the Guan family in his heart, and always wanted to find an opportunity to take revenge.

After asking for a long time, Zhao Chunxi still couldn't pry the inside story from his grandfather's mouth. She returned to the messy Ye Mansion, changed her whole clothes, and returned home with her father and younger brother. The three of them were nervous and uneasy, always feeling that something big was going to happen.

"How is the situation in the palace? I see that your grandfather and grandmother seem to have a very bad face. Besides, the emperor did not strictly investigate the destruction of a national treasure. Instead, withdrew the imperial army, which is really puzzling." Zhao Luli tried to get a little information from his daughter.

"I don't know either. I asked my grandmother, but she refused to tell me, and told me not to talk too much." Zhao Chunxi was also puzzled. It stands to reason that such a big thing happened to the Ye family, which directly damaged the prestige of her mom's family and slapped the face of the imperial family. Why did the emperor have no reaction at all? Based on how much he loves her mom, this shouldn't be the case!

"Is your aunt looking good? Did she say something?" Zhao Luli endured and endured, but finally couldn't hold back.

"No, she only talked to grandfather in the inner hall. We waited outside, and we parted in a hurry. There was no conversation." Zhao Chunxi was tired of her father's weakness and incompetence, and even more tired of his useless infatuation. She leaned on her brother's shoulder and pretended to be tired.

Zhao Luli didn't ask anymore, he lifted the curtain of the carriage and looked out, his eyes full of disappointment.

Compared with everyone else who was devastated, distraught, or resentful, Guan Suyi lived a very comfortable life. She was picking up Buddha beans in the old madam's courtyard. She moved step by step and looked carefully, every time she found a grain, there was endless fun.

The old madam was amused by her cheerful appearance, and urged, "Pick it up, pick up until the basket full, we will cook it into porridge, and give it to passers-by who pass by the Marquis Mansion, so that we can form a good karma and cultivate an afterlife."

"Cultivating an afterlife? That is a great word!" Because of her rebirth, Guan Suyi became interested in Buddhism, and had recently studied it a lot.

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law spent more than two hours picking up a full basket of Buddha beans, and ordered the maids to send them to the kitchen to cook them into porridge. While waiting, the old madam sighed leisurely, "Suyi, it's really hard for you to marry into the Zhao family. The husband is useless, the children are ignorant, and there is a difficult foreign relatives. I never expected the Ye family to be so rampant, not only forced lord marquis to take a concubine, but also invited Ye Jieyu to take action. One side lifting up and the other side suppressing, their double-crossing skill has been brought to perfection. When Ye Fan enters the mansion, she will definitely set off some storms and waves with Ye Jieyu's momentum. You must be steady…"

Before the old madam could finish speaking, Guan Suyi laughed disapprovingly, "Don't worry, the Ye family is rampant for a while, but it won't last forever. Do you think Ye Jieyu's actions can really lift her family to heaven? Wrong, I am afraid they will fall down halfway, not to mention smashing the body and breaking the bones, it is inevitable to suffer more serious injury."

Zhao Luli, who had just returned to the house and was about to take the children to greet his mother, was stunned for a moment, then raised his hand to stop the maid who wanted to announce their arrival. He wanted to hear what Guan Suyi would say. Her mouth was always predicting things like a god, without any mistakes.

Chapter 43 Assertions

Although the old madam was also from an official family, she only knew a few characters and did not have much knowledge. After marrying into the Zhao family, she did not enjoy a good fortune. Instead, the whole family was convicted and sent to the border. The more difficult the life, the sensitivity towards political affairs were dropped significantly. She thought that Ye Zhen was extremely favored, and she held the palace power in her hand. Sooner or later, the Ye family would crush the Marquis Mansion and even the Emperor Teacher Mansion and become another top-level clan, but she did not expect her daughter-in-law to assert that the Ye family would definitely suffer.

Was this actually possible? If it was true, then she would set off hundreds of firecrackers to celebrate. Thinking of this, she asked the same question.

Guan Suyi poured tea for her mother-in-law, and slowly said, "The ancients have ancestral systems that cannot be overstepped, from the big thing like how to build a house, to the the small thing like the difference between the left and right lapels on the clothes, even the utensils for drinking, the offerings for sacrifice, the color of the fabrics, the patterns of the embroidery, all have their own regulations according to status, bloodline, and caste. There are no taboos for the supreme and the nobles, but the humble and the lowly needs to be careful in everything. If those lowly ones goes beyond the ancestral system, they will be severely punished. Is the Ye family noble or lowly?"

Thinking of Ye Zhen, who was the sole favorite in the inner palace, the old madam hesitated, "Although the Ye family come from a humble background, but Ye Jieyu, who has the emperor behind her back, is already considered half an imperial person, so naturally belongs to the nobles."

