The Legend of the Concubine in the Harem

The sun gradually sets towards the west.

As the emperor's procession left, the Yongjia Marquis's mansion gradually became quiet. The officials and nobles who had come to the banquet said goodbye one after another. The Anguo Marquis took his two children back to the mansion with a stern face.

As soon as he entered the main hall, he shouted at Ruan He and his sister to kneel down.

The people following him were all shocked by the sudden anger of Marquis Anguo. Mrs. Dong, the wife of Marquis Anguo's second brother, who was now in charge of the internal affairs of the Marquis's mansion on behalf of her eldest sister-in-law, said hurriedly: "What is this uncle doing? Even if there is something wrong with the children, just have a few words with them in private..."

The dozen or so servants who followed him out and came to welcome their master back home were all watching this scene.

Although the servants in this mansion were usually no different from the decorations in the eyes of their masters - even the price of a living person was not as high as the antiques on the treasure rack - but being stared at by so many pairs of astonished eyes, the two siblings who knelt on the ground subconsciously still felt waves of humiliation.

"Talk nicely? Did these two evil beasts give me time to talk nicely?! If not..." Marquis Anguo smashed a cup angrily.

Madam Dong Er shuddered and turned her head to look at a maid following behind her. The maid hurriedly led people forward to clean up the debris on the ground, and then quietly retreated with the servants.

During this process, Marquis Anguo kept a gloomy face and did not say anything to stop Madam Dong Er's actions.

After the scene was cleared, Madam Dong signaled the children in her room to leave as well. Marquis Anguo finally raised his head and glanced in their direction, saying, "Stay here. We are all family members, there is nothing we cannot hear. It would be bad to keep it a secret."

"Father!" Ruan He called out pleadingly.

He was the eldest son of the Marquis of Anguo, born to the main wife. He was named the Crown Prince as soon as he was born, and became the designated future royal consort when he was in his teens. Ruan He's life could be said to be smooth sailing. Whether inside or outside the Marquis's mansion, there were many people flattering him. Even if there was any discord between his brothers, others would always make concessions for him.

As for what happened today, whether Marquis Anguo wanted to beat him or scold him, Ruan He would at most feel dissatisfied. But if his brothers and sisters from the second house had to watch him being punished... Ruan He felt choked up at the thought.

Because his biological mother, the people in Anguo Marquis's Mansion were so sickly, the housekeeping of the mansion had always been taken care of by Madam Dong Er. Madam Dong's family was not prominent, so when she was in charge of the household affairs, she always liked to secretly take things from the Marquis's Mansion to subsidize her family. Although she did not do it too much, in Ruan He's view, this was clearly stealing his things.

For this reason, Ruan He had privately complained to Marquis Anguo more than once, but each time Marquis Anguo just said that it was not his business as a man, and then there was no follow-up.

As time went by, every time Ruan He saw Madam Dong Er, although he had a smile on his face, he felt uncomfortable in his heart. However, the real owner of the Marquis' Mansion refused to speak, so he could only support his sister in secret to bully the children of the second wife.

Ruan Yuse was the one who was bullied the most by Ruan Xiang'e, and was also the most cowardly one.

But recently, for some unknown reason, after Ruan Xiang'e had several contacts with Zeng Fu, she changed her personality and started to get along well with the second wife's daughter...

Countless doubts quickly crossed Ruan He's mind, but as a son, he still didn't dare to say anything bad about his father. He just knelt down with a stubborn look on his face: "Father, I am indeed at fault for what happened today, but this is also our eldest wife's business, what does it have to do with the second wife?"

Marquis Anguo glanced at him and said, "I have said that we are all from the same family. Your mother only gave birth to you and your sister, but you were both incapable of raising yourselves. If you continue to treat sibling love as nothing, do you think we will have the same experience in the future as what happened in the Marquis Yuyang Mansion and the Shen family, where those two brothers did something stupid to harm the entire family just to compete with each other?!"

"The reason why our Anguo Marquisate has been able to stand firm since the founding of the country is not only because of our absolute loyalty to the emperor, but also because of the unity of the entire family!" Anguo Marquis angrily shouted, "It is a great honor for our family to be granted marriage by His Majesty, but what have you done?!"

"How dare you have an affair with another woman, and even dare to invite the princess in private, trying to force her to accept that you took a concubine before marriage and had children?!"

"I have lived a peaceful life, how could I raise a fool as bold as you!"

An Guohou covered his face in pain: "And you!"

He suddenly pointed at Ruan Xiang'e, who was kneeling beside Ruan He and shrinking like a quail. "Who gave you the idea to dare to go and tell the princess that women should live in harmony? Don't you think about how you behave in the mansion? You bully this and suppress that all day long. How many times have your cousins ​​been bullied by you? Do you want me to count them one by one for you?"

Ruan Xiang'e trembled: "Father, I already know I was wrong. I was ignorant before, but now I have changed..."

"change?!"

"Why don't you change your shit?"

Marquis Anguo wanted to pry open the brains of these two siblings to see what was inside: "What is the status of your cousin, and what is the status of the eldest princess? Ah? Don't dream of two women sharing one husband and enjoying the happiness of having two men. There is no such thing as harmonious coexistence. If the eldest princess had a worse temper, it would be you, the son of Marquis Anguo, who would have to share a wife with others. Ruan He, ask yourself, can you live in harmony with other men in the princess's mansion, huh?"

"Damn it! Your brother is so immoral and has so many affairs, and in the end, I, as his father, have to clean up his mess. Are you very proud of it?"

"I've lived for decades and I've never heard of such a strange thing. You two are really a pair of debt collectors, always trying to cause trouble for me!"

Marquis Anguo slammed his hands on the table several times and said, "Today, you two have made me lose face. Anyway, it was me who neglected to discipline you. The court will send troops to the southwest soon. I will volunteer to go. As the heir of the Marquisate, you should go with me. If you unfortunately die there, just consider it as my failure to have such a son!"

As soon as the words fell, everyone present was stunned.

The southwest is a place with dangerous mountains, deep forests, and many poisonous snakes and miasma. It is an excellent place to exile political enemies, but it is also a nightmare for people from the Central Plains to march.

Madam Dong Er, as the only elder present, said with trembling lips: "Why did Uncle do this? The prince is weak, how can he stand the military service? Besides, I see that the eldest princess doesn't seem to blame him for this matter..."

"The eldest princess is virtuous, but do you think His Majesty is virtuous as well?!" Marquis Anguo said with a glare, "If you can't bring back any military merit, Ruan He, you might as well die there!"