《Happiness Consist in Contentment》


 Chapter 0.1

    Liu Fang knows that she was dead, nevertheless a sudden death from overwork!


    She watched calmly as her body was discovered by her colleagues, called an ambulance, and the police. Then after a lot of hustle and bustle, notified her parents, elder brother, elder sister, younger brother¡­


    Watching her body being cremated, watching the insurance company come over one after another to talk to her parents about the insurance benefits, and the company boss also came to talk about the compensation for her sudden death due to overwork


    After seeing her own funeral and seeing so many people come to offer their condolences. Liu Fang thinks that she has no regrets in this life


    A college student who came from a rural area, she struggled all the way from poverty to the present. Now she has a house in the fourth ring road, a nice car, and a lot of savings in this first-tier city, and bought for herself a pile of insurance, a will was made, and after death, so many people come to mourn and send her off, which was enough.


    [Shi huan lu (ËÄ»·Â·) is a controlled-access expressway ring road in Beijing, China which runs around the city, with a radius of approximately 8 kilometers (5.0 mi) from city center]


    At least, her parents did not favor sons over daughters and did not treat her badly. She was admitted to the university, and her family, including her elder brother, elder sister, and younger brother, did their best to provide for her.


    She also lived up to their expectations: she had excellent grades all the way to university, she completed her studies with a first-class scholarship, and she went out to work all the way to her death, and was highly valued by the company boss.


    After her death, she also left all her property to her parents, so that they can at least have something to depend on so that the white-haired person will not have nothing after sending the black-haired person.


    [Bai fa ren song hei fa ren (°×°lÈËËͺڰlÈË) refers to offspring that died before its eldership]


    Liu Fang feels that she has done what she can do, and she has no regrets in this life!


    Standing in front of her own tombstone, sending away her parents who were still supporting each other, and her older siblings and younger brothers who were still crying silently, Liu Fang looked at the photo of herself on the tombstone with mixed emotions.


    Time can calm the grief of her relatives, but she was probably one of the few people who still can watch her cremation, burial, and finally erecting a monument after her death.


    This things really makes people feel complicated.


    ¡°Uh, here it is. You are Liu Fang, right?¡±


    Just as Liu Fang was immersed in her thoughts. A man in a pure black suit and a black notebook appeared in front of her.


    ¡°Are you Liu Fang? Alright, time is up, it¡¯s time to go with me.¡±


    Liu Fang looked at the man with hesitation on her face. When the man saw this, he didn¡¯t talk nonsense. He waved his hand, and a black chain instantly flew out of the cuff and wrapped around Liu Fang¡¯s neck in an instant.


    Liu Fang only felt that her body was not under her control. As soon as that man pull, she rushed forward.


    She was startled, thinking that she would fall, but she didn¡¯t expect that in just a moment, the time and space has changed, and she come to another place.


    There was a long asphalt road in front of her, and there was a tall gate tower not far away, which reads: Underworld!


    (¡Ño¡Ñ)! ! !


    So, this is the underworld? then the one pulling the chain is Ox¡¯s head? Horse face?


    [Niu tou (Å£î^) and ma mian (ñRÃæ) are two guardians of the underworld in Chinese mythology. As indicated by their names, both have the bodies of men, but Ox-Head has the head of an ox while Horse-Face has the face of a horse. They are the first beings a dead soul encounters upon entering the underworld; in many stories, they directly escort the newly dead to the underworld]


    The man in black pulled Liu Fang into the underworld, then waved his hand, took back the chains, and said to her as he walked, ¡°Liu Fang, you are dead, did you know that? Now, you have already entered the underworld. As for me, I am the messenger that is responsible for sending the soul.¡±


    ¡°The messenger?¡± Liu Fang raised her eyebrows, ¡°But you don¡¯t look like it at all.¡±


    His appearance looked like the elites in the city.


    ¡°Well, it almost has the same meaning as the past Ox¡¯s head and Horse face, also the black and white impermanent. However, now is the new century, and the work of the underworld is very different. In the past, Ox¡¯s head and Horse face, black and white impermanence were popular. Now, little fresh meat and handsome uncle is the mainstream. There is no choice, the underworld also has to keep up with the trend and can only change the appearance of the messenger. Haven¡¯t you seen that even the gates of the underworld have been rebuilt? Besides, there are so many people waiting for reincarnation in the underworld now, but there are fewer and fewer people in the world who are willing to have children. The underworld has heavy work and needs many messengers. So, now all the messengers looked like me.¡±


    [Xiao xian rou (СõrÈâ) is an internet buzzword in China used to describe handsome young males. It is most commonly used for celebrities, particularly rising stars]


    Liu Fang suddenly said, ¡°Then am I going to wait at the Naihe Bridge now?¡±


    [In Chinese folklore, the souls of people must cross the Naihe Bridge to reincarnate. The bridge located in the underworld]


    The messenger smiled, ¡°No need. There is no more place at Naihe Bridge. It has been overcrowded eight hundred years ago. Now, you first report to the archives, and then take a look at your merits and demerits during your lifetime. And then queue up for reincarnation. ¡°


    Liu Fang followed along and looked around, and found that the entire underworld was like a big city that combines modern and ancient times, with spacious roads, tall buildings, neat houses, various types of shops, and people walking on the streets. Uh, or souls?


    In short, if Liu Fang hadn¡¯t known that she was really dead, and this place was indeed the underworld. She would have thought she was just on a business trip to another prosperous city.


    The archive was actually The book of life and death that the judges used to manage, but now the human population was so large, so many people live and die every day, the underworld was also very busy, and the judge alone cannot handle it.


    [The Book of Life and Death is a record of the lifespan of the human being or other sentient beings in the underworld in Buddhism, Taoism, and East Asian folk beliefs. The lifespan of each person is different. The ¡°Book of Life and Death¡± records the length of each person¡¯s lifespan and all life information from birth to death is contained in it]


    Moreover, the underworld was full of souls, in order to solve these problems Regarding the work and life of souls, the underworld has also thought of a lot of ways and created many positions, so that these souls can stay in the underworld in peace. This was how the archive room was born.


    When Liu Fang arrived at the archive room, the staff put out her files, checked her merits and demerits during her lifetime, and told her that there was a little merit, and if she waited for reincarnation, it would take at least a thousand or two thousand years.


    Liu Fang: =_=!


    A thousand or two thousand years?! Surely not a joke?


    The staff of the archives has seen many new souls like this, they patiently said: ¡°Now in the human world, in addition to the great evil and great good judgment: the former is directly thrown into the eighteenth hell and after punishment they will directly throw into the animal realm and let them reincarnate; the latter just depends on how much merit they have to jump into the queue to reincarnate. Most of the others are ordinary people. What does it mean by ordinary people? There is no great evil, not even a small amount of evil, and there is no great good, but a little good. In this way, there is not much merit and virtue. Those in the front line up waiting to be reincarnated, and those in the back who jump in line because of enough merit, go back and forth, and naturally, the time to wait for reincarnation will be longer. ¡°


    Seeing that Liu Fang¡¯s expression was quite calm after listening, the staff continued, ¡°Actually, you don¡¯t need to feel unfair. Anyone who can jump in the queue and reincarnate has a lot of merit. They must be the kind of scientists who have made great contributions to mankind, the heroes who sacrificed themselves for others, and the soldiers who guarded the country who died young. When people are alive, they serve the country and the people, and they make selfless devotion. After they die, it¡¯s actually nothing, right? You can¡¯t sacrifice them before and after death. This is the biggest injustice, isn¡¯t it? In short, you are going to be reincarnated now, and the queue must be very long. And now the underworld is not allowed to use ghost coins because of the proliferation of printing coins in the world. Moreover, the civilized memorial can no longer continue to burn paper, so the current currency in the underworld is all merit. You don¡¯t have much merit and virtue, you can go to the recruitment office in front and ask if there are any jobs you can do. There are many departments in the underworld now, and there are plenty of positions. You can rest assured that you will be able to find a job. ¡°


    Okay, what can a newcomer do?


    Liu Fang was stunned after hearing this, and went out of the archives room. At a glance, there was the recruitment office.


    It was right in front!


    Liu Fang crossed the road and walked away. Entering the recruitment office, as soon as she enter the door, a staff member greets Liu Fang and asks Liu Fang¡¯s work intention.


    Very good, it was exactly the same as the human resources company in the human world.


    ¡°Like this, there are many departments in the underworld, and there are also many jobs. Specifically, the quick transmigration department has the most jobs. Your waiting for reincarnation must be very long. I suggest that you should apply for a job in the quick transmigration department. First, quick transmigration, you must have read the novel, and you must have a certain understanding. You went through a world, you can live a whole new life, and you can learn something. Second, the quick transmigration department is also a place where you can accumulate merits relatively quickly. What do you think?¡±


    After some inquiries, the staff quickly gave advice, and it was quite relevant when Liu Fang heard it, so she agreed.


    After filling out the application form, Liu Fang followed the staff out of the recruitment office and walked to the fast-passing department at the back of the street. Along the way, she also passed some system departments, express delivery departments, intermediaries and the like.


    When she arrived at the quick transmigration department, the minister received her, read her application form, and said: ¡°Well, recently, there is a concubine department in the quick transmigration department that is relatively short of staff. The main reason is that there are no challenges and not many merits. Let¡¯s take a closer look at the case.¡±


    Then the minister waved his hand, and something like a volley screen appeared, with the names of the cases lined up densely.


    ¡°Actually, it is a case published by some transparent concubine in various small worlds. Their wishes are very simple, that is to live a good life and not be cannon fodder. As long as you live your life till the end of your life, they are willing to give merit. Of course, this kind of merits is not much. The minimum is five, and not more than ten. The good thing is that there is no house fighting and other messy things. Look, do you want to do it? if you want to, we will officially handle the entry. The salary is the salary of regular workers, the basic salary is 500 merits, and one case will be submitted with a little merit, plus the merits paid by the original owner of the case. In addition, the company will cover three meals, five Insurance and one housing fund. What do you think?¡±


    Five insurances and one housing fund? Liu Fang was a little confused. However, she looked at the dense case names, and it was really not particularly difficult, or perhaps she needed to fight, and that¡¯s fine.


    ¡°Then do these cases require marriage and childbirth?¡±


    ¡°Cough, of course. To be honest with you, it is because the people who published these cases are not beautiful women themselves, nor do they have a particularly outstanding family background. The range of people who can choose to marry is not very top-notch, so many newcomers are reluctant to accept them. As for the old one, they also feel that there is no challenge, and there is not much merit, so no one does these tasks. I have accumulated so much. To put it bluntly, many publishers have been reincarnated, but when they first came, they always felt that they had regrets in their lives and wanted to live a better life, or in other words, live a smoother and more stable life. They came here to announce these tasks, and the merits were also left by them at that time. So, you don¡¯t have to be burdened. As long as you live in peace and die naturally, you can complete the tasks and get merit points.¡±


    It seems that these cases were very simple, Liu Fang was a little moved.


    ¡°Can you let me try it first?¡±


    The minister was very happy, ¡°Okay, You can try. This way, you can try a task first, and then make a contract when you¡¯re done, how about it?¡±


    Liu Fang felt relieved and nodded, ¡°Okay. .¡±


    In this way, Liu Fang temporarily stayed in the temporary lounge of the quick transmigration department, and the minister chose a task for her and asked her to try it.


    ¡°Before doing the task, I have to make it clear to you. Every time you transmigrate, you are transmigrated as a fetus, which makes it easier for you to accept the background of the times around you. However, the background of the dynasties in the small world you go to will also change when you enter, it is automatically stored in your mind, and you can read it at any time, which is equivalent to a smart world map and a world history museum. Specifically, you will understand when you go. Now, I will send you there. ¡°


    Liu Fang lay on the bed in the lounge, her eyes darkened, and when she woke up again, she was in a different world.

 Chapter 1

    As one of the four imperial Duke of the Jin Dynasty, Duke Liu Mansion can be said to be a clear stream in the capital.


    It¡¯s not that Duke Liu himself was so upright and honest. In the eyes of outsiders, Duke Liu himself was actually a mediocre person with no great ability¡ª¡ª He liked to do business and like to make money. He didn¡¯t have much knowledge, unable to accomplish anything in literature or martial art. In addition to making money, he also liked to eat. Especially delicious food.


    The reason why Duke Liu Mansion was said to be the clear stream in the capital was mainly because of his ability to marry a wife and take concubines¡ª¡ª one wife and seven concubines, not to mention living together in harmony, there were a total of forty children. Each of them was born safely and grew up healthy, which makes people feel unbelievable.


    The most puzzling thing was: the 22 sons and the 17 daughters can still love each other without disputed, which makes people feel incredible to the extreme.


    The rich and powerful family in the capital were very envious of Duke Liu, and think he was really a strange person!


    But Duke Liu himself was very troubled.


    why?


    Because there were too many children!


    Seeing that the children have grown up, and will get married. The bride price, the dowry, and other things, once the accounts were settled, okay, if he really want to follow the standards of the big families in the capital, the entire family property will have to be hollowed out.


    He was worried!


    He used to think he was very impressive when recalling the satisfied smile his deceased father have when he saw his children.


    After all, the only thing that his father worried about after he got the title of the Duke was that he was the only seedling. In the future, the member of the huge Duke Mansion was very spare, which made him marry a wife and take seven concubines one after another.


    Well now, the family member was prosperous. But thinking that in the future he will divide the family property for his sons, and have to prepare a dowry for his daughters, and his sons will also have to pay a bride price to marry a daughter-in-law. Only when these things were placed in front of him that he realized the pain of prosperity.


    After the pain, Duke Liu made a decision. Anyway, the children had grown up, he has fulfilled his responsibilities as the father. They can decide their own lives in the future, and don¡¯t think about relying on him for the rest of their lives.


    Therefore, Duke Liu discussed with his wife and set new family rules: all adult sons, no matter if they were born from the main wife or the concubine, will be separated as soon as they get married. Except for the eldest son who will inherit the title, he can stay in the Duke¡¯s mansion. Everyone else has to move out.


    As for the daughters, the dowry of the one born from the wife was 20,000 taels, and one born from the concubine was 10,000 taels. The bride price for the sons was also following this rule.


    In addition after the separation whether the sons were from the wife or the concubine will get a three-entry quadrangle courtyard, a 500-acre farm, a shop, 10,000 taels, and nothing else.


    As for the eldest son who was preparing to get married, the eldest daughter, as well as the sons and daughters who were still young and still need several years before getting married, didn¡¯t have any objection.


    At first, it can be said that the food and clothing expenses in the mansion were not very rich. The Duke said all day long that he had no money and was poor and the children actually believed it.


    After all, the mansion has a large number of family members. It cost a lot of money for the monthly expenses of the masters and the servants, plus the clothes and jewelry all year round, socializing, New Year banquets, and so on, it was indeed very costly.


    Therefore, the family really has no money.


    Since there was no money and the Duke was willing to divide families with a bowl of water, they have nothing to say.


    [Yi wan shui duan ping (Ò»ÍëË®¶Ëƽ) is a Chinese idiom, which means to deal with things fairly and not favor any party]


    As for the eldest son, who will inherit the title and also get a large part of the family property. Others member said: Isn¡¯t this normal?


    That was mainly because the wife of the Duke was magnanimous and generous. If it was from another family, hehe, it was already a good thing to be able to get 10.000 taels. Do you still want to have a house, a farm, and a shop? What beautiful things are you thinking of?


    As a result, Duke Liu Mansion once again become famous in the capital because of the family rules and the family separation after the children have become adults and got married.


    Some people say that Duke Liu was stupid. He has so many sons. In the future, everyone¡¯s money will be handed over to the family¡¯s public account. Now the family rules have been set so early, then the eldest son will have less.


    More people actually say that Duke Liu¡¯s wife was stupid. Those children from the concubine, just give them 800 taels or 1.000 taels. This family really thinks they have too much money to burn by giving a house and a farm.


    But some people think that Duke Liu and his wife were very generous and kind. They treat the concubine¡¯s children with kindness, they will not be too harsh on their daughter-in-law in the future.


    In short, Duke Liu Mansion has attracted a lot of discussion among the noble and wealthy families because of the separation of the family.


    However, Duke Liu and his wife quickly set up marriages for the eldest son, the second son, the third son, the fourth son, the eldest daughter, the second daughter, and other children who have reached the marriage age. The family of the betrothed was basically a noble and scholarly family, having an honest and upright family style, and harmonious family members. Even if it was a noble family, it was a family with a bright temperament, a simple population, and good nature family members.


    Anyway, their husband and wife don¡¯t ask for any noble family, but only ask for good character and upright family style, which was enough.


    Furthermore, the amount of dowry and betrothal gifts that their husband and wife set for their children, although not as good as that of a top-tier wealthy and first-class family, was still better than that of an ordinary noble family. Especially the concubine¡¯s children, both sons and daughters have a dowry of 10,000 taels, which was quite a lot.


    Therefore, when the eldest son of Duke Liu Mansion was married, the entire Duke Liu Mansion was very lively. All the noble families in the capital came to celebrate, which can be said to be very face-saving.


    You must know that Duke Liu himself actually only has the title of Duke but has no official position in the court. If he was not a good person and had a good reputation, these noble families may not pay attention to him.


    At the same time, Qi Yiniang gave birth to the family¡¯s youngest third generation: the eighteenth daughter, which was Liu Fang.


    ¡­


    The seventh courtyard was the courtyard where Qi Yiniang lives.


    Duke Liu was the founding father of the country after all. The mansion given by the former emperor was really big, so the front yard was lively, but the backyard was very quiet, especially the row of yards where the concubines lived.


    At this moment, Qi Yiniang was so tired that she fell asleep.


    Most of the people in the yard went to the front to watch the fun, and the people who stayed to serve also took turns having a meal. Duke Liu wife also prepares a feast, letting all the people in the mansion join in the festivities.


    Therefore, there was only one nanny in Liu Fang¡¯s courtyard, and a little maid guarding her.


    Now, Liu Fang was a newborn and can¡¯t do anything besides receive background information about this world.


    This was an overhead dynasty,  the Great Jin Dynasty. She was the youngest concubine daughter in Duke Liu Mansion, ranked eighteenth. And the current emperor, Emperor Wen was the second ruling emperor, and the current time was five years of Emperor Wen¡¯s reign.


    Her father was Duke Liu, the second generation who inherited the title Duke, her eldest brother was getting married today, this was what she heard from the maid just now, and the customs here were probably messed up¡­.


    Formal aristocratic banquets were to sit on their knees and divide tables between males and females. There will be tables and chairs for the palace banquets. For the clothes, mainly Hanfu in Quju Shenyi style, but there were also mamianqun, and pleated skirts¡­.


    [Quju is the style of Hanfu Shenyi that was used in Qin and Han Dynasty]


    [Mamianqun (°ÙñÞȹ) literally means horse face skirt, is a traditional Chinese skirt. It originated in the Song and Liao Dynasty and continued to be worn in Yuan, Min, and Qing Dynasty]


    Alright, all in all, it was overhead. As for whether it was messed up or not it has nothing to do with Liu Fang.


    In the end, Liu Fang transmigrated, except that she has the background information of this world in her head, which can be retrieved and used at any time. That can be used like a smart map, and she has an adult brain.


    There was no so-called golden finger.


    What can a newborn do? Eat, drink and sleep.


    In addition, Liu Fang was listening to the maids and the nanny chatting all day long to understand everything about the Duke mansion, as well as the gossip of other mansions in the capital.


    For the first three days, she couldn¡¯t open her eyes. Only after the washing three did she open her eyes, but her vision was blurry like a severely short-sighted person. It will gradually become better as she grows up.


    [Xi shan (Ï´Èý) is a very important ceremony in the ancient Chinese birth ceremony. On the third day after the baby is born, a bathing ceremony is held to gather relatives and friends to congratulate the baby. The purpose of ¡°washing three¡± is to wash away the filth, eliminate disasters and avoid disaster]


    Speaking of which, it¡¯s really interesting to experience childhood again with memories like this.


    In fact, there were not many topics in the Duke Mansion. That is, how much money the cheap father made today, how the eldest brother changed his ways to please his daughter-in-law and so on.


    In short, Duke Liu Mansion was peaceful and tranquil.


    Liu Fang has one older sister and three older brothers from the same mother. The older sister was ranked eighth, and the older brother was ranked eleventh, eighteenth, and twenty-second.


    There were many sons and daughters in the Duke Mansion, and the rankings were separated. Because there were too many children, regarding the name only the middle word was the same, and the last character was casual. As long as it was not a taboo word it can be used.


    The word for Liu Fang¡¯s generation was ¡°An¡°. In fact, the genealogy, the word for each generation, and family rules were all created after her grandfather became the Duke. Previously, there was no such thing.


    [An (°²) content / calm / still / quiet / safe / secure / in good health]


    According to the generation, Liu Fang¡¯s name was Liu Anfang, her sister was Anfen, and her three brothers were Anting, Ankang, and Anqing. As for the other brothers and sisters, because there were too many people Liu Fang couldn¡¯t remember them.


    And that was because her brother and sister from the same mother came to see her almost every day and she remembered their names. Others, I¡¯m sorry, she¡¯s still a little baby, and she doesn¡¯t have enough brain capacity to remember.


    However, it was said that in order to come up with a name, the cheap father used all the words that could be used. Fortunately, after Liu Fang was born, no one planned to give birth anymore including the main wife. Otherwise, the cheap father probably can only change the word sequence to form a name.


    As for the grandchildren, Duke Liu said: name your own children yourself, He didn¡¯t want to care. ¡ú_¡ú.


    After the eldest brother got married and the time second elder brother married his daughter-in-law. Liu Fang was already able to crawl, and began to babble and learn to speak, and the eldest sister-in-law was also pregnant.


    After the second sister-in-law settled down, the third elder brother was about to get married.


    Not long after the eldest sister-in-law gave birth to her eldest son, Liu Fang was one year old. And Zhuazhou was held for her. She honestly grab the needle and thread bag and will become a good wife and good mother in the future.


    [Zhua Zhou (×¥ÖÜ) means one year old catch is a Chinese ritual held at a child¡¯s first birthday party. The parents put various objects before the child and let the child grabbed. The parents can predict the child¡¯s interests, hobbies, and possible occupations in the future according to the grabbed objects]


    When the third elder brother got married, the second sister-in-law was pregnant. Not long after the second sister-in-law gave birth, the eldest sister got married, and then the fourth elder brother got married, the second sister got married, and the third sister got married¡­


    When Liu Fang was fourteen years old and was about to decide on her marriage. There were only the eldest brother¡¯s family, the sixteenth elder sister?An Qian, the seventeenth elder sister?An He, and Liu Fang, along with her biological mother, Qi Yiniang remain in the Duke Mansion


    The other brothers have all moved out of the Duke Mansion, the sisters were all married, and the concubines have moved out to their sons¡¯ place one after another because of the birth of their own grandchildren.


    Only Qi Yiniang remain because she was worried about Liu Fang. She wants to wait until Liu Fang got married before moving to the eleventh elder brother place.


    The sixteenth elder sister?An Qian and the seventeenth elder sister?An He was already engaged. The sixteenth elder sister will get married in August, the seventeenth sister will married next year at the latest, and finally Liu Fang herself.


    Therefore, starting from the end of the nineteenth year of Emperor Wen, Liu Fang went out with her mother and attended banquets everywhere.


    It¡¯s just a pity, from early spring to midsummer, a full half year passed, and Madam Liu did not set a marriage for Liu Fang. Liu Fang herself was not in a hurry. Anyway, she was only fifteen after the new year, she was still young, okay?


    On this day, Liu Fang was staying in her room to practice calligraphy, Shu Hua ran in angrily. Shu Mo, who was waiting in the room, frowned and said, ¡°Why are you always so frizzy, where is your etiquette?¡±


    Shu Hua was angry. She had a straightforward temperament and when she hear Shu Mo¡¯s words, she couldn¡¯t bear it and replied, ¡°I¡¯m dying of anger, How can I pay any attention to the etiquette?¡±


    Liu Fang has been writing calmly, her hand didn¡¯t shake, and said lightly, ¡°Who provoked our Shu Hua?¡±


    Shu Hua said aggrievedly: ¡°Miss, this slave is not angry for herself, but for you.¡±


    Shu Mo shake her head, she said angrily: ¡°I see the young lady is not upset at all, but only you getting angry.¡±


    Liu Fang smiled, finished writing, put down the brush, cleaned her hands, and took the cotton handkerchief handed by Su Mo and wiped her hands, and said, ¡°Tell me, what kind of gossip is going on outside to make our Shu Hua angry?¡±


    Shu Mo saw Liu Fang sitting on the soft couch beside her, and poured a cup of tea  for her. stand aside and look at Su Hua.


    Shu Hua said to Liu Fang, ¡°Miss, you don¡¯t know the rumor on the outside was very terrible. It¡¯s obviously the Madam despises those dandy, and loves you. She didn¡¯t want you to be aggravated so she refuse several people who came to the door to beg for marriage. But they said that you look like nothing, with no talent and virtue, so you can¡¯t get married. They also said that you¡­¡±


    Maybe the latter words were too ugly, and Su Hua hesitated to say it.


    But Liu Fang can probably guess it, it¡¯s nothing more than, a girl with a temperament like a female yaksha, fierce like a tiger or something.


    It was not the first time she had heard such gossip.


    Speaking of which, these words were definitely not spread by the family,


    Instead, it was spread by others as she grew up.


    Probably because she was the most unattractive in their family, that¡¯s why these rumors spread. Or maybe she was not too enthusiastic about attending banquets and making friends with the young ladies in the capital, which was why she was in this situation.


    But no matter what, she didn¡¯t care.


    As far as appearance was concerned, everyone in the family was good-looking. The men were handsome and the women were beautiful. As for her, she was probably a little delicate and pretty but she was definitely not ugly and unpresentable.


    Probably everyone had gotten used to the fact that all the sons and daughters in the Duke Liu Mansion were good-looking. All of sudden, there was a delicate beauty like her, others will naturally feel ¡°ugly¡±.

 Chapter 2

    Chapter 2 The Scholar¡¯s Wife


    In fact, when she was a child she looked adorable and cute, her skin was fair and tender.


    However, after growing up, when others looked at her sisters and brothers, then looked back at her¡­


    Well, she admitted that there would be a gap.


    But it¡¯s just not that good-looking. Wasn¡¯t it going too far for calling her ¡°ugly¡± all day long?


    Besides, even if she¡¯s ugly, she didn¡¯t eat their rice, what¡¯s wrong with them? ! As for the more and more outrageous rumor?


    In this regard, Liu Fang just wanted to roll her eyes.


    Madam Liu said: ¡°It was good as long as my children were pleasing to my eyes, for what others words she didn¡¯t care¡±


    As for the ¡°No talent and virtue¡±.


    Oh, Liu Fang wanted to roll her eyes even more: a group of little girls gets together to write a few poems that have no connotation, was it talented?


    She was just bored.


    So, it was precise because of her misfit that such rumors spread.


    As for the families who were seeking marriage, Liu Fang didn¡¯t bother to inquire about them. It was just that Duke Liu Mansion had become richer and richer over the years, so they rushed over.


    In fact, Liu Fang felt that it was nothing for two families to tie a knot in a marriage because of interests. After all, in such an environment as Duke Mansion, talking about feelings and not about interests. That would be a lie.


    But marriage also has to be sincere.


    Throwing out the garbage of your family was just disgusting.


    Madam Liu was a smart person!


    After these years, she has been in harmony with her husband, Duke Lui, the concubines in the mansion were obedient and respectful; the concubines gave birth to so many children and all of them have grown up healthy, and they were filial and respectful to her. ¡ª¡ªMadam Liu was by no means a silly and gullible person, and the position of Duke¡¯s wife was not secure just by benevolence alone.


    On the contrary, she was an extremely wise and shrewd person, with a long-term vision and a broad-mindedness, which makes Duke Liu Mansion a clear stream among the noble families in the capital: the family was clean and the people were prosperous!


    Therefore, those who wanted to take advantage of Duke Liu Mansion, but did not want to sacrifice the heirs that they valued, and wanted to trample on Liu Fang. All of them lose their weight and fail.


    After all, what Madam Liu do was not only for Liu Fang, but for the future of the Duke Mansion: Fuck off, now all the men in the Duke Mansion have grown up, each has their own achievements, and after another one or two years later they will become an aristocratic family. Now you still regard us as upstarts? Bah!


    It can be seen that Madam Liu would rather Liu Fang really not marry, stay at home, and be raised by her son, the eldest brother for a lifetime, rather than marry these bastard families.


    Now it was obvious that they want the benefits of Duke Liu Mansion. But if Duke Liu Mansion was not good in the future, will it still be worth it? !


    This kind of person was too snobbish and too ruthless, and Madam Liu absolutely keeps her distance: she was not afraid of godlike opponents, but she was afraid of pig teammates. Short-sighted people were not qualified to talk to her, let alone ask her to pay for the daughter¡¯s marriage, not even the daughter of the concubine.


    It¡¯s not that she¡¯s out of her mind.


    Duke Liu also took it seriously.


    Of course, the eldest brother and his wife were not stupid, they also disagree.


    As for other family members, those who have brains will not agree, and those who were not smart enough know that it was enough to listen to the eldest brother.


    Well, Madam Liu¡¯s hard work has not been in vain. There were so many children in the Duke Mansion, and it can¡¯t be said that all of them were smart, but they were all obedient, filial, and clear-headed children.


    Now, Liu Fang listened to the Su Hua platitudes again, she was still very calm.


    ¡°Alright, it¡¯s not like you don¡¯t know how boring people outside are. What else can they do other than spread these small stories? It can¡¯t hinder me, and it can¡¯t hurt me. If I take it seriously and get angry, then that is what they want and make them happy. Now I don¡¯t care, they can¡¯t do anything to me and it can only be said behind the scenes. Nowadays, all the elder brothers are very promising, so there are so many people staring at me, if it was in the past. Heh, they don¡¯t even know who I am.¡±


    Su Hua remembered a few years ago the young lady went out to the banquet, and most of the noble girls didn¡¯t know the young lady.


    It was not only Liu Fang, the other young ladies of the Duke Liu Mansion used to be small and transparent when they went out


    Only in recent years that the eldest master, second master, and others have their own achievements. Especially the eighth master, who went to the border to serve as a soldier. At that time only his family knew he went there. Later he became a general and became famous in an instant. The status of Duke Mansion has also risen. Only then did people pay attention to the young ladies when they went out.


    Recalling it, it was a matter of the past five or six years.


    The warmth of human feelings was just like that.


