good season

"Mother, although Wei Ya'er comes from a noble family, she is ugly, son..."

At this point, Zhao Tingxuan suddenly couldn't continue.

What was he going to say?
Does he mean he doesn't like the marriage?
Does he mean he doesn't like Wei Ya'er?

Or did he dislike being forced into marriage by the emperor?

There were only the mother and child there. He wasn't worried about being overheard; he just couldn't bring himself to say it.

He could tell that his mother was very satisfied with the marriage, and even felt proud of it.

From childhood to adulthood, he never said "no" to his mother.

He didn't like drinking bird's nest soup; he'd heard that it was swallow saliva, and he found it disgusting.

Besides, that's something only women drink.

But when his mother made him drink it, he drank it all.

His mother loved him the most. If he was unfilial, his mother would be heartbroken and would cry herself sick.

The resentment in Zhao Tingxuan's eyes gradually faded, and he ultimately did not utter the words "I don't like it".

Seeing him hanging his head and remaining silent, Madam Nie finally felt relieved.

For a fleeting moment, she was genuinely worried that Zhao Tingxuan would disobey her, but thankfully she had been overthinking it. Even though Tingxuan had gone to the capital, he was still her good son.

She had four children, but only Ah-Xuan was filial to her.

A son should be raised by his side, otherwise he will be led astray. The eldest son is like that; he is not close to her and only has eyes for that bitch Meng Xiaotang. He doesn't care about his own mother at all.

Needless to say, Zhao Shiqing is an ingrate; she's not my biological daughter, so I can't raise her to be ungrateful.

Fortunately, she understood this principle from the beginning and never got close to this adopted daughter.

However, compared to Zhao Tinghan and Zhao Shiqing, the most hateful one is Zhao Yunnuan.

That was her daughter, whom she carried for ten months and gave birth to!

At such a young age, she was already vying for favor with her younger brother. Unfortunately, the old King Liang was biased and did not entrust the personal guards to his son, Ah Xuan, but instead to Zhao Yunnuan!
Although Zhao Yunnuan is a princess with a title, so what? She is just a daughter, a daughter!

Shouldn't the Liang Prince's Mansion, with its century-old legacy, be passed down to his son?

Thinking of this, Nie gritted her teeth in hatred.

She knew exactly what was going on.

King Liang was determined to have the sickly Zhao Tinghan inherit the throne. He refused to hand over the personal guard to A-Xuan because he was worried that if A-Xuan took control of the personal guard, he would cultivate his own power and threaten Zhao Tinghan!

That's why he entrusted the personal guard to Zhao Yunnuan. So what if Zhao Yunnuan is capable? She can't inherit the throne. Just like now, when Zhao Tinghan returned to Liang, Zhao Yunnuan immediately handed over military power.

Nie clenched her fists. If the Imperial Guards were in A-Xuan's hands, she would never let A-Xuan hand over military power.

Ah-Xuan is the most filial, Ah-Xuan will definitely listen to her.

Zhao Tingxuan was still immersed in his own emotions when he looked up and was met with Nie Shi's face, which was twisted with ruthlessness.

Zhao Tingxuan was stunned. Was this his frail and helpless mother?
He rubbed his eyes, and when he looked again, Madam Nie had put on that pitiful and sorrowful look again.

In the past, Zhao Tingxuan would have thought he was seeing things.

But now, he suddenly remembered what Zhao Shiqing had said.
Perhaps his mother really did have another side that he didn't know about.

And all the complaints my mother had about my elder brother and sister-in-law were exactly the same as what my younger sister had said.

Zhao Tingxuan's head was buzzing; he was exhausted, both physically and mentally.

He returned to his residence, buried himself in bed, and lay there for a while before suddenly remembering what Nie had said about Meng Xiaotang poisoning him.

He wanted to ask his elder sister, but then felt it was inappropriate. He had been ridiculed by his younger sister for his elder sister's marriage to a distant place, and he had come to understand that his elder sister had gone to the capital as a hostage in his place.

Therefore, if we were to say who he owes the most to in this world,
That must be Zhao Yunnuan.

In the past, whenever he encountered a problem, his first thought was to turn to his eldest sister. She was capable and could solve anything for him.

But now, he doesn't even dare to face his elder sister alone. The reason he was able to return to Liang was not because the emperor had shown him mercy, but because his elder sister wanted to suffer in his place.

Forget it, I shouldn't ask my older sister about this.

He thought for a moment and then secretly sent his servant to find Zheng, the old woman who served Madam Nie.

An hour later, the servant returned and told him the news he had learned from Granny Zheng.

There was no poisoning.

Meng Xiaotang drinks goat milk every day and keeps two dairy goats in her mansion.

That day, Granny Zheng went home to see her grandson and originally intended to stay at home for one night, but she was called back in the middle of the night. Nie was vomiting and had diarrhea, and was half dead.

Granny Zheng secretly asked a maid in Suining Palace. At first, the maid refused to tell the truth, but Granny Zheng used some tricks and the maid told the truth.

