Golden Branch

New Year's Eve.

A strange atmosphere permeated the Lou family manor.

The yard was decorated with lights and maids were coming in and out, and the older men in the family were hanging peach charms and lighting firecrackers.

Crackling and lively.

But because the head of the family, Lou Jin, was not at home, the house was less solemn and serious, and more lively.

However, Mrs. Cui and other female members of the family fell into an inexplicable silence.

"Have you found out? Did Dongyuan hire a palace doctor?"

Mrs. Cui sat cross-legged on a low couch, stroking a string of Buddhist beads in her hand, and asked in a low voice.

Li Ai knelt beside Madam Cui and also lowered her voice as she spoke slowly, "The maid who is in charge of sweeping the East Garden is my newly adopted daughter. Although she cannot serve in the inner courtyard, she can still see who comes in and out of the East Garden."

"A few days ago, Dongyuan did indeed invite a palace doctor. That afternoon, the Lady Lord sent someone to Jizhou to deliver a letter. Within two days, Jizhou received a reply..."

Li Ai was very objective and narrated the maid's report without any subjective consciousness.

Madam Cui frowned slightly: "Female monarch? Humph! How can she be worthy of it!"

A slave girl!

When I was at the Lou family, even if I knelt on the side of the road, Mrs. Cui wouldn't even glance at me.

And it was this lowly slave who, after a few years, transformed herself into Lou Jin's legal wife and even took away the housekeeper's power of the Lou family.

Almost as soon as Dugu came to the manor to kneel down and pay her respects, before noon, Mrs. Cui learned the "truth" from Aunt Li.

Mrs. Cui was so angry that she almost fell over: "Bitch! It turned out to be that bitch!"

He flaunted the stuff he bought with his own money in front of her, and even dared to mock her during the conversation.

Second wife?

So what if she, Cui, is the second wife?

Even though she was a second wife, she was from the world-famous Qinghe Cui family, the most prominent family of foreign relatives in the Great Zhou Dynasty.

What kind of person is that lowly maid? She was bought for a few coins and served as a concubine to warm Lou Jin's bed... Madam Cui felt sick at the thought of being mother-in-law and daughter-in-law with her and having to live in the same room with her.

But, even though she was almost fainting from anger and vomiting to death, she still couldn't vent her anger.

She couldn't even reveal Dugu Mingyue's identity.

This is the rule of the aristocratic families. Even if everyone knows it, as long as it is covered with a "fig leaf", it cannot be exposed.

If Madam Cui disregards this "unspoken rule" and insists on breaking this window paper, she will not only offend Lou Jin, but also the Dugu family.

No matter what Dugu Mingyue's identity was in the past, she is now the daughter recognized by the Dugu family.

To humiliate her is to humiliate the entire Dugu clan.

Madam Cui really didn't dare to provoke the Dugu family, let alone offend Lou Jin.

Her son has not yet started a family, and her daughter has not yet married into a wealthy family. She can only endure it!

It’s too difficult to endure.

Mrs. Cui is really not a good-tempered person.

I suppress myself outside and dare not speak freely.

In her own courtyard, with only her most trusted confidant, Aunt Li, Mrs. Cui would no longer tolerate it.

Hearing Li Ai addressing Dugu Mingyue as "Lady Lady", Madam Cui's eyes were filled with disdain, and she said coldly, "Lou Jin is also a lowly person. He has so many noble ladies to choose from, but insists on having a lowly maid."

"So what if I recognize my kinship with the Dugu family? It's fake, it's fake. Even if this pheasant is given green feathers, it can't turn into a phoenix!"

Aunt Li lowered her head and said nothing.

It was already inappropriate for my own lady to just mutter a few words under her breath.

As a servant, if she continued to agree without knowing the limits, she would be seeking death.

Pretending not to hear Madam Cui's curses, Li Ai continued, "Madam, I suspect the lady is pregnant!"

Li Ai wanted to bribe the court doctor so that she could get accurate information.

Unfortunately, the court doctor was very tight-lipped. Even when Aunt Li offered her a box of silver cakes, he simply refused.

Aunt Li understood this. A few months ago, the Wang family had some trouble because of the court doctor.

The court doctor became a victim of the battle between Wang Lin and Cui.

Regardless of the truth, the result was that the Wang family's doctor was severely punished, and the heads of several major families in Hedong, including the Wang family, strengthened their control over their own doctors.

As the "indirect" party involved in the Wang family's turmoil, Lou Jin paid extra attention to all the slaves and servants in the manor.

Moreover, Lou Jin and Wang Lin are different.

Wang Lin was from a noble family. He was a modest gentleman, gentle and refined. Even when punishing, he would not be too cruel.

Lou Jin, however, came from a military background and his style was simple and rough.

