Face-Slapping the Son of a Concubine and a Transmigrating Girl (4)
Editor: ghost
Zhou Yong was silent for a moment. Thinking, he found that Zhou Xu's words were indeed very true. After all, the imperial court was very chaotic now, pulling in Prime Minister Qi was naturally the best outcome.
Hence after a few days, Zhou Zong Han brought rich and generous betrothal gifts and went to the prime minister's manor with a certain someone to propose a marriage. Because he was scared that Qi Lan's stomach would get bigger, Prime Minister Qi straightforwardly discussed the wedding date and decided to have it half a month later.
Since Zhou Zong Han's wife was Qi Lan, the daughter of a rich and powerful family, their marriage was naturally formal and legal. Although it was rushed, what must be given by He Yan Fei was given. She could not leave any room for gossip, saying that she treated the concubine's son harshly, as she relied on her reputation to get by.
On the night of the wedding, big red lanterns were hung up above the streets, the roadside trees were wrapped in a layer of beautiful red silk. Every 10 metres there was a maid in red clothing; Every 3.3 metres there was a piece of glutinous rice cake wrapped in red. From afar, the scene was truly magnificent.
However no matter how magnificent the wedding was, it could not prevent onlookers and gossipers. Hence the original luxurious and splendid wedding became a laughing matter in the masses' mind.
Zhou Zong Han did not hear these rumors. After all he was the main character in these rumors, anyone who had half a brain would not say it to him. He rode a tall horse, a red silk ball tied to its head. Zhou Zong Yang was smiling widely; he could finally marry the woman of his dreams.
Although she was unhappy at first because of the situation at the Qi manor, as she wore the red veil and saw Zhou Zong Han's handsome appearance, her unhappiness quickly flew out the window. She thought in her heart, so what if he was a concubine's son, as long as she was here, she could let him rise to become a high-ranking official. If he was not willing, he could also be a wealthy and prominent businessmen. In any case, the most important point was that Qi Lan had many means.
The red candle flickered. Zhou Zong Han used a rod to lift the bride's veil. His heart thumped wildly; he really married a lady of venerable status, it was really too good.
Hugging Qi Lan, Zhou Zong Han spoke by her ear, "I definitely won't betray you."
Qi Lan smiled faintly, thinking that she truly chose the right husband.
After Zhou Zong Han's grand wedding, Zhou Xu let his own mother He Yan Fei personally give her daughter-in-law something: medicine to ensure a safe pregnancy.
Looking at He Yan Fei, Qi Lan's heart kept thumping. However He Yan Fei simply spoke while smiling, "Qi Lan ah, don't worry, we aren't cruel people. When you give birth, we will declare that you had a premature delivery, it's not a big matter."
Qi Lan had heard many things about He Yan Fei from Zhou Zong Han. Originally she was on guard against her, but at that moment her eyes had unexpectedly reddened; she was naturally happy that she could keep her child.
After He Yan Fei left, Ruan Qin arrived. She was presently showing signs of mental illness, singing or dancing all day, nothing like her former self as Jiang Nan's number one prostitute.
At present, she appeared in Zhou Zong Han's new room. Zhou Zong Han felt very uncomfortable. In truth, he did not want to let Qi Lan know that his birth mother was like this.
"Little vixen, it must have been you who seduced my son. If you have bad intentions then I'll beat you, this slut, to death." Just as she was speaking, Ruan Qin already wanted to hit Qi Lan.
Unable to continue watching, Zhou Zong Han pushed Ruan Qin aside, asking in a stern voice, "Mother, what on earth are you doing?"
"You…you dare treat me harshly because of that slut?! I was wrong, I should have choked this unfilial son that year, forgetting your mother after marrying. I'm telling you, hmph, even if you don't want me anymore I can still get by using my songs; everyday the number of people coming to listen to my singing can form a long line…"
Speaking on and on, Ruan Qin started singing. The leisurely song coupled with her voice, which was no longer as tender as in the past, carried a kind of unspeakable sorrow. Only this sorrow did not match the occasion, especially in front of this pair of newlyweds.
"Come servants, bring my mother back and properly serve her." Having been married, He Yan Fei thus gifted Zhou Zong Yang a few maids and a few servant boys, hence he could be regarded as someone with a bit of authority.
The moment the servant boys stepped forward, Ruan Qin began frenziedly screaming. Zhou Zong Han stealthily looked at Qi Lan's reaction, seeing that her face did not have much expression, he breathed a sigh of relief.
A few months later, Qi Lan understood Zhou Zong Han's status in the Zhou family. Not only was she not disappointed, she instead felt distressed for Zhou Zong Han. However, she actually gave birth prematurely.
She gave birth four months after the wedding instead of the original plan of seven months. If it was the latter, the life of the child still would not have any problem. It was commonly said that "seven survives but eight dies"*. However, the former had happened: a premature baby that was only carried for four months definitely would not survive. Hence the Zhou General was furious, ordering Zhou Zong Han to either kill the child or scram from the Zhou Family.
Qi Lan was in her month-long confinement after birth, looking at her son and was filled with joy everyday. When Zhou Zong Han came in upset, she froze. After knowing what had happened, she became angrier. This is the supposed ancient era? She needed to kill her own child to protect her reputation?
"Zong Han, let's leave the Zhou Family, I will help you."
Zhou Zong Han shook his head, his gaze miserable. He was powerless in the face of reality. His powerlessness made him feel extremely pained. "If we leave, your grandfather won't help you again, the Zhou family wouldn't help me either; my future prospects will be ruined."
