By a twist of fate, the illegitimate son of the Marquis's family marries the county princess.

Chapter 4 Pei Rujing claims to be ill

After recognizing the person, it's time for breakfast.

The servants laid out the dishes and then withdrew.

Everyone got up and walked to the dining table, but no one sat down. Instead, they hesitated because they suddenly realized that how to sit down had become a problem.

In the past, when they had family reunion dinners, the seating arrangements were very clear. As the heir of the Marquis of Zhongyong, Wen Zongren naturally sat to the left of Wen Chuanhong, while the youngest son, Wen Zongqi, sat to the left of Madam Jiang.

Wen Zongji was always the one sitting at the end.

Now that he's married, he's still a son of a concubine in the Marquis's household, but his wife is the Princess of Anhe County. If they sit at the end of the table, Wen Chuanhong worries that Pei Rujing might overturn it as soon as they sit down.

But after only a moment of silence, Madam Jiang smiled and said, "Princess, sit next to me. Let's get to know each other better."

The eldest daughter-in-law, Madam Zhong, quickly played along, feigning jealousy: "With the county princess entering the family, Mother probably won't even have eyes for her daughters-in-law anymore."

Pei Rujing had no interest in putting on a show of mother-in-law and daughter-in-law affection, but since Jiang Shi hadn't made things difficult for Pei Rujing when serving tea, Pei Rujing was willing to give her some face: "Then I'll sit next to my mother-in-law."

Everyone took their seats in turn.

There was no rule of not speaking while eating in the Marquis's residence, but this breakfast was unusually quiet. Pei Rujing had just entered the residence, and no one knew her character or habits, so they didn't know what they were talking about.

After breakfast, everyone parted ways to attend to their own affairs.

Yunguangyuan

After returning to Yunguang Courtyard, Wen Zongji went into his study, needing time to sort out his current situation.

Inner room

Qinghe took off Pei Rujing's cloak and placed it on the screen.

Pei Rujing leaned back on the couch, casually picked up a pastry and took a bite: "I'm not used to the food at the Marquis's residence. Qinghe, have someone prepare a small kitchen in Yunguang Courtyard later."

Her dowry also included a cook.

Qinghe turned her head and looked at Granny Feng.

Granny Feng said helplessly, "Princess, this is the Marquis's residence. If you want to set up a small kitchen, you need the Madam's permission."

Pei Rujing: "Then let's send someone over to ask."

It was only the second day of their marriage, and Granny Feng felt she had sighed more times than in the past year: "Princess, you've already married into the Marquis's mansion, and the Madam is your mother-in-law, so she should be treated better."

Pei Rujing blinked, looking completely innocent: "Was my attitude bad?"

She is clearly a very well-behaved person.

Granny Feng's lips twitched, and she decided to skip the topic: "When a new bride enters the household, she usually needs to follow the rules. Madam doesn't seem like the type to cause trouble. The county princess can symbolically pay her respects to Madam morning and evening for a few days. Afterwards, she can feign illness, and Madam should be exempt from the county princess's greetings."

Is Pei Rujing someone who has the patience to put on a show?

Obviously not!

Pei Rujing leaned against the bed: "Since you're going to claim illness, why wait a few days? You can claim illness tomorrow."

Although Wen Chuanhong and his wife gave her a way out when serving tea, Pei Rujing's resentment did not dissipate so easily.

Should we send her to establish rules for the Jiang family?

It's impossible!

Not even for one day!

Granny Feng sighed, "If you claim to be ill tomorrow, I'm afraid the lady will be unhappy, and the Marquis won't be pleased either."

Pei Rujing remained unconcerned: "What do they have to do with me?"

"And what about the son-in-law?"

Granny Feng: "Princess, you are already married to your husband. This stalemate can't go on forever. You're making your husband lose face."

Pei Rujing didn't care about Wen Zongji at all: "It's not bad to just continue like this."

