Secrets of Yuqing Palace

That day, Wanyu and her second sister Wanlin had a hearty piano and zheng duet in the courtyard.

It was a rare opportunity for both of them to have some free time, so today they got together to play the piano and have fun.

Just as everyone was listening fascinated, Xia Lu walked in with the letter.

After the song ended, Wanyu took her hands off the strings and looked at Xia Lu beside her.

"what happened?"

Xia Lu bowed slightly.

"My dear Princess, the gatekeeper has delivered a letter from Master Huang Cheng."

Wanlin exclaimed in surprise, "Master Huang Cheng?"

"Is it the one who saved you in Huguo Temple, Master Hesheli Huangcheng?"

Wanyu nodded.

Wanlin felt something was wrong, so she couldn't help but remind him.

"Why would he, a stranger, write to you?"

"Third sister, a woman's reputation is particularly important."

"Especially with next year's election, you must not allow any rumors to tarnish your reputation before the election."

Wanyu smiled and said, "Don't worry, Second Sister."

"Brother Huang and I are in frequent contact because of his life-saving grace and our business partnership."

"Are you guys doing business together?"

"Ah."

Then Wanyu told Wanlin about the instant noodle business she and Huang Cheng were doing.

She also knew about the instant noodle cakes that her third sister asked the chef to develop.

All the masters in the mansion have tasted this instant noodles.

Although it is not as smooth and chewy as the usual noodles.

But if you just want to eat it for the novelty, it's not bad.

I just didn’t expect that my third sister would use this to start a food business.

Wanyu quickly glanced at the letter in her hand.

It turned out that Huang Cheng told her that the store in the outer city was ready and would open tomorrow.

So I sent her a visiting invitation today, asking her to come and see the store opening tomorrow and talk about the future of the store business.

It seems that Huang Cheng means that if the business in Beijing is successful, he wants to expand this business to all state capitals across the country.

When Wanlin heard that they were going to discuss business matters, she didn't think any more about it.

However, before leaving Qiyunyuan, he still reminded his third sister to pay attention to the distinction between men and women.

When single men and women are out together, they should also be careful to avoid suspicion and not be caught by others.

Wanyu nodded obediently in response to her sister's instructions.

......

The next day, the two met again at Yuxiangju.

Compared to the previous times when he talked eloquently and enthusiastically, Wanyu could clearly feel that Huang Cheng was in a bad mood when she met him this time.

"What happened to Brother Huang?"

"But what happened to make you so depressed?"

Huang Cheng looked at Wanyu, seemed to be hesitant to speak, and then shook his head.

"nothing."

"I just didn't get enough rest last night. I'm really sorry for affecting Sister Wanyu's good mood."

Wanyu shook her head.

"Brother Huang, I'm only three years old. Why are you trying to trick me?"

"What's the problem? If Brother Huang doesn't mind, you can tell me about it."

"Three cobblers are better than one Zhuge Liang."

"Maybe I can give you some advice."

Huang Cheng, however, forced a smile and shook his head.

"Thank you, Sister Wanyu, for your kindness."

"But Sister Wanyu can't help me."

Wanyu looked at him curiously.

Huang Cheng looked at the other person secretly, then sighed softly.

"That's all."

Then he told the story.

"Sister Wanyu doesn't know that although I am the only legitimate son in my family, I have many illegitimate brothers."

"Because I'm the only legitimate son, everyone interested in the family fortune has their eyes on me."

"Although my father loves me the most, he also cares about his brothers."

"My mother was my father's first wife. She died of complications during childbirth."

"After my mother passed away, Amana had concubines and princesses coming into the palace one after another."

"He even married two successive wives."

"And the third wife is my father's cousin from his mother's family, so my father values ​​this wife very much."

"Although she didn't give birth to any children for my father, to make her happy, my father still let her raise one of my half-brothers."

"This half-brother's status in the mansion has also risen rapidly."

"This wife passed away two years ago. She was worried about my half-brother, so she specially selected a princess from a wealthy family as his wife."

"Even though my half-brother is not yet of marriageable age, and even though I, the elder brother's legitimate son, have not yet married, Father still followed his wife's wishes and arranged for my half-brother to marry early."

Wanyu frowned slightly. It seemed that Huang Erge's father really valued this concubine.

Huang Erge, the eldest brother and the legitimate son, has not yet married, so his younger brother has already married.

Moreover, she is a princess from a wealthy and prominent family. You can imagine how much pressure Huang Erge must be under.

Wanyu asked, "Has your half-brother married yet?"

Huang Cheng nodded.

Then he said embarrassedly: "Actually, I don't care whether this man gets married or not, nor do I care which princess he marries."

"I'm not a person who values ​​women."

"Even if I want to marry, I just want to marry a woman who shares my feelings."

"Don't worry about Sister Wanyu laughing at me, I've never liked having too much contact with women since I was a child."

"Even Sister Wanyu was an unintentional friend of mine at the beginning."

Wanyu asked in return, "If that's the case, then what you care about is that your father's love for this half-brother surpasses yours?"

Huang Cheng covered his face with his hands and laughed, "I do have some ideas in this regard."

"Actually, I know that my father treats me better, but when my father, who has always been the best to me, suddenly treats other half-brothers well too, I always feel a little uncomfortable."

Wanyu frowned in confusion.

"But from what you just said, your half-brother has been married for some time, right?"

"Ah."

She seemed to have found a loophole in the other party and asked immediately.

"Since you've been married for a while, why are you so down today?"

"Brother Huang, is it because of some other reason?"

A hint of admiration flashed in Huang Cheng's eyes.

"It's true that nothing can be hidden from Sister Wanyu. This really has nothing to do with it."

"My confidant passed me a message yesterday."

"The third wife's family, my father's family, wants to send another woman to the palace."

"And this woman is the concubine's sister of the deceased third wife."

"As for the reason why she came into the mansion, I think a smart woman like Sister Wanyu should be able to make some guesses."

Wanyu blurted out, "That concubine's family wants this concubine to enter the mansion, become the next concubine, and then take control of your Hesheli Mansion?"

Huang Cheng smiled bitterly and nodded.

"Indeed."

"And according to the information passed on by my confidant, my father has already agreed to let this concubine sister enter the mansion."

"I just don't know what his identity is and when he entered the mansion?"

Wanyu was shocked.

"Human greed is truly insatiable!"

"Your father should be able to see their purpose, so why did you agree?"

Huang Cheng explained, "Because that's Ama's maternal clan."

"Ama's mother died early, and his mother's family is not as prosperous as our Hesheli Mansion."

"I guess he also wants to promote more people from his mother's clan, so he goes along with them in everything."

Wanyu looked at Huang Cheng, who was a little emotionally unstable, and actually understood why he was like that.

"Do you think your father is partial to people from your mother's clan? Are you worried that those people will cause trouble for you because of your special status? Do you think your father will favor those people?"