Guan Suyi shook her head and chuckled, "No. Whether she is really favored or falsely favored, no one can tell except for the emperor. However, I can guess eight out of ten. The emperor destroyed the feudal vassal and built Wei Kingdom, exempt the taxes, lighten the forced labor, end the suffering and turmoil of wars for hundreds of years, allow the people to recuperate and live and work in peace and contentment, it's not an exaggeration to say that he is a wise monarch. He has no experience in governing the world, so everything needs to be explored slowly. In the former kingdoms that has perished, every monarchs who guards the gates of the country is an example for him to learn, emulate, or take as a warning. The Great Zhou was divided due to the division of the feudal vassal, and the Qin state was unified due to the reorganization of its regions and counties. So the emperor followed the county system and destroyed the feudal vassal state; The last emperor of the previous dynasty was assassinated by the eunuch in charge of treasury with a random knife and plotted to usurp the throne. Therefore, the emperor abolished the twelve supervisory system and set up internal and external attendants, and strictly prohibited palace eunuch to participate in political discussion, to put an end to court eunuch disaster; The former Han Dynasty fell apart due to the inner palace turmoil and the disaster of the foreign relatives. The country was finally taken away by the foreign relative Wang Mang and established Xin dynasty, so the emperor restrained the foreign relatives and strictly built the inner palace. Look at the daughter of the prime minister, the daughter of General Zhenguo, the daughter of Marquis Guanwai, who were elected to enter the palace this year… they were all sent home for various reasons, and the beauties left behind were all from ordinary families and has little background. This shows the extent to which the emperor's defense against foreign relatives has reached. They said that the monarch are paranoid, this is not false, and he chose to hand over the palace power to a daughter of a merchant, aside from favor, is there no political consideration at all? Can his love for Ye Jieyu really reach the point of surpassing the imperial power?"

The old madam listened foolishly, and the more she thought about it, the more reasonable it became.

Guan Suyi sipped the tea to moisten her throat and continued, "Merchant seek profit and are good at drilling camps. How the Ye family made their fortune, not only they themselves know, but others can also clearly see. Back then, the emperor and his brothers fought together against the enemy, Later, they turned against each other because of discord. The Ye family flattered several sides, supported left and right. Yesterday sold ten thousand army provisions to Prince Cheng, today sold thousands of war horses to Prince Jin, and tomorrow sell many knives to His Majesty, when the two prince rebelled, behind them was also the financial support of the Ye family. Their Ye family watched from the sidelines and fished in troubled waters, just to wait for a certain prince to win, wasn't it so that the fisherman will benefit? However, the emperor was not a fool, he had already seen through him, and was about to dispose the Ye family, but Ye Jieyu suddenly appeared and staked her life to earn a life-saving grace. So the Ye family solved their grave situation."

The old madam suddenly realized, "The emperor want to dispose the Ye family? Yes, yes, one year there was an epidemic of horse plague at the border. Master Ye was arrested and it was said that he deliberately sold the plague horses to the military camp. He was suspected of colluding with foreign enemies, and in a while was about to be beheaded. For this, Lord marquis ran around many times, tried to mediate, later… Later, Ye Jieyu saved the emperor, and the Ye family's disaster was completely eliminated."

If the daughter-in-law hadn't pointed it out, she wouldn't have noticed that those old things still contained such a complicated inner story.

Guan Suyi nodded and said, "The emperor places great importance on feeling and righteousness, and knows how to repay his benefactor, so he is willing to abandon his previous hatred and treat the Ye family well, but it doesn't mean that he can indulge his foreign relatives without a bottom line. The prime minister, General Zhenguo, Marquis Guanwai, which one was not an important minister who helped him reach the top, and which one was not very helpful to him? He even has to guard against them, not to mention the Ye family who clings halfway and has ulterior motives? Ye Jieyu's reputation has been very good before, I heard that because of her weak body, she couldn't move around in the inner palace, and she didn't arrogate her power or act arbitrarily, so the emperor was very at ease with her and was willing to spoil her. But in recent days, I don't know what she thinks, she has become high-profile. The emperor is in middle of recruiting people and wants to lift up the Guan family to promote Confucianism, but she is trying to suppress it, isn't she working against the emperor? The emperor was already wary towards the foreign relatives, already more defensive, and when he saw her heart was big, how could he be lenient?"

The old madam repeatedly echoed, "Yes, yes, there are many beauties in the harem, each has its own merits. Which kind the emperor wants but he didn't get, how can he endanger the imperial power because of this."

