At best, the affairs of the imperial court were just gossip among the people after dinner, and these chats seemed to have a time limit. They would cause a sensation at first, but once they passed, they would become boring.
Recently, I heard someone say that the eldest princess Chang Ning fell ill for some reason after she went to the fiefdom. Upon seeing this, the prince-in-law wrote a memorial to beg the saint to allow the eldest princess Chang Ning to return to Beijing to recuperate. The saint missed his brothers and sisters and couldn't bear it, so he
Accepting the consort's request, the eldest princess is expected to return to Beijing.
It was a coincidence that not long after Wei Qin's accident, the eldest princess Chang Ning couldn't sit still and wanted to come back with her husband. It's hard not to think of something.
"What are you thinking about? Why do you always seem to be absent-minded recently?" Su Shi reached out and gave Qingrong a hand.
Qingrong came back to her senses and smiled sheepishly, "It's nothing, I just heard my sister-in-law talk about this, and I couldn't help but think that it has been almost a year since Princess Chang Ning left the capital. These days go by really fast."
Mrs. Su hugged the baby boy in her arms and coaxed her with a smile, "Isn't that right? You see, these two younger siblings have given birth to a baby. In a few days, we Erlang will have a full-moon banquet."
Qingrong also smiled and reached out to touch the swaddled baby. The arrival of this child finally cleared away the gloomy atmosphere that had accumulated in Xue Mansion for many days, adding a bit of joy to everyone's anxious faces.
Mrs. Su asked again: "By the way, when is your sister's marriage scheduled? Everything is ready now. If you need any help, just ask me."
"Now the planning is almost complete, and I have already asked the fortune teller to calculate the date, and it has been set on the first day of May." Qingrong thought for a while and said, "If my sister-in-law is free then, I would like to ask my sister-in-law to go with me to prepare for the wedding."
Si Niang’s room.”
Su Shi smiled and responded, "Okay."
After saying that, Mrs. Su put the child back on the bed, told the wet nurse to take good care of her, and then they went to Mrs. Qin's room. Mrs. Su asked, "Where's grandma? Are you going back first?"
Mrs. Qin glanced at Qingrong and said, "When you went to see the child, I don't know what I was thinking, and her face wasn't very good. She didn't sit here for long and then left."
Su Shi and Qing Rong looked at each other, not that they didn't understand what Lu Shi meant. Su Shi just sighed softly, and then changed the subject and said: "I just remembered that Liu Lang's marriage has been decided, and it's set on
June, it's a coincidence that these days are full of happy events. Seeing that Liu Lang is now married and starting a business, my aunt and the others should be relieved this time."
Qin said bluntly: "It's impossible to tell. Although getting married is a happy event, it doesn't mean everything will be fine after getting married. I just heard yesterday that Liulang has been hanging out in bars these days, and he's always drunk.
…”
After hearing this, Qingrong couldn't help but look stiff, and her mood was a little complicated for a moment.
Su Shi said: "What I mean is, after this is the wedding day, there is someone by my side who can supervise and supervise me. Wouldn't it be more worry-free?"
Qin waved her hand and said disapprovingly, "My sister-in-law is so generous, how can she do such a good thing? Not to mention Liulang, isn't Shiro the same? He hasn't been back for a few days, and he was drunk when he came back yesterday. Didn't he...
"As she spoke, Mrs. Qin saw Mrs. Su winking at her, and Qingrong's expression suddenly darkened. Only then did Ms. Qin realize that she had said the wrong thing.
Ms. Qin's heart was not bad, but she was quick to speak. She always spoke first and then thought. She glanced at Qingrong apologetically and said sarcastically: "That Sanniang, don't be angry. I'm talking indiscriminately."
I mean, don’t take those nonsense to heart.”
Qingrong shook her head and smiled, "What the second sister-in-law said...is also true."
Mrs. Su hurriedly tried to smooth things over and said, "Oh, you just listened to her nonsense. She may have been busy with official duties so she didn't come back. As for drinking, you know that when men get together with colleagues outside, it is inevitable to exchange glasses of wine."
Qingrong was a little absent-minded and just responded a few times, "Sister-in-law said yes."
Ever since Xue Fangji was released, something was wrong with Xue Shao... He became more and more taciturn, and he didn't know what he was thinking about. Qingrong knew that he was angry and disappointed at being left out. Qingrong wanted to comfort him, but he couldn't.
Without telling Qingrong about this matter, Qingrong couldn't bring it up rashly. For some reason, the two of them gradually became speechless.
One day when he came back from outside, he was so drunk that he hugged Qingrong and refused to let go, but refused to say a word. Qingrong saw this and was very heartbroken, thinking that it was because he had a bleak future.
She tried to persuade her but Xue Shao just looked at her silently and looked lonely, but told her not to worry.
Qingrong thought that Xue Shao would cheer up, but he didn't know that he didn't go home for several days in a row, and he never sent anyone back to report. He had never been like this before, but now... I don't know why he became like this. Xue Shao
He still cares about her, but his heart gradually becomes alienated from Qingrong...
Qingrong asked his close guard Xue Chang to inquire about his situation, but even Xue Chang didn't know the reason.
Qingrong was just stuck in her own thoughts and didn't listen to what they were saying. She lost her mind and just sat there for a while before going back.
Mrs. Su glanced at the back of the departing figure and couldn't help but scold Mrs. Qin and said, "You! What nonsense are you talking about in front of Sanniang!"
Mrs. Qin felt a little guilty and said calmly: "Oh, I was also quick to talk for a while...I will definitely pay attention to it next time."
