Chapter 32: The Eldest and Youngest (Part 1)

  The Cui Liu residence of the third house is located on Houfu East Road. Because Chen Ying has been leading troops outside for many years, this house has not been lived in for a long time. Therefore, the courtyard was not very large at first, but later Xu's wife renovated it as the second wife, and Zhu Shi did some renovations, making it look neat. Although it is not as spacious as the Zi Ning residence of the second house, which occupies the middle road, it is still better than the Fang Fei Guan of the main house, which has been occupied by more than half. However, now the person in charge here has quietly changed direction. Xu's wife's "illness" has made someone report various things to her, even though Luo Niangniang humbly said that there are still unmarried ladies in the family, and it is not necessary for her to be in charge.

  However, the usually talkative landlady was now silent. Luo Niang sat on the kang, with a mess of broken porcelain and a large puddle of water at her feet. The two maids standing beside her didn't dare make a sound, while Chen Qing and Chen Han exchanged glances, neither daring to speak up. Finally, it was Chen Tang who stepped forward, silently picking up the pieces of porcelain from the floor.

  Lao Yiniang watched as she carefully placed the shards of porcelain in her handkerchief, and finally couldn't bear it anymore. With a loud slap on the kang table, she exclaimed: "Are you all dead or something? You're actually making Miss do these things! What's the point of keeping you people around?"

  This loud shout finally woke up the two girls, one hastily came forward to help Chen Ting get up, and the other hurriedly went out to fetch a broom. After cleaning up with great difficulty, the two of them looked at Luo Niang's iron-green face and finally realized something was amiss, and quickly retreated in silence. It wasn't until then that Chen Qing lightly coughed once.

  "Mother, what's wrong..."

  "I've told you countless times, it's Auntie!" Madame Luo cut off Chen Qing's words, seeing that he still looked perplexed, she couldn't help but say in frustration, "Don't think that casually calling out when no one is around is okay, if you get used to it and let your guard down in public, then countless people will dump their dirty laundry on our heads! You're not young anymore, don't be like Xiaoyu who's always jumping at the slightest sound, do you remember or not, this isn't Yunnan, it's the capital!"

  Chen Qing was left speechless by Luo Niang's scolding, and seeing his brother Chen Han looking equally wronged, he could only lower his head in silence. At this point, Chen Cai finally stood beside Luo Niang and said in a low voice, "Niang, you are right to teach us a lesson, but if it were just that, you shouldn't have gotten so angry. This place is separated from the main house by only one courtyard, what if someone heard and reported back to Mother? Wouldn't that make us a laughing stock? Niang, didn't you go to the Wei Guo Gong Fu today? What happened?"

  "What's she good for? Apart from pretending to be ill and weak, what else can she do? I wasn't back yet, but this virtuous wife and loving mother of hers was putting on a show in front of outsiders, wasn't she? But didn't she go all out to stop you guys from going out and socializing, afraid that it would get in the way of her son's path? As soon as I got back, I had every intention of setting things straight with her, but she's fine, suddenly fell ill!"

  As soon as Madam Xu was mentioned, Luo's mother-in-law couldn't help but think of how she had inexplicably become a wife through a proper marriage arrangement, and yet still had to take care of the children, not losing face in front of outsiders. Her already unpleasant expression became even more gloomy. She clenched her fists tightly and said resentfully: "She is the third daughter of the Xu family of Guangning, but I am also the cousin of the Duke of Wei, what's the difference between our status? If it weren't for being outsmarted, Elder Sister...Elder Sister would not have said those words!"

  At this moment, both Chen Tai and Chen Qing understood that their mother had been offended by the visit to the Wei Guo Gong Fu. The two brothers didn't mind, but Chen Tai's brow furrowed in anger. Although they were not close relatives of the Hou Fu Niang, there was a reason for the past conflict. However, after returning from Yunnan to the Hou Fu these years, except for Chinese New Year, Wei Guo Gong Fu never sent anyone to visit them, and gifts were only ordinary things like pastry boxes or a few pieces of cloth. Not to mention sending an invitation for them to go to the Gong Fu. If not, how would Xu Fu have come up with the idea of letting Chen Qing and Chen Han move to the outer courtyard?

  Knowing that both brothers were not good at using their brains, Chen Zhuo thought for a moment and stood up to say: "Auntie is in a bad mood now, you two brothers should stay here and let people take care of her, it's not good either. Why don't you go back first? If there's anything else, I'll send someone to tell you later. Oh, by the way, don't forget to go ask mother about her health and see how her illness is doing."

  After seeing the two of them bow and leave, she turned around and saw that Luo Niang was still in a resentful mood. She sat down next to her and asked: "Niang, what did my aunt say?"

  This time, Luo Yiniang heard this title, but unlike scolding Chen Qing, she was not angry at all, and she didn't care about it. She hugged Chen Tai in her arms again, and her eyes were already red: "It's all your father's fault, why did he block your way!"

