Chaoyue looked at the fire in the stove and asked Zhuer to watch it. She wiped her hands and walked out of the kitchen.
The drizzle was still falling, a little heavier than in the early morning.
She picked up the umbrella by the door, opened it, and walked towards the main room.
Chao Yun had just cleaned several rooms except the inner room. She was so busy that her face turned red and sweat ran down her cheeks. When she saw her sisters appear at the door, she made a gesture to keep quiet, then walked over with a copper basin. The two big maids each had a small stool and sat under the eaves to talk in private.
Chaoyue looked towards the inner room worriedly: "The princess hasn't woken up yet? The porridge in the pot has been heated for so long, it's getting thick."
Chao Yun smiled, picked up the towel from the copper basin, and wiped her face first.
She had fair skin, but her eyes looked a little blue.
Chao Yue was concerned about her again: "Didn't you sleep well last night?"
Chao Yun nodded.
The princess originally had four big maids around her. When they were in the capital, they took turns to keep watch at night. Now only she and Chaoyue came to Lingzhou. Chaoyue was already tired enough to be responsible for the three meals a day, so the night watch was completely handed over to Chaoyun. Chaoyue had not kept watch for a long time, and the princess and her husband were not diligent in that when they were in the capital, so it was naturally difficult for them to guess the truth.
Considering that the prince consort was still in mourning, Chao Yun hesitated for a while and decided to keep the matter secret, not even to her good sisters who would never reveal a secret.
Just thinking about the noises he heard last night, Chaoyun's face started to turn red.
Suddenly, the sound of a bell was heard in the room.
The princess woke up!
The two maids looked at each other. Chaoyue went back to the kitchen to prepare breakfast and asked Zhuer to go to the water room to fetch water. Chaoyun then carried a pot of tea into the inner room.
After putting the teapot away, Chaoyun came to the bed and skillfully lifted the outer gauze curtain.
Huayang lay weakly on the bed, feeling lazy and unable to move.
She looked at Chaoyun, then at the closed carved window in the distance.
The light outside the window was dim, and Huayang was a little confused: "It's dusk?"
She vaguely remembered that when Chen Jingzong got up in the morning, he wanted to hug her. After she chased him away, she fell asleep again. Did she sleep all day
Chao Yun smiled and said, "It's only the beginning of the 4th hour, and it's raining, but the room is already dark."
Huayang understood and asked, "Where is the prince consort?"
Chao Yun's expression became slightly complicated. "The Prince Consort went to the garden. He was not afraid of the rain. He said he wanted to take advantage of the coolness today to finish the remaining work."
How could there be such a son-in-law? After all, he is the fourth master of the cabinet, but he behaves like a servant who does rough work, not at all decent.
The princess screamed like that last night. Was it possible that the prince consort was torturing the princess using the same methods that a country bumpkin would use
Thinking of this, Chao Yun looked at his master on the bed worriedly.
It was hot in the summer, so Huayang changed into the thinnest undershirts. The thin brocade was as thin as a cicada's wing, especially on the shoulders and arms, which could not cover her fragrant skin at all.
Chao Yun only took a glance and found several purple marks.
She turned pale and could no longer hide it.
Huayang followed her gaze and looked over her shoulder. She was not surprised. After a brief moment of calm, she said nonchalantly, "I'm thirsty. Pour me a cup of tea."
Chaoyun had no choice but to pour tea first.
Huayang sat up slowly.
As she drank tea, Chaoyun saw more traces and could no longer hold back. She asked in a tearful voice, "Princess, did your husband bully you?"
If the prince consort dared to torture the princess, she would go back to the capital to file a complaint with the emperor and empress at all costs!
Huayang looked at her distressed and gnashing teeth expression and said with a faint smile: "He dare not."
When she asked Chen Jingzong to turn around and hug her last night, she was already prepared for him to "push further". Anyway, as long as she was awake, she would never let Chen Jingzong succeed like he did last time and risk taking two contraceptive pills within three months and ruining her body.
And Chen Jingzong did not disappoint her. No matter how greedy he was, he did not dare to force himself on her against her wishes.
Chaoyun wiped his eyes and saw the princess smiling dignifiedly and calmly, so he believed that the princess really did not suffer. He recalled the voices he heard last night...
Chaoyun, who had never experienced love between a man and a woman, suddenly understood what was going on. It was probably like being bitten by a mosquito and it was both painful and pleasurable when you scratched it hard.
Huayang took a comfortable warm bath and after having her "breakfast", she sat by the open carved window, fanning herself with a round fan and watching the rain.
As I recall, this drizzle would not last too long, and it would be followed by a scorching heat that would last for more than half a month. Everyone was looking forward to a rain to cool down, but when the rain really came, it was a torrential rain that lasted for three days and three nights.