It turned out that Nie wanted to drink goat's milk that day, so Meng Xiaotang had her small kitchen send her a bowl of goat's milk.

After drinking the goat's milk, Nie vomited incessantly, insisting that Meng Xiaotang had poisoned her.
Upon hearing this, Zhao Tingxuan frowned.

He still remembered that when his younger sister first came to the palace, she was very weak. His father specially raised two dairy goats. Every time his younger sister drank goat milk, it was like drinking medicine. So his father asked his elder sister to drink with him, firstly to keep his younger sister company, and secondly because drinking goat milk was good for her health.

When his mother heard about it, she was disgusted and forbade him to drink it. Later, only his elder sister drank it with his younger sister.

Later, when my younger sister went to Baihe Mountain, she took a sheep with her. My mother then had the sheep that was left behind sent to the estate, saying that she hated the smell of the sheep.

"Why does Mother suddenly want to drink goat's milk? I've never seen her drink it before. She said she can't stand the smell of goat's milk."

The servant lowered his voice: "Granny Zheng said that when the old princess was still at her maiden home, she couldn't drink goat's milk, not even if goat's milk was added to her food."

Zhao Tingxuan was stunned, as if something had exploded in his mind, sparks flying everywhere, and his vision blurred.

After a long pause, he said to the servant, "Forget everything that Granny Zheng said. If you dare to utter a single word, you can forget about living."

This servant was Zheng Mama's nephew, and was also specially chosen by Madam Nie to serve Zhao Tingxuan, so he was considered one of Madam Nie's people.

The servant hurriedly said, "Second Young Master, don't worry. These words came out of my mouth but not from my brain. My brain isn't very sharp; I can't remember anything except food."

Zhao Tingxuan took out two gold beans and tossed them into the servant's hand: "Take these and buy some snacks." The servant thanked him profusely, pocketed the gold beans, and happily left.

Zhao Tingxuan could no longer remain calm.

Although he didn't know why his mother couldn't drink goat's milk, he wasn't surprised. Everyone's constitution is different, and their tolerance to food is also different. He had personally seen people develop rashes after eating crabs.

The problem is that Zheng Mama said that the mother could not drink goat milk when she was at her maiden home, which means that the mother herself knew that she could not drink it, so why did she suddenly want to drink it?

Moreover, it was chosen when Granny Zheng was not in the mansion.

Are you worried that Granny Zheng will stop you?
Why would my mother do this?
Does Mother dislike her eldest sister-in-law, or does she dislike her raising sheep in the mansion?
It couldn't be that she didn't like raising sheep, could it? Back then, even my mother didn't like my younger sister's sheep, but it wasn't until my younger sister went to Baihe Mountain that she sent the remaining sheep to the estate.

Therefore, the mother simply did not like her eldest sister-in-law.

That's really something. If you don't like your sister-in-law, you don't have to frame her by poisoning her, and even get yourself killed in the process.

Besides, there are imperial physicians in the Prince's mansion. Whether or not poison was used, the imperial physicians can find out with a single examination.

Zhao Tingxuan thought that Nie was too muddle-headed, why bother?

He had met his sister-in-law. She was dignified and kind to him. Although she was a few years older than his brother, she did not look old. On the contrary, she and his brother looked like a perfect couple when they stood together. Besides, although his mother described his sister-in-law as a country bumpkin, he was not blind. The elegance and refinement that his sister-in-law exuded from the bottom of her bones could not be learned in a few days. It was nurtured little by little in a privileged environment from childhood.

He envied his elder brother for marrying such a beautiful and generous wife, and he didn't think there was anything wrong with his sister-in-law.

At this moment, Zhao Tingxuan did not understand why his mother wanted to suppress his sister-in-law, nor did he understand why his mother would use such a clumsy method.

On his first day back in Liang, Zhao Tingxuan couldn't sleep.

In Suining Palace, Granny Zheng saw her nephew off and silently shook her head.

The eldest princess told her to tell the second young master about the shameful and foolish things the old princess had done whenever she had the chance, and she did so.

The second wife will be marrying into the family next year. Judging from the old princess's reaction, things will be in chaos in the palace.

The eldest princess will be marrying into the capital next year. Although the princess consort is very capable, the old princess consort is, after all, her mother-in-law. She cannot be as ruthless as the eldest princess, such as imprisoning the old princess consort. The eldest princess can do such a thing, but the princess consort cannot.

Granny Zheng sighed. She said that once the eldest princess left Liang, she would definitely retire.

What about the affection she received from serving Nie since childhood? She's been with the Nie family for so many years, and what she's received is less than what the eldest princess and the princess consort give her in a year.

The eldest princess gave her a small estate of fifty acres, and the queen gave her a shop in Liangdu. As long as her children and grandchildren do not gamble, visit prostitutes, or start businesses, the whole family can live comfortably without worrying about food and drink.

Granny Zheng dreamed of retiring, collecting rent, growing vegetables, raising chickens, and taking care of her grandson. Wouldn't that be much better than staying with this stupid, wicked, and clueless old princess?

