"Third cousin, do you know what you are talking about?"
The concubine is going to make trouble with his aunt, so why would he agree to let you become a concubine? Besides, you and I are relatives, so even if you were willing, the elders would not agree."
Zhong Lufu looked confused after hearing this, and the silk handkerchief embroidered with Clivia in her hand was twisted like dried pickles, and it was so messy.
Xia Houshu looked a little distressed, but he didn't want her to go astray, so he deliberately reminded: "Third cousin, you have to think clearly, even if you are a concubine for your second brother, you are just a concubine. What is the status of a concubine?
Even if you don’t tell me, you also know that my eldest cousin and second cousin are concubines just like you. They can even create a world of self-respect and self-love, so why do you bother to disgrace yourself?"
Zhong Lufu immediately burst into tears with grievance, twisting the handkerchief with her hands: "If I can be Brother Yi's wife, who would be willing to be my concubine, but with my identity here, I naturally don't dare to hope."
Ever since the day Xia Houshu knew Zhong Lufu's thoughts, she had wondered whether her cousin would become her sister-in-law in the future, but this idea was quickly dismissed by the attitude of her elders. After all, her eldest brother was no longer around, and Xia Hou
In the future, Yi will take over the position of Duke of Yue and assume the responsibility of the head of the family. His wife must be a woman who is knowledgeable, knowledgeable, thoughtful, strategic, far-sighted, courageous, and able to take charge of herself at critical moments. And Zhong
Lu Fu's character and eyesight are not up to standard. Moreover, although Xia Houyi treats his sisters well, he always treats them reasonably and in a reasonable manner, and has never revealed that he has any affection for Zhong Lu Fu beyond the relationship between brother and sister.
, I'm afraid that Zhong Lufu has shaved her head and is hot-headed, and might cause trouble for Xia Houyi.
Xia Houshu thought about it, and found that whether as Zhong Lufu's cousin or Xia Houyi's biological sister, she could not find a position to get involved in something that the elders avoided talking about. So she said: "This matter
You tell me the matter, but I can't make the decision."
Zhong Lufu wiped her tears and said emotionally: "No, sister, I don't ask you to make the decision for me, I just ask you to help me talk to my father and mother, or you can talk to my uncle and aunt.
You have been smart since you were a child, and the elders like you. As long as you speak, they will definitely listen. If I can marry Brother Yi, in the future, no matter what happens in the house, I will do it for you."
"Third cousin, do you think too highly of me?"
My cousin, how dare you get involved? You should go to your aunt and explain things clearly."
"If I can speak to the elders, why bother my sister?" Zhong Lufu said as her tears fell down. "Over the years, my father has devoted himself to seeking children, so how has he ever cared about us sisters? Even my mother
My biological fourth sister has only seen our father a few more times and received more rewards than us."
Xia Houshu didn't want to comment on the matters between the elders, let alone listen to Zhong Lufu's meaningless complaints, so he said: "Third cousin, it's not that I don't want to help you, but it's just that I have to talk about this matter.
It’s so difficult.”
Zhong Lufu had already gathered up the courage to speak her true feelings, and had very high expectations for Xia Houshu. After being rejected, she was stunned, and when she looked at Xia Houshu, her eyes were filled with emotion.
It was incredible, shocking, and a little bit inexplicable anger.
As a woman, Xia Houshu lived a free and easy life, without worrying about anything. She wanted to be decent and honorable, and she wanted honor and favor. Unlike her, she was an unpopular concubine when she was born, and her biological mother did not live up to her expectations.
She can only cry and cry, and has no serious ideas. She has grown up, and her father, who is obsessed with having a child, has never looked at her several times, let alone care about her thoughts and understand her difficulties, so that she doesn't even know who she likes.
I don't dare to say it, let alone say that the marriage has been postponed again and again. If I could have the same favor and dignity as Xia Houshu, why would I end up like this?
The more she thought about it, the more aggrieved she became, so she pulled Xia Houshu's sleeve and cried harder.
