1
At noon the next day, Xu Junying and Meimei went out to the Prince of Qi's mansion to pick up a pair of young girls. They asked Ah Heng and Ah Kang to go with them. Meiyi and Meijuan followed the maids in the palace to learn etiquette, while the other three boys went to the academy in the mansion to learn to read and study with the teacher together with their cousins.
Lin Runan, Zhao Min, Zhao Jie, and Zhao Cong were playing hide-and-seek with two cute little girls in the yard. The King of Qi was standing in the corridor watching. The children were having fun, their laughter was clear and sweet. Suddenly, it was announced that Marquis Weiyuan and his wife had arrived with the Crown Prince. Lin Runan said in dissatisfaction, "These two are really something. Can't they come back in the evening?"
The King of Qi walked down the steps and said, "How about we hide together as a family?"
Zhao Min hugged the King of Qi's arm and shook it, "No! If I hide from my father again, he will be even angrier. When he gets angry, he will scold Brother Heng. I don't want Brother Heng to be sad. Please don't do that, Daddy!"
The King of Qi looked at Zhao Min, then at Lin Runan: "See, you're still trying to win over other people's girls. Your own daughter isn't even married yet, and you're already so outgoing!"
Lin Runan stroked her daughter's hair with a smile: "That's great, it's not someone else's family... Go, go greet your father and mother, and Brother Heng!"
The King of Qi watched Zhao Min run away and asked, "Are you really going to return Meiyi and Meifang to me?"
"Are you not going to return it? Xu Junying will really tear down your Qi Palace! Alas, now even Meimei has come, and we can't keep them anymore - these two children are too cute!"
"It's just two children, so just have another one! If you can't have twins, just have one at a time!"
After the King of Qi finished speaking, he walked out quickly: "I'm going to go outside to talk to Xu Hou, and let Meimei talk to you. Xu Junying is on leave today, so he will definitely not want to keep Meimei here for dinner, and wants to take her home to accompany the children. You can tell Meimei that since Heng'er doesn't have to go to the palace today, he should stay to accompany Min'er and go back after dinner!"
Zhao Jie and Zhao Cong, who were squatting on the ground picking up red leaves with the twins, suddenly shouted, "Mother... Mother!"
Lin Runan ran over: "What's the matter?"
"Mei Yi farted..."
Meiyi stood up and covered her butt, her face flushed red: "No, no, brother is talking nonsense!"
The American turned around and looked for the nurse in panic: "Mom, come quickly... I need to pee!"
Lin Runan picked up Meifang and walked to the upper room, while frowning and scolding the nurse and the maid: "How did you serve? You must take the young master to the clean room at the right time. Didn't your wife tell you?"
The nurse followed behind with her head down, not daring to utter a word: "Princess, calm down! The young master just drank half an extra cup of water. I wanted to give her the water, but the young master refused..."
After a while, Lin Runan led Mei Fang out and called his two sons over:
"Who was yelling just now? My sister is so young, why make a fuss about a fart? Don't yell if something like this happens again, tell the adults quietly... You have to take good care of your sister, understand?"
The two boys said in unison: "Got it!"
A maid came hurriedly over: "Report to the princess: Weiyuan Hou's wife and the prince are outside the courtyard gate!"
"Got it! Jie'er, Cong'er, hold your sister tightly, let's go and welcome her!"
Zhao Jie suddenly leaned close to her and said, "Mother, don't forget again!"
Lin Runan was startled: "What did you forget?"
"Tell mother, Meiyi and Meifang, leave one of them in our house..."
Lin Runan looked at Meimei coming towards him, a smile appeared on the corner of her lips, and she whispered to her son: "You are still young, your mother won't agree! Besides, your sister hasn't married yet... What's yours is yours, and what's not yours is useless to worry!"
