"Why, the third sister went to Zeng's house to study by herself again?" Li Zhen asked, and then looked at the poisonous sun coming out, and couldn't help but yawn.
Lirou smiled and said, "Yes, she always studies and practices hard, you already know this."
There are five girls in the Liu family. The eldest girl is a clumsy person and usually does acupuncture and nvhong. The second girl is a monk who recites sutras and doesn't even know what she is reciting. She ranked fourth. Although her homework was not bad on weekdays, she was unwilling to work hard on books. As long as a woman could be literate and sensible, she did not need to take the imperial examination, which was useless.
There happened to be a fifth sister who was just as lazy as herself, so Lirou felt relieved.
But the third sister and the fifth sister are like mortal enemies, born to be difficult to deal with. The third girl likes to be the best in everything. Her mother is a stepmother, so she always wants to overwhelm the wife and children in front of her. It's strange that the fifth sister and the third sister are obviously not in the same room and have no conflict of interest, but they always hate each other.
They have just returned from Zhuangzi with their grandmother. It is really cool on Zhuangzi. They use ice at home and sometimes it is too cold. Without ice, it is so hot that they can’t breathe.
Later in the evening, her biological mother, Aunt Ding, came over. Aunt Ding was very beautiful and upright. Lirou often heard people in the house talking about her aunt, saying that she looked like the head wife, but it was a pity that she became a concubine.
Aunt Ding always wears simple clothes and is not one of those showy people who invite favors, and Lirou often looks up to her.
"You said your aunt invited you over to play. Are you going to go?" Aunt Ding asked.
Lirou shook her head: "She wants to study and never delays. She also wants to learn piano. She is a busy person. Last time, my aunt said that the third sister is too bookish."
Aunt Ding smiled and said: "Then leave her alone. The most important thing for a woman is socializing. You know, socializing with a female celebrity butler is the right way."
Of course Lirou understands, she always listens to her aunt.
Later, her aunt came to propose marriage, and her grandmother promised to betroth her to her third cousin Geng. Her uncle was the youngest son of the Duke of Lu. Although he was not a noble, he was a Jinshi and a member of the Hanlin School of Tsinghua University. Even if the family separated in the future, he would be able to start his own business. What's more, her mother-in-law is her aunt, and her aunt has always liked her, so her life must be very harmonious.
No one knew that the third cousin was actually related to someone from the Qin Lou Chu Palace, and the marriage, which had never been made public, was cancelled.
Somehow, Li Rou breathed a sigh of relief.
She was sewing and wiping her grandmother's forehead again, and she had to take care of Li Zhen's mood, not for any other reason, but because it was said that the fiancé of the third sister had also taken a fancy to the fifth sister, and the second wife snatched it away without being very polite. The fifth sister was originally infatuated with Zheng Hao, but now she can't get what she wants, so naturally she talks bad about Li Shu everywhere.
The two originally just had a disagreement between sisters, but they became love rivals, and it was difficult for Li Rou to be caught in the middle.
"Fourth sister, you said that the third sister is real. She just followed the second aunt to Jining. But she tortured Zheng Hao and sent him to study in a ruined temple. I heard that there was a woman we met before, Lou The eldest daughter of the family committed suicide because of Zheng Hao." Li Zhen curled her lips.
Li Rou thought to herself, it is true that the good things in the world are not strong, and the colorful clouds are easy to scatter and the glass is brittle. Now Zheng Hao is just a scholar. With his talent and learning, he may be more tempted when he enters officialdom in the future. The third sister is so competitive and wants to be the best in everything, but if a man is too good, he will be missed.
She is thinking about other people's things, where
Knowing that she was also being remembered.
This man was Cen Shifang, the prince of Guangyang, the husband of her good friend Gu Xue'e. Gu Xue'e died in a fight between his wives and concubines not long after they got married. Of course, Li Rou was insensitive to such a family.
But Cen Shifang seemed to know him very well. He took the time to let someone tell her that if she married him, she would take care of the whole house, including her biological mother.
Of course Li Rou thought about those ordinary days. Sometimes the best days are the days that can be seen to the end.
But she knew very well that she had been cautious for so many years, her grandmother was moody, and she lived a trembling life. My aunt is unfavored, and her servants always follow her words. Compared to the third sister, who just says something casually and the servants do it, the treatment is completely different.
Simply speaking, her face was still pretty. Cen Shifang was very straightforward and spoke clearly.
He needs a decent step-wife, and it just so happens that he has feelings for her. If she enters the house, and the male dominates outside and the female dominates inside, she will also have status and will not be inferior to anyone.
At this moment, Li Rou admitted that she was tempted.
Who are you looking for anyway? Even his direct cousin can find a woman from the Qin Lou Chu Pavilion, and Cen Shifang may not be able to do the same.
Because apart from Cen Shifang, Lirou doesn’t know who to look for? She is a concubine, and although her father is a high-ranking official, he is naive and always thinks that his character is good enough. Including Li Shu's marriage, it was the second wife who fought for it herself.
My father disagreed with Cen Shifang, but my aunt always obeyed my father. She also said that she was lucky not to marry Cen Shifang. Such a family was really unbearable. At the same time, Li Zhen from the Cen family and her uncle's family got engaged. Li Rou once again felt like where would her fate go?
