Golden Branch

"My son, please give me your greetings!"

When she saw Mrs. Cui, she first greeted her respectfully.

"Let's open it. We're all family, why be so polite?"

Mrs. Cui said she was the old lady, but she was not very old and looked to be in her forties.

She is the second wife and is more than ten years younger than her husband.

When he entered the house, the eldest son born to the original wife, Lou Jin, was already twelve or thirteen years old.

However, Mrs. Cui did not have the arrogance and overbearing nature of Mrs. Cui.

In other words, the Lou family is not a place for Madam Cui to show off her female power.

Although the Cui family is an in-law, the Lou family, as a local family in the northern border, ranks among the top three of the eight great families. For several generations, they have been generals who led troops to fight in battles.

Mrs. Cui was not as confident in the Lou family as Mrs. Cui was in the Wang family.

She was a second wife, and she had no kindness in raising and educating the eldest son, and she also had a lot of illegitimate sons... In the first few years after she got married, Mrs. Cui had a very difficult time in the Lou family.

After she gave birth to two children in succession, General Lou saw that she was doing her duty and gave up some of her power in the family.

Only with the power of housekeeper did Mrs. Cui finally gain a firm foothold in the Lou family.

However, in the past two years, Mrs. Cui's life has not been easy -

The old general passed away. As the eldest son, Lou Jin, who had been honing his skills in the Six Garrisons for many years, directly took over the Lou family's 100,000 troops.

From then on, Lou Jin was in charge of the Lou family.

Mrs. Cui must be thankful that Lou Jin has not yet married, and as a stepmother, she can still rely on her status as a stepmother to be the mistress of the Lou family.

Once Lou Jin marries a new wife, Madam Cui will have to hand over the housekeeping power even if she is unwilling.

Unfortunately, matters like Lou Jin's marriage were not something that Mrs. Cui could interfere with.

At most, she would do some small things in secret.

For example, raising a useless man.

"Auntie, where's Dalang? Why can't I see him?"

"I know you love Dalang the most. When you come to Hedong this time, you will definitely bring Dalang with you."

"For this reason, I even brought my Jiu Niang here. They are of similar age, so we can play together!"

Cui looked around but did not see the illegitimate child.

Yes, bastard!

The so-called Dalang is Lou Jin's only child, but he is not born to his wife.

I heard that his mother was just a maid of Lou Jin.

It was also heard that Lou Jin was extremely fond of this concubine back then, and the old general had even picked out the young lady from the Dugu family for Lou Jin's sake. Unexpectedly, Lou Jin finally postponed the marriage because of this concubine.

In fact, even the Cui family had thought about marrying into the Lou family again.

Among Cui's many sisters, there was one who was of the same age as Lou Jin.

It’s a pity that for the sake of a concubine, Lou Jin almost broke up with the old general.

The old general was furious, and Lou Jinze "requested" to go to the military camp, taking only two hundred personal guards with him, and went to the border town.

Lou Jin was probably a natural born general, good at commanding troops and leading by example.

He took his personal guards to the border town and inflicted heavy damage on a thousand enemy troops of the Rouran, seizing a large number of war horses.

He became famous in one battle and proved with his strength that he was the most suitable heir to the Lou family.

Seeing how outstanding his son was, the old general's anger subsided: It's just a woman, if my son likes her, then let him do it.

A military general's family doesn't have so many red tape and rules.

Moreover, the Lou family's foundation is the army and generals who can win battles. Marriage and the like are not that important.

Of course, no matter how unruly it was, the old general could not agree to let his son marry a slave. The biggest concession he made was not to let his son get married for the time being.

The old general's plan was that his son was already very attached to his concubine, and if he forcibly separated them, it would surely make him even more reluctant to let go.

Just let them be together first and don't force your son to get married.

After a few years, when things have cooled down and there is a suitable young lady of equal status, it won’t be too late to talk about marriage!

Anyway, my son is a man and can afford to be dragged down!

It’s a pity that the old general didn’t live to see the day when he could marry his son to a noble lady.

After the old general passed away, Lou Jin did not make the concubine his wife.

Perhaps as the old general expected, after a few years, Lou Jin had become disgusted with him.

From then on, there was no trace of the concubine in the Lou family anymore, leaving only the son Dalang.

Lou Jin did not marry, nor did he have any other concubines or illegitimate children. Dalang was Lou Jin's only son.

Therefore, Lou Jin cares very much about Dalang.

Everyone in the Lou family looked at Lou Jin's face. He loved his son, so everyone treated Dalang as the little ancestor.

Mrs. Cui wanted to please her stepson, so she volunteered to help Lou Jin look after Dalang.

However, Lou Jin was always wary of his stepmother and did not hand his son over to Madam Cui.

In the past two years, the world was in turmoil. Lou Jin led a large army and wanted to create a career in the troubled times. It was dangerous on the battlefield and it was not convenient to bring a child with him, so Lou Jin temporarily entrusted Dalang to Madam Cui.

Mrs. Cui was very attentive and considerate to Dalang, even completely obedient!

In just two years, Dalang, who was originally just a naughty boy, was directly "spoiled" by Mrs. Cui and turned into a naughty child who was hated by everyone and hated by God.

A bastard boy of seven or eight years old is still unruly and disobedient. Haha, even if Lou Jin has soldiers and power, no noble family that loves their daughter would be willing to marry him.

Mrs. Cui: ...This is not really a conspiracy.

As a grandmother, it is perfectly normal for her to love her grandson because of the generation gap.

How can it be considered as "overpraising"?

