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

At this moment in Zhaoming Garden, Qingkong had already changed into his own clothes.

Bao Zhao was leisurely drinking tea and eating osmanthus cake behind the green gauze window.

The yellow osmanthus cake is covered with icing sugar, which tastes sweet and has the fragrance of osmanthus. It is so comfortable to pair with the strong brewed Junshan Meiye.

It seemed as if he didn't care at all about what was happening outside.

"Miss, what should we do now?" Qingkong asked anxiously.

"Qingkong, change into my clothes and take Luoxia for a walk in the garden. Put on your cloak and make sure people see the Fourth Young Lady admiring the flowers in the garden."

"I'm going out for a while. No matter who comes to look for me, don't say anything." Shen Baozhao clapped his hands to shake off the icing on his hands. He stood up neatly and went into the inner room, changed into a man's robe, and looked like a handsome young man.

After looking in the mirror, she felt that her outfit was still too conspicuous, so she changed her face again. Her skin looked dark and yellow. The corners of her eyes drooped, making her look extremely listless, and there was a big mole on her left forehead.

Shen Baozhao nodded with satisfaction, picked up the crabapple-patterned dagger under the pillow and stuffed it into the shoe shaft, then climbed out of the back window and disappeared.

At this moment, there were several maids and old women kneeling in Rongde Hall, all of whom served the second young lady in Yanran Pavilion of the first house.

Madam Wang stood by, holding a handkerchief, sobbing quietly and wiping away tears. The eldest master, with a short mustache, sat on a rocking chair on the left, his expression unclear.

The old lady was wearing a dark red brocade with bat patterns, her hair was silver, and she was holding a string of Buddhist beads in her hand, twisting them with her eyes closed. The old marquis, who had not been seen for many days, was also there, sitting on the left and right of the old lady.

Old Lord Shen had never been involved in the affairs of the inner court, but today's matter involved the marriage of his children, so he had to take charge.

"You mean, the fourth lady beat up the second lady, changed into her wedding dress and got on the bridal sedan?" The one who spoke was the owner of the second house, Shen Baozhao's father, Shen Weishen.

"You know that arbitrarily accusing the master is a serious crime and can be punished by beating to death." The second master frowned and spoke in a heavy tone.

After hearing these words, the kneeling maids' eyes flickered and they trembled unconsciously.

Seeing the second master like this, Madam Wang also said, "Second brother, I know you love Miss Zhao. But my Yan'er is getting married today, and now she is injured and lying in bed. This is a fact. It was the fourth girl who slept with Yan'er yesterday. If not her, who else could it be?"

"Poor Yan'er has always treated Zhao'er as her own sister, but she had no idea that she was so cruel and ruthless." After saying this, Wang pretended to be shaking with anger.

The second master was so angry when he saw Wang talking about his daughter. "Sister-in-law, be careful with your words. The truth of the matter is still unknown. How do you know that the one who got into the bridal sedan must be Zhao'er?"

"Since my second brother thinks it's not Zhao'er, then may I ask where she is now?" Wang said with certainty.

Coincidentally, at this time, the maid that the old lady had sent out to look for Bao Zhao came back with a report.

"Madam, the fourth young lady is indeed not in Zhaoming Garden." After saying that, he stood aside.

Wang's arrogance became even more arrogant, and she was quite unreasonable. She pointed at the second master and said, "Now the second brother believes it. It was the fourth girl who used despicable means to take away this marriage."

The second master was so angry that he was shaking. He was no match for Wang in a verbal battle. He said stubbornly, "Whether you think this marriage is good or not, I don't want Bao Zhao to marry. The bridal sedan has just left the house not long ago. Send someone to chase it with a fast horse. We should be able to stop the sedan and get the bride back."

The eldest master looked at the second master coldly and said, "Exchange the bride? Can Ning'an Marquis's Mansion afford to lose this person or can the Duke of Lu's Mansion afford to lose this person?"

