Noble Lady

At that time, He Mansion.

He Minzhi had dinner with Liu at Ciwenyuan. Ji Minrou was also there. After dinner, she pestered He Minzhi to come over and accompany her in the evening.

"Cousin, you promised me last night. You were with Aunt Zhao the whole time. You can't let my unborn child never see his father, right? This is your eldest son, cousin~"

If it is said that Ji Minrou would try to cover up a little before, now Ji Minrou doesn't care about anything.

When pretending to be weak failed to achieve her goal, she could no longer pretend and changed to a persistent tactic.

He Minzhi frowned. Since returning home, Ji Minrou had used this trick countless times, and he was a little tired of it.

But he couldn't speak directly. After all, Ji Minrou was his mother's most beloved cousin, and she was pregnant with his own child.

Just yesterday, his mother warned him, "Rou'er got pregnant for you without any official status. It's natural for a pregnant woman to have a bad temper. You have to understand that."

"I really didn't want to see you like this at first, but the die is cast. Even for the sake of the child in her belly—your own flesh and blood—you can't treat her unfairly."

He Minzhi seriously suspected that it was because of the several thousand taels of silver brought by his cousin, Mrs. Ji, that his mother changed her mind.

But she only knows how to talk about the child all day long, and she talks about the child all the time. Although they are both pregnant, Xiaocao is not as pretentious as her.

Xiaocao is still in charge of the household affairs.

"Rou'er, Aunt Zhao is also pregnant with my child, just like you. She also has to take care of household chores. Logically, you should go to her room tonight."

The grass next to her rolled her eyes in her heart: She always talks about the eldest son, but she is so sure that it will be a son before the baby is born. Can't it be a daughter?

Also, He Minzhi, this concubine doesn't really care about you. Don't use me as a shield!

"Sir, since my cousin doesn't have a status, she feels insecure. You should take time to spend more time with her." Xiaocao advised virtuously, "It's okay, Xiaocao."

Why was she pretending to be generous? He Minzhi frowned in dissatisfaction and didn't let go. Could it be that she couldn't understand what he meant?

But when he looked at the grass, he found that she was winking at him.

It turned out that she was trying to save herself.

He Minzhi was relieved. "Aunt Zhao is very considerate. Rou'er, you must be understanding. My reinstatement is imminent, and I have official duties to attend to. I will stay in the study tonight."

As soon as these words came out.

Xiaocao had a faint smile on her face, bowed and said yes.

Ji Minrou's face was about to turn green, but she couldn't lose her temper in front of Liu, otherwise she would be accused of being petty.

"Aunt, cousin, Rou'er will take her leave first." Ji Minrou could only hold back her anger, bowed perfunctorily, and left.

Xiaocao just glanced at her and then stood up and left.

The two inevitably met at the door.

But no matter how unfriendly Ji Minrou's look was, Xiaocao didn't care, then turned around and leisurely returned to her own yard.

She didn't say any useless nonsense and did everything a concubine in charge of the household should do.

It was no surprise that Ji Minrou suffered a setback. It all came down to the fact that she had previously set her own image too high.

She insisted on pretending to be a generous, sensible, gentle and considerate virtuous woman, but this was her backlash.

In Ciwenyuan.

Ji Minrou and Xiaocao left one after another.

He Minzhi, who was about to leave, sat down instead. "Mother, you hinted that your son should stay. Do you have any instructions?"

Liu waved her hand expressionlessly, "You all should leave."

After that, Mother Huang and Shitou tactfully left, and Shitou even considerately closed the door.

Liu listened to the footsteps fade away before she said, "Da Lang, you're about to be reinstated, so be careful in everything you do. Do you think you can use that Sun Ping'an against Fang Xue Chenyu?"

"Don't worry, mother. Since I was able to bring people to the capital, I am absolutely sure that I can defeat the Xue family!" He Minzhi vowed.

"That's good." Liu nodded contentedly, "But remember, don't underestimate the enemy. Xue Chenyu is not someone you can easily deal with."

She had underestimated Xue Chenyu before, believing that she had already married into the He family and was the He family's daughter-in-law, so naturally she was at their mercy.

Who would have thought that she was such a rebellious person that she even dared to resist, and was so cunning that she caused such a big scandal that Dalang and the He family are still criticized by people today.

"Don't worry, mother. I know what I'm doing. This time I will keep a close eye on that bitch and won't give her a chance to turn things around." He Minzhi vowed, as if he was already sure of victory.

Seeing that he was full of confidence, Liu stopped trying to persuade him and instead asked a few questions about his journey out of Jingzhao Prefecture.

He Minzhi was very cautious and kept silent about it.

"Mother, please don't worry about these things. I have a son here who will never let you go back to the hard life you had before. Once the Wu'an Marquis's Mansion falls, mother will definitely be the envied consort of Shengjing!"

Mrs. Liu couldn't stand hearing such words. Her heart was suddenly soothed. "Okay, okay, then mother will be waiting for your good news."

In an instant, she seemed to see the third-grade imperial robe and the golden book flying towards her.

Although Liu had suffered two major losses, he still didn't learn his lesson.

She took all her son's promises seriously, without considering that he almost made her so angry that she couldn't breathe, and she didn't want him to mortgage the house.

Mother Huang actually heard the conversation inside at the door and shook her head speechlessly.

This old lady hasn't suffered enough.

After making a promise to his mother, He Minzhi left Ciwenyuan with big strides and light steps.

At this moment, his mind was full of the scene where Sun Ping'an came and beat Xue Chenyu to a pulp, ruining her reputation.

However, he did not consider at all that if he asked the Xue family to deal with Xue Chenyu, he would also risk being ruined and becoming homeless.

……

As night fell, Chunhua walked quickly towards the courtyard where Xiaocao lived with a joyful look on her face.

Ever since the second branch moved out of the He Mansion, its courtyard was vacated and used as a separate courtyard for He Minzhi's female relatives.

Ji Minrou and Xiaocao were each given a small courtyard, and they happened to face each other's door, which was a bit ironic.

However, Xiaocao herself didn't mind, but Ji Minrou did mind. But who would care whether she minded or not?

Chunhua looked at the door opposite, then turned and went into her own yard.

"Aunt." Chunhua stopped at the door.

Xiaocao, who was combing her hair, stopped immediately when she heard footsteps coming back.

When Chunhua's voice came from the door, she immediately sat up straight and said, "Chunying, you go down first." Then she asked the maid to leave first.

Aunt Zhao has become successful now. Not only does she have her own courtyard, but she also has a maid to serve her.

"Aunt, there's a letter from Miss Xue." Chunhua said in a low voice after entering the house.

Xiao Cao's face lit up with a smile when she heard this. "Is it Miss Xue who's back?"