Chapter 14: Temptation

As soon as Ran Ning returned to the mansion, she was called to the study by Wan Pingbo. At this time, the banquet had dispersed, and the house was quiet, and the people were tidying up the table with their hands and feet, and no one said much.

"Why did Concubine Xian summon you to the palace?" Wan Pingbo asked directly, as if he was annoyed by this question that he had never guessed, and he didn't ask a word of superfluous words, and went straight to the point.

"The mother is just calling her daughter to play the music. At the birthday banquet of Concubine Xian before, her daughter played a song, and Concubine Xian seemed to like it very much. Ran Ning didn't want to explain more, anyway, all her father cared about was whether it would affect his neutrality after she intersected with Concubine Xian.

Wan Pingbo seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and said, "That's good." The situation in the palace is complicated, the crown prince has been hanging in the air, and now all parties are staring at this position, and the emperor's attitude is not clear, if you get close to the concubine who has a prince, you will inevitably be regarded as a party, and then our Wanpingbo Mansion will be divided into a party because of you. ”

"I understand." Ran Ning said expressionlessly. Ran Ning did not agree with her father's attitude, after all, it was not neutral that would end well.

"Hmm. Okay, you go back and rest, don't run around if you have nothing to do for the next few days. Wan Pingbo said.

"Yes, my daughter is leaving." Ran Ning didn't say anything more, her father didn't let her run around because he was afraid that she would come into contact with Concubine Xian's people again, and she could still understand this.

On the way back to the room, Ran Ning met Yu Fang, who was about to return home, and the matter about Yu Pei, which had been put aside by her, was rehooked.

"Cousin Ning." Yu Fang greeted Ran Ning with a smile.

Yu Fang is twenty-four this year, has not yet married a wife, and has no fame. It stands to reason that although he has no fame, it is not difficult to marry a beautiful wife with his status in the family. But not long after she got engaged in the twentieth year, the girl suddenly died. When her mother went to the temple to worship, the master told her that she should not marry early, and that she should wait until thirty years later. So Yu Fang's marriage was delayed, but even if he couldn't marry a wife, there were many concubines and maids in his courtyard, and those who knew a little bit about him knew that Yu Fang was a good woman, and the few in the house were negligible compared to those he teased outside.

Therefore, Ran Ning's impression of Yu Fang was not good, but because of the Yu family, he had to treat him politely.

"Cousin Yu." Ran Ning blessed her body, which can be regarded as a gift.

Yu Fang smiled and said: "My cousin is getting more and more beautiful, and when it comes time to get married, I'm afraid the threshold in the house will be broken." ”

"Cousin Yu laughed." Yu Fang's praise only made Ran Ning feel uncomfortable, maybe the tone was too frivolous, maybe the god stuck to her was really annoying, in short, Ran Ning didn't want to stay longer at all.

"I heard that my cousin went to the Rites? What do you think? Are you still used to it? Yu Fang asked.

"It's all good." Ran Ning replied in response.

"That's good, I heard that Le Qing of the Rite and Music Division is not a good person." Yu Fang looked at Ran Ning, as if he wanted to see something from her expression.

Ran Ning had a flash of inspiration, Yu Fang took the initiative to mention Le Qing, and knew that Le Qing had a bad temper, it stands to reason that Yu Fang would not come into contact with Le Qing, even she, who likes music, knows very little about Le Qing, how did Yu Fang know? Still looking very determined, Ran Ning felt that someone must have mentioned it to Yu Fang, as for who this person was, Ran Ning was more inclined to Zhi'er.

"Le Qing just encountered something recently, so she is not in a good mood." Ran Ning deliberately began to test one or two.

"Oh? What happened? Yu Fang looked uncertain.

"Qingle's goddaughter was killed by a murderer in the alley some time ago, and the murderer has not been found so far, and Lord Xu is pursuing it." Ran Ning wasn't ready to reveal too much.

"Is there such a thing?" Yu Fang smiled indifferently and said, "Qingle's goddaughter is just that, why do you have to ask Lord Lao Xu personally?" ”

"Although Le Qing is a female official, she is also a positive fifth grade, and her goddaughter is in the capital, so Lord Xu naturally has to do her best." Ran Ning's eyes observed Yu Fang's expression without blinking.

