On September 15th, the Marquis of Jing'an Mansion was going to celebrate the full moon of Princess Nankang's eldest son and sent an invitation to Huayang in advance.
Huayang: "I don't want to go at all."
Empress Qi: "As a younger sister, you should go to celebrate the birth of a new baby. It's a social event that happens once a year at most. Why give others an excuse to do so?"
Huayang looked at his mother who was serious, and suddenly laughed: "I just didn't want to go, but I didn't say I didn't want to go. My mother didn't listen carefully and started to reason with me."
Empress Qi: …
She shook her head: "Your personality is becoming more and more erratic."
She knew that she was a strict mother. Her son respected and feared her, and her daughter acted less and less spoiled as she grew older. She never expected that after nearly three years of marriage, her daughter would still tease her with words.
"How is the training going at the garrison, my dear son-in-law?" Empress Qi asked about the main business. She still felt that her son-in-law was too impulsive when he asked for the position of commander. If the Left Guard of Daxing was still the last one this year, it would not only damage the reputation of the Chen family, but her daughter would definitely be laughed at by Concubine Lin and her daughter, and the emperor would probably be unhappy too.
Huayang: "I see he's quite tanned. The soldiers should be training hard as well."
Empress Qi looked at her daughter for a moment and said in surprise, "You don't seem to be afraid that he will lose at all."
Huayang pinched a slice of the orange that the palace maid had just brought to her. It tasted sour and sweet. After eating it, she replied nonchalantly, "Even if he loses again, it won't affect my power as a princess. Besides, he can even train those soldiers of Lingzhou Guards who are not well trained. Even if he can't make it into the top three this time, he won't be at the bottom. Mother, since you have chosen him as your son-in-law, you should have some confidence in him."
Empress Qi looked at her daughter thoughtfully.
At this time, the prince came over, and the brother and sister immediately left their serious mother and went to stroll in the imperial garden.
On the day when the banquet was held at the Marquis Jing'an Mansion, Huayang came to the Marquis Jing'an Mansion with her maids because Chen Jingzong had to go to the garrison.
Princess Anle arrived before her and was holding the swaddled child and playing with him.
Huayang walked to his aunt and looked at the cradle. Inside was a plump and fair baby. Nankang was a beauty, and Meng Yanqing was also good-looking, so the child was naturally good-looking too.
It was just that the child smelled too much of milk, so Huayang took a few glances and then kept his distance.
Nankang had a very comfortable confinement period. Meng Yanqing was beaten on the buttocks by the Marquis, but he did not lose his life, and he could only lie on the bed obediently. Even the maids serving Meng Yanqing were replaced by new ones by his parents-in-law. The best-looking one among them was only of average appearance. They all looked lifeless, as if they had just returned to secular life from the temple.
"Why did my sister come here alone? Where is my brother-in-law?" Nankang looked at her son and said to Huayang with a radiant face. As for the loss of face on the Mid-Autumn Night, she had long forgotten it.
Huayang: "He is not good at socializing, so he went to work at the guard post early in the morning."
Now that there was no one else in the room, Nan Kang said in a good sisterly tone: "Speaking of which, I should thank my brother-in-law. If he hadn't stood up for me, Meng Yanqing wouldn't have known the lesson."
At first, Nankang complained about Chen Jingzong for a while, but when she realized that her father rewarded her with beauties to support her, Nankang felt that Chen Jingzong really helped her a lot. It was too boring to be in confinement. When Nankang was lying alone in bed resting, she suddenly remembered something. She and Huayang were not getting along. Chen Jingzong was Huayang's son-in-law, so why did he stand up for her
Nankang recalled her meeting with Chen Jingzong outside the imperial city, when Chen Jingzong seemed to have glanced at her.
Could it be that Chen Jingzong thinks she is more beautiful than Huayang
Nankang couldn't help feeling a little proud. After all, although Chen Jingzong was a warrior, he was very handsome, even more handsome than Meng Yanqing.
Nankang naturally would not have anything to do with Chen Jingzong, but when she thought that Huayang's son-in-law actually liked her more, Nankang felt very happy and showed a bit of pride in front of Huayang.
Huayang has never taken Nankang seriously.