    Su Hua sighed, and the anger in her heart disappeared in an instant, ¡°What miss said was right. It was this servant that was impatient. ¡°


    ¡°Since you know that you are impatient, just copy the Heart Sutra ten times to calm your mind and sharpen your temper. In the future, if I get married and you follow me but you are like this, then it will be not only me, the master who will be affected. ¡°


    Liu Fang took a sip of tea, glanced at Su Hua, got up and went to the inner room to change clothes and prepare to go to the main courtyard to greet Madam Liu.


    Su Hua bowed and saluted, ¡°Yes.¡±


    Shu Mo hurriedly followed. Passed by Shu Hua, she shook her head and sighed, ¡°You¡­¡±


    Shu Hua smiled at Shu Mo and watched her enter the room. Then got up and went back to her room. While copying the book, she also thought about it.


    The courtyard where Liu Fang lives was actually not far from the main courtyard.


    Although the Duke¡¯s mansion was large, Duke Liu has many children, so Madam Liu spent a lot of thought adjusting the layout of the mansion, and then all the children were arranged.


    After all, before they get married, they must have a yard to live in, and there must be enough servants to serve them. If the place was too small it will be inappropriate, and if the place was too big. Oh, there were not many spaces in the mansion.


    Madam Liu simply separated the men and women.


    Boys live in the front yard, from the age of four till ten live in one yard, and for those over the age of ten, two people live in one yard. When they reach fifteen years old and were about to get married, they lived in a separate courtyard.


    Therefore, the front yard was divided into three parts. The first one was the office of Duke Liu, where he entertains guests and the residence of some guards in the mansion.


    Stable, the large kitchen was set up on both sides of the corner connected to the second gate. It does not affect Duke Liu¡¯s daily hospitality and the guests who stay overnight. It was also convenient for the daily travel and life of the master and servants. It will not affect the scenery of the mansion.


    The second part was the part in front of the second gate, which also belongs to the front yard. There were several courtyards here, and then there was a row of small yards where the boys under ten years old live. The yard was not big only five and just enough for the master and the people to live together.


    It was close to the guest house, the mansion study room was also close, and the martial arts field was also nearby.


    Behind the second gate, there were two rows of courtyards like a modern small villa area, which were for boys over ten years old. One left and one right, each with five courtyards, a total of ten courtyards.


    After that, the third gate belongs to the backyard part. The main hall for hospitality and the flower hall was in here. Across a large garden and another gate, the main courtyard was on the central axis, and the Shou¡¯an Courtyard was directly behind the main courtyard.


    There are two rows of courtyards on the left and right sides of the main courtyard, four in one row and eight on each side, for a total of 16 courtyards, which were for the girls.


    Behind the main courtyard, on the left were eight courtyards where the concubines lived.


    A total of two rows, each with four yards. On the right were four rows of courtyards, six in one row, for a total of twenty-four courtyards, which were for boys over fifteen years old.


    There was a courtyard between the main courtyard and Shou¡¯an courtyard. This is the courtyard where the eldest master lives, called Chengde courtyard.


    There were so many courtyards scattered, each with hanging flower gates, cloisters, flowers and trees, pavilions, gardens, and lakes. Therefore, although there were many courtyards, they were not close. The closest to the main courtyard was the Chengde courtyard and the courtyard where the girls live.


    There was a garden and a door between the main courtyard and Shou¡¯an courtyard. There was another door at the back of Shou¡¯an courtyard leading to the hill garden. Finally, a courtyard door leads to the row houses where the underlings live and the outside street.


    Also after she transmigrate and became a daughter of the Duke Mansion. Only then did Liu Fang know that the houses of wealthy people in ancient times were so big that modern people could not imagine it.


    Well, it should be said that for the poor her what a rich family was like, she can¡¯t imagine it.


    Let¡¯s just talk about the current Duke Mansion, that was because she has lived here for so many years before she has thoroughly explored it. Otherwise, she may get lost at home at any time.


    It was said that from the courtyard where she lives, to the main courtyard, you have to pass through two hanging flower gates, three small gardens, and several intertwined corridors.


    Anyway, when Liu Fang was five years old, she often got lost and ran to the tenth eldest sister¡¯s yard.


    Thinking that the eldest sister and the fifth elder sister live in the two courtyards on the left and right side of the main courtyard, Liu Fang was very envious: it is just separated by one hanging flower door, so there was no need to always go around like them and fear of getting lost, which is great!


    There were not many servants she saw along the way. In fact, in Duke Liu Mansion, except for the servants under the various masters, there were not many servants. They perform their own duties, and all of them have a job. The mansion does not support real idlers.


    Also, there was no noble family who have seventy or eighty people serving one master. The people who serve her were: two personal maids, four little maids, and two rough women, who not only guard the door but also do rough work. The four little maids were also divided into classes to take care of the flowers and trees in their yard. The two personal maids were Su Hua and Su Mo. They also have to clean her room and organize her warehouse regularly.


    In short, not many people, but enough.


    Therefore, at present, there were fewer masters in the mansion and more vacant yards. The daily cleaning was also done in turn. The whole mansion was busy from top to bottom.


    For example, Madam Liu was now sorting out the accounts of the store and fields in Fuzhong.


    Liu Fang walked in and greet her. Madam Liu was looking at the ledger and said casually, ¡°Why did Anfang have time to come here?¡±


    Liu Fang smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s nothing, I just came to greet mother.¡±


    Madam Liu was very busy every day, either going to the banquet or taking care of the housework, although she had her daughter-in-law to help her, she couldn¡¯t be idle. Besides, she herself has a large dowry to take care of.


    Therefore, in the past, she also asked the concubines below her to greet her only on the first and fifteen of every month. The children, that is to say, it¡¯s okay to come once every now and she didn¡¯t mean to pull them to talk more: there were too many children. If one person asks one question, then it will take an hour, and if she talks again, she doesn¡¯t have to do anything for a day.


    Most of the time, Madam Liu likes to make surprise inspections, so as to find out whether the servants in the house were doing their best.


    Just like Liu Fang¡¯s nanny. She bullied baby Liu Fang who can¡¯t speak and embezzled her share. At last, she was punished with a board and thrown out directly and the old maid took care of her and it was over. Anyway, she was only over a year old at that time, and it didn¡¯t matter if she was weaned.


    Now, everyone has moved out. Madam Liu welcomes everyone who comes to greet her occasionally. She didn¡¯t care much if they didn¡¯t come all year round. She also treated her own son like this, and for others she didn¡¯t really care.

 Chapter 3

    Chapter 3 The Scholar¡¯s Wife


    It was nearly lunchtime. Generally speaking, Madam Liu didn¡¯t like the children of concubines coming to her.


    It used to be too many people and noisy, but now, it has become a habit. She can¡¯t look like a caring and loving mother.


    ¡°What? Is there something wrong?¡±


    Madam Liu put down the ledger and looked at Liu Fang.


    Speaking of which, this youngest child from the concubine was actually the most worry-free.


    She has been well-behaved since she was a child. Other concubine¡¯s children were naughty and mischievous when they were young, not to mention her own children. When they were still a child, she really wanted to strangle them to death.


    Liu Fang was the only one who has never been naughty.


    When she was a child, Madam Liu also worried that the child was too stupid, and she wouldn¡¯t even know if she was teased by her elder brothers and sisters.


    When she was older, Madam Liu know that this child was smart!


    She was a wise man who looks stupid. But actually, she know what she was doing.


    Moreover, this child¡¯s heart most resembles her, not quite like her stupid biological mother who counts money for the person by whom somebody is sold.


    [Bei ren mai le hai ti ren shu qian (±»ÈËÂôÁË»¹ÌæÈ˼ÒÊýÇ®) is a Chinese idiom that mean being duped or exploited without realizing it]


    To be honest, if it wasn¡¯t for the fact that she met Duke Liu, someone like Anfang¡¯s mother would have ended up being eaten dry and even the bone was not left in any house.


    That was also because of Madam Liu. At a glance, she was not a person with a vicious heart, and she had no habit of torturing others for pleasure. So Anfang¡¯s mother can have a child in peace and survive until now. Leisure and relax without any worries.


    Honestly, sometimes Madam Liu was quite envious of Qi Yiniang.


    She was simply a fool, but she gave birth to several smart and well-behaved children.


    She was also lucky enough to find a husband like Duke Liu. Although he was a scumbag, he has a conscience, no ambition, and doesn¡¯t like tossing.


    And met a big-hearted, kind-hearted like Madam Liu, and she was carefree all her life.


    This was probably the saying, stupid people have stupid blessings.


    [A summary of folk experience. People who are too smart often don¡¯t last long. The so-called stupid people refer to those people who are sinceree to people , treat people kindly, and do their duty. Such people may be stupid in the eyes of some ¡°smart people¡±, but they can often get more help and favor than ordinary people]


    Madam Liu pouted, forget it, a fool has the blessing of a fool, and she also has her blessing.


    Liu Fang saw that Madam Liu was stunned for a while, and then pouted again, the corners of her mouth twitching slightly.


    Seriously, after getting along for so many years, she probably understood some of Madam Liu¡¯s thoughts: she was just a little envious of her biological mother, thinking that she was a fool having a blessing of a fool.


    The eleventh elder brother was now working as a Tongzhi in the northwest. The eighteenth elder brother was a soldier in the southwest, and now he was the fifth rank. The twenty-second elder brother was working in the Imperial Academy.


    [Tong zhi (֪ͬ) is an official in Ming and Qing Dynastie, the deputy of the prefect]


    Of course, the eldest brother was Dali Temple Minister. The fourth elder brother was the prefect, and the tenth elder brother was the second-rank general of the Qingzhou Navy.


    [Da li si (´óÀíËÂ) is the central judicial office in ancient Chinese similar to today¡¯s supreme court. the Daili Temple manages prisons, reviewing major cases and rehabilitating the injustices]


    In comparison, it must be the children of Madam Liu who were more promising.


    The eldest sister was married to Duke Zhen Mansion. She was the wife of the young master of Duke Zhen Mansion and the wife of future Duke Zhen. The fifth elder sister, Anfei, married the eighth son of Emperor Wenjin. Now she was the princess consort.


    And Liu Fang¡¯s older sister, the eighth elder sister, Anfen, was only married to the eldest princess¡¯s youngest son, which was also begged by the eighth brother-in-law. As for her, she hasn¡¯t gotten married yet, and she probably won¡¯t be able to marry any high-profile family in the future. After all, she¡¯s not interested in that.


    Looking at it this way, the children born by Madam Liu were not only promising but also married very well, with status and love between husband and wife.


    And the children born by her biological mother Qi Yiniang, although they were also promising, and the married ones were also well-married, but they still can¡¯t be compared with the eldest brother and the eldest sister, right?


    Logically speaking, it should be Madam Liu who was proud of herself, right? But it¡¯s the exact opposite.


    Madam Liu felt that she had been working hard as a housekeeper and raising her children since she married her father, and she was busy like a spinning top every day. As for Qi Yiniang, she was silly and sweet every day, but she lives comfortably.


    Now, Madam Liu can relax a little, but she still has to be busy. And what about the Qi Yiniang? Still silly and sweet, living comfortably.


    Therefore, it was normal to be a little envious and jealous.


    Liu Fang actually thought it was funny. Although Madam Liu always acted like she disliked Qi Yiniang and thought she was stupid. But in fact, it was usually her who takes care of Qi Yiniang the most¡ªjust like a big sister, protecting her youngest sister.


    Maybe even Madam Liu herself didn¡¯t realize her role in the mansion. In fact, it¡¯s not the mistress, but the sister of all the concubines!


    The kind elder sister who always protects her younger sister.


    To be honest, an ancient relationship between wives and concubines was originally supposed to be deformed, and it was difficult to live in harmony, but it was forcibly turned into a family by Madam Liu, harmonious and peaceful, and loved each other for so many years.


    As for who was redundant in the mansion, Liu Fang thinks, it was probably her father¡ªDuke Liu.


    Thinking back to the past years when the whole family got together, the concubines were talking and playing cards around Madam Liu, the brothers get together, the sisters were around her, and the sisters-in-law were with her. It was really only the father, Duke Liu, who was alone.


    Cough, Liu Fang pulled back her thoughts, smiled and said, ¡°Mother, I heard that you rejected several official matchmakers that asked for marriage, so I wanted to come over and talk to you.¡±


    Madam Liu frowned. Relax and lean on the soft pillow, watching the maids pack up the books and ink, and serve tea again.


    ¡°What? Are you going to pick a random family to marry?¡±


    In Duke Liu Mansion, Madam Liu never made this statement, especially when it came to the marriage of her children, she basically made it clear.


    As for not complying with the rules?


    Madam Liu rolled her eyes: Why do you still talk about so many nonsense rules in your family? How to feel comfortable. You don¡¯t even have your own opinion on such a big thing as getting married, can you expect to have an opinion when it comes to big things in the future? That¡¯s the brain hole.


    She can¡¯t live forever, and she can¡¯t watch them all the time, and they will live by themselves in the future. When a husband and wife get along, only they know whether they were suitable or not. They didn¡¯t even want this option, what else can they do?


    Just keep it at home and be a waste.


    Anyway, she didn¡¯t care what other people¡¯s families were like. That was how she taught her children, and they have to make up their own minds.


    What matchmaker¡¯s words, parents¡¯ orders? Pooh!


    A group of sour Confucians who got water in their brains made things, who will take care of them?


    Liu Fang smiled, the Great Jin Dynasty was an overhead dynasty, and it was a new dynasty that had not been established for a hundred years, so the atmosphere was very open, and it was not the kind of time when the parent¡¯s order must not be disobeyed it.


    Of course, respecting and filial piety to the elders was also a state-advocated and customary rule of the people.


    But, at least, at the moment, in Duke Liu Mansion, in front of her mother, Liu Fang can speak freely, say what she wants to say, and do what she wants to do.


    ¡°Mother, what daughter thinks is that you don¡¯t have to look for a noble family. Just wait for next year¡¯s imperial examination and choose a poor family child with good personality.¡±


    Madam Liu took a sip of tea, glancing at her, and said lightly, ¡°Anfang, are you afraid?¡±


    Liu Fang understood what Madam Liu meant. She smiled and said, ¡°Well, I¡¯m afraid, and also tired.¡±


    She sincerely said to Madam Liu, ¡°In the future, I just want to live comfortably. With my mother, brothers, and sisters, I don¡¯t have to worry.¡±


    Madam Liu put down the teacup, half-lying lazily, and sneered.


    ¡°Oh, you are like your mother, you like to live a comfortable life without thinking. But do you think it¡¯s possible? You can¡¯t rely on others at any time, you can only rely on yourself. Do you understand? I have taught you in vain for so many years.¡±


    Of course she understands.


    It¡¯s just that she was different. In such an era, you need to rely on yourself, but more importantly, you have to have a good family.


    If she didn¡¯t have, then it¡¯s another story. But now she has, why should she find such a hard way?


    Wasn¡¯t it good to live comfortably?


    It was also a skill to eat old! It was a kind of ability to be able to eat old for a lifetime!


    [Ken lao (¿ÐÀÏ) refers to the fact that young people choose to live on their parents because they do not want to make progress and do not want to work hard]


    Although, she didn¡¯t want to think about eating old, but since she has a good family to rely on, why didn¡¯t she rely on it for the rest of her life?


    You must go to toss and show your ability because having too much free time and feel bored.


    Besides, the original owner¡¯s wish was to live comfortably. She has no intention of marrying into any noble family. The same was true of Liu Fang.


    Liu Fang smiled and said, ¡°Mother, you are right, and your teaching is also right. But daughter still believes in you, and even more in the elder brothers and elder sisters you taught. If all of you are unreliable, then, even if I was reliable, so what? It¡¯s the same.¡±


    Madam Liu choked and said angrily, ¡°Okay, get out of here when you¡¯re done, I¡¯m too lazy to pay attention to you, just because you are the youngest, you can torment me, roll! ¡°


    Liu Fang didn¡¯t care about her words at all, she got up and saluted with a smile, ¡°Then mother, daughter retire.¡±


    Madam Liu waved angrily, ¡± Go go go! ¡°


    Liu Fang walked away with a smile, and Madam Liu rolled her eyes and instructed Yang momo, ¡°Go and see the lunch for the young ladies, don¡¯t let them get hungry and become thin, they¡¯ll have to rely on me if they can¡¯t get married by then.¡±


    [Mo mo (æÖæÖ) refers to old female servants, Mostly they accompanied their master since birth]


    Yang momo held back her laughter, bowed in response, and went down to give instructions.


    She knew in her heart that Madam loved the eighteenth young lady the most, worried that she would be swayed by rumors outside, so she said this. In daily life, who would neglect the young ladies in the mansion? It was just the motherly love of Madam.


    After all, Madam was sharped tongue concealing a caring heart and protectived toward her children.


    Madam Liu was still annoyed, ¡°Hmph, you thought marrying a poor boy would save you worry? Naive! How many people want to suck blood from the Duke Liu Mansion. She¡¯s just a fool like her mother, hum! Forget it, sons and daughters were debt, so I owe her. This dead girl, if after you get married and come back crying after being bullied, let see how I beat you to death. Dead girl¡­¡±


    Liu Fang naturally didn¡¯t know Madam Liu¡¯s thoughts. Even if she knew, she will only smile helplessly, what else could she do?


    When she returned to her yard, the lunch was just set. Liu Fang saw all the food she liked to eat, smiled, and her heart warmed: She was really fortunate, and the original owner was also very lucky to be born here and have such a good family. Otherwise, she would not regret it after her death and would be willing to pay merit to correct her life.


    This was very good!


    After lunch, a walk, and a nap, Liu Fang went to the garden to paint.


    After came here, she wanted to learn more skills, whether it was calligraphy, painting, embroidery, cooking, housekeeping, etc., as long as it was something she didn¡¯t know, she would work hard to learn it.


    There was still a long time she needs to travel in the future, and there was no harm in learning more.


    Moreover, what she learned will become her capital. Maybe she will forget it after she was reincarnated, but she believes that the habit engraved into her soul will benefit her a lot in the next life.


    In August, when the sixteenth elder sister An Qian got married, the mansion was lively all day, and Liu Fang also entertained the guests and was tired all day.


    Seeing Madam Liu¡¯s eyes turning red, she sighed in her heart: Speaking of which, all their brothers and sisters have a deep relationship with Madam Liu. If there was someone in this world who would work hard for them, except for their biological mother, it would probably be Madam Liu.


    Such a feeling was amazing! It transcends blood ties, and also breaks the inherent form under the secular concept.

 Chapter 4

    Chapter 4 The Scholar¡¯s Wife


    This was good!


    If everyone lived soberly and clear-head and looked at the people and things around them rationally, wouldn¡¯t the world have a little prejudiced, and be more warm and loving?


    However, Liu Fang thought: Humans probably cannot see through it. And most of them have insatiable desires. Greed was like a valley that can never be filled. They were always caught up in their own greed. That¡¯s what causes all misfortunes, right?


    Most of the people who were sober and clear-head actually live a very painful life. Because, there were too many things in the world for these people to compromise, and when they compromise, these people will forget their own sobriety and calmness.


    Alas~ everything was like this, why do you have to force it? How can it be forced?


    Only hope that in this world, there will be fewer things that were forced to compromise and more sober and calm people.


    In autumn, the cold wind began to blow in the capital. Liu Fang has always been afraid of the cold. Even though she began to practice martial arts and strengthen her body since childhood, she was still ¡°afraid of the cold¡±. It¡¯s a psychological feeling, not necessarily a physical one.


    Therefore, she put on a thin padded jacket early, and her cloak was always ready.


    On this day, eldest sister¡¯s mother-in-law, Madam Zhen invited their mother to go to the suburbs to offer incense in a temple. Madam Liu naturally brought Liu Fang with her. The seventeenth elder sister, An He who has been staying at home to embroider for the dowry and hadn¡¯t gone out for several months can¡¯t hold back anymore, she also acts coquettishly wanting to go together.


    Madam Liu had no choice but to roll her eyes and agreed in a sullen mood, and kept saying, ¡°Go, go, have enough fun, when you get married and have children, you can¡¯t play even if you want to play. ¡°


    Seventeenth elder sister was so frightened that she almost wanted to regret her marriage, which made Liu Fang burst into laughter.


    On the day of offering the incense. They set up early in the morning, Liu Fang was naturally fully armed and prepared properly, and Madam Liu was not worried at all.


    When it comes to An He, she wears so little on cold days to look attractive. She was wearing a flowing tulle skirt, Madam Liu felt cold when she saw it, and almost stepped forward and stripped her.


    There was no other way, An He could only go back and change into a normal autumn skirt in grievance before she could go out.


    Liu Fang: ¡­what is the point of this? ¨r(¦á©n¦á)¨q


    Madam Liu takes a carriage by herself. Every daughter and son in the mansion has at least two carriages ready when they went out, and they can take any carriage.


    But An He want to squeeze with Liu Fang, so the two of them sat in one carriage.


    Followed by several carriages with items for going out, as well as the carriages for the maids and servants, also followed by a team of guards marched forward mightly.


    The Duke was a first-rank title. Although it can¡¯t be compared with the first-rank prince. There were also rules and regulations for the guards, the number of people assign was 500 for the protection in the mansion and for travel.


    The Duke Mansion was located in the imperial city. In addition, there were imperial guards guarding it. The Duke Mansion guards only need to patrol the safety of the mansion on daily basis and gave protection to the masters when they travel. In a real sense, there were really not many times to risk their lives.


    The imperial city of the Great Jin Dynasty was not the same as what Liu Fang knew in her previous life.


    The imperial city here was actually the place where the founding fathers, noble families, and royal clans lived. There were various mansions in it, and only the top wealthy families of the Great Jin Dynasty can live in them.


    The size of the imperial city was something that Liu Fang had never seen before. At least, from her point of view, a city as big as this in ancient times can already be used as a real city, the capital of a country nowadays.


    But here, This large imperial city was only inhabited by those noble families, and most of the inside was still empty, which was really a waste.


    However, the emperors of the Great Jin Dynasty were not stupid to the end, the imperial city was big, and the palace city was also big. Up to now, neither of the two emperors liked to have concubines. There were not many women, sons, and daughters. As a result, whether it was the palace city or the imperial city, they were all enough to live.


    Therefore, in order not to let those mansions left by the previous dynasty be deserted, and also to save the expenses of repairing these mansions.


    The emperors of the Great Jin Dynasty liked to rent the empty palaces and houses in the imperial city to wealthy merchants to hold banquets, or to open a part of them for the common people to visit.


    In this way, the money generated was enough for the daily maintenance and repair of the palace and the empty houses in these imperial cities. It can also allow the common people to see the rich and noble style of the imperial city.


    After leaving the imperial city, it was the lively inner city, and passing through the inner city was the outer city with the most population.


    This city after another, when combined, was the entire capital, and there was a large area of ??forest villages and towns in the suburbs of the capital. The capital of the Great Jin Dynasty was no less than the capital where Liu Fang lived in his previous life.


    In the previous life, there were nearly 10 million people living in the capital, but the current capital of the Great Jin Dynasty has only about 3 million people, which was really vast and sparsely populated!


    Therefore, no matter the outer city, the inner city, or the imperial city in the capital, the streets were very wide, and the houses and shops were very neat and well-proportioned. The only difference was that the houses in the imperial city are very large, the houses in the inner city were big and small, and in the outer city, there were many small houses and few big houses.


    But the courtyard house was the most basic, and the largest was half the size of the Duke Mansion.


    [A siheyuan (ËĺÏÔº) is a historical type of residence that was commonly found throughout China. Siheyuan refers to a courtyard surrounded by buildings on all four sides. It also appears in English translation as courtyard houses and, less often, as Chinese quardrangles]


    In short, buying a house in the Great Jin Dynasty was more cost-effective than buying a house in modern times, at least it covers a large area and there was no public share. The house was spacious enough to live in!


    Of course, there was no need to mention the kind of ten or twenty people crowded into one yard. Then it was the same as the modern ten people crowded in a house with two bedrooms and one living room. There were not enough houses and there were too many people.


    The normal living area of ancient times surpassed modern times, no matter which time and space were the same.


    This was not the first time Liu Fang has seen the prosperity of the Great Jin Dynasty, but she will sight every time she sees it. If it was like this in her previous life, there was no population explosion and she didn¡¯t have to worry about the house then she wouldn¡¯t have to die from overwork.


    However, a large population also has the advantages of a large population, and a small population also has the disadvantages of a small population. In short, each has its own advantages and disadvantages. This was something that can¡¯t be helped.


    The wheel of history was always moving forward, and the power of an individual was too small in the face of the general trend of history. The only thing she can do was to live her own life well and live a stable and worry-free life, so she has no regrets.


    Of course, if possible, she will also be a person who contributes to the world. The premise was that she was capable enough.


    Now, she can still be a little girl with peace of mind, and she will be a good wife and mother in the future.


    Anhe was the most restless among all the elder sisters. For a while, she let the maid go to buy snacks, and then pointed to the cloth village and chatted with Liu Fang about the new fabrics. She was never quiet along the way. Making Liu Fang want to shut her up.


    It¡¯s so noisy!


    There were several Buddhist temples in the suburbs of the capital. The most famous one was Anguo Temple. As the name suggests, this was the national temple of the Great Jin Dynasty. Because the royal family surname was An, and the eldest brother of the first emperor of the Great Jin Dynasty became a monk here, it got its name.


    Therefore, the incense here was the most prosperous, and it only entertains noble families, royal clans, and other officials families. It wasn¡¯t impossible for ordinary people to come here to offer incense, but most of them were afraid to bump into the nobles. Thus not many of them come here.


    In this way, over time, Anguo Temple has become a place where the noble families offer incense and worship the Buddha. And ordinary people can hardly be seen here.


    However, there was a market at the foot of the mountain where people gather, selling food, drink, incense and candles.


    Anguo Temple was not very far from the capital. The carriage can speed up as soon as it leaves the city, but it takes more than half an hour to reach the foot of Anguo Temple.


    There was a spacious road on the mountain. The drives directly drive the carriage to the mountain and stops at the gate of the temple. There was a spacious square for parking the carriage, and there were also monks who guard the carriage.


    Liu Fang and her party were going up the mountain in a carriage. Suddenly, the carriage stopped causing Liu Fang, Anhe, Shu Mo, and Xiang Ting, who were unprepared to collide.


    ¡°Ouch! It hurts to death!¡±


    Anhe covered her forehead, Xiang Ting and Shu Mo supported each other and each of them also covered their forehead.


    Liu Fang¡¯s response was quick, she grab the carriage with both hands so she didn¡¯t bump.


    Seeing that An He¡¯s forehead was swollen, she quickly stabilized herself and asked, ¡°Seventeenth elder sister, are you all right?¡±


    ¡°Dizzy, my forehead hurts.¡± Anhe eyes were red with aggression Looking at Liu Fang with tear hanging in her eyes, pouted: ¡°It hurts¡­¡±


    Liu Fang:¡­Okay, it¡¯s normal for elder sister to act like a spoiled child when she got hurt.


    Seeing that the car had stopped. Liu Fang let go of her hand, shifted her body, sat beside An He, hugged her, and blow up her forehead: ¡°Okay, Seventeenth elder sister, it doesn¡¯t hurt anymore. Xiang Ting, Bring some ointment and apply it to seventeenth elder sister, and you and Shu Mo also apply it.¡±


    ¡°Alright, Eighteenth young lady, this servant will go.¡±


    The ointment was on the carriage behind. There was no medicine in this carriage, only tea, and snacks that Anhe bought snacks along the way.


    Seeing that Xiang Ting went out of the carriage to get the medicine, An He pouted, she held back her tears and didn¡¯t cry, then leaned against Liu Fang aggrievedly: ¡°Xiao Anfang, blow it again, It still hurts¡­¡±


    Liu Fang: What can I do? ¨r( ¦Ø )¨q can only continue. Alas~


    Xiang Ting brought the medicine over after a while, smeared it on Anhe, and then smeared the medicine on herself and Shu Mo, then said: ¡°This servant has asked, it is said that the carriage in front had hit a person, so collide with us.¡±


    Liu Fang also thought the same thing. She just didn¡¯t know which family it was, and who was the one who get bumped into it.


    After a lot of trouble and probably the front has been dealt with, the carriage began to move forward again. This time the carriage pace was much slower.


    When Liu Fang¡¯s carriage passed by the scene of the incident, they saw a woman covered in blood kneeling on the ground on the side of the road, surrounded by a circle of people dressed in the same clothes, probably the servants of a family.


    The woman was sobbing pitifully. The servants who surrounded her rolled their eyes impatiently, and they were all big and tall, with a fierce look on their faces. When others saw it, they couldn¡¯t help but think: Is this bullying?


    Anhe was covering her head with a handkerchief. She glanced through the gauze of the car window and ignored it, but Liu Fang twitched the corners of her mouth and looked at the sky speechlessly: Does this woman think everyone else is a fool?


    The woman was still sobbing and said, ¡°You, even if you are from Junzhu¡®s mansion, you can¡¯t bully the commoners like this. The little girl was hit, can¡¯t she ask for justice?¡±


    [Jun zhu (¿¤Ö÷) A title given to the daughter of a prince]


    At this time, a group of scholars happened to go up the mountain. Hearing the woman¡¯s words, they stopped, and one of them said angrily to the group of servants: ¡°It¡¯s abominable, which junzhu is so lawless, to do such a cruel thing to the good people in broad daylight? Is there any law? ?¡±


    Servant: ¡­ what did they say? what did they do? Harm the good people? !


    One person rolled his eyes and said: ¡°This young master, my master told this young lady to go to the hospital to see the injury first, and my master will naturally pay for the expenses. As for what this young lady said about being hit, the right and wrong of it will naturally be judged by the Jingzhao Mansion, so my master is not afraid. Besides, under the watchful eyes of everyone, everyone saw that it was this young lady who went to my master¡¯s carriage. It wasn¡¯t my master¡¯s carriage that collided with her on purpose. Young Master, if you don¡¯t know it, don¡¯t make a false statement, otherwise, the title of my master is not just for show. It¡¯s more than enough to sue you, what do you think?¡±


    The scholar¡¯s face and ears were red, and he replied with a stern expression, ¡°Only one side of your words, who knows the truth?¡±


    The other scholars glanced at him and turned their heads silently, one of them quietly took a step back. As he was about to turn away and leave, he was seen by the woman and shouted loudly.


    ¡°Young master, please check carefully. The little girl didn¡¯t mean to hit junzhu¡®s carriage. It was because the carriage was so fast that the little girl couldn¡¯t react in time. Please help the little girl !¡±


    The scholar who has been seen by the girl: ¡­¡­? ?


    Everyone present looked at him collectively: ¡­


    Suddenly, the scene became quiet.