The heavy rain continued until noon the next day, when the river section south of Shiqiao Town finally rose to the level under the monitoring of the people. The river water rushed towards the town, carrying mud, sand and tree branches washed down from upstream. The yards of several low-lying houses were flooded, and the owners had to move hurriedly with their families.
This is a flood.
When the flood spread to most of the town and the rain showed no sign of abating, my father-in-law made a decision to lead the people of the town to move to the mountains behind.
According to local residents, there is a small flood here every few years, which recedes when the rain stops. However, the mountain behind has never suffered any collapse or landslide disasters. Therefore, whenever the town encounters a flood, the residents will take shelter in the mountains and wait for the rain to subside before coming down.
The common people were not surprised, and few were really scared, but Huayang, who had experienced this for the first time in her previous life, felt as if the sky was falling! When she was carried to the mountain by Chen Jingzong, she looked at the yellow muddy water that almost flooded the streets of the town, and her mind was filled with the terrible picture that sooner or later the flood would rush to her feet and swallow her up.
She had always disliked Chen Jingzong, and she encountered such great danger because she followed him to Lingzhou. When Chen Jingzong finally put her in a safe place, Huayang looked at him as if he were an enemy.
When the flood finally receded, although the Chen residence did not suffer a major disaster, the yard was covered with mud and sand. Huayang found it increasingly unbearable to watch the maids around him busy cleaning up.
During the two years in Lingzhou, Huayang thought she had experienced all the sufferings of the world, including poor eating and sleeping, insects that could appear at any time, and even more life-threatening natural disasters.
Of course she knew that there were still many poor people in the world suffering from hunger and cold, but she could not understand because she had not seen it, and she only regarded the suffering she had endured as the worst in the world.
It was not until Chen Jingzong died on the battlefield, becoming the first person among her relatives and friends to die, and until she witnessed the grief of the Chen family with her own eyes, that Huayang understood what their relatives and friends had to endure when other soldiers died.
That was the first time Huayang personally felt the heaviness hidden behind the simple words "victory or defeat" of war.
It was not until Chen Bochong was unjustly killed in prison, and until she witnessed the rest of the Chen family walking away in despair in the cold and snowy weather wearing thin prison uniforms, that Huayang realized that the so-called hardships she had experienced were nothing at all.
On the contrary, she wanted to use this mountain flood to expose Qi's greed in advance.
The East Court embezzled 120,000 taels, most of which was accumulated after his father-in-law was promoted to the Prime Minister, but more than 20,000 taels were received before his father-in-law became the Prime Minister.
In other words, the account book has appeared now. When the flash flood comes and the Chen family takes their property to move, Qi will definitely take the account book with them!
But Hua Yangkong knew that the account book was in Qi's hands, and she needed someone to help her "catch the criminal red-handed"!
Chen Jingzong is her best choice.
.
After one month and five days, Chen Jingzong finally built the garden!
The ground was covered with pebbles, with several bluestone paths crisscrossing it. The green bamboos and maple trees were dug from the mountains, and a few clusters of peonies came from a large flower grower in the town. Only the set of stone tables and stone benches were bought from Lingzhou City.
The drizzle came at the perfect time. The bamboo and maple trees in the garden were lush green. Most of the peonies had withered, but there were still a few buds with dewdrops hanging on them.
That evening, Huayang came to the garden to appreciate the flowers and met Sun and her two sisters-in-law.
Luo Yuyan, who was already eight months pregnant, had an even more obvious belly. She had a pretty face and was holding hands with Sun as they reviewed the scenery everywhere. Her sister-in-law Yu Xiu was not good at speaking and followed behind them two steps behind.
"The princess is here!"
Seeing Huayang, Sun smiled even more lovingly.
Luo Yuyan pursed her lips and tactfully let go of her hand.
No matter how sweet she was, no matter how well she behaved in front of her mother-in-law, in her mother-in-law's eyes, let alone her and Yu Xiu, even her own sons could not surpass Hua Yang.
"Mom, come and enjoy the flowers too." Huayang walked to his mother-in-law and said with a smile.
Sun smiled and said, "Yes, the fourth child looks rough, but I didn't expect him to be able to tidy up the garden so well. I think we don't need to do it anymore, let it stay like this."
Huayang looked around and thought that considering the existing conditions of the Chen residence, this garden was indeed very nice.
Luo Yuyan knew that her status was not as high as Huayang's, but she was still inferior to Huayang even though she was so filial to her mother-in-law. She felt uncomfortable and touched her belly. With a smile on her face, she said, "Mother used to feel sorry that fourth brother couldn't read and had to follow the path of a military officer. Now you see that martial arts have their benefits. Look at how capable fourth brother is. He can do so much by himself without feeling tired, unlike his third brother, who got a sore back after working the fields with his father for two days."
