After the replacement marriage, I was forced to fight at home

"Tomorrow we will go see my mother, the day after tomorrow we will go to the Yong'an Marquis's Mansion, and then we will go to the Pingxi Marquis's Mansion. We need to discuss some things with Third Brother Yue. No one knows about Third Brother Yue's matter except our own people. If we go to the iron shop again, I'm afraid we will be too conspicuous."

Meng Wan nodded, "If you're worried that the iron shop is inconvenient, you can go to my shop in Jinming Hutong."

"We do need to find a new place to meet, especially after you gain the upper hand in the inner house. There is no rush. But we do need to repair it in advance, maybe after the New Year."

"Can we go to the Rui Palace?"

"You want to see Meng Qi?"

"Well, if possible, I would like to go and see. Since my mother's last birthday, Meng Qi has not sent any news home. Some of the news came from outsiders. I heard that she has been taking care of the disease in the palace recently and had several quarrels with Princess Fanghua. I don't know if she suffered any loss."

"Others dare not say it, but if you meet Princess Fanghua, you will suffer losses."

Zhou Yu pushed open the door of the upper room of Qinyuan and made a "please" gesture. Meng Wan walked in first, and Mother Kong came out from the west room.

"Second Madam, everything is cleaned up."

Wang meant to let them live in the east room, but Meng Wan refused. After all, Qinyuan was where Meng Qi lived when she was a girl. If she wasn't afraid that Zhou Yu would feel uncomfortable living in Shanzhitang, and if she didn't want to be disturbed, she wouldn't have moved in.

Meng Wan nodded, and she and Zhou Yu entered the west room one after another.

Zhou Yu untied the cloak strap for Meng Wan and continued, "Princess Fanghua is one year older than Princess Yong'an. She grew up in the Queen's palace. Because of her own reasons and the fact that her mother is the Emperor's cousin, the Emperor pities her and dotes on her. She has a bad temper and doesn't take anyone seriously. Except for the wet nurse, almost no maids in her palace have a long job."

Meng Wan poured a cup of hot tea and put it in Zhou Yu's hand. "What should I do? Why is Meng Qi competing with her?"

"In short, I'd rather offend Princess Yong'an than Princess Fanghua. I just think that the marriages of the two princesses will be soon, especially Princess Fanghua. She must be anxious too."

"Are you talking about the Emperor's illness?"

Zhou Yu sat on the kang, drank a sip of tea, and nodded. "The Queen tolerated Princess Fanghua, and the people below suffered from her anger, all because the Emperor doted on her. If something really happened to the Emperor, those who had suffered from her anger in the palace would not forgive her."

Meng Wan understood. Without a mother and offending so many people, the Queen must be forcing herself to bear it. "So, Princess Fanghua herself is also very anxious."

"That's right, but her standards are too high."

Meng Wan stared at Zhou Yu intently. Zhou Yu felt uncomfortable being stared at by her. He rubbed his face up and down, "What's wrong? Why are you staring at me like that?"

"I heard that Princess Fanghua wants to recruit you as her consort."

Zhou Yu chuckled, "She wants to, but I have to think highly of her."

"Come on, if mother hadn't arranged a marriage between you and Meng Qi long ago, marrying her would be a shortcut. She may be arrogant to others, but she may be a little sheep to you."

The Great Xia Dynasty was different from other dynasties Meng Wan knew. In her historical knowledge, sons from good families generally did not want to be a prince consort. The reason was that if they became a prince consort, they would not be valued. The court would only grant them an empty position, and they would live a comfortable and idle life, far away from the center of power.

But it was different in the Great Xia Dynasty. The son-in-law of the emperor was highly valued and could become a high-ranking official. In the previous dynasty, the son-in-law of Princess Jianing even became a minister and had considerable power.

Therefore, the princesses of the Great Xia Dynasty were extremely popular. It was said that families who were interested in Princess Yong'an could fill up the street in front of the imperial palace.

However, for various reasons, almost all those who expressed their intentions to the Empress were impoverished nobles who wanted to make a big leap forward by becoming a royal consort.

Princess Fanghua is absolutely obsessed with looks, so even though she is already seventeen years old, she has not found anyone she likes. The emperor lets her pick and choose, saying that the princess will never have trouble finding a husband.

Zhou Yu heard Meng Wan say this and coughed twice unnaturally, "Do you think Hu doesn't know what Princess Fanghua meant? After Meng Qi made that scene, she brought Yu, the poor woman, here. Isn't it because she was afraid that I would really break off the engagement with the Huainan Marquisate and the Emperor would marry Fanghua to me again?"

"It's a pity that I got the upper hand, so the princess despises me even more." Meng Wan stretched out her middle finger and gently lifted Zhou Yu's chin. "No wonder Princess Fanghua is obsessed with you. You, Wang Xiaoer, are really good looking."

