The dim back

Zhang Yulu had just returned to her room when Zhang Fengxue dressed up beautifully.

She was wearing a goose yellow horse-faced skirt and a jade and gold hairpin on her head. She ran to her sister leisurely and turned around in front of Zhang Yulu.

He asked excitedly, "Sister, do you think my dress looks good? I'm going to participate in the flower-crossing convention. Believe me, I will definitely be able to find a good husband for myself."

Zhang Yulu sighed in her heart: "We are both ladies from Yiren Villa, sister, why can you choose whoever you like?"

Zhang Yulu looked at her sister's performance and couldn't bear to belittle her, so she smiled and said, "My sister is the most beautiful. No one is prettier than my sister. You will definitely win the first prize in the cross-flower competition tomorrow."

Zhang Fengxue was delighted when she heard Zhang Yulu's praise: "When I was little, I always thought that my sister was the prettiest. No one in the world was prettier than my sister. Today, when I heard my sister praise me like this, I instantly gained confidence."

Zhang Yulu remembered something and asked Zhang Fengxue casually: "I was sick some time ago, and I don't remember some things very clearly. How did our mother die?"

Zhang Fengxue also scratched his head. I remember the wet nurse seemed to have told me once: "The wet nurse was my mother's maidservant who came with her as a dowry. Later, my mother died of complications during childbirth, so the wet nurse took care of the two of us."

Hearing Zhang Fengxue say this, Zhang Yulu knew that he would not find the answer today, because when Zhang Fengxue was born, the grandmother had died, and he had always been taken care of by a wet nurse. He was two years older than Zhang Fengxue, and it seemed that he did not remember anything at that time.

Zhang Yulu kept fiddling with the dressing box on her dressing table. She took out a hairpin from the box and happily put it on Zhang Fengxue's head: "This hairpin is for you. It was given to dad by Governor Ma on my birthday last year. Dad gave it to me in return. Now wear it on your head."

Zhang Fengxue was very happy. She took her sister's hand and said, "Sister, Mr. Liu seems to be painting there. Let's go and take a look."

Without waiting for Zhang Yulu to refuse, Zhang Fengxue pulled Zhang Yulu over and saw Liu Zhongqing painting in the courtyard.

Zhang Fengxue stretched his head and took a look. He was immediately shocked: "Brother Liu, you are about to get married with my sister, why are you still painting other women? Even a prostitute."

Hearing Zhang Fengxue's comments, Liu Zhongqing slammed the pen in his hand heavily on the table: "I don't allow you to say that about Qiu Feng. Qiu Feng has been redeemed by me and sent to his hometown in Liuzhou. I believe he will arrive soon."

Zhang Yulu pulled Zhang Fengxue over and said, "Sister, don't worry about our affairs. Think about your cross-flower meeting tomorrow."

Seeing Zhang Yulu was so reasonable, Liu Zhongqing softened his attitude a little: "It's all my fault for being impatient. I'm really sorry. I hope you two won't mind."

Zhang Fengxue shook her head and said the main point: "I am just afraid that my sister will marry to Liuzhou alone. You Liu family members will bully my sister. My sister and I have never had a mother to take care of us since we were young. Aunt Fang is quite nice to us sisters, but she schemes against us sisters every day. She hopes that you can treat her as a family member when my sister marries."

Liu Zhongqing watched his sister defend her and firmly made his promise: "Don't worry, since I am Zhang Yulu's husband and I am in the Liu family, I will protect him."

With Liu Zhongqing's words, Zhang Yulu became happy: "I hope we can do what we say."

Then, Zhang Yulu said, "There is something I forgot to tell you. The last time I fought with you to compete for Qiu Feng, Master Zhang Jiu is now doing business with my father. I only found out about it afterwards."

Seeing Zhang Yulu tell him so bluntly, Liu Zhongqing had nothing to be angry about.

Liu Zhongqing nodded at Zhang Yulu: "You are such a weird person. Why are you telling me such things? As long as you didn't do it, you don't need to tell me everything."

Hearing Liu Zhongqing say this, Zhang Yulu opened up a lot: "Fortunately, you are a sensible person."

Zhang Fengxue saw the interaction between the two and was happy for her sister: "I believe you two will get along well in the future. Dad, I will do the work in this regard."

At this moment, the wet nurse was on the south side of the corridor, looking at this side from afar.

