Zhutian: Since I was a child, I have been happy to be a father

The deputy leader of the Cao Gang is called Shi Keng. At first glance, this name sounds a bit like a shithole, but that's not the point.

The key point is that his sworn brother is Gu Tingye, the second son of Ningyuan Marquis Mansion. He once received help from Gu Tingye to help his uncle get the position of gang leader, and they have a very good relationship.

His wife's name is Che Sanniang.

The couple came to the capital this time because they were asked by their eldest brother Gu Tingye to find out about Sheng Minglan becoming a concubine in the Liang Mansion.

There is no need to be sneaky. When the Sheng family encountered pirates on the way to the capital, this couple also helped them.

So what's wrong with sending some gifts for the coming of age ceremony? By the way, you can also take care of the matter of becoming a concubine.

Sheng Minglan didn't feel it was abrupt, but it was not easy for her to tell the truth, so she told him about her situation half-truthfully.

As Che Sanniang had been around the world for a long time and had a lot of experience, how could she not see that something was wrong with her and that she was being perfunctory? So she simply stated her purpose directly:
"Sixth Miss, I came here this time because of your old friend's request. He has taken a liking to you and wants to marry you."

Minglan was confused and said, "An old friend? Wants to marry me? I've already been engaged, doesn't he know? Who is this person?"

"My elder brother Gu Tingye!"

Che Sanniang whispered, "He has already taken a fancy to you! Although he is away fighting, he always thinks of you. Of course, when he learned that you were going to marry into the Liang Mansion as a concubine, he felt that you were not a girl willing to be a concubine, and there must be something hidden, so he asked me to come find you."

Minglan was stunned: "Are you kidding me? How could he fall in love with me for no reason? This is too weird. I don't believe you."

Che Sanniang explained, "How could I lie to you? My elder brother is not someone who easily expresses his feelings. Since he wants to marry you, he must be sincere. Think carefully. He has made great contributions this time and will be promoted when he returns. Wouldn't it be better for you to marry him as his principal wife than to be the concubine of Mr. Liang?"

Minglan was completely dumbfounded. She had never felt that Gu Er liked her!

Che Sanniang's sudden words made her feel that it was too outrageous. It was even more outrageous than going to the Liang family as a concubine like "matching goods"!

At least Aunt Lin and Molan did plot against the Liang family, and Madam Liang had always been very fond of her, so it made sense that she wanted her to marry him as compensation!
And what about Gu Er?

It's really too abrupt!
Minglan was stunned for a long while, and finally shook her head helplessly:
"No, no! I have already exchanged tokens with Han Lang, so I can only marry into the Liang family in this life."

Damn it, stupid Gu Tingye, since you like me and want to marry me, why didn't you tell me earlier? What did you do earlier? You come to me now, it shows that you are not sincere!

Minglan is a coward. Things have come to this point, how could she dare to take the initiative to change her mind at the last minute?
If a real fight breaks out, the Liang and Gu families may not be in any danger, but Yao Yiyi will definitely become cannon fodder.

Did you really think that the rope or white silk in Sheng Hong's hand was not strong enough, or that he just couldn't bear to put it around her neck?
When Che Sanniang heard this, she immediately became deflated.

If Minglan had her own reasons and was unwilling to be a concubine, there was still a chance. Now that she was willing, what else could she say?

Che Sanniang pondered for a moment and said:

"Are you really willing to be a concubine just because you want to have a deep sisterly relationship with the Fourth Miss?"

You are willing to be a concubine!

Minglan complained in her heart, but smiled and nodded, explaining: "Madam Liang is a good mother-in-law and likes me very much. It will be very easy for me to become her daughter-in-law."

At this point, she couldn't tell outsiders like Che Sanniang and Gu Er about the conflict between the two families, so as to avoid it getting out and affecting her family's reputation.

As for liking Liang Han, there was no need to say anything like that. After all, it was not easy for prospective couples to meet each other, so where would the feelings come from? Besides, personal wishes were not important.

Che Sanniang said "oh" and sighed for Gu Tingye in her heart.

After she left the Sheng family, Minglan's mood gradually returned to normal.

The complications that arose today only caused her some minor annoyances, but she didn't really take them to heart.

She even didn't want Qi Heng, the man from Duke Qi's Mansion who had studied with her, passed the imperial examination and also liked her. So what about Cricket Gu Tingye?

Liang Han is already very good.

After spending some time together recently, they have gotten to know each other pretty well. As long as she can play to her modern strengths, Stinky Sister Molan will definitely not be her match.

Gu Tingye, in contrast, was unfamiliar and mysterious, and she was really unsure, so she shouldn't have let her imagination run wild.

October 5th is the beginning of winter.

early morning.

