good season

At this very moment, Lord Lang Jinglang has just returned to his residence.

Lord Lang knew about Feng Yalan falling into the water and being rescued by the Fifth Prince's servant even before Feng Ke did.

No sooner had Lang Yuyu left the Third Prince's residence than she sent someone to the government office to inform him.

Lord Lang never expected things to turn out this way.

Indeed, he had some complaints about Feng Ke during this period, but these were all in secret. On the surface, he was still the good student who admired his mentor.

His dissatisfaction stemmed from his wife and daughter, and his wife's dissatisfaction was entirely due to his daughter.

When they first came to the capital, they were full of hope. Feng Jiahe became the Third Prince's wife, while Lang Yuyu was the only choice to become a concubine.

Firstly, Feng Ke and Lady Lang's father were classmates and close friends, and Lord Lang also became Feng Ke's student. In the future, when the Third Prince ascends the throne and Feng Jiahe becomes Empress, there will definitely be someone in the palace who can be trusted, and Lang Yuyu is the perfect one.
Secondly, Lang Yuyu was exceptionally beautiful and had been carefully nurtured since childhood. She was not only proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, but also skilled in singing and dancing. The Lang couple never dared to dream of becoming empress, so Lang Yuyu was raised to be a favored concubine.

Since arriving in the capital, Lord Lang has been working diligently for Feng Ke and the Third Prince. Madam Lang visits the Feng residence every few days to play cards with Madam Zhong, losing enough money to buy a large mansion in the capital. Lang Yuyu, on the other hand, follows Feng Jiahe around like a servant.

The Lang couple believed they had already lowered their stance to the lowest possible level, but the Feng family kept delaying the matter of Lang Yuyu entering the Third Prince's residence. With the Third Prince about to enter the Eastern Palace, there was still no progress on the matter.

With the Third Prince now the Crown Prince, Feng Jiahe's status has risen even higher, allowing her to carefully select more helpers for herself.

But Lang Yuyu couldn't wait any longer. She would be eighteen after the New Year, an age at which she wouldn't even be eligible to participate in the imperial concubine selection. If she waited any longer, not only would she not be able to enter the prince's residence, but it would also be difficult for her to find a husband who was of equal social standing and age.

Is the apple of the Lang family's eye going to be someone's concubine?

Lord Lang wasn't in a hurry at first, but Madam Lang's pillow talk went from a gentle breeze to a typhoon at sea, so how could he remain calm and collected?

More importantly, he had just heard some news not long ago.

Lang Yuyu was in love with Yan Xia, the heir of the Duke of Wei. When the emperor found out, he was very angry and made a last-minute decision to betroth Zhao Yunnuan, the eldest princess of the Liang Prince's Mansion, to Yan Xia.

At first, Lord Lang thought he had misheard. Lang Yuyu was in love with Yan Xia?

how can that be!

His daughter was single-mindedly focused on marrying into the Third Prince's household, and her eyes and heart were only for the Third Prince. She might not even have met Yan Xia at all, so how could she possibly admire him?

So Lord Lang sent people to investigate. Some information was hard to find, but as long as you were willing to spend money, even if there were no secrets in the world, you could still find them by spending money.

Therefore, Lord Lang quickly used silver to expose the source of the rumor.

To his surprise, the source of this was actually the Third Prince!
Lord Lang endured it for two days, but on the third day, he couldn't help but tell Madam Lang about it.

He told Madam Lang, "Don't waste any more time on the Third Prince's residence. If a suitable family comes along, let's arrange for Yu Yu to meet them."

He was only thirty-six years old, and he still had to navigate the officialdom for at least another ten years, where he would have to rely on others and be mindful of their moods.

After all, apart from his daughter entering the Third Prince's residence, Feng Ke had treated him well in other matters, and he didn't want to ruin things.

I don't want to think about it now, and I won't think about it in the future, unless the Third Prince fails to become emperor and ends up living in a remote corner like Prince Jing.

He repeatedly instructed Madam Lang not to act rashly and to keep a close eye on their daughter. This matter was now over.

But today, when Lang Yuyu sent someone to inform him, Lord Lang knew that this matter was not over, at least not with his daughter.

The couple spoiled their daughter rotten.

Why did you have to target Feng Yalan? This is no longer just jealousy between women; it's sabotaging the Third Prince and Feng Ke's plans!

Once the matter escalates from the inner quarters to the imperial court, it becomes beyond his ability to handle.

He had spoiled his daughter since she was a baby, but now, Lord Lang wished he could strangle her the moment she was born!
After thinking it over and over, he finally thought of someone.

Yang Shengqiu!
To elaborate, he was a mentor and benefactor to Yang Shengqiu.

