02

  The old lady was originally a government official's daughter and had no great relationship with anyone, but the late Duke Jing'an was a lecher, his concubines were all beautiful women, and she was only the daughter of a fifth-grade official, illiterate and lacking in knowledge, not as skilled as the noble ladies, and did not receive her husband's love when she was young. Her mother-in-law disliked her for being too petty and not grand enough, and she could not control the women in the inner courtyard, the concubines relied on the Duke's favor to make the inner courtyard a mess, and she suffered a lot of hardship.

  Later, less than two years later, the current eldest son Lin Xu was born. I thought that after giving birth to a legitimate child, I should be stable, but who knew that my mother-in-law would dislike her and think that she didn't have enough skills and vision to take care of the back house, fearing that she would spoil the legitimate grandson. So, she took him in her arms and raised him herself. Fortunately, Hou Ye was raised under his grandmother's name, and his grandmother was a true noble lady from a hundred-year-old family. Not only was she proficient in piano, chess, books, and paintings, but also had first-class skills and vision. She educated Hou Ye Yang Xu extremely well.

  Yang Xu was a study companion of the current emperor when he was young and had a very good relationship with him. He has been transferred to various positions in Fujian and Guangdong for many years, achieving great military exploits and stabilizing the southeastern coastal areas for the emperor. Nowadays, he is highly valued and reused, mainly because he is a man who knows etiquette and understands the situation. Every time he returns to the capital, he actively submits the tiger tally and reports his actions, never greedy for military power, and is a trusted and reused person by the emperor.

  The eldest son Yang Huan and the second son Yang Mai were allowed to read in the imperial study. The eldest son was well-versed in both literary and military arts, quite like his father. He is currently serving as a palace guard and will be sent to the army for training once he has gained enough experience.

  Yang Lan is the only legitimate daughter of their family and also the darling of Princess Hui Chang. When she went to Guangdong for work, she only brought this daughter with her, leaving two sons in Beijing to study, and they were not taken along. It's been a long time since they've seen each other.

  It's still about the old lady. The old lady couldn't outdo her mother-in-law back in the day, and later gave birth to the second child, but unfortunately had a difficult labor during the delivery of the second child. Her husband also took in a beautiful concubine, who was found to be using aphrodisiacs like musk during pregnancy, almost causing a miscarriage. In order to compete with the young concubine for her husband's love, the old lady had an extremely hard time.

  If it weren't for the mother-in-law suppressing her son, she would have been left with only a pile of white bones by now. After the birth of the second child, the mother-in-law passed away at the age of three, and without the person who suppressed her son, the old lady, as a young daughter-in-law, was not loved by her husband and had no means to survive, it can be imagined how difficult life was for her!

  The old lady was also very strong and managed to bring down the beautiful concubine who was most loved by her husband. She then gave birth to a third son, who was born easily. This happened at a time when the old lady was feeling most comfortable, as the new emperor had just ascended to the throne and placed great importance on the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children, strongly disapproving of concubines supplanting wives, unlike the previous emperor in his later years. The eldest son, who served as a study companion to the new emperor, was also highly valued, and her husband had no choice but to show respect for her at this time.

  It's also because of this that Old Third is the most favored by Old Lady. She thinks Old Third is a lucky one; otherwise, why did she not have good fortune with her two sons, but everything went smoothly after giving birth to Old Third?

  The old lady was a bit biased towards the third child. The eldest son was born under his mother-in-law's name, and the second son almost lost his life due to a difficult birth. The second son grew up relying on his older brother, but the old lady's affection for these two sons was not as strong as her love for the third child.

  Yang Xu was loved by his grandmother, while the second brother was almost nobody to ask for. Yang Xu acted as both father and mother, working hard to bring up his younger brother, who had not been valued by their father when he was young. The concubine thought of ways to get rid of them every day in order to support her own son's rise to power. The two brothers went through a very difficult period, so the relationship between the two brothers is still good, but it's somewhat estranged with this third brother.

