Chapter One

Begonias have not yet rained, pear blossoms have snowed first, and half of the spring is gone.

Walking through the Chaoshou Veranda is the courtyard of the Marquis's wife. The servants perform their duties and do not interfere with each other. They don't look at what they shouldn't see and don't listen to what they shouldn't hear.

I saw two ten-year-old young masters in brocade robes kneeling on the floor in the inner room. They were exactly the same.

Looking carefully, the young master on the left has his head lowered, but his eyes are rolling, and he doesn't know what new idea he is holding back; the young master on the right has tearful eyes, a flat mouth, and is rubbing his fleshy little hands.

Eyes, sobbing quietly.

These are the two youngest sons in the Hou family, they are twins from the same mother.

Mrs. Hou only gave birth to an old man when she was thirty-five years old. She held it in her hands so much pain that she was afraid of breaking it and holding it in her mouth for fear of melting. She was not willing to let them suffer even the slightest grievance.

The young master on the left is Rong Jue, who was born a little earlier and is his elder brother. The young master on the right is his younger brother, Rong Yu.

Today in the school, Rong Jue had a quarrel with the young master from the Duke's Mansion, and eventually it got more and more violent and they started fighting.

Rong Jue had practiced martial arts with his eldest brother since he was a child, and he had not suffered any losses. However, Rong Yu saw his brother being pushed to the ground and rushed to help. As a result, the young master of the Duke's mansion was beaten with a bruised nose and face. This matter was left to Mr.

It breaks my brain.

"Hands out!" Mr. Hou was so old that he was invited by his parents. When he came back in anger, he punished these two brats by kneeling down.

Mrs. Hou was reluctant to give up. Her youngest son cried so much that her heart was broken. Now seeing that Mr. Hou wanted to beat them, she couldn't bear it anymore and slapped him on the arm.

"What are you doing! Are you still beating your sons? Look at them, they are all kneeling shaky. Is your heart made of stone? It's so hard!" As she said this, Mrs. Hou began to wipe her tears.

"Madam, please don't cry." The Marquis only felt a headache. He didn't feel sorry for these two little boys, but they had really gone too far today. If he didn't punish them, how could he give an explanation to the Duke's government?

He could only put down the three-foot-wide ruler in his hand, hold his wife in his arms, and try to reason with her, "Madam, you didn't see that Guo Cheng's little son was beaten black and blue, and many people saw it.

Yes, you also know about the little son. His mother died in childbirth when he was giving birth to him. Guo Cheng is in pain as if his life is on his last legs. If I don’t give him an explanation, he will fight me to the death!"

"If you dare to hit your son, I will fight with you right now." Mrs. Hou glared at him with her charming face still intact.

The Marquis covered his forehead with one hand and glanced at the two kneeling cubs.

Rong Jue's little hand went to hold Rong Yu's hanging hand, making faces to make his brother laugh.

This rogue monkey has no regrets at all.

The Marquis was not angry at all, but rather amused. The twins had a close relationship and were brothers, so he was naturally happy.

"Master Marquis, madam, the prince is here." The maid came up to report.

The smile on the corner of Mr. Hou's mouth immediately stopped. He really felt like he had a severe headache. He looked at the lady in his arms. As expected, he also panicked and sat upright.

The two little boys even buried their heads deeper and did not dare to move any more.

"Father, mother."

The prince, Rong Chu, is currently the Minister of War. He is a sword in the hands of the emperor. He is the number one scholar in high school at the age of seventeen. He investigates various matters for the emperor. He is usually unsmiling and intimidating.

If the Hou family wants to say who should not be offended the most, it is not Mr. Hou or Mrs. Hou, but the prince.

His eyes glanced at the two little ones kneeling below, and he sat down.

The two little guys were frightened by the look in their eyes, and they called out to "big brother" in a low voice.

Rong Yu's face was pale, and his watery eyes looked like a frightened deer, but he blocked his brother Rong Jue's face with his body.

As soon as he came, Mr. Hou and Madam Hou stopped talking and sat on the main seat without interfering. The Madam's worried eyes almost overwhelmed the two little guys, but she also knew that there was nothing that could be done.

Her eldest son has been smart since he was a child and has an idea. Back then, she arranged a marriage without his consent and married the current Crown Princess. Nine years have passed since then. This son and the Crown Princess treat each other with respect and can't tell the difference between husband and wife.

She seemed to feel guilty, both for her son and her daughter-in-law.

Since then, she has said nothing about what her eldest son wants to do.

The children in the family are both afraid of and in awe of this eldest brother. They do whatever he says and don't dare to disobey him at all. But that's normal. She and the Marquis don't dare to contradict this son.

"Pick up the seven beads and hit the palms of your hands ten times each." Rong Chu fiddled with the Buddhist beads in his hand.

Mrs. Hou suddenly stood up and said tentatively: "Brother Chu, are there too many? They are still young."

Rong Chu looked at her. Mrs. Hou's voice slowly lowered until it disappeared. Finally, she sat back down and took a sip of tea to hide her emotions.

Shiqi is the most capable person around the prince. She has been with him since she was six years old and has been with him for more than ten years. She is quite trustworthy.

He stepped forward, respectfully took the board from the Marquis' hand, and stood in front of the two young masters.

