"No need, don't dirty our hands," Zhou Xu said. "He's not fortunate enough to have me serve him his medicine."
"That's right!" Ren Yingying patted her shoulder. "That's the kind of ambition we need. Three-legged toads are hard to find, but two-legged men are everywhere."
Who cares about Old Cabbage Stalk!
Is he not old?
Haha, let's see how it goes between you and a twenty-year-old!
Tang Zhuyun: "Yingying is right, but don't be like her, spending all your time with the dog."
Qu Nian: Please do not disturb, thank you.
Ren Yingying patted his head. "What's wrong with being a dog? Men are really not as good as dogs."
Qu Nian: Thank you for the compliment, but I still want to be a man.
Zhou Xu listened to the two chatting and laughing, a smile involuntarily crept onto her lips.
She had always felt like an oddball, but now she realized she was actually quite... sociable.
It turns out, she just hadn't found the right person yet.
"Your Majesty, I have a favor to ask of you," Zhou Xu said.
"Hmm? You say it."
"That's right, we're family, why are you asking for favors?" Ren Yingying said.
Tang Zhuyun glared at her. "My family doesn't need concubines!"
Ren Yingying, nostrils flared. "But you're lacking a daughter-in-law!"
Tang Zhuyun: "Go outside and line up!"
Ren Yingying retorted, "A son is no longer under his mother's control once he grows up!"
Tang Zhuyun: "... Xu'er, you say! Let's ignore her."
Ren Yingying said smugly, "Dog Meat, isn't Mom amazing!"
Qu Nian: Go to hell!
He's such a good man, but she's always driving him to uncontrollably swear.
Zhou Xu relayed the insults Wu Guang had hurled at her.
Tang Zhuyun blushed with anger. "Like master, like dog!"
Ren Yingying: "I suspect you're implying I'm calling Dog Meat."
"Don't cause trouble," Tang Zhuyun scolded her. "Wu Guang, right? I'll remember that; I'll speak to the Prince tonight."
Zhou Xu was touched, but quickly said, "Your Majesty, no need. Such a minor character is not worthy of such a title. I just wanted to say... something's a bit strange."
"Hmm?" Tang Zhuyun asked.
Actually, she also found it a bit strange.
Putting everything else aside, Wu Zhenhai rose through the ranks from humble beginnings.
Observing people's expressions and behaving humbly was his usual practice in the past.
Under such circumstances, how could Wu Guang possibly act arrogantly and domineeringly like a servant of a powerful family?
In particular, Zhou Xu was also his master's woman.
"He never liked me," Zhou Xu said, "But he didn't dare to be so presumptuous. He said the eldest young master doesn't like me."
Who is the eldest son? Tang Zhuyun frowned.
Zhou Xu explained, "Wu Zhenhai's eldest son."
Tang Zhuyun: "Oh. How old are you?"
"About my age."
Tang Zhuyun cursed Wu Zhenhai in her heart again.
"I just want to know," Zhou Xu said, "Why he suddenly became so hostile towards me."
Ren Yingying interjected, "What's the point of knowing all this? Are you thinking of trying to please him and be a good stepmother?"
"That's not it," Zhou Xu said. "It's just that I think finding out the reason might be useful."
Tang Zhuyun asked, "What's his son's reputation like?"
"Mediocre." Zhou Xu uttered the two words softly.
"That's easy," Tang Zhuyun said. "I'll have someone inquire about it."
As long as they're not as cunning Old Cabbage Stalk, they won't be afraid of alerting the enemy when they're investigating something.
Zhou Xu nodded gratefully, seemingly lost in thought.
She felt there was something fishy about this.
Tang Zhuyun gave the order.
Xiu'er returned after eavesdropping.
"They say it was Sanbao's cow that died in childbirth." Xiu'er thought about what she had seen and heard, and felt quite emotional.
Tang Zhuyun: "Did she go see it and get scared?"