Guan Suyi continued, "Let's take ten thousands steps back and say that the emperor has a deep affection for Ye Jieyu, obeyed her words, and condoned her arrogance, then what the imperial concubines, imperial clan, noble family giants, and the upstart in the court will think? The rare national treasure in the treasury was taken away by a merchant's daughter. Like that was not enough, it was bestowed to a clan sister, and she was still a lowly clan sister who was about to become a concubine. Where is she lift up her maiden family to? Nevertheless she is provoking jealousy from all the honourable families in Yanjing; She is not giving away treasures, she is throwing a hot potato. Just wait, if the Ye family continues to be rampant, even if the emperor does not take action, there will be a lot of people beating the drum."

After taking a slow sip of hot tea, she sighed deeply, "A merchant is a merchant. After all, their vision and knowledge are limited. They can only see the interests at hand, but cannot see the long-term layout. That's why people in the world have such a sentence – The heirloom of morality is more than ten generations, the heirloom of farming and reading is second place, the heirloom of poetry and books is also second place, the heirloom of wealth and honor is only three generations. If Ye Fan wants to make waves, I want to see how long she can be proud."

The old madam kept pondering her daughter-in-law's words, and at the end she clapped her palm and praised, "Good morality heirloom is more than ten generations. My Zhao family can marry Suyi as a daughter-in-law, it's our ancestor's accumulation of virtue in the previous life! Well, since the Ye family wants to be a demon, we will wait and see where they end up."

Amitabha, fortunately that Ye Zhen is gone, otherwise the marquis mansion will be scourged by her for three generations! Thinking like this, the old madam finally let go of the filth of the past.

Inside the house, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law get off the topic, talking and laughing gently, but there was a dead silence outside. Zhao Luli, who was in deep thought, did not notice that the little maid who passed through the curtain was peeking at his new wife with a strange look. He was so upset now that he stood there for a while and then walked away with his two children while hiding his face, as if he didn't dare to see anyone.

Why wait until the future to see the fate of the Ye family, just an hour ago, the coral tree that represented Ye family's glory had been shattered into powder, and the emperor not only did not investigate, but instead withdrew the imperial army and ignored it. Just as Guan Suyi said, if the Ye family was honest and content with their lot, he would treat them like a puppet. On the contrary, if the Ye family showed the intention of forming a party, he would use thunderous means to subdue them. He was wary of his foreign relatives, so how could he let the Ye family grow big?

The situation where foreign relatives were rampant, eunuchs were in charge of politics, and the king and the horse share the world would never happen again, and the world could only be surnamed Huo. Even though he had been with that domineering king for nearly ten years, Zhao Luli sadly found that his understanding of him was not as thorough as Guan Suyi's in-depth analysis.

The broken red coral is probably his means of knocking the mountain and shaking the tiger, right? The cause and effect come too quickly, and I don't know whether Zhen'er will be afraid, how should she deal with herself? At this point, Zhao Luli was still thinking about his dead wife, and he didn't even care about his new wife's face and impression.

Of course, Guan Suyi didn't care about his concern. When the porridge was ready, she would stand at the corner gate with her mother-in-law. Every time she met a passerby, she would donate a bowl, forming a good karma and accumulating a blessing.

—-

The stepmother had spoken so clearly, analyzed the current situation so thoroughly, and even explored a thing or two about the emperor's personality and temperament, how could Zhao Chunxi not understand? She returned to Penglai Garden in a daze, and after she dismissing the idle people, she gritted her teeth and said, "You must have heard Guan shi's words, right?"

Hexiang was sweating like pulp, and her voice trembled, "Heard, I heard."

"Then what do you think I should do now? The Ye family has already suffered, the emperor has abandoned them, and even my eldest aunt may fall out of favor, who can I rely on now? Do you really want me to kowtow to Guan shi and admit my mistake, and then help her attack the third aunt, attack the Ye family? What is the difference between this and admitting the thief as the mother? I don't want to, I really don't want to, I never want a stepmother, I just want my own mother." After all, she was only a half-grown child and when she encountered a thing that was completely beyond her control, even she would cry, her heart was filled with confusion and fear.

On one hand, she longed for a mother's love, and on the other hand, she hated Ye Zhen for abandoning her husband and her children, but she secretly envied her life full of riches and honor, so she imitated the other's unscrupulous methods to chase fame and fortune. With no one to teach her, her every move, every word and deed was disorderly, even a little ridiculous, so even without without her stepmother taking action, she was pierced by the cruel reality one by one.

He Xiang took pity on the eldest miss, but did not dare to speak indiscriminately. Facts have proven that her previous predictions about the Ye family were all jokes, which made the eldest miss take the red greeting post sent by Concubine Ye to madam to show off her power. Madam was extremely smart, how could she not hear the sarcasm and ridicule in her words? However, in her eye, the proud eldest miss was probably no different from a jumping clown, right? No wonder she didn't feel humiliated at all, and she could practice calligraphy so calmly.

