The summer season has just passed, the cicadas have not stopped chirping, and it is still annoyingly hot at noon.
Chu Yao was sitting by the window with half-rolled bamboo curtains, lowering her head to sew a snow-forged singlet.
Lu Shaohuai originally bought this piece of material for her to make clothes. She couldn't bear to wear it. She always felt that she lived in the inner courtyard and rarely went out, so she didn't need to wear such expensive materials, so she planned to make a single shirt for Lu Shaohuai. The remaining fabric I will make some more blouses for my son.
My son will be one year old in two months. He can't walk yet, but he can stand. He stands with his little hands raised and swaying from side to side, which is really cute.
When she thought of her son, Chu Yao couldn't help but raise the corners of her mouth, but suddenly thought that her husband had not been home for many days, and she inevitably became uneasy again.
My mind was at a loss, and my mind was not on the needlework. I only had a few stitches before my hand was pricked.
Her beautiful eyebrows furrowed slightly. She pinched the punctured fingertip to stop the bleeding. She turned away and looked out the window. She saw her maid Zhiye raising her hand to block the sun, hiding under the eaves of the corridor, and trotting along under the shade. , dodged into the room.
The summer heat turned her little face red, and beads of sweat appeared on the tip of her nose.
"Young lady, I heard from the people in the front yard that your husband is back!"
I know that Ye Fang is thirteen years old, a not very stable age, but has the liveliness and cuteness of a girl.
Chu Yao stood up happily and breathed a sigh of relief: "My husband is finally back!"
A few days ago, her husband, Lu Shaohuai, went out of the city to purchase medicinal materials. Not long after he left, King Jinyang's army arrived at Suizhou City and blocked all eight city gates and a waterway. These days, the people in the city are in panic. Once the city gate is lost and the soldiers are like grates, no one knows what will happen.
Compared with this big thing, Chu Yao is still more worried about her husband who is out of town. It is very chaotic outside. I wonder if his food and accommodation are going well? Have you been embarrassed?
After having trouble sleeping and eating for many days, now that Chu Yao learned that he was finally back, a big stone in Chu Yao's heart finally fell to the ground.
She put down her needlework, patted away all the rags on her skirt, and stroked her bun. She asked Zhiye to see if it was messy. Zhiye pursed her lips and smiled and said it was not messy. Chu Yao looked at her and lifted her skirt. Out of the room.
"It's very hot outside, please hold an umbrella for the young lady..." Zhiye took the umbrella and chased after her, but the soles of her young lady's feet seemed to be blown by the wind, and she was always an inch faster than the umbrella.
The scorching sun was shining, the flowers and trees were sparse, Chu Yao and Zhiye walked through the flowers and trees, and followed the verandah into the front yard. Before they reached the main hall, they heard the voice of Mrs. Lu crying with joy: "My son is finally back. , asked my mother to take a closer look, my son has lost a lot of weight, he has suffered a lot in the past few years..."
Chu Yao had some doubts in her heart: How many years? Although Lu Shaohuai had been out for a longer time this time, it was only more than half a month. How could it have turned into several years?
Pushing aside a branch of crabapple that blinded her eyes, Chu Yao saw the scene in the hall.
The hall was lively. Mrs. Lu couldn't help but burst into tears. Member Lu was stroking his beard with a look of relief. Brother Lu and his two younger sisters were also extremely happy. The young man surrounded by everyone had a thin back and was almost excited with his support. Mrs. Lu is unsteady...
This scene is like a long-lost reunion.
Chu Yao knew that the man should be her husband Lu Shaohuai, but it was wrong, she felt something was wrong...
Even though she and Lu Shaohuai had spent less and less time together in the past three years, they were still her bedfellows. They had the most intimate contact. She could tell at a glance that the Lu Shaohuai in front of her was not the husband she had shared her bed with for three years...
The man in the hall helped Mrs. Lu sit down, and Chu Yao was able to see his side face, which was very similar to her husband.
But Chu Yao confirmed that he was not her husband. Who... was he?
Chu Yao stood there blankly. The branches and leaves of the crabapple that had been pushed aside bounced back. The tip of the leaf was like a sharp thin knife, slicing towards her cheek. The branches and leaves beside her hurriedly shouted: "Young lady, be careful!"
This sound also spread to the hall, and everyone in the hall looked sideways at her.
Chu Yao also saw the man's face.
Sure enough, her handsome facial features were very similar to her husband's.
