Harem Daily Life

Chapter 1086 Envious? Are you blind?

Tao Yanyan wasn't worried about the children encountering any accidents, after all, they were under the emperor's nose, and each of them was accompanied by many guards and shadow guards. However, she still gave He Yucheng a few instructions, telling him to keep an eye on He Yinuo and not let her eat so much.

He Yucheng agreed to everything, but in the blink of an eye, he couldn't control his own sister.

"You should eat less, otherwise you'll get indigestion and have to take medicine again."

He Yinuo chewed and chewed: "I ate as I walked, so I've already burned off the food. How could I possibly have indigestion? Look, there are candied hawthorns over there. I'll buy a few and eat them to help with digestion."

He Yucheng's face darkened: "It's wrapped in sugar. Mother said that eating too much sugar makes you fat!"

He Yinuo found him nagging and stomped her foot: "Don't think that just because you're my brother you can control everything I do. You nag me endlessly after I've only eaten a few bites. Why don't you nag the two little ones?"

He Xiaobao and He Xiaoliu chewed and chewed, both looking completely bewildered.

He Yucheng said helplessly, "Mother told me to keep an eye on you, but she didn't tell me to keep an eye on my two younger brothers. Who was it that ate without thinking and then stole more food, making Mother worry?"

He Yinuo rolled her eyes, resisting the urge to eat another basket of soup dumplings, and said, "Okay, okay, I'm really scared of you. I'll stop eating after I finish what I have, alright? I can't let what I bought go to waste."

As soon as she finished speaking, the sound of arguing came from not far away, and the voices sounded somewhat familiar.

Looking up in that direction, I saw Su Xing being stopped by someone... who seemed to be the younger sister of the Princess Consort of Jin?

"Hmph, at such a young age, you're already so good at seducing people. You're so eager to marry into the Zhou family as their second wife. Do you even deserve it?"

Madam Su blocked her daughter's path, glaring angrily at Hua Ruyan: "Watch your mouth! What do you mean by seduction? What do you mean we're going to be a second wife? I've never agreed to this marriage!"

Hua Ruyan sneered, "The Zhou family has already prepared the betrothal gifts, and my mother-in-law has even sent my husband's birth chart to the Su family. You still want to pretend you don't know? Your Su family is really something. On one hand, you accepted the birth chart and matched the horoscopes, and on the other hand, you still try to argue that you didn't agree!"

Madam Su's breathing was uneven, and her face turned pale and red as she listened to the pointing fingers around her: "Stop spouting nonsense! My daughter will not go to the Zhou family as a second wife. As long as I don't agree, let's see who dares to force her into marriage!"

Su Xing, her face flushed with anger, followed behind her mother. They had finally managed to find a suitable house today, but on their way back, they were stopped by this concubine from the Zhou family. Initially, she had tried to explain kindly, thinking that the concubine was the sister of the Princess Consort of Jin, but the concubine wouldn't believe her, putting her and her mother in an awkward position.

After thinking it over, she realized that the second wife must have secretly arranged a marriage with the Zhou family behind their backs. It was good that they had met today, so she might as well go all out and refuse the marriage in front of everyone, so that the second wife would stop in time.

"Aunt Hua, I don't care who the Zhou family's marriage certificate was given to. My marriage is decided by my mother, and no one else can make that decision for me. If the Zhou family is forcing me or conspiring with other members of the Su family to plot against me, then I will go to the Prefectural Magistrate's Office to ask the upright official to uphold justice for me! I, Su Xing, will never enter the Zhou family's door. Today, you blocked my mother and me in the street and cursed us, pinning unfounded accusations on me. You must apologize, or we will go to the magistrate right now!"

Hua Ruyan narrowed her eyes. She naturally knew that a young girl like her was no match for the powerful Su family, and the marriage plan was most likely decided by the Su family behind the mother and daughter's backs. But what did it matter? She was furious at the sight of the Zhou family's chosen second wife, and she had to seize the opportunity to humiliate her to vent her anger.

"That sounds nice, but who knows what you're really thinking? The Zhou family is so powerful and wealthy, it's no wonder you orphans and widows living under their roof are envious!"

