The maid's road to success

Zhou got the Ice Lotus and took it for half a month. Her body was always exuding the fragrance of the Ice Lotus, as if she had body odor. Chen Luoan became even more intoxicated. Except for being sent to the study hall by the Second Master to study every day, he spent the rest of his time in the inner courtyard, accompanying Zhou.

When the Second Lady found out about this, she scolded Zhou for being shameless, saying that she was a good wife, but her husband was not doing his job properly and was thinking about things in bed every day. Not only would he lose his talents in the future, but he would also ruin his health.

Zhou did not refute her in person, but when Chen Luoan returned to the yard, she started crying without saying why. Zhou did not have a loyal maid by her side, so she could not speak out through the maid's mouth. However, as a daughter-in-law, if she said something bad about her mother-in-law and it got out, it would make her life even worse.

Chen Luoan asked for several days but could not get the answer. When it was time to go to the study hall, he claimed to be sick and hid in the inner room.

Finally, at the end of the morning, the second wife came with the nanny to explain the rules to Zhou as usual.

"Women should follow the Three Obediences and Four Virtues. They should not cling to their husbands, and should not be like those frivolous people who stir up trouble with their husbands, disrespect their mothers-in-law, fail to observe the code of conduct for wives, fail to show love to the younger generation, be jealous, or have any malicious thoughts."

The Second Madam didn't know that Chen Luoan was in the inner room, but Zhou knew it, so she only responded in a low voice, allowing people to hear her crying voice.

"As a mother-in-law, it is only natural for me to teach you the rules. You are not worthy of my family, but you planned to marry into our family. You also keep telling your husband to make progress and keep pushing my son. I should divorce you."

Chen Luoan listened to his mother's increasingly outrageous words and immediately understood the grievances Zhou had suffered in the past few days. Zhou didn't dare to say anything and just endured it blindly, but his mother still forced him like this.

"Mother, be careful with your words. I was the one who wanted to marry Yan'er. How could there be any scheming? If there was any scheming, it was me. Mother, you yourself kept father from going to Aunt Lu's place, but you are here to lecture my daughter-in-law to be magnanimous. Don't you think it's ridiculous? Yan'er did nothing wrong. I, your husband, will take care of it. Mother, you should worry less."

The moment the Second Madam saw Chen Luoan come out, she knew that Zhou was up to something again. Chen Luoan was unaware of the true situation, and he started to talk back to his elders. The Second Madam had spoiled Chen Luoan so much that he didn't care about the seniority or the inferiority, so she was reluctant to say anything, but she was willing to talk about Zhou.

"You are so bold that you dare to frame your mother-in-law. You have made a wrong calculation. Let me tell you, don't think that the tricks your mother taught you can be used in the Marquis' Mansion. This place is not named Zhou. You just need to see if I can control you."

Chen Luoan hugged Zhou, and Zhou buried her face in his chest. She was a little suspicious when she heard what the Second Madam said. What did this mean? Why did the Second Madam speak so toughly? She only had the Second Master's child, so why wasn't she afraid that the Second Master would be estranged from her?

"Mother, if you continue to bully Yan'er like this, I will take her and move out."

Wang glared at Zhou angrily. This woman was indeed restless and was still thinking about going out. The women in Zhou's family were strictly watched at home, so everyone in the family was eager to go out.

She still hasn't given up. Thinking of what the master said, Wang didn't dare to indulge her anymore and spoke to the people behind her.

"Tell the steward Zhou to send some strong men to fence off this yard for me, and wait for the second master to come back and make the decision."

Chen Luoan was stunned. In the past, his mother was very sad when he got into trouble and refused to care about him. She just told him to handle it himself. Why was she so angry today?

"Second Master! It's all because of me that you are in trouble. My mother-in-law hates me, and my father-in-law doesn't like the Zhou family. You should divorce me and stop suffering with me."

Chen Luoan was originally frightened by the Second Madam's words, but when he saw Zhou crying pitifully with her delicate little face turning red, he felt pity in his heart.

"It doesn't matter. I'm the second son of the family. They don't dare to do anything to me."

Having said that, when Chen Luoan heard the sound of the gate being locked, he panicked. How could it turn out like this?