Her mother was beautiful and wise, and Concubine Lin earned her position as a concubine entirely by using her beauty and her son. Her methods of competing for favor were easy to see through.
Concubine Lin was like this, and Nankang and Prince Yu also followed her temperament.
Just like Nankang’s thoughts at the moment, they were almost clearly written on his face.
"It's rare that you didn't blame him for being rash. Don't worry, I will convey your gratitude to him." Huayang said with a faint smile.
Nankang's fist hit cotton again.
"Okay, there will be other guests coming later, Panpan and I will go out and sit for a while." Seeing that the two sisters were about to quarrel again, Princess Anle handed the child to the wet nurse, and she left with Huayang's arm.
Arriving at the reception hall, the aunt and niece sat alone together. Princess Anle tilted her head to look at Huayang for a moment and said with a smile, "Are you angry when she said that?"
Hua Yang sneered: "Don't say that the prince consort has no feelings for her. Even if he does, I can just give her away. Why should I be angry?"
Princess Anle clicked her tongue and said, "Why do I sound a little sour?"
Huayang: …
In order to avoid misunderstanding from her aunt, she quietly told her the real reason why Chen Jingzong took action.
Princess Anle: "No wonder you're not angry, it turns out you know that Chen Silang's heart is on your side."
Huayang: "No matter where he is, I don't care."
Princess Anle pinched her petal-like face and said, "You keep talking tough, but there will always be a time when I will catch you with something."
When leaving Jing'an Marquis's Mansion, Princess Anle gave Huayang a box that was very familiar in shape and size.
After getting on the carriage, Huayang quietly opened it and found that it was full of those things, about fifty of them.
After returning to Siyi Hall, Huayang asked Chaoyun to put away the box. Since they came from Lingzhou, Chaoyun had been responsible for this task.
Chaoyun blushed, took the box away and put it in a box with another box.
After dark, Chen Jingzong returned.
In the past, he was the one who took the initiative to talk. But tonight, when Chen Jingzong was having dinner, he noticed that the princess sitting opposite him secretly glanced at him a few times.
Chen Jingzong: "If you have something to say, just say it. Why are you peeking at people like a little maid?"
Huayang: "If you keep talking nonsense, you will sleep in the front tonight."
Chen Jingzong: "Okay, does Your Highness have any instructions?"
Chen Jingzong was disgusted by this and put down the wine that was just about to reach his mouth: "Is she stupid? If I had come up with a different excuse, the couple wouldn't have to lose face."
He could indeed find other excuses, but Chen Jingzong knew that Concubine Lin and her daughter did not get along with Empress Qi and Huayang, so Chen Jingzong did not waste his time on them.
Hua Yang: "She is not smart, but she is pretty and fair-skinned. Who knows if you have some sympathy for her?"
Nankang's beauty was not as great as hers, but she was definitely the most stunning beauty that Chen Jingzong had ever seen before he came to Beijing.
He is just a lustful guy. If it was Concubine Lin who wanted to marry Nankang to him, he would definitely treat Nankang the same way he treated her.
Chen Jingzong saw disdain in her eyes, as if he was a pig who would eat whatever others fed him without being picky at all.
Half of the food was left, but Chen Jingzong put down his chopsticks and said sullenly, "I'll sleep in the front tonight. I'll also stay in the garrison for a long time. I'll be around men day and night, so I won't be tempted to see a fair and beautiful woman when I return to the city."
After saying that, he threw open the curtain heavily and left.
Huayang: …
The four maids outside were also frightened by the prince consort's angry momentum, and finally pushed Chaoyun and Chaoyue in to inquire about the situation.
When the two entered the room, they found that the princess was still leaning back and reading a book. She was not angry, but looked as confused as they were.
Chao Yun asked in a low voice: "Princess, what is the prince consort so angry about?"
In the past two years, although the princess and her husband had bickered from time to time, they had never really been angry. Even when the princess was molested by the Prince of Xiang, the husband's face turned black because he was too concerned. He left angrily, talked to the old man for a while, and then came back on his own.
Huayang didn't want to explain to the maids.
She also couldn't understand Chen Jingzong's anger.
