After dinner, there was a slight breeze outside.
Huayang walked around the yard twice, then continued to sit in the shade of a tree to enjoy the cool air. Although ice could be placed in the house, it was not as comfortable as the natural coolness outside.
Chen Jingzong did not accompany her for a walk to digest the food. Instead, he sat down again and took the fan from Chaoyun's hand to fan her.
It was a round fan that ladies from wealthy families liked, but Chen Jingzong found it difficult to use: "I told you I'd buy you a cattail leaf fan. That's the kind that keeps you cool."
Huayang knew which one he was talking about. Almost every old eunuch and maid in the palace had one, but they were so ugly. There was no way Huayang would use them.
She glanced at him sideways: "If you feel tired, call the maids over."
Chen Jingzong didn't respond, and talked to her seriously: "The other day I dared to ask the emperor for a new job as the Daxing Zuowei. The old man was very unhappy and scolded me, blaming me for taking advantage of my status as the son-in-law and acting recklessly. What do you think?"
Emperor Jingshun looked quite kind and took the initiative to ask him what reward he wanted. Chen Jingzong did not think too much and just spoke out what was in his mind.
He really didn't want to stay in the Jinyiwei. Jinyiwei served the emperor exclusively, and their duties were spying, patrolling and arresting. Moreover, Jinyiwei commander Liu Shou knew that he was the emperor's son-in-law, so he only asked him to take on some unskillful tasks, fearing that he would be tired and complain. If Chen Jingzong didn't make progress, it would be too depressing to eat white rice all day. If he made progress, he was still a Jinyiwei after all, and he was afraid that Liu Shou would suspect that he had ulterior motives to seize power and go to the Emperor Jingshun to talk nonsense.
Chen Jingzong wanted to go to the garrison even more. He practiced martial arts when he was young, firstly to go against the old man on purpose, and secondly because he admired the heroic generals with swords and spears in history books.
He thought at the time that if Emperor Jingshun agreed, it would be great for him to get what he wanted. If Emperor Jingshun did not agree, then forget it, he would not suffer any loss.
Unexpectedly, the old man fumed and glared, but Emperor Jingshun responded with good temper.
Chen Jingzong knew his own limitations and knew that Emperor Jingshun did not appreciate him too much but was just taking care of his son-in-law.
Chen Jingzong did not want to take advantage of Huayang other than her as a person when marrying her, but the status of a son-in-law did bring him many conveniences, including the favor and indulgence of Emperor Jingshun.
In this case, Chen Jingzong also has to listen to her opinions on some matters.
Hua Yang looked at him and asked curiously, "If I were your father and warned you to be careful in front of your father, would you still open your mouth to your father?"
Chen Jingzong thought for a moment and said, "I will still speak, but I will be more tactful. I hope the emperor will transfer me to the garrison as a soldier and start from the bottom."
Huayang: "You are such a little soldier, you can't just go home whenever you want."
Chen Jingzong: "That's better than doing nothing in Jinyiwei."
Huayang did not comment.
Chen Jingzong: "Why, you can't bear to see me away from home for a long time?"
Huayang looked at his face and said, "In just over ten days, you look more and more embarrassed."
Chen Jingzong smiled and fanned her.
Hua Yang snorted and said, "Father loves me, and you are my consort. As long as you keep your distance and don't make excessive requests, Father will agree to your request. I don't care. But Father's lecture on you is reasonable. It's always right to be cautious in what you say and do. You should still pay attention to it in your daily life."
Chen Jingzong: "I will follow the princess' instructions."
He was serious, but Huayang remembered how he was unruly in front of his father-in-law and couldn't help laughing: "Why aren't you so sensible in front of your father?"
If he had been more polite, the father and son would not have treated each other so coldly.
Chen Jingzong looked at her and said, "If he was half as good-looking as you, I would have tolerated it."
Huayang: …
It happened to be getting dark, so Chen Jingzong put down the small round fan, picked her up and went to the inner room.
.
In the morning, when Huayang woke up, it was bright outside the window.
Thinking back on what happened last night, Huayang couldn't help but feel fortunate that she was a princess and didn't have to visit her mother-in-law morning and night.
"When did the prince consort leave?" she asked the maids who came in to serve.
