Faced with Miss Eight's question, the servant girl told her everything about Chu Lian's situation.

She spoke in great detail, even mentioning that He Changdi and Chu Lian wore the same colored clothes.

This was like poking a hornet's nest. The thing she couldn't stand the most was Chu Lian living a better life than her.

In the past, she always suppressed her in the Ying Public House, causing "Chu Lian" to suffer a lot. However, after Chu Lian got married, the gap between them grew wider and wider.

Chu Lian owned Guilin Restaurant, which made a lot of money every day, while she had to ask her parents for permission to buy a piece of jewelry.

Chu Lian was already married, but Big Brother Xiao was still thinking about her and couldn't forget her.

Even her husband's family was more prominent than the Ying Public House. Her husband made military contributions in the north and was even conferred the title of Marquis of Anyuan. They were both daughters of the second branch, but Chu Lian had quietly become the marquis's wife, while she was nothing!

Sister Yuan couldn't stand such a huge gap.

They were all from the same family, so why was Chu Lian doing so much better than her?!

Even the Wei Public House had a whole new level of respect for her!

Originally, she had invited Chu Lian back today with the intention of making her suffer. After all, the two of them had a world of difference in their hairpin ceremony.

Seeing her hairpin ceremony so grand, Chu Lian would definitely remember her own simple and perfunctory hairpin ceremony.

But even so, Sister Yuan was not happy about it.

He Changdi had official business, yet he had personally escorted Chu Lian to the Ying Public House. Wasn't this Chu Lian showing off her status in Duke Jing 'an's residence and showing off He Sanlang's current achievements?

Sister Yuan gripped the handkerchief in her hand tightly. Her expression was twisted, and her heart was full of indignation.

The only thing that Chu Lian could compare to her was her face!

Xiao Qin saw Miss Eight's gloomy expression. She was biting her lip in silence, obviously lost in her own thoughts. She waved her hand to dismiss the servant girl.

"Miss Eight?" Xiao Qin called out tentatively.

Sister Yuan came back to her senses and took a deep breath to suppress the overwhelming jealousy in her heart.

Chu Yuan gave Xiao Qin a look, and Xiao Qin understood tacitly. Taking advantage of the fact that no one in the courtyard was paying attention, she sneaked out.

Chu Yuan stared at herself in the mirror. The corners of her mouth curled up, and a strange smile appeared on her young face.

Chu Lian, aren't you living better than me?

Then I will make you lose all standing and reputation, and completely destroy you!

She wanted to know if the upright and plainspoken He Sanlang, who loved his wife as much as his own life, would still want her after seeing Chu Lian's state at that time!

Chu Lian was invited to the rear courtyard by the Old Madame's personal maid.

At this time, the elders and sisters of the third house of the Duke of England were all present.

"Chu Lian", who was a young lady in the Duke of England's Public House, only saw the old lady a few times a year. At this time, she was holding Chu Lian's hand intimately and asking all sorts of questions out of concern.

The other aunties and aunties, who used to look down on Sixth Miss, also put on a look of concern.

It had been more than half a year since she married into Count Jing 'an's estate, and the fake relatives from her paternal family asked her the most about whether she had any news in her belly.

One of the aunties said the harshest words.

"Our Chu family's daughters need to give birth. Sister Lian, look at all the older sisters you married out. Which one of them didn't have a fat son? You can't bring shame to our Chu family."

These words sounded like they were urging Chu Lian to give birth quickly, but in reality, they were secretly mocking her for marrying into Count Jing 'an's estate because of the Chu family's daughters' inexplicable reputation. She was lucky enough to obtain such an enviable fortune.

In addition, they even stepped on her so that she couldn't get pregnant to this day.

Chu Lian's current status was indeed envied by these women, so it was inevitable for them to say such harsh words.

However, this was also because Chu Lian's status wasn't high enough. If Chu Lian's status reached a certain level, these women wouldn't even dare to say anything.

For example, Great Princess Chaoyang of the previous dynasty. Although she never had a child, she was a heroine among women. She led a hundred thousand elite troops to fight against Prince Huai An's rebellion and preserved the legitimacy of the imperial family. She was given the title of Imperial Protector Princess.

The eldest princess's husband's family had a strict temperament. Prince Consort Qu and the eldest princess never had a child, but the Qu family never dared to complain. Mother Qu even advised her son not to take a concubine.

Although the world couldn't be sure if Prince Consort Qu and Great Princess Chaoyang were truly in love, it was true that Great Princess Chaoyang had never had a child, and Prince Consort Qu had never taken a concubine. This was enough.

Chu Lian sat next to the old madam. The corners of her lips curled up slightly, but she didn't respond to this auntie's words.

The old madam held her hand with a benevolent expression. "Sister Lian, although your auntie's words are a bit harsh, they aren't wrong. You've been married to Marquis An Yuan for more than half a year. Why hasn't there been any movement in your belly? This won't do!"

Chu Lian didn't expect the Ying family to have their eyes on her belly.

She was only sixteen. Even if she was pregnant normally, it was still too early!

On the right side, third auntie seemed to have thought of something. Her eyes turned, and she smiled at Chu Lian, "Sister Lian, our Sister Fu is already fourteen this year. She'll be coming of age next year. You should know that your third auntie is very good at giving birth. Sister Fu has three older brothers above her!

