Chapter 80: The Counter-Intelligence Plan

  Although what happened that day was later ordered to be sealed by Fu Yeyang, it still leaked out and let Su Ying know.

  Su Ying looked at the intricate floral patterns embroidered on the top of the canopy, feeling that something was not quite right, but couldn't put her finger on it. She had to say that Fu Mu had made a wrong move this time, and not only did Fu Yeyang feel estranged, but even Fu Xiyang, the second master who was favored by Fu Mu, felt a rift in his heart. Indeed, it's hard to bear the favor of a beauty.

  Su Ying thought for a moment and then put the matter behind her mind. Although she was lying in bed for postpartum confinement, there were some things that she couldn't help but worry about. The matter of washing three still had to go through her hands, and under Fu Yiyang's tacit consent, the washing three was done very lively.

  He San's daughter is not the same as this time, it's the eldest son and second son of the Marquis of Wu, which has a special significance for the Hou Mansion and Fu Ye Yang. When washing three times, the threshold was almost trampled to pieces.

  Fu's mother, despite her illness, showed concern and importance for her eldest grandson, Xǐ Sān. When she fainted earlier, she hit her forehead, causing it to bleed, but now she was wearing a light-colored headband with pearls to cover it up. Her hair was styled with a golden hairpin inlaid with jade at the center of her bun, and she was dressed in a resplendent outfit that shone like gold and jade.

  Su Ying saw that she was clearly disgusted with herself, but still insisted on pretending to be a kind and loving mother-in-law. She couldn't help but feel relieved inside. Normally, she wouldn't even bother to pretend, so now did she think that her youngest son was unreliable, and only then remembered who was really in charge of the Hou household?

  Su Ying was still thinking, if it wasn't for this incident, would her son's wet nurse Fu Mu be excused from attending due to illness? This possibility is still quite large, and if that were the case, in front of so many guests, the Yongwu Marquis Manor would truly lose face.

  "Mrs. Chen adjusted her waist and said to Su Ying with a tone of envy: 'Sons and daughters are really different, just look at the scale of this third birthday celebration, I truly hope that when my time comes, I can also receive such treatment.'"

  Su Ying almost laughed. Fortunately, the guests had not arrived yet, otherwise this remark would have made them laugh out loud. Su Ying didn't respond to this comment, and Fu Mu remained silent as usual when speaking to Chen Furen. In her heart, Su Ying sneered, "Why isn't my little sister-in-law visible?"

  "Mrs. Chen said quickly: 'She took care of her elder sister until she was exhausted. The old lady allowed her to rest in the house, don't worry about Eldest Sister-in-law, her share of adding to the family fortune is not less.'"

  Su Ying let out an "oh" and thought to herself, is this real or fake exhaustion? She glanced at Fu Mu, who was pretending to be ill, and somewhat understood her intention. The third wife, after all, couldn't compare to the first wife. In the past, Fu Mu had favored her because of their family ties and also because of the child in her womb. Now that she had given birth to a daughter, Fu Mu's "eldest grandson" was gone, and Fu Mu had turned to favor Chen Furen, who was six months pregnant. How very realistic indeed.

  "Is the young lady tired? A house full of maids, and yet the young lady is exhausted?" This remark was naturally directed at Madam Fu, who immediately looked embarrassed, her tone stiff as she replied: "The affairs of the second household are for the second mistress to worry about. You'd best take care of yourself."

  Madam Chen still looked at his face and changed the subject as if nothing had happened: "Why don't you bring out Fu Ge and Lu Ge for us to see?"

  It turns out that the twins were three days old when they first saw their grandmother, and it just so happened that the twins were hungry when they arrived. They were just taken down to be fed by the wet nurse.

  Su Ying stared at Fu Mu for a moment, surely she wouldn't do anything in such a public setting?

  The scene was somewhat unexpected for Su Ying, Fu's mother was very kind and even took out the gold necklace that had been prepared early, but unfortunately, Fu Lu and his siblings didn't give her face, when Fu Er was hugged by Fu's mother, he cried loudly with a particularly loud voice, and as soon as he cried, his younger brother Lu Wa also cried out loud, making Su Ying heartbroken.

