Teach 32

  Yang Lan had long known that the things in the mansion couldn't be hidden from her mother, but she still pouted and ran over, snuggling into her mother's arms and coquettishly said, "Mother! Don't tease me like this, always making fun of your daughter!"

  He Hui smiled and hugged her daughter, touching the back of her neck to see if she was sweating, then asked softly: "What's wrong?"

  Yang Lan raised her head and looked at her mother, asking: "Did Sister Li take a liking to Big Brother? Do you know? She had the maid send things to Big Brother, but when they were returned, the maid was fooled again. Why do I feel like something is off?"

  He Hui raised her head and laughed loudly, stroking her daughter's head with a relieved expression. "My child has grown up! Don't worry, everything is fine with Mom here! She can't stir up big trouble, nothing will be spread out without my order, not even a word." Her face was filled with confident smile.

  Yang Lan finally breathed a sigh of relief, her mother said so it must be absolutely reliable. Her mother was from the palace and had experienced the cruel struggle for power. The empress dowager had been favored in the past, but soon new people entered the palace, and there were always beautiful women like flowers in the palace.

  The Empress Li was extremely favored and arrogant at that time, while the Emperor suddenly fell in love with her, as if he had found his lifelong love. He even wanted to pick the moon from the sky and give it to Empress Li. Her son was also brought up by the Emperor himself, implying that he would be the next crown prince.

  On that darkest of days, the Empress had tasted all the bitterness and sweetness of life. If she had never experienced it before, perhaps she wouldn't be so heartbroken. But precisely because they were once a loving couple, it made the blow even more unbearable for the Empress.

  No matter what she did, she was not favored by the emperor and was even provoked by Empress Li to be disliked. She didn't go to the imperial palace for a month, not even on the first and fifteenth days of the lunar calendar, which were supposed to be her days as the legitimate wife. Empress Li even openly competed with her for the emperor's attention on those days, seemingly trying to show everyone that she was the only one who stood out.

  It was also during that period of time that the winds of the previous dynasty changed, and Yang's old master was most excessive in his favoritism towards his concubine over his wife, almost killing his legitimate wife. The old lady couldn't even win back her husband's heart after giving birth to two sons, and she had a difficult labor during the second son's birth, which was caused by the concubine's hand.

  The father was even more because the concubine had a son, and he went to great lengths to maintain the concubine, not giving his wife any face at all. Old Master Hou also disliked his eldest son very much, thinking that his eyes were like those of a wolf, making him uneasy. He constantly suppressed his son, not allowing him to stand out, not giving him even the slightest opportunity.

  His father was forced to have no way out, took his younger brother away from home and joined the army camp of Anning Hou to hone his skills. At that time, Anning Hou was more favored by the emperor than the old marquis, so he didn't fear him at all. He vigorously promoted Yang Xu, cultivated him, pointed him out, and taught him hand in hand like a father, and with one hand, he promoted Yang Xu to become today's famous general.

  Er Bo was sent by Anning Hou to study under a great Confucian scholar, and together with his teacher, he traveled to Jiangnan for further studies. From then on, the two children were considered safe from the harm of the concubine.

  It was because the previous emperor was too ruthless and biased that He Hui, the eldest princess, had to fight her way out of a desperate situation. Relying on her status as the eldest legitimate princess and the first daughter of the previous emperor, she managed to gain favor with him through every possible means, thereby securing a chance for herself and her two children to survive.

  In addition, the Empress Dowager's maternal family, the Zhou family, was also very famous at that time. The ancestors of the Zhou family had made great contributions and achieved great success. The previous emperor died on the dragon bed due to his indulgence in beauty, without leaving a will. The Zhou family, together with other officials, petitioned for the enthronement of the eldest son as the new emperor, which led to the current Emperor's accession to the throne.

  Li Gui Fei was able to endure, but she could only seize the emperor. However, her family background was not prominent, and her connections in the imperial court were not deep-rooted, so she had no way to compete with the Zhou family, which is why she ultimately failed and died in her own palace with her son.

  It's not an exaggeration to call this struggle for the throne a bloody history. The glory Mother enjoys today is bought with her own blood and tears. Can you imagine the scene where the noble Princess was slapped in the face by the eunuch of the Imperial Concubine?

  Can you imagine the scene where your own mother and brother are humiliated, yet you can't do anything about it? She endured all of these hardships one by one, which ultimately led to her becoming the arrogant and domineering He Hui Chang Gong Zhuang.

  Yang Lan deeply admired her mother in her heart. If she were to switch places, could she achieve the same level of success and happiness? It's difficult, very difficult!

  "Mother, what are you going to do? Auntie is still very... in Father's heart!" Yang Lan carefully reminded her mother, not to offend Father's taboo.

  He Hui smiled and stroked her daughter's tender little face, the joy and doting in the depths of her eyes couldn't be hidden.

  "Silly child, I don't need to do anything. As long as I keep an eye on my son and make sure he doesn't get taken advantage of, that's all that matters. The rest is not worth worrying about. She can create a whole bunch of problems on her own without me lifting a finger. In the future, when you see her, you must be tolerant and forbearing, even if she bullies you, you must endure it at the time. If there's anything wrong, you must first apologize to your father, admit your mistake, and take the initiative to make amends. Do you understand? You want your father to feel guilty towards you, and in the future, you should do the same with your brothers, so that they will always feel guilty and loving towards you. As long as you don't wear away their affection for you, it won't decrease by half a bit. Once you lose their affection, your hard days are coming!"

  She used Li Qianxue's affair to teach her daughter, hoping that she would learn how to survive in the inner courtyard.

  Yang Lan tilted her head and thought for a moment, then asked: "Are you saying that Eldest Sister Li will get herself into trouble without us having to lift a finger? She'll eventually wear down Father's guilt. To put it another way, if I were in a similar situation in the future, what I should do is tightly grasp the love and favor of my father and brothers. Even if I've done something wrong, I should apologize first and be considerate of the overall situation. Is that the kind of tact I should have?"

  He Hui nodded in satisfaction, "That's right, don't you see me doing the same? If I can make my imperial brother feel guilty towards me, then I can sit securely as the eldest princess, and no one will dare to shake my dignity. One can have schemes, but not too much, grasping the degree is key; being a person must be clear and upright, always having a bottom line in one's heart, cannot overstep boundaries; you should go back and think this over carefully."

  Yang Lan nodded seriously, "Yes, daughter knows."

  "How was your play with Princess Le'an yesterday?" He Hui asked again about yesterday's outing.

  Yang Lan thought for a moment, "Princess Le An's backstage is not hard enough, so she wants to put on a show but can't get started. She has some distance from several noble ladies like Ming Yu and Wen Rou, unlike the close relationship between Ming Yu and Zhou Ying. However, she herself doesn't want to give up this relationship, so sometimes she appears to be putting on airs."

  From the way they greeted each other, Yang Lan could see that Le An was not as innocent and naive as she seemed on the surface. Although Le An didn't initially plan to return the greeting, after seeing Yang Lan do so first, she quickly followed suit, revealing a certain level of maturity and calculation beneath her cheerful and affectionate exterior.

  Thank you members I cherish Yan and autumn wind bamboo, also Maryanne's reward, flower flower pounce on a kiss!