The surrounding onlookers pointed and whispered, and various comments reached the ears of the Su family mother and daughter. Some spoke up for them, while others said some very unpleasant things.

"Envious? You must be blind to choose the Zhou family!" A voice suddenly rang out from the crowd. He Yinuo's servant pushed through the crowd to let her in.

"Let me see which Zhou family it is? Oh, it's the Zhou family that was involved in a scandal before, and later married into the Marquis of Jing's family."

He Yinuo's voice was loud and clear, and those around him immediately recalled the rumors that had been circulating in the capital.

"Huh, is that the merchant who married into the Zhou family of the Marquis's mansion? But I heard that the Marquis's mansion was raided and its property confiscated, so why wasn't the Zhou family implicated?"

"How would we know if they'll be implicated? But the Zhou family's shops are still open, so they've probably gotten away with it."

Upon seeing that the visitor was the Fifth Princess, Hua Ruyan immediately suppressed her previous arrogance and stepped forward to bow.

"I was wondering who was speaking so rudely. It turns out it was Aunt Hua from the Zhou family."

Hua Ruyan dared not offend the Fifth Princess and respectfully said, "Your Highness has misunderstood me. I have been wronged and no one has stood up for me, which is why I have disturbed Your Highness. I hope Your Highness will forgive me."

Upon hearing that she was a princess, the local people immediately knelt down to pay their respects.

He Yinuo glanced at her elder brother, the Crown Prince, who was frowning and silent, and coughed lightly: "Get up, all of you. I, the princess, have come out to speak a few words of justice when I saw injustice. There is no need for you to be so polite."

She stepped forward and personally helped the Su family mother and daughter up: "What happened today must be because your Su family made some dishonest promises behind your backs. You should go back and investigate carefully, so that no strange people can throw all sorts of dirty tricks at you."

Su Xing, supporting her mother, looked gratefully at He Yinuo and nodded.

Hua Ruyan, who had been keeping a composed expression, felt indignant as He Yinuo spoke sarcastically about her. She suppressed her anger and did not refute him, but He Yinuo did not let her off the hook: "I said, you strange concubine Hua, what does it have to do with you, a concubine, that the Zhou family remarried and took a mistress? Who gives you the right to question me?"

Hua Ruyan choked: "I... I was one of the first to join, I... I can at least speak up for myself, right?"

He Yinuo's eyes darkened: "Enter the family first? But you're a concubine, not the mistress; seek justice? If you want to elevate a concubine to the status of a wife, you can go and fight for it yourself, seek justice from the Zhou family, do you think you can find the Su family mother and daughter?"

"That's right, we almost fell for her trick just now. She's just a concubine, what right does she have?" The crowd echoed in agreement.

"Besides, your husband in the Zhou family isn't exactly a hot commodity. Everyone wants to be his wife, right? You're blind to the truth and you're eager to become a concubine, and no one can stop you. But you can't assume that everyone else is as blind as you and wants to enter the Zhou family!"

After saying that, she grabbed Su Xing and said, "Everyone, look at this little girl. She's only thirteen years old, so pretty and young. How could she possibly be interested in that Zhou family's young master, who's in his mid-twenties and a widower?"

The others chimed in, "That's right, there's probably more to it than meets the eye."

"Let's not jump to conclusions yet, after all, you can know a person's face but not their heart."

He Yinuo raised an eyebrow. Someone was going against her train of thought? That shouldn't be the case.

She looked toward the sound, and to her surprise, it was He Xiaobao who was acting out of line with her thoughts.

He Xiaobao was glared at by her and hurriedly hid behind He Yucheng.

Seeing the two exchanging glances, He Yucheng coughed lightly and said, "Whether there's something going on or not, we'll find out by sending someone to investigate."

He was of noble status, and even though he was dressed as an ordinary rich man's son, he still stood out from the crowd.

Hua Ruyan's heart pounded, her eyes darting back and forth between the young master and the fifth princess. A terrifying thought flashed into her mind—could they be twins? The Crown Prince of the Great Zhou?