  At once, without regard to Madam Fu's expression, she had the wet nurse bring over the two children. As soon as Lu'er was placed in Su Ying's arms, her crying stopped abruptly. Fu'er, being held by Su Ying, was cooed and comforted for a while before his wails subsided. Madame Chen secretly delighted in this scene, but still said: "Indeed, it's the natural bond between mother and child. Eldest Sister holds them and they stop fussing. It seems that Eldest Sister is destined to be a kind and loving mother."

  Isn't she implying that the old lady is not a kind mother? As expected, it's a bloody scene. This is why Su Ying sometimes likes Chen Furen, no difference in attacking, thumbs up.

  The awkward atmosphere didn't last long, as a maid came in to announce that there were guests at the door.

  Fu's mother took Chen's wife to the front and entertained them, while Su Ying stretched out her hand and touched Fu'er's small red nose, "What a clever little ghost."

  Mrs. Su and several of Su Ying's sisters-in-law all came over, Mrs. Su beamed with joy, seeing lanterns and streamers everywhere in the courtyard, Mrs. Su felt reassured, and also saw that Su Ying had a rosy complexion, because she had just given birth to a child and was still a bit plump, but this plumpness made Mrs. Su happy, she still remembered how frail Su Ying looked when she had a miscarriage before, now it seemed like everything had fallen into place.

  "Let me take a look at my grandson." As soon as the twins were handed over to her, Su Ying instantly lost favor. Su's second aunt, Tang Furen, chimed in beside Mrs. Su, "I've never seen these twins before, they're really handsome."

  It's obvious that these two little ones don't look alike, but Su Ying knows that when others praise her children, she can't help but feel happy. Mrs. Su loves to say, "You have a few similarities with your father when he was young, but this child's eyebrows and eyes are more like your uncle, especially the nose, it's the most similar."

  Su Ying was delighted, and before she could really see it, Madame Luo rushed towards Su Ying with a faint smile: "Congratulations to the young lady for having a pair of twins. Who knows, maybe next year Madam will come over again to add another one, who knows if we can get a good word out of it."

  She's coming, Su Ying felt anxious in her heart. This time the production almost didn't kill her with pain, but she couldn't say that out loud. She changed the subject and said, "Yatou brought tea." Su Ying smiled slightly: "Yanrong is also a big girl now, I heard from my aunt that she's going to participate in next year's election."

  "Exactly," said Mrs. Luo, intentionally drawing out the conversation with Su Ying, "I was detained at home to learn etiquette, so as not to offend noble people in the future."

  "Yan Rong is a good name," said De Rong, "it's a pity that this niece Su Ying only saw her once when she returned to her mother's house, and she was worthy of this name. Next year's grand selection is the first selection after the new emperor ascends the throne, and it seems that Mrs. Su wants Yan Rong to just go through the motions."

  Su Ying hadn't finished her sentence when the Chen family's womenfolk arrived, and she swallowed back the rest of what she was going to say. Exchanging a glance with Madame Luo, it turned out that the Chen family had two daughters participating in the selection, but Chen Wanqing made an error, while Chen Wanjun successfully took her place.

  Su Ying narrowed her eyes, who knew what role Chen Wanqiu was playing in the midwife's affair. It made things confusing and unclear. The conflict between Su Ying and Fu Mu had already reached an irreconcilable point, one more thing wouldn't make a difference, but Chen Wanqiu was different, she didn't want this self-righteous and arrogant time-traveling woman to interfere in the Hou Mansion.

  This time Chen's family sent a generous gift for the newborn, and it was delivered quickly. Unlike before when Su Ying was diagnosed with pregnancy, Chen's family's gift was delayed for several days before being sent over.

  Su Ying thought that the Chen family was trying to take advantage of this opportunity to get closer to Fu Yeyang? Thinking about it, she felt a little relieved. It seemed that Mrs. Dai had learned about what Fu's mother had done during the third madam's childbirth, and besides, no matter what, the Chen family was still Fu Yeyang's maternal relatives. As the saying goes, "uncle and nephew are not separated by family, even if they break bones, they are still connected by tendons."

  It's just that in the past, because of Madam Fu's relationship, the Chen family had always been biased towards the second house. Not only did they give their eldest daughter to Fu Xueyang when he was still single, but now they've even given away their second daughter. They almost lost their lives in the process, and it's definitely impossible for their relationship to be as harmonious as before.