If your belly still doesn't react in a few more months, it's not good to keep dragging this on! "

Chu Lian felt it was a bit strange at first when she heard third auntie's words. Why would she suddenly mention Sister Fu? When third auntie finished speaking, Chu Lian immediately understood.

She was very shocked. Third auntie's words clearly meant that she wanted Sister Fu to become He Changdi's concubine and give birth to a child!

What kind of mother was this? Did she want nothing more than for her own child to be well?

Even if the Ying family's power had declined, the legitimate daughter of the first wife of the family couldn't be given to a high ranking official as a concubine!

What was wrong with her third auntie's brain?!

Once third auntie's words came out, Chu Lian's forced expression of joy faded.

She originally didn't want to care about what these aunties and aunties were saying, but now she had no choice but to directly respond.

"Grandmother, I know you're doing this for my own good, but my husband said that we're still young, and there's no rush to have a child. We should let nature take its course. Plus, you all know the He family's style."

Chu Lian's words mercilessly slapped these people in the face, and she also forcefully rejected third auntie's suggestion.

Which woman's husband didn't have a concubine? Even if it was the Old Madam, the Old Duke of Ying still had two young maids who weren't even twenty years old yet in his study!

There was no need to even mention the old aunties.

There were a lot of concubine sons and daughters, and the one with the best condition was Chu Lian's father, Chu Qizheng. She and Chu Yuan didn't have any concubine brothers or sisters, but that was most likely because Chu Qizheng was too old …

Out of all the women in the hall, only Chu Lian's husband, He Changdi, didn't have a concubine. The He family's rules were there!

The women who were talking all at once immediately fell silent, and the hall fell into an awkward silence.

In the end, it was Sister-in-law Rong who coughed and pulled everyone back to their senses. Sister-in-law Rong smiled and said, "Auntie, auntie, as elders, aren't you ashamed? Since you're jealous of a young girl like Sister Lian, it's our Chu family's fortune that Sister Lian marries well."

Some of the smarter ones hurriedly chimed in.

Chu Lian smiled. This wasn't a suitable time for her to speak, but the Old Madam's smile was a little awkward.

"Alright, alright, it's getting late. The wedding ceremony is about to begin. Everyone, please leave."

Sister-in-law Rong took the opportunity to remind everyone.

At this moment, everyone in the room stood up and walked towards the large reception hall in the front courtyard of the Ying Duke's residence.

The wedding ceremony would be held there.

After the Old Madam was helped out by the maids, Sister-in-law Rong personally came to welcome them.

Sister-in-law Rong first looked Chu Lian up and down, then her face was full of smiles. "Sister Lian, I haven't seen you for a few months, and you've become more and more beautiful. No wonder An Yuan Hou was worried about you coming back alone."

It had to be said that Sister-in-law Rong was a very good talker.

With a daughter-in-law like her in the main branch, at least the rear courtyard would be cleaner than the other two branches.

Chu Lian also had a smile on her face. "Sister-in-law, don't tease me."

Sister-in-law Rong reached out and took Chu Lian's arm, and the two of them walked out of the reception hall in the rear courtyard. "Sister Lian, I'm busy today, so I can't take care of you. Why don't you go to the front courtyard with Sister Su?"

Perhaps it was because of what had happened at Marquis Dingyuan's residence, but Chu Lian always felt that Sister-in-law Rong was a little more careful and ingratiating with her.

Chu Lian nodded. "Sister-in-law, you go do what you need to do. Don't worry about me. I'll go look for Fifth Sister right now."

Sister-in-law Rong smiled apologetically and left in a hurry.

Chu Lian left the Old Madam's courtyard, turned a corner, and saw Sister Su standing beside a rose tree.

After not seeing her for a few months, Fifth Miss Su had lost a lot of weight.

The baby fat on her cheeks had completely disappeared, and not only that, her cheeks were slightly sunken. It was obvious that she had lost some of her body weight.

Chu Lian frowned. She didn't think that Sister Su would become so haggard after not seeing her for a few months.

"Fifth Sister." Chu Lian called out softly when they were close.

Sister Su, who was in a daze, immediately came back to her senses when she heard the voice. She looked in Chu Lian's direction and stood in the same spot with a pale smile on her face.

"Fifth Sister, how did you lose so much weight?"

Sister Su shook her head. "It's nothing. It's just the mess in the estate. I can't avoid it, so I naturally lost weight."

Seeing that Sister Su didn't have anything to talk about, Chu Lian didn't make things difficult for her.

Sister Su held Chu Lian's hand and looked her up and down carefully. The pale smile on her face became more genuine. "Sixth Sister looks more energetic than before."

Chu Lian smiled bitterly and helplessly. How could she not be "refreshed"? She was drinking tonic twice a day. He Changdi was on vacation, so he accompanied her to eat every day. Because He Sanlang was watching, she ate a lot more than before …

"Come, let's talk as we walk." Sister Su held Chu Lian's hand and led her to the front yard.

There was a small garden in front of them. At this time, everyone was gathered in the front yard. It was hard to find a single servant in the garden in the back yard. It was quiet and secluded, a good place to talk.

Sister Su gave a look to the senior maidservant behind her. The senior maidservant immediately took a few steps back respectfully, distancing herself from Sister Su and Chu Lian.

Chu Lian understood Sister Su's intention and waved at Wenqing and Wenlan who were following behind.