That night, in the main house of Fu Shou Tang, several of the family's respectable masters were sitting in the inner room, and the second wife was sobbing and complaining with a handkerchief in her hand.

"Today, I took Nanny with me to explain the rules to Zhou while Luo An went to the study. Zhou was resentful and even coaxed Luo An into hiding in the inner room to deliberately provoke me so that I could scold her harshly. Luo An didn't understand the situation and misunderstood me. She even contradicted me in public. Mother, Zhou has caused so many troubles in just one month since she got married. I'm afraid she won't be obedient in the future."

The Second Madam's words did not distort the facts. They are all the masters of the family and have their own people in every place.

Today’s matter is not a small matter, and the masters of the house know which one not to ask.

Not only did the Second Lady not exaggerate, but because she felt sorry for her son, she did not reveal those outrageous words that Luo An had said.

"What do you think, brother?"

Chen Yuanxiang looked at Chen Yuanzhi, who looked exhausted, and felt guilty. It was already very difficult for his eldest brother to support the Marquis' Mansion, but troubles were always happening in his second branch.

"Zhou can't die yet. The Zhou family loves their daughter dearly. If something happens, they will fight to the death. Luo An will also be hit hard. We can't let them separate rashly. Luo An and Zhou are still in a new relationship. If we put Zhou under house arrest and prevent them from contacting each other, Luo An is afraid something might happen."

The eldest lady felt that the marquis had too many concerns, so she directly expressed her own ideas.

"I'll go home and ask my second sister-in-law to come and persuade her. Although my second sister-in-law was also plotted by the Zhou family to marry into the Bai family, she is the only smart person in the Zhou family. If I ask her to persuade Zhou, she will definitely listen."

The second wife looked at the first wife's expression with red eyes.

"But sister-in-law, persuading someone for a while won't last forever."

The eldest lady glanced at her and said calmly.

"First, persuade her to be honest and stop causing trouble. Then find someone to go to the south to buy a few skinny women who are good at sex. Don't be afraid to spend money, as long as they are extremely eye-catching."

The third wife looked at the second wife with some contempt, as she was surprised and disappointed.

"Sister-in-law, are you planning to go to the south to buy those sisters' branches?"

Madam Bai nodded. Skinny horses are the most famous in the south, but even the most powerful skinny horse would be hard to surpass Zhou. The most important thing is that they are in a dilemma now because Zhou is too outstanding. If there is another one, it would be even more eye-catching.

Only sisters from the same family are the most suitable. There are many mothers in the south who will specially select sisters who look like them to train. Although most of them are not top-notch in appearance, the identical faces alone will attract special attention. Then they will find someone to train them carefully, and their voice, posture, movements, and expressions will be honed to perfection. Coupled with the top-notch charm to serve people, how many men can withstand it?

The palace does not allow those who were born as skinny prostitutes to enter, so these will not make the person in the palace feel taboo and their reputation will be damaged, but it is worth it if it can allow Luo An and Zhou Shi to be at peace and prevent the second house from being too chaotic.

"But the skinny horses are very capable. Luo An's body."

Seeing that Wang was still stubborn, Chen Yuanxiang spoke with a stern look on his face.

"He can slowly recover. He was addicted to women and let Zhou do whatever she wanted. He lost his life. You are still fussing about this. If we were not from the Marquis' Mansion, you would think that my elder brother and his wife would let those lowly people enter the Marquis' Mansion. You are not grateful and you are still nitpicking. If it doesn't work, you can find a way yourself."

The Second Madam didn't dare to say anything. Bai was originally angry because of what the Second Madam said, but when she saw that Chen Yuanxiang at least understood her helplessness, her mood improved a little.

"If my sister-in-law doesn't want to, she doesn't have to do it. If this is something that is hard to talk about, the Marquis' Mansion will be ridiculed if it gets out. If it weren't for the current situation in the Marquis' Mansion, we wouldn't have resorted to this desperate measure."

The old ancestor had not spoken a word until now, but after hearing what Chen Yuanzhi said, he sat up straight.

"What's the current state of the Marquis' Mansion?"

The old ancestor had not finished her words. Chen Yuanzhi looked at her face and nodded. The Huaiyuan Marquisate and several other noble families had stood for a hundred years and had long been a thorn in the eyes of many people. In this world, there was a fixed number of dukes, marquises, and earls, not to mention their hereditary titles.

