Chapter 11
At this Dragon Boat Festival family banquet, because Sun shi and Chen Tingjian, this husband and wife, expected the daughter-in-law princess would not show up, the seats were arranged as before.
It was Chen Tingjian's couple and Chen Tingshi's couple seated side by side in the two main seats facing north. To the left and right, there were two additional seats arranged, with Chen Bozong, Chen Xiaozong, Chen Jingzong, Chen Jizong, and their respective wives seated. The children sat on small seats behind their parents.
When Hua Yang came, her status was the most noble.
Chen Tingshi was nervous, but Qi shi's brain was more flexible than him. After the greetings, she smiled flatteringly at Hua Yang and then said to Sun shi, "Sister-in-law, ask the princess to sit at the main seat here. Let's sit below."
Sun shi looked at her husband. It was right for the princess to take the main seat, but wasn't there still her own Old Four? Would he have the nerve to step over his uncle and brothers?
Before Chen Tingjian could speak, Hua Yang took the initiative first, "Our family cares more about seniority. I will sit with Prince Consort."
Chen Jingzong followed her words then led her to the table on the left near the entrance of the hall.
Seeing this, Chen Tingjian smiled: "The Princess doesn't bother with trifles, just sit like this."
Everyone sat down again.
However, with the arrival of Hua Yang, the atmosphere could no longer return to its previous relaxed state, soon there was an awkward silence. Wan Yi walked up to Hua Yang cleverly, her small white hands was holding a wrist rope made of five-color silk threads: "Fourth Aunt, for the Dragon Boat Festival, I weave some colorful silk threads and gave them to my grandmother, cousin, and my mother. This one is for you, do you like it?"
It was said that wearing colorful rope during the Dragon Boat Festival not only could ward off evil spirits, but also pray for blessings.
Hua Yang also made this when she was seven or eight years old, but she lost interest as she got older.
"I like it, Wan Yi's skills are getting better and better."
Wan Yi's eyes lit up: "I'll put it on for Fourth Aunt."
Hua Yang smiled and stretched out her hand.
She lifted up her sleeves slightly, revealing a wrist as white as snow, but the position was lower than the table, just enough to be blocked by the tall man next to her, Chen Jingzong.
Therefore, only Chen Jingzong and his niece saw such a beautiful wrist.
Chen Jingzong couldn't help but think of the charming image of her two thin wrists being held above her head with one hand.
There was cold tea on the table. Chen Jingzong grabbed the tea cup, raised his head and drank it all.
Boldness was boldness, but it was not the occasion.
Chen Tingjian glared at him secretly. As the saying goes, those who are close to ink are black and those who are close to vermillion are red. The princess was so dignified, how could the Old Four dare to be so rude?
Sun shi then took the opportunity to chat and laugh with Qi shi to lighten the atmosphere.
The hungry Sanlang secretly tugged on his mother's sleeve. Luo Yuyan shook her head at her son and told him to continue to endure it.
After a cup of tea, Sun shi ordered the maid to go to the kitchen to pass the meal.
Soon, the little maids came in an orderly manner carrying trays. On each table there were a plate of four bamboo leaf rice dumplings, a plate of mung bean cake, and four vegetarian dishes.
The bamboo leaf rice dumplings had just come out of the pot, and under the white mist, the little maid deftly removed the rice dumpling leaves, bowed her head and left.
Four rice dumplings, one Qingshui rice dumpling to dipped in sugar, one with bean paste filling, one with candied jujube filling, and one with egg yolk filling.
Chen Jingzong asked Hua Yang: "What kind do you want to eat?"
Hua Yang took some candied jujube rice dumplings and said in low voice, "One is enough for me."
She ate slowly, and Chen Jingzong also tried his best to think of the rice dumplings in his mouth as meat fillings. As he was eating them tastelessly, he suddenly heard a whimper, like a pheasant being choked by the throat, then it stopped abruptly.
The couple looked up at the same time.
On the right side of the main seat, Qi shi was covering her face with a handkerchief. Seeing everyone staring at her, she simply stopped covering up and cried a few times.
Chen Tingshi blushed for her and scolded helplessly: "It's a good holiday, why are you crying?"
Qi shi sobbed twice, wiped the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief, and choked up: "I miss the old lady. Every year during the holidays, she always talks about our big family. This year, we finally got together, but she can't see it."
Hua Yang had already put down her chopsticks when she heard the cry. Now she looked at her father-in-law and saw her father-in-law sitting quietly with his head lowered, his eyes slowly turning red.
Regardless of whether Qi shi was just putting on a show, what filial son could bear her words?
Hua Yang heard that father-in-law came from a poor family. When he first came to the capital, he lived in an official residence, a simple two-room courtyard. When father-in-law finally established a foothold in the capital and got a house, he immediately brought over his mother, brother, wife and children from his hometown. It was just that the old lady preferred the comfort of her hometown, and she really couldn't adapt to the climate of the capital, so father-in-law had to send the old lady back.
The capital and Lingzhou were too far apart. Even if the officials in the capital had a month off during the New Year, father-in-law would not be able to come back and fulfill his filial piety.
The heavy emotions spread like a tide. Sun shi cried, Eldest Sister-in-law Yu Xiu and Third Sister-in-law Luo Yuyan also picked up handkerchiefs to wipe their tears. Chen Bozong and Chen Xiaozong also lowered their heads. Even if they didn't shed tears, their eyes were still red.
Hua Yang was quietly observing when she suddenly saw Chen Jingzong pick up the Qingshui rice dumpling, dip it in sugar as if nothing happened, brought it to his mouth, and bit off half of it.
Although he didn't make much noise, the whole family was mourning in silence. As long as he made a move, who could not see it?
Hua Yang looked at her nose and her nose pointed to her heart, but her left hand quietly reached over and twisted Chen Jingzong's thigh.
Chen Jingzong originally held the chopsticks with his right hand, but now he suddenly put down his chopsticks, quickly lowered his hand, caught Hua Yang's before she could retreat, and held her tightly.
He didn't just hold it, but rubbed her soft palm with his calloused thumb.
Just like a hunter who was waiting for a rabbit, when he finally caught the rabbit leg, even if he couldn't eat it, he needed to satisfy his craving.
Hua Yang:…
In full view of everyone, she didn't dare to move, but her face turned red little by little, and her palms felt numb.
Fortunately, others interpreted her expression as being ashamed to have an "unfilial" descendant like Chen Jingzong as her prince consort.
Qi shi knew that Chen Jingzong had always been an outlier in the eldest house, disliked by people detested by dogs. She resented Chen Jingzong for kicking her son, when she saw Chen Jingzong took the initiative to hand over the excuse, Qi shi immediately wiped away her tears, and said, "Jingzong, the old lady loved you the most when she was here. Don't you miss her at all?"
Chen Jingzong squeezed the soft and boneless little hand of his beautiful wife, feeling good, and smiled at Qi shi: "Miss. But if you have to cry to show you're missing someone, then when you don't cry, is it mean you don't miss the old lady?"
Qi shi was almost choked by these words!
Even knowledgeable people such as Chen Tingjian, Chen Bozong, Chen Xiaozong, or the old and new Zhuangyuan would not know how to refute Chen Jingzong's words.
Sun shi stepped in to smooth things over: "Alright, alright, it's a big holiday, let's continue to eat. The old lady is the kindest, she definitely doesn't want to see us to lose appetites for her."
With these words, everyone picked up their chopsticks.
Chen Jingzong let go of Hua Yang silently.
Hua Yang ate the rice dumplings calmly, mentally locking Chen Jingzong in the wing room with more than a dozen layers of locks, and just see how he could do anything.
After the family banquet, Chen Tingjian took the men away, while the women continued to stay in Danyuan Hall.
According to Hua Yang's temperament in her previous life, she would not stay here to listen to some family gossip, but now she had other thoughts, so she smiled and sat next to her mother-in-law.
Sun shi hid her surprise and said to Qi shi, "I see we have built three walls behind us. Are we planning to expand the house?"
Qi shi glanced at Hua Yang and replied: "Didn't I tell Sister-in-law before that when I was renovating the house in the first month, I was afraid that there would not be enough bricks, so I bought too many. It's not good to return them, but it would a waste just to put them there, then just build a wall at the back first. It's up to you and Eldest Brother to decide whether to build a garden or build a house for your grandchildren to use when they grow up."
Luo Yuyan looked at Hua Yang. Chen House didn't see many repairs. Only Siyi Hall was newly built.
Hua Yang drank tea slowly. She had come all the way to mourn the old lady. Chen House was small. If they didn't build a new house for her, would they expect the husband and wife to live in the brother and sister-in-law's courtyard?
It was just that this job fell into the hands of Chen Tingshi and Qi shi. In the previous life, the couple could boldly accept 120,000 taels of silver as tribute from local officials and gentry. When father-in-law sent money back this time, it was unlikely for Qi shi to spend it all on the old lady's funeral and Siyi Hall, it was inevitable to pass off the good stuff and make false accounts to line their own pockets.
Qi shi…
Hua Yang looked again at the beautiful woman in plain clothes who seemed to be sitting respectfully next to her mother-in-law.
As if aware of it, Qi shi looked over, but only found the fairy-like princess sipping tea leisurely, with a fair and flawless face. Qi shi prided herself for being the most beautiful woman in town. Only after meeting the princess did she knew what it meant to sit in a well and look at the sky.
However, thinking that such a noble beauty fell into the hands of her rough nephew Chen Jingzong, and had to serve a vulgar man like him at night, Qi shi felt comfortable, and felt that she was not much different from the golden branches and jade leaves in the palace.