 Chapter 5

    Chapter 5 The Scholar¡¯s Wife


    The scholar was wearing a blue robe and looked handsome. Although the clothes on his body had been washed a lot and the color had faded, they were very clean and spotless.


    The scholar in the blue robe originally planned to take a step back and stay away from trouble, but he did not expect that his move was seen as standing up for the woman, which made him very helpless.


    He sighed and smiled slightly: ¡°Young lady, did your head hurt or not?¡±


    The woman blushed slightly, bowed her head shyly, and said, ¡°It hurts.¡±


    The blue robe scholar continued to smile gently and said. ¡°Since it hurts, why don¡¯t you go to the medical clinic to see the injury first?¡±


    The woman¡¯s face stiffened, and she couldn¡¯t go on crying.


    The blue robe scholar seemed to be unaware, and continued, ¡°It¡¯s really unsightly to see so much blood. Besides, with so much blood, young lady don¡¯t you feel dizzy? did you feel nausea?¡±


    Before waiting for the woman to answer, the blue robe scholar robe said: ¡°Probably young lady thinks that only by kneeling here until she dies, and the blood is drained, can junzhu be criticized and punished, and you will be treated with justice, right?¡±


    The last two words were asked in an extremely gentle tone, but it made the woman¡¯s face turn pale, and looked at him in disbelief.


    Sitting in the carriage, Liu Fang almost laughs out loud. She probably understood the woman¡¯s inner voice: Are you a devil?


    Anhe was also very happy watching this, and even forgot the wound on her forehead.


    ¡°Not bad, this scholar has seen enough and said enough.¡±


    Liu Fang smiled, ¡°He is earnest in caring for the sufferer.¡±


    Anhe chuckled, ¡°Yes, it was really earnest.¡±


    Liu Fang smiled, this scholar was a good person, his mind was clear and calm, didn¡¯t lose his mind when saw a beautiful woman, and most importantly, he was pretty good-looking.


    Being born in Duke Liu Mansion with high value in appearance. Liu Fang¡¯s aesthetic vision has also improved a lot. At least, there were very few people who can impress her and make her feel good-looking.


    Anhe looked at her younger sister¡¯s radiance face and then looked at the blue robe scholar outside. An oval face with flying eyebrows on his temples, slightly slanted phoenix eyes, a high nose and thin lips. He was tall and upright, his black ink hair was all tied up. Although the clothes were simple and looked very old, but they were spotless.


    Overall, a modest, self-disciplined gentleman. And it seems that the brain was also very good.


    Compared with the other scholars next to him, especially the one who has just spoken up, the blue robe scholar stood out from the crowd.


    Anhe smiled, her charming face was full of understanding, and when they passed the group of people and went up the mountain, she said to Liu Fang, ¡°Good little sister, little Anfang, tell elder sister, did you like that scholar?¡±


    Liu Fang nodded with a smile, ¡°Well, this person is not bad.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± Anhe looked at her meaningfully and smiled.


    Madam Liu never had any plans for them to marry for the sake of the family. From the eldest sister to her, to Anfang, it was always the best fit.


    Therefore, the eldest sister who was born of blue, but beat blue, married to Duke Zhen Mansion.


    [Qing chu yu lan er sheng yu lan (Çà³öÓÚÀ¶¶øʤÓÚÀ¶) literally meaning green is born of blue, but beats blue is Chinese idiom used to describe a person who becomes better than his/her predecessors]


    The shrewd and sophisticated fifth elder sister married the eighth prince and became the princess consort;


    The eighth sister, who was equally intelligent, married into the eldest princess family.


    As for the second sister, who has a mild temperament, she married the eldest son of Jiu family from the imperial academy;


    The bold and vigorous third elder sister married the second son of the General¡¯s Mansion in Zhenyuan;


    The sixth elder sister was simple and honest and was married to the concubine son of Marquis Anyang Mansion. The sixth brother-in-law¡¯s biological mother died young, and he was separated from the mansion as soon as they got married. He has honest temperament, and lives the life of a rich landlord by guarding the divided fields.


    The seventh elder sister was obedient and submissive, so she married Madam Liu nephew, the youngest son of Prince Wang Cheng, a great painter and calligrapher who liked to travel in the mountains and rivers.


    The ninth elder sister Aiqin who was obsessed with zither happened to meet the youngest son of the seventh family of an old and well-known family, who was also a fellow man, so she married the Confucius family.


    The tenth elder sister likes to do carpentry and carving, and Madam Liu racked her brain and found the nephew of the Ministry of Works to match her.


    Eleventh elder sister, Twelfth elder sister¡­


    All sisters¡¯ marriages, no matter what kind of family, in the end, the people who married were very suitable for them: They had the same hobbies or like-minded interests. In short, they did not sacrifice the marriage for the family.


    When it came to her, Anhe¡¯s future husband¡¯s family was also very much in line with her heart ¨C the youngest son of Count Wenyi, he, like An He, liked to play and eat.


    Therefore, in Anhe¡¯s heart, it doesn¡¯t matter who Anfang marries, the important thing is that she likes it.


    Yes, it¡¯s that simple.


    It¡¯s just that, since she was a child, Anfang, this youngest sister, didn¡¯t particularly like anything. When she ate something delicious, she was not like Anhe who had to ask for a lot. She can eat anything.


    She did not show a special love for money, nor did she say that she particularly liked to do something.


    She also learns qin, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, wine, and tea, and she likes them a lot. She was also very happy and earnest in learning needlework, cooking, and housekeeping


    She seems to like everything, but she doesn¡¯t like it very much.


    Therefore, Anhe and their other brothers and sisters have always been worried about her, worried that she will be wronged in the future.


    To be honest, with so many brothers and sisters in the family, the real good-natured one was definitely not the sixth elder sister Anwan, nor the seventh elder sister Anmo, but the youngest sister Anfang.


    The sixth elder sister was honest and sincere, but she was not a selfless fool who was willing to suffer losses. You can take advantage of her, but next time you don¡¯t let her take it back, this is not over!


    The seventh elder sister, Anmo, was indeed submissive, but as a sister from the same biological mother, Anhe was very clear that the seventh elder sister has a very small heart. If you provoke her, she will never make you feel better. And it was still the kind that you will never forget, and never want to try again.


    As for the other brothers, heh, Anhe will tell you that none of them are to be messed with. Usually, the most simple and honest ninth elder brother Anjin was a sesame-stuffed bun, let alone others. Don¡¯t be sold and still count the money for him.


    [Sesame-stuffed bun is a Chinese metaphor for someone who looks harmless but the inside was very deceptive like a bun white on the surface and black on the inside]


    [Mai le hai ti ta men shu qian (ÂôÁË»¹ÌæËûÃÇÊýÇ®ÄØ) being used by others. Not only do I not know that I am being used by others, but I feel that others are helping me, so I am very grateful to others]


    Anyway, in Anhe¡¯s eyes, there were only four people in the whole family who was simple: the father??Duke Liu, Qi Yiniang, the youngest sister??Anfang, and herself.


    It was not that Anhe didn¡¯t know how to scheme, but she was too lazy to use her brain, and her IQ was not comparable to other brothers and sisters.


    Father, Duke Liu didn¡¯t need to mention it. If it wasn¡¯t for him being their father, he treated them well every day. I¡¯m afraid he would have been coaxed around by his sons leaving nothing in the end.


    Don¡¯t mention Qi Yiniang, she was just a fool.


    The youngest sister, Anfang was able to endure, especially tolerable. Or rather there were many things she can disregard neither did she care.


    She only cares about two things: family and sincerity.


    Such a fool, let Anhe and the others sisters and brothers all think that the youngest sister was too kind and easy to be bullied, and she will definitely be wronged in the future.


    Usually, the more sensible and pure a person was, the easier it was for them to be hurt and let down.


    Her family must be reluctant to let her down and hurt her, but what about her husband in the future? What about her children?


    So Anhe and the others were really worried about Anfang.


    Seriously, they wanted Anfang not to get married, stayed at home and was raised by the eldest brother. They could even take turns raising her together. Staying for one month in one family then it will take three years for a round.


    It was really nothing for them, and they can definitely afford it.


    It¡¯s just Madam Liu disagreed, saying that she always had to know what the future will be like. If she didn¡¯t even try, then even if they raised Anfang for the rest of her life, she might not be happy.


    Anhe also felt that Madam Liu was right. At least, let the little sister choose how to live her own life. Instead, let her family arrange her life with the thought it was good for her.


    Maybe they can arrange Anfang¡¯s future well, but it didn¡¯t necessarily mean that she was really happy.


    Life was only a few decades, and being happy was the most important thing. The other things were really not that important.


    As for Anfang¡¯s crush on a poor boy? Oh, it doesn¡¯t matter. As long as these older brothers and sisters can stand up, the younger sister can live whatever she wants in the future, and no one can bully her.


    Even if there was such a day, Anhe feels that in the end, it must not be Anfang who will suffer, but the person who bullied her.


    There was no other choice, who make their brothers and sisters so protective.


    The carriage arrived on the mountain safely and steadily. Anhe and Anfang got off the carriage, went to the front carriage and helped Madam Liu to get off, and then entered the Anguo Temple with Madam Zhen and their eldest sister??Ansu to offer incense.


    Anguo Temple was worthy of being a national temple. Not to mention the area, the temple itself was tall and majestic, and the scenery was also very good.


    Anhe accompanies her mother, eldest sister, and younger sister for a while then wasn¡¯t very happy to continue to accompany them.


    Madam. Liu and Madam Zhen also planned to listen to the scriptures. The eldest sister, Ansu, has been married for many years. Naturally, she has to accompany her mother-in-law. Besides, she was much older than Anhe and the others. It was said that she was an elder sister, but actually feels like a mother to her younger sister.


    Seeing Anhe¡¯s eyes looking around, it was obvious she couldn¡¯t stay sat still any longer, Ansu smiled, turned to Madam Liu and Madam. Zhen and said, ¡°Mother, mother-in-law, I¡¯ll accompany you to listen to the scriptures. The younger sisters are still young and rarely go out, so let them relax and let them go for a walk in the temple.¡±


    Anhe stuck out her tongue in embarrassment.


    Madam Liu waved her hand angrily, and said, ¡°Forget it, it can be seen that you can¡¯t wait any longer, go, go ahead. But you have to take good care of your sister, and you are not allowed to only care about your own fun.¡±


    Anhe took Liu Fang¡¯s hand and saluted with a smile, ¡°Well, mother, your daughter must keep an eye on younger sister, don¡¯t worry.¡±


    ¡°Go.¡±


    Anhe also pulled Liu Fang to salut Madam Zhen. Then took the maids to wander around.


    Madam Zhen watched them go away, smiled and said to Madam Liu: ¡°It¡¯s still your daughters, and they are obedient and well behave.¡±


    Madam Liu smiled, ¡°You haven¡¯t seen the time they were naughty.¡±


    Madam Zhen smiled and shook her head, ¡°Children, it was best to be lively and full of vigor. If it was like a wooden man, what¡¯s the fun? For people like us, it was enough for the children to be sensible and reasonable and don¡¯t need to achieve anything.¡±


    Madam Liu smiled and nodded, ¡°You are right. Seeing that they are about to get married, the days in their parents¡¯ family are getting fewer and fewer, isn¡¯t it good to let them be happy for a few days? After getting married, it will be busy and will not have time to relax.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it¡­¡±


    Madam Liu and Madam Zhen were good friends when they were young, and their temperaments were very similar. Otherwise, they would not marry their eldest daughter to her eldest son. Therefore, every time the two meet and talk, they werre very casual.


    In this regard, Ansu was also not surprised.


    She only instructed the servants to pay attention to the two younger sisters, and she followed the two mothers to the side hall to listen to the scriptures.


    Speaking of Anhe, she dragged Liu Fang all the way, turned left and right, and unknowingly came to the forest in the back mountain.


    ¡°It¡¯s a bit interesting here. It is said that it is the calligraphic treasures left by the poor scholars who stayed in the temple. Some of them are still a bit talented¡­¡±


    At Anguo Temple, in addition to the peach blossom forest, the pear blossom forest, and the plum forest. There was something interesting about the bamboo forest, the biggest attraction was the large collection of ancient stone tablets at the back mountain.


    There were some classic works left by great scholars, and there were also immature works left by underprivileged students. In short, it was quite interesting to watch a hundred schools of thought.


    Anhe and Liu Fang also studied in the Duke Mansion since childhood. The education in Duke Liu Mansion was still very good. At least they can learn literature and martial arts, and also invited talented people to teach them. Therefore, although the sons and daughters of Duke Liu Mansion were not well-known outside, in fact, all of them were proficient and had their own strengths.

 Chapter 6

    Chapter 6 The Scholar¡¯s Wife


    For example, An He, her hobbies were eating and having fun, but her greatest skill was calligraphy, especially wild grass cursive!


    [Kuang cao (¿ñ²Ý) is an excessively free cursive style in Chinese calligraphy. The strokes are connected and round, and the fonts are wild and changeable]


    Looking at her sweet and charming appearance, it was completely unimaginable that she was domineering and unrestrained when she writes wild grass cursive.


    The contrast was too great that outsiders can¡¯t believe it at all.


    Liu Fang was actually surprised. When she was a child and attended class with her elder sisters, she often suspected that she was not the one who cross over but the seventeenth elder sister was. She was gifted with an extraordinary retentive memory, endowed with intelligence and wit, and excellent comprehension. It was just like using a plug-in. The seventeenth elder sister was so talented and savvy that she has crushed her, a traveler with memories of her past life, to the point of doubting her life.


    [Kai le gua (¿ªÁ˹Ò) Chinese internet buzzword. It is mostly used when a person gets a relatively amazing result, because it is incredible, people think that it is obtained by cheating. It is mostly used to marvel at the achievements of others. It is not necessarily believed that this person¡¯s achievement is obtained by cheating]


    But that was the truth.


    From the outsiders¡¯ point of view, Duke Liu Mansion has only prospered in recent years. However, in Liu Fang¡¯s view, it was the result of the accumulation of all people in Duke Liu Mansion.


    What outsiders see was the success of the children of Duke Liu Mansion, but what Liu Fang sees was the IQ and EQ of the ancients.


    After all, talent was innate, but the environment to acquire it was created by Madam Liu.


    Her generosity, wisdom, fairness, and justice were the keys to enabling all of Duke Liu Mansion¡¯s children to become talents and give full play to their strengths.


    If it hadn¡¯t been for her bowl of water, so that all the children could unite from the bottom of their hearts and live in harmony, Duke Liu Mansion would never be what it is today.


    [Yi wan shui dan ping (Ò»ÍëË®¶Ëƽ) Chinese idiom which means to deal with things fairly and not favor any party]


    Therefore, all the children in Duke Liu Mansion regardless of the concubine¡¯s children sincerely respect and admire Madam Liu, and they have become good and obedient children.


    It was precisely because of this that people like Anhe who has a great contrast can maintain her personality and grow up until now.


    Anhe pulled Liu Fang all the way to look at the forest of steles, stopping from time to time to comment a few words, Liu Fang listened with a smile, and occasionally responded with a few words. The two sisters were talking and laughing at ease.


    After a while, the group of scholars also came, discussing while looking at the forest of steles.


    Anhe also happily pulled Liu Fang to stand not far away to listen to their discussion, nodding from time to time.


    ¡°This group of scholars is not pedantic people, and the brain is still very smart.¡±


    Liu Fang felt funny. The current custom has not yet reached the point where men and women have separate seats, and completely disdain women. At least several world-famous scholars were women. There was also a female household. There were even female officials and generals in the courtroom. It was open-minded, there were all kinds of doctrine, it can be said that a hundred schools of thought contend, and a hundred flowers bloom.


    [Nu hu (Å®»§) means a household with no males and a woman as the head of the household in ancient times]


    Such times were good, at least in Liu Fang¡¯s view, a woman¡¯s life was not only about getting married and having children, but also about having choices.


    But because she struggled all her life in her previous life and died young, so she no longer had the urge to fight for the top. On the contrary, she was willing to be a rice worm who does not worry about food.


    [Mi chong (Ã׳æ) is Internet slang to describe someone who doesn¡¯t have to do anything and just depends on others to support them]


    Leisurely and carefree, it was good to live a happy and peaceful life.


    That group of scholars was the same group that Liu Fang and Anhe encountered when they went up the mountain, and the scholar in the blue robe was naturally among them.


    Anhe whispered next to Liu Fang, ¡°Younger sister, look, that young master is very quiet now.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it good for others to be quiet?¡±


    ¡°Quiet is good, it proves that he is sober, and didn¡¯t like to get ahead. It¡¯s not bad to be able to know when to advance and retreat.¡±


    Anhe looked at the blue robe scholar, nodded, and said, ¡°Scholars of this age always like to be in the limelight, but he is not. However, it seems that his mind is calm and steady, also very deep and serene.¡±


    She said it was not good for someone to always like to stand in the limelight, but also said someone who was quiet and calm was deep-minded. Liu Fang was really speechless. She has said all the good things and bad things. What else can she say?


    ¡°Seventeenth elder sister, no matter what he is, it has nothing to do with us. Besides, we don¡¯t know him. It¡¯s not good to talk about people like this. Let¡¯s go elsewhere.¡±


    ¡°Okay. Let¡¯s go to the bamboo forest to dig bamboo shoots, we can eat them for lunch.¡±


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s go.¡±


    Anhe and Liu Fang turned around and took the people away. The scholars over there were also paying attention to them. After they left, they all gathered to discuss.


    ¡°Who were those two just now?¡±


    ¡°Probably the young ladies who went up the mountain to offer an incense.¡±


    ¡°Well, haven¡¯t we met junzhu just now? Probably they are also the young ladies of noble family?¡±


    ¡°It looks like they must be the young ladies from a Duke or Marquis Mansion.¡±


    ¡°How do you say that?¡±


    ¡°Although their clothes look ordinary, they are made of high-quality brocade, and although there is not much jewelry on their bodies, everything is a masterpiece. With a group of escort and maidservants¡­¡±


    Everyone suddenly said, ¡°No wonder, the temperament was different.¡±


    ¡°Exactly¡­¡±


    The blue robe scholar also heard this, then seriously continued to read the poems on the Forest of Steles from a distance away from them.


    After lunch, Liu Fang and the others went back to the mansion. There were no more accidents on the way down the mountain.


    After washing and changing clothes, Liu Fang lay on the bed and slept, only got up in the evening to eat, then went to greet Madam Liu, and then went back to rest.


    Early the next morning, Liu Fang got up, washed and put on the training clothes, and went to the martial arts field for morning training.


    During the morning exercise in Duke Liu Mansion, all the master and servants, including Madam Liu must be present.


    The eldest brother already had an heir. Several children were ranked according to their age and height starting from Liu Fang. Anhe followed the adults for morning exercises.


    The collective morning exercise was punching, and running for two laps. After that, Madam Liu and the other servants were busy separately, while the others continue to practice other things. For example, the eldest brother practiced swordsmanship and spearmanship on the side, while Anhe practiced the whipping technique. As for Liu Fang, she can try everything, but she was not very proficient in anything. Every day, various weapons come in rotation just to strengthen her body.


    Anhe¡¯s whipping technique was mighty and extraordinary, and no one could get close to her within the range of 2.5 meters. Moreover, the move was not the kind of showy but have no practical skill, it was truly life-threatening and full of murderous aura.


    When Liu Fang was a child she has also asked An He, why did she learn such a murderous whipping technique?


    Anhe¡¯s answer was a matter of course: ¡°Since it is to be learned from childhood, I have worked so hard to learn and practice so hard, so naturally I have to learn something practical. This whip is good, it is convenient to carry and use. It is also very convenient to practice. Well, isn¡¯t it just for self-protection in the end? If I study so hard, but I can¡¯t protect myself in the end, then why should I learn? Do you think I¡¯m not tired enough? As for the murderousness? Oh, people like us, when the day comes when you need to protect your own life, this is the most practical. Otherwise, if you can¡¯t kill others, it will be someone else¡¯s turn to kill you.¡±


    Liu Fang also thought it was true.


    The young ladies of the Duke Liu Mansion have guards when they went out. If one day you really need to protect yourself, the skill that allowed you to kill with one hit was the more practical.


    What¡¯s wrong with killing? Oh, when life was at stake, she really can¡¯t take care of so much.


    The most important thing was to survive.


    Therefore, the martial arts masters in Duke Liu Mansion taught practical kung fu, not some tricks. Even the punch that everyone practices together every day was real and practical.


    Although Liu Fang was not particularly proficient in martial arts, she was still able to protect herself. At least she would have no problem facing three or five stout men.


    Although she has also learned internal skills, she was not a talented person, just ordinary.


    In short, under normal circumstances, she can still protect herself, not completely a pampered young lady.


    After all, Duke Liu Mansion was the founding father of the country, and Liu Fang¡¯s grandfather used to be a famous general, not a person who gained a false reputation. It¡¯s just the young Duke Liu, Liu Fang¡¯s father¡¯s interest, and aspirations were not here. Even if he learns good martial arts, his favorite thing was to do business and make money. He was a layman. Therefore, it makes Duke Liu Mansion seem to be out of place in the eyes of outsiders.


    Of course, Liu Fang secretly guessed that maybe the grandfather was afraid of the emperor¡¯s suspicion of them, the founding fathers, so he condoned his father¡¯s inaction.


    However, all of this was just Liu Fang¡¯s own speculation. As for the facts, only the parties concerned will know.


    After the morning exercise, they went back to their yard to wash up and eat, and then they went back to do their own affairs.


    At present, the eldest brother has three sons, and there were no daughters. In addition, the eldest brother has no concubines, so all the sons were direct descendants. Most of the other brothers have many sons and few daughters, and the girls were still very young, the oldest one was just over a year old, and the youngest was only three months old.


    As for Anhe and Liu Fang, one was already engaged and was about to get married, and the other was about to be engaged and was preparing to get married. It will only take a year or two at most, and there was no need to study at all.


    Therefore, only the boys¡¯ school was open in the mansion, and the girl¡¯s school was temporarily closed.


    However, Madam Liu was the kind of person who likes to take precautions. Even if there were no girls in the mansion who need to go to class, the teachers who teach the girls were not dismissed but continued to support them. They were not exactly idle, they still teach the servants on daily basis.


    Of course, these kinds of servants who have been taught by these teachers were not ordinary servants. They were dowry servants prepared for the young ladies in the mansion like female guards, female accountants, female housekeepers, etc.


    Even they were capable to enlighted the children of the young ladies in the future. In short, they were the professionals that only a big family can have.


    Su Mo and Su Hua on Liu Fang¡¯s side were also professionals, including female guards, female accountants, female housekeepers, and female teachers. The four little maids at the bottom were each good at a certain aspect, waiting to take their post in the future.


    Seeing Duke Liu Mansion planning for the future like this, and it was justified that Duke Liu once thought that his family was poor.


    Don¡¯t you see modern people raising children, the cost from kindergarten to university was considerably a lot. What¡¯s more, Duke Liu has forty children. In order to maintain the dignity of the Duke¡¯s mansion, it was really not easy to have such a large family.


    Therefore, until now, Duke Liu Mansion can be said to be more relaxed, and the cost of the mansion was less because the children grow up, start their own families, and move out of the mansion.


    When Liu Fang and others get married, then only the eldest brother¡¯s family was left in Duke Mansion. The population was not too large, and the cost will be less.


    However, the cost of the school will probably not be small. After all, Madam Liu intends to turn her school into a clan school to train the people in the family. This aspect was absolutely impossible to reduce the cost.


    Fortunately, the family school was also very useful for cultivating children. When there were more talents from one generation to the next, it was still beneficial to the entire family. Now, this cost was of course nothing.


    In the blink of an eye, midsummer has passed, autumn has come, and with the advent of winter, the nineteenth year of Emperor Jin has passed.


    The next year, when the spring season came, Madam Liu sent someone early in the morning to inquire about the group of scholars who were preparing for the imperial examination and planned to choose a husband for Liu Fang.


    When New Year¡¯s Eve passed and the Lantern Festival came, Anhe took advantage of her last year celebrating the New Year at her parents¡¯ house. After dinner, she took Liu Fang and ran out to see the lanterns.


    The elder brothers who live in the capital naturally had to keep up. First, they took their wife out for a stroll. Second, they also had to watch the two younger sisters.


    It was just that Anhe had seen enough of his brothers and sister-in-law spreading dog food all the way, so she dragged Liu Fang away after a while. Making Liu Fang feel helpless.


    [Gou liang (¹·¼Z) Chinese internet slang means public display of affection]


    ¡°Elder sister, let¡¯s just stay farther away, do we need to be separated from the eldest brother and the others?¡±


    Anhe rolled her eyes, ¡°Hmph, you can bear to watch it. Anyway, I¡¯m too lazy to watch them. One by another kissing in front of me, it seems like they never get married.¡±

 Chapter 7

    Chapter 7 The Scholar¡¯s Wife


    Liu Fang: ¡°Elder sister, what you said is a bit too much.¡±


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s okay, let¡¯s us??two unmarried girls not disturb them. Now, let¡¯s go shopping. After a while, we have to go home. Don¡¯t worry, Seventeenth elder sister won¡¯t lose you.¡±


    ¡°Hehe, I really thank you.¡±


    ¡°No problem, no problem.¡±


    Anhe pulled Liu Fang, ¡°Hey, look, there¡¯s a fire attraction ahead, let¡¯s go and see.¡±


    ¡°Hey, elder sister, don¡¯t pull¡­¡±


    ¡°Hurry up, it¡¯ll end after a while¡±


    Liu Fang knew that in order to prevent wildfire during the Lantern Festival in the capital, all fire attractions have a time limit. This was the reason Anhe was this anxious.


    Because of the large number of people and Anhe walking too fast, the female guard who followed behind couldn¡¯t keep up with them, and only Anhe was left with Liu Fang.


    The place where the common people gather to watch the fire attraction was guarded by the Imperial Army. A sea of people, Liu Fang was not tall, so all she can see was their head. Anhe dragged Liu Fang and squeezed around, but Liu Fang was swept away before Anhe knew it. Anhe didn¡¯t notice it at all, instead, she squeezed forward. It wasn¡¯t until after she finished watching the fire attraction that she realized that her younger sister was gone!


    This time, she couldn¡¯t care about how embarrassed she was in the crowd and hurriedly went to ask her family guards and the imperial guards to find her younger sister.


    But with so many people, how can they find her?


    She was so anxious that she almost cried: ¡°It¡¯s over. This time it¡¯s really over. Mother will never let me go. Xiao-Anfang, you must not be in trouble. Otherwise, no need to mention if the Seventeenth elder sister can get married smoothly. Now, it¡¯s a question of whether I can live well¡­¡±


    As for Liu Fang, she was squeezed into a corner. Seeing that she couldn¡¯t squeeze in, she simply backed out.


    There happened to be a secluded alley next to it, and a teahouse in it. So she walked in and found a table at random to sit down at. She wanted to wait until there were fewer people outside before going back to meet her family.


    After ordering a pot of tea, Liu Fang sat quietly and drank slowly.


    There were a few tables with people in the teahouse, probably they were also overwhelmed by the crowd outside. At this moment, they were just like Liu Fang, sitting here quietly drinking tea and talking in a low voice.


    Yang An took her sister out to see the lanterns, guessed lantern riddles at a booth, and won a pair of rabbit lanterns for his sister??Yang Hui. Seeing that there were so many people on the street, he took his sister into the teahouse to rest.


    He went in, sat down, and ordered a pot of tea and a plate of cakes for his sister to eat. When he turned around, he saw Liu Fang sitting at another table.


    Liu Fang didn¡¯t remember him at all, but Yang An still remembered Liu Fang.


    He has a good memory, and he can¡¯t help but remember the discussion of his classmates that days at the forest of steles of Anguo Temple


    He felt a little strange. He heard the discussion among his classmates that day. She was obviously a young lady from a big family. How could she be alone in this humble little teahouse in this remote alley? There were no guards and maids to follow.


    Yang An frowned slightly. Something must happen to her, right? Lost from family? Or separated from the servant?


    However, this was only a momentary thought. No matter what, Yang An can¡¯t be meddlesome and ask Liu Fang. He has no intention of dealing with any noble households.


    Besides, he was a poor scholar. If he stepped forward to ask, the other person would treat him as a playboy and will give him a slap in the face.


    Why should he humiliate himself?


    Liu Fang didn¡¯t know that someone was paying attention to her. Even if she did, she wouldn¡¯t care.


    The things she encountered when she went to offer incense were just trivial things for her. She will forget it as soon as she turned her head.


    After all, the two of them were complete people from two different worlds, and there was absolutely no intersection in their daily life, and they have never imagined that there will be any intersection in the future.


    At that time, when Anhe asked her if she had a crush on a certain scholar, she answered casually and then forgot about it.


    She just appreciated this person more at the time, and she would never take it to heart.


    Therefore, even if Yang An sat next to her after entering the door, she will not recognize him as the scholar in a blue robe at the foot of Anguo Temple that day.


    Yang An also knew that Liu Fang wouldn¡¯t recognize him, so he didn¡¯t rush forward to start a conversation.


    After all, ancient times were different from modern times. It¡¯s normal for modern people to get together or something, and it doesn¡¯t matter to chat up and flirt with girls at will, but in ancient times, serious people would not accept such casual contact. Especially big families.


    This was completely different from those who pass by and asked for water or asking shelter in heavy rain.


    In the eyes of the ancients, casual chatting was equivalent to being a hooligan, so a serious scholar like Yang An would not do such a thing.


    The teahouse was very small, with seven or eight tables. Two private seats with kneeling seats on both sides and the rest were tables and stools.


    The private seat was blocked by bamboo curtains, and only when you enter the door can you see who was sitting in the private seat.


    Liu Fang was sitting in a private seat by the door, and Yang An was sitting at a table beside the private seat.


    Yang An¡¯s eyesight was excellent, and through the bamboo curtain, he recognized Liu Fang sitting inside.


    Probably this was the first time in his life that he has really met a young lady from a noble family.


    It¡¯s not that Liu Fang gave him a special impression. If Anhe was here, he could also recognize her at a glance. It just his first experience with Liu Fang was particularly clear.


    One person slowly sips the tea, the other person coaxes his sister to eat snacks, looks at the pair of rabbit lanterns, and then sips tea, each in peace.


    It¡¯s just this peace was broken by three drunken men hooking their shoulders on their backs.


    ¡°Shopkeeper, shopkeeper, hurry up, I want to book a room!¡±


    The whole teahouse was quiet and turned to look at them.


    These three were probably used to being dudes, and they even laughed and talked loudly, causing everyone to frown.


    ¡°Customer, it was unfortunate the teahouse is full. You can find another place.¡±


    The owner of the teahouse was a handsome middle-aged man with a calm demeanor. He walked out from the counter. In the face of the three dudes, his attitude was neither humble nor arrogant.


