Chapter 53 series sequel

  Search; What to do? What else can be done, with Chen Wancong's status, how can she be a concubine for Fu Xuyang, so Madam Fu suggested letting Chen Wancong become Fu Xuyang's legitimate wife.

  What is a Ping Qi? It sounds like it's similar to the meaning of Zheng Qi, but in reality, this term "Ping Qi" only exists in merchant families. Generally, when the master goes out on business and his wife doesn't follow him, he promotes one of his concubines to be the Ping Qi to manage affairs by his side. It's just a nice-sounding title, not recognized by officialdom. In official families, mentioning "Ping Qi" would only invite ridicule and harm one's reputation.

  As for who came up with such a vicious plan, there is no need to investigate further. Fu Mu had no evidence pointing to Su Ying, let alone the sudden collapse of a big tree under the clear sky and bright sun had already caused people's hearts to be in a state of panic, so Fu Mu also lost her reason for ordering Fu Yiyang to divorce his wife.

  Mrs. Dai was still dissatisfied, but things had come to this point and there was nothing else to be done. However, Chen Wancong, one of the "victims", had changed from her initial despair - she had always been proud and arrogant, how could she accept such a shameful marriage? But something seemed to have happened, and she no longer sought death, instead turning to comfort Mrs. Dai: "Madam, let's not make a fuss anymore. If we quarrel with Auntie, it won't be good for me or my elder sister. At this point, I have no choice either. Fortunately, Second Brother-in-law is very good, and once I enter the Hou Mansion, I can help my elder sister, and with Auntie's protection, why worry that we can't live a good life?"

  There was also a hint of shyness in his words.

  Mrs. Dai was unclear about the situation, but Chen Wanqiu knew, and it wasn't another "victim" Fu Xueyang who had a few words that soothed Chen Wancong. Chen Wanqiu secretly regretted, not to mention that Fu Xueyang really had some of the qualities of a horse, with an overbearing aura, women would fall one after another, now both sisters were taken into the house, from then on the sisterly affection lasted forever, writing a beautiful story like that of Ehuang and Nüying.

  Chen Wanqiu disdainfully curled her lips, in this family struggle, what's the difference between sisters and sisters? I really look forward to the scene where her elder sister Chen Wanning and younger sister Chen Wanqing will serve one husband together.

  Mrs. Dai could only pinch her nose and acknowledge it, but in her heart, she thoroughly hated Mrs. Fu.

  It's far from over.

  Good news never goes beyond the gate, bad news travels for thousands of miles.

  The Marquis of Yongwu has done something so unseemly, and even though Fu Xueyang, who married a concubine, doesn't hold an official position, the two families involved both have titles. Now that this "concubine" affair has come to light, rumors are circulating within the imperial court. It's no wonder, given that Fu Xueyang already had a bad reputation among scholars; now he's even more despised by them.

  In a few days, the Imperial Censorate submitted a memorial to the Emperor criticizing the Yongwu Marquis's estate for disregarding etiquette and damaging its reputation. The memorial also criticized Fu Ye as being lax in managing his household. It is said that one must cultivate oneself, regulate one's family, and then govern the state. If he cannot even manage his own family properly, how can he wholeheartedly help the Emperor share his worries and difficulties? What a boastful and arrogant thing to say!

  The Chen family as the victim - that private matter was of course sealed. Otherwise, the reputation of Miss Chen would have been ruined - although she was scolded by the imperial censor less, she didn't escape, and even some old things were brought up.

  Fu Yiyang was not doing well, his heart was tormented. Fu Yiyang had finally stood up to his mother for the first time, disobeying her wishes. Afterward, his mother still didn't know how serious she had lost face and scolded him severely, pointing at his nose and calling him unfilial. Su Ying lay in bed, ill and dazed, her previously bright eyes now dull. She held Fu Yiyang's hand without a word of blame, but this made Fu Yiyang feel even more guilty.

  Now, the censor has impeached a memorial like a shot of chicken blood. Although the emperor did not punish the Yongwu Marquis's estate because of this, Fu Yeyang was still reprimanded by the emperor and fined several months' salary. After all, it was not entirely Fu Yeyang's fault, and his attitude towards admitting mistakes was good, so he only received a few mild reprimands. Besides, Fu Xiyang should not participate in the imperial examination for the time being, even Chen Fu was criticized.