After Chun Ge opened his eyes, he immediately grabbed Chen Tao's hand and urged him:
"Brother, touch me~"

If you don’t know, you might think she was very angry early in the morning and had to ask her good brother to put out the anger for her!
Chen Tao laughed and joked, "How can you be so impatient? You've been pregnant for eight months, aren't you afraid of hurting the baby?"

Chun Ge scolded, "I meant that your son was kicking me, so I wanted you, as a father, to comfort him and stop bullying his mother."

Both sisters Molan and Minglan hoped that she would give birth to a daughter, but she of course hoped that she could only give birth to a son.

In the book, she gave birth to a daughter, and the process was very painful because Molan had been a good person since she married her and often gave her supplements, which caused the child to be fat and made childbirth quite difficult.

She became pregnant with her second child around March of the next year. Because the baby was bigger, she also suffered from difficult labor. She was in pain for two days and two nights, and by the time the baby was born, she had already suffocated to death.

This is too nonsense!

Chun Ge is not a pig, why would he eat up all the supplements Molan gave him?
After Chen Tao took over, this strategy became even more useless.

With his strengthening, Chun Ge would be able to give birth to a baby smoothly even if she ate too much every day. It would not affect her body recovery at all, and there would be no stretch marks left.

Chen Tao touched Chun Ge's belly and said seriously:
"Did you hear what your mother said? Stop kicking or I'll beat you up."

Chun Ge burst out laughing, turned around and bit his ear, then said jokingly:

"You want to beat up my son? Then I'll bite you first!"

Chen Tao also grabbed her hand, bit it gently and said, "How dare you bite me? Then I will bite your hand too!"

"Don't bite your hand!"

Chun Ge acted coquettishly and then pouted.

Chen Tao came forward.

They separated after about ten seconds. Chun Ge leaned on his shoulder and said sadly:
"Brother, my cousin has been mad at you lately."

Chen Tao asked knowingly, "I won't fight for the title, why is she angry? She gets angry every day, and she's getting old."

Chun Ge laughed and complained: "My cousin has always treated the shop on Huaixi Street as her own. Now the master has given it to you. How can she not be angry?"

"This is ridiculous! This is public property, how can she unilaterally give it to her family? What kind of character is this? Has she been poor for 18 lifetimes and never seen money? Isn't she just too self-righteous and thinks that we brothers are useless and are relying on our eldest brother? In addition to himself, has our eldest brother been able to achieve what he has today because of our father and grandfather? Can't our father only cultivate her husband and give us brothers more benefits? People should have a conscience. If you want to be ungrateful, you will be stabbed in the back. My mother is well-educated and doesn't want to argue with her, but I'm different. If you make me angry, I have ways to deal with it!"

The eldest brother from a concubine's family deliberately allowed his wife to cause trouble, and in the end, he got into trouble and had to sneak back to confess his crime. He beat his wife up and blamed her for being unfilial to his stepmother. It was purely a double act.

Chun Ge felt ashamed when he heard what Chen Tao said. He hated his cousin: Her husband was not competitive. Now that they were getting married, what was wrong with taking some shops? Those two silver shops and the manor bought two years ago should all be given to her husband!

"Brother, don't be angry. This is how my cousin is. Ignore her. Daddy is willing to give it to you, so just take it. If we give you ten sons in the future, how can we support them if we don't give you more?"

"I'm not angry, I'm just mad because you disturbed my sweet dream." "Humph, I won't help you!"

"..."

At about two quarters past three, Chun Ge took Chen Tao's arm and went with him to Mrs. Liang's house to have breakfast.

Mrs. Liang still had no good feelings towards Chun Ge, but since her son liked her, she couldn't say anything.

In fact, she had the same attitude towards Molan in the book. Until Chun Ge took too many supplements and had a difficult delivery again, Grandma Liang took the opportunity to attack Molan. As a result, Molan, Grandma Liang Si and Grandma Liang Er fought back together and brought the matter to the old man, who scolded and punished Grandma Liang.

After this battle, Mrs. Liang completely formed a united front with Molan, and Mrs. Liang also changed her attitude towards Molan.

After all, she hated Chun Ge more.

Since Molan was able to defeat the other party, she was naturally happy and willing to give him a good face.

Chun Ge of course knew that Mrs. Liang hated him, so after serving the porridge, he first handed it to his good brother, asking him to pass it on to his mother.

Mrs. Liang was a little bothered, but since her precious son had already fed her with his own hands, what could she do? After eating half a bowl, she wiped her mouth with a handkerchief and said to Chun Ge:

"There are some things I don't want to say, you know it in your heart. Han'er likes you, you have to be worthy of him."

