Although she was still feeling sad, she won’t be seeking death. However, she still felt a bit embarrassed. Cui Fu sighed slightly and said, ‘What happened in my family, must have been a joke.”
Miantang was so moved to tears at the opera that she was carrying a teacup to hydrate herself while listening to Cui Fu’s self-deprecation, she didn’t care, “How can I laugh about the matters of my family’s affairs? Xingzhou is also blaming himself that he didn’t work hard enough to prevent you from marrying the Duke of Qingguo in those years. The Duke and Madam of Qingguo were not kind, and Guo Yi was fond of the new and tired of the old. We will fight to the end with them!”
She cried like a rabbit with red circles around her eyes, but the expression on her face was like a little wolf who had been upset.
She was first amused by her and couldn’t help laughing. After another sigh, “Now that Xingzhou has just arrived in the capital, he is also struggling. I have heard that he has nothing to do all day in the Military Division, and he has been put on a cold shoulder by others. If he was put in such an idle position for a long time, it will also lead to the abandonment of others. At the foot of the capital, the power of the aristocratic family is intertwined, and Xingzhou is too busy to care for itself. How can I let him make extra contributions for my family’s sake? You also need to be sensible, and don’t let Xingzhou do anything excessive because of me… Just let the matter off. Even if my mother-in-law were to fix this bad habit, she also has other tricks waiting for me. I’m also living hard every day. Let’s just muddle along. As Xingzhou said, if it’s a big deal, I’ll give him a divorce, otherwise, our hearts are not together too… To be honest, why do I only have Jin’er? Isn’t it all because he was in the concubines’ rooms all day? If I hadn’t taken care of them closely, the concubines in the residence would have clustered together. But now that he has welcomed a new concubine again, such a delicate cousin can’t be under my control… I really have a hard life marrying a flirtatious person like my father… It’s not a pity to be separated from him, it’s just that Jin’er…”
Miantang knew that Cui Fu was afraid that his younger brother would be dragged down by her, but she only said, “The first three months of pregnancy are the most important. Your younger brother is responsible for everything, and wouldn’t let you suffer. You just need to raise your baby here and take care of yourself and Jin’er. As for Xingzhou, he has a clear idea. Don’t worry. Our Cui family is not domineering. If we were being respected a little, we will return with the full strength of kindness. Sister, you don’t have to be too cautious. The marriage of the ladies of common people is for them to have someone to rely on to survive in life; the marriage of the wealthy ladies is to be worthy of the family, adding to the icing on the cake. Nowadays, our family doesn’t require the help of the Qingguo Residence, but their family always adds such a barrier to the Cui family. If we don’t strike back, they might think that you are an easy target to be bullied!”
Cui Fu’s heart bristled at the sound, and she asked in a tight voice, “What exactly is Xingzhou going to do?”
Seeing Cui Fu’s nervousness, Miantang smiled and said, “We haven’t done anything. It’s just that the original vacancy in the Ministry of Revenue was occupied by the person recommended by the prince…”
Upon hearing this, Cui Fu’s heart suddenly became clear. The reason why the Duke of Qingguo came to the capital was that Guo Yi was promoted. However, after entering the capital, he made several rounds in several government offices, and then, with the help of the Gai family, he was transferred to the Ministry of Revenue, waiting for the replacement of the right Deputy Chief of the Sixth Central Department.
In the first two days, Cui Fu heard Guo Yi excitedly mention that the position was already in his hands. Why did Miantang say that someone else had occupied it?
Miantang grabbed a handful of melon seeds and gave them to Jin’er on the side before continuing, “I also just heard from Cui Xingzhou yesterday that he sent a letter to the emperor, asking Li Guangcai, the magistrate of the State of Xi County, to enter the capital to fill the vacancy in the Ministry of Revenue. He should be arriving in a few days.”
Upon hearing this, Cui Fu was stunned and said, “It’s him! When it comes to talent and learning, Guo Yi can’t compete with him. It’s not unfair to be defeated by him.”
