Transaction

  Hao Zhen took Xiaobaihua out of Longyuan Wine House that day, but had nowhere to put her and couldn't take her home casually. He first settled her in an inn, while asking a doctor to take her pulse and having his servants quickly buy a residence with silver. From then on, Xiaobaihua's Guqin was played only for Hao Zhen.

  Hao Zhen rises early and returns late every day. With the recent rumors, Xue Ru Fu Jin finally got angry.

  As soon as Haoran entered the second gate, he saw Xiaocui, Snow's maid, walking towards him. Xiaocui had always been flirtatious with Haoran in the past, and Haoran had responded enthusiastically. But this time, Haoran was still thinking about the little white flower in Maotou Hutong, so his response was somewhat absent-minded.

  "Master, Madam has allowed you to pass." Little Cui said with a hint of emotion in her eyes.

  Hao Zhen furrowed his brow and said: "Did Mother say what it was about?"

  Seeing Hao Zhen not looking at her directly, Xiao Cui felt a little disappointed and bit her lip: "The mistress didn't say what it was about, but the slave thinks that the mistress must be thinking of Master."

  Hao Zhen nodded and turned to walk towards the main courtyard, Xiao Cui hurriedly followed him, looking at Hao Zhen's handsome profile, her face couldn't help but flush red. She made small talk with Hao Zhen: "Master has been coming back late these past few days, is there something important going on?"

  Hao Zhen nodded casually.

  Xiao Cui said anxiously: "No wonder I saw that you've lost some weight, Master. You must take care of yourself, nothing is more important than one's body. Is there anything you'd like to eat? I'll have the kitchen prepare it for you!" As she spoke, she used her handkerchief to wipe away tears from the corner of her eyes, and choked back a sob: "Master, this is really...this is really..." Tears streamed down her pale face in a steady flow.

  Hao Zhen finally looked at Xiao Cui, he sighed and wiped away her tears: "Don't be like this."

  Hao Zhen has always liked delicate women, and Xiao Cui is also aware of this. As expected, when she pretended to be weak and innocent, he began to sympathize with her. Seeing the opportunity, she stopped crying and wiped away her tears, only leaving a faint redness around her eyes as she said weakly: "This servant has lost composure."

  Hao Zhen looked at Xiao Cui and said seriously: "I know all about your goodness."

  Xiao Cui excitedly looked up at Hao Zheng, and tears couldn't help but fall again. This time it was real, she was already 19 years old, but had always been unwilling to marry, waiting just for Master. Now, for the sake of Master's words, even if it meant going to her death, she would be willing.

  Seeing his own words make Xiao Cui so flustered, Hao Zheng couldn't help but feel a few threads of pride in his heart, and with a gentle smile still on his face, he walked towards the main courtyard.

  Xue was wearing a purple embroidered cheongsam, leaning on the couch by the window drinking tea. Seeing Xiaoyu lift the curtain, her own son walked in: "Son greets his mother."

  Hao Zhen wore a light-colored robe, looking as handsome and elegant as Lan Chi. Thinking of his son's literary and military talents, Xue Ru nodded in satisfaction, watching his son sit down on the chair, saying: "Have you had dinner?"

  Hao Zhen smiled and said: "The son has used it."

  Xue Ruo had only one son, but as her son grew older, the topics of conversation between them became fewer and farther between. Perhaps it was because Xue Ruo had a knot in her heart, so she and her son were increasingly polite to each other on a daily basis, without much affection.

  Xue was taken aback, and after a moment's consideration, he looked at Hao Zhen and said, "Tell your mother what happened the other day at Longyuan Wine House. Your mother thought you were old enough to know better, but how could such a foolish thing happen?"

  Hao Zhen's face stiffened and he paused for a moment before saying, "That matter was my son's rashness, but the truth is that my son really doesn't want to marry the princess."

  Xue Ru put down the tea bowl in his hand heavily on the table and said calmly: "What's the reason for this again?"

  Hao Zhen said in a low voice: "The emperor is looking for a husband for the eldest princess who lives with the noble consort, this princess is not a orthodox princess, but she is extremely favored by the emperor and the empress dowager. The current emperor is an extremely powerful ruler, just look at the kings of different surnames left behind now, if we marry the eldest princess, although we can keep our honor for the time being, it will indeed block the emperor's eyes. My son's abilities are not inferior to anyone else, and he doesn't want a king's hat with a different surname on his head, but it would be an eyesore to the emperor. My son is just waiting for an opportunity to remove this king title himself, at that time, relying on his own abilities, he can still earn imperial edicts for his mother!"

  Xue Ru's eyes widened in surprise as she stared at her son, a hint of unfamiliarity suddenly arising within her. He didn't care about the royal title of this palace, did he? She furrowed her brow and stood up, walking around her son once before releasing her grip on the teacup, which fell to the ground with a loud crash, shattering into pieces. Suddenly, Hao Zheng was startled, hearing Xue Ru's icy tone: "Is that really what you think? What makes you say that the Emperor wants to abolish our royal family? According to your logic, even if you were to fight for a courtesan, the Emperor wouldn't give the Grand Princess to you. Why must you make such a fuss about your reputation? You're my son, so don't try any tricks in front of me. I'll let this go for now, but don't harbor any evil thoughts!"