There was a hint of pain on her cheek, and she touched it instinctively. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of the red stain on her fingertips, and she fainted.
She has had the problem of dizzying at the sight of blood since she was a child, so she was very careful on weekdays and tried not to let herself see the color of blood, but today she was in a daze and made a mistake.
Fortunately, although this problem occurs quickly, it has little impact on the body, and I woke up in just a cup of tea.
At this time, she was already in the flower hall. When Zhiye saw her waking up, she hurriedly handed over the prepared tea.
After lowering his head and taking a few sips, he heard Mrs. Lu say: "Zhiye, please go outside and wait while I have a few words with Yao'er..."
Following the mistress's instructions, Rong Bu knew that Ye said no. She glanced at Chu Yao worriedly and had to bow and retreat.
The feeling of dizziness gradually faded away, and the memories before fainting quickly returned to her mind. Chu Yao looked at Mrs. Lu, her mother-in-law, with a tangled look on her face, and she opened her mouth but hesitated to speak.
Chu Yao didn't speak first, she just looked at the other person quietly.
This thing was so weird that she even wondered if she had made a mistake and that person should be Lu Shaohuai.
She was thinking in her mind, her eyes still on Mrs. Lu. After staring at her for a long time, Mrs. Lu finally spoke with difficulty.
"Yao'er, since you saw it just now, I can't hide it from you anymore. The man in the hall is my real son Shaohuai. He has been away for more than three years, and now he has finally returned safely..."
When Chu Yao heard this, her hand holding the cup was a little unsteady: What is the real Lu Shaohuai?
Then who is the "Lu Shaohuai" he married?
How come there are two Lu Shaohuai?
"My son Shaohuai is fortunate to look very similar to the prince of Jinyang. Three years ago, King Jinyang failed to raise an army. He temporarily hid his power and bided his time, waiting for the opportunity. Prince Jinyang exchanged identities with Shaohuai and stayed in Suizhou. Through secret mediation, several important city gates in Suizhou have now been replaced by King Jinyang's men, and they have cooperated with King Jinyang's army inside and outside. Shaohuai's return home today means that King Jinyang's army has entered the city, and the crown prince Naturally, Your Highness no longer needs to pretend to be Shaohuai..."
"The Crown Prince of Jinyang... exchanged identities..." She had a blank expression on her face, feeling it was ridiculous, "Since he is the Crown Prince, why... would he marry me in the first place?"
She was just the most ordinary woman, with a poor family background, no support from her father or brother, and could only depend on her sick mother. And the other party is the high-ranking Crown Prince, the son of the ambitious King Jinyang. How can I be able to catch his eye?
Mrs. Lu explained: "The prince will stay in Suizhou for a long time. He needs a wife who can not only take care of his daily life, but also cover up his identity. So I organized it for him. Among the girls I wanted, Only your birthday and horoscope are most consistent with His Royal Highness..."
This was not said tactfully, and Chu Yao naturally understood it clearly: "In this way, I am just a pawn to hide my identity..."
Mrs. Lu waved her hand: "You can't say that. Although we deceived you at the beginning, this is not a bad thing for you, but a great good thing. Soon after the prince succeeds, His Highness will be the crown prince. Yes. You followed him, gave birth to a son for him, and later followed him to the East Palace. Although you don’t dare to think about the position of Crown Princess, at least you can be a good wife or Chenghui, and the worst is to be a Feng Yi, that is a blessing that the girl next to me can never ask for in her life..."
What kind of blessing is this? Chu Yao mocked: "You think this is a blessing. Why didn't you choose one of your own girls to marry him in the first place?"
"How did you know you didn't pick one? I picked out the girls of the right age from my parents' family first, but their birthdays and horoscopes didn't match up, so you got such a big advantage." Mrs. Lu said, "However, Our Ming Shu's horoscope also matches His Highness the Crown Prince. Previously, it was difficult for her and His Highness the Crown Prince to pretend to be brothers and sisters. In fact, His Highness the Crown Prince has already agreed to ask Ming Shu to enter the palace with you as a companion... "
Lu Mingshu was the third daughter of the Lu family. She was in her twenties and eighties. It was a good time to propose marriage. She was also born into a wealthy family like Yuan Wai's family. There had been a steady stream of people coming to visit her to propose marriage, but Mrs. Lu made excuses to push it away. The girl is still young and wants to stay for two more years.
It turned out that it was not that he was reluctant to marry the girl off, but that Lu Mingshu had already made plans for her to marry the future prince.