Before they had even stepped into the Ye mansion, she had already predicted the disaster of the Ye family, truly accurate judgment and incredible foresight. Thinking like this, Hexiang couldn't help but feel a little frightened, and with a trembling voice, she comforted her, "A wise man submits to circumstances. Miss, the Ye family has suffer, you still have to rely on madam for the time being. Wouldn't it be better, wouldn't it be better to be humble and flatter her, serve left and right, and wait to plan again in the future."

Zhao Chunxi forgot to cry, and after a long silence, she spat, "Shut up! Even if I die, I won't bow to her! If she doesn't care about me and my father, even if the third aunt is implicated by the Ye family and couldn't make a different in the back house, it still easy to add some obstacles her. I don't believe that she can really cover the sky with one hand. If when she's seventeen or eighteen she can't give birth to a child, I want to see how proud she is! At that time, will she not rely on me and Wangshu? The river flows thirty years to the east, thirty years to the west, I will fight her!"

Wang Mang: 45 bc-23ad, the founder and only emperor of the short-lived xin dynasty (9-23 ad) that marked the separation between western han dynasty and eastern han dynasty.

the king and the horse share the world: the rise of aristocratic families and landlords weakening the monarchical power.

the thief as the mother: recognizing the person who has hurt you as a mother.

The river flows thirty years to the east, thirty years to the west: change is the only constant.

Chapter 44 Refined and Vulgar

Zhao Chunxi relied on her mother being favored in the palace before, so she always felt that she was superior to others, even if she had to pretend to bow her head to Guan Suyi because of her dowry, she privately held a sense of superiority and believed that she was the stronger party, and Guan Suyi was just a fool who was blinded, manipulated and tricked by her.

But now, everything she relied on, and her complacent glory, have all vanished with the fragmentation of the coral tree. At this time, if she compromised with Guan Suyi, it would be like she was a captured prisoner of the war, an imprisoned convict, an oppressed slave, with broken self-esteem and a heart full of humiliation.

Guan Suyi had already said that she would not care about her, and she was absolutely unwilling to go up, even more unwilling to kowtow and admit her mistake. However, the dowry could not be omitted, and the marriage could not be ignored. How should these two problems be solved? Just beat Guan Suyi once and for all, break her arrogance, destroy her hopes, tarnish her reputation, see what she could use to despise others, and what she could use to discipline herself?

Thinking like this, Zhao Chunxi said to He Xiang, "Take out the box that my eldest aunt gave me."

"Miss, do you want to do it? There are no our snitch in the main house. It's not easy to handle!" He Xiang pulled out a mahogany box from under the bed. When she opened it, it was full of bottles and jars, exuding a strange and unpleasant smell.

Speaking of this, Zhao Chunxi was secretly resentful again. As soon as Guan Suyi came, she pulled out the snitches she had placed in the main house. If her foreign relative was rich enough, it would be easy to buy a few more, wasn't there a lot of servants who were flattering and showed the intentions to cling to her yesterday? But after today, when the news spread that Ye family's coral tree was smashed by thieves and the emperor ignored it, she would become a fallen phoenix again, disliked everywhere, and constantly suppressed by the main house. Who would actually serve her?

Shaking her head, she said fiercely, "How to do it, I don't have any idea for the time being, just find a few snitches in the main house and plan slowly. It doesn't matter whether it's done by money or threat, in short, draw a few first, and wait for the people to be in place before taking the next step. For the sake of Wangshu's future, Guan shi must never give birth to a son."

"Yes, this servant will go and sift through the maids and grannies in the main house to see if there are any poor people in the family or those who are extremely greedy for money. If we can draw one that count as one. Miss, are you also going to contact one or two for Mingfang? Since ancient times, wives and concubines have always been incompatible, and this servant do not believe that she will really be loyal to Guan shi."

"Alright, you can find a way to put a few snitches around her. If I knew today, I would never let my father marry Guan shi no matter what. I really opened the door and led thieves into the house." Zhao Chunxi once again felt deep regret, However, she was glad that her stepmother had not been able to enter the palace to confront her mom, otherwise the Ye family would be completely defeated.

—–

In the Weiyang Palace, Emperor Sheng Yuan was studying the previous dynasty's legal code when he heard the voice of Marquis Zhenxi asking to see him outside.

"Announce him in."

Marquis Zhenxi walked in slowly holding a brocade box, silently performed a minister's courtesy towards the monarch, then sat down, placed the box on the imperial table, and pushed it forward. Emperor Sheng Yuan had long been accustomed to his silent style, and joked, "Why, your sister-in-law hasn't give in? Seeing that you have become a living mute, she doesn't feel distressed?"

Marquis Zhenxi wrote the word "Bei" on the table with tea, and then the word "Su", drawing a sword in the middle, and finally shook his head angrily.