  Fu's mother was busy comforting her own family, but she forgot that Su Ying, who had always been looked down upon for her humble origins, also had a family background. Su Ying's father was now an official of the second rank, serving as the Left Vice-Director of the Censorate, and although he did not have a noble title, the Su family had operated in the imperial court for many years and their connections were far superior to those of the Marquis of Wu.

  Now the eldest daughter has suffered such a great grievance, and was forced to knock against the pillar to prove her innocence. Even a clay figure would have three points of temperament, let alone Su Ying who is not suffering from this grievance for the first time. How can she retreat again now? Just as the Su family was about to make a move, Empress Dowager's edict arrived at the palace while Madam Fu was thinking of pretending to be ill and asking Fu Yeyang to come and see her.

  The general idea is that Fu Mu was not kind to her mother, which led to the unjust treatment of Yi Pin's wife, and also managed the household carelessly, without distinguishing between old and young, which ruined the dignity and demoted Fu Mu's imperial decree from first-class to second-class.

  Yi Zhi's words were very implicit, although he didn't explicitly say that Fu Mu was not kind to her daughter-in-law, the noblewomen in the capital all knew what was going on. They brought up the scene outside the Second Gate of Shou'an County Prince's mansion again and gossiped about it. It was no secret that the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law didn't get along, but for a big family like theirs, even if the mother-in-law didn't like her daughter-in-law, she wouldn't make a scene in public and let others laugh at them. Moreover, there wasn't any imperial decree or noblewoman who would be forced by her daughter-in-law to crash into a pillar to prove her innocence. Besides, Fu Mu's reasons were completely unfounded.

  First of all, there is no evidence to prove that she is a jealous wife. Su Ying has no reason to be one and Fu Mu's accusations are baseless. As for not having children, although Su Ying did not give birth to any children in the five years she was married into the Fu family, she had spent one year in mourning. And as for being kind and not suppressing concubines, even the eldest daughter born out of wedlock has been allowed to live, what more do you want?

  Fu's mother has finally made a move that is not upright, and now the image of an evil mother-in-law has been deeply rooted in people's minds.

  Fu's mother swallowed her teeth mixed with blood, not only did she fail to achieve her original goal, but also suffered a series of setbacks. The bamboo basket was empty, and she got into trouble. Fu's mother had always been proud of her identity as the first wife, and she leaned towards the second house, except for Fu Xiangyang, who was raised by herself, wasn't it all for her own glory, to secure her position in the high-ranking position of the Marquis of Yongwu?! What she feared was that Fu Xiangyang would completely take control of the manor, and after Su Ying took over the household power, she would be pushed to become an old lady on the surface, with no real power left in her hands.

  Originally, when Fu Yiyang got married, Madam Fu was unwilling to give up the main house and wanted to use filial piety to force Fu Yiyang to agree. Unfortunately, Su's mother, Mrs. Su, was not a good person to get along with, and Fu's grandmother was still alive. Fu's grandmother scolded Madam Fu severely, who reluctantly gave up the main house, but as a result, she hated all the Su family members who had not yet entered the door.

  As soon as Su entered the house, Fu's mother was forced to hand over the management of the household again, and since Su was a strong-willed person, Fu's mother tried several times to intervene in the management but failed. From then on, she began to plot against her. She even wished that the first wife would not give birth to another son.

  She even bothered to arrange for Fu Xueyang's cousin from her mother's side, generally in large households to avoid trouble, the family background of the second wife is mostly inferior to that of the first wife. Mrs. Fu was always planning for Fu Xueyang, planning for the second house, who would have thought that this time they capsized in a ditch, lost their lady and suffered losses, and even had their edict demoted, I don't know how many aristocratic families are laughing at her, this is simply slapping her face!

  Fu Xueyang, although he knew that the Emperor had forbidden him from participating in this year's imperial examination, still felt a sense of discontent. But as soon as he thought of Chen Wanqing's bright and beautiful face, her slender figure, all his discontent turned into passion, and he became more enthusiastic about this marriage than anyone else, completely unaware that his overjoyed expression was extremely annoying to Madame Chen.

