Golden Branch

In the attic, fireworks flashed in the distance.

The battle to encircle and suppress the bandits ended quickly and perfectly.

Wang Mian put down her clairvoyance and turned to look at Wang Heng. She tried to hold back, but in the end, she couldn't help it:

"Jiu Niang, do you trust Lou Yu so much? Have you ever suspected that he might change his heart?"

Wang Mian thought carefully about what had happened in the past two or three months. Now that he knew the outcome, he looked at it again from a God's perspective and found that Lou Yu's "change of heart" was indeed a bit abrupt.

But, it’s really hard to say what’s in people’s hearts.

What Lou Yu once showed was his "indifference" towards Wang Heng and his preference for Zheng Shisan.

Wang Mian saw it with his own eyes, so he naturally believed it.

"Why do you doubt my brother?"

Wang Heng held the Clairvoyance, a long copper tube that looked quite heavy.

"My brother and I grew up together. We only have each other!"

As I said, even if she and Lou Yu could not be husband and wife, they were still siblings who supported each other.

"Only each other?"

Wang Mian was stunned for a moment, then she remembered -

Lou Yu had a father and a mother, but was adopted;

Wang Heng's mother was not around and her father was not kind to her, so she was left in Zhuangzi.

Wang Mian only remembered that the two little ones came from good families, had servants at their command, and lived a life of wealth and luxury.

But they forget that their original families were not happy.

Two lonely souls, because of their childhood fate, snuggle together and keep each other warm.

Over the years, the relationship between them is no longer a simple love between a man and a woman, but a mixture of family affection, friendship and many other emotions.

Lou Yu pampered Wang Heng, and Wang Heng witnessed all of Lou Yu's transformations.

In the hearts of both of them, each other is the most important person to the other.

As for the "change of heart" mentioned by Wang Mian, it seems rather flimsy and ridiculous.

How could they change their hearts so easily when they are not even in love?

"Perhaps, it's because Jiu Niang hasn't gotten the hang of it yet."

"Or perhaps, she is 'fearless because she is favored'!"

Wang Mian was guessing silently in his heart.

Suddenly, Wang Mian thought of a classic melodramatic scene from ancient puppet shows and fairy tales—

"So, Jiu Niang, if that substitute hadn't been there today, and you were really kidnapped by Lou Rang, and Lou Rang had his men kidnap Zheng Shisan Niang, if you had to choose between you and Zheng Shisan to rescue, Lou Yu would have chosen you without hesitation, right?"

"Me and Shisan Niang? Were kidnapped by Lou Rang? Lou Rang wants you to choose between us? Whoever you choose, will Lou Rang let go?"

Wang Heng confirmed all the details again.

Wang Mian nodded, "Yes! Lou Rang wants Lou Yu to choose between the two. Only the one he chooses will live!"

In many melodramatic dramas with sadomasochistic plots, the male protagonist does not choose the female protagonist for various reasons, but chooses the supporting female character.

A moment of willfulness leads to the loss of loved ones.

Then, there are all kinds of wife-chasing crematoriums.

Before traveling through time, Wang Mian watched many short plays with similar plots, and he really wanted to know whether such a tragic love story would happen in "reality"?

Wang Heng smiled, "No! Brother won't choose me! He'll choose Zheng Shisan!"

Wang Mian: ...Ah?!

"Why, why?"

Lou Yu values ​​Wang Heng the most.

And Wang Heng also believed in Lou Yu 100%.

However, when faced with this difficult situation where she had to choose between two options, why was Wang Heng so sure that Lou Yu would not choose her?

Wang Heng's brilliant smile was tinged with a hint of cunning: "Because, brother, you have a keen eye for people's hearts and understand Lou Rang."

"Lou Rang said that only those chosen by my brother can live. In fact, Lou Rang is a dark and vicious person. The more someone is chosen by my brother, the more he will kill them!"

"Brother, in order to save me, naturally wouldn't choose me. He must confuse Lou Rang, so that he can successfully save me!"

Wang Mian: ...

Although, but, Wang Heng's words really make a lot of sense.

Combining Wang Mian's understanding of Lou Yu, and thinking carefully, he realized that if such a thing really happened, Lou Yu would most likely make the same choice as Wang Heng guessed!

As a viewer, Wang Mian cares about the plot and the extreme tug-of-war between the male and female protagonists.

But the reality is not a TV drama. Wang Heng, Lou Yu and other nobles always value human hearts and logic!

Wang Mian completely realized the gap between Lou Yu, Wang Heng and himself, not only in their social status, but also in their understanding of human nature.

I was indeed too naive.

Being tested by others doesn't seem so difficult to accept for someone like me.

"...Huh? Isn't that Tachibana?!"

Wang Mian didn't want to dwell on these topics anymore, so he wanted to change the subject.

