It was late at night, but the lights were brightly lit in the main courtyard of Shilang Lu's mansion. Lu Qinghe, wearing a blue homely dress, was crying on Mrs. Lu's lap.
"No! Mom, I don't want it! Don't marry that annoying Zhao Ting!"
The daughter who had always been held in the palm of her hand and loved so much was now crying so hard that Mrs. Lu was so distressed that she felt so distressed. But the imperial edict had already been issued. How could one say that she would not marry if she did not want to marry? Isn’t this resistance to the edict? ? If you resist the decree, your whole family will be at risk of being beheaded!
Mrs. Lu had no choice but to keep stroking her daughter's back distressedly: "Qinghe, don't cry, don't cry, you'll hurt your eyes if you cry carefully."
Lu Qinghe said angrily: "If you ask me to marry that bastard, I would rather cry my eyes out, I would rather die crying!"
Mrs. Lu was so frightened by Lu Qinghe's words that she hurriedly bent down to pull her up and covered her mouth. Her voice became stern: "Qinghe! Don't talk nonsense!"
Lu Qinghe was sobbing, tears streaming down his face.
Mrs. Lu finally couldn't bear it and let go of her hand: "Qinghe, your father hasn't come back yet. When your father comes back, we'll ask your father to think of something."
The imperial edict has already been issued, what can dad do?
Fortunately, she was her parents' legitimate daughter, but before she died, her parents had to rely on their cousin to marry well. Her cousin-in-law, Marquis Weiyuan, was handsome and powerful, so he was a first-rate man. But when it was her turn, she stayed at home year after year, and finally had to marry that bastard Zhao Ting! If she gets married, how will she live her life in the future? No one will want to pay attention to her old friends, and they will treat her as the god of plague and hide away, right?
But it is clear that she was the center of attention wherever she went before, everyone praised her and envied her!
If she wanted to marry Zhao Ting, she might as well marry her cousin-in-law. She would be willing to be on an equal footing with her cousin!
But it’s too late to talk about this now, right?
Although he knew it was too late, Lu Qinghe still couldn't help complaining: "I said that my cousin's husband was good, but you and dad didn't agree with my marriage. As a result, you have seen how my cousin has been living in the two years since she married him. .Two years ago, I was already sixteen, and I was old enough to get married. It was a good thing you kept me year after year, which made me want to marry that wild... man. If I had known this, I would have married me to my cousin. What a great brother-in-law!”
My younger sister, Xiao, is thinking about her cousin-in-law. If she says this, she will almost embarrass the Lu family!
Mrs. Lu was so angry that her brows jumped and she opened her mouth, but for a moment she couldn't curse.
"Nonsense!" Lu Huaiyuan's voice came from outside. He strode over, and behind him was a man who looked like an extraordinary warrior. It was the Weiyuan Hou Yanzhi whom Lu Qinghe just mentioned. Lu Huaiyuan entered the house and saw his daughter crying miserably. Although he felt distressed, he was still annoyed, "Take her down, how will she look like crying! Yan Zhi and I have something to say, so stay guard at the door!"
"Yes!" Seeing that her husband was angry, Mrs. Lu responded and hurriedly pulled the reluctant Lu Qinghe out.
Lu Qinghe couldn't help but look back at Yan Zhi, and Yan Zhi stood behind Lu Huaiyuan and also looked at Lu Qinghe.
Their eyes met, and Yan Zhi gave Lu Qinghe a comforting look.
Lu Qinghe suddenly felt his heart pounding and turned his head quickly, not daring to look again.
The door was closed, and Yan Zhi stayed outside. Lu Huaiyuan entered the inner room and closed the door again. It took about a quarter of an hour before he came back, but this time he was holding a wooden box in his hands. He walked up to Yan Zhi holding the wooden box, hesitated for a moment, and then handed the wooden box over: "Yan Zhi, can you tell me how sure you are of becoming the king?"
Yan Zhi just held the wooden box in his hand casually and whispered: "If the things in your wooden box are useful, at least 80% of them will be useful!"
80% certainty, which is really not low!
But do you really want to do this?
Lu Huaiyuan stared at the wooden box held by Yan Zhi and said in a deep voice, "Are you sure that after the matter is completed, will King Cheng really be able to fulfill his promise?"
"You can't trust Cheng Wang, but you should trust me. You and I have been grasshoppers tied to the same rope for a long time." Yan Zhi said, but suddenly the conversation changed, "And don't worry, you have this wooden box here. , even if Cheng Wang fails to succeed in the end, he will definitely help you get rid of Zhao Ting. After Cheng Wang is crowned, do you think that if you take half of the military power of Zhao in my hand, King Cheng will dare to go back on his word?"
Lu Huaiyuan still hesitated: "But if it fails and Zhao Ting dies, then I will..."
"Don't say such depressing words!" Yan Zhi's tone was a little cold, "And you can also see that the emperor is not granting a marriage. He is trying to kill two birds with one stone! Even if you don't move, you will have to sacrifice a daughter first. Then I’ll pay the entire Lu family!”
yes! Indeed, this is not just for my daughter.
Lu Huaiyuan gritted his teeth and said cruelly: "Sure! Go ahead!"