    Liu Fang raised her eyebrows when she saw it.


    The capital really was Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Such a character turned out to be the owner of a small and medium-sized teahouse in a secluded alley. Interesting.


    [Wo hu cang long (ÎÔ»¢²ØÁú) Refers to the hidden talents that have not been discovered, but also the hidden talents]


    It¡¯s just that the three dudes didn¡¯t have eyesight, and one of them was very arrogant.


    ¡°Hey, you old man, you really don¡¯t know how to lift things up. Do you know who I am? I belong to Prince Cheng Mansion. In the entire capital, except for the emperor, only the princes can compare with this master. Do you still have the nerve to chase people? Believe it or not, I can smash your little teahouse if I was unhappy?!¡±


    Hey, from Prince Cheng Mansion? !


    Liu Fang raised her eyebrows again, oh, that¡¯s really interesting.


    Madam Liu was the younger sister of Prince Cheng, a junzhu with different surnames from the royal family. Liu Fang followed her mother in and out of Prince Cheng Mansion since she was a child, but she has never seen this ¡°Master¡±.


    The teahouse owner smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m a native of the capital. I¡¯ve met several young masters of Prince Cheng Mansion. I don¡¯t know which one of Prince Cheng¡¯s family you are.¡±


    The self-proclaimed ¡°Prince Cheng¡¯s family¡± was stunned for a while before he blushed and said: ¡°My father is the steward of Prince Cheng Mansion, what¡¯s wrong? You want to climb up the Prince Cheng Mansion. Who do think you are!¡±


    ¡°Haha.¡± The teahouse owner just smiled lightly, ¡°Your Excellency turned out to be a servant of Prince Cheng Mansion, I am disrespectful.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s good to know that you are disrespectful, why don¡¯t you just let them get out?!


    ¡°If you want to show your prestige, please go elsewhere, we won¡¯t entertain you!¡±


    ¡°You, what do you mean? Dare to look down on this master?


    ¡°Fine, I will just smash your teahouse, let¡¯s see if you dare to look down on this master.¡±


    After that, he turned his head and rushed into the private seat by the door, which happened to be where Liu Fang was sitting. The dude¡¯s eyes lit up.


    ¡°Hey, there¡¯s another beauty here?!¡±


    Liu Fang frowned, looked at him lightly, and said calmly, ¡°I advise you, you better get out of here.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I really learned something today. One by another didn¡¯t put Prince Cheng Mansion in their eyes. This master tells you, although this master is only the son of the steward in Prince Cheng Mansion, my father is favored by Prince Cheng. Killing you all is like It¡¯s like killing an ant. I can do whatever I want, what can you do to me?¡±


    Liu Fang: ¡°¡­.¡¯


    Talking to a fool was really a waste of saliva.


    ¡°Today, this master will let you see. This master dares to do anything! Little beauty, come here, this master will take care of you.¡±


    After that the dude smiled slyly and rushed toward Liu Fang, trying to catch her.


    Seeing this, Yang An frowned, stood up, and wanted to go in to help. The teahouse owner also walked over quickly, trying to stop it.


    However, no one expected Liu Fang was sitting very calmly, watching the man rush towards her. She raised her hand and slapped him, directly knocking him out until lying on the ground, vomiting blood with a posterior molar.


    The other two dudes who followed behind saw this, their faces turned pale with fright, and their legs became weak.


    The others in the teahouse were also stunned. Yang An stood aside and watched the man fly out of the private seat and lay in front of him, while his sister Yang Hui also stared at the people in the private seat with wide eyes in disbelief and full of admiration.


    Yang An: (¡Ño¡Ñ)! ! !


    Yang Hui: It¡¯s amazing!


    Teahouse owner: ¡­(¡Ño¡Ñ)! ! !


    Are all girls so fierce now?


    Liu Fang calmly poured a cup of tea, took a sip, and said leisurely from the private seat: ¡°Kneel down honestly, if you dare to run¡­¡±


    The last four words were very meaningful. Liu Fang opened the bamboo curtain to look at him lightly, and said coldly: ¡°Tomorrow, you will collect the corpse of your father, the steward of the Prince Cheng Mansion.¡±


    After many years, Liu Fang has long understood that the rules of honor and inferiority under the feudal system cannot be broken.


    It¡¯s not that she has abandoned the three concepts of equality in modern society, but she understands how to live in this environment, she was in the position of a young lady of Duke Mansion¡ª¡ªa decent master, growing up with brocade clothes and jade food, and a loving family member. It was natural to have an attitude that matches her status, as well as the bottom line.


    It was impossible and was not allowed to have a relationship like the one in the novel, where one treats a servant as close as a sister.


    If she really acts like this, let¡¯s not say whether others will find it weird, just this mode of getting along between master and servant was easy for the servants to blur their identities and positions, and make them lose their sense of proportion. It was not good for either of them.


    Besides, the power of an individual was very small in the overall social environment, and she does not intend to challenge the entire society and become an enemy of the world.


    That would make her appear arrogant and stupid, and at the same time, it might not be accepted by the public.


    Of course, the most important thing was that she didn¡¯t have the fearless spirit to challenge the sky and the earth. To put it bluntly, she didn¡¯t want to toss but just wants to live this life in a low-key and stable way.

 Chapter 8

    Chapter 8 The Scholar¡¯s Wife


    Therefore, in the face of such a madman who dared to offend her, she can calmly and indifferently teach him a lesson, or even speak threats lightly.


    But in contrast, among the teaching she received since childhood in Duke Mansion, there was also the side of being lenient and compassionate to the poor and the weak.


    Therefore, everything has two sides and cannot be generalized. Of course, the ancient feudal system was not reasonable, but it also had its inevitability. Some of its rules were also necessary for the time being.


    All three dudes were taken aback when they heard Liu Fang¡¯s words.


    Especially the one who was lying on the ground, struggling to get up, widened his eyes, trembling in fear, and asked, ¡°Dare to ask who this young lady is?¡±


    Liu Fang sneered, ¡°The person who dare to beat your father in front of Prince Cheng in an open and fair manner.¡±


    The dude: ¡­¦²(¡ã¡÷¡ã|||)¦õ


    A farce just ended.


    The teahouse regained its calm, and everyone continued to drink tea and chat. But three dudes were kneeling by the door, their heads drooping, and their faces were helpless.


    The teahouse owner smiled slightly, walked to the private seat, and bowed to Liu Fang through the bamboo curtain, ¡°I¡¯m sorry to disturb young lady. It¡¯s a shame and dereliction of duty as the shopkeeper to let the young lady get hit by a villain in the small shop. Tonight, the young lady¡¯s expenses in the small shop are completely free, and it is regarded as an apology for the young lady. I hope the young lady will not dislike it. In addition, I would like to thank the young lady for taking action and rectifying them.¡±


    Liu Fang smile and said, ¡°The shopkeeper is being polite. In my view, the shopkeeper has an extraordinary bearing. Even if there is no me, they may not be able to be presumptuous in front of the shopkeeper. As for saving my expenses in your store tonight as an apology, it is even more unnecessary. The person who disturbed my leisure was not the shopkeeper. The shopkeeper really doesn¡¯t need to feel too guilty.¡±


    The shopkeeper listened, saluted again, and said, ¡°Young lady is generous, I am grateful. It¡¯s just that the young lady is sitting in the small shop and is a distinguished guest of the small shop, and I am responsible for not letting the girl be disturbed by this. It¡¯s a matter of course to save the young lady from spending the night in the small shop, and please don¡¯t worry too much about it.¡±


    Seeing the shopkeeper¡¯s insistence, Liu Fang stopped arguing with him, nodded and said with a smile, ¡°In that case, it¡¯s better for me to be respectful and obey. Thank you shopkeeper. ¡°


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome, as it should be. In this way, I will not disturb the young lady time.¡± Having said that, the shopkeeper saluted again, then went back to the counter.


    Yang An also went back to sit down and accompany his sister.


    Yang Hui looked at the seat with admiration, and whispered to Yang An, ¡°Elder brother, this sister is so awesome ¡°


    Yang An smiled,¡± Hui¡¯er envy? ¡°


    ¡°Un, un.¡± Yang Hui nodded like garlic, ¡°It would be great if the sister-in-law married by my elder brother would be this powerful in the future. ¡°


    Yang An laughed, ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid that she will hit you?¡± ¡°


    Yang Hui stuck out her tongue, ¡°It¡¯s not possible. Hui¡¯er is so lovely.¡±


    Yan An patted her head and smiled in agreement: ¡°Well, Hui¡¯er is very good, and my sister-in-law will definitely like Hui¡¯er in the future.¡± ¡°


    ¡°That¡¯s it.¡±


    Yang An looked at Yang Hui¡¯s happy appearance, smiled, and his eyes were full of doting.


    His parents died when he was young, and only Hui¡¯er was his relative. Even if he had no career in this life, he still hoped to make Hui¡¯er live well, live happily, worry-free, and be happy all her life.


    As for getting married? Oh, he should marry someone from the right family, the daughter of a wealthy or noble family was not what he wants.


    It¡¯s not that Yang An is narcissistic and feels that he was unparalleled in the world and was enough to attract the favor of the daughter of a wealthy family. It¡¯s just a thought that subconsciously emerge in his mind after he met Liu Fang.


    Moreover, he was not keen on his career as an official. Now that he has a reputation as a scholar, he just thinks to have enough foothold, and there was really no need to toss for the illusory possibility.


    Besides, even if he tried desperately to cling to the daughter of a wealthy family, he might not be succeed.


    He glances at the private seat. She could slap the servants of Prince Cheng Mansion at will, and at first glance, she was not a girl from an ordinary family. He better not be delusional.


    Besides, the other party¡¯s temperament was not necessarily very good, so he should not provoke her.


    Liu Fang drank a pot of tea steadily.


    What about Anhe?


    She alarmed all the people in the Prince Liu Mansion. They were so frightened that they hurriedly took someone to look for Liu Fang without saying anything, and Anhe was also severely reprimanded by Prince Liu.


    Fortunately, Liu Fang didn¡¯t go far, Anhe led someone to find a guard who had seen Liu Fang and knew where she was.


    Anhe hurriedly ordered someone to inform the elder brothers, and she rushed over to the place.


    ¡°I¡¯ve finally found you!¡± As soon as Anhe saw Liu Fang, she rushed in and hugged her, and then checked her body up and down, seeing that she was safe and sound. She was relieved.


    ¡°My dear sister, you really scared me to death! I thought something happened to you.¡±


    Liu Fang smiled and reassured her: ¡°It¡¯s alright. It¡¯s just that there are too many people, and I¡¯m really embarrassed to be pushed aside. Just saw there is a teahouse here, so I came here to drink tea and wait. I believe my sister will definitely find me.¡±


    Anhe looked guilty, ¡°It¡¯s all my fault, if I hadn¡¯t dragged you here, it wouldn¡¯t have happened. Fortunately, you are all right. If something happened to you, how can I explain it to mother¡­¡±


    Liu Fang gave her an angry look, ¡°Okay, Sister Seventeen, I don¡¯t blame you. It¡¯s getting late, let¡¯s go back early.¡±


    Anhe heard this and slapped her forehead, ¡°Look at me, I almost forget, all elder brothers know, they have been looking for you. But I have already ordered someone to tell them that I have found you and was in here, they will come soon, let¡¯s just wait.¡±


    Liu Fang nodded, ¡°Un, then let¡¯s wait here, so as not to miss the elder brothers.¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll accompany you to drink some tea and wait for them, tonight I¡¯m really scared to death.¡± After all, Anhe patted her chest and let out a long sigh of relief, and sat down next to Liu Fang. Xiangting serve a new pot of tea and poured two cups for them.


    The two held their teacups and drank quietly.


    When Anhe finished drinking, she raised her head to see three wealthy and dejected men kneeling beside the door. She couldn¡¯t help but be surprised.


    ¡°Who are those people? Why are they kneeling by the door?¡±


    Liu Fang glanced up and said indifferently, ¡°It¡¯s just a few idiots whose brains have been soaked in alcohol. I bumped into them, so I made them kneel to wake up.¡±


    When Anhe heard this, she immediately understood, ¡°They bumped into you?¡±


    Liu Fang raised her chin and motioned Anhe to look at the one kneeling in the middle, one side of his face was swollen and blue, and the corners of his mouth still had little blood stains.


    ¡°Elder sister, this person claims to be from Prince Cheng Mansion.¡±


    Anhe¡¯s face suddenly turned cold: ¡°Prince Cheng Mansion?¡±


    Liu Fang didn¡¯t need to say more. Anhe already understood, she said to Xiangting: ¡°Instruct Liu Feng to bring them to Prince Mansion and send them to the second cousin, and said that they claimed to be from Prince Cheng Mansion, and asked the second cousin if he knew.¡±


    Prince Cheng was the elder brother of Madam Liu, and he was a very nice person. He was also very good to his nieces and nephews, but the backyard was a mess, especially after the death of the princess consort.


    If it weren¡¯t for the fact that there was only the eldest son, the second son, and the third son from the late princess consort and no sons from the concubine, only daughters, it would be even more messed up.


    At present, the outer yard was managed by the second master, and the inner yard was headed by the wife of the eldest master. Prince Cheng didn¡¯t actually care about family affairs. That¡¯s why Anhe said that she would hand the person to the second master.


    Anhe had been anxious all night because of Liu Fang¡¯s disappearance. When she saw that the people from Prince Cheng Mansion dared to bump into her young sister, she was full of anger and she naturally wouldn¡¯t let them go easily.


    Handing the people over to the second cousin, he will naturally find out the whole story, and he will not easily bypass them, so she doesn¡¯t need to worry about it.


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    Xiangting responded respectfully, get up from her seat, and talked to the guard captain?? Liu Feng not far away.


    Liu Feng glanced at the private seat, nodded slightly, waved his hand, and let his subordinates carry the three. He and the remaining ten people continued to guard the teahouse.


    After a while, the eldest brother and others also brought people over. Seeing that Liu Fang was safe and sound, the eldest brother¡¯s serious face finally eased.


    He glared at Anhe fiercely, turned his head and said to Liu Fang gently: ¡°Okay, it¡¯s getting late, let¡¯s go home first.¡±


    Anhe lowers her head, knowing that there must be a follow-up after they return to the mansion tonight. She was depressed. Liu Fang could only hold her hand for comfort.


    She also knew that Madam Liu must have known about what happened tonight, and she didn¡¯t know what would happen when they returned to the mansion.


    After all, the Seventeenth elder sister can¡¯t escape punishment, and she can only comfort her now.


    In front of the eldest brother, neither she nor Anhe dared to be presumptuous.


    The other brothers looked at each other and followed behind the eldest brother, guarded the two younger sisters, and brought the guard and maid. They all left in a mighty manner.


    ¡­¡­


    The people in the teahouse watched a good show, and after they left, they talked in a low voice.


    ¡°Whose young lady is this? It¡¯s so ostentatious?¡±


    ¡°In this capital, there are not many who are not afraid of Prince Cheng Mansion. If she was not from the prince¡¯s mansion, then she must be from the mansions of several founding fathers. In terms of Prince Cheng, only Duke Liu Mansion is related to Prince Cheng Mansion.¡±


    ¡°I just heard that the second master of Prince Cheng Mansion is their cousin, so it seems that they must be the young ladies of Duke Liu Mansion. ¡°


    ¡°Duke Liu Mansion¡­ tsk tsk, you can¡¯t mess with it, you can¡¯t mess with it!¡±


    ¡°How do you say it?¡±


    ¡°The current Duke Liu has nothing remakable. But he has many children, the children from the wife and concubines add up to forty. Twenty-two sons, and eighteen daughters. His eldest son is the Dali Temple Minister, the fourth son is the prefect, and the eighth son is General Weide¡­ These few are already enough to make difference, let alone the ones in the Hanlin Academy and the Ministry of Industry, Ministry of households, businessmen, teachers¡­ all of them are very promising. In addition, the married eldest daughter is the wife of Duke Zhen¡¯s heir, the fifth daughter is the eighth princess consort and the current Princess An¡­. tsk tsk, not to mention that Madam Liu come from Prince Cheng Mansion. She was the current  Prince Cheng¡¯s younger sister. She was sealed as junzhu! How can people like this be provoked.¡±


    Everyone was stunned!


    Yang An was stunned and lowered his eyelids. Sure enough, she was born into a noble family, which was beyond the reach of a poor family like him.


    ¡°Elder brother.¡± Yang Hui tugged at Yang An¡¯s sleeve, ¡°Are you not happy?¡± ¡°


    Yang An smiled and shook his head, ¡°No. Well, it¡¯s getting late, let¡¯s go home. ¡°


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    After paying the bill, Yang An went home with his sister carrying the rabbit lantern.


    Tonight¡¯s chance encounter was like the fireworks seen on the road. Although it was brilliant, it is out of reach.


    Even if it was beautiful, it was too brief. After seeing it, they will forget

 Chapter 9

    Chapter 9 The Scholar¡¯s Wife


    After Liu Fang followed Anhe back to the mansion, Madam Liu already knew that Anhe almost lost her younger sister. So even if Liu Fang pleaded for Anhe, Madam Liu still punished Anhe to kneel at the ancestral hall to reflect.


    Anhe was willing to be punished, and secretly heaved a sigh of relief: Mother still punished her so lightly because she was about to get married. Otherwise, she was bounded to be beaten.


    The other elder brothers were not much better, including the eldest brother. All of them were beaten by Madam Liu, the reason was: they did not take good care of their younger sister.


    Madam Liu also admonished several daughters-in-law. The servants who acpanied Liu Fang today were all beaten, not too much, but it was also a wake-up call.


    No one was dissatisfied with Madam Liu¡¯s aggressive actions.


    Today¡¯s matter, they do have their own responsibilities, and no one can shirk. The treatment of Madam Liu was also very reasonable, and everyone accepted their punishment willingly.


    Only Liu Fang, because she was the victim, was apologized by everyone and received a lot of gifts as pensation.


    Liu Fang knew that her mother¡¯s teaching was strict, but she didn¡¯t expect such a big disturbance today.


    After all, everyone has grown up, and they have bee a lot more mature. It had been many years since Madam Liu had punished them as severely as today.


    From Liu Fang¡¯s point of view, tonight¡¯s incident was actually an accident, and it didn¡¯t really cause any bad consequences. In fact, Madam Liu could just let it go. Unexpectedly, she would be so angry.


    Afterwards, the eldest brother said to Liu Fang: ¡°You are the youngest. Today, several brothers and sister-in-law lead you out, but in the end, something happened that made you almost get lost, which is really inappropriate. It is precisely because we all have grown up, you are about to get married. If there is an emergency, it will ruin your life. Mother was naturally angry. Besides, so many of us didn¡¯t look after you, it¡¯s really a breach of responsibility. Mother¡¯s punishment is right. ¡°


    Liu Fang suddenly realized, and felt touched in her heart. A woman like Madam Liu was rare in ancient times! She can love concubine children from the bottom of her heart.


    In fact, Madam Liu did not treat all concubine children as if they were her own from the beginning.


    When Madam Liu was young, she knew that after she got married her husband would take concubines in the future, and there might not be less. Well, this was where Duke Liu¡¯s uprightness e to play


    At that time, when Duke Liu Mansion was discussing marriage with Prince Cheng Mansion. The elders of both sides were very satisfied. However, the young Duke Liu often lamented and worried that the family members were too spare because his father had only one son.


    So, at the beginning of the marriage proposal, when Duke Liu met with Madam Liu, he told her after the two get married in the future, he wants to take a concubine. If she can¡¯t accept it, then he will explain to his parents that the marriage between the two families ends here, and it will never affect her reputation.


    The two families have always been friends. At that time, Madam Liu felt that Duke Liu still had merit, and at the beginning of the relationship, he stated that he would definitely take a concubine in the future. This also showed his uprightness


    At that time, both families were extremely powerful, both on equal footing. Prince Cheng¡¯s Mansion was also the founding father of the Great Jin Dynasty, a prince with a different surname from the royal family.


    Under all kinds of realities, she as a junzhu with a different surname may seem noble and parable to a royal princess. But in fact, she was a hot potato that no mansion dares to marry.


    And Duke Liu¡¯s mansion was different.


    Although Duke Liu¡¯s father was very prestigious in the army, his son was not good. His only hobby was doing business and making money.


    And the status of merchants in the eyes of the royal family, and in the circle of nobles was not on par. Therefore, Duke Liu has always been regarded as ¡°a dude who doesn¡¯t do his job properly¡±.


    Madam Liu a junzhu with a different surname who was parable to a royal princess, married him. On the surface, she suffered a loss, but in fact, it was the best choice for her.


    Moreover, at that time, Duke Liu Mansion only had one son??Duke Liu. He had no relatives to rely on. Duke Liu¡¯s father was deeply trusted by the emperor, and his family was upright. There were only two of them in such a big Duke Mansion. She was the successor wife as soon as she married, and she had no mother-in-law.


    It can be said that as soon as she gets married, she can directly be the master of the house.


    Moreover, she and Duke Liu have known each other since childhood. Although they have no love for each other, they also understand each other¡¯s temperaments and have a solid foundation of trust.


    In contrast, the fact that Duke Liu wanted to take a concubine after his marriage was really trivial.


    After all, in the Great Jin Dynasty, which high-stakes man did not accept a concubine?


    In fact, if possible, Madam Liu also wants to go out and make a name by herself.


    Unfortunately, she was a young girl. There were three elder brothers above her, and all of them were so outstanding that the student surpasses the teacher.


    If a daughter like her was more prosperous than her elder brothers and even her father, it will really cost their family¡¯s lives.


    Under the imperial power, even if she was helpless, she had to make sacrifices. Whether it was for her relatives or herself, she couldn¡¯t really ignore them.


    Therefore, Madam Liu got married.


    After marriage, although Duke Liu wanted to take a concubine, he always prioritized her as the wife.


    He never got involved with her dowry maid, and never chose a concubine among the servants in the mansion, but only after she gave birth to the eldest son did he discuss with her to choose a good family girl with a simple character and an ordinary identity as a concubine.


    After the concubine entered the mansion, he also trusted her with discipline. No matter whether the other party was beautiful or not, he has never favored any concubine to block her.


    In short, although Duke Liu was not a good husband, he was definitely responsible. Responsible for both wife and concubines.


    It was precisely because of his clear distinction, he has always maintained his true heart towards Madam Liu and has an upright character. That was why Madam Liu sincerely took care of the Duke Mansion over the years for him and raised his children.


    A few concubines, no matter why they entered the mansion in the first place, or whether they had ambitions in the first place, after a long time, they will always see what Duke Liu looks like and know what to do to live better in this mansion.


    The concubines didn¡¯t bother to fight for favor anymore. No matter how many children were born, it was actually the same, and there was nothing to worry about.


    And they were all raised by Madam Liu from childhood to adulthood, so Madam Liu has sincerity and affection.


    Fortunately, all of them lived up to her efforts.


    Although they were naughty in their childhood, that made people angry. But when everyone grows up, they truly respect her, understand her painstaking care for them, accept her teaching, and be sensible and obedient.


    Naturally, they got along with each other sincerely, and their feelings were as deep as their own.


    If there was any concubine child who was not taught by Madam Liu at the beginning, Madam Liu would definitely not take a glance and would send them away at will.


    No matter what, she has her own pride. Even if she was forced to marry someone due to the situation, she will not really wrong herself and be generous to others.


    It can be said that Madam Liu now treats the children of concubines as if they were her own. It was not just a matter of her years of dedication, everyone understands and sees her contribution, and was grateful for her contribution to make this situation.


    If Duke Liu turned a blind eye to her contribution and took it for granted, and in return demanded more without restraint, or had reached the point of favoring a concubine and destroying his wife, Madam Liu would have destroyed him long ago and bee a widow.


    If the concubines continued to toss and fight with her, it was afraid that she would have destroyed all the concubines long ago, leaving Duke Liu Manson with only direct descendants and no concubines.


    Furthermore, if she sincerely taught the concubine¡¯s child, but they never appreciated it, and instead hated her as their mother, then Madam Liu would have let them recreate and reincarnate long ago.


    No relationship can be long-lasting only if one party pays. It was necessary to understand each other, give to each other, and be grateful to each other so that the relationship can last for a long time.


    Liu Fang believes that the harmony of Duke Liu Mansion was created by Madam Liu alone, but the truth was not so simple.


    It should be said that Madam Liu has paid a lot, but it was the family¡¯s joint efforts to manage it, day after day, year after year, to create such a unique good atmosphere and good environment.


    Take her case for example.


    In another Duke Mansion, perhaps the wife didn¡¯t care about the life and death of a concubine¡¯s children at all, and it was even less likely that the main wife would beat her own son, admonish her daughter-in-law, and go to war like this.


    Therefore, the extraordinary feeling that Liu Fang was feeling now was something that her family¡¯s joint efforts to make it possible for her to have this feeling.


    It didn¡¯t happen overnight, and it wasn¡¯t Madam Liu¡¯s nature was really so generous and loving.


    Of course, Madam Liu herself was a person with clear love and hate, and her mind was indeed different from ordinary people.


    But if she didn¡¯t have the sincere love of her husband, the peace of the concubines who never surpassed her, and the sincere respect of her children, she might have looked different.


    ¡­¡­


    The nineteenth year of Emperor Wen¡¯s reign has pletely passed in the midst of the Lantern Festival.


    After the new year, Anhe was about to get married, and Liu Fang was also waiting for her mother to choose a future husband for her.


    In March, the Spring Festival in the capital begins, and everyone who has plans to catch a son-in-law below the list was gearing up to prepare, wanting to ¡°catch¡± a good son-in-law as soon as possible.


    [Bang xia zhou xu (°ñÏÂ×½Ðö) is a marriage culture in Song Dynasty. That is when the list of people who passed the imperial exams was announced, the wealthy family all over the country will go out and peted to choose a son-in-law on the list]


    Madam Liu was not the kind of person who embrace Buddha¡¯s feet and pray for help in time of emergency. At this moment, she was not in a hurry but instead shows Liu Fang the roster.


    [Lin shi bao fo jiao (ÁÙʱ±§·ð½Å) idiom that refers to someone¡¯s inability to prepare in time, forcing them to rush to deal with the issue at the last minute]


    ¡°These are some of the poor scholars that I have selected that meet the conditions, none of them are particularly talented, they are all ordinary people. You. You have the same temperament as your biological mother. You like simplicity and ease. So, I chose these people for you.¡±


    Madam Liu leaned on the soft couch, pointed to the roster and said to Liu Fang: ¡°All of them have good character, and the family members are simple, but each has its own shortings, not perfect. You can take a look, if you like it, I¡¯ll find someone to ask him to e over to propose marriage.¡±


    Madam Liu looked relaxed as if she was talking about what to eat for lunch today, and she never thought that the other party might reject it.


    But Liu Fang could understand Madam Liu.


    In Madam Liu¡¯s opinion, the concubine daughters of Duke Liu Mansion can be married to the right family and not to such an extent as to marry into a poor family.


    If it wasn¡¯t for Liu Fang¡¯s own willingness, Madam Liu would never have chosen such a family for her. The people who didn¡¯t know the inside story will think Madam Liu was treating the concubine daughters harshly.


    And those poor scholars, as long as there was no pit in their heads. They will never refuse such a good marriage that was similar to a pie n the sky.


    ¡°However, you have to think about it.¡± Madam Liu looked at Liu Fang lightly and said, ¡°Marrying a poor family is not necessarily less of a problem. If one is not good, you will really bee poverty-stricken. If that¡¯s the case, even if you cry to death, I will let your brothers go and tie you home. understand? ¡°


    Madam Liu was not afraid of a concubine¡¯s daughters getting married, but she was afraid that the concubine¡¯s daughters have no brains. If she really takes her husband as her god and was at the mercy of others after she gets married. Then it will really make Madam Liu pissed off.


    She spends so much effort to raise her daughter with dignity and honor. But after she get married, she was foolishly manipulated. Just imagining that scene made Madam Liu want to kill someone, let alone when it actually happened.


    Of course, Liu Fang understood the concerns of her mother. It¡¯s just she was not really a naive girl, she nodded with a smile, ¡°Mother, daughter understands. ¡°


    Madam Liu smirked, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I have sent people to these people¡¯s hometowns to inquire thoroughly. There will never be such a thing that he has been married and has children, but is unknown to others.¡±

 Chapter 10

    Chapter 10 The Shcoral¡¯s Wife


    Liu Fang: ¡­ Mother really thought it through!


    ¡°Daughter naturally believes in mother. Thank you for mother¡¯s hard work. Mother has taken so much trouble for me. Daughter is very grateful. I can only honor you more in the future.¡±


    After that, Liu Fang put down the roster, got up, and respectfully bowed to Madam Liu.


    Madam Liu waved her hand, ¡°In the future, live your life well, don¡¯t make me worry is the best filial piety. Get up quickly, take a good look at it, and tell me when you have decided on a candidate.¡±


    ¡°Yes, mother.¡±


    Liu Fang got up, sat on the soft couch, and read the roster carefully.


    There were not many people, only seven, but they were indeed in line with her requirements, and their life history has carefully investigated.


    Generally speaking, they were all people with clean family backgrounds, upright family styles, the family member was simple, pure, and honest. As for the appearance, it was really ordinary.


    But Liu Fang didn¡¯t care too much about appearance, as long as it didn¡¯t look too unsightly, she can still accept it.


    As for love, I¡¯m sorry, she was an older leftover girl who has never been in love or married in her previous life. She really didn¡¯t understand what love is.


    She just wants this life to be simple. Having a leisurely and relaxed life until the end of life.


    In fact, up to now, she was still ignorant about the content of her work.


    Although when she was in the underworld, they told her that it was a life without worries, and she could plete the task when she died.


    But at the beginning, when she transmigrated, she was very confused.


    This concubine department, to put it bluntly, was the task released by various concubines. In fact, she has no idea what the reason for these concubines to release the task.


    After she transmigrated, except the map of this world and all the historical background. She didn¡¯t know anything.


    There was no golden finger, and there was no memory of the original owner¡¯s previous life. It was as if she herself had been reborn.


    It¡¯s pletely different from the kind of task she imagined.


    And after transmigrated, she still has a lot of things she didn¡¯t understand: Does this world really exist? If it is true, then what about the tasks mentioned by the underworld? Can she really be reborn at will and traversed at will?


    In short, in this experience mission, Liu Fang discovered many problems that she had not had time to think about in the underworld at that time.


    But now, she can¡¯t get the answer. The only way was to wait for the end of the mission, and then find the ¡°people¡± to ask clearly when she return to the underworld.


    As for how to plete this task? In fact, she really didn¡¯t quite understand.