  Fu Xueyang's enthusiastic preparation for the wedding ceremony also made Fu Mu even more angry, she felt that Fu Xue originally didn't know how much she had sacrificed for him. Even her relationship with her natal family might become estranged because of this, although she thought that after Fu Xueyang married Chen Wanqing, the Chen family would definitely wholeheartedly support Fu Xueyang, but such a consolation was far from enough to comfort Fu Mu's heart which was already riddled with wounds!

  Fu Mu was anxious and worried, thinking about how to turn the situation around. This time, being demoted by imperial decree made her feel that even the servants were no longer as respectful to her as before. Those who used to fawn over her had turned to curry favor with the main house instead, which was hard for Fu Mu to accept.

  Fu's mother was shrouded in gloom. She is the Hou Mansion's anchor, the most revered mistress of the Hou Mansion, and this cannot be changed, nor will it ever change!

  Fu's mother was thinking of ways to deal with the people in the mansion, and whenever she felt that her status was being shaken, she would fall "ill". Just like last time when she returned from Shou'an County Prince's Mansion, Fu's mother fell ill, and it was an angry attack on the heart, making Su Ying turn around and serve as a chance to show who was the most noble master of the Hou Mansion.

  She wouldn't even give Fu Mu the chance to get "sick", and she still had to deal with Fu Xue's marriage to a concubine. This matter shouldn't have fallen on Fu Mu's shoulders, it should have been handled by Su Ying, the lady of the manor, but she was currently bedridden and didn't have the energy to handle such a big thing.

  It's now up to Madame Chen, even taking a concubine for Fu Xueyang would make Madame Chen vomit, let alone marrying him as an equal wife now. And the one he is going to marry is her own younger sister, Madame Chen has already torn apart several handkerchiefs in anger. Meanwhile, Fu Xueyang has forgotten his old love and is infatuated with the new one, and that fox-like woman Wang is always speaking ill of her in front of him, making Madame Chen so angry she wants to rip her mouth apart!

  What made Mrs. Chen even more resentful was that Mrs. Dai reminded her to be sisterly and harmonious, hum! Don't think she didn't know about the private dealings between her good sister and Fu Xueyang, this Chen Wanying hadn't even married in yet, but had already been vented on by Mrs. Chen.

  Mrs. Chen was slacking off, but Mrs. Chen Wanqing couldn't wait any longer, so in the end, Madam Fu had to step in and take charge, so she didn't have time to be "sick" either.

  Although this is a happy event for the Hou Mansion, unfortunately, this so-called happy event was overshadowed from the beginning. Since Fu Yiyang's mighty display in the main house, where he disciplined the powerful maid in front of Madame Fu, his prestige as the master of the mansion has been unprecedentedly enhanced. Moreover, with Madame Fu's authority being demoted, her influence within the mansion has greatly declined. As a result, Su Ying, the mistress who had not shown much presence since the incident, has further strengthened her control over the Hou Mansion.

  The slaves in the mansion are all clever people, and it's normal for them to flatter and bully others. Madame Fu felt that it was normal for the lower-ranking servants not to be so afraid of her.

  Su Ying wasn't faking her illness, she really couldn't muster up the energy, and felt dizzy all over. At first, she thought there was something wrong with her body, but the system said that her body didn't have any problems at all.

  Su Ying was silent, thinking back and forth but couldn't guess what the reason was. Then at night, she saw a ghost.

  It's really weird to see a ghost, and it's even weirder that Su Ying's body still retains the emotions and memories of the original owner. The system says those are just residual thoughts, and Su Ying has already told them she would take revenge for her and her child. But she had never seen the original owner before, and they used to joke about this with the system. Who knew they would meet in such a situation?

  Su Ying was unclear what her appearance at this time meant, and she felt anxious for a while, but didn't think it was too scary. She got out of bed and looked at the woman, wanting to ask what was going on.

  Su Ying hadn't even opened her mouth yet, but the woman had already started crying, tears streaming down like rain. However, before they could hit the ground, they vanished into thin air. Su Ying looked at her, still with the same expression as when she died. Compared to the current Su Ying, it was hard for others to imagine that they were the same person.

  Ke Su Ying didn't have the elegant demeanor that she had, every move was filled with a natural elegance, her every gesture was precise and dignified, effortless and natural, something that Su Ying could never learn.

