The beauty of the Hou family and the king's plan

At night, the lights were turned on. In every courtyard and corridor of the Ning'an Marquis's Mansion, rectangular lanterns with passionflower patterns were lit.

Standing on a high place and overlooking the Marquis' Mansion, it looks like stars dotted everywhere, twinkling and very beautiful.

In Zhaoming Garden, Shen Baozhao had just finished bathing.

She sat on the chaise longue, reading a book in the light, while her two maids, Qingkong and Bixiao, twisted her hair.

The black hair was fine and soft, and it glowed brightly under the candlelight, like silk.

"Miss, I heard that the people from the Wu'an Marquis' Mansion invited a matchmaker to come to the house today." Qingkong chatted while combing her hair.

"So fast?"

Shen Baozhao thought about his past life and realized that Shen Jing had indeed married into the Wu'an Earl's Mansion not long after receiving the imperial edict.

By that time, I had already married and didn't care much about this illegitimate sister.

She only asked the maid to go back to the mansion to add some dowry the day before her wedding, but she did not come back to see him.

Come to think of it, Shen Jing is also a poor person. Like herself, she has become a victim of Wang's selfishness.

It was a big sacrifice for Wang to marry Shen Jing to the Wu'an Earl's Mansion.

The incident of beating and scolding in Yuqing Garden yesterday could not be concealed even in Manhou Mansion.

Why did Wang Shi risk her own grudge against the eldest master to marry Shen Jing to a fool? Could it be that she was really afraid of Aunt Lan and her son to such an extent?

Shen Baozhao couldn't figure it out either. In her opinion, Wang's move was hurting the enemy by a thousand and hurting herself by eight hundred.

Or is there some hidden secret that no one in the mansion knows about, which makes her have to do this?

No matter what, the feud between Wang and Shen Baozhao will never end.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend, so should she do something to mix things up?

Qingkong saw that Baozhao hadn't turned a page of the book for a long time, so he knew that his young lady was thinking about something. He exchanged glances with Bixiao. The two wrung their hair dry and left.

Not long after, Bixiao hurried in again.

The bedroom door curtain was made of glass beads. Bixiao walked quickly and the beads collided with each other, making a pleasant tinkling sound, which added a bit of fun to the quiet night.

Shen Baozhao came back to his senses and looked at Bixiao, who seemed to be hesitant to speak. He asked:

"I heard Luoxia talking outside. Is there anything wrong?"

Bixiao thought that at this time, the maidservant beside Aunt Lan came to see the young lady, which must be an urgent matter.

He immediately took out the handkerchief in his hand and handed it to Shen Baozhao.

Shen Baozhao took the handkerchief from Qingkong's hand. It was a bit heavy and contained something.

When she opened it, she saw a golden hairpin wrapped in a pure white Hangzhou silk handkerchief embroidered with orchids.

Shen Baozhao looked at the golden hairpin and felt that it looked familiar, as if he had seen it before, but he couldn't remember where.

This gold hairpin is a style that was popular in Kyoto many years ago. The surface is a little old, gray and looks old-fashioned.

But it is indeed pure gold. If you take it to a jewelry shop and take good care of it, the hollow carved phoenix pattern with spread wings will be lifelike.

This craftsmanship is not something that an ordinary shop can produce.

On the other hand, the word "Wan" was engraved on the back of the hairpin. Shen Baozhao was shocked, and scenes flashed through his mind.

A Niang held little Bao Zhao in her arms and sat on the swing in Zhaoming Garden.

Little Baozhao shouted: "Higher, higher." Then his father pushed the swing behind him again and again.

The whole yard was filled with the laughter of Xiao Baozhao and A Niang. Wasn't A Niang wearing this golden hairpin on her head at that time?

The scene changed, and there was a howling wind and thunder. The big tree was blown to one side by the wind and rain.

The dark night sky was accompanied by A Niang's screams. Little Bao Zhao stood in front of A Niang's bed, watching A Niang's hand touching her face and then slowly falling down.

