"Mom, are you looking for me?" Ouyang Zirou sat on the round stool beside the table and poured a cup of tea.
Mrs. Ouyang took a deep breath, suppressed her emotions, and said, "What is your relationship with Mr. Fang?"
"It's okay." Ouyang Zirou blurted out. Seeing Mrs. Ouyang's gloomy and uncertain face, she couldn't help but soften her tone, "I just met her a few times in Qiluo City, and I went to say New Year's greetings in advance before New Year's Eve. Don't It’s nothing.”
"Nothing?" Mrs. Ouyang snorted coldly, "Stop fooling me with your tricks of fooling others. You are my daughter, how can I not know you?"
Ouyang Zirou silently put the tea cup she just picked up back on the table, lowering her eyes and saying nothing.
"Don't want to say it?" Mrs. Ouyang waved her hand and dismissed the servants, leaving only a nanny who was close to her. "Okay, I will say it for you."
"Mother..." Ouyang Zirou looked at Mrs. Ouyang coquettishly, but saw that she had no expression and said: "You said Master Fang discovered that the craftsman was cutting corners and sent someone to accompany you to find the craftsman to ask for an explanation. In the end, there was a quarrel When I came to the house, I didn’t say anything, and I even suppressed the matter so that your father didn’t know about it.”
Ouyang Zirou walked to Mrs. Ouyang and knelt down, looking like a little daughter, "I knew my mother was the best to me."
"I treat you best, but what about you?" Mrs. Ouyang looked down at her, her expression a little more serious, "On New Year's Eve, Mr. Fang sent someone to the Ministry of Works to take the craftsman away."
Ouyang Zirou muttered softly, "It's not like I asked Mr. Fang to ask for it..."
"I don't think you have the ability to ask Mr. Fang to obey your words." Mrs. Ouyang sighed and said, "Your father knows about this. I can't protect you anymore. Let him be beaten or punished."
"What do you mean?" Ouyang Zirou suddenly raised her head and looked at Mrs. Ouyang, "Didn't your Majesty's offer of an official position to me be rejected by my father? I just made random gadgets myself, who's in the way?"
"Zi Rou, can you hide it from others, including your father?" Mrs. Ouyang said quietly, "Several generations of the Ouyang family have been in the Ministry of Industry. If there is any trouble, your father knows much better than you. Those little tricks of yours, He just didn't bother to say it, but you can't be arrogant and hide it from others. If you anger your father, the consequences..."
"What are the consequences?" Ouyang Zirou's eyes widened, "The worst case scenario is that you can drive me out of Ouyang's house."
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Mrs. Ouyang was furious. "No one will stop you if you want to leave, but have you ever thought about your brother or me?"
Ouyang Zirou immediately surrendered and said: "Mom, I was wrong. I was just too anxious and kept talking. You must not be as knowledgeable as me."
"You." Mrs. Ouyang stretched out her hand to cover the top of her hair and said helplessly: "No matter what you want to do since you were a child, your mother has always supported you. But this time, just listen to your mother and don't do it again."
Ouyang Zirou retorted unconvinced: "I like to do it and I can do it well, why don't you want me to do it?"
"There are quite a few of you in the Ministry of Industry in Dajing." Mrs. Ouyang's face turned colder. "Or do you also want to be like Master Fang or General Xiahou and enter the court as an official as a woman?"
"Why not?" Ouyang Zirou asked back, and Mrs. Ouyang's face became even colder, "Look at the two of them, one is suffering from injuries and is walking on thin ice, and the other is left behind in Baiyue and doesn't even have any children. Do you want this too?" ?"
"I..." Ouyang Zirou said harshly: "I'm not as powerful as them, so naturally the price I pay won't be that high."
"You also know that you have to pay a price." Mrs. Ouyang's eyes were filled with some indescribable emotions, "Master Fang's success today is all due to her hard work with one sword and one sword. You can't compare to it, and you can't compare to it. Then say Talking about General Xiahou, she was born into a general, and her father was the general who protected the country in Baiyue. If she had not died early, how could she have seen a female cast member wearing armor on the battlefield?"