~
Tang Yuyao didn't know about the major events that happened in Beijing, but when she woke up the next day and thought about today, she remembered that this was the second day that Zhao Ting was given a marriage.
The eldest daughter of Shilang Lu, although Shilang Lu's official position is not high, Miss Lu is very famous in Beijing. As soon as such a big happy event happens, they should also send news to Lu Zhongkai and the Jiang family, right? Thinking of this, Tang Yuyao looked a little dazed. She turned her head and saw Xiao Yunduo sleeping soundly. The corners of her lips on her white and tender chubby face were slightly raised, as if she was happy after having a sweet dream.
Tang Yuyao reached out and gently tapped her sister's chubby face.
Xiao Yunduo seemed to feel it, pouted and hummed softly.
So cute! I don't know how happy my father would be if he saw such a cute sister. But it's okay. Now that she has found her sister, she will take her away with her. After she dies, she will have the honor to see her father. At that time, she would talk to her father about how cute little Yunduo was.
There was a gentle knock on the door, and Jiang's voice came softly from outside: "Yaoyao, little Yunduo, are you awake?"
Tang Yuyao turned to look out the window. It must have just dawned. Lu Zhongkai was just a minor official. Only officials of the fourth rank and above in this dynasty had the opportunity to go to court. Lu Zhongkai definitely did not. So at this time, he might not have left home yet, and Mrs. Jiang came over, maybe asking them to get up and wash up and have breakfast.
Tang Yuyao didn't want to run into Lu Zhongkai, not only because she was afraid that Lu Zhongkai would recognize her just in case, but also because she didn't want to have any contact with this person. So she said nothing and still stared at Xiao Yunduo.
Mrs. Jiang knocked on the door again.
On the contrary, it woke up Xiao Yunduo. He opened his big black grape-like eyes, blinked, and then slowly sat up.
She pointed towards the door and mouthed to Tang Yuyao: "Ignore it?"
My sister is so smart! Tang Yuyao nodded and also mouthed: "Ignore."
Little Yunduo sat quietly without saying a word.
Ms. Jiang called outside the door twice but failed to wake anyone up, so she had to give up. But she turned around and saw Lu Zhongkai waiting for her with a gentle face, and she felt a little apologetic in her heart. She was remarried and even dragged a daughter with Lu Zhongkai. Now that the two daughters were together, not only did they not feel grateful to Lu Zhongkai, but they made things difficult for her in every possible way.
Lu Zhongkai was such a gentle man. He supported Mrs. Jiang and said softly: "Xiao Yunduo is still young, so it's normal to sleep a little longer in the morning. Yaoyao just found you and Xiao Yunduo yesterday, and she didn't even think about it even when she was excited. If you know when they went to bed last night, just tell them to sleep a little longer."
Mrs. Jiang nodded, wanting to say something to thank Lu Zhongkai for his thoughtfulness, but felt that no words could express her gratitude. So he didn't say anything and just leaned into Lu Zhongkai's arms.
Lu Zhongkai smiled and hugged her, as if he understood her mood, and said: "What a silly girl."
Mrs. Jiang will be forty in a few years, but Lu Zhongkai still thinks of her as a girl, which makes her feel so sweet. He personally served Lu Zhongkai breakfast and then sent him out of the alley. It was not until Lu Zhongkai's carriage was gone that he could no longer see it, then he reluctantly walked back.
In the Lu family, Tang Yuyao and Xiao Yunduo had already discussed countermeasures in low voices.
Tang Yuyao didn't ask anything about her younger sister who could keep up with her thoughts and come up with ideas. She just touched her soft hair and pulled her out of the west room. Since my sister is not a biological child in this family, and she said Jiang and Lu Zhongkai were not good to her, it is not impossible for her to be so precocious. She was loved by her parents in the countryside, but when she was this old, there were children in the village who could become masters early. She remembered clearly that her parents had praised that child. It's just that the child has lost his parents and still has a younger brother. No one cares about him, no one asks about him. If he doesn't become stronger, he may not be able to survive.
Tang Yuyao always felt that her sister was probably like that. She was reluctant to make her sister feel sad again, so she didn't ask.
The two of them came out just as Mrs. Jiang entered the house. Mrs. Jiang's face looked much better than yesterday. It was obvious that she had been comforted by Lu Zhongkai last night. She smiled and said: "Get up, are you hungry? I'll ask grandma to bring breakfast."
"Mrs. Lu, please wait." Tang Yuyao called Ms. Jiang, her tone still distant, "I thought about it all night and have come up with a better solution. I have money now, why don't I rent a house nearby? It’s a house, take Xiao Yunduo to live there. If the house is not far from here, it will be convenient whether you want to visit Xiao Yunduo or Xiao Yunduo wants to come back in the future.”
Ms. Jiang did not agree immediately. Her focus was elsewhere. She was surprised: "renting a house near here? Yaoyao, you dressed up like that yesterday, aren't you already married? If you stay here, your husband Can your family agree?"
Husband’s family?
Where did she come from her husband's family?
Tang Yuyao couldn't bear to say that her husband was dead, so she just said: "I divorced."
