While Lin Guanhai was discussing with his colleagues, Xue Jingyan walked out of the sedan with the help of his servants outside the gate of the Yuanping Hou Mansion in the North City.
At the door, an old man in brocade robes stood. Seeing Xue Jingyu get off the sedan, he immediately walked down the steps.
"Brother..."
This person is Xue Jingyan's second brother, now the second master of the Hou Mansion, Xue Jingyu.
"Yeah!" Xue Jingyan responded, but didn't say much.
The two entered the Hou Mansion and after passing through the second gate, Xue Jingyu couldn't help but ask: "What did the Zhen family say?"
Xue Jingyan replied: "The Zhen family has said that we don't have to worry. Concubine Duan's matter will not affect us!"
"After all, they are family friends, so they are still willing to help!"
Nodding, Xue Jingyu sighed again and said: "I'm not afraid that they won't help, I'm just afraid that they don't have the ability to help us!"
Concubine Duan has now truly fallen, but this matter has no intention of ending, and it is still implicating the noble officials in disaster.
The legitimate daughter of Yuanyang Hou Mansion is the well-known Princess Yong. Who can guarantee that she will not be implicated? So Xue Jingyan took precautions.
Xue Jingyan said slowly: "The daughter of the Zhen family is now the queen. Since they agreed to help, there will be no mistakes!"
Xue Jingyu nodded. Only the queen of the Zhen family could make him feel at ease.
But I heard Xue Jingyan say: "Speaking of which, if the marriage had not been granted by the imperial decree, Jun'er would have gotten married to the Master of the Zhen family!"
Xue Jingyu replied: "Yes...the two families have been friends for a long time, and they are well-matched with a talented man and a beautiful woman. It should have been a good marriage!"
Saying this, Xue Jingyu became more and more regretful and said: "If Jun'er had not married King Yong, at the time of the Queen's Meeting last year, with Jun'er's talent and magnanimity, she might have been able to surpass the current queen!"
"In this way, my Xue family has a queen, and eldest brother, you will be able to shine on the family lintel!"
Hearing these words, Xue Jingyan undoubtedly felt bitter in his heart.
He originally felt that it was a shame to marry his daughter to King Yong, but after hearing these words, it was undoubtedly an even greater misfortune.
Reluctantly calming down, Xue Jingyan said calmly: "Okay, don't say these useless words... at least we are better than the Cao family!"
He could only think this way, which made him feel much better.
At this time, Xue Jingyu said: "The news I just got is that the Cao family was raided today... except for the Cao family's concubines, Cao Jiasheng's sons are not here!"
"oh?"
"I think Cao Jiasheng was well prepared and sent his son away early..."
Nodding, Xue Jingyan solemnly said: "Mind your own business. In the past few days, we have to restrain the children of the clan and don't let them cause trouble!"
"My little brother will pay more attention to this matter, but Tao'er's side..."
The Tao'er mentioned by Xue Jingyu is Xue Yutao, the eldest son of Xue Jingyan.
Although he married a family and supported the family business, he could be considered a promising young man, but sometimes he did some "extraordinary" things.
Although he is a junior, he is still the future Lord Marquis. As an uncle, Xue Jingyu is not in a position to discipline him.
Xue Jingyan immediately changed his expression and said: "I will teach this bastard a lesson!"
At this moment, the laughter of men and women rang out in the courtyard, and Xue Jingyan's face became even more ugly.
Xue Jingyu couldn't help but laugh and said: "I guess it was Yu Cheng who was playing around. The young man's temperament... is quite similar to that of you and me when we were young!"
Xue Jingyan couldn't help but curse: "They are all worthless things!"
…………
In a remote courtyard in the northwest corner of the capital, Concubine Duan was fetching water with a wooden bucket, and beside her were several healthy women watching the fun.
"My dear, you have to move faster. If you don't mix enough water at noon, you won't even have lunch!"
"What empress? The Empress Dowager has issued an edict and has abolished her title. Now she is just a cheap maid like us!"