Sun shi was still talking by herself: "Dalang and the others are still young, so there is no rush to expand the house. The master's idea is to temporarily divide the land into two gardens, the east and the west. The west garden is for us women to plant flowers and grass, and the east garden is for them to personally cultivated and have truly experienced the hardships of the common people working the land. In the future when they become officials, they will know how to always care about the common people."
It sounded pleasant to hear, but in fact, the family just wanted to find something to do to kill time so that they wouldn't be idle and get sick.
Hua Yang complimented her mother-in-law: "Father cares about the people, no wonder he is deeply relied on by Father Emperor."
With her support, the matter was settled.
.
When Hua Yang returned to Siyi Hall, Chen Jingzong had not returned yet.
She took off her shoes and found a comfortable position to lie on the couch.
Outside the window, the sky was brilliantly blue, and the elm leaves were round and exquisite, displaying a vibrant emerald green as if just freshly washed.
The weather was getting a little hot. Hua Yang waved a fan with one hand while recalling what she had seen this morning, especially Chen Tingshi and Qi shi.
In her previous life, her brother dropped the guilty edict for the Chen family, which listed seven crimes for her father-in-law, one of which was corruption and bribery.
Hua Yang had read Jinyiwei's investigation files. Regarding father-in-law's corruption and bribery, Jinyiwei only found around 30,000 taels of silver at the Chen Mansion in the capital. It was clearly recorded in the Chen family's account books that this large amount of tens of thousands taels income was all rewarded by father emperor, and the writing could prove it. However, Jinyiwei unexpectedly found another 120,000 taels of silver and the most critical secret account in the Chen family's ancestral home in Lingzhou.
The account book recorded every tribute sent to the ancestral home by local officials and gentry during the decades long when father-in-law acted as an official.
The court put this crime on father-in-law's head.
Anyone with a discerning eye could see that the 120,000 taels were received by Chen Tingshi and his wife Qi shi behind father-in-law's back, who was far away in the capital, as the money was hidden in the east courtyard where the couple lived, and the account books were hidden in Qi shi's dowry box!
When Hua Yang came to Lingzhou in her previous life, she was filled with displeasure. She spent most of her time in Siyi Hall and had no interest in understanding everything that happened in Chen House. She also did not put Chen Tingshi and Qi shi, this small-town couple, in her eyes. After being reborn, Hua Yang remembered the Chen family's "corruption and bribery" case and asked Zhen'er and Zhu'er to carefully inquire about the personalities of the five members of the East Courtyard family.
Chen Tingshi, at best, was honest and simple, but at worst, he was useless and had no control over the big and small things in the family.
Qi shi was shrewd and powerful, and grasped everything in the Chen family.
Chen Jizong was the only son of the couple. His cowardly father could not control him, and while Qi shi could control him, she let him became arrogant and wilful. Chen Jizong seemed to be the tyrant of Shiqiao Town.
As for Chen Jizong's wife and son, one was submissive towards Qi shi while the other one was a baby.
Those 120,000 taels, Hua Yang speculated that Qi shi was the mastermind, as Chen Tingshi did not have the guts to be greedy.
Qi shi's ambition was reflected in all aspects. Before father-in-law brought them back here, the chief steward of the ancestral home was Qi shi's cousin!
Suddenly, a big hand touched her leg.
Hua Yang was startled and instinctively hit down with the fan in her hand.
With a "pop" sound, the fan hit Chen Jingzong's hand hard.
Seeing that it was him, Hua Yang, who was half sitting up, kicked over hatefully.
Chen Jingzong grabbed her ankle very easily. Looking at Hua Yang's annoyed face, he smiled and looked down.
Hua Yang was wearing a skirt, and now one of her feet was being held by him. She wondered what he could see.
She covered the hem of her skirt in time!
Chen Jingzong pressed her feet down, seemingly caressing them nonchalantly and doing frivolous things, but then he asked Hua Yang: "Why did you touch my thighs at the banquet this morning?"
Hua Yang:…
How could he have the nerve to say it!
"Did I touch you? Everyone else was mourning the old lady, but you didn't even pretend to do it, so I pinched you as a reminder."
Chen Jingzong looked surprised: "Pinch? Okay, blame me for having thick skin. I thought you were lustful after me."
Hua Yang:…
Chen Jingzong let go of her ankles, sat next to her, and looked at her inquiringly: "What are you thinking about? When I came in before, you looked like you were guarding against wolves."
When he entered the door just now, what he saw was her graceful back lying on the couch, lazy and sultry.
Hua Yang ignored his inappropriate behavior and retracted her legs under her clothes. She shook her fan and whispered, "Are you too unpopular? Your father doesn't want to see you, and your second aunt seems to be quite dissatisfied with you. Her words this morning, if you weren't so thick-skinned, anyone else would have to kneel down and repent."
Chen Jingzong looked at her face, which was sometimes covered by a fan, and wondered, "When did you become so concerned about our family's affairs?"
The aloof princess never bothered to discuss the rights and wrongs of the house before.
Hua Yang hummed: "Who asked me to marry you? I have to guard against others making me angry because of you."
Chen Jingzong: "You can rest assured, even if those people eat the bear's heart and the leopard's guts, they will not dare to provoke the golden branch of the palace."
Hua Yang put down her fan and said impatiently, "Just tell me what kind of relationship do you have with Qi shi."
Chen Jingzong: "No relationship. I'm the kind that people hates and dogs detests, so I'm not close with anyone."
Hua Yang smiled, at least he was self-aware.
However, Chen Jingzong did not respect Qi shi as his aunt, which was good news for her, it would make things easier for her in the future.
Why her brother hated her father-in-law so much? After returning to the capital, she would pay close attention to it and then find a way to resolve it.
But before that, she must eradicate the bane on the side of Chen family's ancestral home. As long as she prevented her father-in-law's "crime" from being carried out, even if her brother still wanted to settle the account with the Chen family in the future, without the key evidence, her brother would at most remove the official positions of Chen Bozong and others. It would not fall the point of them being exiled to the frontier.
Chapter 12
The Cabinet Elder Chen Tingjian called the male members of his family over and said that he wanted to open the east garden and the west garden.
He was the head of the family and no one objected.
After discussing the business, when Chen Tingshi was about to leave with his son, he found that his brother glanced at him again.
Chen Tingshi understood what his elder brother meant.
Back in the east house, Chen Tingshi took his son to the main room in their couple's house and said with a stern face: "Kneel down!"
Chen Jizong was stunned.
If it was Qi shi who ordered, Chen Jizong might have knelt down, but his father had always been cowardly and had no temper, so Chen Jizong had never taken his own father too seriously.
"Okay, why do you want me to kneel down?" Chen Jizong touched his nose and asked.
When Qi shi heard the commotion, she walked out from inside and looked at the father and son suspiciously: "What's going on?"
Chen Jizong walked to her side and raised his chin towards his father: "I didn't do anything, but he suddenly asked me to kneel down."
Qi shi glared at her husband.
Chen Tingshi became even angrier when he saw how protective she was, and said in a low and angry voice: "You have seen it this morning, right? How noble the Princess is, and she's still his cousin-in-law, he actually dares to stare at her like that. Losing face in front of the nobleman, shouldn't I teach him a lesson?"
At the mention of Hua Yang, Chen Jizong lowered his head, but there was only covetousness in his eyes, there was no repentance.
Princess or not, she had married into the Chen family, so she was just his cousin-in-law. Since they were relatives, why couldn't he look at her more?
Qi shi said lightly: "It's a bit losing face, but who made her look beautiful? We are all ignorant country people. Anyway, the Old Four also kicked him, so the princess should be able to understand."
Chen Tingshi: "Being understanding or not is the princess's matter. He must kneel down to me today, otherwise this dog can't stop himself from eating shit and still dare to offend the princess next time!"
Qi shi: "Oh, you called your son a dog, then what are you? What are your Chen family's men?"
She made it clear that she didn't want to punish her son.
Chen Jizong took the opportunity to find an excuse to escape. Chen Tingshi wanted to catch his son, but Qi shi stopped him at the door of the room and looked at him coldly.
Chen Tingshi had no choice but to stop.
He looked at Qi shi who was two steps away.
More than twenty years had passed, and Qi shi seemed as beautiful as when they were young, but why the temper became like this?
Chen Tingshi still remembered the first time he met Qi shi, a fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl with skin as white as snow and a pretty face. She was always shy and timid when looking at him and spoke softly.
Qi shi's family circumstance was not good, at least not as good as the families usually introduced to him by the matchmakers, but Chen Tingshi liked Qi shi and begged his mother to agree to the marriage.
Chen Tingshi still remembered their newlyweds. When he woke up from a dream and saw the beauty by his side, he felt that his life was good…
So was his mother's reminder back then correct? Qi shi didn't like him as a person, but as a younger brother of an official in the capital?
"Why are you still standing there? Isn't brother going to farm? Why don't you go prepare farm tools for him?"
Under Qi shi's disgusted and cold eyes, Chen Tingshi left with slumped shoulders and lowered head.
.
Chen Jingzong's strong physique was obviously the most suitable among the men in the Chen family to do strenuous work in the fields.
It was a pity that he didn't show a good face for anyone, and he could argue people to death. Chen Tingjian didn't want to work with this son, so he sent him to the west garden to help the womenfolk opened a garden.
It was said to be a garden, but it was actually only a little bigger than Siyi Hall. Chen Jingzong could complete it by himself. After all, it was to pass the time, it impossible for the Chen family to hire craftsmen to carefully build a beautiful garden during the mourning period.