The scene of childbirth was bloody and gruesome; she shouldn't have to see it.
As she spoke, she stood up.
"Your Highness, please sit down. You don't need to go. Linlin is here!"
The older brother held his younger sister close, comforting her gently. No one else was needed.
"She's not afraid of killing anyone," Xiu'er said, "She's not afraid of giving birth! She's just never seen a difficult childbirth before... and the thought of you giving birth terrified her."
And herself.
Ren Yingying: "What are you afraid of! I'm here! Who do you think you are? Wait for her to come, I'll talk to her!"
Qu Nian: He really thinks he's something special.
Tang Zhuyun said, "This child is rough around the edges but meticulous, and has a delicate mind. I'll talk to her about it later."
With such ties, how could she bear to part with them?
She doesn't allow herself to eat sweets, she controls her diet; she's allowed to be active, she's active too, she cherishes her life!
Just as I was hesitating about when to talk to Yanran, Yanran came in with red eyes and dragged her little stool over to rest on her lap.
Ren Yingying made a face at her. "Aren't you ashamed!"
Qu Nian lay on the ground, covering his face with his front paws.
--A mother and daughter showing affection, and you're jumping around like this.
"Mother, do all people die?" Yanran asked Tang Zhuyun, her eyes brimming with tears.
Tang Zhuyun: "... Yes."
"But I don't want my father, mother, and brother to die, and I don't want to die myself."
Tang Zhuyun was both amused and exasperated. She reached out and stroked the top of her head, saying, "Then think of it this way: although the body will cease to exist, the soul will live on forever."
This is where the significance of religion comes into play.
"What do you mean? Mother, I don't understand." Yanran looked at Tang Zhuyun blankly, her eyes filled with a hint of expectation.
Does the fact that my mother said this mean that death is not without a solution?
Ren Yingying: Hehe, your mother is fooling you, you silly little thing.
Zhou Xu: I'd love to hear how Your Majesty will explain this.
Tang Zhuyun, speaking on the spot, forced herself to say, "Perhaps in the future, Mother Consort will become your child."
"After you died, you became my child?" Yanran's eyes widened.
Everyone was shocked, including Qu Nian, but not Ren Yingying.
Ren Yingying rolled her eyes: Keep fooling me, keep fooling me.
"Hmm..." Tang Zhuyun said.
Yanran cried, "No, I'm already eight years old. How can I have a baby at sixteen?"
Does that mean Mother Consort only has ten years left to live?
Tang Zhuyun: "..."
Ren Yingying burst out laughing.
Xiu'er, quick-witted, replied, "You could be an old clam that conceives a pearl."
"What?"
"You'll be born when you're fifty."
"Fifty years old?" Yanran, with glistening tears on her face, began counting on her fingers. "Fifty minus eight, thirty-two..."
"Forty-two!" Tang Zhuyun was furious.
Her lifespan was already short, and with just a few words, you reduced hers by ten years?
Ren Yingying hugged Qu Nian, rubbing her chin against his chubby back. "My son, how good your mother is. I don't scold you, and I don't make you learn arithmetic."
Qu Nian: Please get out of here smoothly!!!
Yanran was startled by Tang Zhuyun's suddenly raised voice, and stammered, "Oh, forty-two. Mother is twenty-two this year? Forty-two plus twenty-two..."
She looked at her own fingers, then at Tang Zhuyun's fingers, and then at everyone else's hands...
I don't know if it will be enough...
Tang Zhuyun: "Should we take off our shoes and socks?"
Ren Yingying: "Five people? No problem. I'll lend you Dog Meat Mimi. See if that's enough!"
Qu Nian: I don't know if she's had enough, but I've had enough!
He struggled to run out and squatted down about ten feet away from Ren Yingying.
A real man, when pushed to the limit, runs away!
But you can't go too far, lest you hear him talking badly about you and it interferes with his keeping a record of your misdeeds.