When the two good friends met, they naturally had endless things to talk about. They took the children to the flower hall to drink tea and eat snacks. Meimei kissed Xiao Meiyi and Xiao Meifang and let them snuggle in her arms for a while. Then Ah Heng brought Zhao Min up and took one each, and took them out to the yard to play together with Ah Kang, Zhao Jie and Zhao Cong.
Lin Runan said: "Heng'er is such a sensible and good child. He was afraid that you would be tired, so he only had a snack and then took his brothers and sisters out to play."
Meimei smiled and said, "The son-in-law I raise for you is naturally the best! And he comes to your door in person, are you satisfied?"
"Humph, I have been taking care of him and teaching him since he was a child. Are you willing to give him to me? If Zhao Bao hadn't accidentally gotten the upper hand and insisted on having him as a foster child, and then went to the palace to ask the Queen Mother and the Empress to fight for him for Min'er, wouldn't Xu Junying have let him be engaged to Princess Yurui?"
"That's right. It seems like Zhao Bao knew that he would have a daughter in the future, and he has long been attracted to my Heng'er... What's the matter, do you really want to have another child?"
"I want to have another child..."
Lin Runan blushed slightly: "Zhao Bao, he has been hanging out with those people recently, and he stays in the other courtyard for a few days from time to time... Since Jie'er and Cong'er were born, he has never stayed out all night. Is it because the children have grown up and no longer pester him, so he is bored and starts messing around again?"
"You want to use the child to entangle him?"
"Apart from the children, is it possible for me to keep him?"
Meimei snorted, "You're not that stupid, are you? If he had no feelings for you and only stayed with you for the sake of the child, a man as reckless as him would have married concubines and had more children. Wouldn't that be good?"
Lin Runan looked at Meimei blankly: "You know, he doesn't like women... I'm enough for him to deal with."
Meimei couldn't help laughing: "But he had children with you one after another, and you lived together, didn't you?"
Lin Runan lowered his head: "We live together. He only sleeps in the south room study... and comes to my place occasionally."
Meimei is curious: "I never asked you before, did you two sleep in the same bed until dawn?"
Lin Runan shook her head: "When we were newly married, I was forced to sleep in the same room with him by the order of the Queen Mother. He slept on the couch and I slept on the bed, and we could sleep until dawn. Later, we consummated our marriage and had Min'er. After that, we lived together again, but he never slept with me until dawn... After we were done, he would go back to the study to sleep."
"You won't keep him?"
Lin Runan glared: "If he can come, then come. Even if he is willing, do you still dare to keep him?"
"Why not? He is your husband, not..."
Meimei smiled evilly: "This is not a brothel where a man is looking for pleasure. Do you think this is a place where you can let him come and go as he pleases? It's not that easy!"
Lin Runan's face flushed: "If I do that, I'm afraid he will be unhappy, look down on me, and dislike me..."
"Don't worry, he won't. Zhao Bao is nostalgic and protective of his children... He has been tripped up and can't leave you and the children. Don't let him go and have fun on his own now. You have to follow him closely like before and hold on to him. You know that you can use the children to tie him down, and you can tie him down too. Maybe he will like it more!"
Meimei sighed: "Actually, he is a lot like me—he got stuck, and then he couldn't leave."
Lin Runan looked at her coldly: "Who tripped whom? You and he are the same kind of people, both of you have no conscience!"
"What nonsense are you talking about? Am I the same as him? Your husband likes men, and I don't like women, otherwise why would I let you go?"
Lin Runan rushed over to hit her, but Meimei refused to let him succeed and got up and ran away. The two of them chased and tangled with each other. They laughed in silence for fear of being heard by outsiders. Outside the gold-carved door, the maids peeked at the scene in the hall and couldn't help laughing: a princess and a marquis's wife, both thirty years old, are still playing like girls.