"A fallen phoenix is not as good as a chicken... I'm afraid she can't compare to us!"
"Mrs. Wang, if you want to be a chicken, don't involve us..."
Everyone said something to each other, and every word stuck in Concubine Duan's heart.
Concubine Duan had no reaction to this.
If she is like you and others, then she feels sorry for herself and choosing to ignore her is the best choice.
For Concubine Duan, every extra day she has now is a profit. If she can see her son revolting eastwards, she will die in peace.
It's a pity that even if Concubine Duan doesn't want to cause trouble, she can't avoid it from happening to her.
"Mrs. Cao, I'm talking to you...are you deaf?"
Fortunately, Concubine Duan still ignored them.
Since they are deliberately looking for trouble, the result will be the same whether she responds or not, so she might as well save some energy.
"You dare to ignore us...see if I don't take care of you!"
After saying that, the woman rolled up her sleeves and walked towards Concubine Duan, but the few people around her didn't follow her, obviously they still didn't care that it was too much.
No matter what, Concubine Duan once held a high position. Although she is now a commoner, she still has some residual power.
Soon after this woman came forward, others wanted to take action, so naturally Concubine Duan would not tolerate it any longer.
When she was only two steps away from the woman, Concubine Duan poured out the water in the bucket, which happened to be all on the woman who rushed over.
It was only February now, and the temperature was still very low. This time, the whole body was soaked, and the woman was so cold that she screamed on the spot.
"You dare to wet me..."
After roaring, the woman rushed towards Concubine Duan, and the two immediately struggled with each other.
Concubine Duan, who had been pampered before, was naturally no match for this woman. She was quickly pushed to the ground and beaten wildly, and she also received several scratches on her face.
Fortunately, the few women who were watching knew what was right and understood that they might be implicated if the matter got serious, so they pulled the woman who made the move aside.
"Go back and change your clothes first, the cold will be fatal..."
This is definitely not a joke. It is not unusual at the moment for people to die due to wind chill.
After hearing this reminder, the woman gave up the idea of continuing to take action and left the place along with several others.
Concubine Duan struggled to sit up from the ground. The pain in her body made her color change. Today was the most embarrassing moment in her life.
Stunned in place, Concubine Duan felt the shame just now and thought about how to survive the next days.
Time passed, and when she suddenly woke up, she found that her surroundings were extremely quiet.
At this moment, a voice came from behind her: "How is it? Are you comfortable here?"
Hearing this voice, Concubine Duan said: "Why don't you kill me!"
The visitor was naturally the Empress Dowager Li, and it was she who had single-handedly brought about Concubine Duan's current situation.
Just listen to Mrs. Li say: "I really wanted you to die before, but seeing the virtue in front of you, I can't bear to let you die!"
"There will be a lot of suffering in the future. If you die now, wouldn't it be an advantage for you?"
Seeing Concubine Duan suffer, Mrs. Li felt extremely happy, and naturally she couldn't bear to see her die now.
Concubine Duan said coldly: "When I die, it doesn't matter what you say!"
She was never willing to bow her head in front of Mr. Li, so she was tough on her words at the moment.
I just heard Li say: "The Cao family has been raided. If you die, your brother and the Cao family members will also die!"
Hearing this, Concubine Duan was speechless.
This scene made Ms. Li feel even more comfortable. With the Cao family, she could easily control Concubine Duan.
"Okay, you stay here and take good care of the old concubines. Counting those people... they are all our elders!"
Mrs. Li smiled and said, "If you don't take good care of yourself and make a mistake, the Ai family can justly punish you!"
When a cat catches a mouse, it will not rush to eat the mouse, but will slowly tease and beat the mouse until it dies in despair and terror.
The cat enjoys this process very much, and Li's mentality is the same as that of the cat.
After Mrs. Li left, the asylum regained its vitality and there were voices of people coming and going again.
A large truck transporting vegetables slowly stopped outside the second gate of the almshouse, and several men began to unload the truck.
But the man driving the carriage quietly entered the yard when there was no one around.