Wang was also complaining in her heart and was about to speak when she heard two thumps. It was the sound of the old lady's dragon-headed cane poking the blue bricks.

"That's enough." The old lady glanced at Wang. Wang didn't dare to say much, after all, she had just told the old lady yesterday that Bao Zhao didn't want to marry in a different marriage.

In this situation, the old lady should be able to guess 80% of it. But Wang was sure that for the sake of the overall situation, the old lady would not tell the matter and would only keep the peace.

The old lady was very upset. Wang pretended to obey but secretly disobeyed. She had clearly ordered the third girl to marry in place of the old lady, but for her own selfish desires, she actually framed the fourth girl.

"Since the fourth girl is married, let's tell everyone that it's the fourth girl that's getting married. As for the Duke of Lu's mansion, the eldest and second sons should go to apologize early tomorrow morning."

After hearing what the old lady said, Wang lowered her head, covered her mouth with a handkerchief and twitched her lips. She said, "Bao Zhao took all of Yan'er's dowry and got a good marriage. Then Yan'er will have no dowry when she gets married. What should we do?" Wang sobbed.

The old lady gave Wang a sidelong look. Wang was really taking advantage of the situation. But what could she do in the current situation? After all, the eldest wife was to inherit the family line.

So the old lady said to the second master, "Second Master, this is because your second branch owes the first branch. When Yan'er gets married, give her all the dowry left by Nanhua. What do you think?"

The second master pursed his lips and said, "The truth of this matter is still unknown. If it is really my second wife's fault, I will definitely let the first wife deal with it."

"If not, the eldest wife has to give us an explanation. I will go to Duke Lu's mansion tomorrow even if no one tells me to go."

The second master stood upright in the middle of the hall, his words powerful and sonorous.

"Second brother, what do you mean? Are you saying that we wronged the fourth girl? Why would my Yan'er give up this great marriage to Baozhao just to frame her?"

"She was willing to lower herself to a lowly position and snatch someone else's marriage. She was a widow who had no one to educate her since childhood, so she did such a shameful thing." Wang became more and more excited as she spoke.

The Second Master was about to say that you asked my daughter to marry in his place yesterday, but the Fifth Master beside him got anxious after hearing this and said, "Impossible, my sister would never do that. She would never do that."

"Fifth brother, you are really well-educated. Is this how you yell at your elders?" Everyone looked at the source of the sound at the door. They saw a man striding in. It was the second young master Shen Jiemin.

Then he continued, "The facts are obvious. How dare you, a young boy like you, question the words of your elders? If your uncle doesn't know how to teach his son, I can teach him for him."

The second master frowned upon hearing this and said, "How can my son be taught by me personally? Erlang, when have you ever taken your second uncle seriously?"

Shen Jiemin was about to refute after hearing the second master's words when he heard the old marquis speak.

"Okay." The old marquis never interfered in the affairs of the inner house, but this time it involved the legitimate sons of the first and second wives.

"Come here, bring the Fifth Young Master to the ancestral hall and make him kneel for two hours. Let him reflect on his mistakes in front of the ancestral tablets."

The old marquis was unaware of the twists and turns in this matter and just thought that the second wife had benefited from the first wife.

If the second wife is not dealt with now to appease the first wife, the situation of the second wife will be even worse in the future when the first wife inherits the Marquis' Mansion.

The second master was very puzzled and said loudly: "Father."

Who would have thought that at this moment a clear and beautiful voice would scold: "Wait."

Bao Zhao was wearing a light blue jacket embroidered with white magnolias and a moon-white twelve-panel Xiang skirt. She only had a white jade magnolia hairpin on her head and walked in gracefully.

Everyone seemed to be frozen, especially the mother and son of the eldest wife, Wang. Wang's face instantly showed an expression of disbelief, and she asked in surprise, "Why are you here?"

Bao Zhao smiled and said, "That's funny, Aunt. Where else would I be if I wasn't here?"