Emperor Sheng Yuan wanted to laugh a little, remembering that the hardships Guan Suyi suffered were all because of him, his eyes turned dim immediately, and there was a hint of regret and jealousy that he himself didn't even notice. He sighed, "The ex-wife he couldn't protect, and the second wife is squeezed again and again. Zhao Luli enjoyed the happiness of the world but didn't know how to cherish it. Sooner or later, he will regret it."

You always say that Zhao Luli will regret it, but you can't see that the gap between your eyebrows has already been filled with regret. Forget it, this subordinate won't wake you up, you can slowly realize it by yourself. Qin Lingyun rejoiced in the other's misfortune, and then tapped the brocade box, signaling His Majesty to open it by himself.

The mahogany brocade box was carved with several lilies. The white petals were inlaid with polished shells, decorated with pearls as cores and jade as leaves. It looked fresh and elegant, yet gorgeous and noble. A colorful rope was interlaced at the four corners, forming the shape of a group of butterfly playing together, so it added a bit of wittiness. However, a gift box was packed so pleasantly, which showed how ingenious the person who gave it.

Emperor Sheng Yuan seemed to be aware of it, and even laughed, "Is this the return gift from Madam?"

Don't call madam, madam, can you call her by the full name Marquis Zhenbei madam? People who don't know will think that you are calling your beloved wife. Qin Lingyun glanced at Baifu secretly, and saw that he pricked up his ears and his eyes were suspicious, probably tried to guess who the madam in His Majesty's mouth was.

"Because it's a return gift for His Majesty's unique, rare and famous master's manuscript, this minister did not dare to be careless, so sent it to the palace for presentation. If Your Majesty doesn't like these things, it would be good to give it to this minister. By the way. My sister-in-law also got a few boxes of rouge powder, which personally made by Marquis Zhenbei Madam. Your Majesty, if you have no use for it, this minister will let her take it." Qin Lingyun, who had reduced the number of beads to ten a day, did not dare to waste the slightest amount, continue to write on top of the table with tea, especially when writing "unique, rare, famous master's manuscript", which showed envy and injustice in his heart.

Emperor Sheng Yuan carefully pulled the colorful rope and asked, "How do you know that Zhen have no use for it? If it's placed a hollow wooden box or a silk brocade bag inside, it can be used as a incense case or storage. Next time she returns the gift, you have to turn everything in."

Qin Lingyun made an admitting his guilt action, but his heart pondered: The next time she returns the gift, that means His Majesty will send another gift? Even the most precious Legalism classics were willing to give up, so it can be seen that Guan Suyi is the one he really cared about. Ye Zhen has advancing step-by-step for many years, but in the end, it is not comparable to the relationship between His Majesty and Guan Suyi. It's a pity that she still thinks she is favored, gets a dispensable decoration and made a ruckus to let everybody knows, but in the end she lose face. After so many years, the Ye family still hasn't made any progress, but they delusionally want to become the next top clan, really don't know whether to call them pathetic or hateful.

While he was thinking like this, Emperor Sheng Yuan had opened the lid of the box, and a strong fragrance rushed to his face, making people intoxicated. Both the monarch and minister's mind were refreshed, immediately took a deep breath uncontrollably. When they took a closer look, they found that inside the box was not a spice and other things, but a bright and pure white rice paper folder, but it was completely different from the ones sold in the bookstore. Thicker, smoother, whiter, silkier to the touch, and adorned with pale yellow sweet-scented osmanthus flowers, it was such a rare quality.

"What kind of paper is this? I've never seen it before on the market, even the Bai Xuan tribute is not as good as this!" Qin Lingyun was so shocked that he forgot to keep his mouth shut. His Majesty's stern gaze stopped him.

Emperor Sheng Yuan haven't yet appreciate these paper, rather picked up the thank you post on top and looked at it slowly. Qin Lingyun glanced at it for a while, and said in awe, "What a domineering brushstroke, there are the sound of swords, spears, and halberds colliding between the horizontal and curved hooks, and the rise and fall have the appearance of dragon soaring and tiger leaping. Old Master Guan is worthy of being a master of the world, and he actually taught such a granddaughter! How exactly did she practice, one day this minister will have to ask Old Master Guan for advice! There are no vain people under the famous name, the literary noble family are really amazing!"

Emperor Sheng Yuan's heart was also filled with amazement, and the already uncontrollable admiration was now added with a bit of adoration. He originally thought that women were only suitable for hairpins flower small case, and Ye Zhen's handwriting was already considered skillful, but he didn't expect that he was so ignorant.

Good word! He secretly praised, looked down, and then became more and more impressed. It turned out that this folder was not purchased from the bookstore, instead madam personally beat the straw pulp, dried and pressed the moisture, and the osmanthus flowers embellished on it were screened by her, embedded one by one, the process was complex and delicate. It was not an exaggeration to even praised it with the phrase "ingenious workmanship".