The weather was hot. Luo Yuyan was heavily pregnant, so she had to take care of her pregnancy while taking care of Erlang and Sanlang. She had already busy every day and didn't want to go to the garden to smell the rustic air, so she only went to see the excitement on the first day after the groundbreaking, then stayed comfortably in Fucui Hall.
Yu Xiu had fewer things to do, and she wanted to accompany her mother-in-law, but Chen Jingzong was walking around in the garden, and it was inappropriate for her, this sister-in-law, to watch for too long.
Sun shi also noticed that several times the Old Four wanted to roll up his sleeves while working, but he held back because of his sister-in-law.
Sun shi asked Yu Xiu to concentrate on taking care of Guanhe Hall and not worry about the garden.
And when Hua Yang came, Sun shi would wisely evade and give the young couple a chance to be alone.
Hua Yang sat on the chair left by her mother-in-law, and Chao Yun stood next to her holding an umbrella.
In fact, it was still morning, and it was not the hottest time yet, but the summer sun was too dazzling, and Hua Yang couldn't stand even a little bit of it.
"You go first."
While Chen Jingzong plowed the mud, he ordered Chao Yun without raising his head.
Chao Yun looked at the princess.
Hua Yang nodded, took the green paper umbrella with the rain scene in Jiangnan and held it herself.
As soon as the maid left, Chen Jingzong immediately took off his shirt and threw it into Hua Yang's arms.
Although he had just getting started, he was doing strenuous work, and his shirt was already stained with sweat. Before the shirt fall on her, Hua Yang quickly stretch out her hand and swept the shirt to the ground with disgust.
After knocking off his shirt, Hua Yang lowered her umbrella, blocking Chen Jingzong's upper body and only looking at his trouser legs.
Chen Jingzong looked at her little white hands holding the umbrella, continued working, and said, "I've hugged you before, why don't you dare to look?"
Hua Yang: "If you don't shut your mouth, I'll leave."
As expected, Chen Jingzong kept his mouth shut. He was still doing work, but of course it was more fun with a beautiful woman by his side.
Hua Yang's attention fell on his poor job.
Father-in-law and mother-in-law completely handed over this small garden to Chen Jingzong. Chen Jingzong only worked and had no idea or interest in how to arrange the flowers and plants. Hua Yang was idle anyway and drew a picture for him.
According to the current conditions of the Chen family, Hua Yang's plan was very simple. Covered most of the ground in the west garden with pebbles, leaving a few bluestone paths. The remaining ground was left for transplanting two maple trees, plant peonies, plant a row of bamboos along the wall, or arranged a set of stone tables and benches to ensure that the garden was small but well-equipped. Since couldn't dig and build water features, then at least set up a larger water tank and plant the bowl lotus.
What Chen Jingzong currently doing was mix the mud, put the mud on the ground and spread it out, and then press the pebbles in one by one.
The pebbles were in different colors, it could also be placed into various auspicious patterns, such as "Five Bats Holding Longevity", "Lotus Year with Fish" and so on.
When Chen Jingzong saw the drawings, he frowned and said, "You are torturing me on purpose."
Hua Yang: "I will come to this garden often from now on. Of course it must be made more exquisite."
Chen Jingzong imagined her strolling leisurely in the small garden he had built, walked on the roads he had laid, and saw the flowers and plants he had planted. He endured them silently.
When she was in a good mood, he would have more opportunities. Now he worked hard, then he would be the one who reap the reward in the end.
When Chen Jingzong squatted down and began to press the pebbles, Hua Yang's umbrella could not hang lower, and the man's broad back appeared in her eyes.
He had strong shoulders and long arms, he also had a handsome face, with long eyebrows and slender eyes.
A large bead of sweat rolled down from his shoulder, moving down the smooth texture and turning a corner at his waist.
Before Hua Yang could continue to pursue the bead of sweat, Chen Jingzong suddenly looked over.
Hua Yang immediately shook her fan and looked into the distance.
Chen Jingzong threw the pebbles in his hand and asked her, "Would you like to try it?"
Hua Yang said in disgust: "It's too dirty."
Chen Jingzong: "I'll hold it, you just press the pebbles in. I guarantee you won't get any mud."
Someone might come over at any time in the garden. How could Hua Yang accompany him to fool around?
She stood up holding an umbrella, and the brocaded snow-white skirt rippled like water as she walked, gradually moving away.
Chen Jingzong tilted his head until the slender and graceful figure completely disappeared, then he smiled and lowered his head to press the stone.
.
As the weather got hotter and hotter, Hua Yang no longer wanted to go to the garden to watch Chen Jingzong do his work.
Unknowingly it was already the end of Fifth month. Chen Jingzong came back sweating profusely at dusk. At that time, Hua Yang was sitting leisurely under the shade of tree. There was a plate of orange loquats and purple-red mulberries on the table next to her.
"You're living a happy life."
Chen Jingzong was thirsty, so he squeezed to the edge of Hua Yang's lounge chair, grabbed the only tea cup on the table, and drank from it.
In the kitchen, Chao Yue was about to come out, but immediately stepped back when she saw this scene.
Chao Yun, who had been serving by the princess's side, hurried to the water room, and in a blink of an eye, only the couple was left in the yard.
Hua Yang couldn't stop Chen Jingzong from using her tea cup, so she could only cover her mouth and nose with a fan, urging him: "You are smelly and sweaty, go take a shower first!"
Chen Jingzong placed the plate of mulberries on his knees and tilted his head while stuffing the fruit into his mouth.
Although he was busy building the garden, he would still sneak into the mountain every now and then, and every time he would bring back some game, one portion for Third Sister-in-law in the front yard to nourish her fetus, and the other portion for the couple to cheat on some nourishment.
Chen Jingzong did not change much, but Hua Yang, who had lost weight due to traveling, had returned to her old look. Her snow-white cheeks were rounded again, just like the peony at its most beautiful. If she were standing, she would still have the dignity of a princess that could not be blasphemed, but she was just lying here lazily, inviting people to pick her.
"It's a busy day, my arms are so sore and I can't lift them. You help me wipe them."
Chen Jingzong said plainly.
Hua Yang sneered: "Keep dreaming. If you can't lift it, let Zhen'er or Zhu'er serve you."
The maids around Hua Yang were also had different level of familiarity. Chao Yun and Chao Yue had grown up with her, and she couldn't bear to ask them to rub Chen Jingzong's rough skin and thick flesh.
Chen Jingzong bent his exposed forearms, looked at her and said, "I know you dislike me, but my body is not something that just any woman can see or touch."
Hua Yang inexplicably thought of the two guards in her aunt's house.
It was true that both she and her aunt admired the physique of those guards, but if it were Chen Jingzong, he would disdain showing off his body to please others.
"Then wash it yourself."
In short, Hua Yang would not do such a thing. She had never even washed a thin silk handkerchief by herself, so how could she serve Chen Jingzong.
Chen Jingzong glanced at her, smiled, then walked away with the fruit plate.
Hua Yang saw a hint of provocation.
Sure enough, at dinner, Chen Jingzong was still wearing the same clothes full of sweat.
After dinner, he turned around and walked inside. Hua Yang followed him anxiously, and saw that Chen Jingzong had not taken off his clothes and was about to get into bed.
The mattress on the bed were all Shu brocade that Hua Yang brought from the capital. One piece of silk was more expensive than Chen Jingzong's whole clothes!
"Stop!"
While scolding, Hua Yang ran over quickly and stretched out her hands to block the bed, preventing Chen Jingzong from entering.
"You promised me you would take a shower before coming in!"
Hua Yang glared at him.
Chen Jingzong: "There are always special circumstances. I have been doing strenuous work for a month. Now I'm sore everywhere. I just want to lie down and sleep."
Hua Yang understood his hard work and compromised: "Since you really don't want to move, you can sleep in the side room tonight."
The smell of sweat on his body was so strong that even Hua Yang would find it smelly even if he slept on the bed floor.
Chen Jingzong: "Fine. But there are more crawlers in summer hot flashes. If there are centipedes, scorpions, cockroach crawling over, please bear with it and stop screaming on top of your lungs to let others misunderstand that I did something to you."
After saying that, Chen Jingzong turned around and left.
Hua Yang:…
She looked at the bed behind her, and she felt like something was moving under the exquisite Shu brocade mattress.
Chen Jingzong did it on purpose, but she really couldn't stand the bugs here! Even if four maids were called to the bedside to sleep with her, how could four equally weak women be as reassuring as Chen Jingzong?
"You…"
As soon as she spoke, Chen Jingzong stopped when he reached the door, making no secret of his threat, waiting for her to make a choice.
Hua Yang gritted her teeth, but her face turned red, and demanded: "Since you can't lift your arms, I'll just rub your shoulders and back for you. You can do the rest yourself, and you must wear pants when I'm there."
Chen Jingzong smiled and pointed to his head: "You also have to wash my hair."
Hua Yang became more and more disgusted.
Chen Jingzong went out first and asked the maids to carry water to the bathroom, filled the bathtub for Hua Yang, and then brought him two more buckets of water.
Chao Yun and Zhu'er went in and out several times, and finally they were done.
Chen Jingzong kicked everyone out, closed the door of the main room, called Hua Yang, and then went to the bathroom first.
Hua Yang had already agreed. Also, there was nothing to be embarrassed about, so she followed him with a sullen face. When she entered the room, she saw that Chen Jingzong had taken off his outer coat and boldly sat on a stool with a bucket of water next to him.