Zhou Yu looked at Meng Wan with squinting eyes and pouting mouth, as if she was teasing a commoner girl. He couldn't help laughing. He pulled her hand and brought Meng Wan into his arms.

"Don't worry, Wang Xiaoer's skin is only for you, Meng Wan, to see. Not only can you look at this skin every day, but I will also offer you what's inside the skin at any time."

Meng Wan punched Zhou Yu's chest lightly, "Go away, who asked you to act like a hooligan every day."

Zhou Yu kissed Meng Wan's forehead and said, "I heard that Hu wants to ask for Princess Yong'an to marry Zhou Zheng."

"What? How can this be possible? If he really marries Princess Yong'an, how can you compete with him?" Meng Wan said nervously, "We can't let her have her wish. Princess Yong'an is the legitimate princess. No matter who sits in that position in the future, she will not be affected in any way, even if it's just for show."

This Mrs. Hu has a really big appetite. She even dares to covet Princess Yong'an.

Zhou Yu nodded, "Yes, I have analyzed this matter with my brother-in-law. The Queen may not think highly of Zhou Zheng. I am afraid that Princess Yong'an may think highly of her. After all, she has reached the age for marriage."

"No wonder Third Sister went to the palace so often and tried to please Princess Yong'an. Do you think she saved Princess Yong'an's cat on purpose?"

"It's possible. Otherwise, how could she get a good reputation from Princess Yong'an? Hum, it seems that Hu had thought of this move long ago."

"We can't let Princess Yong'an see Zhou Zheng. At least we can't let Zhou Zheng have the opportunity to show his courtesy to Princess Yong'an." Meng Wan stood up. "I have to think carefully about the New Year's banquet. I have to make them lose face."

Zhou Yu looked at Meng Wan's serious expression as she frowned and thought deeply. He stood up distressed and gently hugged her in his arms, "It's my incompetence that made you worry about these things as soon as you walked in."

Meng Wan listened to Zhou Yu's heartbeat, "We said on the day we got married that you are not allowed to say such things again. I am willing to do this for you, just because you are worth it."

Zhou Yu felt his chest was filled with an inexplicable emotion. He increased the strength of his arms. It was great. He had been happy since the day he knew he could marry Meng Wan. Even if he encountered so many troubles, as long as he thought that Meng Wan was waiting for him, he would be full of strength.

"Okay, I won't tell you, and I won't tell you in the future. Don't worry, in two years at most, I will make you a guest of honor for all the great families in the capital."

"Second Madam, someone from Songhe Garden said that the Marquis has returned." A report came from outside.

Zhou Yu untied his hands, picked up the cloak and put it on Meng Wan's shoulders. While helping her tie her belt, he said, "Xue Fu is back."

Meng Wan was stunned for a long time before she remembered who Xue Fu was.

"When did you come back?"

"Last night, I told her to take Cai'er to Hongluo Temple in a few days."

That’s right, Meng Wan had forgotten that Zhou Yu had suggested that each courtyard send two maids or servants to go to Hongluo Temple to pray for Xiaohuan’s child.

"I haven't asked you yet, what did you do to make that suggestion."

"Of course, it's to help you get familiar with the inner house as quickly as possible."

Zhou Yu took Meng Wan's hand and walked out. "Think about it, no one in the mansion really hopes that Xiaohuan can give birth to this child. So the ones sent to pray for blessings will naturally not be those who are valued in each courtyard. If you let Cai'er go, you can take this opportunity to talk to them more and find out more. They are all those who are not valued in each courtyard, so naturally they will have complaints, and when they have complaints, they will want to tell others."

Meng Wan nodded. Yes, this was a good idea. No one would be left out of every courtyard. With Cai'er's ability to send people half a mile away even without eating, she would surely have a better understanding of the situation in each courtyard after she came back, and it would not arouse anyone's suspicion.

"Is Xuefu's business done?"

"Well, it's almost done. The rest still needs Wu Hen to verify it."

Meng Wan hadn't heard the name Wu Hen for a long time. "Is Brother Wu okay?"

"Okay, just don't use too much force with one hand. I didn't expect him to be so seriously injured. Third Brother Yue feels very guilty. He originally planned to take Wu Hen with him when he went to Sichuan. Now it seems that it is better to let him stay in Beijing."

"Brother Wu went with Xue Fu?"

"Yes, Xuefu went to pay tribute to Yanfu, and secondly, to check the credibility of the news. As you know, it is more convenient for a woman to investigate a woman's affairs."

"Her sister has helped you so much, and she has been helping you take care of the outer courtyard. When you ask Xue Fu to come, I will definitely give her some gifts."

Zhou Yu nodded silently, "I have never told you about Yan Fu, actually..."

"Don't worry, I've heard some news, but today is not the time to talk about it. Tell me slowly when you have time."