The Legend of the Concubine in the Harem

"Father..." Ever since she was punished last time, Ruan Xiang'e was a little afraid of her father. She carefully greeted the Marquis of Anguo and asked, "Father, why did you come here to find me?"

Marquis Anguo looked at her calmly and said, "The second son of the He family is about the same age as you. Your father and Lord He have arranged your marriage. We didn't plan to be so anxious, but we didn't expect that you would suddenly go to the south... After I left, your marriage will be handed over to Nanny Niu. Nanny Niu is an old lady who served your grandmother and has always been thorough in her work."

Ruan Xiang'e was completely stunned, and it took her a while to react: "But!"

She knew the second son of the He family. Lord He was already in a semi-retired state. His eldest son was the commander of the Yulin Guard, but the second son only got a nominal position as an official. He was seventeen years old this year. He was not good at either literature or martial arts, and his appearance was very ordinary. He was still hanging around in the Imperial College.

He had never left any special trace in Ruan Xiang'e's memory. When she mentioned him now, Ruan Xiang'e could only remember a vague and ordinary shadow of what he looked like.

The Marquis of Anguo didn't care about his daughter's resistance at all, and continued, "Mr. He has a large family. Although he doesn't hold an important position, he is a relatively honest man. He is also the second son. When you marry him, you only need to worry about your own affairs. Your father has known Mr. He for many years, and your mother and Madam He were also good friends. After you marry him, as long as you don't do anything reckless, you will have a good life."

"But I don't like him!" Ruan Xiang'e held it in for a long time before finally shouting out these words.

She instinctively resisted the marriage arranged for her by Marquis Anguo, and could not accept why she had to marry a man she had almost no impression of in such a hurry.

"It doesn't matter whether you like it or not, just follow my arrangements." Marquis Anguo looked at his daughter coldly.

She was just the second insurance he set up for his title. If anything unexpected happened to him and Ruan He during the southern expedition, Lord He would, as agreed, return the child of Ruan Xiang'e and He Er to the clan and let him inherit the title of Anguo Marquis's Mansion.

He could not disobey the order to march south, and he also knew that the second branch had always coveted the title of the eldest branch. Although men nowadays always like to act as if they know nothing about the affairs of the women in the back house, when it comes to their control over the back house, it is actually far greater than that of the wives and mistresses of the family who can only hang around in the inner house most of the time and cannot even control the servants in the entire mansion.

Marquis Anguo was fully aware of Mrs. Dong's plot against him and his son.

He just pretended not to know and went with the flow, so that he could expose Mrs. Dong's actions in the future and use them as evidence to cut off the possibility of the second branch inheriting the title.

Faced with her father's cold and determined look, Ruan Xiang'e felt dissatisfied, but more of a timidity out of habit - she really liked the new ideas Zeng Fu brought to her, and she really wanted to be like the women in those stories, go out and explore the world on her own, or achieve something that was no less than that of men in some aspect... But she also knew that she couldn't do it.

Without the identity of a young lady from the Marquis of Anguo's mansion, Ruan Xiang'e had no idea how she would make a living, let alone become successful like in the story and encounter a love that would make others envious.

Therefore, she could only publicize her own unique ideas within the scope of her reach, just like when she tried to persuade the eldest princess and Ruan He's lover to live in peace and tolerance with each other, and she felt that she was unique and extraordinary for this, and satisfied herself with this.

The novel stories Zeng Fu brought to her allowed Ruan Xiang'e to build a world in which she could indulge herself, but An Guohou shattered her world with just a few words.

"Don't do unnecessary things. Don't think that you can really do something just because you are a little smart..." An Guohou said, and then sighed, "You and your brother are the only two children of yours, your mother and I. Whatever arrangements your father makes is not for your own good?"

"You are still young and may not understand it, but when you reach my age, you will understand the hardship of being a parent."

After the strong orders and coercion, the attitude suddenly softened. The seemingly heartfelt words of Anguo Hou to his daughter made Ruan Xiang'e, who was easily influenced by others' words, hesitate. After realizing that this marriage was not something she could resist, she swallowed the bitterness in her throat and knelt down reluctantly: "...Daughter...I understand, but...Does mother know?"

"I will tell your mother in person." An Guohou nodded with satisfaction, and then said, "You'd better stay away from that kid from the Zeng family. He is full of nonsense and can only deceive a young girl like you who has been pampered since childhood."

Zeng Fu, whose name was mentioned, sneezed in the distance.

After he separated from Ruan Xiang'e, he met a few of his former self's friends, and soon Zeng Fu became close friends with these playboys.

One of the dudes suddenly tugged at Zeng Fu's sleeve and pointed at a figure in front of him: "Do you see the one in blue clothes in front?"

Zeng Fu saw a handsome man dressed as a scholar, holding a child in red clothes by the hand, and pouted: "Who is that? Why does he look like a sissy?"

The playboy patted him on the shoulder and whispered, "Keep your voice down! That guy is the cousin of Marquis Yongjia and Concubine Zhao! The second wife of Duke Shen finally came to her senses and was planning to take a concubine for Tao Er, but she ran into this guy. He snatched away two concubines that he liked. I heard that Tao Er's wife was so angry that she stayed in bed for several days!"

"He's just a cousin of a marquis, how dare he go against the duke's mansion?!" Zeng Fu felt that this was truly a female-oriented world, with absolutely no realistic logic.

"If you really count the foundations of the Yongjia Marquis's Mansion, it is true that it cannot compare to the Shenguo Duke's Mansion. But who can blame the Yongjia Marquis's own mother for being the queen soon?"

"Ah?" Zeng Fu was unable to figure out the relationship here for a moment.

The playboy thought that he had returned to his hometown and had not been able to catch up with the latest news in the capital, so he kindly explained to him: "Inside and outside the palace, the court is busy preparing for the crowning of Concubine Zhao. By then, that boy surnamed Lin will be the uncle of the emperor - the cousin of the emperor!"

"You better be careful not to offend her, or else if Concubine Zhao gets angry, then..."

Zeng Fu nodded yes repeatedly, but he didn't take it seriously in his heart - isn't he just a relative by marriage? Emperors have always been wary of relatives by marriage. And so what about the empress? She is just a woman in the deep palace. Does she have the ability to influence the government, or send someone out of the palace to kill him?