Golden Branch

Lou Yu still doesn't know who his biological mother is, and starts to make trouble in secret again.

After seeing the carriage of the Duke of Anguo's Mansion completely disappear at the street corner, he turned around and entered the courtyard.

Lou Yu walked through the layers of courtyards with great familiarity, went to the back mountain, and then crossed the back mountain to the princess's mansion.

In the main hall of Haitang Courtyard, Wang Heng leaned casually on the armchair, holding the newly bound Wang family rules in her hand.

This book of family rules was written by Wang Heng herself.

Every word she wrote was filled with her heart and soul.

Wang Heng studied it carefully, checked for omissions and filled in the gaps, and after confirming that it was correct, she handed it over to the printing workshop for woodblock printing.

The copy Wang Heng made herself will be sent to the ancestral hall for worship.

The other printed copies were distributed to the six younger brothers and sisters, the Wang family members, and even the servants in the house.

Maids such as Bai Wei and Bai Shao knelt on one side, gathered around a small table, busy with the clanging and clacking of things.

“…Bai Shao, add some more essential oil!”

Wang Heng's eyes were always on the book in her hand, but she would occasionally glance at the maids out of the corner of her eye.

She would give orders from time to time.

"Yes!"

Bai Shao agreed, picked up a small and exquisite glass bottle, opened the cork, and carefully poured a few drops of essential oil into the copper bowl.

Then, she continued to use the pestle and started pounding it.

In the copper bowl, bright flower petals, sweet beeswax, essential oils, several medicinal herbs, etc. are all mixed together.

A hint of fragrance quietly spreads in the air.

Lou Yu strode to the corridor, took off his shoes, and walked in wearing only his footwear.

Outside the door, Lou Yu, who had keen senses, smelled the fragrance.

After he entered the main hall, he scanned the entire place with his fox eyes and naturally saw the busy Bai Shao and others.

"Brother!"

Wang Heng heard the subtle footsteps and knew who was coming without even looking up.

She called out affectionately, raised her head, and saw a tall, upright figure in the bright light and shadow.

She smiled brightly, put aside the family rules, and asked softly, "I heard that my brother had a distinguished guest? Has the distinguished guest left?"

What a good "I heard".

Lou Yu entered the princess's mansion as if he were in an empty place.

Wang Heng also knew everything about the Duke of Qi's Mansion.

As soon as Madam Dugu and her two young ladies stepped into the gate of Duke Qi's Mansion, Wang Heng received the news.

Wang Heng knew Lou Yu too well, and was even more familiar with the grudge between Lady Dugu and Lou Yu, the mother and son.

She didn't need to be there to guess how they would end up in a bad mood.

At this moment, when Wang Heng mentioned the word "distinguished guest", there was a hint of joking in her tone.

"Well! Ah Heng doesn't need to care about unimportant people!"

Lou Yu spoke casually, but his hands behind his back were gently stroking the white jade sword.

Madam Dugu once again crossed his bottom line.

Although he would not succeed, he was still disgusted.

Why can't this person recognize reality?

Why are you always so self-righteous?

He must be too idle, that's why he always wants to interfere in other people's lives.

A dark light flashed in Lou Yu's fox eyes, which were almost identical to Madam Dugu's:

It seems that he needs to find something for Madam Dugu to do.

If you are busy taking care of yourself, you will have no time to take care of others.

Lou Yu pondered secretly, and his body had already sat down next to Wang Heng out of habit.

Wang Heng leaned to the side, picked up the teapot, poured a cup of tea, and personally handed the teacup to Lou Yu.

"Thank you for your hard work, Ah Heng!"

Taking the teacup, Lou Yu smiled.

He took a sip and did not put the teacup down immediately, but played with it in his hand.

"Brother, you also said that you don't need to worry about insignificant people."

Wang Heng has always been perceptive and knows Lou Yu well enough to accurately capture the fleeting dark light in his eyes.

She looked at Lou Yu with concern and said softly, "They are not worth it."

Wang Heng didn't know what Madam Dugu had done, but her brother must have been disgusted.

Considering the two unmarried girls she brought to the Duke's Mansion, it was not difficult for Wang Heng to imagine that Madam Dugu must be dissatisfied with Lou Yu's marriage and was trying to fill Lou Yu's backyard with women.

Tsk, this Madam Dugu is also hypocritical.

She monopolizes her husband's love and will not tolerate him having concubines, but she is eager to send concubines to her son.

She completely put herself in the shoes of her mother-in-law and forgot the saying "Do not do to others what you do not want others to do to you."

And Lou Jin never really cared about Lou Yu.

Of that couple, one was self-righteous and self-satisfied, while the other was selfish and cold-hearted, with no compassion at all.

This was the case ten years ago, and it has become even worse now.

They have never pitied or loved Lou Yu, but always acted like a close relative and elder... That couple has an unshirkable responsibility for the brother's twisted mind, viciousness and perversion!

Even though Wang Heng and Lou Yu had been like enemies because of their marriage, in fact, Wang Heng valued Lou Yu the most and felt sorry for him.

Wang Heng comforted him softly, trying to soothe the pain Lou Yu felt because of his biological parents.

She caught a glimpse from the corner of her eye that Bai Wei had already prepared the contents of the copper bowl and put them into small porcelain bottles.