Facing his fiery gaze, Hua Yang walked expressionlessly around his back.
In fact, Chen Jingzong's skin color was originally quite fair, but after being exposed to the sun for so long, his neck, face, and even chest and back were tanned to a uniform light wheat color, making him look even more heroic and powerful.
It was beautiful to look at, and even made people's hearts beat faster and their mouths dry up. However, the thought that she might rub a small ball of mud on Chen Jingzong's shoulders later made Hua Yang feel sick.
She was so disgusted that her face turned pale just thinking about it, and she covered her chest and walked to the side.
Chen Jingzong frowned when he saw it: "So unwilling?"
Hua Yang kept silent behind his back. He was probably the first person in the world who dared to ask the princess to do such a thing.
Chen Jingzong paused, then suddenly stood up, quickly put on his outer coat, put a towel on his shoulders, and left with two buckets of water, his face gloomy.
Hua Yang didn't stop him.
There were some things she just couldn't do.
But her mood also became depressed, and all kinds of ugly and terrifying reptile shadows crawled into her mind. She was so afraid that she would look into the bucket several times before taking a bath.
Chao Yun served her took a bath.
Hua Yang looked at her own shoulder. She loved to be clean. She didn't do much work and didn't sweat much. The water looked clean after every bath.
Chao Yun, just like her master, was admiring Hua Yang, and praised softly: "The saying skin like condense fat must be talking about the Princess. I have never seen anyone fairer than the Princess."
It was said that white skin covers all ugliness. The princess was already beautiful, on top of that her whole body was snowy-white…
It was a pity that she met a rough man like prince consort, who didn't know how to pity the fragrance pity the jade.
Hua Yang was absent-minded.
After washing, she walked to the inner room with some resistance. After she entered, she was about to arrange for Chao Yun to accompany her tonight, but when she looked up, she saw a slender, familiar figure lying on the Babu bed.
It was Chen Jingzong, with his back to her, motionless, and she could tell that he was a little angry.
Hua Yang smiled.
"Retreat."
Chao Yun complied and thoughtfully closed the door from the outside when she went out.
Hua Yang turned off all the lights and climbed from the foot of the bed to the bed.
Chen Jingzong lay in another direction, quite indifferent in the darkness.
Hua Yang pressed against him softly. Feeling his suddenly tense muscles, Hua Yang bit his shoulder: "You are not allowed to order me around in the future, and you are not allowed to scare me again."
Chen Jingzong remained stiff.
Hua Yang touched his wrist and ordered: "Turn around and hug me."
She wanted the tightest kind of hug, so tight that even if a bug really crawled up, it would touch Chen Jingzong first and then be slapped to death by him.
Chapter 13
Chao Yue looked at the fire in the stove and asked Zhu'er to keep an eye on it. She wiped her hands and walked out of the kitchen.
The drizzle was still falling, a little denser than in the early morning.
She picked up the umbrella placed by the door, opened it, and walked towards the central house in small steps.
Chao Yun wiped all the rooms except for the inner and side room, and was so busy that her face turned red and her cheeks were sweating. When she saw her sister appearing at the door, she made a silent gesture, and then walked over with a copper basin. The two maids sat on a small bench and whispered under the eaves.
Chao Yue glanced in the direction of the inner room worriedly: "Princess hasn't woken up yet? The porridge in the pot has been cook for so long, it's almost getting thick."
Chao Yun smiled, picked up the towel from the copper basin, and wiped her face first.
Her complexion was fair, but at this time it was a little blue under her eyes.
Chao Yue was concerned about her again: "You didn't sleep last night, right?"
Chao Yun nodded.
There used to be four senior maids around the princess. When they were in the capital, the four of them took turns to keep night watch. Now only she and Chao Yue came to Lingzhou. Chao Yue was tired enough from being responsible for three meals a day, so the matter of keeping night watch was completely handed over to Chao Yun. Chao Yue had not been on night watch for so long, and coupled with the fact that the princess and prince consort were not diligent in that aspect when they were in the capital, so it was naturally difficult to guess the truth.
Considering that the prince consort was still in mourning, Chao Yun hesitated for a while and decided to hide the matter, not even telling her good sister who would never reveal the secret.
Just thinking about the noise she heard last night made Chao Yun's face feel hot.
Suddenly, a clear ringing sound came from the room.
The princess has wake up!
The two maids looked at each other, Chao Yue went back to the kitchen to prepare breakfast, and asked Zhu'er to go to the water room to bring water, while Chao Yun entered the inner room with a pot of tea.
After putting down the teapot, Chao Yun came to Babu bed and skillfully lifted up the outer gauze curtain.
Hua Yang lay weakly on her back, lazily unable to exert any energy.
She looked at Chao Yun, then at the closed carved window in the distance.
The light outside the window was dim, and Hua Yang was a little confused: "Is it dusk?"
She vaguely remembered that Chen Jingzong wanted to hug her when he got up in the morning. After she chased him away, she fell asleep again. Could it be that she had slept all day?
Chao Yun smiled and said: "It's just Sishi (9-11 am), but it's raining and the house is dark."
Hua Yang understood and asked again: "Where is Prince Consort?"
Chao Yun's face became slightly complicated: "Prince Consort went to the garden. He was not afraid of the rain, saying that he wanted to take advantage of the cool weather today to finish all the remaining work."
How could there be such prince consort? After all, he was also the fourth young master of Cabinet Elder, but he behaved like a servant doing menial work and was not particular at all.
The princess screamed like that last night. Could it be that prince consort was also torturing the princess using the methods of those country villager?
Thinking of this, Chao Yun looked at her master with concern.
It was hot summer day, so Hua Yang put on the thinnest middle coat. The thin brocade was like cicada wings, especially on the shoulders and arms, which could not hide the fragrant skin.
Chao Yun only glanced at it and found several bruises.
Her face turned pale and it was difficult to hide it.
Hua Yang followed her gaze to her shoulder, but there was no surprise, and after a short period of calm, she said casually: "I'm thirsty, bring me a cup of tea."
Chao Yun had no choice but to pour the tea first.
Hua Yang slowly sat up.
While she was drinking tea, Chao Yun saw more traces. She couldn't bear it anymore and asked with a tearful voice: "Princess, did Prince Consort bully you?"
If prince consort dares to torture the princess, she will risk her life to return to the capital and complain to the emperor and empress!
Hua Yang looked at her distressed and gritted expression, and said with a smile: "He wouldn't dare."
When she asked Chen Jingzong to turn around and hug her last night, she was already prepared to be "taken advantage" by him. Anyway, as long as she was sober, she would never let Chen Jingzong succeed like last time and risked ruining her body by eating two Bizi pill within three months.
And Chen Jingzong did not disappoint her. No matter how greedy he was, he would not dare to go against her will.
Chao Yun wiped her eyes and saw that the princess smiled dignifiedly and calmly, so she believed that the princess really did not suffer. Then she recalled the sounds she heard last night…
Chao Yun, who had never experienced the intimacy between men and women, suddenly understood a little bit what was going on. It was probably like being bitten by a mosquito, it hurt but feel good when you scratch it hard.
Hua Yang took a comfortable warm bath. After having "breakfast", she sat by the open carved window, shaking her fan while enjoying the rain.
In her memory, this light rain should not last long, followed by a scorching summer for more than a month. Everyone was looking forward to the rain to cool off, but when the rain did come, it was a heavy rain. It rained continuously for three days and three nights.
The heavy rain continued until noon of the next day. The river section south of Shiqiao Town finally swelled up under the monitoring of the people. The river water swept up sediment and branches from upstream down towards the town. The water even reached several low-lying households, and the owner had no choice but to take his family to move quickly.
This was a flash flood.
When the flood spread to most of the town and the rain showed no sign of weakening, father-in-law made a decision to lead the people in town to move to the mountain behind.
According to local people, there were small floods here every few years, and the floods would recede when the rain stopped. Fortunately, the mountain behind have never collapsed or landslides, so whenever the town encountered a flood, the people would go to the mountain to take shelter temporarily and wait for the rain to recede before coming down again.
The common people were not surprised, and few were really afraid. However, Hua Yang experienced this for the first time in her previous life. She really felt that the sky was about to collapse! When being carried up the mountain by Chen Jingzong, she looked at the muddy water that almost flooded the entire town's streets, and her mind was filled with terrifying image that sooner or later the flood would rush to her feet and engulf her.
She originally disliked Chen Jingzong, and then she encountered such great danger because she followed him to Lingzhou. When Chen Jingzong finally put her in a safe place, Hua Yang looked at him as if he were an enemy.
When the flood finally receded, although Chen House did not suffered major disaster, the courtyard was still covered with mud. Watching the maids around her busy cleaning up, Hua Yang felt more and more unbearable.
During those two years in Lingzhou, Hua Yang thought she had experienced all the pain in the world. Not being able to eat well or sleeping well, bugs would appear at any time, and even deadly natural disasters.
Of course she knew that there were still many poor people in the world suffering from hunger and cold, but she could not understand them without seeing them, and she only regarded her own suffering as the worst.
It wasn't until Chen Jingzong died on the battlefield, becoming the first person around her to die unexpectedly, and until she witnessed the grief of everyone in the Chen family, that Hua Yang understood that when other soldiers sacrificed their lives, what their relatives and friends would endure.
That was the first time that Hua Yang personally felt the heaviness hidden under the simple words "victory and defeat" in war.
It wasn't until Chen Bozong died unjustly in prison, and she witnessed other members of the Chen family walking away in despair in the cold and snow wearing thin prison clothes, that Hua Yang understood that the so-called suffering she had experienced was nothing at all.