  She didn't wait for Chen Tai to ask again, she wiped her eyes with a handkerchief and coldly said: "When your uncle promised me to your father at the beginning, he had already made an engagement. If I gave birth to a daughter first, I would marry her to your older cousin, if I gave birth to a son, he would marry his eldest daughter to me. You also know about your second brother's situation, it was just recorded under my name, but no one else in the family knew. But when you were born, your uncle had personally agreed. Now your aunt is saying that your older cousin had two fiancées who died before they could be married, and he has a reputation for being unlucky in marriage, so she doesn't dare to delay things with you... Heaven knows how many people from the Wei Guo Gong Fu came to propose, but she clearly did it on purpose!"

  It's said that sisters-in-law are natural enemies. Luo Yiniang was raised by her uncle in Yunnan since she was a child and watched as her cousin, Luo Mingyuan, rose from a small thousand-household to become a high-ranking official through his military achievements. As a result, she naturally looked down on Lin Shi, who wasn't from a prestigious family. After Luo Mingyuan was granted the title of hereditary Duke of Wei, his primary wife and son lived in the capital, and when Lin Shi passed away, Luo Yiniang naturally forgot about her. However, after marrying Chen Ying, she used her relationship as the younger sister of the Duke of Wei to help her husband's career, even going so far as to have Chen Ying send beautiful women captured during the war to the commander's tent, making it easier for him to be promoted. Over the course of a decade or so, Chen Ying was able to rise from a thousand-household to become the Commander-in-Chief, largely thanks to her guidance.

  At this moment, Luo Niang didn't remember any of these things. She only knew that her sister-in-law was intentionally making things difficult for her. Until she had spoken indignantly for a while, she finally pulled her daughter's hand and said seriously: "However, you don't have to worry about it either. This matter is not up to her to decide, as long as your uncle agrees, it will be fine. Your uncle has all the young and beautiful new people around him, why would he listen to this old hag? Tomorrow at the Jinwangfu plum blossom viewing, your cousin will definitely go, and when the time comes, just let him see you, and I won't worry anymore."

  Among the Chen sisters, Chen Xiao was the most beautiful and elegant, only comparable to Chen Lan. Although Chen Bing and Chen Huang were heavily made up, they were still a notch below. At this moment, listening to her mother recount the whole story, she recalled seeing Luo Xuan, the son of Duke Wei, from afar during the plum blossom appreciation two years ago. His handsome face and elegant demeanor flashed before her eyes, and a faint blush appeared on her cheeks.

  "Sister, don't say it's that easy. The Weiguo Duke is not what he used to be, and everyone wants to cling to him now. Moreover, the noble consort in the palace might also help our eldest brother take a look at us..."

  "Guifei is my cousin, do you say she's closer to me or your aunt? Don't worry about these things, just take care of the family matters... Chen Huan that girl is two-faced and three-hearted, don't bother with her, just keep an eye on your third sister, she's a formidable person. It's just a pity she doesn't have parents, can only rely on the old lady, there are limited things she can do."

  Chen Xiao nodded, her face still as cold as ice, but her heart involuntarily warmed up. She naturally knew what her parents were planning, and if it succeeded, the cautious situation in this large mansion would soon become a thing of the past. At that time, she could truly stand tall with her head held high, without having to rely on her cold face to maintain herself.

  "Ah, it's Auntie Zheng. You're here, but why didn't you have someone announce your arrival?"

  "The old lady asked me to come and deliver something to Fifth Miss, I saw that Fifth Miss wasn't in the house, so I came straight over."

  "Miss Wu is speaking in the aunt's house, I'll take you there right away."

  The mother and daughter were talking, when suddenly a voice came from outside. From the intentionally raised voice, it was clear who it was, so Luo Yiniang quickly pulled Chen Yu to her feet, and soon they saw Zheng Mama step across the threshold.

  Zheng's mother entered the house, took a glance around, and saw that everything was spotlessly clean and simply arranged. She also noticed that Luo's wife was dressed in everyday clothes, and then she thought of Mrs. Xu's frail appearance just now, and couldn't help but sigh inwardly. But immediately afterwards, a smile spread across her face.

  When she left, Luo Yiniang pulled Chen Yu together to send her to the door. After coming back, she smiled and walked to the front of the bed, stretched out her hand and gently tapped on the carved lacquer box that Zheng Mama had just left behind, then turned her head to look at Chen Yu.

  "See? Even the old lady is worried now. Otherwise, why would the second wife bother with us after she just took away our title? Xiaoyu, you must do your best and make sure your marriage happens, then your father's title will be secure!"

  PS: I rushed out an extra chapter... please be kind to me, passersby, leave a footprint, why is my book review area so cold and deserted? Compared to paid rewards, evaluation votes, year-end evaluations, etc., I actually hope everyone leaves free recommendation tickets and free book reviews, 55555