In the flower hall, the guest of honor took his seat.
An An and her brother sat on either side of Huo Xi, their little feet hanging on the chairs, swaying happily.
I turned around and saw that my brother and sister were sitting upright. They steadied their bodies, their little feet stopped moving, and they straightened their bodies. Today he is the master, and his parents are not here, so he has to entertain the guests for them.
"Invite the old lady to tea." She said in a milky voice.
Mrs. Wang opposite them secretly looked at the three children and praised them in her heart.
The Huo family raised several children very well. When she heard Wen Bi describe how outstanding the two children were, she thought Wen Bi was exaggerating.
Unexpectedly, these two children were no worse than those raised in the house.
Smiling at Huo An, "Thank you for the tea."
Huo An was a little proud, "My tea is delicious! Please drink it."
Huo Xi glanced at her two younger brothers and said, "Nian'er, take An An out to play for a while while my sister talks to the guests."
Huo Nian also wanted to stay, but when the other party came in and sat there for a while, he only looked at them but said nothing. Then he stood up and greeted An An.
"An An wants to help sister entertain the guests." An An didn't move her buttocks.
"An'an and brother go outside to help sister guard and don't let bad guys come over. Can An'an do it?" Huo Xi coaxed him.
"Yes!" An An responded, holding her brother in hand and going out.
Wang watched the interaction between Huo Xi and her two younger brothers and nodded secretly in her heart.
"Your two brothers are well-educated."
"He's just a country man. He can't be compared with the children of wealthy families."
Wang glanced at her indifferently, "Sister Ning, do you blame your grandmother?"
Huo Xi smiled and said, "Didn't Sister Ning in your house die with her mother ten years ago due to excessive grief?"
Mrs. Wang sighed: "Then you are just complaining."
Huo Xi lowered his head and looked at the pattern on the tea cup next to him.
"At that time, the dynasty changed and the capital was in chaos. As the new emperor's faction, our family was watched everywhere. I was worried that your mother would be frightened and sent her to Zhuangzi outside the city to raise her baby. Even when your brother was born, the family didn't take care of it.
superior……"
"When my brother was born, my mother sent a letter to the government. But you told the public that he was stillborn!" Huo Xi sarcastically said.
"The mansion has indeed received your mother's letter, but the mansion is surrounded by people from the old emperor, and we can't do anything we want."
"My mother's letter can be delivered to the house, but the people in the house can't get out? Everyone is dead, whatever you want to say."
Wang said warmly: "You were still young back then, and you didn't understand the situation in Beijing. As our family belongs to the Qinwang faction, the people of the old emperor wanted to lock up everyone in our family and threaten your father with people.
When I get down there, I keep my tail between my legs and behave like a human being, and I don’t even dare to leave the house.”
Huo Xi shook her head, "I don't want to know this. I only know that my grandfather's sins are not as bad as those of a married woman, but you deprived my mother of her right to live. Still in the same way."
Wang was silent and then said: "Grandma, to be honest with you, I really didn't want your mother's life at that time. For the sake of the whole family, I wanted the new emperor to see our family's attitude. I just wanted your mother to demote herself as a concubine. What could I do to you?"
Mother refused..."
"If it were you, would you do it?"
Huo Xi's chest heaved, and she stood up with hatred, "My mother is the wife who opened the middle gate of the mansion and welcomed her in from the main gate. She gave birth to a legitimate son and daughter to your Zhang family. You want her to demote herself as a concubine?"
"For the sake of the whole family, I have to do it."
"Is my mother the only one in the Zhang family? Why sacrifice her!"
"Because only your grandfather was convicted and exiled!" Wang's voice also rose.
Huo Xi raised his head and closed his eyes.
"Yes, my grandfather was convicted and exiled...so my mother, me, including my younger brother who was just under a month old, all have to sacrifice for the Zhang family?"
Wang was silent.
Dai Si recalled: "When you were born, you were the eldest granddaughter in the family and your grandfather's first grandchild. He couldn't let go of you. If he had time, he would have someone pick you up, hold you in his hands, shake you, and tease you.
Ichiban even gave you a name himself... When he comes back from outside, he always brings you food from outside. I don't know how happy he is to see you sitting on the steps of the gate waiting for him..."
Huo Xi's eyes filled with tears when she thought of her grandfather who held her up high, rode her as a horse, and treated her as a treasure.
Wang thought of the man who died young, picked up the handkerchief and pressed it at the corner of her eyes.
"Back then, your grandfather sent your aunt to Prince Yan's palace. Later, he couldn't even smile. It wasn't until you were born that he could smile again... Sister Ning, grandma doesn't want your life.
My brother’s blood and that of your grandfather are also flowing in my body.”
Huo Xi calmed down and said, "You have no shortage of grandchildren in the British government. When you told me about Concubine Zhang, you wanted to remind me that back then, the concubine could sacrifice for the family, but now it's our turn, and we can also be sacrificed."
?"
Grandfather and grandson looked at each other, neither letting go of the other.
"Every step the Zhang family has taken to this day has not been easy. Your father has been fighting all over the world over the years, and his body is full of injuries. Now that he has finally won the title of Duke, do you want to watch him be deprived of his title, disarmed and idle at home?"
"I know that your brother is the direct descendant of the Yuan Dynasty, but the family will compensate him. He will not be short of money, and will find a future for him in the future. He can also be recorded in your mother's name..."
"But he needs to be recorded in my mother's name as a concubine. Is that what you mean?"
Huo Xi looked at her with cold eyes, "So, did my mother die in vain?"
"I can promise you that I will confine the Wu family in the mansion, and even if Zhang Jie attacks the prince in the future, he will not ask for a royal title for her."
"I don't agree!"
Huo Xi's eyes were firm: "Wu must die. Moreover, Zhang Jie was just a concubine when he was born. A concubine stepped on my mother and took everything from my mother and brother. Why can he still get a title?"
Zhang Jie was called "younger father-in-law" in and out of the house, while her younger brother had been living outside for ten years.
Why should Zhang Jie overpower her younger brother?
"You want to watch the Zhang family brothers fight against each other, and watch the Zhang family being pointed at and falling apart? Do you want your father to watch his own flesh and blood fight against each other?"
Wang was also unyielding: "I will not allow anyone to shake the foundation of the Zhang family!"
"Then please do it. If the Zhang family does not distinguish between legitimate and direct descendants, it will not be our siblings who shake the foundation!"
Mrs. Wang looked at her, very puzzled. She had already said that she would compensate their siblings with more money, future, and marriage than others.
And Huo Nian will also be recorded in the name of the Li family. The Li family will not lose any incense, and their siblings will not lose anything. They will get more than others. What is the loss?
Mrs. Wang stared at the child in front of her who was struggling with her, her eyes flickering.
If the child in front of her was the eldest son, perhaps these things would not have happened. Mrs. Wang felt pity in her heart.