  Mrs. Dai came in person, smiling and looking at Fu Mu, who had an old relationship with the Marquis of He and Wu, and said: "How come Lady Chen's complexion doesn't look very good."

  Madam Chen was feeling depressed, usually there was also Madam Fu to take her and a group of noble ladies to socialize. But this time, Madam Fu brought her out and then let her drift away on her own, Madam Chen felt uncomfortable all over, but she couldn't find an excuse to leave the scene, seeing Madam Dai made her feel relieved.

  Mrs. Chen poured out the events of the past two days to Mrs. Dai like a bamboo tube pouring out beans: "I don't know why Second Master scolded Sister-in-law, making her faint, and now she's drinking medicine, how can her complexion be good?"

  Mrs. Dai led her out, saying to the maid beside her: "If your old lady asks, just say I took the second mistress away to rest. With such a big belly, she should be resting at home and taking care of herself, why bother following me around."

  Mrs. Dai's words had some deeper meaning, and it was also after the incident with Third Wife that Mrs. Dai always suspected Fu Mu of ill intentions, and her speech couldn't help but reveal some of this.

  Madam Chen couldn't help but ask, and in the side room, Madam Dai asked her: "Where is your husband?"

  Mrs. Chen sighed: "He scolded me for no reason, then went to the outer study and got drunk, refusing to listen to anyone's advice. He didn't even go see Auntie when she fainted from anger. Who knows what happened? And he changed into a new set of clothes... I hope Madam isn't really keeping some mistress outside..."

  Mrs. Dai patted her hand and comforted her: "Don't think so much, just give birth to the child safely."

  Madam Chen rarely became sharp, grasping Madam Dai's hand and excitedly asked: "Do you know something, madam? Tell me, or I'll be restless with wild thoughts and can't even sleep soundly."

  "Men are just looking for something new, and even if your brother-in-law has a mistress outside, do you think your sister would allow it? Don't think too much about it." Mrs. Dai's words were tantamount to acknowledging that Fu Xueyang had a mistress outside, but also indirectly told Chen Furen that the mistress was no longer a threat.

  Madam Chen didn't know if she had understood or not, and angrily said: "She only thought of sending people to the second master's room, last time I took advantage of the old master's illness to get rid of those few fox-like women she sent over, and that Wang concubine jumping up and down, if I wasn't pregnant, there wouldn't be a place for me in the second house!"

  Mrs. Dai finally calmed down Mrs. Chen with some effort and sighed: "In the future, you should get closer to the first wife..."

  Mrs. Chen's eyes widened in surprise and she shouted in a shrill voice: "I don't want to!"

  Mrs. Dai was instructing Mrs. Chen on one side, while the road ahead was bumpy, but Su Ying's house was harmonious and joyful. The people in the house had some connections with each other, some were related by marriage, and they also socialized with each other. As soon as they sat down together, they started chatting about this and that.

  Mrs. Li leaned over to Su Ying's bed and glanced outside, whispering to Su Ying: "Why didn't that Third Madam come out with you to socialize?"

  Su Ying smiled slightly at her: "Taking care of the eldest daughter is exhausting, so our old lady specially allowed her to rest and not come over. After all, the old lady knows how to be considerate."

  Mrs. Li smiled quietly: "Why didn't she let that pregnant second madam rest, I saw her alone and pitiful when I came."

  Su Ying thought about it and also understood what was going on. Was Fu Mu trying to make things difficult for Madame Chen or was she just giving her a warning?

  Mrs. Li raised an eyebrow: "Big sister? I seem to recall that you also have a daughter here, aren't you still raising her by your side?"

  Su Ying brushed off the corner of her clothes. "The old lady called you down like this." Mrs. Li slightly pursed her lips and said "oh" without asking further, she naturally knew some things about this side. After saying a couple more sentences, a woman in her 40s wearing a dark blue qipao with golden gourd and double happiness patterns came over. Su Ying felt unfamiliar at first, but after the woman spoke a few words, Su Ying suddenly remembered who she was - Fu family's grandmother's niece-in-law, Ji Shi, whom Su Ying should address as "Aunt".

