I was a conman in the Ming Dynasty.

Chapter 298 Double Happiness

Chapter 298 Double Happiness

Uncle? Wen Tiren smiled wryly. Wang Wenzhou was really too unreliable, actually making his concubine call him uncle.

Wang Wenzhou quickly pulled Gao Guilan over, sat her up opposite him, and patted her head, coaxing, "Little Lanlan, do you think I want to take a concubine?"

Wang Wenzhou pointed at Wen Liandie and said in a serious tone, "Xiao Lanlan, look at her, she's not pretty at all, much worse than my Xiao Lanlan!"

"Yes!" Gao Guilan nodded, agreeing with what the uncle said.

Everyone present was both amused and exasperated. What was going on? Gao Guilan was so easily fooled.

Wang Wenzhou continued, "Xiao Lanlan, you should have heard by now that because I am an honest and upright official, there are always some corrupt officials who want to harm me!"

"Sigh..." Wang Wenzhou sighed and said in a serious tone, "The tallest tree in the forest is bound to be felled by the wind. Honest officials like you, who are dedicated to serving the people, are always ostracized by corrupt officials. Because you don't embezzle or break the law, you are attacked by them all the time."

"Pfft!" Wen Tiren couldn't help but laugh, and he quickly coughed a few times. Wang Wenzhou, you are truly shameless. If you were an honest official, there would be no corrupt officials in our Great Ming Dynasty.

"Oh dear!" Wang Ying said irritably, "Wang Wenzhou, you call yourself an honest official? I really didn't realize it. Putting everything else aside, you have several crystal cups in your sedan chair. You could easily sell any one of them for tens of thousands of taels of silver!"

Before Wang Wenzhou could retort, Gao Guilan preemptively defended him, saying, "Sister Ying, you've never been to Hanshan, so you don't know. The people of Hanshan all sincerely call Uncle Wang Qingtian (a high-ranking official in Chinese history). Anyone who dares to say a bad word about Uncle will definitely be cursed to death by the people!"

Everyone looked incredulous, especially Wang Ying and Wen Tiren, who knew Wang Wenzhou better. Wang Wenzhou was a shameless scoundrel; to put it nicely, he was unrestrained and dissolute, but to put it bluntly, he was utterly wicked. He had tormented all the officials to the point of wishing they were dead, so how could the common people still call him Wang Qingtian (a paragon of justice)?

Wang Wenzhou reached inside Wang Ying's clothes, pinched her a few times, leaned over, and whispered, "Baby, be good, give me some face!"

"Hmph!" Wang Ying snorted coldly. Shameless!

Wang Wenzhou continued, "Little Lanlan, do you know who he is? Old Wen is the current Grand Secretary. He admires my talent and insists on marrying his granddaughter to me. There are already many corrupt officials who want to harm me. If I don't marry his granddaughter, I won't be able to serve in the court. Little Lanlan, be good, I was forced into this!"

"Oh!" Gao Guilan pouted. Although she didn't want her uncle to take another concubine, he was forced into it, so she was too embarrassed to object. She thought that since she had already written to her sisters, she would just have to wait for them to arrive.

After Wang Wenzhou had settled things with Gao Guilan, he said to Wen Tiren, "I've been really busy lately. I'll marry Xiaodie after the peace talks are over. That way, I can trick the Tartars into giving me more money as a gift."

"Heh!" Wen Tiren sneered. Wang Wenzhou, why are you so boastful today? One minute you're making the Tartars beg the Ming Dynasty for peace talks, the next you're making the Tartars send more gifts. If the Tartars were this obedient, they would have been wiped out by the Ming Dynasty long ago.

“Boxin, since ancient times, marriage has been a major event, decided by parents and arranged by matchmakers. Tomorrow I will write to your father to discuss your remarriage,” Wen Tiren said.

Wang Wenzhou frowned and said irritably, "Old Wen, this is going too far! You said Xiaodie would be my concubine! How come you want her to be my wife now?"

Wen Tiren said with a smile, "Boxin, how can a family not have a legal wife?"