  The Marquis of Jing'an had four sons in total. Apart from the first three sons, there was also a fourth son who was born to one of his concubines, Yue Niang. This fourth son was once deeply loved by the marquis and was taught by him for a period of time. Although he could no longer openly show favoritism later on, this son turned out well too and is now a 4th-grade official. He is astute and capable, but has one flaw - he inherited the marquis's tendency to be overly romantic.

  Except for the children of the first wife, the second wife has a son and a daughter. Perhaps because they had suffered enough from their stepmother's cruelty in those years, both the eldest and the second child were very resentful of their stepmother's rise to power. The eldest was the legitimate master with no concubine, while the second only had one concubine who was a maid by the old lady's side, but she did not give birth to any children. The back house was relatively stable.

  Lao San has two legitimate sons, one legitimate daughter and two illegitimate sons. His concubine has three children.

  The fourth elder has a son and a daughter, the husband and wife are also considered to be of equal status. There is only one illegitimate daughter but no illegitimate son, and there are four concubines.

  Yang, the eldest daughter of Lao Er's family, has already gotten married. Her husband was introduced by her maternal aunt and is quite good. He doesn't have a mother-in-law, so he became the head of the household as soon as he got married. He is also an ambitious person, being a second-class imperial scholar, and is currently being sent out to accumulate experience.

  It is said that this elder sister was very much favored by the emperor's daughter in those years, and she often had her protection. After marrying into her husband's family, she also received many rewards, and now she lives a very good life.

  Second sister is Yang Mingyu, two years older than Yang Lan, and is now eleven years old. Third sister Yang Mingjuan is the daughter of the third house, now ten years old. Fourth sister Yang Mingshu from the fourth house is nine and a half years old, and fifth sister Yang Mingzhu is also a concubine's daughter from the fourth house, nine years old. Yang Lan is sixth in line, and is also nine years old this year.

  The Yang family's daughters were named in a single-character generation name of "Ming", but only Yang Lan's name was personally bestowed by the Empress Dowager, with a single character, symbolizing that she was as noble as a son.

  The eldest son of the Yang family has been struggling outside for many years and now that he's back, it seems to have brought a sense of unease to the family. When the eldest son is not around, the second mistress should be in charge of managing the household, but the old lady insisted on having her niece, the third mistress of the third branch, manage the household for many years.

  The Empress Dowager and Hui are back, the least happy one is probably Lao San's family. She knows that her relationship with Da Fang is mediocre, so she must not like it. This household power is likely to be handed over.

  The princess's mansion is very close to the Yang family's large residence, and it is separated from the Yang residence by only one wall. The five-entry courtyard is decorated in a southern style, with a clear and elegant atmosphere, carved beams and painted rafters, pavilions and towers, gardens and bamboo forests, and waterside pavilions, all of which reveal a rich cultural heritage.

  In the main hall of Princess Hui's residence in Ya'an, Princess Hui held her daughter Yang Lan and sat inside with her husband Yang Xu drinking tea and chatting.

  He Hui Gongzhu changed into a light green dress as thin as smoke, which set off her skin like jade, bright and moving, with a simple and elegant white jade hairpin inserted on her head.

  Yang Xu took a sip of Bi Lu Chun tea and let out a sigh. With a hint of apology, he said to He Hui Chang Gong Zhu: "Hui Er, your mother... don't bother with her anymore!" In his heart, he felt helpless, cold, and mostly numb.

  He Hui Chang Gong Zhu just smiled slightly, "No matter what, the old lady is still a senior, I'm not so petty about such small things! I'm just heartbroken for my husband, why can't the old lady see your efforts and hardships? Alas!" She sighed, her eyes full of heartache and consolation for her husband.

  Yang Xuxin's heart felt warm and fuzzy, he let out a bitter laugh, "I'm used to it, she only has eyes for Lao San, not me or Lao Er, after all these years doesn't she understand?! But no matter what, she is my own mother! As long as things look good on the surface that's enough, Hui'er will just have to think it's for my own good!" His gaze was sincere, but his handsome face had a hint of melancholy.

  Occupying a pit, starting updates in mid-March, there are three completed books, don't worry about jumping into the pit!