Fang Zheng and Jiang Wan were talking, when suddenly the sky scattered down small raindrops. The two hastily rushed under the eaves of the house. // Jiang Wan wiped off the rain from her face with her sleeve, and softly said to Fang Zheng: "Fang Zheng, it's hard for a clean official to meddle in family affairs. Your own mother and your own wife, you should take care of this yourself."

  He wiped his face with a damp hand, slightly furrowed his brow and looked at Jiang Wanru with some incomprehension, saying: "Xiao Lan, my mother has become more and more difficult to deal with over the past two years. I think it's even harder for her to understand things on her own. Alas, before that incident, Bì Lǜ might have tolerated some of her behavior, but after that incident, I feel that she won't easily tolerate my mother's intentional or unintentional criticism anymore. I'm really in a difficult position, not wanting to hurt my mother's feelings, nor wanting Bi Lu to be put in an awkward situation."

  Jiang Wanru heard his words and felt a bit worried. She looked at the rain falling from the sky and couldn't bring herself to say that they should live separately. In Ning's family, it was customary for several generations to live together, and only after the passing of the ancestors would there be a division of the household. She sighed lightly and said: "Family matters, national affairs, worldly affairs - my heart is not big enough to care about all these things. I can only worry about family matters. Fang Zheng, your mother has probably felt a bit lost in her heart over the past two years. Before you and Jiyuan got married, she was the most important person in your hearts. Now that you both have someone else who is equally important to you, she can't accept that there's another person in your hearts."

  "What's more, she thinks you're now wealthy and have a good social status, so taking in a concubine is no big deal. In this situation, Bi Lu has become the thorn in her eye, she can't bear to see her monopolizing you." After Jiang Wan said this, she felt that Fang Zhengniang was probably thinking of this selfish idea, so she always wanted to stir up trouble between her son and daughter-in-law, and this trouble seemed normal to ordinary people. As a result, she pushed her son and daughter-in-law away from each other at the same time.

  After hearing this, Fang Zheng seemed to be in thought. He shook his head slightly and said: "On the day Bi Lu married me, Madame Chu had already agreed with my parents that Bi Lu was her confidante. She wanted her life to be good unless Bi Lu couldn't bear children, otherwise I wouldn't be able to take a concubine in this lifetime."

  My parents agreed on that day, and Mrs. Chu nodded in agreement. Bi Lu is a good-looking and well-behaved person, but it's because of this that she married me. I still have some self-awareness; my mother and wife can't get along, and if we add another concubine, I'm afraid our good days will soon come to an end.

  I've worked hard for so many years, and it's not easy to get to this point. You're lazy, but you'll help me reach even higher places in the future. I absolutely cannot let go now. My mother thinks too simply, she just thinks it's about adding a small concubine, one more person being good to me, and that won't take away Bi Lu's position. But things aren't that simple. Bi Lu has followed Madame Chu in and out of many prominent families, and she gets along with many of the housekeepers. Now, the fabric store's business is taken care of by those households' managers.

  "If Bi Lu could accept this, you wouldn't have to intervene. But Bi Lu absolutely cannot accept this. When she married me, she said she didn't want my wealth, only my wholehearted devotion. I value loyalty and integrity in my relationships, that's why I've made some true friends. Unlike what my mother thinks, having a helpful husband is not the key to success, it's all about being blessed with good fortune. My mother has changed too much, and Bi Lu is too concerned with pleasing her, she's forgotten the words of Lady Chu from back then."

  Jiang Wanru listened to Fang Zheng's words and was glad that the elders of the Chu Xiao family had chosen a good wife for him. Chu Yang could be the only woman by Chu Xiao's side, which showed that she had not only good luck but also great ability and insight, making the Chu family indifferent to this matter. Bi Lu came out from her side, with a beautiful appearance, but it didn't prove that she was weak. Jiang Wanru sighed and told Fang Zheng: "Fang Zheng, if you follow me all the time, I won't be able to give you a higher position."

  "A tree that stands out in the forest will be felled by the wind. If you want to follow me, you must have a strong foundation. You also know that I am alone, with no one to rely on except for my sworn brother and sister. I cannot let them suffer because of me. Fang Zheng, the contracts we signed with Mu Gen are long-term, not lifelong. I won't oppose your pursuit of higher goals, but I hope you won't continue in this line of work. When the time comes and we're competing against each other, to be honest, I will have some reservations. Fang Zheng, take your time to think carefully, while you're with me, I can give you the greatest autonomy."

  Jiang Wanmu's face was serious as she spoke, knowing that Mu Gen had a steady personality, while Fang Zheng's was more lively. Since she knew what Fang Zheng was thinking, she naturally couldn't block his path. However, some things still needed to be said beforehand, rather than waiting until it was too late and regretting it afterwards. Fang Zheng looked at Jiang Wanmu in surprise and asked, "Miss, you've never thought of expanding the business?" Jiang Wanmu nodded cautiously and replied, "We can open similar shops in the capital city, but the scale must not be large."

  "You mentioned to me last time that you wanted to open a store in Zhongnan, but if you think about it carefully, you will know that it is not feasible. To make it big and stable in Zhongnan is even more difficult than in Beijing. Firstly, we don't have the right person for the job. Secondly, the relationships in Zhongnan are already complicated and tangled, as soon as we show our edge, we will become the target of everyone's attack. Thirdly, the water in Zhongnan is too deep, we can't see the bottom. To be honest, Fangzheng, our foundation is too shallow, we can't withstand big setbacks. We can only take one step at a time and proceed with caution."

