Chapter 62 He Bullied Her

The Third Madam hesitated for a moment and said, "My third cousin, the daughter of Prince Xian, Princess Huayang, wants to study in our private school."

The Duke's wife was a bit rough. Upon hearing this, she turned to look at the eldest daughter-in-law and said in surprise, "It's been so strange lately. Why are so many noble ladies coming to our private school?"

"Could it be that the teacher in our private school is really so outstanding?"

Then, she became suspicious again: "That shouldn't be the case. The daughter of a prince should be able to study in the upper study room. Could it be that the teachers in the upper study room are not as good as ours?"

Why else? They are all here for the unmarried prince.

Li Lanchun knew that with her mother-in-law's temperament, she would not be able to think of the twists and turns here, but she couldn't say it directly in front of the third wife, so she had to interrupt and say: "Maybe it's because there are few girls in the study room, and they want to go to our private school for a lively time. Children like to gather together, right?"

The Duke's wife heard this and did not doubt him. She readily agreed, "If you want to come, then come. It's not a big deal."

Seeing that the Duke's wife agreed so readily, the Third Lady was happy, but her face showed an embarrassed look as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.

The Duke's wife asked, "Why? Does my sister-in-law still have concerns?"

The third lady smiled awkwardly and said nothing, only winking at Li Lanchun.

Seeing this, Li Lanchun told her mother-in-law truthfully, "There are many children from our family's family who study with the young masters and girls in our private school. The Princess of Xian asked Third Aunt and wanted to let her own princess come. This was not a difficult thing. Yesterday, Third Sister-in-law mentioned it to me and I agreed. Who knew that Second Aunt knew about it and she said she would never agree to it."

When the Third Lady mentioned this to the Duke's wife just now, the Duke's wife was a little surprised.

Li Lanchun is the head of the mansion now, so it's enough to tell the eldest daughter-in-law about such a matter. There's no need to look for her in a big way. Now that Li Lanchun said this, the Duke's wife suddenly realized that the second wife was also involved in this.

The Duke's wife heard this and asked, "It's just one more person going to the private school, why are you unwilling?"

This matter concerned the dignity of the royal children, so Li Lanchun was reluctant to say it out loud and gestured slightly to the third lady.

The Third Lady looked at the Duke's wife and answered without hiding anything, "My niece Huayang has a bad temper and is quite willful. The Second Lady is worried that she will go to a private school and affect the Fifth Lady's studies."

The Second Lady, who came from a scholarly family, had always spared no effort in educating her daughter. After hearing what the Third Lady said, the Duke's wife understood.

The Third Lady had to consider her family, while the Second Lady didn't want anyone to come in. The two of them were arguing with each other, so they came to her for help.

Although they are sisters-in-law, there are differences in closeness and distance between them. Privately, the Duke's wife naturally sides with the Second Lady. It's just that the two families had a conflict a while ago, and now the Third Lady is trying to make peace. As a clan member, the Duke's wife naturally has to consider the overall situation.

Seeing the hesitation on the face of the usually resolute Duke's wife, the Third Lady said slowly, "Sister-in-law, to be honest with you, my niece Huayang, even as her aunt, sometimes I can't stand her temper. But I lost my mother when I was young, and I was taken care of by my third brother and his wife. Over the years, my brother and his wife have never asked me for anything. Since my sister-in-law asked me, it's not a big deal, and I really can't refuse."

The third wife, Princess Yun'an, was the daughter of Princess Changle of the royal family. Princess Changle died of illness when Yun'an was young. Later, the prince consort took a second wife, who mistreat her stepdaughter in both open and covert ways. The always kind-hearted Prince Xian and his wife took this little cousin into the palace to take care of her. Before Yun'an got married, she had been raised in Prince Xian's palace, so she had a deep relationship with Prince Xian and his wife.

I have received a favor from someone, and now it is difficult to refuse him because of a small favor.

Li Lanchun also understood the Third Lady's difficulties, so she brought her to the Duke's wife.

The Duke's wife was always sensible. She nodded and said, "The virtuous prince and his wife raised my younger siblings, but they only asked us for such a small favor. If we refuse, we will be ungrateful." After that, she waved her hand and said to the eldest daughter-in-law, "Let the Princess Huayang come. Tomorrow, you go and tell the private school principal, and also tell the girls in the mansion to get along well with the Princess and don't cause any trouble."

The third wife was grateful: "Sister-in-law, thank you so much for your help." She sighed and said: "It's just about the second sister-in-law."

The Duke's wife said, "Don't worry about this. I'll go talk to her."
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After school, Qin Xiaoning returned to Qingsong Garden. When she passed by Lu Ji's study, she ran into him and several colleagues coming out.

When she saw Lu Ji, Qin Xiaoning subconsciously wanted to hide. She was about to turn around and take another road, but she saw Lu Ji striding towards her. It was too late to hide. She simply stood close to the roadside with her hands down to make way for the newcomers.

When Lu Ji saw her, he didn't even bat an eyelid and continued talking to a few colleagues.

He could ignore her, but if she didn't give him face in front of outsiders, he would never let her go.

When he was about to approach, Qin Xiaoning bowed and saluted, saying respectfully, "Hello, my Lord."

Lu Ji, who was talking to someone, looked at her when he heard the voice, but he just glanced at her lightly and walked straight past her.

After everyone left, Qin Xiaoning went back to Qingsong Garden. She did not enter Lu Ji's main house, but went straight back to her own back porch.

In the evening, Songzhi came over and asked, "Can the prince come back for dinner today?"

Qin Xiaoning was practicing calligraphy. When she heard this, she replied without even looking up: "How would I know?"

"Did you have a quarrel with the prince?"

Seeing Qin Xiaoning remained silent, Songzhi glanced at her face and guessed, "You looked unhappy when you left early this morning. Si'er said that the prince also looked grumpy when he left early this morning."

It was always him who got mad at her, went out to have affairs with other women, and when he came back he scolded her, ignored her, and even held her wrist tightly.

It couldn't be considered a quarrel, it could only be said that he bullied her, and she was also useless and was used to being bullied by him. Every time he made a fuss, she had to coax him.

Qin Xiaoning ignored Songzhi's words and changed the subject, asking, "What did the small kitchen prepare for dinner?"

"The meat dishes include squab, mandarin fish, marinated meat, chicken, mushrooms, tender bean sprouts and various vegetables." Songzhi said, and asked Qin Xiaoning, "The prince has not been at home for dinner recently, and he will most likely not be home today. How about I just ask the kitchen to cook what you want to eat?"

"Then let's have a roasted pigeon, some tender bean sprouts and some green vegetables." Qin Xiaoning replied while practicing calligraphy.

"That's all?"

"Well, these are enough. If there are more, I can't finish them."

Songzhi nodded when he heard this, walked out of the house, and went to the small kitchen to report to the cook.

Qin Xiaoning practiced a few more pages of calligraphy, and Songzhi hurried back and whispered to Qin Xiaoning, "The prince is back."

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(End of this chapter)