The system asked me to chase his wife

But Qiao Yuandong couldn't tell these words to his mother, as that would only make her even angrier.

"Mother, listen to me."

Qiao Yuandong exhaled and said slowly, "Grandma is old, and An Ge'er is still young. How can we live without someone in charge? Don't you remember how difficult life was in the Duke's Mansion the year your husband passed away?"

The Jin dynasty was built by successive Dukes, or it could even be said that the Xiang family handed the throne to the Xiao family.

However, when the cunning rabbit dies, the hunting dogs are cooked; when the birds are all gone, the good bows are put away!

It was clearly just a simple defensive battle. The young master of the Xiang family led a hundred thousand soldiers and horses, but he was unable to defeat fifty thousand Hu people!
After the incident, Marquis Cheng Yi's eldest son returned alive and brought back the news that the young master had died due to neglect of duty.

All of a sudden, voices of criticism arose from all directions, and everyone was criticizing the Duke's Mansion.

That year, everyone in the Duke's Mansion was in mourning, and the capital was filled with curses.

Because the Duke's Mansion had lost the reputation of the Great Jin Dynasty and its image in the hearts of the people of the Great Jin Dynasty was shattered, ministers wrote to the emperor one after another requesting that the Duke's Mansion be stripped of its title.

However, the emperor did not take it seriously at all. The Duke's Mansion was still there, but the Duke who could fight in the country was gone.

No one can guess whether this matter was just a frame-up by Cheng Yihou or with the tacit approval of the Xiao family!

"Humph! If I had known your majesty's intentions earlier, I would never have married you into this hell. Your cousin is the queen, but she didn't let anyone know!"

Thinking of the situation at that time, Feng couldn't help but snort coldly.

"Mother, please be careful with your words!" Qiao Yuandong suddenly looked at Feng with a sharp look.

Only then did Feng realize that she had said something she shouldn't have said, and she broke out in a cold sweat.

Feng was already old and still needed her daughter's reminders, which was a bit embarrassing. She coughed and changed the subject.

"You insist on staying in the Duke's Mansion and not marrying again. Are you still obsessed with Xiang Xiukai?"

Xiang Xiukai inherited the title after he came of age, and that year he happily married Qiao Yuandong, the daughter of the Minister of the Central Secretariat.

However, just as his new bride got married, he received an imperial edict ordering him to lead his troops into battle immediately.

Xiang Xiukai was a man of great skill and courage. He promised his wife that he would win an imperial decree for her after winning the battle and then come back to happily consummate their marriage. However, he never returned.

Qiao Yuandong went personally to retrieve Xiang Xiukai's remains, and then went to the palace to receive the imperial edict awarded by the Emperor.

The young couple had not consummated their marriage, and neither of their parents knew about this.

The lady thought Xiang Xiukai was unlucky as he didn't even have a descendant.

Now, hearing about this person from his mother's mouth again, Qiao Yuandong couldn't help but curl up the fingertips resting on his knees slightly.

Facing Feng's aggressive gaze, Qiao Yuandong finally said, "The wind leaves traces, people leave names, and he and I are husband and wife after all."

Feng couldn't help but said, "But the person is already gone. You can't just live your whole life with an illusory thought, right?"

"Mother." Qiao Yuandong smiled at Feng nonchalantly, "My daughter knows that you insist on me getting married for my future life."

You still know!

Feng snorted and didn't say what was in her mind.

Qiao Yuandong continued, "But how can a mother know that her daughter's life will really be better after she gets married?"

Feng choked and wanted to say something, but when she looked at her daughter's ink-black eyes, she suddenly thought of the group of beautiful girls in her own house.

After a while, Feng said, "You are my daughter who I have carefully trained. Whether it is mediating between superiors and subordinates or managing the harem, you have never lacked means. Even if you get married, how difficult can your life be?"

Qiao Yuandong smiled and said, "I don't have parents-in-law to take care of me, and I don't have sisters-in-law to trouble me. Why should I go through the same experience again?"

Feng said dissatisfiedly, "Since you are remarrying, mother will naturally find you a family with a harmonious family and a considerate husband. How can I push you into the fire pit for no reason?"

She was not confident when she said this, because in Feng's eyes, the current situation of the Xiang family was like a huge fire pit.

Qiao Yuandong didn't care about these things, and just said: "Mother also knows that I am remarrying, but in this whole capital, who else can I find a man who has a harmonious family and a considerate husband who can please mother? Even if I find one, will he look down on me as a remarried person?"

The year Xiang Xiukai died in battle, her mother-in-law fell ill and died with him.

When the Xiang family met with this misfortune, Qiao Yuandong's reputation as a husband-killer spread throughout the capital.

Feng was choked for a long time, but in the end she failed to argue with Qiao Yuandong.

She was angry and hurt. She reached out and slapped Qiao Yuandong. With tears in her eyes, she said, "I know you have been stubborn since you were a child. If you still argue with me about this kind of thing, I won't care about you anymore!"

After saying that, she left in anger, and Qiao Yuandong tried to keep her for a meal but failed.

Feng stormed out of the Duke's Mansion. The maid helped her get on the carriage. The driver raised his whip and asked her, "Madam, are you going home?"

Before the maid could say anything, Feng said angrily, "Where else can I go if I don't go home!?"

The driver shrank his neck, knowing that his wife was angry, and drove the car obediently.

When the carriage swayed to the gate of the Qiao family, Feng suddenly changed her mind: "Forget it, let's go to the palace."

Driver: “.”