Zhong Lufu usually gave people the impression of a silent, weak woman who tried to make ends meet, but now she was holding Xia Houshu in tears, like a pear blossom bringing rain, a weak willow supporting the wind. Instead, she seemed to be bullied by Xia Houshu.
, which attracted criticism from others.
A mother-in-law said: "I just told you that every time my cousin comes here, she won't stop until she causes some trouble. I didn't expect that this time she actually found the third girl."
Another mother-in-law agreed: "No. Our three girls are the most gentle and kind-hearted. We usually don't even say harsh words. How much grievance must we have suffered to cry like this?"
The former woman patted the latter and said, "My cousin is from the Duke of Yue's palace, and she is the princess's only daughter. We can't afford to offend her, so we should go and report it to the princess."
The latter nodded in agreement, and then the two of them hurried to Princess Gong's residence. There were other people who had no eyesight at the scene, but they only dared to stand far away and mutter secretly, and did not dare to go forward to persuade.
Xia Houshu felt angry when he heard that. He glanced at the people around him and said, "You all have nothing to do? If you have time to talk here, why not send your gentle and kind-hearted third girl back to avoid being killed by me here?"
Bully."
Naturally, no one dared to step forward.
Zhong Lufu had no intention of stopping, and the more people watched, the harder she cried. To others, it seemed as if Xia Houshu had bullied her.
Slowly, Xia Houshu understood why Zhong Lufu did this. She hated other people's unreasonable troubles the most in her life, and looking at Zhong Lufu's posture, it seemed to be a coercion, so she became even more determined.
own attitude.
She said unceremoniously: "Third cousin, even if you faint from crying, I will still say the same thing. I can't make the decision in this matter, and I don't want to get involved. If you have the time to cry here, it will be misunderstood."
Why don't you go find your aunt right now and make it clear to my aunt."
"You..." Zhong Lufu didn't expect Xia Houshu to be so firm and decisive. She felt aggrieved, helpless, and at a loss.
She continued to cry for a while, and when she saw that Xia Houshu was still unmoved, she slowly stood up and kept her eyes at the same level as Xia Houshu's. Then her eyes full of grievances and tears suddenly widened.
, revealing the disappointment and anger in his eyes: "I have always treated you as my own sister. I tell you everything, and I am not afraid of your jokes. But I didn't expect that you would be like everyone else and look down on me, a daughter of a concubine. Anyway,
You are the legitimate daughter of the noble Duke of Yue, how could you understand me? I made a mistake and trusted the wrong person, so I don’t blame you."
Xia Houshu was confused when he heard this.
The onlookers immediately responded. This cousin of theirs was very impressive. She was the legitimate daughter of the Duke of Yue, so she had always been able to make troubles. Even Princess Xuanhe had a headache because she would bully her uncle's concubines.
Cousin, that makes sense.
Xia Houshu had often been in and out of Prince Gong's Mansion over the years, and he treated everyone with courtesy. Although there were occasional unpleasant episodes, they were not heinous. After hearing those words, she was so angry that her brain ached, so she took advantage of the situation and pulled the bell.
Lufu reasoned: "I treat all my cousins equally. I have never looked down on anyone because of their differences, nor have I neglected anyone because of their close relationship. Why did I become a bully when it came to my third cousin's mouth?"
Are you a bad person born from a concubine? Now in front of everyone, let’s speak clearly, otherwise no one will have an easy time.”
Zhong Lufu didn't answer, she just covered her face with a handkerchief and cried softly.
Xia Houshu was like a punch on cotton, with nothing to say. With no way to defend herself, she had a headache. She forgot that she was a guest, and quarreled with Zhong Lufu with her hands on her hips, attracting more people to watch.
I don't know who called Zhong Qingkui. As soon as she arrived, she saw Xia Houshu glaring at her sister aggressively, while her sister was crying like a weak kitten and couldn't breathe.