"I'm offended, young master, please stretch out your hand."

"Can you be gentler?" Rong Yu raised his fair and lovely face and asked in a soft voice.

Shiqi smiled and said nothing.

Rong Jue, who was blocked behind him, whispered in a low voice: "Hit me harder, hit my brother softer."

Snap—pop—pop—

The sound of the board touching flesh made the two young masters blush. Rong Yu's tears were like crystal clear and round crystals, which soon piled up in a puddle in front of him. However, he still bit his lower lip and refused.

Make a sound.

There was no mercy on this board. Madam Hou turned her head away because she couldn't bear to look at it.

Seeing that her two little hands were red and swollen, Shiqi put her hands away and stood back to the prince.

"Rong Jue, tell me why I hit you." Rong Chu's dark color did not change. This question gave the young master no time to feel the pain.

When facing his father and mother, he can still pretend to be obedient and keep silent, but this is his big brother, and he will not be soft-hearted at all.

Thinking of the painful experience of being punished since he was a child, and looking at his younger brother whose tears were like broken pearls, he bravely admitted it.

"I shouldn't scold him for having a mother rather than a mother. He was bullied by his concubine and was like a dog wagging its tail begging for mercy."

"What are you talking about, brat!" As soon as she finished speaking, Mrs. Hou, who originally felt sorry for her son, slammed the table. There was no trace of love in her eyes, but instead they were full of anger and reproach.

Seeing that she was about to rush forward, Mr. Hou quickly stopped her.

Rong Yu, who was still crying, was so frightened that he moved in front of his brother to cover him.

"Do you know why I punished him?" Rong Chu sat aside and asked.

Mrs. Hou was so angry that she wanted to slap her youngest son, "The young master in the Duke's Mansion is two years younger than you. He lost his mother at such a young age, and he still had to live a life based on the face of a stepmother. Back then, he had a milky voice and a milky air.

You still call you brother behind your back, how can you say such a thing! Who taught you!"

"I thought he said that your brother was at fault first. You hurt him badly when a kid was playing around, so I just apologized. I didn't expect that, Rong Jue, you gave me a big surprise!"

Mrs. Hou was born into a general family. Over the years, she has been pampered and has a gentle and gentle temperament. She has never been so angry.

The Marquis' expression was not good either. He didn't know there was such an inside story, but he was still able to calm down and turned to look at his eldest son, "Does the Duke know about this?"

"I don't know." Rong Chu replied.

"No one else knows about this." Rong Chu stood up, "He is under his stepmother. Even if he is favored by the Duke of the country, his life will not be easy. I don't care about other people's families, but they two have to learn more.

People around you should also check the rules."

In Chunxuan Pavilion, Liuli took three days off to go home to take care of her sick younger brother, and she just came back now.

Carrying a small package on her back, she returned to the side hall where the maid lived, packed her things, and then changed into the same clothes as those in the house.

Oddly enough, Chunxuan Pavilion was extremely quiet today. Calculating the time, the young masters should have gone to school.

Liuli originally served the Marquis, but later she was given the gift of being a personal maid for the young masters, accompanying them to study and taking care of their daily life, all of which were close-to-serve tasks.

Her father, a poor scholar, married her mother, a merchant girl. Her grandfather did not agree with the marriage, and her mother finally forced her to marry her.

Her grandfather and grandmother still prepared a dowry for her, but they also severed the relationship between father and daughter.

Later, when my mother was pregnant with my younger brother, my father got together with a girl from a brothel and used my mother's dowry to subsidize the woman. The dowry was not much in the first place, but my father had squandered it over the years, and there was not much left.

After giving birth, my mother was so angry with her father and that woman that she didn't do a good job in the confinement period. She fell ill and then passed away.

She also has a sister and a brother. After her mother died, the family had no money, so her father married her sister off as a concubine to a wealthy businessman. The businessman was over fifty, old, ugly, and had special hobbies. While his brother was away,

She and her brother couldn't stop the work, and it just became a thing.

Dad continued to squander the bride price and sent the brothel girl away, but instead became addicted to gambling.

After the brother came back, he found out about this and went to look for his sister, only to find that her sister had been tortured to pieces and thrown into a mass grave. Even her body could not be found.

Dad had always known about this, but the wealthy businessman promised to give him a sum of money every month, so he pretended not to know.

The elder brother was furious and killed his father with a knife. The blood flowed to Liuli's feet. She hugged her brother and cried silently.

She wanted to fake the cause of death. It was not a pity for her father to die, so why should her brother suffer for someone like him?

But the elder brother said that he was going to surrender, so he treated it as the final bond between father and son.

Later, when her brother was imprisoned, she took him to live with him and sold herself into the prince's mansion as a maid.

Because she was born well and had a gentle and submissive temperament, she was chosen to serve the wife. With her favor, she was able to support herself and her younger brother.

Her younger brother is seven years old this year and is extremely well-behaved. She knows that he doesn't want to cause trouble to her, but she feels uncomfortable.

Life would have to go on, and she had to move forward and wait for her brother to come out.

"Liu Li, you're back." The speaker was Amber, who was serving the young master like her. He was a few years older than her, but had a lively temperament. He was a son of the Hou family.
To be continued...