By chance, I caught a glimpse of an orange-red ball out of the corner of my eye and blurted out, "I haven't seen it for a few days, and it's fatter again!"

Big oranges are the most important. This is a true saying.

Wang Mian waved at the cat, who was used to getting free food and drinks from Wang Heng: "Mimi! Come here!"

A cat slave stopped and turned his head, revealing a small round face with fluffy hair, full of dominance.

A pair of vertical pupils looked at Wang Mian, as if saying: What are you miming? You are the one who is miming? Your whole family is miming!

Please call me Director Li!

Wang Heng also saw Li Nu, a fat cat who had been with her since she was five or six years old.

All the way from Wangjiawu Fort in Yizhou to Wangjiazhuangzi in Hedong.

Although this raccoon was quite wild and difficult to tame, it was unwilling to recognize her as its master and never regarded Wang Heng's home as its home.

You rarely see a cat, but it comes and goes freely, eating and drinking for free.

However, Wang Heng still firmly believed that this was her cat slave.

Because every time she needs a raccoon slave, it will appear.

"Raccoon slave!"

Wang Heng didn’t call out anything like Juzuo, which was weird. The key point was that Li Nu didn’t buy it.

Look, Wang Mian is called Ju Zuo, and Li Nu is arrogant and indifferent.

When Wang Heng called out "Li Nu", it came to Wang Heng, wagging its tail and shaking its fleshy body.

Wang Mian: ...I respectfully call you "Ju Zuo", but you ignore me?

What an ungrateful cat master!

Although he was complaining in his heart, it did not stop Wang Mian from squatting down and petting the cat with Wang Heng.

I have to say that Ju Zao's body is furry, shiny and smooth, and its body is as big as a gas tank, thick and soft.

When you touch it, the feeling is amazing!

However, Li Nu bared his teeth at Wang Mian and tried to throw a cat punch.

Wang Heng knew her cat slave best. Before petting the cat, she took out a few dried fish from the small bamboo basket on her waist.

She raised her hand and gave two to Wang Mian.

Wang Mian: ...

Well, if you want to pet the cat, you give it dried fish first, which is a fair trade.

The key point is that without the dried fish, the cat won’t let you touch it.

Wang Mian took the dried fish and brought it to Ju Zuo. Only then did Ju Zuo stop baring his teeth and put away his fat paws.

Snort! Snort!

The cat slave was enjoying the meal, so he stretched out his body and let the two little girls touch him.

Wang Mian groped his way from the back to the softer belly.

"Huh? Jiu Niang, I, why do I feel like there's something wrong with Ju Za?"

"What's wrong?"

"Its belly doesn't look like it's just fat, instead it looks like, like..." holding the kitten in her arms.

Wang Mian was unsure, so after thinking for a moment, he asked, "Jiu Niang, how old is Ju Zuo?"

Wang Mian has known Wang Heng for seven years, and this fat orange cat was there since then.

In other words, it is at least seven years old.

A seven-year-old cat is not young anymore and seems to have passed the best reproductive age.

"Rinko is at least seven years old!"

Wang Heng thought about it carefully and said uncertainly, "When I first saw it, it looked like a big cat."

Not the cubs!

"It seems that Juza hasn't had any cubs in the past few years!"

This is not normal for a semi-feral cat.

Wang Mian couldn't help but wonder, "Or did Ju Zuo give birth to kittens before, but outside?"

"I don't think so! Although the raccoon slave comes and goes frequently, the longest time he stays outside is no more than a month."

If the cat had given birth outside at this time, Wang Heng would have noticed it.

Giving birth may only take one or two days.

But a cat's gestation period is not just one or two months.

If the cat slave had a kitten in her arms, Wang Heng would definitely notice it when she was petting the cat.

such as--

"Hey! Amian, you're right, Li Nu's belly is indeed unusual!"

"Let's go find the court doctor!"

Wang Heng became excited when she thought that the cat she was raising might have kittens.

She bent down and picked up the raccoon slave, uh, she almost sprained her waist.

Everyone says she is fat, let her say, this raccoon is fat.

A cat is so heavy.

Seeing this, Wang Mian quickly reached out to help.

Two little girls carried the orange seat and went downstairs step by step.

The court doctor who was called in to work overtime on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival:...It’s okay to be forced to work overtime, but the patient is actually a little beast!

The workers' grievances are almost turning into reality.

But he couldn't have an attack yet.

He greeted the patient respectfully and diligently examined her. "I'm not a veterinarian, so I'm not good at treating livestock. However, this raccoon is indeed pregnant."

She's not just pregnant, she's almost due to give birth!

In a few days, a litter of kittens should be born.

If it were a human, the court doctor would say congratulations and then receive a red envelope from the master.

But this is——

Before the court doctor could finish his silent complaints, Wang Heng's joyful voice was heard: "Li Nu is really going to be my mother! How wonderful!"