Anyway, she was surrounded by her maids and servants, so Wen Zongji couldn't do anything to her.

Granny Feng sighed, "Princess, your husband is a man, and he needs to carry on the family line. You and your husband are at this stalemate, unwilling even to consummate the marriage. Are you going to have to find him concubines and watch one illegitimate child after another be born?"

"He can forget about it!"

Pei Rujing sat up straight, her face cold, and said, "If he dares to take a concubine, I'll break his legs."

Even if she doesn't use her things, she won't allow anyone else to touch them.

After marrying Wen Zongji, countless people in the capital laughed at her. If she still couldn't control Wen Zongji and let him take a concubine, where would she put her face?

Granny Feng was dumbfounded: "Then the son-in-law must have children, right?"

After venting her anger, Pei Rujing leaned limply against the couch and said, "Oh, let's talk about this later."

"Princess..."

Pei Rujing covered her ears: "I can't hear you! I can't hear you!"

Pei Rujing is only sixteen years old now, still a child herself, and doesn't want to think about having children at all.

Seeing that Granny Feng was somewhat frantic, Qinghe and the other maids lowered their heads and silently felt sorry for her.

……

Unable to dissuade Pei Rujing, Granny Feng had no choice but to bite the bullet and go to the main courtyard to tell Madam Jiang that Pei Rujing was unwell and would be unable to come to pay her respects the next day.

Madam Jiang, with a kind expression, said with concern, "Paying respects is a small matter; the most important thing is for the county princess to take good care of her health."

Granny Feng said, "Thank you for your concern, Madam. The county princess will come to pay her respects as soon as she recovers."

Madam Jiang waved her hand: "I've said it before, the Marquis's mansion doesn't have that many rules. Let's skip the greeting. It's better for the county princess and Zongji to be well than anything else."

Granny Feng feigned difficulty: "Isn't that a bad idea?"

Jiang said, "I will also waive the greetings from Zongren's wife, but this is not an exception for the county princess."

Granny Feng: "Madam is kind. This old servant will go back and inform the county princess."

Then, Granny Feng left.

Jiang's expression changed instantly, and she said angrily, "I didn't expect to put on airs as a mother-in-law in front of Princess Anhe. Even if she doesn't want to set rules, she should at least pretend, right? It's only the second day of the marriage, and she's already unwilling to do even a single day of morning and evening greetings."

Jiang Shi didn't consider herself a bad mother-in-law. When Zhong Shi first entered the family, she only established rules for a few months to make sure that Zhong Shi wasn't a troublemaker. So Jiang Shi reduced the number of times Zhong Shi had to pay her respects to her mother morning and evening. Later, when Wen Ge'er was born, she even exempted Zhong Shi from paying her respects to her mother morning and evening.

But Pei Rujing was unwilling to even pretend, which Jiang Shi really didn't expect.

Granny Liu comforted her, "I've long heard that Princess Anhe is spoiled and willful. This marriage was a twist of fate, so it's understandable that she's unhappy. Anyway, she usually stays in Yunguang Courtyard, so Madam should not take it to heart."

Admittedly, Madam Jiang could force Pei Rujing to follow the rules as her mother-in-law, but Pei Rujing was not only the daughter of the eldest princess, but also the most beloved niece of Emperor Shun'an.

Emperor Shun'an already felt sorry for Pei Rujing, who was tricked into marrying Wen Zongji. If Lady Jiang dared to force Pei Rujing to follow the rules, Emperor Shun'an would definitely hold Wen Chuanhong accountable.

Wen Zongren will also be taking the postgraduate entrance examination next year!

Because she acted impulsively and risked her husband's and son's future, Jiang was out of her mind and did this.

Aside from trying to come to terms with it, Jiang had no way to deal with Pei Rujing.

Madam Jiang took a deep breath: "Forget it, there are a lot of things to deal with in the manor, thinking too much will only cause trouble."