She turned slightly and reached out to pick up a small porcelain bottle.

"Brother, this is some fresh lip balm. Would you like to try it?"

As she spoke, Wang Heng naturally extended her index finger, gently dipped a little into the small porcelain bottle, and then applied it on Lou Yu's lips.

This is a game they have been playing since they were young.

If Wang Heng got something new and interesting, she would share it with Lou Yu first.

Lou Yu's amber pupils shrank slightly.

He only saw the familiar person suddenly approaching him, and a beautiful face instantly magnified in his retina.

Accompanying it is the subtle sweet scent of lychee.

"……litchi?"

Lou Yu's usually clear and rational brain suddenly stopped working for a short time.

He blurted out what was in his mind.

"Wrong! Brother, this isn't lychee flavored, it's made with rose essential oil!"

Wang Heng was like a naughty child who had successfully played a prank. After leaving a trace of rouge on Lou Yu's thin lips, she quickly withdrew her hand.

She said with a smile, "Brother, if you don't believe me, you can try it! I added beeswax, and this lip balm not only has a floral scent, but is also very sweet!"

As Wang Heng suddenly pulled away, the disturbing sweet fragrance also disappeared in an instant.

A sense of loss flashed through Lou Yu's heart.

The word "lip balm" is like a curse.

Lou Yu couldn't help but lock his eyes on Wang Heng's pink lips.

Wang Heng's lips are very beautiful. A thin layer of light-colored lip balm makes her lips look fuller and more beautiful.

Lou Yu just watched the little mouth opening and closing, and had no time to pay attention to what she said.

It seems like giving him a "taste"!

Is it, is it the way of tasting that he knows?

Suddenly, many poems he had read and the intimate scenes he had seen in brothels popped up in his mind. Boom, Lou Yu's face turned red again.

He just felt dry mouth and hot all over.

Instinctively, he hurriedly brought the teacup in his hand to his mouth and drank all the tea in one gulp without paying any attention to tea drinking etiquette.

The lip balm left on Wang Heng's lips stained the rim of the sweet white porcelain cup.

A touch of spring, my heart beats like a drum.

"Brother?"

Wang Heng was somewhat baffled by Lou Yu and asked in confusion, "I asked you to lick your lips and taste the lip balm, so why are you drinking tea?"

Lou Yu: ...

Just thinking about it would kill him, and if he "tasted" it again -

boom!

Can't think any more!

Fireworks exploded in Lou Yu's brain.

He took a deep breath and tried to look away from the pink lips painted with lipstick.

Lou Yu clenched the white jade crushing seal on his thumb and changed the subject abruptly in a slightly hoarse voice:

"Have the Jiang family been settled? Are they still behaving well?"

Wang Heng, who has not yet come to her senses, is flirting with others without realizing it, and instead thinks that Lou Yu is abnormal.

Although she muttered to herself, she still followed Lou Yu's wishes and did not pursue the topic of lip balm anymore.

She nodded. "They've been settled in the house at the front street corner. Mother has also sent eunuchs and found palace maids to teach them the rules!"

As for whether people are at peace or not, Wang Heng is hard to say.

Jiang Yuan seems to be an okay person.

Jiang Fuli and other young men from the Jiang family seem to be okay too.

It was Jiang Si Niang——

"She wanted to change her name to 'Si', but her mother didn't allow it and gave her 'Si' instead."

The two words have the same pronunciation, so in order to make it easier for people to distinguish them, Wang Heng simply dipped her fingers in tea and wrote the specific words on the floor.

"Hmm! Your Majesty is absolutely right. The word 'thinking' is excellent!"

Lou Yu lowered his head, the tips of his ears were still red.

However, he had already controlled his turbulent emotions and nodded, "In the future, I will send someone to keep an eye on Jiang Si."

She changed her name when she arrived in Beijing, and the name she changed also started with the character for "female" like A'heng. If you say that she has no ulterior motives, it would be an insult to Mr. Lou's intelligence.

To Lou Yu, Wang Heng is the most noble and unique.

Even though Jiang Si looks somewhat similar to Wang Heng, Lou Yu will never allow her to offend Wang Heng.

"Fortunately, Imperial Concubine Jiang is a smart person and can clearly distinguish between relatives and strangers!"

Lou Yu secretly sighed in his heart and was very impressed by Concubine Jiang's ability to distinguish between her own daughter and niece.

……

Concubine Jiang's attitude also made the Jiang family feel -

They are indeed Concubine Jiang's family, but Concubine Jiang cares most about her children.

Let's just call her Jiang Si. After all, it was the name given by the imperial concubine, so it's somewhat respectable.

Jiang Si: ...

She felt very disappointed that she couldn't become Jiang Si.

Especially, I understood the "bottom line" of the imperial concubine.

It seems that if you want to become the most beloved younger generation of Auntie, you still need to work harder.

"I was too impatient. I revealed my thoughts before I even met Auntie!"

"I should meet Auntie, let her see with her own eyes how much I resemble her, win her favor, and then—"

"But don't worry! I'll be able to see Auntie in a few days."

"And Wang Jiu, she'll be leaving Beijing soon. Without her, Auntie will only have me, her niece who looks like her..."

Taking advantage of someone's weakness wasn't a conspiracy. She was a filial aunt, willing to serve her elders...