    Simply, Liu Fang took what she heard in the underworld as her mission goal : worry-free life and death.


    As for what kind of life the original owner of the mission wanted to live, was she want to marry into a wealthy family and live an extravagant life? Or a small family from a humble background, warm and simple?


    She can¡¯t take care of that much anymore.


    She only follows her own thoughts and did what she feels fortable with. She could only guess some thoughts of the original owner.


    She didn¡¯t care what the oute will be. Anyway, she was already dead, the worst was to die again. It¡¯s nothing.


    She just take this experience mission as her new life. Thinking about it this way was equivalent to earning it


    £Ï(¨R¨Œ¨Q)£Ï


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­


    In March, in addition to the vigorous start of the Spring Festival, people in the Capital also began to go out for outings in groups of three or five, and large families even held banquets every three days.


    After all, everything was recovering and the spring was shining, it was a good time to play, and it was also a good time to have a blind date.


    Although Liu Fang was very reassured about the people on the roster given by her mother, she still has to see it with her own eyes to be sure.


    As for how to see it? That was also simple, as long as she meet these scholars by chance when she went to the outskirts of the Capital to play, she will be able to see one or two across a group of people.


    Liu Fang didn¡¯t need to worry about the specifics. Madam Liu will arrange it.


    Therefore, on this day, Anhe, who had cultivated her mind at home for a long time, was mercifully released by Madam Liu and asked her to acpany Liu Fang to Lake Yang in the suburb of the Capital.


    Lake Yang was once an imperial garden from the previous dynasty. The entire lake was surrounded by mountains, and the environment was beautiful, like a fairyland.


    In the Great Jin Dynasty, the founding emperor felt that the previous dynasties were too extravagant and there were too many imperial gardens! At the beginning of his dynasty, he was too poor, and he really had no money to support these expensive gardens. So part of it was opened up for the people in the Capital to enjoy.


    And Lake Yang was one of them.


    The courtyards around the former imperial garden were also auctioned off to the founding fathers and wealthy families.


    In this way, the founding emperor lost a hot potato that required money to maintain and made a lot of money to maintain the construction and operation of the country at the beginning of the founding of the dynasty.


    Therefore, this emperor was also very business-minded.


    Although the people of the world despise the merchants and traders. They understand that without them, the world really cannot move.


    And this also proves that one-tenth of the rich people were worth a lifetime of raiding the poor.


    Therefore, the business taxation of the Great Jin Dynasty was very fine and heavy. At the same time, officials and nobles were not prohibited from doing business, but the business tax was high.


    The business tax paid by an ordinary person doing business was pletely different from the business tax paid by a seventh-rank official, let alone those high-ranking officials and dignitaries.


    However, this was also beneficial.


    It has been more than 40 years since the establishment of the Great Jin Dynasty, and the national strength was at its peak, which was entirely due to the correct reason for taxation.


    In the Great Jin Dynasty, farmers paid less tax, and there were no harsh taxes such as poll tax. The payment was based on the number of fields they own. If ordinary people own fields, the amount they own will not be that much. It was different from high-level and large households. It will be hundreds of acres or thousands of acres, and this number will be huge.


    Moreover, the land tax of the Great Jin Dynasty was not exempted from this.


    That is to say, except for the emperor¡¯s decree and occasional tax cuts in a certain place due to natural disasters. Usually, no matter whether they have fame or not, the mon people and nobles were the same and have to pay taxes.


    Including the emperor¡¯s farmland, he has to pay taxes, let alone others?


    This was also because the Great Jin Dynasty has just been established less than a hundred years. It was a new dynasty that has broken the old and established the new. If the emperor of the previous dynasty dared to do this? Ho ho.


    It was because the agricultural taxation of the Great Jin Dynasty was low, and it was nothing to the mon people or the nobles. Then the business tax and other things were collected more heavily. In this way, the national treasury was so full, and the national strength was stronger and stronger year by year.


    Therefore, from the beginning of March, the people in the Capital were really crowded, there were people everywhere, bustling and lively.


    Anhe and Liu Fang rode the carriage all the way to the suburbs of the Capital. Along the way, they met several noble young ladies who went sightseeing. Having the right amount of people, Anhe responded to their invitation and played with them together.


    When they arrived at the edge of Lake Yang, there were sergeants from the Five Cities and Horse Divisions who specialized in maintaining law and order. There were also officers of government offices and other officials guarding, patrolling, and maintaining security.


    There were also two large parking spaces for carriages next to them, which are guarded by people.


    This was similar to the tourist attractions of nowdays.


    Liu Fang and Anhe disembarked from the carriage, the guards dismounted, the momo and maids also got out of the carriage, carried the utensils from the carriage, and arranged a place for them to rest for a while.


    Liu Fang and Anhe first brought paintings and calligraphy to join the other noble ladies, went to the lake to see the scenery, and chatted while watching, which was quite lively.


    Lake Yang has surging blue waves, the lake was shaded by trees. The willows were fresh and green, the grasses were soft, and were surrounded by green mountains, white clouds, and blue sky.


    Lake Yang was very large, and the surrounding grass was also very wide. There were paths between the grasses, and it was very leisurely to walk through it.


    Therefore, even if there were many people, they still have their own fun and do not disturb each other. Occasionally, they can also smile at each other. Joyful and harmonious


    In this kind of season, no one will care about status, but will only be immersed in the beautiful scenery and the happy atmosphere, and have no time to care.


    Liu Fang was walking along the lake with the crowd. After walking for a while, she met the target of her outing: the group of poor scholars on the roster.


    Of course, it¡¯s not just the seven of them. It¡¯s impossible for all seven of them to know each other, and were in the same group.


    But among the group of scholars she met, there happened to be four groups of people who knew each other, and then they merged into a group of scholars.


    In this way, the seven people that Liu Fang wanted to meet by chance were all among them.


    Yang An was also among them.


    Today, he was wearing a white robe embroidered with emerald green bamboo patterns, a sapphire crown on his head, and his black hair was tied high, his face was like a crown of jade, and his bearing was extraordinary.


    In fact, he didn¡¯t understand what he was thinking at the moment he went out. Instead of tying his hair with the cloth belt he was used to, he wore the only sapphire crown and the new clothes he had just made. As if he has the thought maybe he can meet her?


    At this moment, Yang An saw Liu Fang through the crowd, and he suddenly realized where the urge to go out came from.


    Of course, he bowed his head and smiled, laughing at himself that he turned out to be a hypocrite. It turned out that he also had the idea of ??clinging to the high. He always thought himself was benign and openhearted, magnanimous, and happy to lead a simple life.


    It¡¯s ridiculous!


    Maybe it was because the matchmaker frequently came to the door recently and talked with him about too many girls. So he had such an unrealistic idea in his mind.


    Yang An shook his head and thought no more. Just relax and talk to your classmates about recent current affairs.


    The Great Jin Dynasty atmosphere was still very open. Nowadays, the mon people and the scholars, more or less, would discuss the political affairs of the court.


    Especially now that it was Spring Festival, and they were in the Capital. Even if they don¡¯t participate, they will inevitably have a small talk.


    Liu Fang and others listened to the excitement they were talking about, so they stood not far away and listened.


    After listening for a while, they finally understood something. It turned out that they were discussing the recent female marquis that was granted by the emperor.


    In the Great Jin Dynasty, there were already female officials in the imperial court, and there was nothing to discuss when a woman was an official. It¡¯s just the female marquis was the first to be conferred because of her merit!


    Therefore, recently, whether it was in the court or among the people, there has been a lot of discussion on this matter.


    It doesn¡¯t mean that the female marquis was not worthy of her position, nor does it mean that the courtiers and the mon people have a prejudice against the female marquis. It¡¯s just the dispute about the position of the crown prince caused by the fact that a woman was awarded the title of nobility.


    The current emperor was Emperor Wen, the eldest son of the founding emperor. He became the crown prince naturally and finally ascended the throne smoothly.


    However, the current emperor, the empress of Emperor Wen, that was, his original wife gave birth to only one eldest princess, no prince, and have no other children after so many years.


    In fact, it was nothing if the empress has no children. The problem was: this eldest princess¡¯s civil and military skills were extraordinary!


    Not to mention being smart since childhood, but also kind and virtuous. In this way, the princes were really too mediocre in parison.


    Whether it¡¯s the courtiers or the moners, they always sigh: If only the eldest princess was the eldest prince! Then, there was no dispute about the position of the crown prince.


    Now with female marquis, it has allowed the courtiers and the mon people to see another possibility: since there were already female officials and female marquis, then it was not impossible that there will be a crown princess and a female emperor in the future!

 Chapter 11

    Chapter 11 The Scholar¡¯s Wife


    Therefore, this incident detonated the public opinion of the whole world, and there was a lot of discussions!


    At home, Liu Fang also often heard the discussions between Madam Liu and her eldest brother. For the most part, they were still optimistic that the eldest princess would bee the heir.


    After all, no matter in terms of status, seniority, or talent and character, this eldest princess deserves to be the first among the princes and princesses!


    Furthermore, the eighth prince??Prince An and the eldest princess were very close, and the eighth prince has no idea of ??peting for the throne. Duke Liu Mansion still prefers the eldest princess who was both talented and virtuous to bee the heir.


    Most of these scholars have a good impression of the eldest princess. However, there were still some people who insist on the concept of man was more superior than women, and they will not think highly of the eldest princess as the emperor.


    ¡°In the end, it¡¯s because the eldest princess is a woman. If she was born as a man, would you have any objections?¡±


    A blue-clothed scholar looked at his classmates and said.


    Everyone shook their heads, ¡°Princess¡¯s great talent is admired by us, but it¡¯s a pity¡­¡±


    The blue-clothed scholar sneered: ¡°In this case, you just can¡¯t stand the fact that the monarch you will serve in the future is a woman. Such a narrow-mindedness. Even if the eldest princess bees the emperor in the future, I am not sure if she will be happy to put you in an important position.¡±


    These remarks have offended scholars all over the world. Not only were all the scholars present stunned, but Liu Fang and other young ladies were also stunned.


    Anhe rolled her eyes angrily, and said to Liu Fang, ¡°I remember he was one of the candidates that mother favored, called Fang Cheng?¡±


    Liu Fang nodded, ¡°Un, that¡¯s him.¡±


    ¡ª¡ªFang Cheng born in the 18th year of Emperor Jin and was seventeen years old. He lives in Wenjia Lane, the west side of the capital outer city, and was a native of the capital. His father died early, and he was raised by a widowed mother. Having a younger brother two years younger than him and a younger sister five years younger than him.


    His family has a three-entry quadrangle in Wenjia Lane, the west side of the capital outer city, two hundred acres of farmland in the suburbs of the capital, two shops in the west of the capital outer city, and several servants.


    He has a good character and was quite talented and famous. Have no concubine and he has never been married.¡ª¡ª


    Above was what was written on the list about Fang Cheng¡¯s life history that Madam Liu showed to Liu Fang.


    Liu Fang didn¡¯t see the ¡°good character¡± mentioned above, but it was true that his words were sharp.


    Anhe said to Liu Fang: ¡°Even if this person is talented, he is a man who acts in undue confidence of one¡¯s own ability and looks down upon others, and is very ambitious. He is far from what you think. Not a good match.¡±


    Liu Fang understood what she meant.


    Whether this Fang Cheng said such a thing without thinking or deliberately. He was not a ¡°good match¡± for her who wants to find someone with ¡°fewer things¡±.


    ¡ª¡ªIt¡¯s not that he was not worthy of her, but he was not suitable for her.


    If the other party said such a thing without thinking, it proves that he was not worthy of the name of the scholar, he was just a reckless and impulsive idiot. If the other party said this on purpose, that proved he has some expectations for his career and also has some talent. He wanted to do something and even has wild ambitions to be conferred a rank of nobility and bee a minister.


    No matter which one it was, it was not suitable for Liu Fang.


    The former will make her devastated, and the latter will make her live in calculations all the time, and it will be very tiring. It was not what she wants and desire.


    Liu Fang smiled at Anhe, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, elder sister, I came to see them on purpose today, if there is no suitable one, I will not wrong myself.¡±


    Anhe smiled and nodded when she heard this, ¡°That¡¯s right. ¡°


    The two of them whispered softly next to each other and no one heard what they said. The others were still listening with great interest as the scholars continued their discussion.


    Although Fang Cheng¡¯s words stunned everyone, some people still came out and retorted: ¡°Brother Fang¡¯s words are very serious. It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to serve under the female emperor in the future. In fact, there are also virtuous people among the princes. It¡¯s not just the eldest princess.¡±


    Fang Cheng sneered again, ¡°Really? You meant the first prince?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­¡± The man fall silent, unable to really say it was the first prince.


    After all, anyone with eyes can see that the eldest prince was a rough man who can only charge forward in battle. The art of war, hehe, he really didn¡¯t understand.


    Back then, in the battle at the border in the third year of Emperor Wen, the eldest prince volunteered to lead the troops to the war. Within three days, he was trapped by the enemy and almost get caught being a prisoner of war.


    If it wasn¡¯t for the eldest princess who happened to be in the northwest and led troops to rescue him. Perhaps he would have bee the first prince who was defeated and captured since the founding of the Great Jin Dynasty.


    Anhe murmured to Liu Fang: ¡°Well, this person is not good either. He actually took refuge in the eldest prince, that straw bag, his mind is not full of grass, right?¡±


    [Chao bao (²Ý°ü) It literally means a sack filled with straw. Sometimes it use in cusing. It means good-for-nothing; an ignorant person]


    Liu Fang surpass her smile and gave Anhe a helpless look. ¡°Seventeenth elder sister, what you said is too harsh.¡±


    ¡°Harsh? I think it¡¯s the truth?¡±


    Liu Fang: ¡­ Fine, it¡¯s good if you¡¯re happy!


    At this time, another student said: ¡°Even if the princes are indeed not parable to the eldest princess, they are not all inpetent. At least, it is more than enough to bee a Defending Ruler ¡­¡±


    [Shou cheng Zhi jun (ÊسÉÖ®¾ý). Shou cheng (ÊسÉ) means to preserve the acplishments of previous generations. Jun(¾ý) mean monarch,  ruler. So this means a monarch who maintains the achievements of predecessors]


    Anhe covered her eyes and said to Liu Fang, ¡°I can¡¯t bear to see it, how can such a stupid thing be said in public?¡±


    Liu Fang also shook her head. Let¡¯s not mention whether this person¡¯s words about the monarch have overstepped. Just said when those princes heard, she was afraid they were not necessarily happy.


    At present, the Great Jin Dynasty only has two emperors. The former emperor was the founding emperor. Naturally, it can blow to the sky.


    [Chu shang tian (´µÉÏÌì) It means exaggerating the merits of somebody or something]


    It can only be said that Emperor Wen was not a mediocre and inactive ruler. On the contrary, he was quite visionary, very thoughtful, and very bold.


    No matter whether it was a man or a woman, no one was willing to criticize them for being mediocre and inpetent when they ascend to the supreme position, and the four words ¡°Defending Ruler¡± were equivalent to the meaning of ¡°mediocre and inpetent¡±.


    ¡ª¡ªWhat kind of emperor will be called ¡°Defending Ruler¡±?


    ¡ª¡ªHe didn¡¯t do much during his reign, and didn¡¯t make any big mistakes. He took over the throne and at the end of his life he passed it on.


    Come to think of it, who would like to be judged like that?


    Even if it was an ordinary person, a worker wants to be rated as an advanced, at least he has to be an excellent one. Who would fight for that ¡°ordinary¡±?


    So, what this person said was really stupid and has no level.


    Liu Fang was really disappointed.


    The two people who refuted Fang Cheng were all on the roster, so there¡¯s no need to say who they are. Just saying that these two people said such mindless words, Liu Fang doesn¡¯t need to look at other people.


    Madam Liu was most optimistic about Fang Cheng, but she also said that this person was not in the pool.


    So, Liu Fang felt that she really just came to play today, and everything she thought was in vain.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­


    The debate over there continues.


    Fang Cheng looked at the man, shook his head and sighed: ¡°When did the Great Jin Dynasty fall to the point where it only need a defending ruler? It¡¯s a shame! It¡¯s a shame!¡±


    Everyone frowned. Zhang Ming couldn¡¯t help it anymore, he said, ¡°Brother Fang, you are wrong.¡±


    Fang Cheng raised his eyebrows, ¡°Oh? Is that so? Brother Zhang, I don¡¯t know what¡¯s wrong?¡±


    Zhang Ming: ¡°Everyone knows the talent and virtue of the eldest princess, so there is nothing to argue about. But to say, the princes are really useless, is not necessarily true. Isn¡¯t it normal for everyone to have strengths and weaknesses? Besides, the matter regarding the crown prince is an important matter of the country, and it is not up to you and me to decide. The emperor also has his own decision. Even if the eldest princess is the crown prince one day, I will serve the court. The heart for the people of the world will not change. On the contrary, if one day, the crown prince is not the eldest princess, but another prince, will you and I change the original heart?¡±


    Fang Cheng choked, speechless, but his expression looked ugly.


    Zhang Ming didn¡¯t seem to be able to see it, he still said unhurriedly, ¡°Brother Fang, that¡¯s the case. Then, what difference does it make if the eldest princess bees the crown prince or not? Can you still choose the monarch you will serve?¡¯


    Really sharp words!


    Anhe¡¯s eyes lit up, and he said to Liu Fang, ¡°This is amazing!¡±


    Liu Fang: ¡°Hehe, it¡¯s amazing!¡±


    Naturally, what he said was well-founded. The most important thing was that none of this group of people dared to say: ¡®I want to choose my own master!¡¯


    Such thoughts will only be thought in their own minds and discussed in secret, and no one will shout out loudly in front of the crowd.


    This was like Fang Cheng just now, he only seized the talent and virtue of the eldest princess to attack others; while Zhang Ming seized with ¡®Only the monarch can choose them, and there is no such thing as them dictating the monarch and be picky¡¯ to fight back.


    Even if someone has a secret inclination, or even has a candidate for refuge. But now, no one will say it, and no one will dare to say it.


    This Zhang Ming was very powerful and very smart. He found that the angle of the topic was getting more and more biased, from ordinary discussions to disputes of positions, which was incredible.


    No matter how open the environment was, it was still a feudal society. In the era of the emperor¡¯s reign, if there was an accident, everyone present will not survive.


    Therefore, he intends to end the topic directly, his words were very sharp and merciless.


    It¡¯s just that he wanted to end the topic, but Fang Cheng didn¡¯t want to. He intended to take this opportunity to bee famous all over the world.


    So he said from a different angle: ¡°Brother Zhang is right. However, I feel that except for being a woman the eldest princess¡¯s talent and virtue are already worthy of being a crown prince. The other princes are not inpetent, but there is still a gap in parison. For the world and for the people, it is better for the eldest princess to be the crown prince, what does Brother Zhang think?¡±


    Zhang Ming was really annoyed with him, and said lightly: ¡°Even so. The matter of the crown prince is a very important matter. Of course, it is left to the consideration of the ministers in the court, and the decision is made by the emperor himself. Even if you and I respect the eldest princess, it is impossible to draw a conclusion on this?¡±


    Fang Cheng sneered: ¡°The world is the world, you and I. It¡¯s just a discussion, isn¡¯t it okay?¡±


    Seeing that the two were about to quarrel, Anhe¡¯s eyes lit up and she was excited, but Liu Fang frowned and was very worried: Is this kind of discussion really alright?


    Yang An also frowned, looking at Fang Cheng and Zhang Ming¡¯s expression that will not give up. Obviously planning to fight for a better place today.


    He took a step forward and bowed to the two of them. Fang Cheng Zhang Ming took a look, and both of them calmed down and gave Yang An a salute.


    Between the salute, the tension in the field was relieved.


    Everyone breathed a sigh of relief in their hearts: After all, a rescue has e!


    ¡°I am Yang An, I¡¯m not talented. I have a few words to talk about with the two brothers.¡±


    Fang Cheng and Zhang Ming were embarrassed to continue arguing, so they nodded and said, ¡°Please speak.¡±


    Yang An nodded. Open his mouth slowly.


    Anhe dragged Liu Fang and said, ¡°Look, this guy is not bad, he¡¯s good-looking! And as soon as he appeared on the stage, he stunned everyone! Awesome!¡±


    Liu Fang¡¯s eyebrow relaxed. She smile and didn¡¯t speak, just look at what the other person said.


    ¡°Just now I heard the two brothers discussion, and they highly praised the talent and virtue of the eldest princess. So do I.¡±

 Chapter 12

    Chapter 12 The Scholar¡¯s Wife


    ¡°However, isn¡¯t the two brothers discussing whether the eldest princess could become the heir? Brother Fang said: ¡®The eldest princess is worthy of the heir.¡¯ and Brother Zhang said: ¡®The position of the crown prince is an important matter of the country and needs to be handed over to the minister in the court and the emperor to decide. isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Fang Cheng, Zhang Ming nodded, ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    Yang An smiled, ¡°Then I don¡¯t understand: The eldest princess is indeed talented and virtuous and is worthy of being the heir. The matter of the crown prince is indeed a major matter of the country. And of course, it is decided by the court ministers and the emperor, then what are the two brothers arguing about?¡±


    Fang Cheng, Zhang Ming: ¡­


    Everyone: ¡­


    Yes, why is this?


    Everyone was stunned!


    Anhe covered her mouth and leaned against Liu Fang¡¯s shoulder. Her whole body was shaking. Liu Fang was stunned for a while before she could react, and at the same time she was holding back her smile.


    This person¡¯s words were too straightforward, and it also hit the mark, to the core, and even turned the original topic to the other side.


    Talent!


    It took a while for someone to ¡°Pfft¡± and laugh, and the atmosphere suddenly became relaxed and happy.


    Even if Fang Cheng wanted to provoke an argument, he couldn¡¯t. So he had no choice but to say: ¡°It¡¯s clearly what Brother Zhang said himself, we are not discussing the matter of the crown prince. He is just not optimistic about the eldest princess as the crown prince, so I refute him.¡±


    Zhang Ming replied indifferently: ¡°I didn¡¯t say that the eldest princess is not worthy of being the crown prince.¡±


    Fang Cheng snorted coldly, ¡°But that¡¯s what you meant.¡±


    Yang An saw that he was about to quarrel again, and quickly cup his hand and said, ¡°Who else in the world is not convinced by the talent of the eldest princess? Brother Fang, you are overthinking it.¡±


    Fang Cheng glanced at Yang An and replied lightly, ¡°Forget it, it¡¯s been too long visiting the lake today, and it¡¯s getting late. I¡¯ll say goodbye first!¡±


    Yang An smiled slightly, stood indifferently, cupped his hands, and said, ¡°Then, Brother Fang, walk slowly.¡±


    Fang Cheng took a deep look at Yang An, turned around, and flung his sleeves.


    Zhang Ming shook his head, ¡°This brother Fang is really¡­¡±


    Yang An smiled silently.


    A tense debate ended, and everyone resumed their relaxed attitude of playing and enjoying the scenery.


    Several scholars came to Yang An to chat with him. They were all amazed by the fact that he ended the heart-pounding debate in just a few words, and they came to interact with him with admiration.


    Anhe and Liu Fang followed the other young ladies walking and talking.


    ¡°That scholar in white just now was really amazing, and in just a few words, he dismissed the mad scholar surnamed Fang.¡±


    For the young ladies, someone like Fang Cheng was the representative of the mad scholars.


    Anhe took this seriously and said to Liu Fang, ¡°Why didn¡¯t my mother choose that person? Did he not come to the capital for the exam?¡±


    Liu Fang thought for a while, then shook her head and said, ¡°Probably no. Otherwise, why mother didn¡¯t choose him.¡±


    Anhe nodded, ¡°That¡¯s right. Mother loves you so much. If he is also a candidate for this year¡¯s examination, mother will definitely put him on the roster.¡±


    Liu Fang smiled.


    ¡­¡­


    After returning to the mansion in the evening, they went to greet Madam Liu. Anhe also talked about today¡¯s incident.


    After hearing about it, Madam Liu glanced at Liu Fang, and then asked Anhe to go back first, leaving Liu Fang alone.


    Before leaving, Anhe winked at Liu Fang. Liu Fang was angry, so she glare at her.


    Madam Liu ignored the private eyebrow lawsuit between the two of them, and only asked her: ¡°You go today, did you gain anything?¡±


    Liu Fang shook her head, ¡°Of course, the person chosen by mother was good, but it¡¯s not suitable for me.¡±


    Madam Liu nodded and didn¡¯t ask her reason. She didn¡¯t like it anyway, and that was enough.


    ¡°Then, what about the scholar in white that Anhe said just now? The one called Yang An.¡±


    Liu Fang was stunned, ¡°Mother?¡±


    Madam Liu smiled at her and said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about it. I just ask. You also have seen him, and you know what he looks like. From Anhe¡¯s words, looking at his actions today, he must be a person with a deep mind. No matter whether he intends to pursue a career in the future, or what his identity is. At least one thing is sure his character was reliable and acted with care. Of course, I hope you will have no worries in the future. In this way, I can worry less and be less troubled. In this case, isn¡¯t he a person who has a brain, stable enough, and understands the sense of proportion better than others?¡±


    Liu Fang nodded, ¡°What mother said is right.¡±


    Madam Liu smiled and said, ¡°Okay, you can go back, you must be tired from going out today, rest early. As for that Yang An, don¡¯t worry, with me here, I won¡¯t let you suffer.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, mother. Then I will trouble mother, daughter will retire.¡±


    ¡°Un, you can leave.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Liu Fang got up and saluted, then went back to her courtyard, washed and rested without saying a word.


    ¡­¡­


    On the other side, after returning home from the lake, Yan An went to the neighbor¡¯s house to pick up his younger sister, ordered the servants to take care of his sister to wash, and coaxed her to sleep before he went back to the room to wash and rest.


    Just lay down but didn¡¯t fall asleep immediately.


    He couldn¡¯t help thinking of her:


    In the crowd, she was dressed in pink and blue brocade clothes, black hair in a bun, embellished with one or two jade hairpins, and long jade drop water droplets earrings. Unforgettable sight.


    There may be more beautiful women and more noble ladies beside her, but he can still see her at a glance, only her.


    Simply because her posture carried an inexplicable charm. At the first sight, It fixed in his mind, into his heart. These days, he met her three times and will never forget her anymore.


    He didn¡¯t know her name, only knew that she was of noble birth. She was not someone that he could match, but he still had her in his heart. Even if he told himself over and over again: impossible, impossible. She was still in his heart.


    Yang An also felt strange.


    His parents died when he was young. He was actually very cold-heart. Except for his only relative, his younger sister Yang Hui, he would never have felt touch or any affection for a stranger.


    Even if it was a roadside beggar, the first thing he thinks when he sees it was: Is she/he really so miserable?


    The so-called compassion and pity, he only has a little of them in his heart.


    But she was different. totally different.


    Like magic, it attracted him to pay attention to her and think about her!


    It was really ridiculous!


    Yang An covered his eyes and smiled bitterly, why did he become so impulsive? So unreasonable?


    He had already seen her slap someone away. Causing a young man to vomit blood, and he still thought she was beautiful, very good, as if he had been bewitched!


    It was crazy!


    If she was as beautiful as a fairy, then there was reason to be found, but she was obviously not that beautiful!


    Like today, when she was visiting the lake, there were five or six people around her who were more beautiful than her. But he was like seeing a ghost, he could only see her, and could not see others. This was also illogical and unreasonable.


    Yang An wondered if he could see her again. She was probably approaching her coming of age, so she was about to get engaged. That¡¯s right, maybe she¡¯s already engaged?


    Oh God! Enough, Yang An! You can¡¯t think any more! You still don¡¯t know what kind of person she is, what kind of temperament she is, what kind of character she is, you just need to think about this. It was really enough!


    Yang An patted his forehead and struggled with the thoughts in his mind until he finally found that it was useless.


    Anyway, it was impossible for a poor student like him to have anything to do with her, so why bother.


    ¡­¡­


    Madam Liu¡¯s efficiency was still very high. It should be said that the servants of Duke Liu Mansion were very efficient.


    Early the next morning. Liu Fang was still eating breakfast, and Yang An¡¯s life history was already in the hands of Madam Liu.


    ¡°Go, ask the eighteenth young lady to come over.¡±


    ¡°Yest¡±


    Liu Fang holding a teacup in her hand, raised her eyebrows and looked at Cui Ru, who came to invite her, ¡°Mother invited me over?¡±


    ¡°Yes, young lady.¡±


    Cui Ru was respectful, standing with her head bowed.


    Liu Fang nodded, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll go after I change my clothes.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Shu Mo waited on Liu Fang to rinse her mouth and clean her hands before changing her clothes, and said, ¡°Miss, why did Madam invite you over so early in the morning?¡±


    Liu Fang thought about it. After pondering, she said, ¡°It should be something.¡±


    Shu Mo nodded, tidying up Liu Fang¡¯s hair bun and dress, ¡°Miss, this servant will accompany you.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    When the master and servant arrived at the main courtyard, Madam Liu was dealing with housework. She said to Liu Fang who come to greet her, ¡°Sit down, let¡¯s take a look at their investigation first.¡±


    Liu Fang nodded, sat aside, and took the paper Cui Zhen handed over, open it and look carefully.


    ¡ª¡ªYang An, a native of the capital, sixteen years old, Xuicai in the nineteenth year of Emperor Wen¡¯s reign, lives in Xiwenjia Lane, the outer city of the capital, both parents dead, and with only a seventh years old younger sister at home.


    [Xiu cai (Ðã²Å) It generarlly refers to the scholars who has pas the entry-level examination. It was the lowest level]


    There is a shop in the west of the outer city, a field of 500 acres, three servants, and a house with two entrances.


    He gave a good character, no bad behavior, mediocre literary talent, stable behavior, and considerable means. There were no concubines in the family, no marriage or marriage engagement, and no close female relatives¡ª¡ª


    The above was the investigation result from the servants of the Duke Liu Mansion about Yang An¡¯s life history.


    Liu Fang raised her eyebrows: ¡°Good character¡± yet ¡°very skillful¡±, the wording was really talented!


    The Duke Mansion was indeed full of talents!