  The Ji and Fu families have been coming and going less frequently over the years, but their old affection remains. Mrs. Ji is almost afraid to recognize Su Ying. With one glance at today's lineup and another at Su Ying's complexion, she knows that her current life is prosperous and very different from before, not to mention having two sons now, with a stable status.

  The Ji family is now different from the past. The Hou Mansion's relatives have also become increasingly distant since the death of the lady. Mrs. Ji has a heart to repair the relationship between the two families, and compared to Fu Mu, Mrs. Ji is still more willing to get close to this hostess in front of her. Looking at the current situation, this hostess's words are indeed more effective than Old Lady Fu's.

  Madam Ji soon opened the conversation, "My niece, your cousin Shan Shan was originally going to come over for a bowl of washing three sides, but just a few days ago she caught a cold and her body is not feeling very comfortable. When the boys are full moon, I'll bring her over to meet you."

  Whenever she thinks of this season, Mrs. Ji gets annoyed, it's all because of the younger sister Ruyue who brought her to pick snow from the plum blossoms to make tea, and as a result, she caught a cold for several days.

  This is nothing, and she even has the nerve to ask about other men's affairs. Even if they have a familial relationship, after all, he is another man. If Xiang didn't accidentally let it slip, Mrs. Ji wouldn't have known that she was so unreserved. The nanny said that she secretly made a purse, and judging by its style, it seemed to be for men's use. Mrs. Ji was furious, her liver in pain. She couldn't let her tarnish the reputation of her own daughters. It's really unknown how Ah Yue's nanny taught her.

  That outsider, Madam Ji raised her eyes and looked at Su Ying, who was smiling and chatting. She still had the plumpness of a new mother, but it could be seen that she was in good health, gentle and kind, and now that she was firmly established in the Hou Mansion, no one would be able to surpass her from now on.

  Thinking of Ruyue, she had always been in Jiangnan, except for accompanying her cousin to the capital, there was no other intersection. Her cousin had always been proper and naturally wouldn't do anything that went against etiquette. It could only be Ruyue's one-sided infatuation, thinking about it even made Mrs. Ji feel embarrassed on her behalf.

  Su Ying felt inexplicable about the change in Ji's wife's expression, and before she could investigate further, it was time for the third day after childbirth. The new mother still couldn't get out of bed, so Su Ying could only watch as the two babies were carried out, all wrapped up and looking very festive. Thinking about how cold it was outside, she hastily instructed: "Be careful, hurry back with Fu'er and Lu'er after their third-day bath, don't let them catch a chill."

  Madam Ji followed the women to add dishes in front, and the house was empty. Su Ying lay on the bed and looked out eagerly, and indeed, having a child made everything different, with everything prioritizing him first.

  "Are you hungry, madam? There's carp soup and chicken soup in the kitchen," said Su Ying with a smile, "I've already asked the little maid to go take a look and report back to you."

  This time it's really lively, there are many people coming to add to the excitement, the midwife is laughing so hard that her eyebrows are visible but not her eyes, auspicious words are flowing out like water, and before Fu Lu's twins were even brought back, Su Ying already knew about their performance.

  When Fu'er was put into the basin, the "basin" was very loud, and the small tender voice cried out. Wei Li had seen it all in just a few days. Su Ying originally wanted to feed them herself, but the two children couldn't be taken care of at the same time. Only one could be fed at a time, while the other would have to wait and cry from hunger. Su Ying couldn't bear it.

  I don't know if it's because they're twins, but they seem to be synchronized in everything they do. Su Ying thought that taking turns feeding them was a luxury, one would cry and the other would follow suit, it was truly lively and chaotic.

  Just like this, the three kids were bathed. Fu'er was the first to come out and was wailing when he was taken out of the bathtub. As for Lu'er, when he was first put into the tub, he didn't make a sound, so everyone thought that this little guy wouldn't cry loudly in the tub. But who knew that after a while, he would start wailing loudly too? When he was taken out of the tub, he immediately stopped crying. The originally tearful Fu'er also stopped crying along with his brother without needing to be comforted.

  The onlookers were all secretly amazed, and they could say all sorts of praise, such as "so young and already knowing 'brotherly love and respect'"; or "the brothers are united in heart, bringing glory to the family"; or "very spirited, destined for great things when grown up" and so on. The two kids, only three days old, were praised to the skies, a rare thing to hear...