Attaching the secret method of the rice paper's production, she went on to write – The gift from Lord Marquis can be regarded as a peerless treasure. I cannot bear to refuse. Although I don't want to be greedy and cheeky, I am even more unwilling to pretend to be lofty and indifferent to return the treasure. Therefore, I presented the "Fragrant Snow Sea" that I have studied for a long time. Although the value is not equal, the intention is full of sincerity. I also hope that lord marquis can forgive and kindly accept it, sincerely thank you.

A few short sentences had vividly expressed her love for books, making Emperor Sheng Yuan felt warm inside, and his dragon's heart was delighted.

Putting the post in a thick booklet for the time being to avoid wrinkling and damage it, he took out the folder to enjoy it, and muttered to himself, "Madam is really good."

Qin Lingyun took out a few Buddhist beads and said, "Some people regard pearls and jade as treasures, while others regard words as treasures, but it's just because of different width of visions and depth of inner qualities. However, the world is chaotic, black and white are reversed, and the vulgar are loved and praised, but the noble are disliked, and the pearls are covered in dust, which is really sad and ridiculous. Marquis Zhenbei madam is indeed good, but who can appreciate it?"

Zhen appreciate it very much. These words were like a fish bone stuck in his throat and very hard to spit out for a long time. Emperor Sheng Yuan gave Marquis Zhenxi a cold look, and waved his hand ruthlessly, "The return gift has been delivered, you can leave."

Qin Lingyun, who was thrown away after being used, could only salute and retire. After leaving Weiyang Palace, he stood on the side of the road and laughed for a while before walking out of palace gate.

Dismissing the irrelevant people, Emperor Sheng Yuan took out the post and continued to read. There was a burst of joy, a burst of regret, and a vague melancholy and continuous pain in his heart.

He was born in the army, surrounded by vulgar people, used to fight and kill, dance with knives and spears, and even women were not exempt from vulgarity. Only he loved reading and literacy, and seemed to be out of place with the others. It was the first time he become an emperor, and he naturally didn't know how to govern the country. Even if he was confused and hesitant, it must not be noticed by outsiders.

In order to show his majesty and stabilize the court, he could only carry it alone, no matter how hard or difficult it was. Whenever he tossed in bed and couldn't sleep in the middle of the night, he extremely longed for someone to speak to, possibly guide him through the maze, or talk and laugh to relieve fatigue. Guan Suyi appeared at this time, like a spark falling into the gunpowder, colliding with his mind and even his soul, creating a dazzling flame of light. Unlike a court minister, she would not impose her own views on him, forcing him to accept them, she was just enjoy saying it, and others just enjoy listening to it, and at the end they looked at each other with a smile, which was incredibly fun.

Such an attitude was undoubtedly the most comfortable and safest, comparable to a fine wine, really addicting to drink.

Emperor Sheng Yuan laughed for a while, sighed for a while, and finally put the thank you post and the folder into a secret box, lay down and fell asleep, and left Baifu to wonder in horror: Why the emperor have a relationship with the new Marquis Zhenbei madam, and he seems to be quite infatuated. Lord Zhao, you really have a bad luck of eight lifetimes!

Chapter 45 Sister-In-Law

The next day at maoshi (5-7am), in Jingzhe Tower, a servant knelt by the bed and lightly called, "Eldest young master, it's getting late, you still have to go to the main house to greet Madam. Wake up, eldest young master, eldest young master?"

"It's so noisy! Get out of here!" Zhao Wangshu was in a daze and smashed over a pillow, scaring the boy back a few steps. After hesitating for a moment, he bravely called again, "Eldest young master, Madam is waiting for you right now. If you don't get up again, we the servant will be accused of not doing our job."

"Guan shi, Guan shi, everything is said by Guan shi, it's really annoying!" Zhao Wangshu couldn't sleep anymore, got up with messy hair, and said angrily, "She said it herself that she won't care about me and my sister, so why should I go over there? Besides, my sister also said that we don't need to pay attention to her, just get close to my grandfather and eldest aunt. No matter how strong her family is, can it be more powerful than Jieyu niangniang? Can she be better than imperial-in-law? My maternal grandparents' family is the serious emperor's relatives!"

Zhao Wangshu snorted a few times with his nostrils facing up the sky, and then went down to the ground with his bare feet, gurgling a few sips of tea. He only knew how to eat, drink and play since he was a child, and his brain became more and more chaotic after not using it for a long time. Yesterday, such a big incident happened in the Ye family, but he didn't think about it at all. He just thought that if the emperor knew about it, he would naturally send someone to investigate, and it would be over after the thief was caught, and it would have no effect on the Ye family. Therefore, when Zhao Luli and Zhao Chunxi were so worried they couldn't sleep, he seemed to eat, sleep, and play as usual, and was secretly happy to get rid of Guan shi's "torture" as if nothing had happened.

