The husband who forced her to marry her couldn't keep her warm, and she didn't want him to

The news of Gu Jinchu's awakening spread throughout Duke Dingguo's Mansion in no time.

The Duke was lying on a rocking chair in the yard, with a bamboo hat that looked like it had been through wind and rain covering his face, blocking out the glaring sunlight.

After hearing the news, he put his bamboo hat on his chest and said to Mrs. Jiang:

"My son weighed only five kilograms when he was born, he was too thin! But he was able to survive this ordeal, the three of them are lucky!"

After breakfast, Madam Jiang had her private vault opened and she was now searching carefully inside.

I was thinking in my mind whether I needed to add anything else to the third-day baptism ceremony that I had prepared in the morning.

She looked up when she heard her husband's words, and she didn't agree with what he just said.

"Xiaowu was born very thin, but now he is taller than your father. What do you men know!" She glanced at him:

"As the ancients said, if bones are there, flesh will grow. Just like the young phoenix that has just begun to cry, although its wings are not yet fully grown, as long as its bones are there, it will be able to soar into the sky one day. If a person has bones, he will be like a newly sprouted seedling, just waiting for the spring rain to moisten it and the warm sun to caress it, and it will naturally grow lush and green. Why would he worry about not having flesh?"

The Duke's face was serious and his eyes were slightly fixed. "You are talking to me about that long and stinky book bag again!"

The wife of the Duke was born in Nanzhili. She was the president of the Hanlin Academy who assisted two generations of emperors. She was the daughter of Grand Secretary Chang and was a gentle and extremely intelligent woman.

At that time, she married into the mansion of Duke Dingguo, a rough man, and became his second wife. Privately, those pedantic people used this to make the Duke feel uncomfortable, both openly and secretly.

After the Duke finished speaking, he saw that she did not scold him angrily as she did in the past, so he stood up from his chair, walked to her side and handed her the teacup.

Madam Jiang didn't feel thirsty yet, and without raising her head, she said in a light tone: "Just put it aside."

The Duke said somewhat embarrassedly, "Aren't all my account books with you? I still have some good things. Xiaowu's wife has given birth to two babies, so I can't let my in-laws outdo me in the third-day-birth ceremony."

Madam Jiang found what she wanted and asked Mrs. Hu beside her to put it away carefully. She turned around and looked at her husband who was a bit in the way and said:

"Whatever you want to give to the children, just bring it over later. So what if the in-laws give more than I do? Those will belong to the children in the future, and they are the thoughts of us as elders."

The Duke nodded, she always had her own ideas.

Besides, if they really argued, he wouldn't be able to win the argument with her.

Over the years, she has been taking care of his children. Now Xiaowu's two children are her real blood relatives.

As long as she is happy.

After the servants put away the things and left, Madam Jiang asked her husband with a smile, "Aren't you going to soak your feet today?"

Although Shengjing City does not have a rainy season like the south, once mid-June arrives, the air becomes more humid as the rainfall increases.

The old illness that the Duke had suffered from when he was young began to show up at this time.

Under his breathable and comfortable thin shirt, he was still wearing knee pads on his trousers.

The Duke hummed, and said with his hands behind his back, "I just wanted to spend more time with you because I saw you were restless, but you actually started to chase me out!"

Having said that, without a trace of displeasure on his face, he picked up the teacup on the table and drank the tea in it in one gulp.

Madam Jiang sat back in the recliner where he had been lying before, rocking slowly and gently, and said in a slow voice:

"It's rare that the eldest brother is so filial... Even though the Xia family's girl's intentions are not pure, if she can serve Nan Huai carefully, she can't let the child in her belly be left without a name or status like this."

The Duke narrowed his eyes slightly, "That Xia Zhuangtou is also a scheming person. His daughter can come to the mansion, but the Xia family should not work on the manor."

He had been upright all his life, and he hated this kind of shabby livelihood. Moreover, the one whose reputation was tainted was his eldest son, the future Duke Dingguo.

Madam Jiang smiled when she heard this and said in a more tactful way, "The girl from the Xia family is younger than the third young master of the first house." Seeing him looking over, she continued,

"Although Nan Huai is always surrounded by people, I heard from the servants that since the girl from the Xia family came, she is the only one who serves him closely."

The Duke placed the teacup heavily on the table and said in a dissatisfied tone, "According to what Madam said, should I praise his loyalty?"

Her husband's previous children were not her biological children, so it was not her place as a stepmother to make decisions on these matters.

If the Duke of the State came forward, he would definitely use thunderous means. Thinking about it in the future, it is inevitable to feel guilty about the dead Xia family, and with Jiang Nanhuai's shadow, there will probably be more trivial matters later.

Besides, doesn’t his own son understand?

"It's just a farm. What's wrong with giving it to the Xia family? Being the prince's concubine and bearing children for him, what's wrong with getting these things? It all depends on what you, the Duke, have to say."

The Duke laughed loudly after hearing this, "Great! The Xia family should stop using their kindness to Nan Huai as an excuse in the future."

Old Madam Jiang glanced at her husband and stopped talking.

Wasn't it because of his loyalty and righteousness that I was attracted to him?

The prince has Jie Yuhua by his side. If she can persuade him, the eldest wife's life will be easier in the future.

This family will be divided sooner or later.

Although the Duke spoke sternly, the scale in his heart leaned more towards his eldest son.

He always felt that it was because he neglected to discipline his two legitimate sons when he was young that they developed the character of accomplishing nothing.

The Duke came out of Minghui Hall with his hands behind his back, his steps were slow and showed his old age, but he still insisted on not having to be supported by servants.

Jiang Nanhuai had been waiting in the study for a while. When he saw his father appear, he quickly walked over to support him and said with a smile, "I thought my father was delayed by something."

He helped his father sit down on the armchair, ordered the servants to bring hot water, and then helped the Duke soak his feet with medicine bags.

The Duke looked at the steam rising from the wooden barrel and was silent for a long time before he spoke.

"Since Xia Nianyun is pregnant, let's start by getting her a room."

Jiang Nanhuai's face showed more surprise than joy, and he whispered, "But what did Wang Yurou say to her father and mother?"

He didn't dare to explain himself, but couldn't help saying, "Nianyun is the most timid. My son kept her in the study room outside because he didn't want her to be an eyesore to anyone. The medicine bags you are using to soak your feet were originally bought from Doctor Wu by her."

Although Wang is in charge now, the credit still belongs to Nianyun.

The Duke was silent for a moment. When he heard him mention the medicine bag, his eyes flickered and he said, "Talk to the head of Xia Zhuang and let her daughter become your concubine. The manor he manages will be the private property of the child in her belly."

Jiang Nanhuai was very surprised. He didn't expect that with his father's personality, he would think so carefully about him.

He thought...he was ready for another slap.

The Duke looked at his eldest son's worried face and sighed inwardly.

His wife grew up in love and is unaware of the evil nature of human beings.

They thought that the matter could be settled with money, but they didn't know that for people like the Xia family, the more they did this, the more it would whet their appetite.

Only the wealth and glory in front of them allow them to enjoy it. The less power they can control, the more obedient they will be to their eldest son.

Jiang Nanhuai naturally agreed a thousand times. After helping his father put on his shoes and socks, he talked for a while before respectfully leaving.

......

In Yuanyuan Hall, Gu Jinchu was awakened by the sound of a child crying.