Miantang asked curiously, “Do you know Lord Li?”
Cui Fu lowered her eyes and casually said, “When I wasn’t married, he was a regular visitor to the royal residence. Because he was in the same year as Xingzhou, I also wrote poetry and wine with several of them in the same year and had a few conversations… It’s just that Guo Yi said that his official position in the Ministry of Revenue was stable. If he knew that Lord Li was being promoted…”
Miantang learned the way Cui Xingzhou looked and said, “Our motive is to disgust their Guo family, or they may not know what it feels like to be fed shit in their entire lives!”
In fact, on the second day after Cui Fu left the residence, Guo Yi was fed a full mouthful.
Before the appointed decree arrived, Guo Yi had already invited his colleagues to have a drink to celebrate in advance. After all, this was a matter of internal determination, and it was only putting up a show.
Amid the chorus of congratulations from his colleagues, Guo Yi was filled with anticipation and waiting to pronounce his name. But who knows, it was Li Guangcai who finally emerged from nowhere to be the right Deputy Chief of the Sixth Central Department!
Don’t mention how embarrassing the scene was!
Guo Yi’s face was full of shame, and he couldn’t wait to turn to the crack in the ground. He even can’t dare to face his colleagues’ gaze. He gave an excuse of being ill that day and returned to his residence.
When the Duke of Qingguo’s Madam, Gai-Shi, personally greeted him and couldn’t wait to ask whether the commission had been issued yet.
Guo Yi couldn’t hold back his grievances any longer. He burst into tears and cried in anger, but he didn’t say what was wrong.
She was a bit flustered and ordered someone to find the Duke of Qing and asked him to take a look at their son.
The Duke of Qingguo couldn’t even get anything out of him. He then reached out and slapped Guo Yi before he started to open his mouth and speak.
After Guo Yi said that he had been beaten up by others, the Duke of Qingguo was also a bit dumbfounded.
Gai-Shi even ordered someone to send a message to the Gai family, asking her elder brother in the Ministry of Official Personnel Affairs to help see what happened. Soon, a message came from her elder brother, saying that this appointment was not made by the Ministry of Official Personnel Affairs, but was made by a sudden order of the emperor to temporarily change the personnel.
As for who Li Guangcai was, a closer examination of his resume revealed that he was Prince Huaiyang person. Just before the commission was issued, Prince Huaiyang was indeed a pilgrim to the residence and recommended the candidate to the emperor.
After careful investigation, all the yards in the Qingguo Residence are in chaos.
Guo Yi was dumbfounded when he heard this, and the Duke of Qingguo went back to the study without saying a word, writing calligraphy and painting. However, Gai-Shi was so angry that she hit the table and ordered someone to send a message to Prince Huaiyang’s Residence to pick Cui Fu up, to interrogate her if she was jealous and instigate her family to add to the congestion in the Duke of Qingguo’s Residence.
But the carriage that picked her up went and ran back empty. The messenger said that he hadn’t seen her. However, Prince Huaiyang happened to be returning to his residence and directly said to the messenger, “My sister is not well. I’m afraid she won’t be able to raise a baby well in the Duke of Qingguo Residence, so she will stay in the residence for a few more days to avoid spreading the illness to the Duke of Qingguo.”
To be honest, in the past, the Qingguo Residence did not deal with the Huaiyang Residence very much. Thus, they don’t know what temperament Prince Huaiyang, who inherited his father’s legacy, has.
Gai’s words at home were full of authority, and she was used to arrogance. Suddenly, she was struck back with such a shameless face. How could she bear it? She only said to his son fiercely, “Those women who have no moral integrity, if she doesn’t want to come back, never take her back ever again!”