  "Son..."

  "It's settled then, you may withdraw now, tomorrow I will enter the imperial palace."

  Hao Zhen knew that his mother had made up her mind, so he lowered his head and retreated. Xiao Cui wanted to pull Hao Zhen again to express her concern, but was dodged by him. The sky gradually darkened, the moon had not appeared yet, and lanterns were lit everywhere, but it still looked dim. Hao Zhen felt a bit annoyed thinking that he had already agreed to marry the Plum Blossom Fairy as his wife, what should he do now?

  Just as Hao Zhen left the main house, Fang's mother said to Xue Ru: "Why didn't Madam just have a good talk with Master instead of causing trouble between mother and son?"

  Xue Yuruo's face was filled with resentment as he said, "Which one of his wasn't given by me? He can have today all because of me! He eats and uses the king's house, yet he still looks down on the king's title. He speaks loudly without shame, saying he wants to ask for an imperial decree, but doesn't even consider what kind of person he is!"

  Madam Fang was shocked and hastily advised in a low voice: "Furen, you mustn't say such things, never mention this again. If Master finds out, how can he still have a good relationship with Furen? Even if Master has thousands of flaws, you'll still have to rely on him in the future, so take a step back."

  "What kind of evil have I created?!"

  Mingzhu is the elder brother of Hui Bin, who has a smooth sailing life outside the palace and has a good relationship with Shuo Wang. When Xueru entered the palace, she naturally found herself in front of Hui Bin. As Hui Bin had given birth to the eldest prince and had an elder brother like Mingzhu on the outside, it was not an exaggeration to say that her position among the imperial consorts was the most stable next to the noble consort. The furnishings in her bedroom were also very exquisite.

  Hee-bin is the host, sitting at the top seat, and Snowy is the guest sitting at the lower seat, the two are chatting casually.

  Xue sighed and said, "Hao Zhen is a kind-hearted person, but he was framed by someone, spoke a few more words, and was wrongly accused, which made things turn out like this. It's really hard for me to say anything."

  Hui Bin's heart skipped a beat: "Is this really true? Who gave Hongzhen the trick?"

  "Outside, people all say that it was because of a song girl that Haoran and others had a big fight. In fact, it wasn't like that at all. That day, he went to Longyuan Wine House to drink wine and met a rich young master bullying the song girl. He just couldn't bear it for a moment, so he said a few words, saying that everyone in this world has difficulties, and if you can let one person go, then let them go. Who knew that the rich young master was unreasonable? He started fighting as soon as he spoke, Your Majesty, at this point, how could Haoran not fight back? Should he just wait to be beaten? But somehow, when this matter spread later, it changed into something else."

  There are more than one or two people who want to win the heart of Empress Dowager and Imperial Noble Consort, and it's also possible that someone is secretly sabotaging them.

  "Everyone below is so ignorant, they've actually wronged Haotian."

  Xue Ru Hong said with a red eye socket: "Who says it's not, the emperor tests the literary and military skills of the eight banner meritorious officials, and Haoran got the first place. It's time to make a move, but he was wrongly accused by someone, and his reputation was humiliated. Unfortunately, until now, we still can't find out who that young master is, and we can't clear Haoran's name!"

  Xue nodded and continued, "Your Highness probably also knows that the Emperor's previous assessment of the Eight Banners' martial arts and literary talents was actually for the sake of the Grand Princess... If it succeeds, it would gain the favor of the Empress Dowager and the Imperial Concubine."

  Hui Bin's hand, which was holding the tea bowl, paused for a moment. Ah, yes, if she were to marry Lan Xiang Gongzhu, she would gain the favor of both Empress Dowager and Consort Rong. If only someone from Ming Zhu's family could marry Lan Xiang, that would be great. In that case, considering Lan Xiang's face, Empress Dowager and Consort Rong would treat her a bit better.

  She took another look at Xue Ru, lowered her head to drink tea. If she helped Xue Ru with this matter, what benefits would she gain? She was on good terms with Xue Ru, and after Xue Ru became Lan Yin's mother-in-law, she could naturally get closer to Lan Yin, then she could properly get close to the Empress Dowager through Lan Yin. If she really gained the Empress Dowager's favor and protection, her position in the palace would be even more stable. However, doing this was not without risk, what if it didn't work out?

  Xue Ruo saw the hesitation on Hui Bin's face, stood up and walked to her side, as if pulling her hand, but stuffed several folded silver tickets into her hand: "Please try it, this is my little heart."

  The palace needs money everywhere, and she also has to take care of Da Ge's eldest brother, which costs even more. She estimated the silver tickets in her hand and smiled: "Since Fugui's thoughts are so sincere, I have to try my best, but it's hard to say whether it will succeed or not."

  Xue hurriedly said: "As you said, I naturally know this. If it's successful, I will still have to thank the princess again. Even my daughter-in-law wouldn't dare forget the princess's kindness."

  Huifang felt that Xue Ruo was a straightforward person and nodded repeatedly: "Of course, I must help Fugui."

  Both of them got what they wanted, and the atmosphere improved a lot. They chatted for a long time before Xue Ru left the Palace of Prolonged Happiness.

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