The imperial concubine is charming and charming, and only seeks power and wealth

"Alright, mother won't keep you here any longer. While official duties are important, raising an heir is also a major concern. If you're so busy you don't even have time to go to Jingshu Garden, you can invite one of my concubines to the study. It won't take up much time."

Speaking of offspring, Old Lady Wang sighed softly, "It's almost the end of the year. You'll be thirty-four next year. You should work hard and give me a grandson."

After hearing such words so many times, not only Xie An Ning, but even Wang Shaofu himself felt a little numb. He responded softly and should have left, but he did not move. Instead, he looked up at his wife.

"Why, are you still worried about your wife staying here? Mother can't eat her, and she is counting on her to serve dinner."

Madam Wang smiled and waved her hand, saying, "Go and do your own thing. Try to have more children and raise them in her care. That's for her own good."

Being childless is one of the seven grounds for divorce, so she is considered one of the most charitable mothers-in-law in the capital.

Even such a jealous woman did not force her son to divorce him.

Offspring are the foundation of a woman's life in the harem.

As long as a child born to a concubine is registered under the name of the mistress, he or she is considered a legitimate child.

Children are a pain for both of them.

After his mother said this, Wang Shaofu had no choice but to leave.

Xie Anning stared at his back as he walked away step by step, with a calm look in his eyes.

…………

The winter was very cold, with short days and long nights. By the time I had served Mrs. Wang dinner, it was already pitch dark.

Xie Anning walked out of the main courtyard and took a sedan chair back to the courtyard of the main house.

As soon as he got out of the sedan chair, he saw Peirong standing under the eaves waiting for him, her eyes and nose red.

Thinking she was just cold, Xie An Ning shook her head and said, "The weather is getting colder. There's no need to wait for me outside in the future."

Peirong nodded in agreement, hesitated for a few moments, and then moved closer to tell the young master everything that had happened in the afternoon.

Upon hearing that his daughter, who had already reached marriage age, had been slapped by her biological father, Xie An Ning, who had been tortured for the entire afternoon, staggered and almost fell.

Peirong quickly supported him, glanced at the inner courtyard, and whispered, "The master came here early and has been waiting for you inside for half an hour."

With a "squeak" sound, the door was pushed open.

Compared to the outside, there is plenty of charcoal fire inside and it is as warm as spring.

The man who was sitting at the desk and reading something looked up when he heard the voice.

Their eyes met in the air for a moment. Wang Shaofu put down the book, stood up, walked over, closed the door, and turned to look at his wife.

"Why are you back so late? Did you have dinner?"

As he spoke, he reached out to hold his wife's hand, but it was icy cold, which made him frown.

He held her hand to warm it, then poured her a cup of ginseng tea, "Have some hot tea to warm yourself up first."

Xie An Ning reached out to take it, but his trembling knuckles couldn't catch it at all, and the teacup slipped from his hand and fell to the ground.

Wang Shaofu reacted quickly, put his arm around her shoulders, and led her away from the porcelain fragments. He then called the servants outside to come in and clean up.

When the maid had finished cleaning up and the door was closed again, he realized that his wife had not spoken a word since she came back.

"...Are you blaming me for not protecting you in front of your mother this afternoon and for taking you away?"

"There were so many people around, I couldn't afford to lose face in front of my sisters-in-law."

Thinking of the scene in the afternoon, the dull pain in Wang Shaofu's heart still remained.

He didn't care about the cold war of the past few days, and he completely lost his determination to never give in this time. He explained to himself, "It's my fault. I'll tell Mom tomorrow morning and tell her not to order you around like that in the future."

While he was talking, he poured another cup of ginseng tea. This time, he tested the temperature directly and fed it to Xie Anning's mouth. "I know you have resentment in your heart. Don't be stubborn with me first. Drink some hot tea to avoid catching a cold."

Not knowing what words touched him, Xie Anning took the teacup and started drinking.