The little servant was also uninformed, and hesitantly said, "Then we won't go to the main house in the future? We don't need to pay respect to Madam? And we don't need to go to her place to do the homework?"

"Go fart, let her play by herself!" Zhao Wangshu washed up and dressed neatly under the service of the maid, and laughed, "Go to the street and buy a few jars of spirits for the Master, tell him that I won't go to the clan school today, and ask him to help with everything. Without Guan shi controlling and holding me all day, I finally alive again! Go, go, go, let's go to West Street to watch people fight dogs!"

Although the little servant was a little uneasy, thinking about the Ye family's glory and favor in recent days, he put his mind at ease and went to the market to buy the wine without mentioning it.

In Penglai Garden, Zhao Chunxi had already woken up and was sitting in front of the dressing table while getting dressed. She didn't have to go to the main house and the main courtyard to pay respect, and she didn't have to follow Guan shi left and right to study common affairs. She actually felt confused, staring at the blurred face in the bronze mirror, and slowly became a little crazy.

He Xiang and Xue Liu put on the pearl hairpins, earrings, bracelets and other items on her body one by one, and kept praising her, "Miss is getting more and more beautiful, with such talent and appearance, why worry about future marriage? As long as lord marquis send out the words, afraid even the Iceman would crash the gate of our Zhao's mansion."

Zhao Chunxi twitched the corners of her mouth and instructed, "You two assigned a few handymen to the street to see if there are any rumors about the Ye family spreading today. My heart is beating wildly, and it's so uncomfortable. I always feel that something big is going to happen."

Although she was the granddaughter of Ye's family, she couldn't find out much information yesterday, only that the red coral was broken, and her mom went to the emperor to complain, but she was not allowed to enter. When she left the palace, all the troops had been withdrawn. The yamen officials also scattered like birds and beasts. They originally thought it was a catastrophe that pierced the sky, but when they entered the palace, it turned into chicken feathers, and they just had to pick up the broom and cleaned it up.

The more Zhao Chunxi thought about it, the more she felt that everyone's reaction was very unusual, especially the emperor, who didn't even care or comfort at all, which was completely inconsistent with the rumor that said he only favored her mom alone.

"How could this be? No, it shouldn't be!" She leaned back on the chair and chewed on Guan Suyi's assertions that the Ye family would be suppressed. She felt like she was walking on thin ice and felt cold all over her body.

At the same time, Guan Suyi was sitting by the window, flipping through a few books sent by Marquis Zhenxi in the morning light, the corners of her mouth curved slightly, very comfortable. Minglan stood outside the courtyard and looked around, seeing that the time had passed, she said angrily, "With the Ye family gaining power, those two really didn't come!"

The rough maid in charge of the sweeping heard this and rolled her eyes secretly, slandering: the people of Ye Mansion is the serious emperor's relative, and Jieyu niangniang may be pregnant with a little prince in her belly, who want to get close to your Guan family? Emperor Teacher, Chief of Ceremonies, this name is really nice, but have the emperor reward you with a national treasure to play with? People in Yanjing, who is powerful and who has a false reputation, cannot be seen on ordinary days, but when there's actual confrontation, it will be clear as bell. You lift up a maid to suppress other people's pampered daughter, and the people directly dropped down a Buddha, then one finger can crush you!

The rest of the maids and grannies also winked and made trouble in private. When Minglan looked back, they pretended to be busy, but their heart still grumbled: The Ye family is so powerful that even a national treasure can be used as a dowry, with the support of Jieyu niangniang and the emperor, won't Concubine Ye still fly to heaven? In the end, she is a relative of the emperor's relative, even if she is a concubine, she has more face than the mistress, and the main house is neither favored nor powerful, not a place to stay for a long time, let's find another way out!

They didn't know that these kinds of ugly attitudes and dark thoughts have long been seen by Guan Suyi by the window, but she was just too lazy to take care of it.

"Minglan, don't look anymore, pack up and go to the main courtyard to greet the old madam." She put the book back on the bookshelf, and inserted the hairpin while holding the side of her temple in front of the bronze mirror, and then walked out slowly.

In her previous life, while she was teaching Zhao Wangshu, when did she ever moved the ruler? When she saw that he was stubborn, she compiled her knowledge into short stories, guided him systematically and patiently, balancing study and rest, made the learning fun, and finally made him a talent. And with Zhao Chunxi she did not neglect for a moment, thoroughly analyzed the common affairs, human relationships, sophistication, and even political opinions one by one. Her title of Huaguang Xianzhu, and her half-powerful husband, which one was not come from her painstaking efforts? At the end of the day, she ended up with a disastrous end.

