As soon as Chu Ling and Shi Chunfen appeared, the whole ancestral hall immediately became commotion. Although most people had already seen Shi Chunfen on the day they got married, she was wearing a hijab that day, so many people couldn't see it clearly. Now they see her face to face.
When they looked at her, they were shocked to realize that she was not as unbearable as they thought, at least the innocence in her eyes could not be deceived.
"Ah, that's the Spring Equinox, right, Aling's daughter-in-law?" The person who spoke was the second wife, Xue Jinxiu. Her natal family was Zhenbei General Mansion. Although not as prominent as the Lord of Huating County, she still held a high position of authority.
"It must be, mother." Her daughter Chu Ning added: "You see, the eldest cousin is following her closely, as if she is afraid of losing her. Who else can she be if she is not the eldest cousin?"
"The two of them have a good relationship." Qian Ling'er, the eldest daughter-in-law of the second room, looked envious.
Xue Jinxiu rolled her eyes angrily, "Of course it's like this when we first get married. Will you see it again in two years?"
When people around heard this, everyone laughed and said nothing. Everyone knew that the fate of the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law of the second wife was exactly the same. Although their family backgrounds were prominent, their relationship with their husbands was not harmonious. Over the years, they had many quarrels and quarrels in the house.
They made trouble, but they couldn't win over their husbands. Over time, they both accepted their fate. No matter how many aunts their husbands brought back to the house, they turned a blind eye and just wanted to keep their identity as mistress.
, just work for the welfare of your children.
Compared with them, the third wife Cao Yingchun is much luckier. She and the third master Qin Se are in harmony and are known to have a good relationship. The only flaw is that they have no children, and they have only given birth to two daughters, Chu Ling and
Chu Li, in a big family like the Chu family, it is taboo for a main wife to have no children, so everyone is waiting for the day when Chu Gui can no longer restrain himself from taking concubines.
Shi Chunfen followed Chu Ling and met everyone with him one by one. When he walked to the old lady, his face was frozen with laughter.
Chu Yan and Aunt Liu had arrived a long time ago. When they saw them coming, they both turned their heads away uncomfortably. On the contrary, Chu Ling stepped forward generously and said: "Father."
Chu Yan was happy in his heart, but he didn't show it on his face. He snorted in a pretentious manner and said indifferently: "Why are you here so late?" He was asking Chu Ling, but he looked at the vernal equinox, as if he was in the spring equinox.
Complaining that she wasted time by dressing up for too long.
Chu Ling turned sideways and quickly stood in front of Shi Chunquin, "I didn't want to come so early to avoid being questioned."
These words were in line with his usual temperament. Chu Yan snorted and said nothing more.
Aunt Liu hesitated for a moment and then said proactively: "A Ling, Chun Equinox, I want to apologize to you for what happened to Ying'er earlier." She looked at Shi Chunquin and said seriously: "I didn't know that Ying'er would stay in order to stay.
I ran to beg the master. Although the outcome of this matter has not changed, it has always caused you harm, and I should apologize to you."
"Yes, sister-in-law." Chu Qian agreed from the side, "My sister asked me to accompany her at that time. My mother didn't know anything about it. If you want to blame, just blame me!"
Shi Chunfen has always been unable to resist children. After being begged by Chu Qian, she was a little shaken, "Don't say that, everything is over..."
But Chu Yan couldn't help but ridicule, "So what if it doesn't go away? You, a junior, still want to rebel?"
Shi Chunfen's face turned pale, and before she could speak, she heard Chu Ling coldly say, "You can't even control your own daughter, and you still want to act like an elder?"
"You?!" Chu Yan was almost pissed off by him.
"Okay, okay." The old lady said at the right time, "You family can really make a fuss. You have been arguing for so many days over a trivial matter. If you want the other rooms to laugh, just say it."
Everyone finally became quiet, but Aunt Liu quietly bit her lip. Her Yinger... how could her Yinger be a trivial matter?!
Although the resentment in her eyes flashed away, she was still caught by Shi Chunfen, who had been observing her silently.
Shi Chunfen shivered, and thought to himself that Aunt Liu was indeed different from what she said, and if he listened to her words, he might be hurt by her in the future.
Chu Ling noticed the subtle changes in her body and calmly hugged her into his arms, "Are you cold?"
Shi Chunfen looked at how he cared about her in public, and then thought about how he treated her with a black face in private. Instead of feeling warm, she felt a chill in her heart. She didn't know which one was the real Chu Ling, let alone
His kindness to her was mixed with some sincerity and some falsehood. Perhaps from beginning to end, he was just a protector. Even if the position of the eldest mistress of the Chu family was changed to someone else, he would still protect her in this way.
"It's not cold." She replied softly, feeling bitter in her heart.
Maybe she was still too greedy. When she first got this position, she thought about how lucky she was, but now it didn't take long for her to start complaining about this and that, but she just forgot that she didn't complain at all.
Qualifications.
While she was thinking wildly, the clan meeting had officially begun, and everyone stood still, waiting for the old lady to speak.
Although the old lady was old, her eyes were still sober and wise. She glanced sharply at everyone present and said in a deep voice: "I believe you already know why the clan meeting was held this time. Rumors about the Chu family have been spreading recently, and they are all related to A Ling.
It is related to the matter of surrendering to the army. He is here today. If you have anything to ask, just ask him!"
When these words came out, everyone looked at each other and said that they could ask questions if they wanted to, but Chu Ling was the most noble eldest son in the house, who really dared to ask about his affairs in front of the old lady?
In the end, Xue Jinxiu coughed lightly and said with a smile: "Aling, do you want to join the army? I wonder which army you have chosen? If you are not selected, my parents' army in Zhenbei will welcome you."
This was a very clever thing to say. It not only asked the question that everyone wanted to ask, but also set up a ladder for Chu Ling. The words were full of encouragement for him to join the army. However, she was from a general's family, so there was nothing wrong with doing so. It was just an old lady.
His eyes inevitably darkened.
Chu Ling looked at her and said calmly: "Thank you, Second Aunt, for your kindness. I do have the idea of joining the army. It's just that a man doesn't have to go to the military camp to protect his family and country. He can also take the imperial examination system."
"Imperial examination system?" Everyone was shocked, "Aling is going to take the imperial examination?"
Chu Ling nodded slightly, "Exactly."
He had no intention of actually joining the army. It was just an excuse to explain why he ran back to Liuzhou alone. Wu Zhuangyuan was his ultimate goal.
But this excuse is not completely random. After he becomes the top military scholar, it will be a matter of time before he leads troops to earn military merits. Then the old lady will inevitably be worried about him, so he raised it early now to make the old man mentally prepared.
, so that when he really leads troops in the future, the old lady will not be so panicked.