Wang Shaofu let out a long sigh and looked carefully at the woman in front of him.

After not seeing her for a few days, she seemed to have lost weight again without him noticing.

It wasn't like this before I returned to Beijing.

She is plump, charming and attractive. Although she is a proud and unruly person, she has learned to be dignified and generous for him over the years. Only in front of him does she show her true self.

It looks like a fresh and tender soup dumpling, with the skin and meat wrapped inside filled with fragrant soup.

He has to taste it carefully to get the best flavor.

And now, the woman in front of him was so thin that even winter clothes couldn't cover her.

The moment Xie An Ning finished drinking the ginseng tea and put down the teacup, he felt something tighten around his waist and was pulled towards him.

"Didn't you eat well?"

Wang Shaofu's breathing was a little unstable. "It's probably because my mother is too harsh on me, you..."

Having said that, he stopped abruptly.

In the end, he didn't continue talking.

With his upbringing, no matter what, he would never criticize his elders in front of his wife.

Wang Shaofu changed the subject, "I'll talk to my mother and ask her to stop making things difficult for you."

As he spoke, he held her wrist bones, rubbed her fingers, and whispered, "Are you tired? How long have you been massaging your mother's shoulders?"

He always remembered that in the afternoon he came out of his daughter's yard, eager to see his wife. When he went to his mother's yard to look for her, the room was full of laughter, and only his wife was like a maid, massaging people's shoulders and backs.

Wang Shaofu couldn't remember how many years it had been since he had felt that moment of rage.

She has been to the main courtyard many times these days. Is she humiliated and harassed like this every time?

Wang Shaofu didn't want to believe it, but he didn't even dare to ask.

He took her hand and placed it on his lips, kissing it softly.

Feeling the warm touch, Xie Anning, who had been silent all this time, finally responded.

She raised her eyes and looked at the man in front of her.

He seemed to be very distressed about what happened to her in the afternoon, and even his eyes were red.

Xie Anning had only seen him like this when they were both teenagers.

Really, it’s been a long time.

Xie An Ning cast his gaze on their clasped hands, staring at them for a long moment. Then, he spoke, "They kneaded her for a long time. In front of all the ladies of the Wang clan, your mother ordered me to serve tea, massage her back, and rub her shoulders."

"...When I was serving your mother as a maid," Xie Anning said indifferently, ignoring his reaction, "your hand was slapping my daughter's face."

A girl who is engaged at the age of fifteen.

In front of all the servants in the yard, he was slapped in the face by his father.

In the Wang family, where people flatter the powerful and look down on the weak, the eldest daughter, who is not loved by her biological father, would probably lose her dignity even in front of the servants, let alone in front of her uncles, aunts and cousins ​​from other families.

You're hitting my daughter in the face with this hand...

Wang Shaofu's face changed when he heard the words, and he said forcefully, "Wan'er's words and actions are rude and she is disobeying the elders. I..."

He stopped talking, but his tough attitude didn't last long. Under Xie An Ning's calm gaze, he softened his voice, "I was just angry at the moment, and I didn't really want to hit my daughter. Tomorrow, I will go see her and won't let her copy those family rules."

Wang Shaofu thought that if he, as a father, took the initiative to bow his head, his wife and daughter would no longer have any resentment, no matter how big it was.

You can't ask him to apologize to his daughter, right?

There is no reason in the world for a father to apologize to his daughter.

Xie Anning's heart was already cold. She looked carefully at the man in front of her whom she almost didn't recognize.

After a long pause, he spoke, "I used to think that no matter what happened between you and me, Wan'er is still your flesh and blood. As a father, you should protect her and ensure she has a smooth and worry-free life. As a daughter of the Wang family, if Wan'er gets married and encounters any grievances in her husband's family, she will have the protection of the Wang family above her and the support of countless cousins ​​below her. Her life will be better than that of an orphan like me, with no one to rely on."

"But now..." She paused and laughed at herself, "You've shown me how ridiculous this idea is."