  But... isn't this crying time long enough already?

  Su Ying cleared her throat, thought for a moment and told the truth: "Don't cry first, I didn't intentionally occupy your body, and at that time you still had a breath left. But your lifespan was already exhausted. I've been doing my best to fulfill what I promised you. Is there anything else you want to do?"

  If you say Su Jing is guilty, she has occupied someone else's body after all, and it's not very glorious; if you say Su Jing is selfish, it's not entirely true either. She can't return the body to the Su family. Now she can only live on with the identity of the Su family. The existence of the Su family is always a threat to her, and when she gets angry, it's fatal.

  Su Shi wiped away her tears and stared blankly at Su Ying, making Su Ying's hair stand on end. Su Shi then smiled sorrowfully: "Although I don't know where you came from, Miss, but what you've done is better than me. Now I have nothing left to cherish. I only hope that you can take my place in being filial to our parents. Don't let them be sad and cry for me again."

  Nothing is more sorrowful than a dead heart. She understands that, but can she just let it go? Doesn't she want to take revenge on Fu Mu and the others anymore?

  Su Ying endured and didn't ask the question out loud. After thinking for a moment, she said: "You can rest assured, I will treat them as if they were my real parents."

  Su Shi's wife, Su Yingying, curtsied to him and then disappeared. She was still holding a swaddled infant in her arms, which made Su Shi swallow hard - could it be the child that his wife had miscarried earlier?

  But is this all? It's also quite different from the thrilling scene I imagined, a bit dull.

  Su Ying suddenly felt a weight lift off her body, as if her mind had cleared up. She thought that from now on, she wouldn't be trapped by those inexplicable emotions that didn't belong to her anymore. Was this a blessing in disguise?

  Su Ying crossed her arms over her abdomen, letting out a cold hum in her heart. She wasn't like Su Shi, who would become a virtuous woman and torture herself to death for the sake of a man. She wouldn't let go of her grievances so easily, nor would she forgive so readily. Although it was a good thing for her that Su Shi had dispersed, it was as if a time bomb had been defused beside her.

  Su Ying looked at the pattern of xiangcao flowers on the top of the canopy, illuminated by the candlelight, and slightly curled up the corners of her mouth. Now that this unpredictable time bomb was gone, she no longer had to worry about those inexplicable emotional shocks coming again. This was a good thing, and in the future, she would no longer be constrained because of it.

  Thinking of the current situation in the Hou Mansion, Su Ying coldly smiled. She didn't care about Fu Yao's future or the reputation of the Hou Mansion because she was injured while fighting a rat and broke a jade vase. As a woman, what did it have to do with her? She was the victim after all.

  As for Chen Wanqiu's so-called "alliance", Su Ying raised an eyebrow, wondering what this second daughter of the Chen family would do. After all, she was also involved in the matter of Chen Wanning being calculated by others. When people face such things, they are most likely to shift their anger.

  She is not so easily taken advantage of.

  Su Ying turned over, and for several days now, she had been alone on the big bed. Tsk, men.

  This sleep was the most refreshing Su Ying had ever had, and when she woke up, she no longer felt dull and lacking in energy. After stretching her waist, she felt full of spirit.

  Getting out of bed and opening the window, even breathing became smoother. Lu Hui and several others saw this and their eyes turned red, of course they were happy, Gui Yatou smiled like a flower, the wrinkles at the corners of her eyebrows also relaxed, and she exclaimed with joy: "May Buddha bless, Madam is much better now, in the future it will be extremely auspicious to have another son, that would be perfect."

  Su Ying couldn't help but laugh too.

  Lü Huai helped Su Ying sit down and said earnestly, "The master is very worried about your illness, he comes to ask about you three times a day. Now that you're much better, let's send someone to inform the master, he'll definitely be delighted."

  When Fu Yiyang came to mind, Su Ying had been ill for several days. Fu Yiyang only sent someone to ask about her condition and personally asked the doctor about the medicine, but he didn't come to see Su Ying in person. Su Ying felt a bit uncomfortable in her heart, but she still pretended to be nonchalant. She cut off Lu Hui's words and said lightly: "I'm hungry."