In the inner courtyard, marching sticks and horse whips are not uncommon.

In more serious cases, they were executed directly, but the punishment was nothing more than throwing away a roll of broken mat.

Everyone in the Lou family, including Madam Cui and other masters, have seen Lou Jin's thundering methods, which are cruel and bloody enough.

Therefore, as long as Lou Jin gave the order, no one in the Lou family dared to act rashly.

The servants became more obedient.

The silver given by Li Ai was indeed a lot, but the court doctor felt that even if you have money, you still need life to spend it.

Li Ai was unable to get a definite answer from the court doctor.

However, Li Ai is old and has been working in the inner court for twenty or thirty years, so she is knowledgeable and experienced.

Putting together all the details reported by the little maid, she thought about it for a moment and guessed that Dugu Mingyue might be pregnant.

"Are you happy?"

Mrs. Cui was stunned.

She was just busy scolding the slave girl and didn't listen at all.

Otherwise, with her qualifications and abilities, she would have guessed this.

After calming her thoughts and suppressing her disgust for Dugu Mingyue, Madam Cui thought about it carefully and nodded: "It's possible!"

This lowly maid is so lucky.

At the beginning, Madam Cui selected two stunningly beautiful maids for Lou Jin, and Lou Jin first favored Dugu Mingyue.

Dugu Mingyue quickly captured Lou Jin's heart and quickly became pregnant.

The boy was taken away in one fell swoop, although he was only a concubine's son. However, in the military general's family, the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children was not so strict.

If Lou Jin had not been married, the old general would not have been so intolerant of Dugu Mingyue.

After all, military generals have to go to the battlefield. Brothers fight tigers together, and fathers and sons fight together in battle.

A bastard's son or a bastard's brother is always better than an outsider.

For example, when the old general of the Lou family went to war, he would bring all the male members of the clan with him, regardless of whether they were legitimate or illegitimate children.

As long as any of these clansmen survived or made achievements, it would be the glory of the Lou family.

Lou Jin has no brothers from the same mother, but he has many half-brothers.

In recent years, Lou Jin led his troops to fight in the north and south, and these half-brothers followed him closely and charged into the battlefront, and were no less capable than Lou Jin's personal guards and secret guards.

Lou Jin had a bastard son, which was not considered a serious act of treason.

A slave who gave birth to a bastard son could also be honored as a mother because of her son, and could get some respect in the Lou family.

Although a woman’s value is not just about giving birth, in ancient times, being “good at giving birth” was still a plus for women.

Dugu Mingyue and Lou Jin have been separated for six or seven years. They have only been reunited for three or four months, and she is pregnant again?

Mrs. Cui narrowed her eyes and calculated the date carefully. She estimated that Dugu Mingyue was pregnant just after the two got married.

"Humph, she does have a good belly!"

She is already favored and has given birth to a child. From now on, Dugu Mingyue will definitely be the number one person around Lou Jin!

Mrs. Cui felt so sad.

Her biological son, Shiyilang, just turned sixteen this year and is old enough to get married.

However, Mrs. Cui was determined to find a bride for her son who had everything she wanted: perfect family background, appearance, character, talent, etc. So the plan was delayed.

It’s not that there is no one who meets Mrs. Cui’s requirements, but blind dates are a two-way process.

Mrs. Cui was selective with the bride, and the bride also considered the son of the Lou family.

In Mrs. Cui's eyes, her Shiyilang is perfect in every way and is worthy of being matched with a fairy.

But the fact is that although Lou Shiyilang is the legitimate son of General Zhuguo, he is the second legitimate son and is more than ten years younger than the eldest legitimate son.

The Lou family had long been inherited by the eldest son, and Lou Shiyilang could only get a very small portion, which he had to share equally with his illegitimate sons.

Of course, Mrs. Cui’s dowry can all be given to Shiyilang.

However, what is truly valuable is not those inanimate objects, but military power and tens of thousands of well-trained, strong and brave troops.

Mrs. Cui always treated her son as the apple of her eye and doted on him very much.

Although he did not raise Shiyilang into a prodigal son, he was still a playboy who was neither good at literature nor martial arts.

At the age of sixteen, he had never been to his own military camp, let alone to the battlefield.

He had no military merits, only the honor of Yunqiwei, the seventh rank.

He has no talent, his academic performance is mediocre, and his skills in the four arts of music, chess, calligraphy and painting are also mediocre.

It can be said that apart from his noble birth and decent appearance, he has no other advantages.

I’m not afraid of being laughed at, but Lou Shiyilang is even bullied by Lou Yu!

Lou Shiyilang is already an adult and is half a head taller than Lou Yu.

But Lou Yu is cruel, not only to others, but also to himself.

When fighting starts, there is no risk of death.