Looking at the nanny, it seemed that she had a lot to say to Zhang Yulu.

Zhang Yulu said to Liu Zhongqing politely: "I am leaving now. I have things to do. You stay here and paint Miss Qiufeng."

After Zhang Yulu finished saying these words, he dragged Zhang Fengxue out.

Zhang Fengxue felt very strange: "Sister, I know you are not satisfied with the marriage arranged by Daddy? But you two were engaged as children, so you have to swear your sovereignty and look at your future. Why don't you react at all when your husband draws another woman?"

Zhang Yulu said calmly, "Why are you acting like a wet nurse? Don't mention this matter anymore. I just want to live a stable life and run my own shop after I marry him."

Zhang Yulu pointed at the nurse in front and said, "I'm going to go over there and have a chat with her now. If you have nothing to do, go play over there first, and I'll come back to find you later."

Zhang Fengxue remembered something: "Sister, the kitchen made your favorite osmanthus cake today. I'll get it for you later."

Zhang Fengxue skipped to the kitchen. Zhang Yulu looked at her sister as she left, shook her head and laughed, "You look so innocent. I hope you can be happy every day in the future."

Zhang Yulu looked at the nanny opposite her: "Nanny, do you have something to tell me?"

The nurse pulled the backpack on her back and touched Zhang Yulu's face: "I have been serving the young lady for nearly 18 years. I wanted to wait until she got married before leaving, but now it's too late. I have to go back to my hometown. Young lady, please take care of yourself."

Zhang Yulu felt very strange. She felt that the nanny's words seemed to imply that she would never come back.

Yulu asked the nanny: "Will I never come back? Can you tell me the truth?"

The nurse nodded silently: "The eldest daughter has already married, so my mission is accomplished. The second daughter will also find her future husband. Besides, there is Aunt Fang at home, so there is no need for an old woman like me."

Zhang Yulu felt very strange: "What's going on? Why did you leave as soon as I got married? Is your hand related to me?"

The nurse comforted Zhang Yulu: "Just live your own life well. You don't need to worry about my affairs."

Zhang Yulu asked, "Tell me, where did your sister go? Don't you have another sister?"

Seeing the nurse hesitating, Zhang Yulu made a bold assumption: "Is your sister my biological mother?"

The nurse kept silent. Zhang Yulu was somewhat certain, but the nurse immediately said to Zhang Yulu: "This matter should be discussed between the two of us. Don't let the owner of the manor hear it, otherwise I will be in great trouble."

Hearing that the matter was so serious, Zhang Yulu felt something was a little unusual: "Is there something here that I don't know? Why can't I know about this?"

Hearing Zhang Yulu's questioning, the nanny just shook her head and said, "Even if you and your son owe this manor owner, Zhang Shaohua can still treat you well, even though he is not a good person."

Hearing the nanny say this, Zhang Yulu felt very strange: "Is there something I don't know?"

Seeing that the nanny didn't say anything, Zhang Yulu had no choice but to start his own system.

Zhang Yulu asked her system in her heart: "What's going on between my mother and Zhang Shaohua?"

The system reminded Zhang Yulu: "Master Host, your mother was originally a good woman. Later, she was raped by a villain and you were born. Under no circumstances could she marry Zhang Shaohua while pregnant."

Zhang Yulu felt very sad after learning the truth: "Logically, I should be grateful to Zhang Shaohua, so he has always treated me as his own daughter."

The system reminded Zhang Yulu again: "Master Host, please do not do anything that goes against your will. Zhang Shaohua is not as simple as he seems. Zhang Fengxue, as his biological daughter, also has some secrets."

Zhang Yulu asked the system again: "What happened to Zhang Fengxue? Tell me quickly."

The system suddenly went dark and no longer gave any answers.

The nurse in front of her looked at Zhang Yulu in a daze, thinking that she was disappointed, and began to persuade her: "Sister, there was someone you liked at that time. It's strange to say, this person is actually Master Liu."

Zhang Yulu thought this was too far-fetched: "So who is the person who wants to scold my mother? Could it be this Mr. Liu? Or Zhang Shaohua himself?"

The nurse sighed, "I have always thought so, but I have no evidence. I have been in this mansion for so long and have not found any truth. Maybe we really wronged Zhang Shaohua. Now it depends on you to marry into the Liu family and see if you can find the truth."