There are many old grandmothers like this in the capital. Are they all black-hearted and vicious women?

When it comes to Dalang, Mrs. Cui's thoughts begin to surge.

There was no expression on her face, she was still a dignified yet kind woman.

On Cui's side, Wang Heng had already been pushed forward.

"Jiu Niang, come and meet Madam Cui!"

Cui urged.

Wang Heng did not hesitate. Although she was a little fatter, her demeanor was excellent.

Clenching her two chubby little fists together, Wang Heng said respectfully, "Ajiu greets the Madam!"

"Okay! Get up!"

"Are you the Ninth Lady of the Wang Family? You are so beautiful!"

As expected of the daughter of the most beautiful lady, Jiang, she is a bit fatter than other little girls, but she doesn't look obese. Instead, she looks sweet, cute and lovely.

To be honest, such a plump, soft and tender girl is simply the dream granddaughter of grandmothers.

Mrs. Cui's son is about to get married, and when the new bride comes home, she will give her a grandson.

If there was such a lovely young lady, Mrs. Cui would definitely be very happy.

Unfortunately, such a good child not only belongs to someone else's family, but is also in a hostile relationship with my own niece.

Mrs. Cui has lived for half her life and has been in the inner palace for twenty or thirty years. How could she not see Cui's calculations?

"...Well, she's my niece after all. If I can help her solve her 'trouble', I'll do it."

"Besides, if a quarrel really breaks out, it will not only embarrass Ninth Lady Wang but also add another layer of guilt to that little bastard's crime. If there's a chance to settle accounts in the future, it will be even more evidence of his guilt!"

Kill two birds with one stone. The key is that she doesn't have to do it herself, so Mrs. Cui is happy to watch the show.

The thoughts in her heart could not be described as beautiful or kind, but Mrs. Cui's face showed an increasingly warm and loving smile.

Seeing this, not only the children, but also Fu's mother, Bai Zhi and others who followed Wang Heng closely could not help but admire: Mrs. Cui is different from Lady Cui, she is a kind person.

Only Wang Heng looked dazed on the surface, but she had an inexplicable bad feeling in her heart.

I always feel that the lady in front of me with a kind smile on her face is like an old fox with squinting eyes and a smile.

She suppressed her fear and continued to act like an obedient, almost dumb child.

Hearing Mrs. Cui's praise, she lowered her head embarrassedly, and her ears and cheeks flushed.

"How old are you? What do you like to do on weekdays? What do you like to eat?"

Mrs. Cui is indeed more patient and shrewd than Mrs. Cui.

Even though he was already planning to "go with the flow" against Wang Heng, he was not in the least bit anxious.

She continued to chat gently with Wang Heng about daily life.

Wang Heng replied obediently, "Jiuniang is six years old! She loves to eat! She loves to eat anything delicious!"

When talking about food, Wang Heng's eyes couldn't help but sparkle.

Madam Cui: ...Is this the young lady from the Wang family?

Even if you are young, you shouldn't like to eat all the time.

Even if she said she liked playing games or playing with the maids, people would describe her as "lively".

How can I praise someone for liking to eat something?

Mrs. Cui secretly complained in her heart. Although Wang Heng's behavior was beyond her expectations, she still perfectly controlled her emotions and expressions.

"Great! Being able to eat is a blessing! Jiu Niang likes to eat, she is blessed!"

Mrs. Cui barely managed to find an excuse of "blessed" and boasted a little.

Since food was mentioned, Madam Cui tried to bring up the topic: "Nine Lady, have you ever tried lotus seeds? Lotus root? Or fried lotus flowers?"

"The lotus flowers on our farm are in full bloom, and they've even produced lotus pods, which contain lotus seeds..."

Mrs. Cui is indeed a woman who is good at domestic fighting. She is not only scheming, but also knows a lot.

When it comes to delicious food, Mrs. Cui can also talk about it vividly, which only arouses Wang Heng's appetite.

"I've never had lotus seeds! I want to! And fried lotus flowers!"

Wang Heng answered obediently, without any reserve as a guest.

Fu's mother and Bai Zhi: ...

The two of them wanted to cover their faces with their sleeves. Jiu Niang, I've reminded you not to show your greedy look in public.

It's really not decent.

There's no need for Ms. Cui to deliberately frame you. If your reputation for being a glutton gets back home, your strict grandmother will punish you severely!

"Let's go to the pavilion over there and have someone prepare some lotus seeds and fried lotus flowers."

After exchanging pleasantries, Mrs. Cui sent someone to take Wang Heng to the pavilion beside the lotus pond.

Dalang had disappeared, but after raising him for two years, Mrs. Cui had already roughly figured out his temper.

The waterside, the rockery side... the more dangerous it is, the more likely these bastards will go there to play!

Even if Dalang is not by the lotus pond now, sending Wang Jia Jiuniang over there with great fanfare will attract that little beast.

Then...kill two birds with one stone!

……

Wang Heng obediently followed the maid to the pavilion, sat at the stone table, and began to eat, eat, and eat in front of the table full of delicious food!

Suddenly, with a bang, a package of something was thrown on the table.

"what!"

"Toad!"

"They jumped out! Ahhhhh~~~"

Suddenly, the maids' cries and screams could be heard in the elegant pavilion...

PS: Small theater——

Lou Yu: My family, who understands? The first time I saw her, I “gave” her a bunch of frogs!

Wang Heng: My family, who would understand that the Prince's Grand Tutor and the Minister of the Chancellery, who are now powerful in the court, were once a naughty child who liked to play with toads when he was young!