How many people have been watching closely with red eyes. The officials of the six ministries who came from humble backgrounds and the several families who also held the tiger talisman like the Huaiyuan Marquis Mansion were all eyeing it covetously, just waiting to drag down the Huaiyuan Marquis Mansion and divide up its military power, official positions, and property.

"Three days ago, our shop sold some inferior medicinal herbs, and someone framed us. They accused us of stealing money and killing people for the money."

Chen Yuanxiang looked at Chen Yuanzhi with a gloomy expression.

"Just because of this, you are reporting us? What does the emperor say?"

Chen Yuanzhi sighed and looked at the words "May you live a long and happy life" on the wall. Now that the crisis was lurking everywhere, these four words were particularly eye-catching.

"Let's do it this way. Duke Qi is now fighting openly and secretly with our mother. We rely on Prince Li's Mansion, and they rely on Princess Fu'an's Mansion. We have been in a stalemate for years. Now the princes in the palace are getting older and older, and our lives are getting harder and harder. We should avoid trouble if possible."

All six sons and daughters-in-law in the room nodded in agreement, and that night the son of Manager Zhou took his men to the south.

The next day, Chen Luoan started making a noise in the second room.

"You rotten-eyed bastard, you dare to stop me. This is the Huaiyuan Marquis' Mansion, I am the second master of the mansion, are you tired of living?"

Chen Luoan listened to Zhou recounting her past grievances all night. Due to family reasons, she seldom went out since she was a child, and she didn't expect that the situation became even stricter after she got married.

Chen Luoan promised to take her out directly, but when they arrived at the gate, they banged on it for a long time before someone opened the door a crack. Chen Luoan was so angry that he grabbed the old women and beat them up, but they still surrounded the gate tightly and refused to let her go out.

"Second Master, Second Master has personally said that if you leave, we will die. At least you can take a rest and have mercy on us."

"Bad slave!"

Chen Luoan protected Zhou behind him and grabbed a maid and slapped her until her face was swollen. The eldest lady, Princess Yong'an, and her servants rushed over after receiving the letter. The eldest and second masters went out to do their errands. The first and second ladies went to serve the old ancestor. The old ancestor caught a cold last night and was not in a good mood.

She could only put aside the things in the courtyard and go to the second room to take a look.

"Second brother."

When Chen Luoan saw Princess Yong'an, he thought that she was his sister-in-law and the Crown Prince's wife, so he didn't want to be too presumptuous. He threw the old woman to the ground and took Zhou to pay her respects.

"I've met my sister-in-law."

"I've met my sister-in-law."

Princess Yong'an pulled Zhou up and patted her hands.

"My sister-in-law is so pretty. I am happy to see her. No wonder my second brother is in so much pain."

Zhou blushed, but still glanced outside.

"My dear sister, you just married into our family. Normally, we should hold you in high esteem and protect you, but you know how hard the Zhou family works. We don't want to embarrass you, but we have heard some bad rumors from the elders, and we have to ask them about it. We just need to wait patiently. The Huaiyuan Marquis' Mansion is also a well-known philanthropic family, and we will definitely not let you go too wronged."

Zhou's eyes were red and she refused to speak. She looked at Chen Luoan, looking very aggrieved.

Chen Luoan pulled Zhou over and spoke to Princess Yongan in a seemingly respectful manner.

"Sister-in-law, you don't have to coax us. I saw how the family took care of and loved Sister-in-law when she first came into the mansion. Now that Yan'er has come into the mansion, everyone in the family has ignored and humiliated her. Her dowry servants were kidnapped, and she was locked up in the room and scolded every day. Isn't this unfair?"

Princess Yong'an's eyes flashed with a hint of coldness. Did Chen Luoan dare to compare Zhou with herself? She was not worthy of it. She was the princess, had her own fiefdom, and her natal family, Prince Li's Mansion, was her backer.

She had been brought up in accordance with the rules by the maids in the palace, and would never act pitiful in front of her husband like Zhou did. She had a noble status, and the man she married must be of the eldest son of the legitimate family. It was her responsibility to support her husband and raise her children.