Only Chaolu, who was on night watch, knew about this. She said with some admiration, "It was about 1:15 AM. I woke up when I heard the prince consort opening the door to the main hall. When I went out to check, the prince consort was gone. The kitchen knew that the prince consort had to get up early to work today, so they prepared breakfast, but the prince consort didn't want to use it. He said he was going to eat at the guard post and told the kitchen not to prepare any more."
Huayang calculated the distance from Daxing Zuowei to the capital. Chen Jingzong had to ride a horse for an hour early in the morning. He didn't want to set off right after eating, probably because he was afraid that the bumpy ride on the horse would make his stomach uncomfortable.
Thinking about it this way, among the four members of the Chen family, Chen Jingzong was the most tired when it came to the hardships of his duties.
Then Huayang thought again, if it were her, let alone for that little bit of happiness, even if someone told her that getting up early the next day to run for an hour could keep her youthful forever, she might not be able to persist.
The weather is still comfortable now. When it gets cold in winter, the sky will be dark when Chen Jingzong is on the road in the morning and evening!
This shows that Chen Jingzong really insisted on going home every other day, which shows that he is determined!
Huayang ate breakfast alone. After the meal, he went to say hello to his mother-in-law and went out to Princess Anle's mansion.
The biggest advantage of a princess getting married is freedom of movement, she can go wherever she wants.
Princess Anle did not expect that her niece would come to see her right after leaving the palace, and she happily welcomed Huayang into the house.
Huayang naturally did not come empty-handed, and brought gifts that she had prepared for her aunt in Lingzhou.
Princess Anle: "What's so rare about these things? If you really want to honor your aunt, just send your guard commander to stay with me for a few nights. His name is Zhou Ji, right?"
Huayang: …
Even if Zhou Ji was willing, she couldn't ask her guards to do so. Besides, her aunt could choose her own lover, but if it was really related to the guards around her, the news would get out that the reputation of both aunt and nephew would be damaged.
"Look how scared you are. Your aunt was just saying that to tease you." Looking at Huayang's changing expression, Princess Anle laughed so hard that her body shook with laughter.
Hua Yang breathed a sigh of relief, then scolded: "If you make such a joke again, I will never come again."
Princess Anle hurriedly coaxed her beautiful niece, then took her hand and walked to the waterside pavilion to listen to music.
A dozen singing girls dancing gracefully in thin gauze skirts is such a pleasing sight that not only men but women also like it.
However, Huayang was about to leave after watching two shows. She really liked her aunt and also cared about her own reputation. Every time she came to visit her aunt's house, she would not stay too long, so as to avoid outsiders suspecting that she had chosen a lover to be with her aunt.
"Princess, the eldest master seems to be ill."
As soon as Huayang entered the yard, Chaolu and Chaolan, who stayed at home, came up to him and reported to their master the news they had heard in the morning.
Huayang paused and Dalang's handsome face appeared in his mind.
In her previous life, Huayang was only close to Wanyi among the nephews and nephews of the Chen family, and she didn't care much about Dalang and others. Maybe she has become more approachable in this life. When she was in Lingzhou, Dalang, Erlang and Sanlang often followed Wanyi to play with her, and Huayang developed some feelings for the three boys.
Since Dalang was sick, Huayang did not go back to the house, but went directly to Guanhe Hall.
The three brothers' courtyards were very close, so Huayang didn't walk for too long. However, the weather was hot, so when she arrived at Guanhe Hall, a blush appeared on her face.
"Why is the princess here in such a hot day?" Yu Xiu came out hurriedly.
At this time, Wanyi was still studying in school.
Huayang saw Yu Xiu's worried face and asked as he walked in, "I heard that Dalang is sick. Has the doctor come to see him?"
Yu Xiu smiled bitterly and said, "I checked it out. They said it's nothing serious. Maybe he caught a cold from kicking off the quilt last night. He vomited in the school this morning."
As he was speaking, Huayang had already stepped into Dalang's room.
Dalang was only seven years old and was asked by his mother to lie in bed obediently. Now that the princess's fourth aunt came, he didn't dare to go out in just his shirt, for fear of being impolite.
"Fourth Aunt."
The boy's face turned red, embarrassed by the look.
Huayang saw the shadows of Chen Bochong and Yu Xiu in his face. His appearance was more like Chen Bochong, and the nervousness and tension between his eyebrows was almost exactly the same as Yu Xiu's.
