Spring flowers

Is the power struggle within the household about to begin in Chapter 5?

"Master Ye, if you don't mind, let's eat together~"

Wei Yishang picked up a piece of sweet and sour pork ribs with her chopsticks, smelled it, and the white sesame seeds gave off a sweet aroma. The ribs were soft and tender in her mouth.

I came from a book, so I don't have many rules to follow.

Looking at the somewhat unruly and unrestrained Wei Yishang, Ye Mingzhen slightly raised the corners of his eyes. Just as he was about to sit down, he heard a sound coming from next door.

"Miss Pei, you chose this yourself~"

She was the head maid of the Princess of Anping County, known as Aunt Jin Sui, or "the most smiling tiger in the capital".

"Princess, have mercy! I do not know what I did wrong. I have been carrying such a huge cauldron. It is truly an insult to me."

Although Pei Xiaorou is the legitimate daughter of a high-ranking official, her maternal family is powerful, and her mother has handled most of her troubles since childhood, so she has a relatively simple mindset.

"Since my sister wants to show off, she might as well give a proper demonstration."

The Princess of Anping County probably thought she was pretending to be confused, and showed no mercy.

"After I finish this meal, my sister can go back."

Princess Anping instructed her aunt Jinsui, "Order more good dishes; I want to properly 'treat' Sister Pei today."

Ye Mingzhen frowned slightly, which Wei Yishang noticed.

"Young Master Ye, are you familiar with the term 'beautiful women bring disaster'?"

Wei Yishang put down her chopsticks and looked coldly at Ye Mingzhen.

“Actually, you could have just stood by and watched, letting others suffer the consequences of their own actions.” Wei Yishang raised an eyebrow and picked up a piece of tender shredded chicken with her chopsticks.

"How could you know that I am troubled by this matter? Thank you for your wise words, Miss Wei. I will take my leave now."

Clearly, Ye Mingzhen had his own ideas.

Wei Yishang felt that he wanted to go and save the person.

"If Young Master Ye were to intervene in this way, it might seem like he is saving someone, but in the eyes of Princess Anping, it would likely be seen as a hero saving a beauty, which would only increase her hatred for Miss Pei."

Wei Yishang said with a smile, and then quietly gave Zhang Zhong a few instructions.

Before long, the jar of Drunken Begonia on the food storage table by the door released a rich fragrance as the lid was opened.

"Young Master Ye, please don't say any more. Come with me, and I'll help you with this."

Sure enough, the aroma of the wine reached the room of the Princess of Anping County. The princess was already domineering, and seeing that the jar of wine had not yet entered her room, she immediately asked Aunt Jin to fetch it.

“Sister Pei is so lucky, she even has good wine.” Princess Anping glared at Pei Xiaorou, then filled her wine cup and drank it down.

After drinking two cups, the county princess felt unwell and then collapsed into a daze.

This frightened Aunt Jin Sui. She quickly sent someone to fetch a doctor, and then glanced at Pei Xiaorou.

"Young lady, you should go back now. The county princess was just joking with you."

Although Aunt Jin tried her best to smooth things over, everyone present knew what was going on and what it meant.

Upon seeing this, Pei Xiaorou quickly left with her maid, fearing that if the county princess woke up any later, things might change.

Ye Mingzhen, who saw Pei Xiaorou walking away by the roadside, bowed to Wei Yishang. Wei Yishang returned the bow perfunctorily and then asked Zhang Zhong if he had packed up the food from earlier.

No matter what, food is the most important thing, after all, it's about having a good time.

Ye Mingzhen took a few steps, then turned back to look at Wei Yishang's retreating figure. "Ridiculous, ridiculous..."

[Detected that the male supporting character's favorability towards you has increased to 40. Congratulations, host. The Wei family intends to invite the male supporting character to teach at several private schools. Please accept this mission and travel to Ju County to extend the invitation.]

The system suddenly spoke.

Ah, this is clearly using public funds to create opportunities for meetings. Wei Yishang remained silent, pondering for a moment.

In the original novel, Wei Yishang died relatively early, and the Wei family members were not described in detail. In her mind, there was only her mother, Zhang Shi.