Chun Ge had a very hot temper, but she only dared to threaten to kill herself, and she absolutely did not dare to argue with Madam Liang in person. Under normal circumstances, she would have to kneel down and apologize, but she was pregnant now, so it was not convenient, so she had to sit down and respond, lowering her eyebrows and looking obedient, like an obedient young wife.

Well, she is the concubine.

Seeing this, Chen Tao picked up a piece of plum cake and handed it to her mouth.

Since Mrs. Liang played the bad guy, he had to continue to play the good guy.

After Chun Ge ate the cake, Mrs. Liang began to care about Chen Tao's work. She was very pleased to learn that he was doing well in the West City Army and was quite ambitious. Before he left, she gave him another two hundred taels.

Two hundred taels is not a small amount of money.

The monthly allowance for spring boats is no more than two taels.

When Ximen Daguanren went out to pick up girls, he would only take three or five taels of silver with him. If he didn't have enough, he would go home to get more.

But for Mrs. Liang, it was nothing.

When Yu Yanhong, the granddaughter of the former Lord Yu, married Gu Er, her dowry, even without counting the shops and farms, was a whopping 20,000 taels of silver in cash alone.

Mrs. Liang's dowry was not much less than hers, and she also received a lot of dividends every year over the years.

As for the income from lending...

If I say that Mrs. Liang didn't release it, no one would believe it, right? In addition, there is also a considerable income from being a broker.

In order to get an introduction fee of 3,000 taels of silver, Wang Xifeng used her connections to break up a pair of lovers, causing them both to commit suicide.

In addition, the men of the Jia family also took a lot of money to open up pass and help others get official positions.

Therefore, two hundred taels were nothing to Mrs. Liang. On the contrary, it was the fact that Chen Tao rarely asked for money that made her feel strange!

***
Today is a day off.

After Chen Tao sent Chun Ge to talk to her cousin, he took his bow and spear and went to the garden to practice.

After a while, Yuanyuan also came over happily, holding the bamboo bow and bamboo spear made by Chen Tao in her hand.

This was her request. She probably wanted to learn some self-defense skills so that she could run away if she saw something wrong in the future!

Chen Tao also taught seriously.

He wanted to see if this girl had the courage to run, or what kind of funny expression would appear on her face after running all the way and being easily captured?

Chen Tao had even changed her household registration to a civilian one, turning her into a formal hired maid.

"Yes, that's it. Don't try to show off your skills. You must stab accurately! The thieves may also have armor. You are weak. If you can't stab the vital points, you will be captured and become a maidservant!"

What he teaches is all practical stuff.

Those soldiers in TV dramas who were wearing armor and were killed by one knife were too fake. You must never take them seriously, otherwise you will suffer a great loss.

Of course, he was hanging on the wall, so he didn't need to be so careful. When his physique was fully built up, he could just hold the mace and push forward, and no fierce general could withstand a single move from him.

Yuanyuan deliberately asked, "Why is she just a maidservant? Why can't I be the wife of the bandit leader? Does it mean that once I enter a den of thieves, I can only be a maidservant or a concubine?"

Chen Tao was like a Kaka who was hit by an anti-stellar PPK and asked his lackey Qing Moutai whether he was the base of the Black Society. He educated him seriously:

"Is the Liang Mansion a den of thieves? You can't say that. As for wanting to be the principal wife, you are not a good match for me. Can you be the principal wife? Just be a concubine and I will treat you well."

Yuanyuan blushed and said, "No. You have too many women, I can't accept them. You'd better be a nun!"

"That's fine! I'll build a shrine in your room. You can be a nun during the day and chant sutras and pray for me. At night, you can be my concubine and bear children for me. This way, you can do both."

"..."

Yuanyuan really wanted to shoot this stinky scumbag in the ass, but after considering the difference in strength between the two sides, she didn't dare to do it.

Otherwise, she would be punished with shameful spanking in public. She is a sister who is one month older than her. How could she be beaten by her stinky little brother?

She also wants to save face.

Time flies.

It is already late October.

Both the Liang family and the Sheng family have made preparations for the wedding and are just waiting for the auspicious day to arrive.

Twenty-seventh day.

The army led by General Gan, the emperor's brother-in-law Shen Congxing and the second son of Ningyuan Marquis Gu Tingye, who were responsible for suppressing the rebellion and sweeping away the northern invaders, returned to the capital.

The emperor personally led the Imperial Guards and civil and military officials to welcome him.

As for Chen Tao, his natural task is to maintain law and order in the city.

This year I was eighteen, at the celebration meeting, I stood like a minion.

Chen Tao yawned and swore that he must get off work early and go home to play cards tonight.

After all, there are few better activities in this era than taking a hot bath and then walking into the noisy night with the soft words of beautiful concubines and maids. (End of this chapter)