Fortunately, the marriage was later proposed to the Wu family, and both my aunt and she were very happy.
In fact, such a thing is a very small thing for the Liu family, but it is a great blessing for their mother and daughter. It is said that Wu's father was an official transfer envoy and was the younger brother of the former prime minister. Although Wu Xuanhe was the youngest son, he was very intelligent.
Before she got married, her aunt told her: "Silly boy, you must keep a hand and don't give your heart to others. You can't love a man too much, otherwise you will be hurt. Just like the second wife, she only has three feelings for your father." There is no friendship, but you show it very well. Your father is more sincere for her than he was for his previous wife."
Li Rou listened to Aunt Ding's words. Aunt Ding was also a daughter of a government official. If it weren't for bad luck, she would be the wife today.
When she married into the Wu family, she treated Wu Xuanhe and even Mrs. Wu as the best, as if this was how she could keep her true feelings. But husband and wife often have skin-to-skin contact. Although Wu Xuanhe also has a concubine given by his mother, he is not completely devoid of friendship for her.
Especially after he fell ill, Lirou stayed by his side to take care of him for a long time.
It's funny to say that her mother-in-law always said she loved her youngest son the most, but when Wu Xuanhe was pregnant with a serious illness, where did she go? Li Rou silently applied medicine to Wu Xuanhe. In fact, Wu Xuanhe was very handsome and well-informed.
It seems that after this incident, Wu Xuanhe became nice to her. He would call her "little idiot" and let her truly be herself.
"If you don't want to, then don't do it, and you don't have to flatter anyone. People usually say nice things about you, but they just look at you and coax you. If it's really a big deal, the custodian will ignore you." Wu Xuanhe said.
Her aunt often told her to take advantage of the situation, go with the flow, sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight, and keep herself good in the eyes of everyone.
Only by maintaining your good reputation can you get twice the result with half the effort.
But Wu Xuanhe said: "There is some truth in these, but for truly powerful people, such as my mother, is she good at talking and doing things, or does she have a good reputation?"
When he said this, Li Rou smiled.
Later, after listening to Aunt Ding complaining about many things, Lirou had different opinions. The mother and daughter also had many different ideas.
The aunt seems to be very paranoid that there is something wrong with Mr. Fu, but to be fair, isn't that what the back house is like? Either the east wind prevails over the west wind, or the west wind overpowers the east wind. Little Fu is quite measured.
At least she never affected the children.
Even if they teach them how to manage the house, they also teach them together, but not every aunt can do this.
After getting married, her thoughts changed a lot. Even she herself was just like this and guarded against those concubines.
The luckiest one was Li Shu. She was really beyond his expectation. She was obviously married to Zheng Hao, the number one scholar. Zheng Hao was so charming, but he was devoted to her alone. Later, she even took charge of the house.
Life is really strange. It seems that people who are cautious in everything are more likely to get into trouble. However, people like Lishu who insist on themselves, who are lively and enthusiastic, can liven up and jump around.
What I mostly lack is that kind of vitality, and I dare not face my own desires.
She actually wanted power, wealth, and even superiority, but she denied it blindly, for fear that others would see her clues, and she was actually a fake person.
When her aunt died, she was blaming Li Shu for not saving people together, but then she thought if it were her, would she really want to save little Fu? She didn't want to be saved in her heart, but she might still be able to save her face.
Yes, why can’t people be so clear about likes and dislikes?
She didn't like Li Zhen very much, but she was forced to be a good sister to Li Zhen.
For the first time, she expressed her wish to Wu Xuanhe: "I don't want you to be a very human minister, but I hope you can make me proud and let our children have something to rely on."
I don't know if it was because of this sentence that Wu Xuanhe took her to work as an official in other places, starting from a junior official.
Li Rou always felt a little unhappy, because after the fall of the Wu family, Wu Xuanhe had to rely on his own family to find an official position. Li Zhen, who clearly knew nothing could compare to her, acted arrogantly as Mrs. Hou.
As a wife of a minor official, Lirou seemed to have a normal life with no troubles, but in fact she was in a lot of pain. Every day she had to face the third brother-in-law's high promotion and the third sister's wife's high status. Later, the third sister herself became the county head.
Even after the third brother-in-law Zheng Hao was named the first assistant, the new emperor gave various rewards to the third sister and called her "my husband".
Wu Xuanhe came back from abroad and saw her at home, and asked curiously: "Why didn't you go to the banquet where your third sister was conferred the title of first-class princess? It was really lively this time."
Li Rou's expression darkened, but she still didn't say a word in front of her husband.
At this moment, she thought of Li Zhen. Although Cen Shifang was relegated to another place because of Li Zhen, Li Zhen had been famous for decades, but she, from the time she got married to now, seemed to have never been more famous.
Looking at the end of the day, she was living in extreme discomfort every day.
Afterwards, I realized that she was really like her aunt. She was also unwilling to be inferior to others, but her heart was higher than the sky and her life was thinner than paper.
Thinking of this, she wiped her face and went to Zheng's house to celebrate with a smile on her face. Most likely she will never be able to be as happy and angry as she pleases, because that is what high-ranking people can do, while low-ranking people will always have to cater to others. !
