Ping Zhao Lu

Seeing that the person had gone far away, Xu Zhouye shook his head slightly, turned around, walked out of Fangfei Pavilion on his own.

He walked through the bustling crowd and finally stopped at the entrance of a narrow and busy alley on the side of the street.

Walking into the alley, you will see a wide variety of stalls, and the sounds of hawking and bargaining can be heard one after another.

Xu Zhouye walked slowly, his eyes wandering from one vendor to another. When he came to a small stall selling noodle soup, he couldn't help but stop.

I saw the stall owner kneading the dough skillfully, and the pot next to him was steaming and emitting an enticing aroma.

Xu Zhouye raised his head, glanced at the surroundings, then walked straight to an empty table and sat down.

Before he could speak, the enthusiastic boss came up to him and said, "Sir, what would you like to eat?"

Xu Zhouye smiled slightly and said softly, "Give me a bowl of Yangchun noodles."

"Okay, sir, please wait a moment! It will be ready soon!" The boss nodded with a smile on his face, quickly turned around and went back to the stove to get busy.

Before long, a bowl of steaming, fragrant Yangchun noodles was served to Xu Zhouye. The owner placed the noodles firmly on the table and said with a smile, "Sir, enjoy your meal."

Xu Zhouye nodded slightly and said, "Thank you very much." Then he lifted the curtain above his head, reached for a pair of bamboo chopsticks on the table, and gently stirred the noodles. He picked up a few noodles and put them into his mouth to chew carefully. He felt the texture was smooth and chewy, and the broth was rich and delicious, leaving a lasting aftertaste.

I have to say that although the food at this roadside stall looks simple, it tastes surprisingly good.

Xu Zhouye ate with gusto, and before he knew it, the big bowl of noodles was finished.

He put down his chopsticks reluctantly and was about to ask the boss to give him another bowl when he suddenly heard a hushed discussion behind him.

"Have you heard about what happened to Wu Jia Silang..."

"Of course not! They say he was beaten so badly he couldn't get out of bed. Tsk, tsk, I thought he was such a decent man, but I never thought he'd do such a shameful thing!"

"People, you really can't judge them by appearances. They look so gentle and respectable, but behind the scenes they are so despicable."

"It's said his wife almost hanged herself because she couldn't stand it! I really don't know how she will endure the rest of her life."

"She deserves it! Madam Wei has always bullied others by taking advantage of her power. It's her own fault that she has ended up like this."

"I'm afraid Wu Silang won't be able to inherit the title of Marquis. He caused such a big fuss and brought disgrace to the Wu family. How could the elders allow him to inherit the title?"

"That's right, his family is truly a mess. The eldest died shortly after birth; the second lived safely until the age of four, but tragically drowned; the third was even more pitiful, born a bastard and paralyzed at a young age, lying in bed all day, sickly and lifeless. The Marquis of Changxing poured his entire life's work into the fourth, hoping he would support the family and bring honor to the family, but who could have imagined something like this would happen? Tsk tsk..."

"The elders of the Wu family will definitely not allow this fourth son, who has brought disgrace upon the family, to inherit the title. Besides, the Marquis is still alive."

……

Xu Zhouye listened quietly with a calm expression.

In the previous life, Marquis Changxing died of illness and Wu Silang inherited the title.

However, the good times did not last long. Not long after, the title was transferred to Wu Sanlang.

The reason was that Wu Silang's notoriety for favoring his concubine over his wife had spread like wildfire overnight, causing a sensation throughout the city and becoming known to everyone. At this moment, his wife, Wen, committed suicide out of hatred, further fueling the fire.

What's worse, the official position he bought with his father's money gradually exposed many shortcomings not long after he took office.

This person was not only greedy and plundered the people's money, but he was also so bold that he took people's lives in private.

Such numerous evil deeds soon aroused public outrage.

In an instant, all kinds of rumors about Wu Silang being a hypocritical hypocrite spread throughout the entire Zhaojing City like a plague.

This despicable behavior finally attracted the attention of the imperial court. The court judge immediately arrested Wu Silang and put him on trial. Due to the severity of his crime, he was eventually beheaded.

Xu Zhouye pursed his lips and chuckled.

Apart from anything else, Wu Sanlang is quite powerful.

After inheriting the title, it didn't take him long to manage the huge mansion in an orderly and well-organized manner. He also acquired many properties, and his reputation gradually became famous.

The key point is that after those nosy people were gone, Wu Sanlang's legs were no longer paralyzed, his illness was cured, and he felt refreshed.

……

After Xu Zhouye had eaten and drunk his fill, he immediately returned to the Duke's Mansion to send someone to do something.

He left the palace this time not only to visit his father, but also to look for someone.