Wang Heng was happy, and Bai Zhi, who was following her, knew what to do.

Without Wang Heng's instructions, Bai Zhi took out a purse and handed it to the court physician personally: "Thank you! Thank you for your hard work!"

The court doctor took the purse with familiarity and squeezed it gently with his fingers. Wow, it was hard and round.

This is a silver cake!

At least three or four taels.

It's enough for him to earn half a month's allowance.

Working overtime during the holidays is really annoying.

However, the reward was generous, and the court doctor felt that the more overtime work like this, the better!

……

People's sorrows and joys are not the same, even if they are biological mother and daughter.

Wang Heng was happy about the upcoming little life, but Concubine Jiang was a little troubled because of the letter from the ancients.

"This is--"

Concubine Jiang saw Ah Chu's complicated expression and couldn't help but feel curious: "Who wrote the letter?"

An old friend?

To her, there are not many people who can be called old friends.

However, the first person Concubine Jiang eliminated was Wang Lin.

Concubine Jiang had already decided to completely cut off ties with this bastard when she had tricked him into the capital.

Concubine Jiang ordered that all letters from Wang Lin should be rejected.

Even if you have to accept it for some reason, you are not allowed to give it to her.

Achu was her confidant, an old man who accompanied her from her natal family to the Wang family and then to the Yang family. He knew her suffering and understood her resentment. Achu hated Wang Lin even more.

Achu would never disobey her master for Wang Lin.

Therefore, the letter from an old friend in Achu's hand was definitely not from Wang Lin.

"Yes, Ah Zhu!"

Achu said softly.

Speaking of which, she and Ah Zhu used to be good sisters who could talk about anything.

They were all born into the Jiang family as slaves. They grew up together, were chosen together to serve the lady, and accompanied her when she got married.

However, in the Jiang family, the lives of the two began to differ.

At that time, my wife was pregnant, and Madam Xie was watching her closely, always trying to find an opportunity to make things difficult for her.

The lady decided to take the initiative and take the initiative to find a concubine for Wang Lin.

As for the choice of concubine, it would naturally be her maid who came with her as a dowry.

The lady called all of them to her side and asked them one by one what they thought.

Achu was very determined. She would not marry, let alone become a concubine to her husband. She just wanted to stay by her wife's side.

Ah Zhu was a little hesitant.

Although she said that she wanted to serve the lady, both the lady and Achu could see her intention.

Come to think of it, it makes sense. Regardless of Wang Lin's character and ability, he does have a good appearance.

He was born into a noble family, well-read, handsome, elegant, and had a noble temperament.

Not to mention Ah Zhu, a servant, even some young noble ladies would blush and be moved when they saw Wang Lin.

The lady was such a smart person, and her eyes were so sharp that she saw through Ah Zhu's little thoughts at a glance. She did not care about it, but sent Ah Zhu to Wang Lin's study.

In this way, Azhu became Wang Lin's concubine.

Although Ah Zhu had some small thoughts, she was always respectful to Jiang.

Although she was favored, she never showed off in front of Jiang.

In the inner house, she helped Jiang a lot, both openly and secretly.

Jiang was neither disappointed nor resentful towards Ah Zhu.

After all, it was she who was to choose the concubine from the maids who came with the dowry. If it wasn't Azhu, it would have been someone else.

Later, Jiang was forced to leave the Wang family through divorce.

She only took Ah Chu away, while Ah Zhu stayed behind.

From then on, Jiang never contacted Azhu again.

I just vaguely heard that Ah Zhu's life was not easy.

Come to think of it, a domineering person like Cui couldn't even tolerate a daughter born from a divorced wife, let alone a bitch like Ah Zhu who could take away her husband?!

"...When I was in Yizhou, Ah Zhu never wrote to me. Now, after seven or eight years, why is Ah Zhu writing to me again..."

Concubine Jiang was confused and alarm bells were ringing in her heart.

With her status and at such a sensitive time, she would never dare to ignore the slightest "abnormality".

"My lady, as far as I know, Ah Zhu gave birth to two sons and one daughter for Wang Lin over the years, but all of them died young."

Most of these children died of illness or had accidents after Cui married into the family.

You can figure out the truth with just your toes.

"This letter was sent to Prince Qi's mansion by Ah Zhu three months ago."

By then, Concubine Jiang had already left the capital, and the letter fell into the hands of Princess Li. Princess Li did not withhold it, but instead found a way to have someone deliver it to Concubine Jiang.

"Azhu is pregnant again. She's worried she won't be able to keep the baby, so she wants to ask for your help..."

At that time, she just wanted to help, but as Wang Lin was dismissed from office and the Wang family was raided, all Ah Zhu wanted to pray for was probably "to be entrusted with the care of her orphan"!