    Madam Liu waved her hand and asked the servants to go down, took the teacup that Cui Zhen handed over, took a sip, leaned on the soft couch, and said to Liu Fang, ¡°How is it? Satisfied?¡±


    Liu Fang nodded, ¡± Mother, this person is very nice.¡±


    Madam Liu didn¡¯t expect that. She put down the teacup, ¡°How do you say?¡±


    Liu Fang smiled slightly, folded the paper in her hand, handed it to Madam Liu, and then said: ¡°Mother, look at this. When the man was only nine years old, his mother died after giving birth, and then his father suffered an accident and also died. But he was able to keep his family property without the protection of his relatives, and to protect his younger sister to grow up safely, is it worthy of the word ¡®intelligent and brilliant?¡±

 Chapter 13

    Chapter 13 The Scholar¡¯s Wife


    Madam Liu nodded, ¡°Indeed. This person knows how to choose at young age, and he is really smart to exchange more than half of his family¡¯s wealth for the safety of him and his younger sister.¡±


    Liu Fang nodded and said with a smile: ¡°Exactly as mother¡¯s words. This person knows how to choose at such a young age. Then why did he become a scholar only now?¡±


    Madam Liu smiled slightly, ¡°That¡¯s right. He must have done it on purpose.¡±


    Liu Fang: ¡°Exactly. It is very clear that he was still young, if he showed extraordinary intelligence from the beginning, then it will be been a disaster rather than a blessing. He will definitely not be able to protect himself and his younger sister.¡±


    Madam Liu nodded in agreement.


    ¡°Because of this, he has a good character on the surface, but he is quite resourceful. At the same time, he is restrained, so he has not done anything bad so far. It can be seen that he is an extremely tolerant and scheming person.¡± Madam Liu added with a smile, ¡°He is also very bold and discerning.¡±


    Liu Fang looked at Madam Liu inexplicably.


    ¡°He went to the official media early this morning and planned to come to the Duke¡¯s Mansion to propose marriage.¡±


    [Guan Mei (¹Ùý) Official media refers to the women who served as matchmakers in the old government office]


    Liu Fang: ( ¡Ñ o ¡Ñ )! !


    In the Duke Liu Mansion, she was the only one who has no engagement and marriage!


    Yang An, he really dares? !


    ¡­¡­


    Yang An really dares!


    After tossing and turning all night, he really couldn¡¯t bear the impulse in his heart, and couldn¡¯t control his thoughts, so he simply went all out: He went to ask the official media to propose marriage!


    Regardless of whether he succeeds or not in the end, he has at least put his heart into it and worked hard!


    Regarding his decision, his younger sister Yang Hui raised her hands in agreement, and kept urging him: ¡°Brother, go quickly, go and marry sister-in-law home¡­¡±


    Yang An: ¨r(¦á©n¦á)¨q He also wants to, but it wasn¡¯t up to him! (¨i_¨i)


    After being uneasy for several days, he finally got a reply from the official media: This matter¡ªit is success!


    Yang An: (¡Ño¡Ñ)! !


    This¡­ he isn¡¯t dreaming, is he? (*^¨Œ^*)


    No matter what, in short, the fact that the eighteenth young lady of Duke Liu Mansion was engaged to a poor student became famous in the capital!


    If it weren¡¯t for the spring exam, perhaps it will cause a sensation in the whole city.


    Some people were surprised, and some people were envious. But no matter what happened to the outside world. Yang An and Liu Fang, the unmarried couple, have finally officially met!


    The meeting place was at the Duke Mansion, and Liu Anqing??Liu Fang¡¯s twenty-second elder brother, invited Yang An into the mansion to appreciate ancient paintings.


    Liu Anqing, eighteen years old, become a Tanhua in the seventeenth year of Emperor Wen, serving as an attendant at the Imperial Academy. Likes traveling in mountains and rivers, painting and calligraphy, talented and intelligent, a young genius, with peculiar muscles and bones, and superb martial arts. However, he has a heart longing for the rivers and lakes and traveling the world.


    [Tan Hua (̽»¨) is the title of Jinshi who ranked third in the ancient Chinese imperial examination]


    Therefore, in order to live a happy life in the future, he made an agreement with Madam Liu to get married and start one¡¯s career, complete the major events in life. Get an official title, not letting himself lose the dignity of Duke Liu Mansion. Have offspring (at least three sons). Then he can do whatever he likes.


    Therefore, Liu Anqing, the 22nd master of Duke Liu Mansion, was admitted to be a scholar at the age of twelve, a Juren at the age of fourteen, a Tanhua at the age of fifteen, married at the age of sixteen, and had a son at the age of seventeen. It was not long after his first birthday.


    He can resign as long as he stays in the Hanlin Academy for three full years and completes the agreement with Madam Liu.


    And he was planning to start traveling outside next year.


    Let me say one more thing, his wife was a person from the Jianghu, and she was also a chivalrous woman who can¡¯t stay still!


    [Jiang Hu (½­ºþ) ¨C literally translates as ¡°Rivers and Lakes¡±, but figuratively refers to the ¡°underground world of martial arts¡±. A section of society consisting of martial artists, gangsters, thieves, beggars, prostitutes, merchants, entertainers, and anyone else wanting to operate outside of mainstream society or in the grey area of the law]


    So, when he heard that his younger sister was engaged, he was very enthusiastic!


    He just wanted to marry his younger sister off as soon as possible so that he could stay outside longer. Otherwise, when his sister gets married, he will have to come back, it¡¯s too much trouble!


    That¡¯s right, Liu Anqing was such an off-the-wall funny guy. ¨r(¦á©n¦á)¨q


    The same is true for leading Yang An into the mansion this time. After taking Yang An into the inner courtyard to greet Madam Liu, he directly took Yang An to the gazebo in the garden, and said: ¡°Brother, wait a moment. I¡¯ll be right back.¡±


    Then he left!


    Just like that, he was gone!


    Not taking even a strand of cloud away, he ran away with a breeze in his sleeves!


    [The last verse of the poem ¡°Saying Goodbye to Cambridge again¡± (ÔÙ„e¿µ˜ò) by Chinese poet Xu Zhimo (Ðì־Ħ)]


    Yang An: ¡­


    Well, He has shown courtesy and was thrown out without even being served the tea. As a future brother-in-law, what else can he do besides accepting it? ¡ú_¡ú


    When Liu Fang brought people over and saw Yang An was alone, standing pitifully in the gazebo, feeling quite desolate.


    Liu Fang: ¡­


    She feels like laughing a little bit, how to deal with it? (*£þ¦á£þ)


    Yang An turned around and saw Liu Fang, his eyes lit up, and seeing the smile in her eyes, he spread his hands helplessly: ¡°Brother left me here and said, ¡®I will be right back¡¯. I can¡¯t walk around at will.¡± I am afraid I missed out with you.


    He only dared to say the last sentence silently in his heart, for fear of offending the beauty.


    Liu Fang smiled softly, ¡°My brother has always been unreasonable, I am sorry that I have neglected Mr. Yang.¡±


    Shu Hua smiled and beckoned people to serve tea. She helped Liu Fang into the gazebo, served the teacup, then led the servants back and stand outside the gazebo, and kept watch.


    Yang An sat at the stone table, took a sip from the teacup, realized that he was too eager, put down the teacup quickly, and said to Liu Fang: ¡°I am really thirsty, I hope the young lady will not be surprised.¡±


    Liu Fang shook her head, smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡±


    Yang An took a deep breath secretly, finally suppressed the agitation in his heart, and regained his composure, ¡°Young Lady, I¡¯m really happy to see you today¡­¡±


    As he spoke, his fair-skinned face flushed slightly, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that the Duke¡¯s mansion would agree to my marriage proposal, and I didn¡¯t expect that the young lady was willing to accept this marriage. Yang An is really grateful!¡±


    Liu Fang smiled, ¡°Mr. Yang, are you usually talk like that?¡±


    ¡°Ah?¡± Yang An looked at Liu Fang puzzled.


    ¡°It¡¯s so polite, it sounds really uncomfortable to me.¡±


    Yang An: ¡­


    It¡¯s probably the first time someone said that to him. Yang An blushed, ¡°I, uh, me, when I get nervous. It will be like this.¡±


    Shu Hua outside the gazebo couldn¡¯t take it anymore and laughed while clutching her stomach.


    Liu Fang was helpless, although she also thought Yang An was cute and wanted to laugh, but it was really impolite to laugh in front of him like this.


    She turned her head and glared at Shu Hua, then looked back at Yang An and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Mr. Yang. The servant is ignorant and spoiled by me. I hope you will forgive them.¡±


    Because of Su Hua laughter Yang An become relaxed, he regained his composure, and said with a smile, ¡°It¡¯s okay. It¡¯s my fault, uh, I¡¯m too nervous. I didn¡¯t act prudently. I made the young lady laugh and I was rude.¡±


    Liu Fang shook her head. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean that. Seeing Mr. Yan like this, I has relaxed a lot, and I feel at ease.¡±


    Yang An looked at her and smiled slightly, ¡°Really?¡±


    Liu Fang nodded, ¡°Before I met you, I was always worried about why you proposed marriage. Now, I feel relieved.¡±


    Yang An raised his eyebrows, ¡°Putting it this was, is the young lady agreed to this marriage, but you are not satisfied with me?¡±


    Liu Fang shook her head again, and said with a smile, ¡°I¡¯m not dissatisfied. It¡¯s just that I don¡¯t know you well, and we are stranger. It¡¯s normal to have worries and assumptions.¡±


    Yang An nodded, ¡°I understand young lady concerns. Please don¡¯t worry, although I don¡¯t come from a wealthy family, and I may not be able to become a marquis in the future, I can still raise my wife and children, be responsible to them, and cherish them.¡±


    Up to now, there was still an unspeakable impulse in his heart, but Yang An didn¡¯t know if his passion could last forever. Therefore, he didn¡¯t show it, and still restrained his impulse, only saying what he was sure and would be able to do it.


    In the final analysis, he was still not someone who promise easily and restrains himself.


    But when Liu Fang heard what he said, she felt at ease, sincerely nodded with a smile, and said, ¡°don¡¯t worry, Mr. Yan. Since I have agreed to the marriage, I will sincerely treat you as my future husband. In the future After I get married, I will do everything I should do as a wife. Of course, if the young master treats me sincerely, I will return it sincerely. I will not disappoint the young master, and I hope that the young master can keep his promise.¡±


    Yang An looked at Liu Fang, stand up and solemnly bowed to Liu Fang: ¡°Yang An will live up to his promise!¡±


    Seeing this, Liu Fang quickly got up, and also returned the salute to Yang An, saying: ¡°If you don¡¯t let me down, I will never let you down!¡±


    The two stood up straight and looked at each other. A smile, a touch of warmth and lingering.


    But Shu Hua who saw all of this, her eyes turned red, she lowered her head and wiped her tear: that¡¯s great! Miss finally met a confidant.


    ¡­


    The meeting of the unmarried couple was simple and solemn, but it brought their hearts closer. However, Liu Fang was not yet fifteen and hadn¡¯t performed the hair-pinning ceremony, so Yang An was doomed to wait.


    [The hair pinning ceremony is a ritual of the coming of age for a woman. In ancient times, only girls from noble families could hold this ceremony. Often the ceremony was held when a girl turned 15 and was engaged, but sometimes the function was postponed to her wedding day]


    But Anhe was about to get married soon.


    She came to inquire about the meeting between Liu Fang and Yang An. After Shu Hua finished retelling, she glanced at Liu Fang, rolled her eyes and said: ¡°Both of them are so boring, really boring.¡±


    There was not even a handle, this kind of gossip was really disappointing.


    But Liu Fang thought it was quite good, with a slight distance, a slight tacit understanding, it fit her. It¡¯s really comfortable to get along with someone like Yang An.


    No matter what, in the middle of March, the spring exam released the results, the number one scholar paraded the streets, and the capital was very lively. Soon afterward, various families held weddings, and Anhe also got married smoothly.


    On the day of her wedding, Madam Liu¡¯s eyes were still slightly red. When she turned her head and saw the slim Liu Fang, she felt even more uncomfortable when she thought that she would have to get married next year at the latest.


    She said angrily: ¡°Alright, since the bride has been sent, let¡¯s go back.¡±


    Liu Fang: ¡­ Mother, are you serious? All the guests are still here.


    Of course, Madam Liu was just jesting. She has to entertain the relatives, friends, and guests who came to congratulate her. It took half the night to really quiet down.


    Madam Liu handed over the warp up to several daughters-in-law, and slowly returned to the main courtyard by herself.


    ¡­¡­¡­


    Holding Pei momo¡¯s hand, Madam Liu walked slowly and looked up at the crescent moon in the sky, and said to Pei momo: ¡°Momo, how long have you been with me?¡±


    Pei momo smiled, ¡°It has been fifty-one years.¡±

 Chapter 14

    Chapter 14 The Scholar¡¯s Wife


    ¡°Fifty-one¡­¡±


    Madam Liu lowered her head and curled her lips, ¡°Am I this old?¡±


    Pei momo smiled, ¡°That¡¯s right, Miss. In a blink of an eye, you are already a grandmother.¡±


    Madam Liu snorted ¡°I have been a grandmother long ago. Don¡¯t you see how old their children are, they are almost ready to get married.¡±


    Pei momo nodded, ¡°That¡¯s right. The eldest son of the eldest master is already fourteen years old and is about to get engaged. Eldest master also is in his thirties, right?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it?¡± Madam Liu sighed, ¡°I still remember how lively the night was when the eldest son just got married! He was still young and so happy that he almost got drunk¡­¡±


    Pei momo looked at madam Liu with a smile and said softly: ¡°The eighteenth young lady was born at that time.¡±


    Madam Liu smiled, ¡°Yes. This girl knows how to pick a time. The mansion was very busy at that time. At the evening, she was born. Not long after she was born, her elder brother set off to welcome the bride into the mansion¡­ In a blink of an eye, she is going to get married too.¡±


    Pei momo saw Madam Liu¡¯s eyes flush, and quietly supported her, walked slowly and listened quietly.


    ¡°At that time, I hadn¡¯t held a baby for many years. Even when Anhe was born, I just glanced at her. But for some reason, when little eighteen was born, hearing her little cries, I feel panicked¡­¡±


    Madam Liu smiled as if she saw the frenzy in the mansion that evening: ¡°But it¡¯s very strange. When I stretched out my hand to hug her. Her eyes didn¡¯t open, and she stopped crying immediately, she was so cute.¡±


    ¡°The eighteenth young lady has always been the cutest.¡±


    ¡°Yes! She¡¯s so cute, she¡¯s always getting teased by Anhe and Anzhuang. These two children have been mischievous since they were young. However, Anfang is still so silly, and always speaks well for them¡­ What a fool.¡±


    Pei momo smiled and said, ¡°Eighteenth young lady is not stupid.¡±


    Madam Liu laughed, ¡°Yes, yes, she is not stupid. She is just too obedient.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s good that madam knows.¡±


    ¡°I know you love her. When she was young, as soon as she has craving, she didn¡¯t dare to find me, but she will always go find you. You are the one who es on her the most.¡±


    ¡°Does madam not love the eighteenth young lady? You love her more than I do.¡±


    Madam Liu smiled, ¡°I do love her. But the more I love her, the more I was afraid. You didn¡¯t know, at that time when I knew that Qi Yiniang almost made her suffer from tuberculosis, I wished I could kill that idiot!¡±


    Speaking of this, Madam Liu still gritted her teeth, ¡°After all, it was her biological child. How could she be so careless? A four-year-old child almost died overnight! At that time, I really wanted to kill her.¡±


    The corner of Pei momo¡®s mouth twitched, ¡°It¡¯s like you don¡¯t know what kind of person Qi Yiniang is. What else can she do besides cry? You have endured it for so many years, why bother to think about these things.¡±


    ¡°I was annoyed with her!¡± Madam Liu curled her lips and said, ¡°Of course, I know. I also know that she has such a temperament. She is as soft as a piece of dough, and she can¡¯t be kneaded. But I really didn¡¯t expect her to be stupid! She can¡¯t even take care of a child!¡±


    ¡°In the end, the eighteenth young lady is an auspicious person, turning every calamity into good luck! It¡¯s just that madam has worked so hard in those days, and the lingering effect of the disease is still left behind.¡±


    Madam Liu shook her head, ¡°She called me mother, naturally, I have to do what a mother should do. Children are all the same, they came to this world cleanly, they should not be involved in the affairs of adults. Besides, they are all good children, and they have lived up to my hard work.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just,¡± Madam Liu looked up at the distant sky, and said with emotion: ¡°Momo, I never expected that one day I would really spend my whole life in the inner courtyard like this. The youthful me was also full of fresh clothes and strong horses, full of liveliness. At that time, I was thinking that I would use all my abilities to gain a foothold in the court and make a name for myself in the world! At least I had to leave a mark in Qing History, but I didn¡¯t expect¡­¡±


    [Xian Yi Nu Ma (ÏÊÒÂÅ­Âí) generally describes noble sons with glamorous appearances, wearing the most beautiful clothes, and riding the most powerful horses]


    In the end, it was just a dream, no match for the cruelty of reality


    Pei momo looked at Madam Liu distressedly, ¡°Miss¡­¡±


    Madam Liu smiled, looked at her, and said: ¡°I used to be unwilling. On what basis women can only guard the inner courtyard? Are women really inferior to men? I also don¡¯t want to turn myself into a mediocre woman who can only see a small area of the world. However, after I gave birth to Geng¡¯er, I realized: Mother is also the greatest role of a woman! How difficult it is to be a good mother! And I have been doing it for more than thirty years.¡± Madam Liu looked at the courtyard¡¯s flowers and trees, and the soft and peaceful lights hanging on the veranda.


    ¡°Perhaps when I was young, I still had some resentment in my heart. But now¡­¡± Madam Liu shook her head and said with a smile, ¡°Momo, I feel that I have lived a very lucky and happy life!¡±


    Pei momo¡¯s eyes were red, smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s good for miss to feel happy!¡± ¡°


    ¡°Okay, momo, it¡¯s getting late, let¡¯s go back early and have a rest. By the way, tomorrow asked Cuiying to open the storeroom and pick out some good things¡­ We should start preparing the dowry for Anfang! ¡°


    ¡°Yes¡­¡±


    The figures of the two gradually drifted away. The servants followed behind them at a distance, and they couldn¡¯t hear the discussion between the two of them¡­


    The night gradually became quiet, and tomorrow will be a new day.


    ¡­ ¡­


    After getting engaged, Liu Fang¡¯s life has not changed much. She still has to do morning exercises, greet Madam Liu in the morning and evening, and practice calligraphy and painting.


    But there were still changes.


    For example, the wedding dress has to be embroidered. Although the dowry was prepared by Madam Liu, she also has to follow Madam Liu. The first reason was to learn, and the other was to let her choose her own dowry. What¡¯s more, Yang An started to communicate with her frequently.


    Almost one letter a day, Liu Fang was actually quite surprised that he has so many words, never repeating the same words, and the writing was brilliant, which makes Liu Fang very ashamed!


    ¡ª¡ªHer reply seems to be very ordinary, and it was too plain. Did she need to study more, in case there was a generation gap between the two of them when they got married¡­


    When Anhe returned home on the third day, Liu Fang saw that she hadn¡¯t changed much, and she was still living a free life. It was said that she moved out of the Count Wenyi Mansion the next day.


    [A traditional wedding custom of the Han nationality. It refers to the first time a woman returns to her natal family to visit relatives after she gets married. The newlyweds return to their parents-in-law¡¯s home after the third day of their marriage, and for the bride, it is to return to her mother¡¯s home after becoming a married woman for the first time]


    Liu Fang really didn¡¯t know what to say about this seventeenth elder sister. Madam Wenyi was probably just being polite, but she didn¡¯t expect this silly couple to move out in such a hurry!


    It was also a talent!


    Madam Liu also rolled her eyes when she heard this, and said to Anhe angrily: ¡°You just do what you want!¡±


    Anhe smiled and shrugged her shoulders in disapproval, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, mother. Daughter knows very well that mother-in-law is happy !¡±


    Madam Liu: ¡­ Haha. Believe your evil!


    Liu Fang also shook her head at a loss for words, ¡°Elder sister, are you sure Madam Wenyi is really happy? Isn¡¯t she holding back and preparing to kill you?¡±


    Anhe was annoyed, ¡°Am I that stupid? If it wasn¡¯t for my mother-in-law really wishing we could move out, how could I move out the next day after I got married, I¡¯m not stupid!¡±


    Liu Fang: ¡­You are being despised by others, and you still feel quite proud? (©`_©`)!!


    Madam Liu: ¡­ I can¡¯t even look at this stupid daughter! ¡ú_¡ú


    Anhe curled her lips, ¡°Okay. I know. My mother-in-law just dislikes me and my husband. But what can I do? My mother-in-law is an upright person, and for me, my back hurts if I sit upright just for a moment. I really can¡¯t stand it. Isn¡¯t it pretty good now. My husband and I have moved out, and it will be fine to greet them often in the future. We don¡¯t have to dislike each other anymore, right? ¡°


    Liu Fang, Madam. Liu: ¡­


    ¡°Whatever, you¡¯ve married anyway, live as you like.¡±


    Madam Liu finished speaking angrily, and directly drove Anhe and Liu Fang out.


    Anhe and Liu Fang stood at the door and looked at each other.


    Anhe shrugged: It has nothing to do with me!


    Liu Fang stared at her dumbfounded: It has nothing to do with you. Who else is it related to?


    Anhe shrugged again: Well, there is a little.


    Liu Fang: ¡­That¡¯s enough!


    ¡­


    Life went in the midst of turmoil from time to time, and time also passed unknowingly.


    In June, Liu Fang¡¯s eldest nephew, the eldest son of the eldest brother got engaged.


    In August, Liu Fang held the hairpin ceremony.


    In December, after Yang An¡¯s unremitting efforts, Madam Liu finally agreed to hold their wedding.


    Liu Fang is finally going to get married!


    ¡­


    The 18th day of December, it was time to get married.


    On this day, the people of the entire capital crowded into the streets to watch the excitement, talking about this unexpected marriage.


    ¡°Hey, this young master of the Yang family is really lucky! To be able to climb up to Duke Liu Mansion is also a genius! ¡°


    ¡°I heard that he is very handsome!¡± ¡°


    ¡°The young lady in the Duke Liu Mansion must be ugly. Otherwise, how could she fall in love with him?¡± It is also hard for Young Master Yang to bear such humiliation¡­¡±


    ¡°Tsk tsk, these words are so bitter! How do you know that the young lady in the Duke Liu Mansion must be ugly? All the people in the capital know that Duke Liu Mansion is famous for producing beauty! Whether it is a son or a daughter, they are good-looking, and were praised by everyone.¡±


    ¡°But, this eighteenth young lady has always been rumored to be ugly!¡±


    ¡°Oh, she was born in a family like Duke Liu Mansion, and her brothers and sisters all have good looks. Even if she is ugly, she looks better than you and me. Even if she is ugly in the eyes of others. This ¡®ugly¡¯ is still good-looking compared to you and me, so why do you have the confidence to say that the other person is ugly!¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­you haven¡¯t seen her before, how do you know that the eighteenth young lady of Duke Liu Mansion is not ugly?¡±


    ¡°Hey, you don¡¯t need to mention it. I really have seen her before. On that days, when visiting the lake on the outskirt of the capital. I have the honor to meet the two young ladies from the Duke Liu Mansion. No matter which one between them is the eighteenth young lady, they are more beautiful than me. I don¡¯t think I am ugly, so how can you say that the young lady from the Duke Liu Mansion is ugly?¡±


    Everyone looked at his face which was delicate and pretty, but the skin was a bit dark, so it didn¡¯t look that good, but it really can¡¯t be said to be ugly


    In this way, everyone nodded in agreement.


    ¡°Yeah, in this case, that young lady isn¡¯t ugly!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know who is so wicked, to always say that the young lady is as plain as a pikestaff, it¡¯s too mean and vicious!¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes ¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why Mr. Yang is really lucky! Not only has he climbed up to the Duke Liu Mansion, but he can still marry such a beautiful lady!¡±


    Everyone nodded in agreement!


    Envious, and a little bit jealous. ¡ú_¡ú


    Let¡¯s not talk about the bustle on the street, the Duke Liu Mansion was also very busy.


    The servants shuttled back and forth, swift and agile. The guests and relatives had already arrived at the door, giving congratulation one after another.

 Chapter 15

    Chapter 15 The Scholar¡¯s Wife


    In the courtyard, Shu Mo took the booklet and together with Liu Li and Liu Yue counted the dowry, in case something went missing.


    Shu Hua with Liu yu and Liu Feng packed up all the last things in the room. Preparing to take them to the Yang family with the dowry.


    Madam Liu brought Quanfu over to dress Liu Fang.


    [Quan fu ren (È«¸£·òÈË) refers to blessed people who have parents, children, husband and wife, and brothers and sisters who live in harmony. Generally, it is held by the female relatives of the woman¡¯s family. On the day before the wedding , Quanfu people will go to the new house to sweep the bed (spread the bed and spread the tent) for the bride and groom and read auspicious words or jingles while sweeping, in order to bring good luck to the newlyweds]


    Cuizhen had already led someone to help Liu Fang to take a bath and change clothes. Liu Fang had already worn her red wedding dress and was sitting by the edge of the bed eating.


    As soon as Madam Liu came in, she waved her hand to let Liu Fang continue to eat, and then said to Quanfu: ¡°The child is still young, let her eat well first, otherwise I¡¯m afraid she will be exhausted after a day.¡±


    As for going to the toilet or something, Isn¡¯t there a group of servants serving it?


    The Quanfu was the wife of the Ministry of Rites. She was well-known in the capital as a blessed person. Her parents and in-laws were still alive, her sons and daughters were both healthy, and they were all very promising. There was no concubine in the mansion. A loving couple for many years. There was no second one in the whole capital.


    The noble families were proud if they can invite her to be a Quanfu!


    However, she was the cousin of the current Emperor Wen, a proper junzhu, and she was not someone who can be easily invited.


    However, Madam Liu and her have known each other since childhood and were close friends. So for so many years, in all the marriages of the Duke Liu mansion, this lady has been the Quanfu.


    This also made the nobles in the capital envy Duke Liu very much. If you can marry such an awesome wife, you don¡¯t have to worry about anything!


    Liu Guogong: O(¨R¨Œ¨Q)O It¡¯s good to be happy.


    ¡­¡­


    The wife of the Ministry of Rites was also accustomed to the temperament of her friends. After so many years of sending the daughters to get married, how can she not know what kind of person the other party is?


    So, she just smiled and didn¡¯t speak.


    When Liu Fang was full and drank two glasses of water, Madam Liu nodded in satisfaction, and said to the wife of the Ministry of Rites, ¡°Thank you, A Yao¡±


    ¡°Then you can give me a pair of jade paperweight as a thank you gift.¡±


    Madam Liu looked at her and said, ¡°Alright. As long as you dress my little daughter well, I will give you a whole set of blue waves!¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± The wife of the Ministry of Rites said in surprise, ¡°You don¡¯t have to cheat on me.¡±


    Madam Liu snorted, ¡°I always keep my word, when have you ever seen me cheat you?¡±


    The wife of the Minister of Rites smiled, ¡°That¡¯s good!¡±


    Madam Liu glared at her, and then the two of them looked at each other and smiled in perfect understanding.


    Liu Fang who sat on the side just smile when watching this scene.


    Others may not know the temperament of the wife of the Ministry of Rites. Liu Fang has been following Madam Liu since she was a child, so she naturally understands it.


    The wife of the Ministry of Rites didn¡¯t talk too much, she first cleaned her hands and burned incense, and then seriously dressed Liu Fang.


    ¡°Once combing the head, you don¡¯t have to worry about wealth. The second comb, you will be free from disease and worry. The third comb, you will have more children and live longer. Combing once till the end, husband and wife respect each other. The second combing, husband and wife love each other and stay together. The third combing, ties the knot forever. There is a beginning and and end with rich and honour.¡±


    [The above is the auspicious words recited during the combing hair ceremony. The combing hair ceremony was done by the parents of the bride and groom or the quanfu (bless person) to bless their marriage, this tradition represents the bride and groom¡¯s transition into adulthood as they leave their families and start one of their own]


    As the words of combing hair were sung line by line, Madam Liu¡¯s eyes gradually became teary.


    Liu Fang saw the sad look on her mother¡¯s face through the mirror, and her eyes also turned red.


    The wife of the Ministry of Rites sighed secretly, her hands kept moving, and she quickly combed Liu Fang¡¯s hair into a concentric bun.


    While putting hairpin accessories, she said to Madam Liu: ¡°You have sent so many daughters out, you should get used to it, right? Why are you still bursting into tears? Today is the child¡¯s big day, so you can¡¯t infect her!¡±


    Madam Liu glared at her, ¡°Which eye of yours saw me crying?¡±


    The wife of the Ministry of Rites smiled, ¡°I didn¡¯t say you were crying, why are you so anxious.¡±


    After all, she still said to Liu Fang, ¡°Look, your mother loves you. Good child, after growing up and getting married, live a good life, don¡¯t let your mother worry.¡±


    Liu Fang nodded and replied softly: ¡°Yes, Madam Chang.¡±


    The wife of the Ministry of Rites smiled and said nothing, put good makeup on her face, and solemnly put on the gorgeous phoenix crown for Liu Fang.


    Madam Liu didn¡¯t bother to pay attention to her, watching Liu Fang gradually change from a delicate girl to a dignified young woman, she felt really uncomfortable.


    She can¡¯t get used to this matter. Unless she has no feelings for this daughter. But they were all brought up by her!


    She still seems to be able to see the scene when the Duke Liu Mansion was full of children. The boys came out of school, and the girls came over hand in hand, chattering endlessly. But the smiles on their faces were so pretty!


    When they were mischievous, she wanted to chase and beat them, but when they were well-behaved and sensible, caring for each other. It was so touching¡­


    The more she thought about the past, the more uncomfortable Madam Liu felt. The children have grown up. From a toddler, then learning to speak, gradually becoming a stable and reliable man, an elegant and beautiful woman. They all have the person they can spend their whole life with, they also have their own children and become a father and a mother¡­.


    That¡¯s great!


    Isn¡¯t that the inheritance of a family?


    ¡°Mother?¡±


    Madam Liu came back to her senses and saw Liu Fang holding her hand and looking at her with a smile.


    ¡°Madam Chang has gone out, she said she will wait for you in the study room.¡±


    Madam Liu stroked her temples with a smile and nodded, ¡°It¡¯s so beautiful!¡±


    Liu Fang agreed with a smile, ¡°It¡¯s beautiful, but it¡¯s too heavy.¡±.


    Madam Liu looked at the phoenix crown made of pure gold, frowned, and said: ¡°I told your father a long time ago, don¡¯t use pure gold to make this crown, he just turn a deaf ear! There¡¯s nothing we can do about him.¡±


    Liu Fang Smiling, ¡°Mother, father only has such a hobby. If one day he doesn¡¯t like gold, it will be a major issue.¡±


    Madam Liu also thought it was funny, ¡°Yes¡­¡±


    The mother and daughter fell silent for a moment.