This person is Ah Liu, the servant who was expelled from the Wei family's mansion.

In his previous life, while cleaning, Ah Liu accidentally swept the dust onto Wei Fu who happened to be passing by, causing her to cough non-stop.

Wei Fu was furious and ordered him to be beaten with ten sticks.

After that, Ah Liu basically avoided Wei Fu.

However, Wei Fu just took out her anger on him.

The torture was horrific.

It was just because he worked in Wei Rong's courtyard.

She has always looked down on her younger sister, or rather her older sister.

When Wei Wang, the head of the Wei family, was a scholar, he lived in northern Anhui and married Zhang, the daughter of a merchant. The two of them treated each other with respect.

Zhang helped Wei Wang a lot, especially financially. Because of this, Wei Wang was able to rise from a commoner to a well-known local merchant, and he passed the imperial examination and went to Beijing to serve as an official.

Because of his handsome appearance, many ladies in the capital were attracted to him. During this period, Wei Wang never even revealed that he was married and had relationships with many wealthy women.

In the end, he fell in love with the once famous Jiang family. Unfortunately, due to his status, he could not marry the Jiang family's legitimate daughter, so he attached himself to their concubine's daughter.

Jiang was also attracted by Wei Wang's appearance and fell in love with him at first sight. The two of them met frequently and soon they had an affair.

Later, Jiang became pregnant, and they had no choice but to get married with the child.

Coincidentally, Zhang was two months pregnant before her.

Jiang was furious when she heard this. She could not tolerate herself being a concubine, even for the sake of her children. She did not want others to think that she was a latecomer.

So she cried and made a fuss, asking Wei Wang to divorce Zhang as a concubine and make her his wife.

Wei Wang had no choice but to do as she asked because of her status.

Poor Zhang, she raised such an ungrateful person, and it was inconvenient for her to have sex while she was pregnant.

Later, Zhang had a difficult labor and fought desperately to save the child, but she herself passed away.

The daughter she gave birth to could not be made public, nor could she be named before the one born to Jiang.

Originally, "Wei Fu" was the name that Zhang and Wei Wang had agreed to give their child, but unexpectedly it was snatched away by Jiang.

"芙" means purity and elegance.

Zhang hoped that her child would be as beautiful and pure as a lotus emerging from water.

But Jiang was so shameless that she not only reduced the legitimate eldest daughter of the Wei family to a concubine's daughter, but also fought for her name.

Later, Jiang gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl. She suddenly felt that the name "Wei Fu" was too feminine and did not suit her son's masculinity, so she gave the name to her daughter.

After Zhang passed away, Wei Wang felt guilty towards the mother and daughter, so he named his daughter "Rong" as a way of making up for the child.

This behavior alone could cause dissatisfaction among Jiang family members, who claimed that a concubine's daughter could not use such a name, which was beneath her status!

Wei Wang had no choice but to persuade her kindly and let Wei Rong be registered under the name of Jiang as a legitimate daughter, which would also enhance her reputation.

After hearing this, Jiang gave up.

From then on, Jiang doted on her children and indulged them excessively, which led to the two siblings having a high opinion of themselves.

Wei Fu was even more certain that she was the destined daughter of heaven. Not to mention becoming a princess, even becoming a queen would be a piece of cake.

However, the truly outstanding child in the family is Wei Rong.

Wei Rong was a woman of hidden talents from a young age, only to emerge as an adult, revealing her extraordinary qualities. She was a highly motivated and enterprising woman. After entering the palace, even though she started as a humble maid, she had no complaints and fought her way through all the obstacles, eventually ascending to the position of Chief of the Clothing Department.

Because of this, Wei Fu became more and more disgusted with her.

When Wei Rong was not at home, Wei Fu often bullied the servants in her courtyard to vent her dissatisfaction.

Ah Liu is a typical example.

His appearance became extremely ugly due to Wei Fu's torture, and it was difficult for him to find a job in his previous life. The more he thought about it, the more angry he became, and resentment filled his heart. So one night, when the back door of Wei Mansion was unguarded, he climbed over the wall and entered, holding a sharp knife, intending to kill Wei Fu to vent his hatred.

However, he was spotted by the patrolling guards and captured on the spot. Since his indenture had been returned long ago and he was a free man, he could not be killed without authorization. The guards had no choice but to hand him over to the authorities. The authorities convicted him of attempted murder and imprisoned him. He was released three years later...

Xu Zhouye lowered his eyes in thought.

After being released three years later, Ah Liu not only failed to let go of his old hatred, but his hatred for Wei Fu became even deeper.

So, within a year after Wei Fu married another man, he carefully planned and plotted to take his life.

At this time, there is still half a year before Liu can take revenge.