The two of them often ridicule each other. She is relatively serious, but Chen Jingzong always uses his two brothers or his father-in-law to make fun of her. How come he couldn't stand it when she used Nankang to stab him for the first time just now
It's really unreasonable!
"Let him go, pack up, I'm going to sleep."
Glancing at the leftovers on the low table, Huayang put down the book and went to the inner room as usual.
.
Chen Jingzong was a man of great integrity and had a tough temper. If he said he would not come back, he would really not come back.
At first, Sun and others didn't notice anything wrong. They thought that the winter martial arts competition was getting closer and Chen Jingzong was concentrating on practicing martial arts and had not returned home for a long time.
But it was not until the end of the month when it was time for a holiday that Chen Jingzong had been staying in the garrison for half a month, and he did not even come back on the day of holiday. Sun immediately guessed that something had happened.
She came to Siyi Hall to see the princess.
How could Huayang let her mother-in-law worry about her? She smiled and said that she and Chen Jingzong were doing fine. If Chen Jingzong didn't come back, he would be busy training his troops.
The princess's smile was flawless, but Sun secretly observed Chaoyun and other maids and still caught a few strange glances.
Sun thought that since she was the elder, the princess might be too embarrassed to speak up, so two days later, she sent her eldest daughter-in-law, Yu Xiu, to spy on her.
There was no way Yu Xiu could do such a thing. As soon as she arrived at Siyi Hall, Huayang saw through her purpose and coaxed her away with a few words.
Yu Xiu blushed and went to confess to her mother-in-law: "The princess has a keen eye, and I can't hide my daughter-in-law's thoughts from her. Why not let my third brother's wife give it a try?"
Sun: "Come on, she is not as likable as you. If the princess gets sullen, she will come to me to complain about her grievances."
The daughters-in-law were of no use, so Sun sent her eldest son to the guard post to ask her son directly.
Poor Chen Bozong, he was busy in the Dali Temple until dusk, and rode for an hour to reach Daxing Zuowei. It was already completely dark, and the cold wind froze his face. He could hardly bend his fingers on the hands holding the reins.
When jumping off the horse, Chen Bochong even had a thought that maybe his mother was just overthinking it, and his brother didn't want to go back because he was lazy due to the cold weather.
Chen Jingzong had extremely strict control over the garrison. Although the soldiers guarding the camp believed that the frail scholar at the door was the brother of the prince consort, they did not lead him in directly.
After a while, Chen Jingzong came over in person, looked him up and down, and asked unhappily, "What are you doing here?"
Chen Bochong looked at his brother's dark face and understood that he was really angry with the princess.
It was too late to rush back to the city tonight, so Chen Bochong had to follow his brother into the guard post and came to the house where Chen Jingzong lived.
There was a floor heater in the room, so it was warm, but there was some sweat. I didn't know if it was because the fourth brother was sloppy, or if it was left by other military officers who came to report to me.
There is a window on the south side and a kang on the north side.
Seeing him staring at the kang with his brows about to frown, Chen Jingzong sneered, "If you don't want to sleep in the same room with me, I'll arrange a big bunk bed for you."
Chen Bozong shook his head and said, "I'm hungry. Get me something to eat first."
Chen Jingzong shouted for wealth and honor.
Soon, Fugui brought over a plate of big meat buns and a bowl of hot rice porridge from the kitchen.
Chen Bochong was not picky about the food in the garrison. He ate slowly, rinsed his mouth, washed his face and feet, and then got into the bed that Fugui had just made on the kang.
Chen Jingzong stared at him for a long time, waiting for him to speak. Until this moment, he could no longer bear it: "You came here just to eat and sleep? What, did the sister-in-law kick you out?"
Chen Bozong: "I treat her with respect, why would she chase me away?"
Chen Jingzong heard a bit of sarcasm and said coldly: "No one chased you away, why did you come to me?"
Chen Bozong finally gave him a straight look, then said sleepily, "My mother asked me to come. She went to Siyi Hall today and heard the princess asking Chaoyun and the others to pack up their things, as if they were going to move to the princess's residence. My mother said that she didn't want to follow my father to the palace to apologize to the emperor and the queen, so she asked you to quickly coax the princess."
Chen Jingzong: …
(End of this chapter)