Fortunately, Guo Yi still had a brain, so he stamped his foot and said, “Mother, don’t create trouble for me anymore. It’s obvious that the Cui family is picking on our Guo family. If you dare to not pick Cui Fu up because of your anger, maybe tomorrow, my brother-in-law will set up new obstacles for me”
However, Gai-Shi didn’t think so. She just felt that what she had done before was not a big deal, but that she had just taken a noble concubine for his son. It was just a family matter for the Duke of Qingguo, and do they still need the consent of the Huaiyang Residence?
Cui Fu has been pretending to be ill without showing up, so Guo Yi had to go to the Huaiyang Residence in person, but Prince Huaiyang didn’t even see him. It was the pregnant princess consort who came to greet her brother-in-law.
Looking at a rather delicate jade figure, her mouth seemed to be inlaid with a soft knife when she spoke, making Guo Yi feel ashamed and embarrassed.
Finally, Gai-Shi saw that his son couldn’t do it, and became even sulkier. She decided to teach the Huaiyang’s residence a lesson. In the end, she saw the name of Princess Consort Huaiyang was at the Flower Appreciation Tea Banquet held by the Marquis of Jing’an.
Guo Yi followed Gai-Shi and ordered someone to invite Princess Consort Huaiyang to come over and talk.
On such occasions, if she ignored the Duke of Qingguo in the open, wouldn’t her reputation be ruined? Liu Miantang naturally smiled and went over to greet the Duke and Madam of Qingguo.
Gai-Shi has an old face and doesn’t even look up to Princess Consort Huaiyang from a low birth.
A family without a foundation was one that lacks a pound, and allowed any cat or dog to enter! She shouldn’t have allowed her son to marry the daughter of Prince Huaiyang’s Residence at the beginning.
Liu Miantang did not have the habit of licking her old face. Seeing that Gai was carrying a manner, she was too lazy to continue sitting, so she got up and wanted to leave.
Finally, Guo Yi saw that she was leaving and couldn’t hold on to his posture any longer. He hurriedly said what his mother had taught him, “When we took a concubine in our residence, your sister was in the State of Zhen, and it was not convenient to discuss it… But my mother had already told her that my children were not prosperous and that there was only Jin’er, the only legitimate son. If there were an accident in the future, wouldn’t the bloodline of the Guo family be ruined in my hands? My mother did say to her to help to take a look, he would have to take another concubine again. However, she was jealous and kept pretending to be deaf, and my mother couldn’t help it, so she found Yurao with a gentle temperament in the Gai family. Princess Consort, you can go to my house to inquire about Yurao, is she the type who is vying for a favor? She also has great respect and appreciation for Cui Fu, the leading hostess. Why is she so reluctant to let go and instigate after returning home, ruining my future?”
Miantang’s eyes widened as she listened, innocent as a cat, and asked, “Why are you talking about these things? Isn’t this the private matter of your family whether to receive a concubine or not? Not to mention never discussing it with my sister, let alone with our Huaiyang Royal Residence! Let me ask you, did our Huaiyang Royal Residence ever send someone to smash the door, scold your family for treating their daughter-in-law harshly, and establish rules and punishment for those who are pregnant? Or did we come and accuse your family of taking in three concubines a year for their son, allowing their son to enjoy sexual immorality? You didn’t even inform your legal wife in charge, and when she wasn’t at home, you carried a noble concubine in. You slept with that concubine all day and night, and my sister couldn’t stop you too, isn’t she? How can you suddenly say that my sister was jealous and that our Prince Huaiyang Residence was making trouble? Or did our prince go to your house and smash things behind my back?”
Miantang’s voice was not too low. Across a wall of flowers, the ladies and gentlemen of the various prefectures could hear her clearly.
Guo Yi was said to be flushed. Because Prince Huaiyang’s Residence has never sent anyone to take charge of the family affairs of the Qingguo Residence. And the things that Princess Consort Huaiyang said were indeed the actions of their Guo family.
TL Note: Thanks for the Ko-fi support🥰 Here’s extra 2 chapters for your reading, enjoy🍻
Ruth Ibale On TSFLIP Chapter 1133
Thank you translator nim
my pleasure🥰