Others had the same idea. She looked at Xia Houshu, frowned and said: "Cousin Shu, this is Prince Gong's Mansion, not Duke Yue's Mansion. We are all sisters. Even if the third sister does something wrong, you can't do it in front of her.
So many people talk about her."
Xia Houshu was so angry with Zhong Lufu that her liver ached. Now she added Zhong Qingkui, who wanted to be a welcome guest regardless of right and wrong. She immediately laughed angrily and said: "My fourth cousin wants to be a peacemaker, but she has to ask about everything."
Just say it's my fault, right? Why don't you ask the third cousin what she said and what she did? Did I embarrass her, or did she embarrass herself? "
Zhong Lufu was afraid that Xia Houshu would reveal what she just said, so she quickly shed tears and said first: "It's all my fault. As a concubine, I shouldn't have unrealistic thoughts. Sister Shu
It’s fair to blame me.”
What she said was ambiguous and vague. What do you mean by thoughts that you shouldn't have?
Xia Houshu glared at her, but after all, the marriage was a private matter of his daughter's family, and it was not easy to expose her shortcomings directly in front of so many people.
Zhong Qingkui also saw that this matter was unusual, so she had to ask the people around her to rush to the princess.
Soon Princess Gong came. She dismissed the onlookers, and then called several girls into her room to ask questions.
As a result, the matter was reported back to the Duke of Yue, and Xiahou Shu was severely reprimanded by his mother for contradicting his cousin and making rude remarks, and was fined and grounded for a full month.
According to the rumors from the outside world, Xia Houshu is a troublemaker, so being grounded has long been a common occurrence for her, and she will encounter it every three to five times. Therefore, she did not take it to heart, and she just took this opportunity to block Zhong Lu.
Fu's subsequent harassment, I muddle along every day, free and happy.
Until Zhong Yuqing suddenly appeared in Qingfeng Pavilion where she lived, saying that he wanted to take her to Huguo Temple to offer incense.
At that time, Xia Houshu had been grounded for a whole month. He stayed in his yard all day pretending to play the piano, practice calligraphy, or copy Buddhist scriptures. He had long felt that he was going to grow moldy. Suddenly he heard that he could go out in an upright manner, and he was happy for a moment.
I couldn't tell north from south, so I didn't care whether I went to the imperial garden to enjoy the flowers, the paddock to race horses, or the Huguo Temple to burn incense, so I agreed with joy.
Unexpectedly, the trip to the Huguo Temple did not go smoothly. When they arrived at the foot of Canaan Mountain, they discovered that the usually smooth driveway had collapsed due to flash floods caused by several consecutive heavy rains, and the carriage could not go up the mountain. However, Zhong Yuqing said to worship Buddha.
You must be sincere and have the perseverance and perseverance to open roads when encountering mountains and build bridges when encountering water. You must not give up just because the road is impassable, otherwise the Bodhisattva will not bless you. He then ordered that except for those who were in charge of the carriages and horses, they should stay at the foot of the mountain and wait.
Bring your own luggage with you and hike up the mountain.
Forced by his mother's majesty, Xia Houshu did not dare to disobey in person, so he had to think of ways to be lazy.
Now thinking back to what happened at Prince Gong's Mansion that day, Xia Houshu still regretted it. If he hadn't taken into account the sisterhood that day and saw Zhong Lufu looking like he was hesitant to speak, so he kindly went with her to listen to her complaint, how could he have done it because of
They had a quarrel with her over disagreements? Or maybe she was calm at the time and turned around and left when she saw Zhong Lufu getting entangled. How could she make the matter worse and end up being grounded for a month?
Although the one-month grounding was nothing to her, it still felt uncomfortable to be stared at all day long and locked in a room without being able to go anywhere.
Past experience guide for the future.
Xia Houshu's heart is like a mirror, and she knows that if she wants to get peace, she should meddle less and cause less trouble. So when faced with the repayment of He Luoshi's mother and son, and the questioning of everyone, she was really scared, and just wanted to flee the scene and hide far away