The beauty of the Hou family and the king's plan

Shen Baozhao has never been good at comforting people, and she didn't know what to do when she saw Feng Feiyan like this.

Fortunately, Cui Mingzhu was very gentle and considerate. She handed the handkerchief to Feng Feiyan to wipe the tears from her face.

Feng Feiyan, the daughter of a general, has always been tenacious. She was just temporarily depressed and lost her composure.

She quickly adjusted her mood, wiped away her tears, and said to Shen Baozhao and the others, "My elders want me to get engaged to Xue Sheng."

"You just met Xue Sheng. He's a prostitute. If you ask around in Kyoto, everyone will know him."

"What's more, he has been prejudiced against me since I was a child. If I really marry him, I might as well become a nun."

Feng Feiyan smiled self-deprecatingly. Even if she wanted to become a nun, she was afraid she didn't have the qualifications.

If she leaves again, the entire backyard of the General's Mansion will be controlled by a concubine. And her father is a soft-hearted person. What good will this little brother have to endure?

Her brother is still a minor and has no ability to protect himself. They saw this clearly and forced her to marry!

Cui Mingzhu patted her hands, not knowing how to comfort her.

After all, even she herself, even though she was the eldest daughter of the Cui family and even though her parents had loved her since she was a child, could not make the decision on the matter of marriage.

Shen Baozhao couldn't help but feel lucky that she didn't have to shoulder the family's responsibility in this life. Her father felt guilty about her and would definitely not marry her off casually.

What's more, now in the mansion, Aunt Lan from the eldest house and Tang from the third house are both under my favor.

Just like the matter of tending the old lady when she was ill, she could go or not at will from then on, and no one would find fault with her and complain to the old uncle.

Thinking of the huge difference between the situation when he was just reborn and today, he kindly gave her some advice: "Fei Yan, the road is made by walking on it."

Don't be too pessimistic. Anything can happen before you get married. You can still cancel your engagement, and even after you get married, you can still get divorced.

Under no circumstances should we feel sorry for ourselves. There is still much we can do, such as grasping everything that is in our favor and trying to turn the tide!"

Feng Feiyan pondered over Shen Baozhao's words and suddenly felt enlightened.

Although Xue Sheng didn't like her and was amorous, the Xue family was powerful, not to mention that she had a mother who was the eldest princess.

If I marry him, as long as I can stand on my own feet, then the concubine in the mansion probably won't dare to do anything to me.

Perhaps I can also use the influence of the Princess's Mansion to ask for the establishment of a crown prince for my younger brother.

It's better than marrying a powerless family. Thinking of this, I feel that this matter can be discussed.

She held Shen Baozhao's hand and said, "Baozhao, thank you for your guidance. Don't worry, I will not be depressed.

I have to be fully prepared to face those monsters."

Feng Feiyan had been practicing martial arts since she was a child and was extremely strong. In her excitement, she held Bao Zhao's hand until it hurt.

Bao Zhao struggled to break free from her hand, "That's not necessary. I just hope that all good girls can live out their true selves."

Feng Feiyan then realized it and rubbed her forehead embarrassedly.

Cui Mingzhu also benefited a lot from Shen Baozhao's words and said firmly: "Yes, we can all live out our true selves!"

All three of them laughed, with stars in their eyes.

Feng Feiyan felt that she had met both of them too late, so they had lunch in the charity hall.

It was not until the sun gradually set that we reluctantly said goodbye.

"If you have something to do, you can go to the Ning'an Marquis's Mansion to find me directly. If you are bored on weekdays, you can also come to the charity hall to find Mingzhu. She has been living here recently."

Feng Feiyan nodded, jumped onto the horse swiftly, and rode away.

At this moment, someone from the Ning'an Marquis's Mansion came to report that Li Dashan had returned and was waiting for the fourth young lady in the mansion.

Shen Baozhao did not waste any more time and asked the coachman to drive the carriage back to the Ning'an Marquis' Mansion.

"Miss Fourth, I only found a maid who was serving in the county lady's courtyard at that time." Li Dashan bowed and saluted Shen Baozhao.

When Shen Baozhao saw that he had an untidy beard and was covered in dust, he knew that he had not yet had time to wash up before coming to report.

He hurriedly said to Li Dashan: "Uncle Li, there is no need to be polite. Bring the person up first."

I saw a lady wearing a gray, coarse cloth dress with a round bun on her head.

When she saw Shen Baozhao, she immediately knelt on the ground and said in a sobbing voice: "Fourth Miss, I am your servant Xia Lian. Do you still remember me?"

"Xia Lian?" Shen Baozhao had no impression of her. She should not be the one who served his mother in her room.

Seeing Shen Baozhao's puzzled expression, the woman named Xia Lian explained, "I am in charge of the county lady's small kitchen. Miss Fourth, you love the sweet-scented osmanthus cake I made the most.

Every August when the osmanthus flowers bloom, the county lady always orders people to collect a lot of osmanthus flowers. She tells the servants to make osmanthus cake for the fourth young lady.

Yes, Shen Baozhao remembered that this was indeed the case. She loved to eat sweet-scented osmanthus cakes, and although her mother doted on her, she would not let her eat too much, fearing that she would have indigestion at such a young age.

At that time, there was a maid who could make osmanthus cake. From my impression, although the maid was not beautiful, she was also a pretty lady.

It was only ten years, how did she become an old lady again? It was no wonder that she couldn't remember it for a while, the difference was really too big.

"Xia He, get up and talk." After saying that, he asked Qingkong to bring a small stool for Xia Lian to sit on.

Xia Lian was hesitant and only dared to sit on half of the stool.

But when she saw Bao Zhao, her wrinkled face was filled with relief: "Fourth Miss, I thought I would never see you again."

Shen Baozhao was puzzled and asked, "I remember my father told me that when he released the people around my mother, he gave them enough money to settle down."

"Xia Lian, how come you are living like this?"

When Li Dashan heard Shen Baozhao's question, he also told Shen Baozhao what he saw: "When I found Xia Lian, she was being beaten by her husband.

Her husband was a gambler and alcoholic who beat his wife when he lost. Xia Lian not only had to take care of his parents, but also did sewing and laundry to earn a living.

And I didn’t find her in her hometown, but found her by chance in a village outside Kyoto when I returned to Kyoto.”

"What's even more bizarre is that everyone on the list you gave me, Miss Fourth, seems to have never returned to their hometown. It's as if they have evaporated from the face of the earth."

If he hadn't happened to see Xia Lian being chased and beaten, and if Li Dashan hadn't helped her, he would have returned empty-handed.

Shen Baozhao tapped the table with his fingers and asked Xia Lian, "What happened when you left the Bo's Mansion?"

"Repeat everything to me carefully and verbatim."

Shen Baozhao's face was calm and his words were stern. Xia Lian couldn't help but become serious.

Slowly recalling, "It happened that the county lady passed away, and the servants were very sad and didn't want to leave. But the old lady said that the county lady's last wish was to release everyone into slavery, and the Bo Mansion couldn't keep the servants.

My home is in Jinling, and my sister Chunhe was also sent out of the mansion to Jinling. We hired a carriage, but just as we were leaving the suburbs of Beijing, we discovered that the driver was driving in the wrong direction.

Sister Chunhe wanted to argue with the driver, but the driver suddenly looked ferocious and pulled out a knife he had hidden earlier, killing Sister Chunhe with one blow.

She didn't even utter a scream!"