If you are not as strong as your opponent, then use all your strength to bite the opponent's weakness and let the opponent's fists fall like raindrops to hit you hard.

I would rather lose a thousand of my own than kill eight hundred enemies.

Lou Shiyilang is a weak young man who grew up in a pampered environment. How could he have ever seen a ruthless man like Lou Yu who was willing to risk his life?

Oh no, it’s not a human, that little beast is a wolf cub.

His eyes were filled with a frightening cold light, and when he opened his mouth, he saw fangs that could bite through a person's throat!

Lou Shiyilang fought with Lou Yu several times, and was injured every time -

Can you believe that Lou Yu could bite off a piece of flesh from his arm?

Another time, Lou Yu's fingers had dug into his eye socket. If the guards hadn't desperately tried to pull them open, his eye would have been ruined!

Under the corridor outside the main hall, Lou Shiyilang and Lou Rang had just returned from outside.

The snow on the ground outside had not yet melted, but Lou Rang put on his clogs.

Walking up the steps, Lou Rang took off his clogs, put on thick footwear, and came to the corridor.

In the corridor, at the door, there were two maids kneeling on the left and right to serve (and also to keep watch).

When they heard the noise, they looked up and saw that the person coming was Shiyilang, so they lowered their heads again.

Although this guy is not a little bully, he is also the sweetheart of the lady.

They are a mother and son, so there is no need to be too particular about formalities.

Lou Rang waved his hand and told the maid not to pass on the message.

He was about to enter when he heard two women talking.

After twitching his ears, Lou Rang recognized that the people who were talking were his mother and Aunt Li.

"...The lady is pregnant, it's a happy occasion!"

There was a distinct sarcasm in Mrs. Cui's words.

She didn't want to see Dugu Mingyue pregnant, but there was someone in the Lou family who didn't want to see her even more.

"Haha, if Dalang knew this good news, he would surely be very happy!"

"He already has a mother, and now she's going to give him a little brother and a little sister...it's really a 'double happiness'."

Whenever Mrs. Cui thought of Dalang's naughty appearance, she couldn't help laughing.

Humph, so what even if Dugu Mingyue is his biological mother?

They are born from the same mother, but the palm and back of the hand are more delicate.

Not to mention, Dugu Mingyue didn't even dare to admit that she was Lou Dalang's biological mother.

They clearly have the same father and mother, but he is his mother's lowly illegitimate child, while his younger brothers and sisters are legitimate sons and daughters of noble birth!

Mrs. Cui was absolutely certain that if Lou Dalang knew the "truth", he would be furious, even crazy.

Unfortunately...I can’t say it!

Even if she was doing something secretly, Madam Cui was not confident that she could really hide it from Lou Jin.

Although Madam Cui has been the mistress of the Lou family for more than ten years, she still doesn't know how many people there are in the Lou family or how much power they have in secret.

Even these servants in the inner courtyard were hers on the surface, but Madam Cui could not guarantee whether they had masters in secret.

Forget it, let’s not take risks easily.

Dugu Mingyue's identity is definitely Lou Jin's Achilles' heel, and touching it means death!

But even if Lou Dalang didn't know the truth, the huge difference between legitimate and illegitimate children was enough to make him explode.

Lou Rang had no idea about Mrs. Cui’s rich inner thoughts. He only heard one key point: his newly married sister-in-law, Dugu, was pregnant!

what!

My sister-in-law is going to give birth to a legitimate son for my brother?

Then, is that brat Lou Dalang going to fall out of favor?

He is no longer the eldest brother's only son and is even a bit of an eyesore. The servants, guards, and even secret guards of the Lou family should not just surround Lou Dalang!

"Haha! Lou Dalang, Lou Dalang, you have come to this day!"

God finally opened his eyes.

"Hahaha! Ye Ye's chance for revenge has come!"

Lou Rang was extremely excited.

The last "adoption incident" was orchestrated by Madam Cui.

Therefore, Lou Rang knew some inside information and did not take the opportunity to "add insult to injury".

And this time, Lou Dalang was really going to fall out of favor, and Lou Rang's blood was boiling.

In his excitement, he couldn't help but reach out and gently touch the inside of his left forearm, where there was a noticeable scar.

The scar is quite hideous. It is not a simple cut or cut, but has some bumps and depressions.

Last year, Lou Dalang, who was only six years old, bit off a small piece of his flesh in one bite.

Then, Lou Rang touched his right eye again.

This spring, Lou Dalang pressed his eye sockets so hard that his fingertips even touched his eyeballs.

He was just a little bit away from being blinded by Lou Dalang!

"You disrespectful little bastard, I've finally waited until you're down and out... Whatever you've put into Yeye, Yeye will definitely pay you back double!"

Lou Rang secretly swears in his heart, and his fair and delicate face is full of sinister look.