After getting a new leader, Xia Mang still worked honestly.

When you change to a new environment, it is necessary to establish good relationships with new colleagues. After all, seniors can better understand the boss's preferences.

The lady had no habit of drinking tea when she got up early in the morning. She would only ask for tea after paying her respects to the lady-in-waiting. She would also usually ask for tea after waking up from a nap.

Unlike the wife who likes strong tea, the wife prefers light tea, so she likes Lu'an Guapian the most, and only a little tea leaves are needed each time. The water for making tea must be freshly boiled, and the water that has been boiled for the second time is not drinkable.

Also, because it has been very hot recently, the lady has been suffering from summer heat stroke, so she has added a scented tea that can reduce dryness and stimulate appetite to her usual tea.

As for what kind of tea is served to other masters and guests on weekdays, that is another long article on tea.

Xia Mang thought of himself as a smart man, and now he also remembered the headache.

Because of Feng's matter, Qiao Yuandong only ate a few bites of lunch lazily, and then went to the couch to take a nap.

I don’t know if it was because of the summer heat or my depressed mood, but I tossed and turned in a half-asleep and half-awake state. I didn’t wake up until 4:15 p.m., but I was still groggy and unconscious.

When Rongzhu saw that his wife had woken up, he went to the tea room to make tea for her.

As soon as she entered the room, she saw Xia Mang carrying a copper kettle and pouring water into the lady's special cup. She walked over quickly and frowned, "Who asked you to make tea?"

Xia Mang took a nap in the tea room at noon and was woken up by He Lan to make tea. Her eyes were a little bleary at the moment. She looked at Rong Zhu and said, "Sister Yunxiu arranged for me to come."

Rongzhu frowned when she heard this: "She arranged for you to come?!"

Xia Mang nodded: "When I came to report, you and your wife were meeting guests in the house, and Sister Yunxiu took charge of the arrangements."

Rongzhu stopped talking, but his expression gradually became gloomy.

Xia Mang felt the low pressure coming from her and thought she was not satisfied with her business ability.

She explained: "I have carefully washed the teacup, let the tea leaves rest, and the tea is freshly boiled."

Rongzhu came to her senses and was too lazy to argue with her. She waved her hand and said, "Bring it to the Madam. Be polite. If you offend the Madam, you will be in trouble!"

Having said that, Rongzhu strode out of the tea room, but turned around and did not go to the lady's room.

Why do you people always like to threaten others!
Xia Mang grumbled to himself as he carried the tea on the tray and walked out carefully. The tea room was separated from the main house by a corridor of moderate length, under which a row of gardenias were planted.

It is the flowering season now, and the gardenias are blooming warmly and brilliantly.

The afternoon sun evaporates the fragrance of the flowers, filling the yard with the aroma, and Xia Mang feels refreshed when he smells it.

At the corner, there was a cluster of flowers growing particularly lushly, with branches extending to the corridor. Xia Mang couldn't help picking one when he passed by.

She decided to wrap the flower in a handkerchief and put it next to her pillow at night so that she could have a sweet sleep.

There was a sudden "ding" sound in her mind, and Xia Mang was so scared that she almost spilled the tea in her hand.

'System task released, host, please put the flowers on the tray.'

Xia Mang: “.”

"No, this isn't yours. What's wrong with me picking a flower?"

It’s a miserable life to encounter such a stingy system!

System: 'Host, please complete the task.'

Of course Xia Mang couldn't just do as she was told, as she still remembered the 60 points she lost last time.

"What kind of a mission is this? I suspect you came up with this on a whim. If you don't tell me why, I won't listen to you!"

The system was noticeably silent for a moment.

After assessing Xia Mang's stubbornness, the system finally explained: "The purpose is to get closer to the target Qiao Yuandong."

Xia Mang pondered for a while before she realized that the Qiao Yuandong the system was talking about was the wife. She couldn't help but ask, "What happens after I get along well with her?"

System: 'No comment, please complete the task as soon as possible.'

Are you squeezing toothpaste here?
Xia Mang was speechless for a while, knowing that he couldn't get much out of the system, so he finally complained unwillingly.

'How can I gain favorability with a flower that can be found everywhere?'

System: '.Qiao Yuandong likes gardenias.'

Xia Mang raised her eyebrows. She wanted to ask the system how it knew that, but her intuition told her that it was useless to ask. After thinking about it, she put the flower in her hand on the tray.

The snow-white blooming gardenias are placed next to the finest white porcelain tea cups, which complement each other quite well.

Qiao Yuandong was helped out of bed by He Lan and He Huan, and then he sat by the window and picked up a book to read. At this time, Xia Mang came in with tea.

She walked over quietly, placed the teacup on the small square table, and placed the gardenia next to it.

Qiao Yuandong was attracted by the sudden fragrance of flowers. He looked up from the book and saw the flowers on the table. He was stunned for a moment.

Xia Mang served the tea and retreated politely. She had even walked to the screen when Qiao Yuandong suddenly called her, so she had to walk over there again with her head down.

Qiao Yuandong recognized the girl in front of him and remembered the scene of seeing her and Xiang Xiu'an walking out of the same room in the main courtyard.

She looked at the gardenia that was obviously placed there deliberately, and her slender eyebrows slightly frowned.

"Madam is right when she says you are smart."

Qiao Yuandong looked at the gardenia and said meaningfully, "Just use your cleverness in the right place. Don't do this kind of thing in the future."

The lady's way doesn't work, so you want to follow her way?
Humph, you really put so much effort into this for a prince!
(End of this chapter)