In the yard, Ah Kang and Zhao Jie jumped up and down, leading a group of children to play happily. Ah Heng and Zhao Min stood by and watched. Zhao Min was used to Brother Heng holding her hand, but at this moment, Ah Heng was taking care of his two sisters and had to move around from time to time, so he didn't hold Zhao Min's hand. Zhao Min gritted her teeth, looked at Ah Heng and asked softly: "Brother Heng, I heard that a vassal state delegation came yesterday, and there was a vassal state princess accompanying them. Did you see her? Is she beautiful?"
Ah Heng kept his eyes on the two little sisters and smiled, "I have seen them. The women from the barbarian countries have their own characteristics. They are covered with ornaments and their dancing makes a sound. The rhythm and melody match their dancing posture. They are so beautiful even without the music of the harp!"
"That princess can dance? Do you like watching her dance?"
"Well, the dance is beautiful. The prince and I watched it for a while..."
Zhao Min couldn't help but reach out to pull Ah Heng's sleeve, but Ah Heng quickly pushed her hand away, stepped forward and shouted: "Kang'er, hold Meiyi, don't let her get into the flowers! Meifang, come here, come to big brother!"
Zhao Min looked at him with resentment, snorted, turned and left. Ah Heng stretched out his hand to greet Mei Fang who was running towards him, but did not notice that Zhao Min had run away. When he turned around and could no longer see her, he was stunned for a moment. There was no one in sight, and although he felt uneasy, he did not chase after her. He just thought that Zhao Min must have something urgent to do.
Meimei knew Xu Junying was waiting outside, so she sat with Lin Runan for a while before saying goodbye and calling the children home. Lin Runan said:
"By the way, the prince said he wanted to keep Heng'er for dinner before leaving... Hey, where's Min'er?"
As she was asking, a servant came up with the King of Qi and bowed to Lin Runan, saying, "Princess, the prince has sent a message, asking Master Heng to come to the front hall!"
"What's the matter?"
"Reporting to the princess: I don't know what happened, but I saw the princess crying in the front hall..."
Lin Runan and Meimei looked at each other in bewilderment. Meimei asked Ah Heng, "Did you offend Min'er?"
Ah Heng was completely confused: "No, my son was talking to her in the yard, and then she suddenly disappeared..."
"Come to think of it, you didn't say anything to irritate her?"
Ah Heng thought for a moment and said, "Min'er asked if the princess of the vassal state he saw yesterday was beautiful. My son agreed that she was beautiful and that she could dance, but that was all!"
Meimei smiled and said, "My son, in front of your wife, even if the princess is as beautiful as a fairy, you have to say she is ugly. Do you understand?"
Ah Heng blushed: "Mother, how can that be? It's not fair to please her with lies. The princess is beautiful, what does it have to do with me? I've seen her and it's over. I have Min'er..."
Lin Runan was overjoyed: "Good boy, your mother has loved you for what you did! Let's go find that stupid girl. Why are you so angry for no reason? Mother will scold her for you!"
In the front hall, Prince Qi stared at Ah Heng with a stern face: "Tell Min Er yourself, what's going on?"
Lin Runan wanted to speak, but was stopped by his glare. Meimei refused to accept it and just opened her mouth, but the King of Qi said in a casual voice: "Shut up!"
Xu Junying was unhappy: "How can you not say anything about your own child? Heng'er doesn't need to explain anything, let's go home!"
"Where are you going? You think this is your Weiyuan Marquis's residence, and you can come and go freely?"
King Qi snorted coldly: "Heng'er, I gave Min'er to you so that you can take care of her and love her. If you do anything to let her down and let her suffer even the slightest injustice, you just wait for me!"
Xu Junying also said coldly: "What are you waiting for? To punish him? Well, in front of my wife and I, you can do it! But only this time, I will go and explain to the emperor, and then cancel this marriage!"
Everyone in the hall was shocked. Xu Junying and King Qi had never gotten along well, and King Qi had never said such cruel words. No one expected him to say that.
Ah Heng couldn't believe it and asked in a stammering voice, "Father, why?"