That’s right, this golden hairpin with phoenix pattern belongs to the Princess of Nanhua County, and her maiden name is Xiao Wan.

"You said that Aunt Lan asked the maid to deliver this?" Shen Baozhao spoke after a long time, his voice a little hoarse.

Bixiao glanced at his young lady, with no expression on her face, and it was impossible to tell whether she liked or disliked him.

She replied, "It was just now delivered by Aunt Lan's personal maid Jinlian. Luoxia asked Jinlian to give it to her to bring in."

“Jinlian refused, insisting that she must hand it over to the servant personally.

Seeing her serious expression, Luoxia was afraid that Aunt Lan really had something important, so she hurried to find the servant girl.

Shen Baozhao nodded and asked, "What about Jinlian?"

"Still waiting outside."

"Go and tell her that tomorrow at 9:00 p.m., I will go to Jinghaozhai under the pretext of visiting my third sister, and ask Aunt Lan to go there as well." Baozhao ordered.

After hearing what his master said, Bixiao immediately left the bedroom and went to talk to Qiuye.

How did Aunt Lan get this hairpin?

She could give this thing to me so solemnly, did she know something? Now he came to me with this thing, he must be asking for something.

Considering that the Marquis of Wu'an came to visit today, it must be about Shen Jing's matter.

Originally Shen Baozhao was planning to reach out, this was just a coincidence.

I was patient and didn't ask for clarification tonight. The first branch of the Marquis's Mansion has been operating for decades, with complicated connections and a large number of spies.

Now that Jinlian has come to Zhaoming Garden today, Yuqing Garden will surely know about it tomorrow, so we must not alert them.

There were so many things that he couldn't figure out that Shen Baozhao simply stopped thinking about them, turned off the lights and lay down on the bed.

The night breeze was cool, and the window was not open. But the soft moonlight shone through the window onto the bluestone bricks in front of the bed, casting a hazy veil over the entire room.

Shen Baozhao tossed and turned, and finally fell into a deep sleep.

The morning dew had just dissipated and the sun had not yet risen.

Shen Baozhao got up early. This was a habit she developed in her previous life. She started practicing martial arts halfway through her life. Apart from her extraordinary talent, it was difficult for others to imagine how hard she worked.

I always get up at dawn, rain or shine. Now that I've been reborn, I feel tired and lazy.

After a serious illness, my body is not in good health. Fortunately, I have been taking care of myself with medicinal food, so it is not a big deal now.

The old lady in Rongde Hall has not yet stood up.

When Shen Baozhao saw Shen Jing appear in Rongde Hall, she was stunned. She thought that her third sister would not come to pay her respects during this period.

Shen Jing looked a little pale and even weaker. But unlike the day when she received the imperial edict, her eyes were not as heavy as death.

When she saw Shen Baozhao, she just nodded and neither of them spoke.

On the contrary, the fifth lady, Shen Chan, saw Shen Jing and asked her if she was seriously injured, her eyes full of sympathy.

The first wife, Mrs. Wang, and the third wife, Mrs. Tang, were both in the bedroom helping the old lady to get up. After an incense stick of time, the old lady came out leaning on a cane.

Seeing Shen Jing, the old lady looked a little surprised, but she returned to normal in just a moment.

Shen Baozhao had to sigh, this is indeed the old feudal lord who has been in charge of the family for decades. Wang came out and saw Shen Jing, but she looked at her for a long time.

The old lady sat down and looked at Shen Jing: "Third girl, if you are not feeling well, you should take a good rest for a while. You don't have to come to visit me every morning and evening."

Shen Jing stood up and bowed: "Grandma, my granddaughter is fine. Thank you for your concern."

The old lady nodded, thinking to herself what a pity.

If the third granddaughter looked for a good family, she might find one. If she married well, it would be a great help to the Marquis's Mansion. He also secretly hated Wang's shallow eyes.

After a few words of greeting, everyone dispersed. The old lady was not in a good mood today and did not offer any meal.