This dynasty places more emphasis on civil servants. Luo Yuyan's words seemed to be admiration for Chen Jingzong, but in fact she was showing off that her husband Chen Xiaozong was good at reading.
Farming is just a way for the Chen family to pass the time. No matter how well they do, it is not worth bragging about. It is not worthy of the title of Tanduan.
Luo Yuyan had said this many times before.
In his previous life, Huayang had always been ashamed of Chen Jingzong's vulgarity. Every time he encountered such a situation, although Huayang didn't like to hear it, he knew it was the fact and was too lazy to refute anything for Chen Jingzong.
But now it’s different. She knows that Chen Jingzong will be a hero on the battlefield, so she is unwilling to tolerate Luo Yuyan’s denigration.
"What Third Sister-in-law said means that military officers have no other use except for their strength?"
Huayang was still smiling, but his eyes dimmed when he looked at Luo Yuyan.
She is a princess and she is kind to others, which is a good thing for her. If anyone dares to take advantage of her, Huayang will not be considerate of whether the other person is pregnant or not.
Luo Yuyan's face changed drastically.
She didn't expect that Huayang would start to argue with her just because she said it casually. Huayang had always tolerated her behavior in the past and only felt disgusted with Chen Jingzong.
Luo Yuyan looked at her mother-in-law in panic and denied unconsciously, "No, Princess, you misunderstood. I really admire my fourth brother. Look at how nice this garden is, sister-in-law, don't you agree?"
In a hurry, Luo Yuyan turned around and pulled Yu Xiu over. As long as Yu Xiu agreed that the yard was good, she would have a way out.
Among the four mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law, compared with Huayang and Luo Yuyan, the mother-in-law Sun has a low social status, but her father was a juren when he was alive, and he was also a teacher in the official school, so he was an official of some rank.
Yu Xiu was even lower, as her father was just a scholar.
When Yu's father and Chen Tingjian went to Lingzhou City to participate in the autumn imperial examination, a carriage rushed over on the road. At the critical moment, Yu's father pushed Chen Tingjian away. Chen Tingjian was unharmed, but Yu's father was lame in one leg by the carriage, and he could no longer take the imperial examination. Chen Tingjian was grateful for his friend's life-saving grace and proposed that if Yu's father gave birth to a daughter in the future, he would marry his eldest son.
Thanks to this childhood marriage, Yu Xiucai was able to marry the top scholar Chen Bozong.
Yu Xiu had a gentle temperament and was timid due to her background, but she was not stupid and could see that her two distinguished brothers and sisters were angry.
Yu Xiu didn't dare to speak to support anyone and lowered her head out of habit.
Luo Yuyan shook her arms anxiously.
At this moment, Huayang suddenly chuckled, a light and short chuckle, but full of ridicule towards Luo Yuyan.
"Mother, you guys continue to enjoy the feast. I'll go find the Prince Consort and tell him about the Third Sister-in-law's praises. He will surely be happy."
Huayang had no intention of watching Luo Yuyan continue to make a fool of herself, so he nodded to his mother-in-law and left with Chaoyun.
As soon as she left, Luo Yuyan burst into tears and looked at Sun with grievance: "Mother, I really didn't mean that. The princess misunderstood me..."
Sun knew clearly that if Luo Yuyan was not pregnant, she would have to give her a few words of criticism. However, seeing Luo Yuyan's big belly, it was not easy for a young lady from a marquis's mansion to come all the way to Lingzhou. Sun pretended to be confused and patted Luo Yuyan's hand with a smile: "Okay, okay, it's not a big deal. Stop crying. I will clarify the misunderstanding for you later. The princess will not blame you."
With this step, Luo Yuyan stopped crying after sobbing twice.
Then, Sun went to find Huayang, after all, to help "clear up the misunderstanding."
As soon as she left, Luo Yuyan no longer looked aggrieved. She turned around and questioned Yu Xiu, "Sister-in-law, you didn't answer my question just now. Do you think that the garden built by my fourth brother is not good?"
She was respectful to Huayang on the surface, but was arrogant towards Yu Xiu and Luo Yuyan.
Yu Xiu still kept her head down, clutching her sleeve with one hand helplessly.
Luo Yuyan snorted, asked the maid beside her to hold her hand, and slowly returned to Fucuitang.
Yu Xiu continued to stand next to a bunch of peonies, ready to wait until Luo Yuyan walked away before going back.
“Madam, you are the eldest sister-in-law, why should you be afraid of the third wife?”
The maid Bi Tao came closer, with a look of disappointment in her eyes. She was the head maid given to Yu Xiu by Sun when she first married into the Chen family.
Yu Xiu smiled bitterly and shook her head, then bent down and half squatted, pulling out the thin weeds that had just emerged from the peony bushes after the rain.
(End of this chapter)