nashuaworldcup Chapter 131 The Duke's House's Eldest Daughter 1
Chapter 131 The Duke's House's Eldest Daughter 1
Duke's Mansion
The morning mist has not yet dissipated and the morning dew has not yet appeared.
The maids and old women had already gotten up and started the day's cleaning. Although they tried their best to be gentle, sporadic noises were still heard in the silence.
Rays of sunlight filtered into the house through the carved wooden windows, and wisps of broken green smoke wafted from the three-legged incense burner on the table.
A slender hand gently lifted the crocheted curtain, and the girl sat up, pressing her forehead, silently digesting the complex memories in her mind.
The person who made the wish this time was a little special. She had lived three lives before and now should be her fourth life.
The original owner, Xu Muyao, was the only legitimate daughter of Duke Xu’s mansion.
My great-great-grandfather was originally a butcher. In the last years of the previous dynasty, the government was corrupt and there was a severe drought. People in various places were living in poverty and the common people were displaced.
Seeing that he could not survive, he joined the rebel army and followed them in the rebellion. After going around in circles, he finally joined Emperor Gaozu's army. Because of his bravery in killing the enemies, he was given the title of "follower of the dragon".
Later, Emperor Gaozu overthrew the previous dynasty, established a new policy, lavishly rewarded meritorious officials, and obtained the title of Duke, which was hereditary for three generations.
Now it has been passed down to my grandfather Xu Zhi, who is the third generation. When my grandfather passes away, my father Xu Chuan will have to downgrade his title to a lower rank.
My great-great-grandfather was a military general with average intelligence. He was able to reach a high position because of his loyalty and bravery, and a little bit of luck. However, he made no further achievements after he retired from the army.
It is not known whether the rumor was true or if he was deliberately concealing his incompetence, but in the next two generations, Xu's great-grandfather and grandfather were also of mediocre talent, and they were able to gain a foothold in the capital only thanks to their ancestors' influence.
By the time of their father Xu Chuan's generation, all the brothers had some abilities. Xu Chuan followed the path of a scholar and passed the imperial examination in his twenties. After years of hard work, he finally became the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, making him one of the few descendants of nobles who held real power.
Several younger brothers also made their own achievements. Some were sent to serve as officials, while others joined the army. Although their official positions were not higher than those of their elder brothers, they all had some power. The brothers looked after each other and had a strong influence in the court.
Xu Chuan was ambitious, and unwilling to be demoted to a lower rank in the future, so he decided to support the prince to ascend the throne and gain the credit for following the dragon, and he was indeed successful.
In his first life, he had high hopes for the second prince and married his eldest daughter, the original owner, to him. In the end, the second prince succeeded in ascending to the throne and made the original owner his queen. The Xu Guogong Mansion was in its heyday.
But the good times did not last long. Within three years, the new emperor found an excuse to execute the entire Xu family. The original owner was also deposed and sent to the cold palace, where she soon died of hunger and cold.
In the second life, the original owner told his father about his experiences in the previous life. Xu Chuan then supported the fourth prince, who was of a more honest character, and successfully helped him to ascend to the throne.
But after the Fourth Prince ascended the throne, his true colors soon showed up. It turned out that his charisma was all fake. He was actually very cruel and suspicious.
Less than a year after he took office, he had already turned the court into a chaotic mess. Duke Xu's Mansion also did not escape the fate of being suspected and purged, and the original owner was directly sentenced to death by him.
By the third life, the original owner was afraid. She told her father about her experiences in the previous two lives and tried her best to persuade him not to get involved in the fight among the princes and to choose to protect himself.
After several verifications, Xu Chuan believed his daughter's words and married her to an ordinary student with a clean background. Although their married life was not very sweet, it was stable and happy.
Later, the man passed the imperial examination and became the top scorer. She became the wife of the top scorer in a glorious manner. At the same time, she became pregnant and gave birth to a son safely.
But the peaceful days did not last for two years. When the family went to a farm in the suburbs for a trip, a group of bandits suddenly broke in and slaughtered her and her family.
Xu Muyao lived in the inner house all year round and didn't know much about state affairs, but he had some insight and realized that those bad guys were not the robbers they claimed to be, but more like well-trained killers.
Reliving her fourth life, she was shocked and terrified. She was frightened to death by the misfortunes of three consecutive lives. She only hoped that someone could rescue her from this nightmare from which she could not escape, and save the lives of her family.
[Ah! What a pitiful woman.] 295 shook his light ball and sighed, [Host, this wisher is too unlucky, isn't he?]
After receiving the memory, Shen Yuan also felt that the person who made the wish this time was not easy, but she was more curious about: [Why is this possible? ]
[Time and space can't be reversed so easily, right? A person is lucky to live again, but Xu Mengyao can have a third and fourth time. Unfortunately, she is not a person with great luck, otherwise she wouldn't have died tragically one after another. Is this strange? ]
The little girl was dumbfounded by the question: [Ah this... this... I don't know either~ How about the host let me contact the main system to ask? ]
Chen Yuan has not yet completely controlled this little thing, and of course he will not let it contact the so-called main system, lest he sell himself out.