"That's right." Yu Fang's smile narrowed a little, "Cousin knows very well. ”

"Unfortunately, the body was found by me and Bizhu, so it can be regarded as being involved in the case." Ran Ning said. It was impossible for her to hide the discovery of the body.

"That cousin must be frightened, right?" Yu Fang hurriedly asked.

"Fortunately, it's calmed down a lot after all these days."

"Did my cousin see the murderer?" Yu Fang's eyes narrowed slightly.

Ran Ning smiled and said, "No, when I found the body, the murderer was long gone. I can't provide any clues, so it's so difficult for Lord Xu to find out. ”

Ran Ning felt that when she was testing Yu Fang, Yu Fang was also testing her. So she must clear herself out at the right time, after all, she has no stronger evidence to determine that the murderer is Yu Fang, so it is better not to startle the snake.

Yu Fang seemed to be satisfied, smiled a little deeper, and said: "My cousin has a daughter's family, so it's better to participate less in this kind of family." ”

"That's what my father said." Ran Ning said.

"Hmm. It's not too early, so I'll go back first, and my cousin will go back to the room early. After speaking, without waiting for Ran Ning to say more, he hurried away, as if someone was chasing him behind.

After Yu Fang left, Ran Ning pretended to smile, and her eyes calmed down, it seems that she still needs to think of other ways to do this, in the absence of sufficient evidence, she may be bitten back.

Back in her room, Bizhu brought her dinner. After Ran Ning cleaned her hand, she raised her eyes to look at Bizhu, and found that this little girl seemed to have something on her mind, and she didn't look very happy.

"What's wrong? Sad. Ran Ning sat down at the table, picked up the teacup and took a sip.

"The slave is worried about your marriage." Bizhu's face was sad, which was very inconsistent with her naïve age.

"You little girl, what do you care about these things?" The daughter's family cares too much about this kind of thing, and if it spreads, it will be laughed at.

"Third girl, haven't you noticed that today's ladies are all focused on the second girl, and the slaves are worried that if this continues, you won't find a good family." Bizhu looked distressed, she had listened to Lao Wan Pingbo's teachings for so many years, although she was naïve about some things, she didn't dare to be sloppy on big issues, she was afraid that something would go wrong, and she would have no shame to see Lao Wan Pingbo in the future.

"The second sister is a concubine, so she is naturally the first-class candidate for many famous families." Ran Ji's purpose of dressing up today is not simple, but now it can be regarded as a wish.

Generally, anyone with some family background hopes to marry a daughter, first, for noble status, and secondly, the upbringing will not be bad.

"But if no lady is interested in you now, after you leave the palace, I'm afraid it will be even more difficult." Bizhu sighed.

Ran Ning chuckled lightly and said, "Those ladies know that I am afraid that I will stay in the palace until twenty-five, so naturally no one will waste time on me." Don't worry about these things, you don't have to make people laugh. ”

"......"

"With Madame here, I have no choice." Ran Ning's words sealed all Bizhu's unwillingness and grievances.

Indeed, as long as the Yu family is here, how can it be possible for Ran Ning to marry a good man as she wishes? Unless it is a marriage from the emperor.

On the third day after marriage, Ran Xiao returned to Ning according to Beixin customs. In the past few days, Wan Pingbo has considered that after Ran Xiao gets married, the Zhao family may not be used to it, so they all stay in the Zhao family's house, which makes the Yu family very dissatisfied, but he can't say anything.

Early in the morning, the Zhao family got up early and went to the kitchen to watch them for a homecoming banquet. I haven't seen my daughter for three days, Zhao is both missing and worried, I don't know how my daughter is doing in the Shen family, whether her husband loves her, and whether her in-laws are satisfied......

Ran Ning didn't get up early, but she didn't delay anything. After breakfast, he took Bizhu to the main hall and waited for Ran Xiao to return to the door with his family.

After waiting for a while, the housekeeper ran in and said that the eldest girl had returned to the door with her uncle. After speaking, he saw Shen Lian walking in holding Ran Xiao's hand, such an intimate gesture made Zhao Duo smile, and Wan Pingbo also nodded. Yu and Ran Ji smiled flatly, without joy or enthusiasm.