  Emerald smiled and led Jiang Feiyang and Jiang Lanyan out of the room, seeing Fang Zheng and Jiang Wenyu standing under the eaves, both staring blankly at the rain. Emerald slowed down slightly, she bent down to whisper a sentence to the two little ones, and the two little ones nodded happily. Jiang Feiyang and Jiang Lanyan let go of Emerald's hand, and the two of them ran towards their mother with joy, shouting: "Mother, Feiyang is here! Mother, Lanyan is here!"

  Jiang Wanmu smiled warmly as she watched the two children running towards her. She bent down and hugged the two little bodies that had flung themselves at her, laughing as she said: "Feiyang, Lanyu, say hello to your uncle." The two little ones turned to Fang Zheng, grinning from ear to ear as they called out "Uncle, Uncle!" Fang Zheng smiled and bent down to pick them up, asking: "Did you guys sleep well?" The two little ones looked at each other in confusion before turning back to Jiang Wanmu. Bi Lü couldn't help but laugh and suggested: "They're too young, they don't understand that question. Why not ask them if there's anything they want to eat or play with?"

  As soon as Fang Zheng spoke, Jiang Feiyang and Jiang Lanyan exclaimed in unison, their four small hands pointing upwards. "Fly high, fly high!" Bi Lu explained to Fang Zheng, "They want you to toss them up and play." Fang Zheng laughed and said, "Okay, fly high! But only one person at a time." Jiang Feiyang fixed his gaze on Fang Zheng, while Jiang Lanyan stretched out her hands towards Jiang Wenyu, letting her hold him. Seeing this, Fang Zheng was overjoyed, laughing as he tossed Jiang Feiyang upwards, his eyes fixed on him, saying, "Little lazy ones, these siblings are clever and yielding to each other. You've given birth to a great pair of kids!"

  Wen Jiuniang brought over Yuanyuan and Shangming, conveying Shang Dafu's intentions, and invited Fang Zheng to come over for a chat. After Fang Zheng left, the three women took the four children to the room, removed their dirty shoes, and settled them onto the couch. Jiang Wenyu brought out many small wooden blocks with words written on them, as well as some small toys that Fang Zheng had brought, and let the four children play together on the couch. Wen Jiuniang smiled at Bi Lü and said: "Bi Lü, thank you for being such a considerate host, he's really thoughtful, and even prepared a share for Yuanyuan."

  Biqing's face turned slightly red as she said, "Ninth Lady, she's lovely, and he seems to like her too." Wen Jiuniang glanced at Biqing with a hint of shyness and whispered to Jiang Wanyu, "I bet someone is overly fond of her. When your husband comes to see her, he must have made some promises to her, and then who knows what else happened?" She finished speaking with a strange laugh and made various gestures with her hands. Jiang Wanyu couldn't help but burst out laughing, saying, "So that's how Master Shang treats you behind closed doors!"

  No wonder Ninth Girl is getting more and more radiant every day, her complexion surpasses that of a fifteen-year-old maiden's rosy cheeks."

  Wu Jiuniang stomped her foot and looked at Jiang Wanyu, saying: "So the little rascal was referring to someone like Xiaolan. Bi Lü, help me out." Bi Lü smiled lightly and said: "Wu Jiuniang, I don't dare argue with you. Xiaolan just followed your words and continued speaking." Wu Jiuniang's hand shook as she pointed at Jiang Wanyu and then at Bi Lü, saying: "The two of you are ganging up on me alone, how pitiful I am! It seems I'll have to wait until Nini grows up before someone will help me speak out."

  Three people chatted for a while, and Bi Lu took the initiative to say that she wanted to cook a delicious meal. Wen Jiuniang saw her leave and glanced at the four little ones playing together on the couch. She approached Jiang Wanru's side and asked: "How is it going? This matter cannot be avoided, even if you want to hide, you can't escape. My husband has no one by his side who was given by his grandmother, there are legitimate reasons for this. It's because he had a serious illness when he was young, which damaged his body. His uncle said when he was young that he couldn't overwork when he grew up, and he should be restrained in his relationships with women." After Wen Jiuniang finished speaking, she had an expression of taking advantage of the situation, which made Jiang Wanru shake her head repeatedly.

  Jiang Wanru only felt that a great doctor like Shang Wudafu not going out to diagnose was a bit of a waste, and she didn't expect there to be such a reason. She looked at Wen Jiuniang's complacent expression and couldn't help but ask her: "Aren't you worried about his body?" Wen Jiuniang glanced at Jiang Wanru and said: "Of course I'm worried, but the Shang family is a famous medical family, as long as he takes good care of himself, he'll live for decades without any problems. His situation might even make him live longer than others, women's charm can harm one's body."

  His out-of-tune grandmother gave each of her grandsons a woman, and even after they got married, she continued to send women. I don't know where she found so many women from, anyway our sisters-in-law secretly wished that she would settle down earlier and not stretch her hands out all the time. Everyone envies my husband for having had a big illness, so now I can finally have some peace and quiet by my side.

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