But Zhang Yulu remembered one thing: "If I was really Grandpa Liu's child, then he wouldn't let me marry into the Liu family, and then we would become a close relative marriage."

The nurse thought what Zhang Yulu said made sense, so she asked Zhang Yulu again: "Master Liu must know the truth. Even if he is not the murderer, he must know who the murderer is."

The nurse began to tell Zhang Yulu again: "According to my understanding, the Liu family is now led by a person named Yan Si Niang. She is visiting the Liu family. This Yan Si Niang was specially invited by Master Liu to help. She is Master Liu's cousin. Liu Zhongqing was born to the first wife, and there is also a second son born to a concubine."

It seems that this family is very complicated. The nanny said to Zhang Yulu: "The Liu Zhongqing you married, his mother is a princess, she has always been noble and can tolerate concubines, and there is also Yan Si Niang. It seems that he is indeed a powerful person. You should pay attention to your future mother-in-law."

Zhang Yulu found it very strange: "How could a businessman get in touch with the princess?"

This is also what the nanny finds incredible: "I heard that it was Master Liu who saved the princess on the way when he went out to do business this time, and then became an imperial merchant. Maybe he really had feelings for the princess, so the two of them got married. At that time, they were under a lot of pressure, and they got together."

Zhang Yulu now understood why it was difficult for Qiu Feng to marry in? Because the princess was very polite, and when faced with a prostitute, the princess would never agree to anything.

Zhang Yulu began to ask the nurse again: "Then let me ask you one more thing. Since the princess is so particular about etiquette, who is the second wife of the Liu Mansion?"

The nurse swallowed her saliva and said, "You may not believe it, but she is the daughter of the current Duke's Mansion. Logically, the daughter of the Duke's Mansion cannot be a concubine no matter what, but he just fell in love with this Master Liu."

Only then did Zhang Yulu understand why Zhang Shaohua had always wanted her to marry him?

The Liu family is not only so prestigious in the business world, but more importantly, there are two royal relatives in the family. It is indeed a move above their station. No wonder they are afraid that Liu Zhongqing will break off the engagement.

The nurse patted Zhang Yulu's shoulder and said, "I'm telling you the truth. The Liu family has many secrets. You must be humble when you go there. Don't make any mistakes, otherwise you won't know how you died."

In the homes of officials, they are only allowed to light lamps and set fires, and you are not allowed to do anything else.

Liu Zhongqing can have a mistress outside, but she must not make a fuss. She must be a virtuous wife and pretend to be deaf and dumb about this.

Zhang Yulu felt that it was extremely unfair. If this happened in modern times, they would have filed for divorce in court or had the matter exposed by the media long ago. How could she possibly suffer such an injustice?

It seems that life was really not easy for women in ancient times, especially for those in the backyards of officials' families.

Zhang Yulu knew very well that she married him so that her family's business could do better. It seemed that Zhang Shaohua had already got hold of this big line and would not give up no matter what.

At this time, Liu Zhongqing turned around from the front and saw that the wet nurse was talking to Zhang Yulu, and felt embarrassed to disturb them.

The nurse was very tactful and bowed to Liu Zhongqing: "Mr. Liu, I am going back now. You and the young lady have something to discuss. Let's talk slowly."

When the nanny left, she deliberately shook Zhang Yulu's hand. Zhang Yulu of course understood what she meant. She wanted her to have a good talk with Liu Zhongqing.

As soon as the nurse left, Liu Zhongqing began to stammer, "I actually have something to discuss with you. I wonder if you can spare some time?"

Hearing Liu Zhongqing say this, Zhang Yulu laughed: "I just found out now that your mother is actually a princess, and your second mother is the daughter of a duke. Is your family really prominent?"

Liu Zhongqing looked embarrassed: "What's the good of this? It's because of these feudal etiquette that I can't be with Qiu Feng."

Hearing Liu Zhongqing's words, Zhang Yulu understood the purpose of Liu Zhongqing's coming. Zhang Yulu spoke first: "Do you want me to ask the elders of the Liu family for you? Let Qiu Feng marry in, but he will be a concubine. Do you think she can accept it?"

After hearing Zhang Yulu's analysis, Liu Zhongqing looked at her in a different light: "You are indeed a remarkable woman, able to think of things so thoroughly. Help me think of a solution."