"Mother..." Ouyang Zirou was interrupted by Mrs. Ouyang as soon as she started to speak, "Zirou, your father and I are still alive, so the Ouyang family doesn't need you as a girl to support the family."
"Mother!" Ouyang Zirou stood up suddenly, "Even if I have an official position, I will not change the position of the Ouyang family, and I will not compete with my brother for the head of the family. Why can't I do it?"
"You..." Mrs. Ouyang's voice trembled with anger, "If the Ouyang family wants you to enter the officialdom as a girl, how can you have the dignity to be among the nine great ministers? Aren't you going to make others laugh at you?"
She suddenly started coughing as she spoke, and the nanny beside her helped her calm down and said: "Madam, please don't be angry. The young lady is also obsessed with things for a while. Just wait until she figures it out."
"By the time she figures it out... it will be too late." Mrs. Ouyang took a breath and continued: "If you continue like this, your father will probably give the position of head of the family to that boy Ouyang Juncheng."
"How is it possible?" Ouyang Zirou sat back, "Even though my brother has mediocre qualifications, he is the only son of my father and mother after all. It is impossible for my father..."
"Impossible?" Mrs. Ouyang said sternly: "You also know that your brother's qualifications are mediocre, but Ouyang Juncheng is not only talented, but also married to the daughter of the Wang family. With the help of the Wang family, he has suppressed your brother in the past two years. One end."
Ouyang Zirou's face was full of disbelief. Mrs. Ouyang's voice was a little lower, "Your father was hesitant in his heart, but now it is widely spread that your brother is the next head of the family. This is enough to upset him. If you If we continue to cause trouble at this juncture and offend him, let alone the position of the head of the family, I am afraid that he will never want to see us, mother and son again."
Ouyang Zirou's expression was dark and unclear. Mrs. Ouyang held her hand and said, "Zirou, I don't want your brother to fight for the position of head of the family. But if we don't fight, how will we, mother and son, gain a foothold in the Ouyang family for the rest of our lives? Have you ever thought about it?"
"I understand." Ouyang Zirou said slowly, "I'm going to find dad right now. I'll beat him or punish him."
"No need." Mrs. Ouyang held her hand a little tighter, "Zirou, you just need to promise me that from now on, you won't leave the house unless you have anything to do, and you can just settle down and get married."
"Ready to get married in peace of mind?" Ouyang Zirou said blankly: "Who should I marry?"
"General Huangfulin proposed marriage to your father years ago. He said that his young general Huangfuxin fell in love with you at first sight in Qiluo City." Mrs. Ouyang's expression softened a little, "Your father has not agreed yet, so he said he wanted to ask It’s our mother and daughter’s wish. I thought about it today and I think it’s very suitable. I have no reason to refuse.”
Ouyang Zirou bit her lips tightly, "Mom, I have already promised you, why do you want to marry me so far to the north?"
"Young General Huangfu Xin's talent is a perfect match for you." Mrs. Ouyang looked at Ouyang Zirou's hands in her palms and said solemnly and dignifiedly: "You are the daughter of my Wei family, and the wind and sand in the north can't do anything to you. Go ahead, Mom, I believe you will have a great time."
Ouyang Zirou clenched her ten fingers into a fist, forcefully broke away Mrs. Ouyang's hand, turned around and ran out.
"Miss!" Mammy shouted anxiously, and Mrs. Ouyang said quietly: "Let her go."
"Madam, why didn't you tell the lady..." Mammy looked unbearable, and Mrs. Ouyang smiled, "What did you say? That I acted independently when I was a child and caused my sister to die in front of me? She was still young and didn't know. The price of some things is high. All high-ranking families are giant man-eating beasts."
"Madam..." Mammy's eyes were red, but Madam Ouyang still just smiled, "You don't have to be like this. I have been cautious for so many years just to prevent what happened back then from happening again. I will not let anyone harm Zi Rou. Including herself.”