It's time to meet up with my brothers and sisters!
Wei Yishang and Zhang Zhong returned to the Wei residence, and she quickly changed her clothes. She wore a lake-blue feather-silk dress; the material wasn't expensive, but its bright color made it stand out.

"Fourth Miss, Master says everyone should go to the main hall," a servant reported.

It turned out that she, the illegitimate daughter, was only the fourth child in her family.

Aside from her mother, there was no one else in the house she particularly wanted to see, so Wei Yishang went to the main hall in a lazy manner.

The main hall was already full of people. When the old grandmother and the first wife, Madam Fang, saw Zhang, they smiled politely. Madam Fang invited her to sit down next to Madam Lin and Madam Xu, who were also concubines.

Beside her, the eldest sister, Wei Xinluo, who was born out of wedlock, sat in a lower position. She had a black beauty mark on her lip. Although she was beautiful, her face showed some anxiety, and she kept looking at her birth mother, Xu Shi.

The one who took the place was the second eldest sister, Wei Yingzi, who was born of the main wife. She wore a peach-pink silk satin dress with the front open, and it was clear that the material was thin and breathable, making it very precious.

The third sister, Wei Mohan, born out of wedlock, held a fan embroidered with the image of a bright moon and gentle breeze. She had a very kind face and kept peeling grapes for her mother, Lin.

Sitting over there are Xu's son, eldest son Wei Changlin, and Lin's son Wei Changsheng.

Xu gave birth to the eldest son and eldest daughter, but was not the first wife, so she must have been eager to rise in status.

The First Madam Fang has no sons, so she must feel very insecure and is just waiting to find a good marriage for her daughter to make her proud.

Lin was beautiful, well-behaved, and adorable, and she kept chatting with her grandmother with a smile.

So this is what the Wei residence is like. Just from this one aspect, Wei Yishang already knew how difficult it would be.

"Ahem..." Seeing that everyone had arrived, Master Wei began to explain the purpose of calling everyone together today.

“Our family and the other families’ private schools should hire some good teachers. After all, it’s where the children grow up, and they need guidance from renowned figures.”

Mr. Wei hesitated, then looked at the old lady.

The old man didn't rush to express his opinion, but wanted to hear what he would say next.

"I was thinking of inviting this year's third-place scholar to broaden the children's horizons," said Master Wei, keeping his eyes fixed on the old lady.

The old lady paused for a moment, then smiled. "The affairs of this family's private school are all good things, and I shouldn't interfere. But I've heard that this third-ranked scholar is handsome and charming; I wonder if he would do me the honor of coming."

Mr. Wei immediately understood that the old lady meant that this person was too good-looking, and she was afraid that it might cause some trouble that would be difficult to resolve.

The old lady must have heard about the recent activities of the women in Beijing.

“Mother is absolutely right.” Master Wei was momentarily speechless, unsure how to respond, when his eldest son, Changlin, suddenly spoke up.

"My son has met this top scholar a few times. He is truly a learned and talented man. If we can learn from him, our family will surely prosper."

Fang coughed a few times, "That's not entirely true."

She looked at her daughter, Yingzi, but she didn't seem particularly enthusiastic at the moment. However, Fang Shi thought for a moment that if her daughter could receive guidance from a prominent figure, she might be able to secure a good marriage in the future.

“However, what Changlin said makes sense,” Fang said, trying to smooth things over.

Seeing that the master and the old lady disagreed, Madam Xu did not speak rashly, nor did Madam Lin and Madam Zhang.

"Mother, I think this matter depends on the wishes of the third-ranked scholar. I'm thinking of having the two children go and invite him. What do you think, Mother?"

Master Wei's meaning was very clear: if they couldn't invite him, so be it; let the third-ranked scholar take the blame.

Grandma Wei still didn't want to get involved in such a thing, but after thinking about it for a while, she nodded.

Currently, the Wei family is showing signs of decline, and only by having a master guide the younger generation can they achieve awakening.

Thinking of this, Old Mrs. Wei thought of another person.

(End of this chapter)