Chapter 1810: Turning one's face is faster than turning a page

Concubine Jing pushed Chen Guanlou away. "You heartless thing, not only do you care about the children Song Anxu gave birth to, but you even visited them personally. You don't even take a look at the child I gave birth to. Being so biased, Chen Guanlou, I'm not finished with you."

Look, look, this is a woman.

Turning one's face is faster than turning a page.

One second she was whispering softly, acting as a confidante.

The next second she transformed into a Tyrannosaurus Rex, scolding by name.

Chen Guanlou pulled her into his arms. "Look at you, getting anxious after just two words. Why compare yourself to Song Anxu? You are different."

"Yes, different. You and Song Anxu are on the record, even the late Emperor nodded. Even if you aren't married, in the eyes of the world, you are the son-in-law of the Prince Luyang's Mansion. What kind of status do I have? Just a lover who can't see the light of day; once exposed, I'll have no place to be buried. Chen Guanlou, you just took advantage of this point to deliberately bully me. Am I much worse than that Song Anxu?"

Concubine Jing went on a sarcastic rant, and the taste was truly sour and refreshing.

Chen Guanlou instantly felt his head grow large.

Hearing another woman's name from a woman's mouth meant that something big was wrong.

He was still counting on resting well tonight, so he hurriedly followed her words: "Go and bring my son here; I must see him tonight."

"Hmph! Now you want to see your son, it's too late!"

Concubine Jing put on airs, pretending to be difficult.

Chen Guanlou hugged her. "I am truly thinking for your sake, not disliking our son. You know I never tell lies. How about this, I have a silk shop under my name; I'll give it to you tomorrow, how about that?"

"I don't care for it! But it can be registered under our son's name to save up a family business for him."

"Everything will be as you wish."

"Chen Guanlou, from now on, whatever Song Anxu's two brats have, our son must also have. No favoritism allowed."

Chen Guanlou agreed readily; as long as it was a problem that could be solved with money, it wasn't a big problem.

Concubine Jing ordered the eunuch to bring the child.

Chen Guanlou really wasn't familiar with this child, whose nickname was Zhuangzhuang, even though they both lived in the capital. He rarely had contact with this child.

Shen Zhuangzhuang was born in the first year of Yuanding; by this year, he was five years old, and had already started his enlightenment, learning some rules and etiquette.

Seeing Concubine Jing, although he was a bit sleepy, he was still very happy. "Greetings, Aunt!"

After paying his respects, he immediately threw himself into Concubine Jing's arms.

"Where is Brother?"

The brother he spoke of was naturally the Prince Rui.

The two brothers studied and played together every day, and their relationship was very good.

Concubine Jing held Shen Zhuangzhuang's hand and came to the tea room. "Zhuangzhuang, this is Official Chen; you can call him Uncle Chen."

"Hello, Uncle Chen!" Shen Zhuangzhuang performed a junior's bow properly.

"He looks really good!" Chen Guanlou smiled, emptied his pockets, and finally found a meeting gift he could give away, a piece of top-quality jade pendant.

If he had known he was going to see his son tonight, he would have brought more precious jade and more silver notes.

Giving money was better than anything else.

Children also had places to spend money.

"This is a meeting gift from Uncle; you must accept it."

Shen Zhuangzhuang saw his aunt nod, allowing him to accept it, and only then did he respectfully accept the gift.

Immediately after, Chen Guanlou stuffed all the remaining silver notes on his body into the child's hands. "Buy some candy to eat. I'll bring you good things next time."

Shen Zhuangzhuang instantly felt that Uncle Chen was really good.

Concubine Jing coughed lightly, did not stop him, and reminded Chen Guanlou: "Do you want to hold the child?"

"Sure!"

Chen Guanlou picked up Shen Zhuangzhuang. "Do you want to fly in the sky?"

Shen Zhuangzhuang was still a bit shy and nodded cautiously.

Chen Guanlou laughed and directly took the child and leaped into mid-air.

The capital under the dark night was quiet and peaceful.

It was Shen Zhuangzhuang's first time seeing the capital under the dark night; he flew back and forth over the capital as if he had grown wings. This scene, even many years later, remained engraved in his mind and was never forgotten.

Coaxing the child well was equivalent to coaxing the woman well.

Shen Zhuangzhuang was tired and sleepy, and fell asleep in Chen Guanlou's arms.

Concubine Jing arranged for someone to send the child back to the eldest sister-in-law's side.

She leaned contentedly in Chen Guanlou's arms. "I didn't expect you to have a talent for raising children."

"I really don't! I have no way to deal with small children; I only know crude methods." Chen Guanlou denied it flatly, firmly denying that he had a talent for raising children. He didn't want to raise children!

He knew that having children was a road of no return.

That stinking woman had calculated this day back then.

Concubine Jing rolled her eyes at him. "Don't worry, I won't let you raise the child. Although the Prince Rui's Mansion is dilapidated, we can afford the servants to raise the child. When my eldest brother is gone, you should come to the mansion to sit more often. How about I let the two children take you as their master?"

"Don't! You woman just like to cause trouble. What are you doing flirting with Xia Qiuhong of the Embroidered Uniform Guard?"

"Nonsense! When did I flirt with that person surnamed Xia? I haven't even stepped out of the mansion's gate." Concubine Jing snorted coldly, firmly denying it.

"Don't think I don't know; you sent two messages to that person surnamed Xia. I tell you, Xia Qiuhong is the Emperor's man; don't be naive enough to think you can bribe him. If the Emperor knows about your private little actions, he definitely won't let you go. He is just looking for an excuse to deal with you mother and son."

Concubine Jing snorted. "I understand everything you say! I saw Xia Qiuhong when I was in the Jiaofang Division; he is not a good thing. Relying on Eunuch Xia's power, he has done plenty of evil. However, this person has a characteristic: he sees money and opens his eyes. Being poor and crazy is like this."

"You want to use money to bribe him?" Chen Guanlou doubted whether this matter could be accomplished.

Concubine Jing smiled contemptuously. "I don't need to bribe him; I can directly threaten him."

"How to threaten?" Chen Guanlou was extremely curious.

"I won't tell you." Concubine Jing giggled, pretending to be mysterious.

Chen Guanlou did not pursue the question; everyone had their own secrets, and he respected that.

However, he still gave two reminders: "Don't touch Xie Changling and the others; you can't afford to provoke them."

"Of course I won't touch Minister Xie. As long as Minister Xie is here for one day, we can live for one day. In the future, if Minister Xie is not in the court, our lives will be entirely in the hands of the Emperor, and our life and death will be manipulated by the palace. Official Chen, you also don't want to watch the Pro-Emperor Faction grow and threaten Minister Xie, right?"

"Don't mess around!" Chen Guanlou was truly afraid of this woman; she was indeed fearless and dared to do anything. It was also because of this courage that she was able to walk from the Jiaofang Division to the inner palace, and now she was a Dowager Concubine, the true master of the Prince Rui's Mansion.

"I never mess around." Concubine Jing was confident and flamboyant at this moment, looking like she had everything under control. "As a woman, there is a limit to what I can do. It's nothing more than those petty matters between women."

Those petty matters between women could also cause a major earthquake.

In the palace, any woman was widely implicated.

Chen Guanlou was too lazy to ask what exactly she wanted to do. "You grasp the sense of proportion, control the scale, and don't let anyone target you."

"Official Chen, don't you want to ask what I really want to do?"

"No! Lest I be dragged into the water by you."

"Hmph! Heartless man!"

Both of them laughed, laughing into a ball.

This was a sleepless night! ===== CHAPTER 1811 =====