Ran Ning didn't pay attention to Shen Lian, but looked at Ran Xiao carefully. Ran Xiao's face was a little wrong, it didn't seem to be a good rest, probably because he was thinking about going back to his parents' house today, and he didn't sleep well because he missed his parents.

"Greetings to my father and mother." Ran Xiao first knelt on the cushion prepared in advance and greeted Wan Pingbo and Yu. Zhao is a concubine, and she is not qualified to accept her daughter's kneeling greetings, so she can only watch from the side.

Shen Lian also knelt down with Ran Xiao, "Say hello to my father-in-law and mother-in-law." "I didn't even look at Zhao.

"Get up and sit down." Wan Pingbo smiled.

The maid helped Ran Xiao up and sat down. After a while, tea was served.

As the head of the house, even if Ran Xiao is not her biological child, some etiquette words still ask her to say, "Xiao'er is still dedicated to serving her in-laws?" ”

"Yes, very dedicated. Her parents were very happy with her. Shen Lian replied.

"That's good." Yu nodded. Generally, when the family asks this, they also hope that the man's family will recognize the upbringing of his own girl, prove that he is a good daughter-in-law, and he can live in harmony in the future.

Ran Xiao sat on the chair, didn't say a word, and just drank tea quietly. At first, maybe the family didn't pay attention to it, but after a long time, they found that her face was not too good-looking, and she didn't have the joy and ruddy of a new daughter-in-law.

Yu asked directly: "Xiao'er's face is not very good, but she is tired on the road?" ”

When Shen Lian heard this, he hurriedly replied: "There are many things in the newlywed family, and my mother wants to teach Xiao'er about housekeeping, so she will inevitably be tired." ”

When Zhao heard this, his original worries also dissipated. As soon as you enter the door, you can get your mother-in-law to teach you about the housekeeper, and no matter how many daughters-in-law ask for it, they can't ask for it.

"I see. Your mother is physically strong, Xiao'er is still young, and she is not in a hurry, so please teach your mother slowly. Yu said.

"Yes." Shen Lian responded, his eyes secretly glanced at Ran Ning, who was drinking tea and didn't pay attention to him at all.

"Do you want to stay overnight today?" Yu asked.

In order to reassure the father-in-law and mother-in-law, the newlyweds usually stay overnight, so that the father-in-law and mother-in-law can see how the couple get along, and they can rest assured. Of course, this is not necessary, if the man has something at home and it is inconvenient to stay overnight, he only needs to explain the reason, and the father-in-law's family will not care about it.

"Nope." Shen Lian smiled and said: "When I went out today, my mother was not feeling well, Xiao'er and I were worried in our hearts, so we won't stay overnight today, and then bring Xiao'er back when my mother is well." ”

Shen Lian's words made people find out unreasonable, but Zhao's face was obviously not good-looking, after all, even if the Shen family's wife was really sick, it would not sound good.

Yu didn't expect that Shen Lian was not going to stay overnight, and the words that he originally wanted the maid to clean up the room were stuck back in his throat, and he didn't know how to answer.

It was Wan Pingbo who opened his mouth to relieve the siege of the Yu family, and said: "Mrs. Shen is unwell, Xiao'er should be taken care of in front of the bed." "Wan Pingbo is worried that as soon as Ran Xiao passes through the door, Mrs. Shen will be unwell, and if there is any bad rumor that affects the Bo Mansion, it will not be worth it.

"Yes, my father-in-law understands, and my son-in-law is grateful." Shen Lian stood up and saluted.

Ran Ji glanced at Ran Xiao, who had a vegetable face, and pretended to use a handkerchief to press the tea from the corner of her mouth, but in fact, she couldn't hide her uncontrollable snicker.

Ran Ning didn't care, anyway, she didn't believe Shen Lian's words at all.

At this time, the housekeeper rushed in again, a little more nervous and cautious than when Ran Xiao came back, and said to Wan Pingbo after entering the hall: "Uncle, the palace Chang Gonggong has come to announce the decree!" ”