When she was reborn at eighteen years old, Hua Yang was still Hua Yang. The Hua Yang who would never wrong herself if conditions allowed. But she had more experiences from her previous life, and she no longer found the small Siyi Hall unbearable, no longer felt that Chen Jingzong had no merit, and no longer afraid of the upcoming flash flood, which may seem terrifying but actually did not cause any casualties.
On the contrary, she wanted to use this flash flood to expose Qi shi's greed in advance.
The East House embezzled 120,000 taels of silver, most of which was collected after father-in-law was promoted to Chief Minister, but there were also more than 20,000 taels received before father-in-law became the Chief Minister.
In other words, that account book had already existed. When the flash flood come and everyone in the Chen family take their wealth to evacuate, Qi shi would definitely bring that account book with her!
But Hua Yang just knew that the account book was in Qi shi's hand, and she still needed someone to be "a thief"!
Chen Jingzong was her perfect choice.
.
After one month and five days, Chen Jingzong finally completed the garden!
The ground was covered with pebbles, with several bluestone paths crisscrossing it. Bamboo and maple trees were dug from the mountains, and several clusters of peonies came from a rich family in town who like to grow flower. Only the set of stone tables and benches needed to send people to purchase first in Lingzhou city.
The light rain fell very timely. The bamboos and maples in the garden were green, and even though most of the peonies had withered, there were still a few buds hanging with dewdrops.
That evening, Hua Yang came to the garden to enjoy the flowers and met Sun shi and her two sisters-in-laws.
Luo Yuyan, who was already eight months pregnant, had a more obvious belly. She had a delicate face and held Sun shi's arm affectionately while commenting on the scenery. The eldest sister-in-law Yu Xiu was not good at words and followed two steps behind.
"The Princess is here!"
Seeing Hua Yang, Sun shi smiled even more lovingly.
Luo Yuyan pursed her lips and let go of her hand knowingly.
No matter how sweet her mouth was, no matter how much she acted coquettishly in front of her mother-in-law, in her eyes, not to mention her and Yu Xiu, even her biological sons may not be able to surpass Hua Yang.
"Mom is here to enjoy the flowers too?" Hua Yang walked to her mother-in-law and said with a smile.
Sun shi smiled: "Yes, Old Four usually looks rough, but I didn't expect him to fix the garden so well. I think there's no need to alter anything, just leave it like this."
Hua Yang looked around. Considering the current conditions of Chen House, this garden was indeed very good.
Luo Yuyan knew that her identity was not as good as Hua Yang, even when she was filial to her mother-in-law, she found herself overshadowed by Hua Yang because of her identity. She felt uncomfortable and touched her belly. With a smile on her face, she interjected: "Mom used to always regret that Fourth Brother couldn't study and have to take the path of military attaché. Now you see, practicing martial arts has its own merit too. Look at how capable Fourth Brother is. He can do so many things by himself without getting tired. Unlike his Third Brother, who followed Father to farm for two days and ended up with sore back."
This dynasty attached more importance to civil official. Luo Yuyan's words seemed to be admiring Chen Jingzong, but in fact she was showing off that her husband Chen Xiaozong could study.
Farming was just a way for everyone in the Chen family to pass the time. No matter how well they did it, it was not worth really praising, and not as good as scholarly honor like Tanhua.
Luo Yuyan had said this many times before.
In her previous life, Hua Yang had always been ashamed of Chen Jingzong's vulgarity. Every time she encountered this kind of situation, although Hua Yang didn't like to hear it, she knew it was the truth and was too lazy to refute anything for Chen Jingzong.
But it was different now. She knew that Chen Jingzong would be a hero on the battlefield, so she no longer wanted to condone Luo Yuyan's mocking.
"Third Sister-in-law, when you say it like that, do you mean that military attachés have no use except for their strength?"
Hua Yang was still smiling, but her eyes at Luo Yuyan dimmed.
She was a princess, and it was her kindness to be kind to others. If anyone dare to put their nose up to her face, Hua Yang would not care whether the other person was pregnant or not.
Luo Yuyan's face changed drastically.
She didn't expect that she just said it casually, but Hua Yang would actually confront her. Before, Hua Yang would have acquiesced to her behavior, and her disdain would only be directed to Chen Jingzong.
Luo Yuyan looked at her mother-in-law in panic, and subconsciously denied it: "No, the Princess misunderstood. I really admire Fourth Brother. Look at how nice this garden is. Eldest Sister-in-law, don't you think so?"
In desperation, Luo Yuyan turned around and pulled Yu Xiu over. As long as Yu Xiu agreed that the garden was good, she would have steps to go down.
Among these four mother-in-law and daughter-in-laws, Sun shi, this mother-in-law, came from low background compared to Hua Yang and Luo Yuyan. But her father was at least a Juren when he was alive, and he was a teacher in the official school.
Yu Xiu was even lower. Her father was just a Xiucai.
That year, Father Yu and Chen Tingjian went to Lingzhou City to attend the Autumn Festival. A carriage crashed into them on the road, and at the critical moment, Father Yu pushed Chen Tingjian away. Chen Tingjian was unscathed, but Father Yu was hit by a carriage and became lame. From then on, he could no longer take the imperial examination. Chen Tingjian was grateful for his friend's life-saving grace and suggested that as long as Father Yu gave birth to a daughter in the future, he would marry his eldest son.
With this children betrothal, Yu Xiu was able to marry Chen Bozong, the Zhuangyuan.
Yu Xiu had a gentle temperament and was timid due to her origin, but she was not stupid and could see that her two noble sister-in-law were at odds.
Yu Xiu didn't dare to speak in favor of anyone, only lowered her head out of habit.
Luo Yuyan shook her arm anxiously.
At this time, Hua Yang suddenly let out a chuckle, a light and short laugh, but full of mockery towards Luo Yuyan.
"Mom, please continue to look around. I will go find Prince Consort and relay Third Sister-in-law's praise for him. He will definitely be happy."
Hua Yang had no intention of seeing Luo Yuyan continue to make a fool of herself, nodded to her mother-in-law, and left with Chao Yun.
As soon as she left, Luo Yuyan burst into tears and looked at Sun shi with aggrieved eyes: "Mom, I really didn't mean that. The Princess misunderstood me…"
Sun shi knew very well that if Luo Yuyan was not pregnant, she would have to reprimand a few words. But looking at Luo Yuyan's big belly, and it was not easy for a young lady from the Marquis family to come all the way to Lingzhou, Sun shi just pretended to be confused and smiled while patting Luo Yuyan's hand: "Alright, alright, it's not a big deal, don't cry anymore. Mom will clarify the misunderstanding. The Princess won't blame you."
With this step down, Luo Yuyan sobbed twice before stopped crying.
Following that, Sun shi went to find Hua Yang. After all, she wanted to help "clarify the misunderstanding".
As soon as she left, Luo Yuyan no longer felt aggrieved. She turned around and questioned Yu Xiu: "Sister-in-law, you didn't respond when I asked you just now. Could it be that you think the garden built by Fourth Brother is not good?"
She had to be respectful towards Hua Yang, but Luo Yuyan was full of arrogance towards Yu Xiu.
Yu Xiu still lowered her head and clutched her sleeves helplessly.
Luo Yuyan snorted, asked the maid beside her to hold her hands, and slowly returned to Fucui Hall first.
Yu Xiu continued to stand next to a clump of peonies, preparing to wait until Luo Yuyan had gone far before going back herself.
"Madam, you are the Eldest Sister-in-law, why should you be afraid of the Third Lady?"
The maid Bi Tao came closer, with a hint of resentment that iron could not become steel. She was the senior maid given to Yu Xiu by Sun shi when Yu Xiu just married into the Chen family.
Yu Xiu shook her head with a wry smile, bent down and squatted, then pulled out the slender weeds that had just sprouted from the peony bush after the rain.
Chapter 14
As the sun set, Chen Jingzong stood outside the wall of his home, which was as tall as a person, with the game in his hand. He whistled and threw the game over the wall, then the person jumped and climbed onto the wall too.
At this time, he saw the little maid Zhu'er standing in the small cross yard of the west wing, raising her face and reporting to him urgently: "Prince Consort, Princess is entertaining the old madam, please be quiet!"
Chen Jingzong understood and handed the game to Zhu'er. He jumped down lightly and made almost no sound.
After spending a day in the mountains, he had a lot of dirt on his body. If he went out at this time, his mother would definitely notice him.
Chen Jingzong flicked the dirt on his clothes and asked Zhu'er: "It's late, what is the old madam doing here?"
Zhu'er shook her head: "I don't know either. It's just when Sister Chao Yun gave me some instruction at the corridor, I seem to hear the old madam telling the princess not to be angry."
Chen Jingzong stopped moving. She was the ancestor, who would dare to provoke her?
In the main room not far away, Sun shi made sure that her daughter-in-law princess didn't take the gossip in the garden seriously. While relaxing, she suddenly thought of her Old Four and asked strangely: "It's almost lunch time, why didn't I see the Old Four?"
Hua Yang was half disgusted and half smiling: "Who knows, I haven't seen him for most of the day. But don't worry, Mom, he will definitely show up when the food is actually served."
Fooling a child like Wan Yi, Hua Yang could evade by saying that Chen Jingzong was sleeping in, but the person in front of her was her mother-in-law, the one who dared to go into the house to wake his son up.
Sun shi guessed that the Old Four had gone out secretly, only it was difficult to tell her daughter-in-law princess and let her see a joke, but she couldn't help but dislike him a bit.