Back then, Yang Shengqiu was just a poor scholar who was recruited into his household as a tutor. One was willing to rely on him, and the other was willing to be taken in. They were both happy to agree and hit it off immediately.

Before Feng Jiahe became the Third Prince's wife, he even considered having Yang Shengqiu as his son-in-law. However, this idea was rejected by Madam Lang as soon as it came to mind. Even if her daughter could not become the second Consort Qiao, she would still become a Lady of Imperial Decree. Yang Shengqiu's background determined his future. All he could achieve in his life was what many people had from birth.

Although Yang Shengqiu and the Lang family ultimately only had a tutor-owner relationship, the gratitude he owed them could not be changed.

Now that Yang Shengqiu has become the top scholar in the imperial examination, he still addresses Lord Lang as a junior whenever they meet, which makes Lord Lang like him even more.

Just as Feng Ke entered the palace, Lord Lang also arranged to meet Yang Shengqiu the next day. The reason for arranging it for tomorrow instead of now was that Lord Lang had not yet met Lang Yuyu, and everything was based on his speculation. He still needed to know the situation from Lang Yuyu, and most importantly, he needed to know the Third Prince's reaction.

That evening, when Lord Lang returned to his residence, he saw Lang Yuyu still staring blankly into space.

Lang Yuyu still doesn't understand how Feng Yalan fell into the lake.

She did deliberately bump into Feng Yalan, but they were still two or three steps away from the lake. How could Feng Yalan have fallen into the lake?
"You're saying you didn't push Feng Yalan into the lake?" Lord Lang asked in a deep voice.

Lang Yuyu shook her head desperately. There was still a handprint on her face that hadn't faded yet; it was from Feng Jiahe.

The maid was using a boiled egg to reduce the swelling when she pushed the maid away, causing the boiled egg to fall to the ground.

"I just bumped into her, I really didn't push her, I really didn't!" Lang Yuyu argued for herself, she didn't do anything, she just bumped into Feng Yalan.

"Yes, I understand. It was that bitch Feng Yalan who did it on purpose. She deliberately fell into the lake so that the Third Prince would save her. She wanted to marry into the Third Prince's household so that the sisters could share one husband!"

Lord Lang looked at his daughter and closed his eyes in disappointment.

What a waste of a pretty face; she's all show and no substance, even coming up with the idea of ​​sisters sharing a husband.

He had long heard that although Feng Yalan was born out of wedlock, her birth mother was favored by Feng Ke. If Feng Yalan really had designs on the Third Prince, then Yang Shengqiu would have no chance.

"Who else was with you at the time?" Lord Lang asked patiently, suppressing his frustration.

Lang Yuyu was taken aback. Who was with her at that time? Who was there?
"A maid, right? Yes, there's Feng Yalan's maid, isn't there? Is that maid next to Feng Yalan or behind her?"

She subconsciously looked at her maid.

The maidservant hurriedly said, "Miss Feng's maidservant is definitely not behind her."

Lang Yuyu thought about it and realized it made sense. If Feng Yalan's maid had been behind her, she wouldn't have bumped into Feng Yalan. Lord Lang was truly speechless; this fool was actually the daughter he had so carefully raised.

He looked at Madam Lang: "What have you taught her? She's been sold out and she's still counting the money for them. Look at her, how stupid is she?"

Madam Lang looked displeased: "You think my daughter is stupid? Do you want to find a vixen to have another one for you?"

Lord Lang got to where he is today because of his wife's family. Even his relationship with Feng Ke was arranged by his wife's family. Therefore, he is inferior to his wife, let alone concubines. He doesn't even have a maidservant.

But now that his official position is rising higher and higher, his wife's family can no longer help him much. Therefore, Madam Lang has become suspicious and paranoid. No matter what you say to her, she can smoothly turn the conversation to that fictitious vixen.

Lord Lang couldn't explain it to them, so he could only turn away and leave.

However, half an hour later, he still had someone summon the two maids who had accompanied Lang Yuyu to the Third Prince's residence that day.

Of the two maids, only one went to admire the chrysanthemums. The reason was simple: apart from Feng Jiahe, everyone else only brought one maid. So one of the maids stayed behind, while the other went to the chrysanthemum garden with Lang Yuyu.

"Think back carefully to what the situation was like at that time," Lord Lang patiently prompted.

The maid had been thinking about this as well, but she wasn't sure.

"No one expected that Miss would bump into Miss Feng. No one had time to react. Even Miss Feng's maid, like me, only reached out to help her after she fell, but we were all too late."

Lord Lang asked, "Were you behind your young lady at the time?"

The maid nodded: "At first, I was supporting Miss, but then Miss suddenly quickened her pace, shook me off, and bumped into Miss Feng Wu."

