Looking at the child she had raised by herself, Princess Zhao couldn't help but feel soft.
She sighed and said: "A Cheng, mother doesn't want to interfere with your affairs in the house. She will neither give you a girl nor ask you to stay safe. You have grown up and you still shoulder such a heavy responsibility.
You should also take care of your own private affairs. It doesn’t matter whether you take a concubine or not, what’s important is that you have to handle it well, do you understand?”
Yan Cheng suppressed his emotions and nodded: "My child understands, I will go see the concubine right away."
"You should also say good things to your wife, don't let her become cold-hearted."
"yes."
Yan Cheng resigned and left. Princess Zhao sat down and slapped the table in annoyance.
When Aunt Zhuang came in, she saw an angry look on her face.
"Tell me, who did he fall in love with? He fell in love with Miss Liu! That's the girl next to Concubine Liu. When she entered the house, people thought we were treating our old friend badly." Princess Zhao scolded.
Aunt Zhuang comforted her: "Don't be angry, Princess. In a few months, it won't be considered a mistreatment."
At this point, it was useless to be angry. Princess Zhao finally sighed: "I hope the boss will have a good talk with his wife. I watched her come in. The two of them went from being unfamiliar to being familiar with each other, and their relationship gradually became better. I was about to feel relieved, but...
I know...that's all, let's see how he handles it!"
Yan Cheng turned around and entered the palace. Mrs. Xie had just finished her work and came over to hear that the prince was going to see Concubine Liu. She couldn't help it. She reluctantly held it in and turned back to her room. When she entered the room, she burst into tears.
.
…
In Taiyuan Palace, Yan Cheng waited for a while before seeing Concubine Liu.
She had just taken off her hairpin, was wearing homely clothes, and looked a little haggard.
"Aunt." Yan Cheng called in a low voice.
Concubine Liu nodded, retreated from the palace, and asked: "A Cheng, what's going on? Why did your mother hint to me that you want to accept Xi'er?"
Until then, Yan Cheng's emotions that had been tense all day finally came out. His expression showed a hint of collapse and he said: "I don't know how things got to this point. My cousin went to pay homage to his ancestors, and I wanted to take this opportunity.
When I put up the incense stick, something unexpected happened and a snake appeared..."
He wiped his face in annoyance: "If no one found out, they could have covered it up, but Mrs. Xu came to find her on the order of her mother. Now, the whole thing has been revealed. How can I explain that I went to worship Liu
Ancestor of the family? How do you explain leaving others alone to be alone with your cousin?"
Yan Cheng had thought well in advance. He went to the racecourse for inspection, and after that he stopped by the nearby Liu family's tomb. The guards he brought with him were all confidants, and they were not afraid of leaking his whereabouts. When he came back, he said that he had met Liu Xi'er on the road.
As a result, no one knew that he had paid homage to Liu's ancestors.
This was good, Liu Xi'er came to save him and he was bitten by a snake. He had to explain why the guards were not around, and why he went to worship Mrs. Liu.
"I see." Concubine Liu nodded solemnly, "No wonder the princess thought you were attracted to Xi'er. If I hadn't known the inside story, I would have thought so."
"Aunt, what should I do?" Yan Cheng looked at her for help, "My cousin is planning to get married, but my reputation and appearance have been ruined because of me. Can you help me think of a way to explain this?
"
Concubine Liu was silent for a long time and shook her head: "Your concerns are right. The explanation of this matter is unclear. If you are not careful, you will arouse suspicion..."
She looked at Yan Cheng: "My aunt is not trying to provoke you, but once this matter is brought out, you and the princess will never be able to return to the original mother-son relationship. Now, she thinks you don't know and will treat you as her own son.
If she knows that you have learned the truth, then..."
Yan Cheng's heart trembled as he thought of Princess Zhao's words: Cultivate oneself, manage one's family, govern the country, and bring peace to the world. If you can't do the first two things well, how can you do the latter ones well?
"What should we do? Could it be..."
Concubine Liu nodded heavily: "I can only make mistakes, and I have wronged Xi'er."
Yan Cheng covered his face, thinking of his silent wife last night and her gray face in the morning. After nearly two years of marriage, their relationship was getting better and better, and he didn't want to break up with her.
"How can this be worthy of my cousin? I heard that she is eyeing Du Ming. Du Ming is young and promising. She was the uncle when she was married, but she can only become my concubine when she follows me."
Concubine Liu sighed: "I can only say that Xi'er doesn't have this life! Moreover, since she lost her appearance, the marriage is no longer possible? If you don't accept her, what else can she do?"
Yes, Liu Xier was bitten because she was trying to save him. This was a life-saving grace.
Yan Cheng was silent for a long time and said: "But I only regard my cousin as a family member. Even if I take her in, I can't treat her well."
Concubine Liu could only say: "If not, accept her first and calm down the storm. Just name her, and later...you can think of ways to arrange her. By then, you can naturally ask her to marry a dragon."
Come on, son-in-law. In this way, you can explain it to your wife."
When he becomes the prince, it will be easy to arrange such a thing. The most important thing is that Liu Taifei's last words touched him.
"This... can my cousin agree?"
Concubine Liu said softly: "Xi'er is a reasonable person. In this situation, firstly, you can't explain your behavior, and secondly, Xi'er can't discuss marriage. Only by doing this can we solve both of your problems at the same time. This
It is an expedient measure, and she will understand. As long as you make up for it well in the future, it will not be regarded as a wrong to her."
It was getting late, and Yan Cheng couldn't stay too long, so he left the palace in a hurry.
Concubine Liu looked at his leaving figure, raised the corner of her mouth, and showed a faint smile.
God helps her. She usually thinks that Xi'er is stupid, but she didn't expect her to do it so perfectly. Not only did she save her, but she also hurt her face. Now, the marriage is in trouble, and Yan Cheng can't marry him.
And Xu San, who happened to intercept them at the foot of the mountain, leaving Yan Cheng with nothing to hide. He didn't want to arouse suspicion, so he had no choice but to let others misunderstand him.
When Xi'er entered Prince Zhao's Mansion, and then later the East Palace, slowly wearing out, wouldn't the lie become true? She was like planting a nail in Dong's side.
Moreover, she also used this incident to get closer to Yan Cheng. Although he recognized her before, he never showed his sincerity and blindly believed in Dong. Now, he should understand who is sharing secrets with him without any scruples.
people.
…
Yan Cheng had already made a plan in his mind and wanted to come back to talk to Mr. Xie.
Unexpectedly, when he entered the courtyard, the atmosphere was not right. Outside, things were fine. The few maids brought by Mr. Xie to dowry didn't look good when they saw him. They curtsied and called him prince.
Yan Cheng had something on his mind, so he just asked: "Where is the Crown Princess? Is she in the house?"
"Hui Shizi, here."
Yan Cheng nodded: "You guys step back first."
The maids looked at each other, and even though they were reluctant, they still left.
Yan Cheng entered the inner room and found that it was dark inside. The lights were not lit, the windows were not open, and the curtains were down.
"Yuan Niang?" he called.
There was no response for a while, but there was deep breathing inside.
Yan Cheng couldn't bear it anymore, stretched out his hand to lift the curtain, and met Mr. Xie's red and swollen eyes.