The maid's road to success

Wen Niang's place finally became much quieter, and she began to learn the rules from the nanny.

Mrs. Bai specially invited an old nanny from the Bai family to teach Wen Niang the etiquette.

It is said to be learning rules and etiquette, but in fact it is teaching Wen Niang how to be a qualified mistress of the house.

You have to learn how to treat guests, the etiquette of banquets, how to speak politely, and even how to drink tea.

The Bai family is a great Confucian family in the Chen Kingdom.

The patriarchs of the Bai family in all generations were the deans of Lushan Academy. Lushan Academy was the most famous academy in Chen State, and had produced countless Jinshi scholars.

The daughter of the Bai family was also someone that the nobles fought hard to marry.

When the Huaiyuan Marquis Mansion was in trouble, the Bai family was not seriously damaged thanks to their status in the hearts of students and civil servants. This shows that their family background is profound and their roots are huge.

With Bai Jiarong's nanny personally teaching her, Wen Niang is not afraid of making a fool of herself in the future.

The person who went to Anjia Village to report the news finally came back with many people from Anjia Village who came to seek refuge. An Gu was no longer the head of the village, and he replaced him with another virtuous person in the village.

An Hongzhi also came along. After not seeing him for a few years, An Hongzhi looked much more stable than before.

"I, along with my An family, would like to greet the princess."

Wen Niang hurriedly pulled him up before everyone in Angu knelt on the ground.

"I can't afford it. Please don't be polite. The emperor has given me a reward, but I am still the heir of the An family, and you are still my uncles."

An Gu was full of passion at the beginning, but later on the road was bumpy and he felt a lot of regrets.

Although they did take care of An Wenniang and her siblings when they were young, they would occasionally say something when the two children were beaten, or help them or secretly send them some food.

But it’s not a big deal after all. Many families in the village would do the same if other families couldn’t get along.

Now they have come to seek refuge with their families, asking for much more than what they contributed in the beginning. He doesn't know if the original idea was good, and whether the princess can bless so many people.

"Fourth Uncle, even though I was sold out by my father in the end, we still remember the kindness that the people in the clan showed us in the past."

Being sold is not entirely a bad thing. After all, if Wen Niang was still at home, An Dahai would probably tolerate the stepmother's abuse of him.

Maybe after she reaches the age of 15, he would just give her the betrothal gift and marry her to anyone.

That was really miserable. Although I have experienced a lot now, I have never been bullied and now I live a better life.

It's also a kind of luck.

"This is what I found in the village before I came here. It was your mother's dowry when she got married, but your father sold it for money. I brought all the things in the village here. You can keep them as a souvenir."

Wen Niang took the package handed to her by An Gu, which contained several pieces of jewelry carefully wrapped in cotton cloth.

A blackened silver bracelet, a pair of deformed silver cloves and a sandalwood hairpin.

Wen Niang stroked it carefully. She had no impression of her biological mother, but she always felt that she should be a very gentle and loving woman.

Although these things were not expensive, they made her feel inexplicably warm.

If her mother were still alive, she would be grateful to see her escape from that home that was like a den of tigers and wolves, become a princess of the Chen Kingdom, and have a loving in-law family.

I should be happy too.

"There are so many people coming and going in our house now, I'm afraid it's not convenient for the fourth uncles to live there. The yard next door is also my yard. The fourth uncle and his family can live there first. After they get married, I will arrange something for the fourth uncles, okay?"

An Yu nodded quickly and followed the old woman to the next yard.

An Hongzhi did not follow her, but stared at Wen Niang as if he wanted to say something.

"Help my fourth uncle and the others settle down first. Brother Hongzhi and I have something to talk about."

An Gu looked at An Hongzhi and saw him standing there firmly. He sighed and left the house. The child had grown up and had achieved success, and was more opinionated than him.

"I heard that Brother Hongzhi passed the imperial examination?"

An Hongzhi nodded and looked at the old woman behind Wen Niang whose presence he could not tell, knowing that she must be her confidant.

"I actually know that An Zizhong is not the real An family brother."

Wen Niang suddenly sat up straight and looked at An Hongzhi.

Nanny Bai behind him raised her eyelids, glanced at An Hongzhi, and then lowered her head again.

She was one of the few nannies that the Bai family could honorably support, so she was naturally the Bai family's confidant and she also knew something about the Chen family's affairs.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone, and I don't want to control you. I want to continue working with him."

Wen Niang looked at An Hongzhi seriously, trying to see if he had any hidden agenda.

"In fact, I noticed it a long time ago. When I was a child, Brother Zizhong and I often went to pick grass for pigs and catch rabbits in the mountains. But later, I kept following An Zizhong and felt that he was very strange. He had no memory of the past, and his actions and words did not seem like the same person."

Wen Niang didn't say anything, but motioned for him to continue.

"I learned and saw so much during the time I followed An Zizhong. It was also the experience during that time that helped me pass the imperial examination. I still want to follow him. I don't want to be like before, just farming every day to get by."

Wen Niang spoke calmly.

"But now you have achieved fame and can hold a small official position in Lin County. You have escaped from the old days."

An Hongzhi shook his head.

"I want more than just that kind of life. I want to move up, learn a lot of things, and become the glory of the An family."

Wen Niang looked at An Hongzhi carefully and saw him stand up excitedly to explain.