"Then do you remember who was originally behind you?" Lord Lang asked again.

This was something the maid had thought about, but dared not be sure of.

"Okay, it seems to be Miss Fan."

Lord Lang frowned deeply; he didn't even know who this Miss Fan was.

"Which Miss Fan?" Lord Lang asked in a deep voice.

The maid said, "She is from the Fan family of Wu, her maternal family is surnamed Nie, and her mother and the old princess of Liang's mansion are cousins."

Lord Lang was slightly surprised; he had no idea that Feng Jiahe had such a person by her side.

He knew the Fan family. The Fan family had been a scholarly family for generations, but in recent decades, no one in the Fan family had become a scholar. However, they had a great talent for business and not only managed their family business very well, but also expanded it more and more.

"Alright, I understand. Don't tell anyone about this." Lord Lang waved his hand, dismissing the maid, but his brows furrowed even more deeply.

The Fifth Prince's Mansion.

The fifth prince sat cross-legged on the daybed, looking smug.

The Fifth Prince's wife fed him a piece of autumn pear and said reproachfully, "Fifth Prince is so happy now. This is the first time I've ever seen you so happy."

The Fifth Prince chewed the pear twice, frowned, and said, "Sour, really sour!"

As she was about to spit out the pear, the Fifth Prince's wife quickly caught it with her handkerchief, her eyes reddening: "How can it not be sour? Once Fifth Prince wins the heart of his beloved, there will be no place for me in this mansion."

The Fifth Prince spat all the pears onto her handkerchief and said irritably, "On my joyous day, stop wailing here. Get out and don't come over for the next few days. I'm annoyed just looking at you!"

The Fifth Prince's wife could no longer hold back. She got up and walked away quickly. Before she even left the room, tears were already falling.

The maidservant quickly wiped away her tears: "Princess Consort, please stop crying. Fifth Prince hates it when you cry."

The Fifth Prince's Consort snatched the handkerchief, wiped her face, and glared at the maid: "Don't forget that your and your parents' indenture is still in my hands!"

That slut who climbs into bed, does she think she doesn't know?
Just as she was about to reprimand the maid again, she saw Changming leading an unfamiliar servant boy from another path, quickly entering the hall.

The Fifth Prince's wife was puzzled; Changming had clearly come from the back door.

The servant he brought didn't look like he was from the manor. Who was this person?
She asked another maid in a low voice, "Who is that one following behind Changming?"

The maid shook her head: "I don't recognize her either."

At this moment, the servant boy whom no one recognized was kneeling on the ground to greet the Fifth Prince.

"Greetings, Fifth Master. My name is Fan Shun'er. I have come to pay my respects to you on behalf of my young lady."

The Fifth Prince smiled. He had truly underestimated Fan Qiuyun before; she was a real talent.

Some people will obediently shoot down a bird if you ask them to, but Fan Qiuyun can not only shoot down a bird for you, she can also shoot down a bird for herself.

Feng Yalan was the bird that the Fifth Prince asked Fan Qiuyun to hunt, while Lang Yuyu was the bird that Fan Qiuyun hunted for herself.

This Fan Qiuyun probably harbors deep hatred for Lang Yuyu.

Lord Lang is so clever and capable, how could he have given birth to a daughter who is not only stupid but also hateful?

No wonder he's always with the Princess of Qingchuan. Anyone who can hang out with the Princess of Qingchuan is either a mad dog or a stupid pig.

The Fifth Prince had grown up with the Princess of Qingchuan, and from childhood to adulthood, the person he hated the most was the Princess of Qingchuan.

"Hey you, tell your young lady that I, the prince, will guarantee that all her wishes will come true."

Fan Shun'er chuckled: "Alright, thank you for your kind words. I will kowtow to you on behalf of my young lady and wish Fifth Master and his concubine a loving and harmonious marriage that lasts a hundred years."

"To hell with your 'happy marriage'! I don't want to be with an old woman for a hundred years."

The Fifth Prince grabbed a few gold beans and threw them at Fan Shun'er. Fan Shun'er, while saying auspicious words, knelt on the ground like a dog to pick up the gold beans, which made the Fifth Prince laugh out loud.

Sure enough, as long as he couldn't see the Fifth Prince's wife's resentful face, his life was full of laughter.

The Fifth Prince was in a great mood. Thinking of Yang Shengqiu, whom he had cuckolded, and the Third Prince, who had swallowed his anger and grief, his mood improved even more.

"Old Wang, Old Wang, you go find Fatty Si, or better yet, just go find Zhen Gui directly. Tell him that from now on, Fifth Master will do business directly with him. Fatty Si isn't even worthy to speak to Fifth Master. Also, Fifth Master has agreed to his request for more shares!" (End of Chapter)