Qi Lan burst into tears, "Then you want to kill our child?"
Hand on his head, Zhou Zong Han sat by the bedside, "I also don't wish to."
"Zhou Zong Han, if you dare, I will make sure you die a terrible death." Qi Lan spoke, gnashing her teeth. As a mother, Qi Lan finally had her first grave conflict with her husband.
"Then what do you want me to do? The Zhou family would definitely be willing to separate, but after separating I would be left with nothing. I want to become an official. With the Zhou family's support, my path would be much smoother. You also know how dark the official circle is."
"Therefore you want to sacrifice your own flesh and blood?"
"I also don't wish to, really Qi Lan, don't blame me." Immediately Zhou Zong Han snatched the child and ran. It was a pity that Qi Lan had lost too much blood during childbirth. Hence at present she had insufficient strength, fainting after chasing a few steps.
When Qi Lan woke up, she had a lifeless look in her eyes. Zhou Zong Han hugged her tightly but Qi Lan stiffly pushed him away. Zhou Zong Han rushed to explain, "Qi Lan, the child didn't die, don't worry."
Qi Lan's gaze finally brightened, "What?"
"Shh, lower your voice. I was pretending for others to see. I sneakily sent the baby away. You can go see him whenever you want to, but you must be discreet."
"Really?"
"En*, but I sold a portion of your dowry, I hope you don't mind. This is all for our child."
Qi Lan finally smiled, "How could I mind? As long as our child is fine, I will be able to handle anything. But in the future I can't constantly see him."
Zhou Zong Han gently helped Qi Lan wipe her tears, tenderly speaking, "I'm sorry, it's because I'm powerless, letting you be wronged. In the future, I will definitely treat you much better."
Qi Lan threw herself into Zhou Zong Han's embrace. They went to sleep while hugging.
However this scene was entirely witnessed by Zhou Xu. As for why Qi Lan actually had a premature delivery, he naturally knew who caused it. But he had no intention of doing anything, even more so since the perpetrator was his own birth mother.
The matter of Qi Lan delivering prematurely was eventually spread around in the marketplace. Zhou Xu's mood was quite good, deciding to find a way to let the couple hear the gossip. He was looking forward to how their faces would change.
On a fine and clear day, Zhou Zong Han and Qi Lan went out together. It had been a long time since the two went to relieve their boredom, hence they went to the capital's most famous Yuan Yang Restaurant hand in hand.
The couple did not get a private room, intentionally sitting in the hall. They quite liked the lively atmosphere.
While they were eating, the pair discussed their future plans. However they had only eaten the cold dishes* when they heard the conversation of the table next door.
"Ai ai ai*, Little Two* come over, do you have any new songs?"
"We do have new songs, but I don't know what songs you gentlemen prefer to hear."
"Let us enjoy one that is a bit amorous."
"Ah, we indeed have a song like that. It is about the matter of our capital's Prime Minister Qi's granddaughter and the Zhou family's son, would you gentlemen like to hear it? If so, I will get Lady Chun Xia to sing it for you."
"What good is there to the song? Getting pregnant before marriage, the woman should have been drowned to death. I heard she gave birth four months after the wedding, and as a result, Zhou Zong Han killed it; you definitely cannot spread it around."
Another man voiced out, "Why is this matter still spreading, hearing it daily is really irritating. When I went to watch a show yesterday, this matter was already incorporated into the script to ridicule them. The man was cruel and ruthless while the woman lacked virtue, in the end they only acted two times before receiving rotten eggs."
"I also heard a rumor: Young Master Zhou raised a few mistresses outside, but he ran out of money and hence visited those young but hideous prostitutes…"
"That Lady Qi also isn't some good lady. Before marrying, apparently she had a love affair with her older cousin. I also heard that she fancied Zhou Zong Han because she saw him at the legitimate son Zhou Xu's celebration, then proceeded to stare at him for the entire event. Which lady would do that without feeling ashamed? It's rumored that she slept with him that night. Sleeping with him the first time they met ah, he he he…"
"Tsk, that Zhou Zong Han was really born from a prostitute, the apple really doesn't fall far from the tree. How disgusting."
The more they spoke, the more inappropriate the conversation got, making it more difficult to hear; Zhou Zong Han's and Qi Lan's face became blacker and blacker. At a nearby table, a young master wearing blue robes sat. A silver fox mask covered his face. He was none other than Zhou Xu.
Under the mask, the corner of his lips slightly hooked up. Zhou Xu realised that he unsurprisingly liked seeing people's faces change. Look, Zhou Zong Han and Qi Lan's complexion had already changed from red to white, then to black.
"Pa!" Zhou Zong Han slapped the table; all the people eating at the restaurant looked in his direction.
In the end, Zhou Zong Han could only pull Qi Lan to leave quickly. The remaining people began to discuss again, "Wasn't that Zhou Zong Han? Tsk tsk tsk, he really still has the face to come out."
"Then the woman just now is Prime Minister Qi's granddaughter? Her appearance isn't bad, if I had a chance I would also want to get a taste ha ha ha ha….."
"Go for it, everyone would definitely have to look up to you."
"How could I? I still have quite a few shops in the capital, you know."
...
By the railings on the second floor, a man clad in white observed the people below. He turned around and spoke wearing a chilly expression, "Go invite that young master who was wearing the silver fox mask up."
"Yes, your highness."