She was too lazy to clean up after dressing up as a villain heroine

Chapter 419: Watching the Fight

Han Zheng is not a gossiper. The Aunt Lan he described is probably a gentle, considerate and sweet-talking woman.

The Duke treated her with genuine affection.

Ever since she entered the mansion, Mrs. Lin has regarded her as a thorn in her side.

In every confrontation, on the surface, Lin had the upper hand and suppressed Aunt Lan, but in fact, in the heart of the Duke, Lin's image collapsed again and again, and the couple drifted further and further apart, until they became strangers.

However, during the reign of Emperor Kangde, the most taboo was to favor concubines over wives.

Duke Dingguo was very concerned about his reputation, so on the surface, Lin's life was not bad. It was just that she was living as if she had no husband. She had been a widow for nearly twenty years, with only the title of Duke's wife.

Now that she had been stripped of her imperial decree and confined to Anyuan, Duke Dingguo seized the opportunity and was determined to promote Concubine Lan.

Aunt Lan has a son and a daughter.

His son Han Rong was born outside the Duke's Mansion and was brought back when he was about three years old. Now he is fifteen and has reached the age to discuss marriage.

His daughter Han Qin was born two years after he entered the mansion and was only ten years old.

Qiao Zhenzhen had met these two of Han Zheng's half-brothers and half-sisters a few times. She was familiar with them, but not close.

Aunt Lan taught them to be very well-behaved - or perhaps it was because of Princess Qiao Zhenzhen's status, but every time they met, they would respectfully call her "Sister-in-law".

As for whether he is consistent in his words and deeds, Qiao Zhenzhen doesn't care.

As long as they have no intention of harming others, she is willing to give them some respect and treat them as some unfamiliar relatives.

The old lady agreed to the Duke's suggestion and even specially asked Li from the third house to participate.

During the preparations for the New Year, people from the first, second and third wives all got involved, and the three supervisors were apparently equal.

Qiao Zhenzhen didn't need to see it with her own eyes to guess that there must be some open and covert struggle.

It’s not that the women in the backyard at that time were born to love fighting, but there were simply too few entertainment options.

If everyone had a mobile phone to play with and short dramas to watch, I'm afraid 90% of the conflicts would be naturally resolved.

There is no such saying as "Life never stops, learning never stops" nowadays. When I have nothing to do, I naturally think about all kinds of things.

Especially when it comes to things that can benefit their own family, no one will miss out.

Qiao Zhenzhen occasionally heard some rumors from Xia Xiang.

Cao suppressed Aunt Lan in every way, but Aunt Lan was a tough girl and was not someone to be trifled with.

The two of them fought back and forth, and for a while they were evenly matched.

As for Li from the third house, since she came from a concubine's family, she has always kept a low profile and never got involved in the disputes between the first and second houses.

The old lady pointed it out this time just to seek a check and balance.

Qiao Zhenzhen commented: "Third Aunt doesn't talk much, but she knows everything. Right now, Second Aunt seems to be more favored by the Old Madam, but in the future, she will have to rely on the First House for her livelihood. She is acting timidly, treating everyone equally and not offending anyone. This is the wise move."

Xia Xiang said, "If the Duke hadn't pushed Concubine Lan to this position, I wouldn't have realized how well she's managed the house. The main kitchen has been in the hands of the Second House for years, and this time Concubine Lan has taken over a piece of the pie, replacing her with someone from her own family—it's truly remarkable."

In the past, Lin was always the one who took the lead. She was harsh and strict to her servants, and her words were sharp and sarcastic, which was annoying.

But Aunt Lan always appears gentle, kind and harmless.

In the eyes of the servants in the mansion, these two people are two extremes.

But Qiao Zhenzhen never looked down on Aunt Lan.

A woman of low social status who sang in a teahouse could actually charm the Duke, who had always been law-abiding. Not only did he keep her in his outer house, he also allowed her to give birth to a child.

Such means are absolutely incomparable to those of ordinary women.

The Duke of Dingguo's family has always had very strict family education.

In Han Zheng's father's generation, except for the Duke of the first house, the concubines of the other three houses were all from good families.

Among the younger generation, there are no playboys like those in Beppu who indulge in fireworks and sensual pleasures.

Except for the outstanding eldest grandson Han Zheng, although the other brothers have mediocre talents, they are considered to be among the descendants of powerful people in the capital.

It was also because of this that even though Han Jun and Lin Wan'er had such an ignominious incident, Lin Wan'er was still able to marry into the Duke's Mansion as his legal wife.

After all, the Duke's Mansion treats people kindly.

Otherwise, even if she was only taken as a concubine, the Lin family would have no choice but to swallow their anger.

Qiao Zhenzhen: "I'd like to take this opportunity to clarify the affiliations of the personnel under the first, second, and third houses. It will be useful in the future."

If she has to stay here for decades, the Duke's Mansion will eventually be handed over to her.

Find out who belongs to whom among the servants in the house as soon as possible and make all preparations.

-

It’s freezing cold, and there are only a few days left until the Chinese New Year.

Han Zheng stepped into the inner room with a cold body, took off his cloak and gave it to Dongxiang, then rubbed his hands to warm them up before walking forward and gently hugging Qiao Zhenzhen who was half leaning on the kang reading a book, for fear that she would be cold.

"How is mother's condition?"

Without raising her head, Qiao Zhenzhen slowly turned the page of the book.

Recently, she often read the folk medical records left by Xie Qianchong in his early years, almost as a storybook, which she found quite interesting.

It had been more than a month since the Guanghua Temple incident, and this was the first time she asked about Lin's recent situation.

Han Zheng thought that her anger had probably subsided.

He went to Anyuan early in the morning and did not return to Suiyuan until noon.

"I've lost a lot of weight," he whispered. "I still can't sleep well at night and can only barely get a nap during the day."

Qiao Zhenzhen was silent for a moment before she said faintly, "How pitiful."

She had always slept well, except for one time when she was ill and accidentally took a tonic, leaving her tossing and turning for several nights. Sleeping felt like torture, a silent mental torture. Even though she hadn't slept for three or four days, she still remembered the pain.

"The medicine prescribed by the imperial physician is useless after taking it?"

Han Zheng rested his chin on her shoulder and kissed her tender cheek.

"Madame Hu said it seemed to be somewhat effective for the first two days, but then it stopped working."

"Oh."

There was a silence.

The atmosphere seems warm.

Qiao Zhenzhen leaned back steadily, leaning on the man's arms and continuing to look through the medical records.

But my heart is as clear as a mirror.

Except for the first month after her marriage when she tried to pretend to be virtuous, she is now too lazy to act at all.

The man's performance was acceptable, but his mother... was really bad.

Over the past few months, she had gradually gained a firm footing. Now, no matter which side you looked at, she couldn't be in the wrong. Speaking of which, she had to thank Lin for taking her to Guanghua Temple.

"Zhenzhen..."

"Ok?"

Han Zheng's Adam's apple moved slightly, "Master...what have you been busy with recently?"

Qiao Zhenzhen smiled secretly in her heart, but her face was serious: "He's probably busy with the store opening."

Xie Qianzhong stayed with her for half a month after she was injured. Seeing that she was fine, he couldn't help but run out again.

"What's up?"

"I...I," Han Zheng said hesitantly, "Can you please...take a look at my mother?"

After all, he is his biological son. No matter how dissatisfied or unhappy he is, he can't bear to see his mother become more and more haggard day by day and almost lose her human nature.