Xu Junying glanced at him and said, "Didn't you hear what the prince said? The princess cannot stand the slightest bit of grievance, but you are my eldest son, you have parents above you and siblings below you, you shoulder heavy responsibilities, your wife must share the joys and sorrows with you and take on the responsibilities, can you do it so that the princess will not be wronged?"
Mei Mei was stunned for a moment, her eyes swept over Zhao Min who was standing there with her mouth wide open, and after listening to Xu Junying's words, she lowered her eyes and chose to remain silent. That girl was a good girl by nature. After getting engaged, she followed the rules and no longer came to the Hou Mansion casually. She lived in the Wang Mansion but was spoiled by the King of Qi. She was almost full of the usual willfulness and domineering of the royal women. It would be good to suppress her and test the relationship between the two children.
The King of Qi was irritated by Xu Junying, his face gloomy: "Very good! No need to go through the emperor, I will agree to it now..."
"No! Daddy, don't do that! It's Heng'er's fault!"
Ah Heng hurried forward, lifted his robe and knelt down in front of the King of Qi: "Daddy promised Min'er to Heng'er, Heng'er is grateful, I will cherish her and love her in my heart!"
The King of Qi raised his head and said, "It's too late! Go back with your parents."
Lin Runan secretly pinched her stunned daughter and said, "If you don't move, you'll be waiting for Yu Rui to snatch your brother Heng away!"
"Daddy, calm down! Daddy, don't agree to my father's request! Brother Heng did nothing wrong. It was my daughter who was willful..."
Zhao Min burst into tears. She hurried over and knelt down next to Ah Heng. Their hands naturally clasped together.
Ah Heng said to Zhao Min, "Silly Min'er, no matter how good that princess is, how can she compare to you? I have loved and protected you since you were young. After we got engaged, I knew that I would only be with you when I grew up. I told you that, why don't you believe me? The prince and I were just curious. We had never seen someone with such a high nose and green eyes. We just watched her dance. What's the big deal? I didn't have time to talk to you just now because I was looking after the beautiful side. You ran away without saying a word..."
Zhao Min cried, "I was wrong... Brother Heng, I was wrong. I will never do this again!"
The King of Qi reached out and pulled Zhao Min up, took out a handkerchief to wipe her tears, and said in a deep voice: "Remember: you are my daughter, I can't bear to see you being wronged! The man who doesn't know how to love you doesn't deserve you, I won't give you to him!"
Ah Heng kowtowed to the King of Qi and said, "Dad, you have watched Heng'er grow up, please believe Heng'er: Heng'er is really good to Min'er. When Min'er gets married in the future, Heng'er may not be able to prevent her from being wronged, but Heng'er will try his best to share the burden with her!"
Zhao Min shook the King of Qi's hand and said, "Daddy, I am not afraid of being wronged! I am willing! Daddy, please teach my brother to get up!"
The King of Qi stared at her: "You!"
Meimei couldn't help laughing: "Zhao Bao, are you still holding on? Let my son get up!"
King Qi looked at Ah Heng angrily and said, "Why don't you get up and wait for me to pull you up?"
"Thank you, Daddy!"
"etc!"
Xu Junying sat in the hall drinking tea and said arrogantly: "Is there nothing for me to do?"
Zhao Min readily pulled Ah Heng over and knelt down to kowtow to Xu Junying: "Min'er knows I was wrong and will never cause trouble for Brother Heng again. Please forgive Min'er, father!"
Ah Heng also said: "Father, please forgive us!"
Xu Junying glanced at the King of Qi and said, "It's not easy to be the daughter-in-law of the Xu family. Not only do I suffer grievances, but I also often get bullied and beaten..."
The King of Qi jumped up and said, "What? Let's see who dares!"
Meimei rolled her eyes: They are all perverts! (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets on Qidian. Your support is my greatest motivation.) (To be continued)