Huayang was secretly surprised.
Girls are usually more shy, but Wanyi is unexpectedly so outspoken, while Dalang inherited the quiet nature of Yu Xiu.
Huayang has a brother who is eight years younger than her. She is quite experienced in caring for boys. She asked softly, "Didn't Dalang cover himself properly with the quilt last night, or did he accidentally eat the wrong thing?"
Dalang lowered his eyes and agreed with the first guess.
But Huayang vaguely felt that this child seemed to be worried about something.
After leaving Dalang's room, Huayang asked Yuxiu if she noticed anything unusual about Dalang. Yuxiu sighed and said helplessly, "There is definitely no problem with his food. It's just that Dalang came back listless when his father asked them to go to the study to check his homework yesterday evening. He refused to say anything. It was Wanyi who told me that he recited the lesson incorrectly and was scolded by his father."
Huayang was stunned.
Yu Xiu lowered her head, pinching her sleeves and said, "Da Lang is like me, not as smart as Dad, but he is the eldest grandson, and father has the highest expectations of him, so it is reasonable for him to be angry and disappointed."
Huayang hadn't seen Yu Xiu so cowardly for a long time, and he was inexplicably angry: "Let's not talk about whether Dalang is smart or not. Even if he is not talented, why is he like you? We have the same parents, and his father is so talented, but Master Chen Er didn't even pass the exam to become a scholar. It's just that the nine sons of a dragon are different. If you keep belittling yourself like this, then all the things I said to you in the past two years will be in vain."
When Yu Xiu heard her say that, she first blushed with shame, then turned pale because she was afraid that the princess would be angry. She stammered, "Princess, don't be angry. I, I remember everything. It's just that seeing Da Lang like this made me anxious, so I said that out of habit."
Huayang understood that it is difficult to change one's nature, and if Yu Xiuzhen became as confident as Chen Jingzong, she would feel unfamiliar.
The two of them went to sit in the main hall. Huayang wanted to ask his father-in-law how he scolded Dalang and why he scared the child like that. Unfortunately, Yu Xiu was not there at the time and could not explain clearly.
Not long after, Wanyi came back from get out of class.
Huayang asked Yuxiu to take care of Dalang while she talked to Wanyi alone.
Wanyi felt sorry for her brother and complained quietly, "Grandfather is too fierce. He is relatively lenient with me, but very strict with Dalang and the others. He would glare at us if we got a word wrong, and he always had a stern face. We used to look forward to holidays, but when we thought that Grandfather would stay at home on holidays, we wished that we could get rid of holidays and have Grandfather go out early and come back late every day."
Huayang: …
How could her father-in-law, who treated her gently and politely, be like this in front of the children
Huayang remembered that before she got married, she had gone to listen to her father-in-law giving lessons to her younger brother. In her memory, her father-in-law was a gentleman with a wealth of knowledge, and he was also very humble when correcting her younger brother's mistakes.
Her younger brother had complained to her many times that his father-in-law was too strict, but Huayang did not take it to heart. She thought her younger brother was just a child who was reluctant to study and deliberately spoke ill of his father-in-law. When she was a child, she also complained to her mother about the tutor.
But now, Wanyi also complained to her about her father-in-law’s strict teaching, and she even witnessed with her own eyes that Dalang was made sick by his father-in-law’s scolding!
Could it be that her father-in-law would only be friendly to her when she was present
Just like Wanyi said, father-in-law will be more lenient towards his granddaughter!
Huayang was thinking about this matter the whole afternoon.
My father-in-law is undoubtedly a good prime minister, but is he really a good husband
"Princess, why are you so distracted?"
Seeing that the princess didn't move her chopsticks for a long time, Chao Yun asked in a low voice, "Are you thinking about your husband?"
Huayang: …
She glared at Chao Yun, put away her distracting thoughts, and concentrated on eating.
While enjoying the cool air after dinner, there was suddenly a noise coming from the front yard, as if a servant was calling "Prince Consort".
Without waiting for Huayang's instructions, Chaoyue had already ordered Zhener to find out the news.
Not long after, Zhen Er returned and said with a smile, "Princess, it is indeed the Prince Consort who has returned. He has asked someone to prepare water for bathing."
(End of this chapter)