  Su Ying couldn't help but feel a sense of pride as she listened to Xiao Yatou's words, while also feeling a bit embarrassed. Zi Su brought over the tonic soup, and as Su Ying drank the bland-tasting broth, she couldn't help but feel tears streaming down her face. Everything comes with a price, just like how she wanted to personally feed the twins, but now she was drinking this tasteless soup during her postpartum confinement, which made her mouth feel like it was growing hair. It had only been three days so far.

  Su Ying pinched her nose and acknowledged that if Fu Lu's two babies were disobedient in the future, she would hum.

  Third Madame heard the commotion from the main house faintly in her own home, and couldn't help but feel a little resentful of her own infertility. But then she thought that if she really had given birth to a son, wouldn't that have fulfilled her good aunt's wishes? It was said that Aunt wanted to take Eldest Sister to raise herself, Third Madame's eyes clouded over with gloom.

  "Miss, Madam has arrived." Chen Wancong was deep in thought when her personal maid came over to report.

  Mrs. Dai had just finished her meal and was accompanied by Mrs. Chen, who happened to be passing by. As soon as Chen Wanqing saw Mrs. Dai, she became choked with emotion and her eyes reddened, "Mother..."

  Mrs. Dai sighed and first looked at the elder sister, although it was a premature birth at that time, and the child was born weaker than other children, but the doctor said that as long as she took good care of her, she would grow up safely without any problems.

  "You're still young, there will be plenty of opportunities later." Mrs. Dai didn't say anything else, but as soon as she did, Chen Wan's tears started pouring down, and she gritted her teeth to say: "Since I gave birth, my brother-in-law hasn't spent a single night with me."

  That is to say, the second master and the third madam only had one time, and when the third madam married over, she was already pregnant. In between, Fu Xueyang never touched her again.

  Mrs. Dai said lightly: "The one outside will no longer be a threat to you and your sister."

  "What? What?" Chen Wancong pinched her finger before she understood what Mrs. Dai meant, "What are you saying?"

  Mrs. Dai said nonchalantly: "Since your good aunt doesn't care, I'll have to take her place."

  Chen Wan'ning thought of Fu Xueyang making his mother faint, and moved her lips: "Brother thinks it was Auntie who did it, no wonder." Then she twisted the handkerchief into a rope, gritting her teeth, "Brother is really deeply in love with that fox spirit, he actually disobeyed and offended Mother for her sake, this time Mother was really angry."

  It's a bit of a schadenfreude later on, the taste of being disobeyed and contradicted by one's own spoiled son must not be pleasant, "Not just once, who knows what happened afterwards, Auntie fainted again and even hit her head."

  Mrs. Dai raised an eyebrow: "Is there still this matter?"

  Chen Wan Ning nodded: "It seems that Brother and Uncle had a dispute, Auntie went to mediate, as for what exactly happened I'm not quite clear."

  Mrs. Dai sneered inwardly, her elder sister was biased to the extreme, saying that she would go to persuade, fearing that Fu Yeyang would yield again, this kind of thing had happened more than once or twice. After thinking for a moment, she said solemnly and sincerely to Chen Wanqing: "From now on, get along well with the eldest branch, don't let your aunt's actions make the relationship even more strained."

  "What?" Chen Wan's hesitation was enough to make Mrs. Dai feel more satisfied. Mrs. Dai also saw through it, that when Fu Mu had painted a big cake for them, saying that the title would fall on the second house in the future, but now it seems that this is simply wishful thinking.

  In the past, Da Fang didn't have a son, so there was still a possibility, but now that pair of twins has also been seen and is healthy. Fu Yeyang is also deeply favored by the Emperor, otherwise how could he have been specially granted not to demote his title when he succeeded to the title?

  Fu's mother was so cold-hearted that Fu Yeyang couldn't help but feel a chill, saying that neither of the two concubines would get Houfu's favor in the future, and it would be her two daughters who would suffer in the end. No, Wancong had almost fallen into the trap, Mrs. Dai had to consider her two daughters no matter what, so she came up with a plan to frame Fu Xiyang's concubine as a traitor to Fu's mother.

  ps：