But her dislike was different from Luo Yuyan's ridicule. Hua Yang could see her mother-in-law's love for her son.
Hua Yang suddenly asked: "Mom, Eldest Brother and Third Brother are all good at studying, then why Prince Consort chose to practice martial arts?"
In fact, she had been curious about this question in her previous life, but at that time she was not that close to the Chen family. Directly asking Chen Jingzong would have been like pointing out his shortcomings, and asking her mother-in-law might have been seen as criticizing someone else's son to their face.
In this life, she treated Sun shi closer, so that she could talk about her family members more freely.
Seeing that her daughter-in-law's eyes were only filled with curiosity and no other hidden meaning, Sun shi shook her head and sighed, "Well, this cannot be blamed on Jingzong entirely."
After she married Chen Tingjian, she gave birth to four sons.
The Old One won Zhuangyuan title, the Old Two also had the honor of being a Juren before he died of illness, and the Old Three won the Tanhua title. The reading talents of these three brothers naturally did not need to be said.
As for the Old Four, when he was a child he was like his brothers, had red lips, white teeth, and pretty eyebrows. He could memorize poems and words very quickly, and he looked like a scholar seedling.
The unfortunate thing was that the Old Four was the youngest. Even if he had the same talent, he couldn't stand up to the three brothers who were older than him. As a result, the sentence that the Old Four heard most when he was a child turned out to be "Shilang should study hard, grow up like your older brothers!"
Or maybe in school, the Old Four would occasionally play around with his homework and make mistakes, and the teachers would say to him: "So naughty, very different from your elder brother back then!"
Sometimes he was not as good as the eldest brother, sometimes he was not as good as the second brother, and sometimes he was not as good as the third brother. In short, no matter how well the Old Four did, with three brothers at the front, it would be difficult to show the Old Four's intelligence.
If the teacher was an outsider or even relatives and friends, there was no need to take their words to heart. But at home, the person who disliked the Old Four the most was her husband, Chen Tingjian.
Colleagues in the officialdom praised her husband for being gentle, steady and dignified. However, at home and in front of the children, her husband was a strict father through and through.
In particular, her husband was still young at that time and was even less patient with the children.
The Old One was steady, the Old Two was sickly, and the Old Three was slick. These three rarely get scolded.
The Old Four was more out-tempered and received the most training. However, the Old Four had a hard bone. The more he was trained, the less he wanted to study. He even went to the military attache's house next door to practice martial arts with his children.
Whether it was the general situation that the imperial court valued literature over martial arts, or her husband's own selfish motives as a civil official, he hoped that the Old Four would study hard and gain fame. In order to make the Old Four gave up learning martial arts, her husband ignored her objections and used various tricks on the Old Four, such as grounding and family law. In the end, she couldn't stand it anymore and threatened her husband that she would move back to the old house, only then her husband unwillingly hired a martial arts master for the Old Four.
The father and son were fed up with each other. When the Old Four was ten years old, he stubbornly took the martial arts master back to Lingzhou.
Thinking of the years she spent apart from her fourth son, Sun shi sighed again.
Hua Yang finally understood why there was a martial arts son in Cabinet Elder's family.
"Alright, I should go back. If the Old Four comes back too late, I will teach him a lesson tomorrow. Princess, don't be angry with him."
Before leaving, Sun shi still worried about her missing son.
Hua Yang smiled and sent her mother-in-law to the gate of the courtyard. When she turned around, she saw Chen Jingzong walking out of the west wing.
In the setting sun, he was dressed in plain clothes, his figure was tall, and both sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, revealing a pair of slender and strong forearms.
The couple walked to the main room almost at the same time.
"Why was Mom here?" Chen Jingzong looked at her and asked.
Hua Yang smiled: "It's such a small thing. Not worth mentioning again."
She really didn't take Luo Yuyan's little thoughts to heart. Some women regarded their husbands as their honor. But she was a princess, it was the man that should be proud to be her prince consort.
"Go take a bath, we'll have lunch later."
Leaving the sweaty man, Hua Yang went to the side room to rest.
Chen Jingzong:…..
He couldn't see her anger, on the contrary, he could see that she was somewhat proud and complacent!
.
After nightfall, Chen Jingzong rinsed his mouth several times before walking towards the Babu bed.
"Turn out the lights." Hua Yang said without any refutation.
Chen Jingzong: "What's wrong with being able to see?"
Hua Yang just glared at him.
Chen Jingzong didn't want to spoil her mood, so he honestly went to put out all the lights.
When he came to the bedside, his breath was already like fire.
Hua Yang was lying lazily, and Chen Jingzong came to hug her. She seemed to be asleep and didn't respond. It wasn't until Chen Jingzong pull her to sit in his embrace that Hua Yang cried out in surprise and tried to move away.
"Just like this." Chen Jingzong held her firmly.
But he was like a branding iron, how could Hua Yang sit still?
Just as she was about to suggest lying down, Chen Jingzong suddenly grabbed her thin night clothes and pulled them down her shoulders.
Hua Yang immediately hugged his head.
In the previous life, she married him for four years, but had never experienced anything like this. Now that she knew this wonderful taste, Hua Yang could no longer bear to let him die.
No matter how many shortcomings he had during the day, he was really good at night. Even though there were many strong military attachés outside, she didn't bother to find the second one.
When she reached the peak, Hua Yang almost scratched her most cherished Shu brocade mattress.
Just rolling around like this, it wasn't until the middle of the night that there was no movement or sound inside the Babu bed.
Hua Yang lay softly on Chen Jingzong's broad chest, her white and smooth body moved with his strong breathing.
Chen Jingzong held her shoulders and his satisfaction evident as he said, "This is what being husband and wife means. This is what I call living a good life. Once we've completed our mourning period, I'll make sure you have an even better life."
The word "better" was particularly emphasized.
After all, he worked hard that night, but got nothing good, so his heart felt stifled with fire.
Hua Yang didn't answer his vulgar words, and unconsciously pressed his collarbone with her fingertips, saying weakly: "I want to go and burn the incense to the old lady."
Chen Jingzong looked at her in surprise: "It's been hot lately, you don't even go out of the house, you still want to burn incense?"
Hua Yang hummed: "The hotter it gets, the more sincere I am."
Chen Jingzong could tell: "You really want to go?"
Hua Yang had already found an excuse. While venting her anger by using her nails to mark crescent moons on his strong flesh, she said guiltily: "After all, we are in mourning, but we have done so many unethical things. You may not care, but I always feel guilty, so I want to go to the old lady's grave to repent and ask her for forgiveness."
Nothing wrong with burning incense, but Chen Jingzong really didn't want her to toss in vain on hot summer days, so he comforted her: "The old lady is from the country, not so particular…"
Hua Yang pinched him hard.
Chen Jingzong took a long breath: "Okay, just go. Then tomorrow morning? Let's go early and come back early while it's cool."
Hua Yang was satisfied, let go of his hand and said: "The day after tomorrow. I'm afraid I won't be able to get up tomorrow morning."
Although Chen Jingzong did not laugh out loud, his chest vibrated, obviously very proud.
After a day of rest, in the evening, Hua Yang and Chen Jingzong went to the Main House to meet Sun shi. Chen Tingjian heard that his daughter-in-law princess was here, so he put down his books and went into the hall.
After the greeting, Chen Jingzong said: "Mom, the Princess had a dream last night. She dreamed of an old woman. From her description, I thought she seems similar to grandmother. The Princess was a little scared. She has been feeling uneasy all day, so I want to take her to offer incense for grandmother tomorrow morning."
Hua Yang cooperated and showed uneasiness.
Sun shi was very surprised. Her daughter-in-law princess had never seen the old lady, but she could dream of her?
Whether it was true or not, it made the princess afraid, and it was all the fault of their Chen family.
Chen Tingjian then spoke: "It's probably because the Princess didn't care about her status and come to mourn the old lady, so she was so happy that she unintentionally bumped into the Princess. In that case, tomorrow this minister will accompany the Princess, and this minister will tell the old lady not to disturb the Princess again."
Dreaming about the old lady was just an excuse for Hua Yang and Chen Jingzong to offer incense. But Chen Tingjian was so serious. Hua Yang felt ashamed for deceiving her father-in-law, but Chen Jingzong was secretly amused. What kind of cabinet elder actually believed in ghosts and gods.
He showed disdain, but Hua Yang threw him a sharp look. How could father-in-law believe in ghosts and gods? He was just saying this to appease her.
After the prince consort behaved honestly, Hua Yang said to Chen Tingjian again: "I won't bother Father, Mom, brothers and sisters-in-law with this matter. I'll just ask Prince Consort to accompany me. Traveling with many people is troublesome, and it can delay time. If the neighbors see, they will also wonder if something big happened in our house."
Chen Tingjian was very hesitant.
Chen Jingzong sneered: "With me protecting the Princess, what are you worried about?"
Chen Tingjian looked over with dissatisfaction. What he was afraid of was that his son would mess around halfway and not take good care of the princess.
If the princess had not been present, he would have said this.
The father and son could not live in harmony for a day. Sun shi was tired and made the decision: "The Princess is thoughtful, so just listen to the Princess. I will ask people to prepare the incense. You will bring four more guards tomorrow morning."
Chen Jingzong was about to say that he didn't need an escort when Hua Yang gave him a gentle tug. Her purpose was to burn incense, and it was not a secret. It would be better to have an escort with them, which proved that she was not looking for an excuse to pull Chen Jingzong out for sightseeing.
The matter was then settled.