In her previous life, she could create them, and in this life, she could naturally ignore them, and see how much splash the two of them could make. After thinking about it, she arrived at the main courtyard. Guan Suyi saluted the old madam, served tea, and sat down to talk to her.

"Wang Shu didn't come?" The old madam looked behind her.

"I just sent someone to ask, they said he had already gone to the clan school." However, no one knew the truth better than Guan Suyi. Zhao Luli was blind, and the woman he loved was a red apricot that leaning out of the wall, and the master he invited was just a trash with false reputation, and in the previous live almost taught Wangshu into a waste. She made a lot of effort to replace the man, but in the end, she fell into infamy.

She would never do such thankless job again. Zhao Wangshu became a dragon or a worm, what it have to do with her?

The old madam shook her head, her tone a little disappointed, "Maybe he was bewitched by some people, intending to alienate you and get closer to his maternal family. He has no one to teach him since he was a child, so it is inevitable to be a little ignorant. Let's correct it slowly and one day it will be fine ."

Guan Suyi chuckled and said, "After all, he and the Ye family is connected by blood, it is understandable for him to be closer to them. Don't worry, old madam, I will not shirk my duty."

"You're a good one, I know." The old madam patted the back of her daughter-in-law's hand and changed the subject, "Today, your sister-in-law is coming back. She's also a good one, just has some physical inconvenience, you should take more care."

Ruan shi is coming back? Guan Suyi was in a trance for a while. She didn't know much about this younger sister-in-law. Although she lived under the same roof, they hadn't even seen each more than a few times. Suddenly one day, Ruan shi had a premature birth, and she died of blood loss shortly after. She was buried in a hurry, like a wisp of green smoke, disappeared without a trace.

Ruan shi met Zhao Luli's younger brother Zhao Jinyu when he was poor. One was the daughter of a small official at the border and the other was a son of convicted official. Because the old marquis got into some trouble, he needed Ruan's father to intervene from the inside, so the two of them made a marriage contract. A few days ago, she went up the mountain to redeem a vow for her pregnancy, and also meant to prevent the new madam from contracting her bad luck.

During the conversation, someone came to report that the second madam had returned, and after a while, a woman with a slightly bulging belly led a five-or six-year-old boy in. The old madam waved to greet her, while looking at the expression of her eldest daughter-in-law, for fear that she would be frightened.

Ruan shi didn't dare to look up, she just pushed the boy beside her, and said softly, "Hurry up and pay respect to grandmother and adoptive mother."

The child's name was Mu Mu, and it could be seen from the surname that he had no blood relationship with the Zhao family, rather a child leave behind by Zhao Luli's comrade, due to the death of his parents and separated from his whole relatives, he was fostered in Marquis Mansion. Zhao Luli already recognized him as adopted son, but he had no intention of taking care of him, so he asked Ruan shi to take him with her.

The boy didn't like to talk, so he knelt down and kowtowed three times, making the old madam overjoyed. Accustomed to seeing the bear-like appearance of her own grandson, she naturally cherished a well-behaved and obedient child like Mu Mu, then pulled Guan Suyi to introduce, "This is your younger sister-in-law Ruan Lin, a native of western Yunnan, who is three or four years older than you this year. She has a gentle and soft temperament, the two of you will definitely get along well. This is Mu Mu, the adopted son recognized by lord marquis. He didn't like to talk since he was a child, and he is also afraid of meeting strangers, so don't blame him."

Guan Suyi naturally understood that children who have been devastated by war would always become extraordinarily silent. She waved at Mu Mu and called, "Little Mu Mu, come over quickly, let mother take a look."

Mother? Mu Mu tilted his head to look at her, his eyes were round and big, with clear black and white, which made people feel soft inside. Guan Suyi's eyes were wet, inevitably thinking of Mu Mu's fate in her previous life. If the memory was not wrong, the child suddenly developed a high fever after half a month later, and died suddenly before the doctor could give him medicine, so he had to be buried in a thin coffin.

Since she could start all over again in this life, she would let Mu Mu grow up safely; as for Ruan shi, she should do her best to keep the mother and child safe.

Ruan shi, who was standing on the side, saw that her sister-in-law only paid attention to Mu Mu and ignored her. She had no dissatisfaction on her face, only felt at ease. She was accustomed to the fearful and contemptuous eyes of everyone, but she preferred the normal treatment of her sister-in-law. The women who came from a scholarly family were indeed more open-minded and more sympathetic. Thinking like this, she couldn't help touching the blue-black birthmark occupying most of her face, and a wry smile appeared on the corner of her mouth.

TN: there are two new characters, to be honest how they were introduced seems a little abrupt, like here is your brother-in-law's wife and your adopted son that actually lives here but just happened to be away until now. But nevertheless they are very important to the plot development later on, so stay tune!

chicken feathers: trivial matter.

Huaguang Xianzhu: princess of fourth rank.