    Liu Fang just smiled and looked at Madam Liu, and Madam Liu caressed her face lovingly, full of reluctance: ¡°I really want to go out and tell that kid that I regret the marriage¡­¡±


    Liu Fang:¡­ ¡Ñ©n¡Ñ ¡Î Mother, I¡¯m about to get married, and you still scare me like this, is it really okay?


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°Mother! Mother!¡±


    Just as the two faced each other in silence, a cheerful female voice came from outside.


    Madam Liu rolled her eyes, ¡°Okay, the debt collector is here!¡±


    Liu Fang covered her mouth and laughed.


    Princess consort An, the youngest daughter of Madam Liu??An Fei. The fifth young lady of Duke Liu Mansion, rushed into the room like a gust of wind.


    ¡°Mother, daughter is calling you, why don¡¯t you answer me?¡±


    Before Madam Liu could answer, Anfei turned to look at Liu Fang, her eyes lit up, and she stretched out her hand to pinch Liu Fang¡¯s face, and said: ¡°Oh, little Anfang, you are finally getting married! You are so beautiful!¡±


    Anfei was the combination of Madam Liu¡¯s and Duke Liu¡¯s strong points. She has a beautiful appearance, and she has been a free-spirited person since she was a child. She was ed on by her brothers and sisters. It was impossible to explain her personality in a few words.


    Anyway, in Liu Fang¡¯s impression, mother got a headache when she heard the fifth elder sister¡¯s voice, and in just a few words, mother will definitely explode!


    However, her temperament in the outside world was very smooth and slick. No one has ever said anything bad about her. Even if at first she was hated, that person will be fooled by her into being her friend in a few words!


    This was also a capability!


    In any case, from childhood to adulthood, Liu Fang only saw one person that was the fifth elder sister who can make Madam Liu who always stood firm get annoyed when she saw her.


    Outsiders, he, he.


    Just look at the eighth prince who was chased and beaten by Anfei back then, and now that Prince An has become her husband. You must know no one can escape the clutches of the fifth young lady.


    Unless she was not interested in you!


    To paraphrase Madam Liu¡¯s words: The fifth young lady was completely born as a fox spirit, born to beguile people out of the right way!


    Liu Fang thought: She fully agreed!


    Seeing how the fifth elder sister deceived her since she was a child. She really has a deep understanding of this!


    Anfei didn¡¯t know Liu Fang¡¯s thoughts in her mind. She just smiled and said to her: ¡°The little sister is married, and the fifth elder sister is really old. Sigh~ Back then, when I was married, little Anfang are still just a little beanie (five years old), and in a blink of an eye, you have grown up and are getting married¡­¡±


    Liu Fang: ¡­(©`_©`)!! Elder sister, you can speak, but don¡¯t pinch my face okay? Also, if you don¡¯t smile while saying this, I will probably be able to believe it.


    Madam Liu raised her hand and patted off Anfei¡¯s hand pinching Liu Fang¡¯s face, and said angrily: ¡°If you want to speak just speak, don¡¯t move your hand. What if your sister¡¯s face is red? Hah.¡±


    Anfei curled her lips, ¡°Mother, you are biased. You only love little sister and not me. Besides, as an older sister, I only know it at the day my younger sister is getting married. Why didn¡¯t you discuss it with me before? What if there is something unknown about that Yang family boy, what should we do if my younger sister was cheated?¡±


    ¡°Heh!¡± Madam Liu sneered, ¡°Tell you? I don¡¯t even know your whereabouts, so tell me how to tell you.¡±


    Anfei touched her nose, feeling embarrassed, ¡°Cough. That¡¯s right, the prince took me to Jiangnan to play some time ago, I forgot it for a moment. Mother, mother, mother¡­ please, don¡¯t be angry~¡±


    She speak while shaking Madam Liu¡¯s sleeve, and Madam. Liu stopped her quickly and said: ¡°Okay, let¡¯s put on makeup for your sister, don¡¯t worry about unnecessary things. If you dare to mess around, I really going to commit the crime beating you, the princess consort!¡±


    Anfei giggled, ¡°Yes, mother.¡±


    ¡°Hmph. That¡¯s fine, you stay here with your sister, I¡¯ll go outside to have a look first.¡±


    ¡°Okay, mother walks slowly.¡±


    After saying that, Anfei bowed respectfully.


    Madam Liu glared at her before turning around and leave.


    Seeing Madam Liu leave, Anfei rolled her eyes, straightened up immediately, sat beside Liu Fang, crossed her legs, pulled the melon seeds on the table with one hand, and said: ¡± Good sister, tell me, how did you fall in love with brother-in-law?¡±


    Liu Fang: ¡­ She felt so tired! (¦á¦ä¦á)

 Chapter 16

    Chapter 16 The Scholar¡¯s Wife


    Among the sons and daughters of Duke Liu, less than ten were still in the capital. Others were either working outside the capital, traveling around, or doing business. If the mansion has happy events, most of them come back in time, and others who can¡¯t make it in time can only send in advance the adding makeup and blessings.


    [Tian Zhuang (Ìí×±) Adding make-up refers to the addition of dowry and private money to the bride by relatives and friends during the wedding]


    But this time, for Liu Fang¡¯s wedding, all the brothers and sisters came back, and it was the first time they gathered together since they got married, which was very rare.


    However, because of the rules set by Duke Liu before, everyone still lives in their own homes, and not all of them live in the Duke Liu Mansion.


    They came to help early in the morning, and the in-laws did the same.


    Madam Zhen also came early, but still not as early as Princess Consort An. So when the elder sister Ansu came over, she happened to see the fifth younger sister sitting with her legs crossed, eating melon seeds, listening to Liu Fang.


    Ansu: ¡­ (©``©`)


    Ansu¡¯s brow twitched slightly, and she really didn¡¯t know what to say about this fifth younger sister.


    Outside, she looks like a human being, but when she arrives at her home, her manner and behavior become improper. She didn¡¯t look like a princess consort.


    So what the outside world said about ¡°Princess Consort An is virtuous and elegant, with both political integrity and professional competence¡± was really too blind!


    It¡¯s also because the fifth younger sister¡¯s disguise was too successful.


    When Anfei saw her eldest sister coming, she was startled, and quickly straightened up, as if the scene just now was just an illusion.


    Ansu waved her hand and said, ¡°Put the melon seeds shells away, don¡¯t let anyone see them.¡±


    ¡°Yes, elder sister.¡±


    Anfei obediently handled the melon seeds shells so that no one could see¡ª ¡ªPut it directly in the flower pot in the room and cover it with flowers and leaves. After washing and drying her hands, she tidied up her appearance and dress, and returned to sit beside Liu Fang, with an elegant and decent smile on her face, like a noble princess consort.


    Ansu nodded in satisfaction, then turned to Liu Fang and said, ¡°Congratulations, little sister. Today is your big day. My makeup list has been given to Shu Mo. You can check it later. If you don¡¯t like it, you can tell sister later, and I will replace it.¡±


    Liu Fang glanced at Anfei, suppressed a smile, and said respectfully and solemnly to Ansu: ¡°Okay, eldest sister. Thank you eldest sister.¡±


    Even in front of her mother, the fiifth elder sister was disobedient. But she was very afraid of eldest sister and ninth elder brother, which was also strange.


    In Liu Fang¡¯s opinion, the eldest sister??Ansu, was gentle and dignified. Although she was a bit solemn, she has a very gentle temper. She has never seen her lose her temper, let alone do anything to her younger siblings. That¡¯s totally impossible, okay?


    Ninth elder brother??Anjin was also a kind and gentle person. Still, it was strange that whether it was Anfei, Anhe, or the younger brother Anqing, they were all very afraid of the ninth elder brother.


    Anyway, Liu Fang felt quite baffled. When she was a child, she asked her two sisters and brother about it.


    She still remembers what the fifth elder sister said, ¡°Little Anfang, you are still young, just remember not to offend ninth elder brother.¡±


    As for seventeenth elder sister, she said to Liu Fang in amazement: ¡°You don¡¯t think ninth elder brother is scary?¡±


    Liu Fang shook her head, Anhe looked at her inexplicably, ¡°Ignorant people are really happy¡­¡±


    Liu Fang: ¡­ ¨r(¦á©n¦á)¨q.


    But the little brother smiled meaningfully at Liu Fang, and did not answer.


    No matter what, the eldest sister??Ansu and the ninth elder brother??Anjin were in charge of the family, and the brothers and sisters who were out of character were all dealt with clearly and honestly.


    At least, in the eyes of outsiders, the young masters and young ladies of Duke Liu Mansion were all very excellent!


    ¡­¡­


    Ansu sat in the room. Even Anfei a princess consort had to behave, let alone others.


    Therefore, the sisters who came to add makeup one after another all smiled gracefully and dignifiedly, talked and chatted with Liu Fang, and the room was harmonious.


    As for relatives and friends who came to add makeup, seeing that Princess Consort An and Duke Zhen¡¯s daughter-in-law were also present, they dare not be presumptuous.


    What¡¯s more, Duke Liu has no brothers or relatives. That is the children from his in-law, some old friends who have been with him for many years.


    The most prominent ones were probably Prince Cheng¡¯s Mansion, Prince An¡¯s Mansion, and Duke Zhen¡¯s Mansion.


    Not to mention Prince An¡¯s Mansion and Duke Zhen¡¯s Mansion. Prince Cheng¡¯s Mansion was Madam Liu¡¯s natal family. Madam Liu was still alive and healthy. Her own brother brought her nephews and nieces and daughters-in-law over to congratulate her. Who dares to dirspect her?


    Not to mention, the seventh young lady??Anmo was married to her nephew, and become the third madam in Prince Cheng¡¯s Mansion.


    Therefore, everyone was very enthusiastic and the scene was very lively.


    It¡¯s just that for Yang An, welcoming the bride today was not that simple.


    ¡­¡­


    Yang An woke up early in the morning. He invited his teacher to help because there were no elders in the mansion,


    His teacher was actually the neighbor¡¯s family next door, and it just so happens that Fang Cheng lives opposite him¡ªit was only after the incident in the lake that the two discovered that they were still neighbors.


    But that¡¯s all. Yang An didn¡¯t plan to be in contact with Fang cheng.


    Yang An¡¯s teacher was actually an old Hanlin, who spent his whole life studying at the Hanlin Academy. He didn¡¯t have a big achievement, but he was very kind and benevolent.


    When Yang An was young, he lost his mother first, and then his father. He was only a nine-year-old boy with a young sister who was just born, and there were a group of people staring at his property. If it weren¡¯t for this mentor, even if Yang An was smart, even if he had three or two loyal servants, he would not be able to keep his ancestral house and part of his property, and live in peace with his younger sister until now.


    Therefore, Yang An¡¯s teacher can be regarded as his other ¡°father¡±, who has always protected him and his younger sister.


    Now that he was getting married. He certainly has to ask his teacher. Otherwise, it would be too courteous and regard him as an outsider, and it would hurt his teacher¡¯s heart.


    Although the marriage was managed with the help of his teacher, Yang An still personally involved in it. Every day, he counted the days under nervousness, hoping to marry the wife he misses day and night sooner.


    His younger sister also asked her brother every day: ¡°Brother, when will you marry sister-in-law?¡±


    Every time Yang An heard this, he became more and more anxious: He wanted to too (¨Òo¨Ò).


    But when this day really came, Yang An realized that he was even more nervous.


    He didn¡¯t fall asleep at all the night before, and he didn¡¯t know what to think in his head. A bunch of thoughts kept pouring out, which he couldn¡¯t suppress no matter how hard he tried.


    So, before dawn, Yang An got up to take a bath and change clothes, and then had breakfast early. After his teacher came, he started to worship the ancestors and other wedding preparations.


    It was almost time for the guests to arrive, and the hour was approaching, so Yang An brought a group of friends, as well as strong men dressed in uniform hired to carry the dowry went to the bride¡¯s house to escort her back to the wedding.


    He himself was riding a tall horse, with a matchmaker in front of him, a band leading the way, beating gongs and drums, distributing happy money, and walked all the way to Duke Liu Mansion in high spirits.


    Along the way, the soldiers guarding the gates have already been prepared. These guards have also experienced a lot of this kind of wedding procession that went crossed the imperial city and inner city and have been trained.


    Therefore, when the welcoming team passed through the two city gates, they were very fast and did not delay for long.


    [Yin qin (Ó­Ç×) is a wedding procession where the groom along with a group of friends, relatives, and servants went to the bride¡¯s house to escort the bride and her dowry back for the wedding]


    Naturally, Yang An reciprocated by giving a red envelope as a gift of thanks.


    The guarding soldiers all smiled, congratulated him, and accepted the red envelope very calmly.


    This can be regarded as a customary rule.


    After all, the capital was very big. It was a great distance to go from the outer city to the imperial city. It usually takes one or two hours, not to mention that there was a wedding today, and there were many people watching the excitement along the road.


    The yamen servants have already been dispatched to maintain law and order, and Duke Liu Mansion will take care of these things afterward, so Yang An doesn¡¯t need to worry about them.


    It can only be said that the welcoming team came all the way with great enthusiasm. When they reached Huangcheng Middle Street, Yang An saw a group of men riding horses waiting for him from a distance.


    Yang An¡¯s heart skipped a beat, remembering the words that his fianc¨¦e specially sent Shu Mo to say two days ago: ¡°My elder brothers will return to the capital this time, and gather together for my wedding. You should make preparations early.¡±


    At this moment, Yang An looked at the approaching group of men on horseback, and finally understood what it means to overwhelm with numerical strength!


    How did it feel to have twenty-two brothers riding horses blocking the road?


    Yang An tells you, there were only two words: Terrible!


    The twenty-two masters led by Liu Angeng, the eldest son of Duke Liu Mansion, and Liu Anjin, the ninth master, each rode a horse, four in a row, and divided into five teams.


    At the front were the eldest master??Liu Angeng and the ninth master??Liu Anjin. The former has a serious face, while the latter has a smile on his lip. Although one was in his thirties and the other was only in his twenties, they were evenly matched in terms of momentum.


    The first row behind them was the second master??Liu Anyu, the third master??Anyong, the fourth master??Andu, and the fifth master??Anbi.


    And in the second row behind these four were the sixth master??Anguang, the seventh master??Ankuo, the eighth master??Anlu, and the tenth master??Anpang.


    In the third row were the eleventh master??Anting, the twelfth master??Antang, the thirteenth master??Anying, and the fourteenth master??Anxi.


    The fourth row was the fifteenth master??Ansha, the sixteenth master??Anku, the seventeenth master?? Anlin, and the eighteenth master??Ankang.


    The last row was the nineteenth master??Anlian, the twentieth master??Anxu, the twenty-first master??Anzhuang, and the twenty-second master?? Anqing.


    Among them, Anting, Ankang, and Anqing were all Liu Fang¡¯s brothers from the same mother. Angeng, Andu, and Anpang were born from Madam Liu.


    As for Anjin who made Anfei and Anhe afraid, it was actually born from liu yiniang.


    Among them, Anlin and Anjin were brothers from the same mother. The brothers were six years apart. They also have three sisters from the same mother, namely Anmo, Anli, and Anhe.


    Therefore, Anhe was deeply afraid of her own brother since childhood.


    But now, Yang An, the little brother-in-law, was about to face ¡°kind greetings¡± from so many brother-in-law.


    ¡­¡­¡­


    The surrounding people were very excited to see such a spectacular scene: It¡¯s so rare!


    Which family marrying a daughter can dispatch so many beautiful men with different styles? ! Only Duke Liu Mansion can do it!


    So, it was not a lie that Duke Liu Mansion was full of beauty. Just look at the twenty-two men from the Duke Liu mansion who were riding horses, all of them are handsome, each with their own charm and extraordinary bearing. You can know the rumors was true!


    The welcoming team slowly approached. Even though Yang An was nervous, he had to bite the bullet and go.


    Angeng remained expressionless, but Anjin, was very kind. After Yang An approached, Anjin slowly said, ¡°Brother-in-law, don¡¯t be nervous. We have a lot of people in our family, so we should get everything done that need to be done early, and brother-in-law can catch up with the auspicious time to go back to worship.¡±


    Yang An smiled wryly in his heart, but he didn¡¯t dare to show anything on his face, he just smiled and bowed, ¡°Thank you, brother, for your enlightenment.¡±


    Anjin smiled and said, ¡°As for me, I am much older than you. If I make a move, it would be the big bully the small. As a dignified son, I don¡¯t want to embarrass you. How about this, let¡¯s be gentle. Let the twenty-first brother and the twenty-second brother compete with you in literary and martial arts, so how about it?¡±


    What else can Yang An do? he can only agree.


    Of course, even though it was said that it was a literary and military competition, it was impossible to really fight with swords and spears. The competitions were very elegant: throwing pots and comparing poems.


    [Tou hu (Ͷºø) a traditional Chinese etiquette and banquet game that lasted from the pre-Qin period to the late Qing Dynasty. Because the courtyard is not wide enough; or because there are too many guests, there is not enough to prepare bows for comparison; or some guests do not know how to shoot arrows, so throwing the arrows into the pots instead of bows is used to entertain guests. The one who hits more is the winner]


    It¡¯s normal to be blocked from welcoming the bride, but no one will really embarrass the groom. It¡¯s not like they want to regret the marriage, and it¡¯s fine to make a scene in a friendly manner.

 Chapter 17

    Chapter 17 The Scholar¡¯s Wife


    But, it was necessary to show power, at least let the groom know that his wife¡¯s natal family was not easy to mess with.


    Therefore, despite Duke Liu Mansion arranging a big show. In fact, it doesn¡¯t really mean to embarrass Yang An at all.


    Putting on such a show was just to tell him that Liu Fang has many elder brothers who love her, so don¡¯t bully her, or¡­hehe!


    Thus, when comparing poetry, Anzhuang will give a way to Yang An, and made a random poem, which was very ordinary. He was a Jinshi, and he has published a collection of poems, so it was not good to bully others.


    Yang An breathed a sigh of relief, and was also grateful to his brother-in-law for going easy on him so that he didn¡¯t really lose in the first round anyway, and the two drew a tie.


    When it was time to compete with Anqing in throwing pots. Sorry, Anqing was here to give him a hard time, so Yang An really loses miserably!


    Including his close friends, no one can withstand Anqing¡¯s superb skills.


    Therefore, Yang An loses miserably in the second round.


    Anjin smiled and let the brothers make way, and smiled at Yang An and said: ¡°Brother-in-law, walk slowly!¡±


    That smile made Yang An feel uneasy.


    Anyway, Anqing had met Yang An twice, and he left him the last time. Although there was a reason for the incident, it was really rude, so he whispered to Yang An: ¡°Take care, brother-in-law. My sister is still waiting for you .¡±


    Well, Yang An understood, there is more to come.


    No wonder they came out so early and intercepted halfway, it seems that there were still many people behind!


    Indeed!


    The elder brothers have taken action, so her cousins ??have to take action too!


    The three young masters of Prince Cheng¡¯s Mansion were waiting not far ahead.


    After Yang An passed the cousins, a group of teenagers were blocking the gate of Duke Liu Mansion.


    In this group of juniors, the oldest ones have already been engaged, the youngest ones were still breastfed. The fuss made the people watching the excitement laugh out loud, and they were very happy.


    After finally dismissing the group of little devils. Yang Aa met the sister-in-law head-on when he entered the mansion.


    This group of female relatives also has their own strengths, literary and military, and they can do everything. Yang An was tormented enough, begging for mercy repeatedly, giving away a lot of red envelopes, and saying many good things to pass the test.


    Madam Liu¡¯s eldest son¡¯s wife, Liu Fang¡¯s eldest sister-in-law, covered her mouth and said with a smile: ¡°Oh, my brother-in-law is sweet-mouthed, making us sister-in-laws happy.¡±


    The other sister-in-laws all laughed and agreed.


    Yang An smiled bitterly in his heart: ¡­ as long as you are happy. £¨¦á¦ä¦á£©


    Passed the sisters-in-law, then the servants of the Duke Liu Mansion, first the guards, then the dowry servants¡­


    Finally came to the backyard, and the final checkpoint: brothers-in-law and elder sisters!


    The brothers-in-law had also experienced the unique reception in Duke Liu Mansion, so when they saw Yang An now, they felt sympathetic to each other.


    Therefore, Yang An had the easiest time passing this level.


    But the elder sisters were waiting at the back!


    The eldest sister??Ansu, and the fifth sister??Afei, led the other sisters to stand in front of the gate.


    Anfei¡¯s eyes were shining, and she was very excited when she saw the handsome Yang An walking over!


    ¡°Little brother-in-law, you are finally here!¡±


    Ansu turned her head and glanced at her. Anfei sensed it immediately, and immediately withdrew her excited expression, restored the demeanor that a princess consort should have, smiled and said gracefully: ¡± Brother-in-law, you have worked hard all the way.¡±


    Ansu then looked back at Yang An and said, ¡°Brother-in-law, it¡¯s getting late, and we won¡¯t make things difficult for you. As long as you state your promise in front of all of us, You can pass the level.¡±


    As for whether he can do it?


    Ansu said: It doesn¡¯t matter!


    It¡¯s best if he can do it, but what if he can¡¯t? Oh, she also has her own means to make him pretend in front of her younger sister for the rest of his life! Coaxing her younger sister into happiness.


    There was no need to let her younger sister know about these. This was what she should do as the elder sister, the younger sister only needs to be happy.


    Yang An was taken aback when he heard such a request, but he was a person who keeps what he says and does what he says. Whether it was the relationship or as a person, he always does what he can, he will not make promises easily and will never tell exaggerated stories to deceive others.


    Therefore, he solemnly said loudly: ¡°I, Yang An, hereby promise: no matter whether you are rich or poor in this life, there is only one wife, Liu Anfang, and I will never let her down! If I violate it, I will be struck by lightning from heaven, and I will never be a human being again!¡± ¡°


    The relatives, friends, and guests who came to watch the fun were all shocked by these words!


    Ansu didn¡¯t expect the other party to make such a big promise. The smile on her face became more sincere, and she said with a smile: ¡°Good. We have all heard the sincerity of our brother-in-law. I hope you and sister will grow old together, full of children and grandchildren, love forever!¡±


    Yang An secretly breathed a sigh of relief, smiled and bowed, ¡°Thank you, elder sister.¡±


    Anfei¡¯s eyes lit up, and she said to Yang An: ¡°Brother-in-law, are you anxious? Hurry up, go pick up the bride!¡±


    As soon as these words came out, everyone burst into laughter!


    Yang An¡¯s face also turned red immediately!


    This time, Ansu only glare Anfei, and then stepped aside. The other sisters also stood aside, smiling as Yang An walked past them to pick up Liu Fang.


    ¡­


    In the room, Madam Liu led the concubines to talk to Liu Fang for the last time. When Yang An came to the door, she became red-eyed and picked up the red veil to cover Liu Fang.


    Qi Yiniang held Liu Fang¡¯s hand and cried with tears streaming down her face. Madam Liu was originally very sad, but when she saw Qi Yiniang cry as if being parted in life and separated by death, she become speechless.


    ¡°Okay, it¡¯s almost time. Let the child kowtow to you, we will have a lot of things to do later.¡±


    After hearing this, Qi Yiniang held back her tears and obediently sat down.


    The other concubines were also helpless, if they didn¡¯t know the nature of Qi Yiniang, they really didn¡¯t want to deal with her: Marrying a daughter was obviously a happy event, but seeing her cry like this, this marriage looked like a bad marriage.


    Liu Fang couldn¡¯t do anything about her biological mother¡¯s temperament, so she could only turn a blind eye to her aggrieved eyes, kowtowed to her politely, and said: ¡°Thank you, Aniang, for giving birth.¡±


    [A niang (°¢Äï) another form in addressing mother]


    This sentence was true.


    Her biological mother gave her life, but Madam Liu taught her how to live freely in this world and love herself.


    Never forget the gift of life, and in the same way not fail to live up to the grace of nurturing!


    That is to say, only in Duke Liu Mansion the children of concubines can kowtow to their biological mother and the wife before they get married. If it was the wife from another family, it was really impossible to even come out to meet on this day.


    Therefore, Liu Fang was grateful to Madam Liu for what she has done, and she will keep it in her heart.


    Liu yiniang stood by and watched, her eyes were also red, and Shi yininag next to her was surprised, ¡°Why are you crying too?¡±


    Liu yininag replied, ¡°I think of the time when Anhe got married.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    This has always been the rule in the mansion. Her daughters have married long ago, so she didn¡¯t feel that much now. For Liu yininag, Anhe only got married last year, so it¡¯s normal to feel a little sad now.


    If you ask her, the saddest one was probably Madam.


    Alas¡­ that is, they were lucky to have such a good mistress who was willing to be considerate of others in everything. If it was the mistress of another family¡­ Hehe.


    Madam Liu covered her head after Liu Fang saluted, and then waved her hand to let Yang An in.


    Yang An entered the door excitedly, first greet Madam Liu, and then greet all the concubines, and then handed the red silk to Liu Fang under the command of the matchmaker.


    All the elder brothers were already waiting outside the door, and when the matchmaker spoke, they took turns carrying Liu Fang on their backs, starting from Anqing.


    This was also the unique way to send off the bride in Duke Liu Mansion. There were too many brothers, the eldest brother was always asked to carry his sisters on his back, and the other brothers were not happy, so there was such a rule.


    Duke Liu Mansion was very big, and Liu Fang always felt this way. Can you imagine that your home was as large as the park of later generations? Anyway, she couldn¡¯t image it before.


    But today, she feels that the Duke Liu Mansion was so small and the roads were so short.


    From the inner courtyard to the main courtyard, together with Yang An, she kowtowed to Duke Liu and Madam Liu and then was carried out of the Duke Liu Mansion.


    Along the way, all the brothers said: ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, Brother X is here. If he dares to bully you, I will take someone to beat (clean up) him!¡±


    In the end, it was the eldest brother Angeng who carried Liu Fang on his back and sent her to the bridal sedan chair. Yang An has been leading the long red silk to follow.


    Angeng said: ¡°If you are not happy in Yang¡¯s house, come home and your eldest brother will pick you up.¡±


    Liu Fang burst into tears immediately, and agreed with a choked voice: ¡°Got it, elder brother.¡±


    Yang An: ¡­ Brother-in-law, I¡¯m still here, don¡¯t you feel the need to avoid?


    In this life, it¡¯s great to have such a family backing her!


    ¡­¡­¡­


    After receiving the person smoothly, Yang An grinned stupidly, got on his horse, and led the team all the way to the outer city.


    Anjin took Anting and the others to the wedding ceremony, followed by a dowry delivery team.


    First, the group of strong men hired by Yang An carried the dowry, which was mighty, followed by guards guarding the dowry, and the servants also carried Liu Fang¡¯s daily items followed all the way.


    The people around looked at it, talked about it happily, said that the dowry was rich, that the number of dowries was large¡­ In short, they could say anything.


    The team went around the imperial city, exited the inner city through another gate, returned to the outer city, and then returned to Yang¡¯s mansion all the way.


    The waiting people in Yang¡¯s mansion also set off firecrackers to welcome them, kicked the sedan chair door, stepped over the brazier, and worshiped heaven and earth¡­ After a lot of tossing, Liu Fang sat in the new house, waiting for Yang An to pick up the veil.


    After all the etiquette was over, the matchmaker retreated, and the servants also waited outside the door, the two of them looked at each other and smiled.


    ¡°Too tired.¡± Liu Fang supported the phoenix crown and frowned.


    Yang An looked at her with infatuated eyes, and said with a smile: ¡°You wash and rest first, eat something, I have to toast outside.¡±


    Liu Fang felt funny and a little shy seeing him, nodded and said: ¡°Then you go quickly.¡±


    Yang An stretched out his hand and tugged at her sleeve, reluctantly saying, ¡°Well, then, I¡¯m going.¡±


    Liu Fang blushed, and gave him an annoyed look, ¡°Then you should go.¡±


    Yang An smiled, ¡°You are so beautiful today, I can¡¯t bear it.¡±


    Liu Fang immediately lowered her head, blushing.


    After chattering for a while, Yang An reluctantly went out to toast. Shu Mo came in with Su Hua and helped Liu Fang to wash and change clothes.


    ¡°You are all tired too, go eat first.¡±


    After washing up, Liu Fang hurriedly said to Shu Mo, ¡°Just let Liu Yu come to serve.¡±


    Shu Mo smiled: ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Miss, the servants have already been divided into shifts, and they will come in a while.¡±


    ¡°I see. That¡¯s good.¡±


    ¡°Miss, eat first then take a rest.¡± Shu Hua came in with a food box and laid it out on the table.

 Chapter 18

    Chapter 18 The Scholar¡¯s Wife


    ¡°Good, I can eat by myself, I don¡¯t need you to serve, go down and have a rest.¡±


    ¡°Okay, Miss. You eat first. The servants will come and clean up later.¡±


    Shu Mo and the others were also tired all day, and it was not easy to drag them. After all, they still have to watch the night today.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    After Shu Mo and the others went out. Liu Fang sat at the table and ate slowly: a bowl of shredded chicken noodles and a few salty snacks were all to her taste, so she was very satisfied.


    After Liu Fang had finished eating, Shu Mo brought people over to clean up, but Yang An has not come back.


    It wasn¡¯t until Liu Fang fell asleep that Yang An returned to the room reeking of alcohol.


    After washing and changing clothers, when Liu Fang supported Yang An to lie down on the bed, she was pulled into Yang An¡¯s arms all of a sudden: ¡°My wife¡­¡±


    Liu Fang closed her eyes. What should come still has to come, she was mentally prepared.


    This night, it was destined to be hot that burn the heart


    ¡­..


    The Yang family has no elders, so the next day, Liu Fang and Yang An only need to open the ancestral hall to worship their ancestors, and then write Liu Fang¡¯s name on the family tree. Then go to the teacher¡¯s house to pay a visit to thank him, and to recognize the relatives along the way.


    Throughout the day, Yang An clinged to Liu Fang, and his sister??Yang Hui followed them all the time, which made Yang An a little depressed.


    Liu Fang had many dowry servants.


    Therefore, the whole Yang family was already having a hard time just putting her dowry and housing these servants.


    On this day, Liu Fang hurriedly sorted out her dowry, arranged the errands of the dowry servants, and asked them to do what they should do.


    In this way, the dowry servants were reduced by two-thirds.


    There was a quota for the dowry in the Duke Liu Mansion, but because Liu Fang was the youngest, she gets the most dowry, and her dowry was the richest.


    However, most of them are fixed assets such as farms, shops, and houses, and there are also some silver notes at the bottom of the box, and other cloth, calligraphy, painting, antiques, jewelry, etc., which were packed in boxes.