After the young couple left, Sun shi scolded her husband: "Let the Old Four to go out alone with the princess, so the young couple can develop their feelings. If you bring the whole family with you, what's the point?"
Chen Tingjian seemed to have heard a big joke: "The Old Four like that, how can the princess have feelings for him? They are like heaven and earth!"
If it weren't for the emperor and empress took the initiative to arrange this marriage, even if Chen Tingjian had a hundred layers of face, he would never propose to marry the imperial princess for his fourth son.
By chance, a rough guy like the Old Four married the princess. The Old Four took all the good thing and the princess suffered all the grievances!
Sun shi then quietly: "The emperor praised the Old Four for his bravery, but looking at your disdain, it seems that you are the Princess's biological father."
"Nonsense!" Chen Tingjian's expression changed drastically as he gave his wife a rare scolding. He then lowered his voice and explained: "Such rebellious words, be careful of what comes out of your mouth."
Sun shi pouted: "Not to mention that, I just think that the relationship between husband and wife has little to do with each other's status. If the Princess dislikes the Old Four, then we have no right to interfere. But if the Princess doesn't dislike the Old Four, yet you still look at the Old Four unpleasantly every day, I'm afraid that in the end the Princess will blame you for being too rude to her Prince Consort. The day before yesterday, Third Ddaughter-in-law was having a bad temper, implying that the Old Four didn't know how to study and just have brute strength, and the Princess had a fit on the spot…"
Chen Tingjian frowned: "Third Daughter-in-law had a bad temper? Towards the Princess?"
Sun shi: "What I mean is that the Princess has shown signs of protecting our Old Four. Yet you…"
Chen Tingjian didn't believe it, so he interrupted his wife and said, "Let's talk about Third Daughter-in-law first. I'm the father-in-law and can't come forward. As the mother-in-law, you go and warn her not to be disrespectful to the Princess again."
Sun shi: "She has a big belly, what should I say?"
Chen Tingjian's face darkened: "You can't forget your dignity even if you have a big belly. If you can't say it, call the Old Three over and let him say it."
Sun shi had a headache: "Forget it, let me say it."
If this matter become big, she was afraid that her third daughter-in-law would give birth prematurely!
.
The next morning, Chen Jingzong accompanied Hua Yang and set off early.
There were many mountains near Shiqiao Town, one of which was reserved to bury the dead by local people. The ancestral graves of the Chen family were also there.
The coachman drove the carriage, and the princess and the prince consort sat inside.
The carriage was not big to begin with, and Chen Jingzong's whole body was full of heat, making Hua Yang very uncomfortable.
Chen Jingzong was about to raise the curtain.
Hua Yang patted his hand with the handle of the fan: "Where's your decorum?"
She was a princess, how could he open the curtains and let others see her?
She thought Chen Jingzong was crude, and Chen Jingzong couldn't stand her aloofness, so he simply turned around and opened the curtains on his side.
Hua Yang immediately covered her face with the circular fan.
Chen Jingzong stuck his head out of the window.
"Hey, is Old Four going out?" A neighbor saw him and greeted him with a smile.
Chen Jingzong lived in his hometown the longest and was kind to his neighbors. He replied: "Yes, I dreamed of our old lady, so I'll go and offer her some incense."
The neighbor: "Our Old Four is still filial."
As he spoke, the neighbor's eyes curiously glanced into the carriage.
However, Chen Jingzong held the curtains open with one hand, exposing only his head and shoulders, so the neighbors could not see anything.
When the carriage left the town and there was no one in the fields along the road, Chen Jingzong hung up the curtains.
The refreshing morning breeze blew over. Hua Yang glanced at Chen Jingzong and slowly lowered the fan.
Chen Jingzong leaned against the corner of the carriage, his eyes scanning unscrupulously over her flushed face and her plump lips. Occasionally, the carriage shook, and her clothes swung, making people unable to take their eyes off of her.
Hua Yang felt as if his gaze had turned into a pair of hands.
The longer he looked at her, the more embarrassed she became. Finally, she became angry and hit him with the fan handle.
Chen Jingzong pulled down the curtain with one hand, then grabbed her wrist with both hands and slammed the person against the carriage wall.
It was broad daylight, and there was a coachman in the front and guards at the back. Hua Yang's whole body was burning with rage, she gritted his teeth and scolded him: "Presumptuous!"
Chen Jingzong: "I'm even more presumptuous at night, don't you like it too?"
Before the words finished, he took a bite.
The Author has something to say:
This book is really about how a couple makes their lives better and better. You can imagine the rhythm of a popcorn family drama
Chapter 15
The closer the carriage got to the foot of the mountain, the rougher the road and the more severe the bumps became.
Chen Jingzong finally helped Hua Yang put on the silver chain pearl earring on her right ear again. Just now, he took it off because he thought it was in the way.
He sat upright and looked at Hua Yang again. The taut face was red, even angry, but it was still very charming.
The princess was very particular about respectability. In order not to reveal any traces when she got out of the carriage, she would rather cooperate than struggle at all. In this way the hairpin on her head was not messed up, and the plain white skirt on her body did not have any unnecessary creases.
Just like a fairy who suddenly lost her magic power and couldn't move, allowing ordinary people to get close to her and do whatever they wanted.
Chen Jingzong picked up the round fan that she had left on the couch, and fanned her apologetically, while thinking to himself that he would definitely try it in the carriage again after the new year.
Hua Yang didn't bother to look at him and slightly raised the curtains next to him to let the wind in and blow away the stale atmosphere in the carriage.
Behind the carriage was the clatter of hooves from the four guards' horses. Hua Yang recalled for a moment and was very sure that she did not make any noise.
Her heartbeat slowly calmed down, and the heat on her face gradually cooled down.
With the sound of the coachman sound "sha", the carriage stopped.
"Princess, Prince Consort, the mountain is ahead."
Hua Yang looked at the cabinet next to Chen Jingzong, her curtain hat was placed on the top of the cabinet.
They didn't bring any maid on this trip, so what the maid should do naturally fell on Chen Jingzong.
Chen Jingzong picked up the curtain hat and put it on for Hua Yang.
A hazy white gauze hung down lightly, blurring the princess's face. Only a pair of red lips still showed their bright color through the gauze.
Chen Jingzong glanced at her lips for the last time, got off the carriage first, and then turned around to help her.
Stepping out of the carriage, a refreshing morning breeze immediately enveloped Hua Yang. She savored a few breaths of the fresh air and then, gazing ahead, saw a small mountain covered in lush greenery. Between the trees, she spotted winding stone steps and several weathered tombstones showing the vicissitudes of life.
Chen Jingzong asked the coachman and the guards to stay where they were. Holding a bamboo basket containing incense paper and other items in one hand, and Hua Yang's arm with the other, the couple walked forward side by side.
Hua Yang found that the stone steps here were very clean, so she asked, "Do the mountains behind your house also have such stone steps?"
Chen Jingzong: "How is it possible? Those are barren mountains. This is a place where families bury their relatives. They often come to worship and have specially built several stone steps."
Just as Hua Yang was about to speak, a small black insect with wings buzzed over, scaring her so much that she quickly grabbed Chen Jingzong's arm and hid behind him.
Chen Jingzong waved his hand and swatted the flying insects into the grass on the roadside.
Hua Yang no longer had the leisure to enjoy the scenery. She just wanted to finish paying homage to the old lady and go down the mountain quickly.
The mountain breeze occasionally blew her veil, and Chen Jingzong saw her frowning tightly with a slightly pale complexion, showing a look of disgust that he was very familiar with.
He mocked: "I told you a long time ago that the old lady won't mind what we do. You insist on being particular, come to climb the mountain in vain and suffer."
Hua Yang had her own thoughts.
The Chen family was considered a wealthy family here in Shiqiao Town, coupled with Chen Tingjian's rise to the top after becoming Zhuangyuan, the people in the old house renovated the area around the ancestral tomb which occupied a separate hilltop, and the path in front of several tombs were all paved with neat stone slabs, making them easy to clean.
From the foot of the mountain to the Chen family's ancestral tomb, the couple only climbed the mountain road for about a quarter of an hour. Even so, Hua Yang was panting from exhaustion.
Chen Jingzong took off her curtain hat: "In a place like this, no one can see you except for a group of ancestors in our family."
Hua Yang looked back at the mountain road she came from and didn't reject him.
Chen Jingzong told her to rest. He took a broom and swept all the tombstones, and then placed incense paper, food and other offerings in front of the old lady's new tomb.
After everything was ready, he turned back and called Hua Yang: "Come here."
Hua Yang walked to him, looked at the hard stone slab under her feet, and frowned.
Growing up, except for imperial ancestor worship, she had never knelt down. In front of her father emperor and mother empress, she mostly just bowed when greeting them.
And this kind of hard stone was very uncomfortable to kneel on.
Chen Jingzong knew what she was thinking at a glance. He snorted, then took off his outer coat, folded it several times and spread it on the ground.
Hua Yang smiled. This person was a rough man, but he was quite good at taking care of others.
When she knelt down, she heard Chen Jingzong saying to the old lady's tombstone: "Grandma, you are lucky. You have your granddaughter-in-law princess coming to worship you. There are so many old ladies in the world, but you are the only one who have the same treatment as the nobles in the imperial mausoleum."
This was such an undisguised tease that Hua Yang stretched out her hand to twist his waist. As a result, Chen Jingzong tensed up slightly, but his thin waist did not allow her to twist the flesh.
"Don't groping around in front of grandma." Chen Jingzong scolded her seriously.
Hua Yang:…
Chen Jingzong lit three incense sticks and handed them to her.