…
"Have you and Sanniang discussed this matter?"
Xue Shao hummed, his expression blank.
Lu looked at it and suddenly felt helpless, "Then what did she say?"
Xue Shao lowered his head and said silently: "I don't want to embarrass her."
Mrs. Lu anxiously advised: "How can this be called an embarrassment? It has been almost two years since you and Sanniang were married. Your eldest and second brothers have several children, but there is no movement from you. Naturally, I will take my place.
You are anxious. I wanted to persuade Sanniang for you, but you stopped me and refused to let me mention it in front of her. But if you really think about her, don't you know how she will stand on her own if she has no heirs? I
Looking at the matter of taking concubines, please don’t shirk your relationship with me anymore. Don’t worry, even if your children are born from concubines in the future, your grandfather and I will treat Sanniang as we always have."
Seeing that Xue Shao was silent, Lu's tone became anxious, "Speak, if you don't say anything, I will treat you as admitting this."
Unexpectedly, Xue Shao slowly raised his eyes and looked at Lu, his tone was calm, as if he had thought about it many times in his heart, "My son... wants to make peace with her."
"What?" When Mrs. Lu heard this, she stood up and slammed the table hard, "What nonsense are you talking about! Where can you find a girl with such a good temperament and ability like Sanniang?"
?Don’t be ignorant of how to cherish it!” What’s more, now that Qingrong has gained face in front of the queen, who knows, the Xue family is no longer welcome by the saints. Do they still want to push Qingrong out and make the queen dislike her? That one
I’m afraid that the future will be even more bleak!
Mrs. Lu thought about it again and felt that something was wrong. She also saw how Xue Shao treated Sanniang before. How could he say that he wanted to divorce so easily?
She looked at Xue Shao suspiciously and saw that Xue Shao looked gloomy. It was not like he was pretending to retreat in order to advance. Lu sighed softly and softened her tone, "If you don't want to, just don't want to. There is no need to say it."
Did you say these words? Did you have a quarrel with Sanniang?"
Xue Shao shook his head and said in a dry tone, "No, I am serious."
Hearing this, Mrs. Lu couldn't help but raise her voice, "What are you confused about? Why did you talk about divorce when there was no quarrel? Are you living a good life? Because I want you to take a concubine, and Sanniang doesn't want to?"
"She didn't."
She was very good, she had always done very well. So good that he felt that he was not worthy of her.
In the past two months, Qingrong has been like a fish in water among the official family members. Who does not look up to her and treat her warmly? Xue Shao is not jealous or angry about this. He just feels that with Qingrong's ability, she can do what she wants
She was doing very well, even better. But when she thought about her own uselessness, she felt that she was the one who had caused her trouble.
Lu couldn't understand and asked, "Then why are you?"
"It's me, it's me who doesn't want to be husband and wife with her anymore." When he said the last few words, Xue Shao felt an inexplicable pain in his heart. He didn't want to let her go, but he couldn't delay her. He could only
Let go and fulfill.
No matter what, he didn't want to end up being at odds with her husband... It would be better to just let it go.
"You...you! Why are you so crazy!" Mrs. Lu saw that she was helpless and couldn't say anything. She changed her tone and advised: "Don't be so disobedient and insist on going your own way!"
She said a lot of things to Xue Shao again, but Xue Shao was stubborn and refused to listen to her advice at all. Mrs. Lu had no choice but to ask him not to talk to Qing Rong about this matter in a hurry and wait until later.
Xue Shao just responded vaguely, and Lu didn't know if he really agreed or if he was just perfunctory.
Qingrong returned to the courtyard, but there was no one from Xue Shao. She asked, "Where is Alang?"
Yun Niang glanced at her and said cautiously: "I heard that Mrs. Lu came to see A Lang and had something to say."
At this time, those things should be what they were talking about. Qingrong nodded casually, but absentmindedly. "You guys go down first."
After hearing this, Yun Niang and Azhen quietly stepped out. As soon as the door closed, Qingrong heard Azhen lower her voice and ask Yun Niang, "What's going on with Madam and A Lang recently?"
Qingrong took a deep breath and then exhaled. What's wrong? She also wanted to ask what happened to Xue Shao recently? But he probably wouldn't say anything to her.
At this moment, Xue Shao also came back.
Seeing this, Qingrong stood up to greet her and asked, "I'm back. Does my mother have anything important to do with you?"
Xue Shao shook his head and said calmly, "It's okay, but I just asked a few random questions."
Qingrong knew that was not the case at all, but she also knew that if she wanted to force him, ask him things he didn't want to answer, and force him to do things he didn't want to do, he would never say or do it no matter what.
She had no choice but to give up.
The two of them finished their dinner in silence, and did not say a few words until they rested for the night.
The two of them were lying on the couch at night. Xue Shao turned his back to Qingrong, and Qingrong called softly: "Changxuan, are you asleep?"
The other party didn't respond. Qingrong didn't know if he fell asleep. He just lay down not long ago. Qingrong was silent for a while and closed his eyes. Qingrong thought that maybe he was in a bad mood and that's why he was like this.
Xue Shao thought Qingrong was already asleep, so he turned over and stared at the person in front of him, looking at her sleeping face and refusing to look away. He reached out his hand and gently stroked her cheek.
After that, he placed another soft, almost invisible kiss on her face.
Qingrong's eyelashes trembled slightly, but she did not open her eyes.
Why is this happening? For a moment, she didn't know how to treat him. Is it the same as before? Or is she still cold and distant like him?