  "Is there anything you'd like to eat, ma'am? Please tell me and I'll have the kitchen prepare it right away," said Lü Huiniang hastily.

  "There's nothing special I want to eat, just a bowl of plain porridge, don't add anything else, I want to eat this." Su Ying sat in front of the dresser, letting Bai Zhi comb her hair. She gazed at the pale young woman with no blood color in the mirror due to illness, this paleness was not the same as the sickly pallor of the Su family before. Compared to the Su family she saw last night, her appearance had already changed a bit, Su Ying pursed her lips, looking like this for so long should be getting used to it.

  Su Ying touched her forehead, the mark had already faded a lot. Bai Ji asked: "Madam, do you want to wear a headband to cover it up? In a few more days, there won't even be any marks left."

  Su Ying nodded, and Zi Su came in with a food box: "The lady has just recovered from her illness and should not eat greasy or indigestible foods. The plain porridge is cooked just right, and there are also vegetarian buns specially ordered from the kitchen to go with it."

  She brought out a small steamer, inside which were four white and plump buns, each with delicate folds on top, looking appetizing just by appearance.

  Su Ying's body had recovered, and she also had an appetite. She ate a specially prepared small dish and drank a bowl of white porridge. She also ate two vegetarian buns. When Zi Su cleared the table, her mouth corners were raised.

  "Madam hasn't eaten so well in days, you should be rewarded." Seeing Su Ying eating with relish and high spirits, Lu Hui didn't wait for her nod before turning around to take out a silver bangle with a plum blossom pattern from the box and putting it on Zi Su's wrist: "I know you like plum blossoms, so this plum blossom bangle is yours. We're all equally poor."

  "Ha ha, Madam, look at Lotus Sister here, she's also asking for a reward and has to use me as a scapegoat!" Zi Su covered her mouth and laughed. Lotus stomped her foot and insisted on pinching Zi Su's mouth: "Just you wait, I'll tear that mouth of yours apart, let you speak nonsense."

  Su Ying was delighted by their teasing and smiled, saying: "You've all worked hard these past few days. Each of you can choose a hairpin with inlaid flowers that you like, and everyone will get an extra 100 coins, plus an additional meat dish for dinner."

  Everyone was delighted, and Zi Su still said that Lu Hui was deliberately giving her the plum blossom bangle. The atmosphere became lively. Su Ying smiled for a while, then thought of Fu Mu who had been demoted, and asked: "I haven't been feeling well these past few days, you all tell me about what's going on outside."

  Just then, a little maid came in to report: "The second wife has arrived."

  Second mistress, I don't know what to call Chen Wanqing after she gets married?

  But what did Mrs. Chen come over for? Su Ying's face was still smiling, but her eyes were dim, and the maids in the house stopped laughing and helped Su Ying lean against the pillow, covering her with a light yellow silk quilt.

  "Madam Chen's demeanor doesn't seem like she's here to make a social visit, but rather to interrogate. Su Ying's smile grew even fainter: 'Younger sister, you're not busy with the matters of your younger brother marrying a concubine, how do you have the leisure time to come visit me?'"

  Su Ying spoke bluntly, too lazy to deal with Mrs. Chen, even if Mrs. Chen didn't know Fu Mu's intentions, but at the beginning, Mrs. Chen was actually in cahoots with Fu Mu, and said "Who else would do such a despicable thing? Aren't you afraid of being struck by lightning? Eldest sister, I really misjudged you, I didn't expect your heart to be so vicious!", she is indeed vicious, it's really embarrassing.

  These words, however, pierced Madam Chen's lungs, her face suddenly flushed red with anger, pointing at Su Ying: "Now the true face is revealed, no longer pretending to be gentle and elegant. I think such a vicious thing was done by you!"

  Su Ying gave Chen Furen a cold glance, the disdain in her eyes making Chen Furen so angry that she was clutching at her heart. Su Ying withdrew her gaze, her expression cold and solemn: "I'd like to ask, since you were so certain it was me back then, why are you only questioning me now?"

  Madam Chen blurted out, following Mrs. Fu's words that day: "It was the old lady who said it, besides, our second house is unlucky, you big house are happy, who else can you be?"

  ps：

  Mrs. Chen is very silly and naive~~