Chu Yao sneered and put down her cup: "She doesn't have to be my companion. All the blessings should be given to her."
The strength in her body has been restored, Chu Yao stood up, without the moral restraints of being a daughter-in-law in the past, she walked out without saying goodbye to Mrs. Lu.
Seeing her leaving, Zhiye quickly followed her with an umbrella.
When Mrs. Lu saw her leaving angrily, she couldn't help but reveal a somewhat successful smile on her face.
***
Chu Yao walked faster and faster, and the joy she felt when she came was gone, replaced by resentment: this marriage was a set-up between them from the beginning, so what about the prince of Jinyang? What if I become the Prince of the East Palace in the future? Why should she be grateful after they lied to her?
She hates sharing a husband with another woman, and she hates the identity of Prince Jinyang even more!
In recent years, wars have been raging. In order to suppress the forces of all parties, the emperor of Liang recruited troops everywhere like crazy. Wealthy families could still protect themselves by giving money to the governor, but poor families could not afford enough money, so many men were forcibly expropriated by the government.
In this way, Chu Yao's two brothers were forcibly taken away from home by the government officials. To this day, there has been no news. The mother was worried day and night, fell ill, and never recovered...
King Jinyang was one of the causes of the war. Now the son of the instigator was in front of him. He felt deeply disgusted when he thought of how much he had cared for him and worried about him for the past three years.
"Young Madam, please walk slower, I can't keep up..." Zhiye had to stop as the umbrella in his hand got caught on a branch. When she carefully took off the umbrella, Chu Yao had disappeared.
Chu Yao returned to the courtyard. She had always had a gentle temperament. She couldn't do anything to vent her anger by throwing things, and she felt uncomfortable if she didn't do something.
Her eyes caught a glimpse of the half-finished dress on the low table by the window. She walked over, took out the scissors from the bamboo basket, picked up the dress and started to cut it...
But this material is really expensive and it would be a pity to cut it off...
Chu Yao had gone through a hard life before, and she was a bit frugal in her bones, which made her unable to bear to deal with this snow-white material.
That's it, just change the size and make a lining for my mother later. Don't take it out on clothes when someone else does something wrong.
While laughing at herself for being useless, she sat down, took apart the clothes, cut off some fabric, and then sewed them again according to her mother's measurements.
The turbulent anger gradually subsided in her flying needle, and she began to calmly think about what she should do next.
Zhiye walked into the room, put away the umbrella and put it aside. He turned around and saw Chu Yao sitting quietly by the window, her eyebrows slightly drooped, her thin wrists twisting, and the needle and thread in her hand shuttled through the snow-white satin like a dragon.
The shadows of the trees outside were reflected on her graceful and graceful profile. The woman by the window was as calm as a painting, and it was as calm as if she had never left the yard.
"Young madam, you just fainted once. Go to the bedroom and rest. It's not too late to make these clothes again. And when I saw Mr. Hu in the front hall, I felt a little weird. And you For the injury on your face, I will go find some medicine and apply it on you, but it’s best not to leave any scars..."
"No, I want to stay by myself for a while, you go out first." Chu Yao didn't raise her head when she said this, she just focused on doing the work in her hands. Zhiye had never seen her look like this before, and she didn't dare to ask any more questions. I had to go out first.
When dusk rose, Chu Yao finally finished her clothes. She raised her head and rubbed the sore back of her neck, and her thoughts returned to the world.
The cicadas chirping outside the window no longer felt noisy. She considered all the pros and cons of the matter and already made a decision in her mind.
She wanted to see her son first.
An hour ago, the wet nurse came to look for her with him in her arms. She was not yet calm at that time, so she just hugged him and asked the wet nurse to take him out.
The wet nurse spread a felt under the tree outside the courtyard and placed some small things for him to grab and play with. When I was tired from playing just now, my nanny took me back to the room to sleep.
Chu Yao came to the bedroom, where the little man was sleeping soundly with his arms raised.
She sat by the bed, touched his little hands and feet, and looked at her son's little face, as if she couldn't get enough of it.
After an unknown amount of time, she heard footsteps behind her. She turned around and looked: it was him who was back.
She stood up with no expression on her face: "His Royal Highness..."
The other party stared at her silently for a while, thinking that since she already knew everything, he didn't need any more explanation.
"What happened to your face?" he asked.
"Let's make peace," she said.
His expression paused for a moment, and then he said: "I'm talking about your face."
"I said, peace and separation."