"I really think it's good to follow him. I haven't told anyone about these things, not even my parents."

Wen Niang thought for a while and nodded.

"I'll have someone take you to see him. As for whether you have the ability to stay, it depends on your own ability."

An Hongzhi nodded, and Wen Niang asked the maid outside to take him to the Duke of Huguo's Mansion.

It is not clear now whether An Hongzhi is just trying to climb up as he said, or has other plans, so he cannot be allowed to contact the An family again.

Chen Luoxi can handle this matter. If An Hongzhi has other intentions, he will not be a threat to Chen Luoxi.

An Hongzhi and Wen Niang didn't care much about it. After all, Chen Luoxi is no longer the same as before, and the emperor personally helped to cover it up. Even if An Hongzhi had bad intentions, he couldn't do anything.

But the An family is now in Kyoto and they are all one family. Wen Niang is still very grateful to many of the elders in the family. If An Hongzhi has bad intentions and wants to use Chen Luoxi's previous identity as An Zizhong to take the imperial examination for personal gain.

She had to consider how to accommodate the An family members. It would be very upsetting for Wen Niang if they developed a grudge against her because of An Hongzhi's matter.

However, An Hongzhi is still a good person after all. He just wants to gain experience with Chen Luoxi and has no intention of asking for an official position or wealth.

Wen Niang finally felt relieved. An Lan and An Huang had also entered Kyoto, but Wen Niang didn't know where they were or what they were doing.

As the day drew closer, Wen Niang became more nervous. She closed the door and refused to see visitors. She only wanted to learn more etiquette from Nanny Bai so that she would not be embarrassed when she married.

Chen Luoxi was restrained by the ancestors and was not allowed to come to Xiaohe Lane. There is a rule in Chen country that men and women should not meet before marriage so that they can live happily together until old age.

Chen Luoxi didn't want to break the rules, but letters were indeed delivered every day.

Wen Niang took it out and looked at it before going to bed every day, and the tension in her heart gradually dissipated a lot.

On the wedding day, the sky was clear, with a breeze blowing from time to time, and the air was filled with the scent of flower petals, which made the Chen family worry.

A lot of beautiful flowers were collected early in the morning and sent here, and even here in Xiaohe Lane, there is a lot more spring color.

The clansmen of the An family came to help early, and An Gu had the help of the Chen family's steward, so he was able to handle the entertaining.

Today, Xiaohe Lane hosted a banquet for the surrounding neighbors. Many housekeepers, seeing that the Emperor and the Empress valued this marriage, also sent their family members to attend the wedding banquet, in order to add some joy to the atmosphere.

It's just a pity for the people of Anjia Village. The highest official they had ever seen was the magistrate of Lin County. Now the officials who came were higher-ranking officials than the magistrate, and their aura was terrifying to look at.

The people sent by the Chen family did not expect so many people to come. Looking at the full hall of guests, they couldn't help but feel fortunate that many people wanted to please the future mistress and followed them, so that they could handle it.

The Queen Mother was of noble status, and no matter how much she valued the Chen family and An Wen Niang, she could not leave the palace at will. However, she still sent the head nanny in her own palace, and also came the Queen's granddaughter, Princess Lu'an.

The Chen family's wedding party was stopped at the door by the Crown Prince and several disciples of the Grand Master.

They were originally going to visit the Chen family, but they didn't want to let go of this great opportunity to embarrass Chen Luoxi, so they came hand in hand to Xiaohe Lane and waited.

By the time Wen Niang was brought into the Chen family by Chen Luoxi wearing a red silk silk ribbon, it was almost dark.

After paying homage and sitting on the bed covered with a bright red quilt, Wen Niang felt as if her neck was about to fall apart.

Chen Luoxi looked at Wen Niang's face, reluctant to touch her smooth face, and looked at her infatuatedly.

"I still have to go to the front to entertain the guests. The Crown Prince and the Crown Prince are here today, so I'm afraid I'll be back a little late. I've asked someone to heat up some food for you, so remember to eat."

Wen Niang nodded shyly. She only felt that Chen Luoxi's breath was hot. A big hand was stroking her face, slowly sliding to the side of her neck, and the thumb was rubbing near the earlobe.

Chen Luoxi only felt a hot sensation in his body and wanted to say something else, but before he could get closer to Wen Niang's earlobe, noisy sounds came from outside.

They were all people shouting at him to come out and drink. Chen Luoxi couldn't help but sigh, touched Wen Niang's hair, told the maids to take good care of her, and then turned and left.

When Wen Niang opened the door, she took a look outside and saw many young talents surrounding Chen Luoxi and pulling her to drink.

After they left and the door was closed, Wen Niang quickly called for the maid to help her take off the hairpins and rings.

Finally she felt a lot more relaxed. Looking at the decorations in the new house, Wen Niang couldn't help but blush.

This was the courtyard that Chen Luoxi used to live in the Marquis' Mansion. After connecting with the courtyard next door, it became much bigger than before.

In the past, she always stood outside to deliver things for the ancestors and refused to even enter the room.

Now she is the hostess here. Looking at the huge dragon and phoenix wedding candles and the red paper posted everywhere, Wen Niang feels like she is dreaming.

She used to hide from the young master in the mansion like he was a scourge, but now she is married to Chen Luoxi.

Wen Niang's shadow was reflected on the bright veil, looking peaceful and warm.