    Some were betrothal gifts, some were used by Liu Fang since she was a child, some were given by relatives, and some were custom-made to add make-up¡­


    Yang An has nothing to do, so he helped tidy up.


    While tidying up, he was startled: Is the Duke Liu Mansion so rich?


    Seeing his expression, Liu Fang knew what he was thinking. She looked at the dowry list and said, ¡°It¡¯s because I met the good time. When the eldest sister got married, there were not so many good things to accompany her. I still remember that when the seventh elder sister got married, life in the mansion was still very tight. That is, when the eighth and ninth elder sisters got married, the mansion was much better. At that time, the eldest brother had already established a foothold, although the official position is still low, but at least he showed his face in front of the emperor, and let everyone see his talent. Later, the eighth elder brother went to the border, earning merits with all his life, and was named a general. It¡¯s really getting better.¡±


    Liu Fang smiled, full of nostalgia, looked at Yang An, and said, ¡°You probably can¡¯t imagine that when I was young, there were not many snacks in the house. Because there was no money. Only When there are guests visiting, the kitchen will make some pastries to entertain the guests and maintain the dignity of the Duke Liu Mansion. However, in daily life, I am a greedy cat who drools when I see candied haws on the street. At that time, Every day my little brother counts his small monthly pocket money, counts the copper coins, and buys me a candied haw every day, and then the two of us share it together. Oh, yes, there is also the seventeenth elder sister. She was also greedy, and the monthly allowance is not enough to spend. So, every time the little brother bought candied haws, she would come and fight for one.¡±


    Yang An really didn¡¯t expect it, ¡°I thought, you are of noble birth, you must have a very good life.¡±


    Liu Fang shook her head and said with a smile, ¡°It¡¯s not a bad life. It¡¯s just that there are many people in the house. It was not an easy task to maintain a decent life. Not to mention anything else. Every time I and my elder sisters went to attend a banquet, we have to spend a lot of money, making new clothes, new jewelry, etc. It is not that our family likes extravagance, but the world is like this. In such a position, we cannot lose the dignity of the Duke¡¯s Mansion. Therefore, we live a simple life at home every day. In fact, we have no shortage of the things we use and food. We still grew up in rich clothes and fine food. It¡¯s not as difficult as you might imagine. Relatively speaking, only cakes and snacks, my mother strictly controls us and doesn¡¯t allow us to eat as we please. Secondly, the mansion really extraordinarily frugal in this aspect. That¡¯s why I was so greedy when I was a child. It was fine after I grow up. This is my nature, and it¡¯s not a big deal. At least I live a much better life than ordinary people¡¯s families. I don¡¯t have to worry about food and clothing. There are fish and meat every day, and there are servants to serve.¡±


    Yang An didn¡¯t know what to say. Should he say that he had a better life than her when he was a child?


    When his parents were alive, Yang An really lived a very carefree and happy life. At least at that time, he would not be greedy for a candied haw and had to share it with his elder brothers and sisters.


    Seeing that he still looked distressed, Liu Fang couldn¡¯t help laughing.


    She really didn¡¯t feel bad about her life.


    When she was young, the mansion had successively experienced the elder brother marriage, the elder sister getting married, the second elder brother getting married, and so on. The dowry and bride prices were all spent, and the younger ones like Liu Fang grew up every year, and it cost a lot.


    When Liu Fang was five or six years old, the eldest brother has a son, her nephews, from the servants to daily food and clothing expenses, didn¡¯t this cost money?


    Besides, in those few years, there were weddings in the mansion, all kinds of banquets and so on, and later there were expenses for elder brothers for taking up the official posts, etc. Even if Duke Liu was good at business and Madam Liu was good at management, that was just to maintain everyone¡¯s life, and the rest was actually not too much.


    Moreover, it can be said that Duke Liu Mansion has been holding a wedding one after another. After all, there were a lot of children, the one here was getting married, and the one over there has grown up, and should be engaged¡­


    So, even if the Duke Li Mansion has money, Madam Liu has to count and use it wisely. Otherwise, when the time for the children to get married, they can¡¯t even afford a decent dowry gift.


    Because of this, Liu Fang seemed to have a miserable life when she was a child. But in fact, her food and clothing were still the standards of a first-rank young lady and it was definitely not worse compared with the concubine daughters of other high-ranking families.


    Who made her have a good mother.


    Yang An accompanied Liu Fang to organize her dowry for a whole day.


    The next day when the third day of returning home, Yang An accompanied Liu Fang back to Duke Liu Mansio early in the morning.


    Because there were only two siblings remain in the Yang family, Liu Fang took Yang Hui back directly.


    Madam Liu had breakfast early in the morning and kept changing jewelry in the room. Cuiying opened her storeroom and found a lot of good things, planning to let Liu Fang take them away later.


    Duke Liu was sitting in the side hall eating while listening to Madam Liu¡¯s busy, he shook his head helplessly, and said, ¡°For what? Isn¡¯t it just little Anfang coming back, what is the big fuss?¡±


    Jin Bao, the servant who served him, reminded him in a low voice, ¡°Master, please don¡¯t say anything, in case Madam overhears¡­¡±


    Duke Liu glared at him with an annoyed expression, ¡°You¡¯re the only one who is noisy.¡±


    Jin Bao didn¡¯t care at all and said with a smile: ¡°It¡¯s not that you don¡¯t know. Now that the eighth master and the others have returned to the capital, there must be something important. Madam knows it well, so don¡¯t make trouble. Besides, today is the eighteenth lady returns home, you should hurry up and choose something so that the eighteenth lady can take it back later. Otherwise, what would you say if Madam asks?¡±


    Duke Liu sighed and said, ¡°Well¡­ in such a position, it was impossible if our family want to be righteous alone in a community where the general moral tone is low. Forget it, I don¡¯t care. Listen to you, I¡¯ll go to the warehouse and send my newly-made gold and jade to little Anfang, so that she can live the same way in the future The house is full of gold and jade!¡±


    The corner of Jin Bao¡¯s mouth twitched: ¡­ Master, as long as you are happy!


    Back home that day, Liu Fang seemed to have just gone shopping and returned home, without the slightest feeling that she was married and already a guest.


    It was rare for the whole family to get together, and after a lively day, Yang Hui also played very well with Liu Fang¡¯s nephews, very happy.


    When she left, she finally had a sense of reality that she was married and was no longer a young lady from the Duk Liu Mansion, but the wife of the Yang family.


    Madam Liu¡¯s eyes were wet, and she waved her hand, ¡°Go back quickly, it¡¯s getting late, if you have free time, come back to visit more, anyway, it¡¯s not far away.¡±


    Liu Fang nodded, ¡°Well, mother, my daughter will. ¡°


    Anyway, they lived in the capital. Even if the outer city was a bit far from the imperial city, she can go home at any time.


    Yang An helped Liu Fang into the carriage, saluted Madam Liu, then got on the horse, and left the Duke Liu Mansion with the carriage.


    Madam Liu stood at the gate and watched them walk out of the Duke Liu Mansion. Her eyes were wet and hot, and she said to Angeng who was standing beside her, ¡°Let everyone wait for me in the study room.¡±


    ¡°Yes, mother.¡±


    Madam Liu looked up at the sky: This time, she will never let herself lose! Never compromise either!


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­


    Liu Fang was sitting in the carriage, holding her forehead and closing her eyes, Shu Hua was sitting on one side hugging Yang Hui who was already fallen asleep, and Shu Mo was sitting on the other side and poured Liu Fang a cup of hot tea.


    ¡°Madam, it¡¯s cold, drink some tea to warm you up.¡±


    Liu Fang opened her eyes, took the teacup, stared at the tea, and said softly: ¡°Shu Mo, mother is going to do something, right? ¡°


    Liu Fang almost died from the cold when she was four years old. Since then, she has been with Madam Liu, who took care of her until she grew up.


    Therefore, she knows Madam Liu very well.


    Liu Fang knew that Madam Liu was a very gentle person with a soft heart. But she was also a very strong, very proud person.


    She was wise, intelligent, and broad-minded. She was gentle and fair, but she was also decisive. She was also impartial, and incorruptible, and she can be extremely cruel and merciless!


    Just like before, regarding Liu Fang¡¯s nanny.


    Not long after Liu Fang turned one year old, Madam Liu found out that the nanny had secretly withheld her monthly allowance, clothes, various small jewelry, and small toys. Madam Liu caught her, beat the nanny half to death, and threw her out of the house in front of the nanny¡¯s children, husband, and parents-in-law.


    It was said because the nanny¡¯s reputation was ruined, no one dare to employ her anymore, her family was also implicated by her, and was bullied by neighbors and even local hooligans.


    Although Madam Liu Guogong didn¡¯t beat the nanny to death, nor did she specifically ask someone to torture her. But such a simple beating and being thrown out of the mansion in public was enough to ruin the nanny¡¯s family.

 Chapter 19

    Chapter 19 The Scholar¡¯s Wife


    Madam Liu didn¡¯t understand this? Naturally, she understands.


    It was because she was clear that if she did this, not only will she not be called cruel, but it will make everyone think that she was generous and kind.


    After all, Madam Liu didn¡¯t send the nanny to the government to be sentenced by the law. Not to mention she wasn¡¯t beaten to death, or even sold into slavery.


    Was it excessive to beat the nanny and drive her away? Not too much.


    But in today¡¯s society this not excessive punishment was more serious than her being sentenced, exiled, beaten to death, or sold into slavery.


    Why? Because she was driven away by the head of the Duke¡¯s Mansion, and her reputation was ruined because of her greed.


    And in this society, reputation was the most important foundation.


    Without reputation, what was involved was never one person¡¯s matter, but a family, a clan¡¯s matter.


    Therefore, the life of the nanny¡¯s family was not easy at first glance. Until they couldn¡¯t take it anymore. They sold the family property and stayed away from the capital.


    In fact, what the nanny suffered was the same nature as the Doxing triggered by cyber violence in later generations: No one cares whether her family members were innocent or not, and no one cares how embarrassing their comments mean to her and her family. How deep it will hurt.


    Everyone will only point and comment from above. For a moment, it seemed that everyone was a saint, and could attack them at will until they were powerless to resist, had nowhere to go, and self-destructed¡­


    and this was exactly the result Madam Liu knew very well.


    Therefore, Liu Fang understands that if Madam Liu really wants to do something. Once she took action, she will hit her opponent with one blow without leaving any room, and simply drive her opponent into the abyss neatly, and can never turn over again!


    Such a person was actually quite scary!


    She was capable enough to do whatever she wants, even to overturn the world!


    Therefore, Liu Fang only vaguely discovered one thing when she returned to the Duke Liu Mansion today: Mother was too emotional.


    She shouldn¡¯t be like this.


    But to make her so abnormal, there must be something big happening.


    Liu Fang was very worried.


    She didn¡¯t know what Madam Liu was going to do. But she felt that it was definitely not a small matter, let alone something that could be done easily.


    ¡­


    It was already dark when Yang An and Liu Fang returned to Yang¡¯s house.


    Yang An and Liu Fang sent Yang Hui back to her room to sleep first, and then went back to wash up.


    Yang An came out after washing, and saw Liu Fang sitting in front of the dressing table silently combing her hair, frowning tightly, with a worried look on her face.


    He stepped forward, stood behind her, took the jade comb from her hand, and combed her hair slowly.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter? You looked so worried since you came back.¡±


    Liu Fang sighed, ¡°I don¡¯t know. I always feel uneasy.¡±


    Yang An put down the jade comb, caressing her shoulders, leaned over, and smiled gently, said: ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m still here.¡±


    Liu Fang looked at him in surprise.


    Yang An smiled, ¡°What? Do you think I¡¯m stupid? Or do you think I¡¯m dull?¡±


    Liu Fang shook her head, ¡°It¡¯s just that I didn¡¯t expect that even you would have found out.¡±


    Yang An smiled and kissed her face, hugging her with both hands. looking at her.¡±Actually, there is nothing strange about it. Recently the emperor has not been in court for three days, and last time the chief assistant of the court mentioned the matter of establishing the eldest princess as the crown princess, I guess it is not normal. After all, we are also in the capital.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Liu Fang sighed, ¡°but my mother told all brothers and sisters-in-law to return to the capital.¡±


    ¡°Are you worried?¡±


    Liu Fang shook her head, ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    Yang An raised his eyebrows, ¡°I don¡¯t know?¡±


    Liu Fang smiled, ¡°You don¡¯t believe me. In the past, I thought I was not stupid, but after going back home today, I realized that I am really stupid.¡±


    She looked into Yang An¡¯s eyes and said ¡°I don¡¯t know what my mother is going to do, and I don¡¯t understand why she wants all the brothers to return to the capital, and I don¡¯t know what her intention is¡­ Look, am not I stupid?¡±


    Yang An was silent for a while. Only then did he speak, ¡°Then do you know who mother-in-law is going to support?¡±


    Liu Fang smiled and said firmly: ¡°The eldest princess!¡±


    Yang An was surprised, ¡°The eldest princess? Not Prince An?¡±


    Liu Fang turned around to look at him, she smiled and said, ¡°Who gave you the illusion that my mother would support the fifth brother-in-law?¡±


    ¡°You also said that he is your brother-in-law, the son-in-law of my mother-in-law. If it was him¡­ The status of the mother-in-law is completely different.¡±


    Liu Fang raised her eyebrows, ¡°What¡¯s the difference?¡±


    ¡°The empress natal family, the monarch¡¯s relatives.¡±


    Liu Fang nodded, ¡°Indeed. But in the end, they are just relatives of the monarch. ¡°


    Yang An was speechless, ¡°Isn¡¯t that enough?¡±


    Liu Fang spread her hands, ¡°But, our family was originally a relative of the monarch!¡±


    Yang An: ¡­


    ¡°Look, my mother was born in the Prince Cheng Mansion, a decent junzhu. She still has the titles conferred by the royal family??Princess Weibi, a princess of the first grade. Then there is the fifth elder sister. She is already a princess consort. That is to say, our family is in-law with the emperor, right?  And, my eighth elder sister was married to Princess Rongning Mansion, she is the emperor¡¯s biological younger sister. So, you see, even if the fifth brother-in-law does not sit in that position, we are still a relative of the emperor and a noble family. That being the case, why should we support the fifth brother-in-law? Anyway, it¡¯s just a better title, but in fact, it¡¯s not good for our family at all. You know, humans, being too rich can go bad, and being too powerful is the same. The fifth brother-in-law is now a prince. As long as he doesn¡¯t commit a serious crime in the future, he can live in prosperity and wealth until he grows old, and he doesn¡¯t have to worry about anything. Besides, there are not many people in this world who need him to kneel down and salute. In the same way, my fifth elder Sister is the same. In this case, why bother? Is it because the title of empress sounds better than the princess consort? But being a princess consort can monopolize the prince as a husband, but being an empress is impossible. Even if the fifth brother-in-law is willing, the ministers are not happy, and the people in the world are not necessarily happy. ¡°


    Yang An was speechless after hearing what she said, ¡°So, mother-in-law chose the eldest princess?¡±


    Liu Fang sighed, ¡°Yes. Part of the reason why the mother chose the eldest princess is because of this, but the most important thing is that she still has unwillingness in her heart.¡±


    Seeing that Yang An didn¡¯t understand, she got up, walked to the window, and looked at the bright moon in the sky outside.


    ¡°Actually, my mother has been talented since she was a child, and she is more talented than her elder brother, the current Prince Cheng. Mother even has superb martial art.¡±


    Liu Fang turned to look at Yang An and smiled, ¡°Does that sound familiar?¡± ¡°


    Yang An nodded, ¡°It seems to be another eldest princess. ¡°


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Perhaps it was because of this that my mother would do such crazy things at such an age. ¡°


    Yang An stepped forward, hugged her and said: ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I will keep my eyes. Even though my abilities are limited, I will definitely do my best to protect them. ¡°


    Liu Fang¡¯s eyes turned red, she closed her eyes, and responded softly, ¡°Yes.¡±


    If it really came to that point, she was afraid it was not something a little talent like Yang An can interfere with.


    But she understands that now she, they, can do nothing but wait.


    Wait for the final result comes out.


    ¡­¡­


    The 20th year of Jinwen was destined to be a disturbing year. Until New Year¡¯s Eve, the news from the palace was not very optimistic: Emperor Jinwen was seriously ill, and a storm was brewing in the palace city.


    This kind of atmosphere was maintained until the first month of the 21st year of Jinwen, and even the excitement of the Chinese New Year in the capital could not dilute this undercurrent.


    On the second day of the Chinese New Year, Liu Fang and Yang An had to go to various in-laws¡¯ homes to formally integrate into the aristocratic circle of the capital. Even if Yan An only has the reputation of a scholar, even if he was only married to the concubine daughter of Duke Liu Mansion, they were still a guest in various mansions and should not be underestimated by others.


    Originally, Liu Fang was a little worried about whether Yang An would be able to adapt to such a social gathering, but unexpectedly, he was able to hold on when he was outside. He was neither humble nor overbearing, which was amazing!


    Ansu also said to Liu Fang, ¡°My little brother-in-law is really extraordinary.¡±


    Liu Fang was also a little proud: O(¨R¨Œ¨Q)O


    Engaging in social activities, there were still some strange people. For example, today the met an odd one.


    The eighth day of the Chinese New Year was the banquet held by the eighth??Anfen¡¯s mother-in-law, Princess Rongning. As a younger sister, Liu Fang naturally arrived early to help her sister entertain the guests, and she also brought Yang Hui with her.


    Although she only married into the Yang family not long ago, because of her, the Yang family¡¯s social circle was also different from before, so recently she has been taking Yang Hui with her, teaching her, and letting Su Hua serve her. It was to enable her to adapt to the current banquet and socialize with others.


    After all, Yang Hui in the future will definitely not be able to marry a poor family like Yang An. It was very likely that she will marry into a high-ranking family, so it was necessary to train and teach her as early as possible.


    Even if she still married into a humble family. Her sister-in-law was still from the Duke Mansion, so it was inevitable that she would have to associate with these high-ranking families. It would be beneficial to learn more now.


    Yang Hui was indeed as the name suggests, very intelligent. In addition, her parents died when she was a child, and she was dependent on her elder brother for life, so she was very sensible and well-behaved. Knowing that Liu Fang was doing it for her own good, she studied very hard, worked very hard, and never complained, which made Liu Fang feel very relieved.


    Today, she was brought by Liu Fang to entertain the guests, and she did a good job, very decent, and Anfen, as well as her sister-in-law, the eldest lady of Princess Rongning¡¯s mansion, all praised her.


    However, when the people from Marquis Liu Kang Mansion arrived, Liu Fang was entangled.


    Marquis Liu Kang also has the same surname which was Liu, but he didn¡¯t have any relationship with Duke Liu, it just happens to have the same surname.


    However, the family style of Marquis Liu Kang Mansion was really hard to describe in one word.


    The first Marquis Liu Kang was born as a local ruffian.


    In fact, if you really have the ability, no matter how low your background was, it didn¡¯t matter. What¡¯s more, the Great Jin Dynasty was still a new dynasty, and many of the founding fathers actually came from the grassroots. After all, heroes didn¡¯t ask where they came from. The world was in chaos at that time, and anything could happen.


    There was nothing strange when a ruffian joined the rebel army and followed them to fight.


    However, after the establishment of the new dynasty. Marquis Liu Kang, who was born as a local ruffian, forcibly turned the title of Count into Marquis with his shamelessness of crying and making trouble. Which make other felt speechless.


    Well, Emperor Jinyuan didn¡¯t care about it, so it was hard for others to say anything.


    But, this Marquis still brazenly claimed kinship with Duke Liu, which was very disgusting.


    That was something no one can tolerate!

 Chapter 20

    Chapter 20 The Scholar¡¯s Wife


    Therefore, the first Marquis Liu Kang was beaten severely by the first Duke Liu, and he was almost beaten to death. It was still beaten in front of all civil and military officials, and in front of Emperor Jinyuan.


    This was simply a big deal!


    Therefore, the relationship between Marquis Liu Kang Mansion and Duke Liu Mansion has never been very good.


    What¡¯s more, Marquis Liu Kang Mansion was very similar to Duke Liu Mansion: The second Marquis Liu Kang was also an only seedling, so the mansion also has many concubines and many children.


    The difference was that the forty children from the concubines of Duke Liu Mansion grew up alive and healthy, but the concubine children of Marquis Liu Kang Mansion died from time to time. So far only a few have grown up, and they have not reached adulthood.


    The noble families in the capital were not stupid. Such an unusual death must be more than an accident.


    It can be seen from this that the wife and concubines in Marquis Liu Kang Mansion were really a mess, fighting to the point where the sun and the moon lost their brilliance


    The funniest thing was the current Marquis Liu Kang and his wife always like to compare with Duke Liu and his wife: Marquis Liu Kang said that he married more concubines than Duke Liu, and they were more beautiful than his concubines. Madam Liu Kang liked to show off the small number of children from the concubine, and she laughed at Madam Liu for pretending to be virtuous and hypocritical


    In Marquis Li Kang and his wife¡¯s view. The people in Duke Liu Mansion was a fool and each one must have a problem.


    But they didn¡¯t know that others feel strange when they look at their family.


    If it weren¡¯t for Maquis Liu Kang¡¯s disposition to be too rogue and shameless. If any family held a banquet and didn¡¯t invite their family, he would directly come to make a fuss. The noble families in the capital were really not willing to deal with such a person. Attend in empty-hand. Not to mention eating and drinking, but even taking the food back, it was really annoying.


    Of course, Marquis Liu Kang and his wife would never dare to be presumptuous in front of Madam Liu. They only dare to talk about it behind her backs. What if they said it in front of Madma Liu? hehe.


    It was afraid that they will know why the flowers are so red.


    [The implication of the sentence ¡°let you know why the flowers are so red¡± is that the flowers are dyed red by blood, which means that the other party is going to beat people until they bleed a lot]


    This time, Princess Rongning¡¯s mansion was also no free from trouble. They sent an invitation to their mansion, but they attend with a large number of family members.


    It was not strange for Marquis Liu Kang and his wife. But they brought a concubine daughter who was so weird that she just entangled Liu Fang.


    At first, Liu Fang didn¡¯t know who this was, but after someone explained it, she found out that this was a concubine daughter of Marquis Liu Kang Mansion¡ª¡ªQiaoer, she was also ranked eighteenth.


    However, most of her older sisters died, and few of them could grow up and get married safely.


    It was said that she was also fifteen years old now, and she was about to reach the age of adulthood and was preparing to discuss marriage.


    That being the case, seeing this unmarried girl Liu Fang felt very inexplicably, what was the purpose of getting close to her?


    This eighteenth young lady of Marquis Liu Kang Mansion came over and asked Liu Fang directly: ¡°I heard that you are also the concubine daughter of Duke Liu Mansion?¡±


    What is ¡°also¡±? Do you still know the sisters in our family?


    Liu Fang felt that her elders sisters would definitely not want to have any relationship with Marquis Liu Kang Mansion, and it was absolutely impossible for them to associate with the young ladies in their mansion, let alone the concubines¡¯ children.


    Therefore, Liu Fang just smiled and didn¡¯t strike up a conversation.


    The other party didn¡¯t care too much, she continued to speak: ¡°Your mother chose a humble scholar for you, why don¡¯t you resist?¡±


    Liu Fang: ¡­ Hey, who are you? What does my family have to do with you?


    However, the other party took Liu Fang¡¯s silence as a grievance, which meant that it was not easy to speak out.


    ¡°I know, you must be having a hard time. Being controlled and tortured by your mother. You can¡¯t even wear better jewelry every day, and you can¡¯t even eat normal meals¡­¡±


    Liu Fang: ¡­(©`_©`)!! This girl is probably out of her mind.


    She quickly stopped the other party and said: ¡°Young lady, please be careful. You are not from Duke Liu Mansion, so how do you know how my mother treats me? No one in the capital knows, my mother is kind. I was never treated badly in terms of food, clothing, housing, and transportation, so how can you slander her like this? Young lady, please apologize for your words. Otherwise, even though I am a concubine daughter, I will never take this matter lightly! It¡¯s necessary to go to the door to get an explanation!¡±


    Liu Ping was stunned, she didn¡¯t expect that the ancient concubine children would be so severely brainwashed. Seeing her serious expression made her unable to react.


    It¡¯s not right. Isn¡¯t it always said in the novel that the daughter of a concubine is a pitiful little girl who is submissive in front of her mother? Why is this one different? !


    Liu Fang didn¡¯t know that the other party had a special background just like her.


    She was very disgusted with the other party¡¯s nonsense, did she blind? Can¡¯t see what she was wearing? Which part of her body told the other party that she had a miserable life?


    The clothes were satin, the jewelry was top-notch, and there were even thumb-sized pearls on her shoes. Could it be that a concubine daughter who has lived a miserable life can have these things?


    Even the daughters of the wife of Marquis Liu Kang Mansion may not be able to wear Liu Fang¡¯s outfit!


    Which eye of hers saw her misery? !


    It¡¯s inexplicable!


    Liu Ping said in disbelief, ¡°But your mother married you to a young scholar! I heard that the Yang family is still a poor family living in the outer city. Her biological daughter is married to a prince and becomes a princess consort. Even the eighth young lady who is also a concubine can marry into the eldest princess¡¯s mansion. Isn¡¯t this her treating you harshly?¡±


    Liu Fang sneered, looked at her coldly, and said, ¡°Miss Liu, I¡¯m sorry, I was the one who chose my husband, not my mother¡¯s. She just obeyed my wishes and let me marry. Also, the ¡®eight young lady¡¯ you mentioned are my sister from the same mother. As for the ¡®harsh treatment¡¯ you mentioned¡­¡±


    She took out a handful of the gold ingot from her purse and threw them on the ground, ¡°Never before! In our house, Even if I am willing to throw gold into the water every day, my mother will not say that I am a prodigal! So, do you still think that my mother treats me harshly?¡±


    Liu Ping looked jealously at the gold ingot thrown by Liu Fang on the ground, She was jealous!


    There is still a mother who is kind to concubine¡¯s children in this world? ! she is not dreaming, is she?


    Liu Fang didn¡¯t bother to deal with this kind of person who was foolish and living in imagination. She changed places with someone she knew at another table, staying away from her, lest she couldn¡¯t help but slap her to death.


    Her mother was good to her, she can¡¯t hear anyone say anything bad about her.


    It was only because today was the banquet at her eighth elder sister¡¯s house, as a younger sister, it¡¯s not good for her to cause trouble. When the banquet was over, she has her own way to let the other party know what it means to be cautious in words and deeds!


    On the other side, Liu Ping didn¡¯t know that she was about to face a new round of blows, and she was still in an unbelievable trance.


    ¡­¡­¡­


    One day after the banquet, when Liu Fang left, Anfen saw her off and said to her: ¡°When you went home, stay at home, and you don¡¯t need to worry about the girl from Marquis Liu Kang Mansion. I will teach her a lesson.¡±


    Liu Fang understood that the eighth elder sister will make the move herself. Since that was the case, she didn¡¯t bother to think about it.


    However, she looked at Anfen worriedly, and asked: ¡°Eighth elder sister, is it my mother¡­¡±


    Anfen waved her hand, stopped her words, and said with a smile: ¡°Good sister, don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s okay, Just be obedient and go home¡±


    Liu Fang¡¯s eyes turned red, ¡°Elder sister¡­¡±


    Anfen had no choice but to reach out and hug her, ¡°You are married, why are you still so childish? Be good, go back, stay at home, don¡¯t go out. Be obedient, okay ?¡±


    Liu Fang nodded, a little uncomfortable: ¡°Elder sister, is it because I¡¯m too stupid that you don¡¯t tell me anything?¡±


    Anfen stretched out her hand and pinched her face, shaking her head with a smile, ¡°No, it¡¯s just that you are the youngest. Some things, as the elder brothers and sister is what we have to do. So you don¡¯t have to worry about it. Just be obedient and live happily.¡±


    ¡°But, I¡¯m also a part of the family, and I¡¯m also from Duke Liu Mansion, connected with all of you by blood. Honor one and you honor them all, how can I get away from it.¡±


    Anfen smiled, ¡°Silly girl, you think too much. No matter what, you will not be implicated.¡±


    ¡°Elder sister, you clearly know that¡¯s not what I mean!¡± Liu Fang looked at her, ¡°I also want to do my best to help you.¡±


    Anfen smiled and stroked her hair, and said: ¡°Sister knows. But, Anfang, you have to understand, we just want you to live a worry-free life and live a happy life. So, be obedient and don¡¯t think too much, okay? Just live your own life.¡±


    Liu Fang¡¯s tears fell from the corners of her eyes, her voice choked up, ¡°Eight elder sister, if you make me just stand aside and watch, how can I be happy in this life? How can I be worry-free? We are a family!¡±


    Anfen wiped her tears for her, and said with a smile: ¡°It won¡¯t happen, you have to trust your sisters, nothing will happen! ¡°


    It has come to this point, Liu Fang knows that no matter what she says, no matter how much trouble she makes, they will not change it.


    It¡¯s just¡­


    ¡°If the unlikely event happened, I will still do my best. Even if I die, I will not give up! I will not let my family suffer any harm.¡±


    Liu Fang said firmly, turned around, and left.


    Anfen watched, shook her head, and sighed.


    The eldest princess came over and said: ¡°Your younger sister is very smart!¡±


    Anfen smiled wryly: ¡°Yes. Our family is like this. No one can fool anyone.¡±


    The eldest princess sighed, ¡°I really envy your family !¡±


    Anfen Fern smiled.


    Yes, how lucky she was to be born in such a good family.


    ¡­¡­¡­


    On the tenth day of the Chinese New Year in the twenty-first year of Emperor Jinwen. On this night, the entire capital was plunged into blood!


    In the Qianyuan Hall, the eldest princess with a long sword in her hand, her face was stained with blood because of the fight, staring fixedly at the high seat in front of her.


    The fourth prince standing above smiled bitterly, laughing so hard that tears flow.


    He stood with his hands behind his back, looked at the eldest princess, and said, ¡°As expected from elder sister! Such a scene of leading a snake out of the hole is really wonderful!¡±


    The eldest princess looked indifferent, and she said calmly, ¡°No matter how many conspiracies and tricks, they are vulnerable in the face of absolute strength. Fourth younger brother, you are too persistent.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha! I am too persistent?!¡± The fourth prince looked coldly at her calm and beautiful face, ¡± You are too dazzling!¡±


    ¡°Elder sister, you are obviously a woman, but why?¡± The fourth prince looked crazy, and asked loudly: ¡°Why do you have to suppress all of us so that we can¡¯t lift our heads?!¡±


    ¡°If you are a man, I am still convinced. But, you are a woman!¡±