Business was important. Hua Yang took the incense and looked at the old lady's tombstone. She closed her eyes and whispered softly: "Old lady, Granddaughter-in-law came to mourn you sincerely, and never thought of violating the etiquette. It's the rascal Prince Consort who forced himself on me."
Chen Jingzong:…..
He did force some things, but he didn't force her to eat those game meats, right?
"Although Prince Consort breaks the rules many times, I know that he sincerely filial you."
Chen Jingzong was startled, his gaze fell on her fair face. Her long and thick eyelashes were drooping, as pious as if she were offering incense in front of the Buddha.
"Granddaughter-in-law is here today, firstly to apologize to you, and secondly to ask the old lady's spirit in heaven to bless Prince Consort to be well in this life. Doesn't need to be appointed prime minister or conferred noble title, only ask to turn bad luck into good luck and live a long life."
Speaking until here, Hua Yang opened her eyes, and there was a hint of water in her eyes.
Ignoring Chen Jingzong who was frozen on the side, she solemnly bowed three times, stepped forward and inserted the incense into the incense burner.
Chen Jingzong: "You…"
Hua Yang just put on her curtain hat and said calmly: "Let's go back."
Because of her abnormality, on the way back to Chen House, Chen Jingzong was very honest and only looked at her inquiringly a few times.
.
After offering incense to the old lady, Hua Yang returned to her usual life, reading or practicing calligraphy during the day, and occasionally letting Chen Jingzong served her at night.
It tasted good, but it was unbearable to taste it every night, so Hua Yang would not blindly indulge Chen Jingzong.
It's late Sixth Month in the blink of an eye.
That night Chen Jingzong was sleeping soundly when he suddenly heard Hua Yang scream, and she pressed against him in panic.
Chen Jingzong turned over and lifted Hua Yang, then took big strides away from the babu bed before setting her down. He quickly examined her hair and her back, asked, "Did a bug crawl on you?"
First, he would make sure that the bug was not on her, and then go back to the bed to check and kill it.
Hua Yang shook her head and threw herself into his arms again: "There are no bugs, it's just a nightmare."
After hearing this, Chen Jingzong relaxed, patted her on the shoulder, picked her up and sat back down.
"What kind of nightmare? Tell me about it?"
It was rare for her to be so weak, and Chen Jingzong's voice was softer than usual.
Hua Yang rested her head on his shoulder, intertwined her fingers with his, and said with lingering fear: "I dreamed that there is a heavy rain here, and the next day, the river in front of the town swelled, and all the muddy yellow water flooded the town."
Chen Jingzong frowned slightly. He had indeed experienced this situation twice, but the flood was not deep, the rain stopped and receded. The people cleaned the courtyard and continued to live as they usual.
But he didn't dare telling her this, fearing that the princess from the capital who had never experienced anything like this before, would be frightened all summer long.
"It's just a dream, don't take it seriously." Chen Jingzong continued to coax.
Hua Yang grasped his middle coat tightly: "I know it's a dream, but everything in it seems to really happened. The water is rising higher and higher. Father wants us all to go to the mountains to take shelter from the rain. You're afraid that I won't be able to walk, so you carry me all the way…"
Chen Jingzong's action of patting her shoulder became a little slower. Dreaming about floods might be common, but she could still dream of their family moving to the mountains?
Before he could think deeply, his body actually changed because Hua Yang stick to him too tightly.
The princess who had relied on him so much just now suddenly punched him in the chest, and ran away angrily.
Chen Jingzong:…..
He chased after her, pressed her down and said, "Let's kiss for a while. You won't be afraid after kissing."
Chen Jingzong, who had a warm and soft jade in his arms, fell asleep half-satisfied after serving the princess. After dawn, he saw that Hua Yang no longer took the dream seriously, so he also put the matter at the back of his mind.
Unexpectedly, another day passed, and the sky in Shiqiao Town seemed to have a big hole, and it began to rain heavily.
Chen Jingzong put on his raincoat and ran to the small garden at the back, busily covering several peonies with wooden boards to protect them from the rain.
After all, it was planted with his own hand, and it was something she liked. Chen Jingzong was reluctant to let his hard work go to waste.
After sorting out the peonies, Chen Jingzong hurried back to Siyi Hall. When he entered the courtyard, he saw a carved window of the inner room was open. Hua Yang stood by the window in a daze, and the cold rain made her beautiful face look paler, with a bit of sadness.
Their eyes met and Hua Yang waved to him.
Chen Jingzong stepped on the water and ran to the door of the main room. He stood under the eaves and took off his dripping raincoat. As for his trouser and shoes, they were already soaked through.
After handing the coir raincoat to Chao Yun, Chen Jingzong walked to the inner room.
Hua Yang was still standing by the window, looking sideways at him, and noticed his wet trouser. She was puzzled: "It's just a few peonies. If they die, then just transplant new ones, why you need to brave the rain to protect them?"
Chen Jingzong: "A peony costs a few tael of silvers, so why waste it? You, on the other hand, are not afraid of catching cold just standing there."
In Chen Jingzong's eyes, Hua Yang was exactly a peony that was beautiful but could not withstand strong winds and heavy rains, delicate to the core.
He walked to Hua Yang and wanted to carry her to bed.
Hua Yang took his arm, pointed at the gloomy clouds in the sky and said, "It's just like what I dreamed, no wind and heavy rain."
Chen Jingzong finally understood the reason for the worry in her expression.
"Are you afraid that dream will come true?"
Hua Yang nodded: "It's too coincidental. I just had such a dream, and it rained like this right away. Do you think it was the old lady who heard what I said and deliberately used the dream to warn us?"
After being reborn, Hua Yang had many things to change. It was difficult for her to do everything alone. She needed Chen Jingzong's help.
But she couldn't tell Chen Jingzong about her rebirth.
She was afraid that Chen Jingzong would be frightened by the fact that he died on the battlefield in her previous life, and she was even more afraid that Chen Jingzong would resent her brother because of his punishment of the Chen family.
After all, she was still the imperial daughter. She not only wanted everyone in the Chen family to have a good ending, but also wanted her father-in-law and others to continue faithfully serve the court.
She hoped that in this life, her younger brother and her father-in-law would have the relationship where the monarch trusted the courtier, and the courtier loyal to the monarch, and work together to create a peaceful and prosperous world!
She was ambitious, but Chen Jingzong's teasing sounded above her head: "If the old lady really want to warn us, she should warn me, her own grandson. Why she didn't give me a dream?"
Hua Yang glared at him: "I am the one who wanted to go offer incense, I am the one who apologize, and I am the one who begged the old lady for protection. What does it have to do with you?"
Chen Jingzong wanted to refute, but Hua Yang added: "Besides, if the old lady wants to reveal some heavenly secret, how can ordinary people bear it? Maybe the old lady failed to find you first, and then she turned to me, the princess, to entrust her dream."
Although it was nonsense, there was still a little bit of truth in it. If one believed in ghosts and gods, they might be really convinced by Hua Yang.
But Chen Jingzong did not believe in ghosts and gods, let alone admit that Hua Yang's flesh and blood were really more noble than his.
What dragon's sons and descendants, which dynasty's founding emperors were not ordinary people or ordinary officials at the beginning? They all gained the dragon robe through hard work in the later period.
Hua Yang was just lucky enough to be reincarnated in the empress's womb. From then on, she was pampered and loved by everyone, and everyone around her fawned over her.
For Chen Jingzong, Hua Yang's beauty and body were far more useful than her status as a princess. If she didn't look like what he wanted, Chen Jingzong wouldn't bother to serve her.
He pulled the worried princess into his arms, looked out the window and said, "Giving dream is too unreliable. Maybe it's just a coincidence. It will stop raining tomorrow."
Hua Yang didn't expect to be able to convince him today, so she agreed, "I hope so."
At noon, Hua Yang took a nap accompanied by the rain, and Chen Jingzong quietly went out.
He was wearing a raincoat and a hat. In the pouring rain, even if the neighbors passed by, they wouldn't recognize him.
Chen Jingzong came all the way to the river section south of the town.
The heavy rain caused the river surface to swell a bit, and the river water was turbid and yellow, and the rapids were rolling.
Even if it wasn't for her dream, the town should take precautions against such heavy rain.
Just when Chen Jingzong was thinking about going back and warning the old man, a voice suddenly came from behind: "Cabinet Elder, be careful, there is a mud pit here."
Chen Jingzong turned sideways.
Through the dense rain like curtains, Chen Jingzong saw several hurried figures. The leader was wearing a raincoat, striding into the puddle in the middle of the dirt road, and walking towards the river bank with a determined face.
Chen Jingzong withdrew his gaze and deliberately took a few steps away.
In addition to the village chief, Chen Tingjian was also accompanied by Chen Bozong and Chen Xiaozong.
Observing the water across the river, Chen Tingjian touched his long beard that was wet by the rain, and ordered the village chief: "From now on, send two people to monitor the river surface at all times. If there is a flood, one person will inform you and me, and the other person will inform the people near the river to move to avoid disaster first.
"Are there any orphans, widows, elderly, frail, or disabled people living alone in the town? Ask people to register them immediately. If there is a flood, send people to help these families to move.
"Notify the night watchman to start the watch, and remind the people to move their food to high places to avoid getting damp.
"We also need to arrange a few people to inform other villages and towns along the river to take precautions."
The rain was pouring heavily, but the sound was sonorous and powerful.
The village chief responded one by one.
Chen Tingjian continued to stand by the river, his eyes swept across a tall figure covered by a raincoat ten feet away, and then moved away again.