By the way, I told the Second Young Master today that this matter must be made known to the First Princess.

A few days later, Zheng Mama's daughter-in-law came to visit her and whispered in her ear, "Mother, yesterday when I went out to buy groceries, someone came up to me and threw a paper package into my basket. When I opened it, I found a gold ingot inside, weighing a full ten taels."

The daughter-in-law didn't believe there was such a fool as to throw gold around. Even if there were, she wouldn't let her meet him. All the good fortune in her life had been used up on the old ginseng she received when giving birth.

Without the old ginseng given to her by the eldest princess, she wouldn't be alive now; she would have died along with her unborn child long ago.

There's no need to ask; it must be related to her mother-in-law. She wouldn't dare keep it a secret; her mother-in-law will find out sooner or later. Her mother-in-law is rich and knows influential people; she wouldn't dare offend her.

Unexpectedly, her mother-in-law did not praise her for being honest; instead, she sighed.

"Mother, why are you unhappy?"

"Alas, it's a pity your son is too young to go to the capital with the eldest princess."

She had heard that the eldest princess had selected many people to take to the capital; how wonderful it would be if her grandson could go along too!
Zhao Yunnuan was unaware of Zheng Mama's regrets. Now that she had relinquished her military power, she was free of worries and had nothing else to do except prepare her dowry.

However, Zhao Tingxuan's marriage still made her feel somewhat uncomfortable.

This marriage was most likely arranged by Nie.

Of course, the woman Nie was not necessarily seeking the Princess of Changling County, but she was certainly a noblewoman of high birth and status.

Zhao Yunnuan learned from Zheng Mama that when the imperial decree for her marriage to Yan Xia was delivered to the Prince's Mansion, Nie Shi was not happy. Firstly, the Weiguo Duke's Mansion was too prestigious, and secondly, she somehow learned that Yan Xia was not an ignorant and good-for-nothing second-generation rich kid. She was very angry and even smashed an antique vase that her father had liked to pieces.

Perhaps, what Madam Nie wanted her to marry was a scoundrel like Zhu Yu.

Zhao Yunnuan didn't want to think too badly of Nie Shi, but time and again, facts proved that not every mother loves her child. Some people treat their children as tools, and even an old princess like Nie Shi, who had already established herself in the royal palace, would still do so.

An obedient son can support her, but a son who is not raised by her side and is not close to her is naturally discarded like worn-out shoes.

As for daughters, they can serve as stepping stones for sons.

A daughter like her, who is both disobedient and constantly targeting others, should of course marry as far away as possible. Not only should she marry far away, but she should also be controlled by a powerful in-law family and held back and suppressed by an incompetent husband, so that she has no energy to care about her own family's affairs.

Zhao Yunnuan sneered. Many times, she wanted to leave like her younger sister, but she couldn't. She wasn't her younger sister without a title. That title was both an honor and a shackle for her. She couldn't leave as she pleased, and she couldn't go against the marriage arranged by the emperor.

Fortunately, my younger sister and the people she sent to the capital could all attest to the fact that Yan Xia was a good person and that the Duke of Wei's family had a good family tradition.

Although she was reluctant to leave Liangdi, where she had grown up, she now also longed for the capital.

The capital city is a den of dragons and tigers, a cage, but it is also where her younger sister is, and where she has made painstaking arrangements for herself. She has the fighting spirit and the confidence that she will create a new world for herself and her younger sister.

As for Liang, let's leave it to our elder brother. Since he has inherited the throne, Liang is his responsibility.

Holding onto Liang was his destiny; losing it was his fate.

And that's all the help she can offer; the rest is up to her older brother and sister-in-law.

As for Zhao Tingxuan, as the eldest sister, this is all she can do to help him. If he remains obstinate and chooses to listen to Nie Shi and oppose his elder brother, there is nothing Zhao Yunnuan can do.

Her younger sister wrote to her, telling her to keep an eye on Zhao Tingxuan's friends and to make sure he doesn't come into contact with Wushi Powder. Zhao Yunnuan then sought help from her cousin, Zhao Tingrui.

Zhao Tingrui was a notorious playboy in Liangdu. He had once been Zhao Tingxuan's study companion. Nie was worried that he would lead Zhao Tingxuan astray, so she tried to replace him.

However, he was a skilled poet, and Zhao Tingxuan liked him very much, inviting him to every poetry gathering.

When Zhao Tinghan got married, it was Zhao Tingrui who went to fetch the bride on his behalf.

Zhao Yunnuan summoned Zhao Tingrui and asked if any of the young masters in Liangdu had taken Wushi Powder.

Zhao Tingrui actually knew.

He named a few people, then asked with a smile, "Sister, you're not going to arrest them, are you? Although the imperial court has explicitly prohibited it, the authorities won't investigate unless the people complain. Besides, the court only forbids the sale, not criminalizes it. At most, they'll just fine them some silver. Those who can afford this aren't people who can't afford it, so arresting them would be pointless." (End of Chapter)