He just looked at it with a smile and said: [Speaking of it, you have great magical powers. Reversing time and space is something that only powerful people can do, but for you, it is as easy as eating and drinking water. ]
Being stared at by her made 295's heart tremble, and goose bumps appeared all over his body. He said weakly: [It's... It's not as simple as the host said. It requires a lot of energy~]
[The energy you are talking about, are you referring to the soul power of the person who made the wish?] Chen Yuan sneered, [I didn't know that a mere mortal soul could have such great energy.]
Not only can it enable the system to break through the world wall, but it can also do what ordinary immortals cannot do, and it requires tremendous cultivation to reverse time and space.
Glancing at the little ball that exuded the word "confused" all over its body, I realized that it was also confused and there was nothing I could get out of it no matter how hard I tried.
Chen Yuan's eyes dimmed. He was afraid that he would have to wait until he fought with the "main system" it mentioned before he could get a glimpse of the truth.
It doesn't matter. She still has some patience. Just wait. When she recovers, she will be able to find out the truth.
295: […]
Why did I suddenly feel so cold just now? Could it be that I have lost connection with the main system for too long and the database has a virus? No, I need to check it carefully.
The small ball of light hid in the big devil's hair and disappeared quickly. At this moment, the maid outside the house gently knocked on the screen door.
After getting dressed and washing up, Chen Yuan followed the original owner's habit and let the maids serve him. When everything was ready, he got up and went out to pay his respects to his grandmother in the courtyard.
The wife of the Duke, Wei, came from a scholarly family. She had a rather dull temperament and paid the most attention to rules in her daily life. As a result, the yard was always kept in tidiness, and anyone who saw it would praise it, but it inevitably seemed a little dull.
Today is the fifteenth day of the lunar month, and all the family members are here, including my mother, Mrs. Li, several aunts, two sisters-in-law, and a group of cousins, a total of more than a dozen people.
Chen Yuan took the opportunity to match the faces of the people with those in the original owner's memory. She couldn't help but sigh in her heart. There were so many people in those big families in ancient times. She was a little uncomfortable coming from a lonely family to a place full of relatives.
Just as she was distracted, she suddenly heard the old lady call her name. Shen Yuan maintained the appearance of a lady from a noble family and looked up slowly.
Wei looked at her eldest granddaughter for a moment, then turned to Li and said, "Yao'er is young, she should be more lively. Don't be too restrained by her. Take her out more often and let her meet some young girls."
Li quickly responded. As the person involved, Shen Yuan was speechless. The ancients spoke in a very subtle way. If she did not have the original owner's three lifetime memories, she would probably not understand.
What they meant by taking her out for a walk and making friends was actually that she was old enough and could be taken out to be seen by the ladies of various families so that they could see her better.
She still prefers the modern straightforward way of speaking. This way of speaking, which allows one to understand the elegant meaning of music, is really brain-twisting.
But no matter how she felt in her heart, she pretended to be ignorant, smiled gently, and thanked her grandmother for her concern.
Fortunately, the old lady didn't like crowds, so after chatting with them for a few more minutes, she used the excuse of being tired to send them away.
After leaving the yard, everyone seemed to have taken off invisible shackles. Even their backs straightened a little. They exchanged a few polite words with each other, and then went back to their own courtyards.
Shen Yuan naturally followed Li.
There was no conversation along the way. The group returned to the courtyard. Li ordered someone to bring breakfast. After breakfast, she asked people to clear it away. Then she looked at her daughter and said faintly: "You heard what your grandmother said just now. Do you understand what she meant?"
Chen Yuan didn't want to understand. The original owner was only thirteen, the age of a modern junior high school student. What was she talking about marriage? Besides, she had no interest in it at all. It was impossible for her to get married, not to mention in this life, the next life, or the next life.
But the Xu family's bad luck has not yet been broken. If in the first two lives it can be said that they got involved in the struggle for imperial power and suffered the fate they sowed, but in the third life, Xu's father had already stayed away from the disputes, but the whole family was still wiped out. The reason behind this is worth pondering.
She has not yet figured out the cause and effect of this, nor has she figured out how to resolve it, so she has to stay in the Duke's Mansion for a short period of time to collect more information so that she can act more conveniently.
Shen Yuan sighed inwardly, lowered his eyes and replied, "My daughter understands."
Li smiled and said, "Okay, then tomorrow I will have someone come to your house to measure and tailor a few new clothes for you. It will be the old lady's birthday next month at the Qinghe Marquis's Mansion. You can show off your clothes and let the ladies in the capital see them."
Chen Yuan showed a little shyness at the right moment, avoided her gaze and lowered his head slightly, causing Li to laugh softly.
But she quickly stopped smiling so as not to annoy others. She then took her daughter's hand and taught her carefully how to behave outside, showing the loving heart of a mother.
But Chen Yuan really couldn't bear it anymore. She finally paid the original owner's mother. It was half an hour before she left. When she stepped out of the door, she looked at the blue sky and breathed a sigh of relief imperceptibly.
It is really difficult for her to be a lady from a wealthy family.
No, I really can’t live like this for a day. I must find out the crux of the problem as soon as possible and solve it quickly so that I can get out of this situation as soon as possible!