Wang Wenzhou shook his head repeatedly. "Damn it, I still have Lanlan and Ruru. I can't decide which of these two babies should be my wife. As for your granddaughter, forget it!"

Wen Tiren asked irritably, "Boxin, I am the Grand Secretary of the current court. My newly established Marquisate is a good match for you. My granddaughter is not good enough for you?"

Wang Wenzhou retorted, "Old Wen, we can't break our promise. We agreed on a concubine. Now you want to go back on your word? Why don't we call off the marriage? I won't marry you!"

"No! Boxin, may I discuss this with your father?" Wen Tiren quickly said.

Wang Wenzhou said with a wry smile, "Old Wen, stop joking. Even if my father agrees, I won't. I only have four children by my side, and there are six more children in the family. They all entered the family before your granddaughter. Why should your granddaughter be the legal wife?"

"Hmm!" Gao Guilan nodded and quickly said, "It's not your granddaughter's turn to be Uncle's legal wife."

Wen Tiren shook his head with a wry smile. Wang Wenzhou was too unreliable. He had already investigated and found that none of Wang Wenzhou's wives and concubines came from good families, except for Wang Ying. The others were either girls from brothels, women from ordinary families, or even a maid from the Duke of Ying's mansion.

"Fine! As long as you treat Xiaodie well, I have no other requests," Wen Tiren said helplessly.

At this moment, at Hanshan Hospital, Wang Wenzhou's daughter, Liu Rushi, is giving birth.

Wang Wenzhou's babies were all waiting anxiously outside the ward.

Sheng Lan held Zhang Xiaohua in her arms, while the other babies all had big bellies.

Zhang Jiao, holding Jiang Xuyang's hand, asked anxiously, "Why is giving birth so troublesome? It's been so long and the baby still hasn't come out. Should we find a midwife? Zhao Fengmin is heavily pregnant, and she's never given birth before. Can she handle it?"

Sheng Lan comforted her, "Sister Zhao Fengmin has delivered many babies, so there shouldn't be any problem."

At this moment, the door to the delivery room opened, and Zhao Fengmin came out carrying the baby, excitedly saying, "Sister Liu Rushi has given birth to a son for her husband."

Sheng Lan's expression changed. All of the master's concubines except for her were pregnant, and Liu Rushi had given birth to another son for the master. It seemed that her position in the master's heart was about to be taken away by Liu Rushi.

The children came to Liu Rushi's bedside to visit her.

Liu Rushi was somewhat weak. She looked at her son with affection and said in an annoyed tone, "We are in Hanshan giving birth to Wang Wenzhou's child, and he is out in the capital having affairs! I've made up my mind, I will set off for the capital in a few days."

Sheng Lan said, "No! You just gave birth and should stay home to recuperate. If you really want to go to the capital, you should wait until after you finish your confinement period."

Ge Wei and Liu Rushi were the closest of friends, so she quickly agreed, "Yes, Sister Liu, you can't overwork yourself during your postpartum period. It's a long journey from Hanshan to the capital, and the journey is tiring. If you get sick during your postpartum period, it could be a lifelong problem."

"Sigh..." Liu Rushi sighed and said plaintively, "That rascal Wang Wenzhou can't be left alone to keep an eye on him! You've all read Gao Guilan's letter. Why don't you go to the capital first, Sheng Lan?"

Sheng Lan shook her head with a wry smile. It wasn't that she didn't want to go to the capital, but rather that she wouldn't be able to bear to leave Wang Wenzhou there. If she were truly jealous, given Wang Wenzhou's past attitude towards her, none of the babies here would have been allowed to enter the house.

Liu Rushi rolled her eyes at Sheng Lan and said irritably, "Wang Wenzhou is such a womanizer. You can't just ignore him and let him run wild all the time! Here's what we'll do: I'll go to the capital after I finish my postpartum confinement!"

"Okay!" Zhang Jiao nodded and said, "After I give birth and finish my postpartum confinement, I will also go to the capital."