I'm a humble concubine. My acting skills are off the charts. You can check my performance.

Li Lin never thought that her always obedient son would disobey her for a woman!

Without even thinking, he slapped her!

"You are confused!"

"How can a woman like that support your family? Do you want to be laughed at by your peers?"

Li Lin felt that her deep love for her son was not understood by Shi Er Lang, but she had lived longer and she knew what was right and what was wrong better than Shi Er Lang!

"You don't have to say anything more. I have other considerations for your marriage. I am your mother. How can I harm you?!"

Li Botang looked at Li Lin with disappointment, but still knelt stubbornly: "So mother still thinks that family background is more important than a son's confidant?"

Li Lin was furious when she heard this, and she slapped Li Botang hard: "Nonsense! How many years can you love her? How many times have you seen her? How much do you know about her?"

"You just like her appearance! When she grows old and loses her beauty, and can no longer help you make further progress, are you going to watch your achievements being taken away by others?!"

The five branches of the Longxi Li family are deeply intertwined, and there are only a few officials of certain ranks. Each one has his own job, and sometimes the credit that one earns at the risk of his life may not necessarily belong to him. Instead, it is very likely that the credit will be attributed to someone else.

Li Botang knelt on the ground, looking at his mother who was completely different from before, and felt that everything was ridiculous.

"So what my mother said to me before was just words to coax a child, but I took it seriously and even came to you to propose marriage on my behalf."

"You want me to follow your instructions and marry a daughter-in-law you approve of, who is of equal status to me, dignified and steady, and has a good reputation in the army. It would be best if she could win merit for me."

"My son's preference is not important. After all, a man can have three wives and four concubines, and the greatest use of a wife is to help her husband's career further..."

Li Botang looked at Li Lin's eyes burning with anger and her terrifying silence. He suddenly understood many things. It turned out that so many people were coaxing him in the past. It turned out that people who spoke could be sincere or false. It turned out that even his mother's words might not be trustworthy.

"If it's what mother thinks, then what's the difference between me and the butchers in the brothels?"

The wife is not a wife, but a ladder for the husband to climb to the top; the sweetheart is not a sweetheart, but a concubine who should give way to him?

"My sweetheart is someone I keep in my heart. As long as my fourth sister doesn't get married, I won't marry her. If she gets married, it's because I don't have the ability to win her love."

"In the future, my mother won't have to worry about my marriage. Jiayuguan is a good place and it's convenient for me to live alone."

Shi Erlang stood up with a sullen face, went back to his room to pack up some things and was about to leave. However, before he even left the yard, he was summoned to the old man's room by a servant.

Li Botang knew that the dispute between him and his mother was probably known to his elders, and he felt a little guilty for a moment.

Once you feel guilty, your momentum will be weakened by three points.

"Do you like your aunt's daughter, Fourth Lady?" The old man did not test the topic but directly brought it up.

It's not that he looks down on this grandson, it's just that this kid's ability in dealing with human relations is not as good as studying except for marching and fighting!

Li Botang said sullenly, "Yes, my grandson loves the fourth sister of the Zhao family. I don't know when I had this thought. It may be the first time I saw her, or it may be something else. But my grandson can't stand others standing beside her and treating her with respect."

The old man nodded, he understood and was used to Li Botang's way of speaking. After all, he was the most useless child, so he always got more attention from his family: "Your mother doesn't allow it?"

"Mother didn't like that my fourth sister was born out of wedlock."

The old man lowered his eyes and smiled. Li Lin's status as a concubine, which she cared about so much, was not a problem in his eyes. However, he still had to defend Li Lin: "Your fourth cousin is from the capital, and she has no power in Longxi. Without the help of your Yue family, your future will be much more difficult than that of others."

Li Botang was a young and brave man, and he said the same thing as before: "If I succeed, she will share the glory with me. If my achievements are taken away, it is because I am incompetent. I cannot blame my wife for any mistakes."

The old man patted Li Botang on the shoulder, and a smile curved across his aged face: "Not bad, you didn't bring shame to my Li family."

"But your fourth sister is not someone you can marry just because you want her to."

Li Botang's heart tightened when he heard this, and he suddenly remembered that the old man had asked them about outstanding young men... He guessed that was to choose a marriage for Zhao Fangyu!

"Your sister is well-versed in poetry and literature, and is also a famous talented woman and elegant person in Shangjing."

"You are so bad at studying that you are not a good match for her. If you can pass the test before she reaches the age of 15, I will go and ask your aunt for you."

Li Botang didn't expect that there would be such a bright future ahead, and he agreed immediately!

As long as my grandfather agreed, even if my mother was unwilling, she would not go against my grandfather's wishes.

Li Botang left happily. The old lady sitting inside said, "Botang's mother suddenly got stuck in a rut, but did Boer suffer injustice in Jiayuguan?"

The old man snorted coldly, "She was not wronged in Jiayuguan. It was because her niece was spoiled at home and didn't want to stay at home any longer, so she came to her for help. Two days ago, she told me that her parents wanted to come and let her stay at Lichang. I'm afraid she was beaten because she had fallen in love with Botang for a long time."

"Qing'er's roots are all in Kyoto, so she is useless to the Longxi generals. She probably still wants Botang to marry her niece."

·

On the second day, a few good friends planned to go to a silver shop to buy jewelry.

Li Botang volunteered to be the bodyguard, and the girls gladly agreed.

The girls rode in a carriage, and Li Botang followed them on horseback outside.

Zhao Fangyu is no longer the little kid who used to worry about displeasing the eldest lady by buying one or two more pieces of jewelry. Now it is no exaggeration to say that she is making a fortune from her fourteen states.

Zhao Fangyu had long forgotten the white jade earrings that she was reluctant to buy in the silver shop. However, coincidentally, she saw the same pair in the silver shop in Longxi, and they did not look like second-hand goods that had been worn by others.

Such an opportunity is hard to come by, so she bought the pair of white jade gourd earrings without thinking twice.

She now has what she couldn't get when she was young.

The sisters came out of the silver shop and seeing that today was a big market, they couldn't help wanting to shop for a while longer. When Shisiniang saw someone selling nesting dolls, she quickly pulled Li Botang to help her put on the Maha Le she liked.

Zhao Fangyu walked around, stopping from time to time to look at the items on the stalls.

The next moment, a strong hand suddenly stretched out and knocked Chunshao and Xiangyao unconscious in an instant. Pei Yan looked at Zhao Fangyu calmly and turned his head to signal her to go into the alley.

Zhao Fangyu was a little hesitant, but Chunshao and Xiangyao were in other people's hands, so she couldn't just abandon them.