After thirty years of marriage, Hua Hou has long been accustomed to listening to his wife in everything.

As soon as he returned to the government office after the court was dismissed, he was blocked by the servants in the palace.

Hearing that his wife asked him to return home immediately, Hua Hou suddenly felt a little confused.

His wife is indeed powerful, but she has always been very sensible.

Unless something major happened, she would never send anyone to disturb her official duties.

This shows that something big happened in the mansion today.

After questioning the servants to no avail, Hua Hou hurriedly gave a few words to the officials in the government office and boarded the carriage back home.

After rushing all the way, he finally appeared in front of his wife and children.

Mrs. Jianhua had a stern face, and the expressions of her children were a little strange, which made Hou Hua even more confused.

"Madam, what are you..."

Mrs. Hua still ignored him, while the brother and sister saluted him together and helped him sit on the chair.

Hua Hou shamelessly approached Mrs. Hua: "Madam, if my husband has offended you in any way, please bear with me. But I am really busy with official duties these days..."

Mrs. Hua turned her face away and snorted coldly.

Hua Xiaohan felt a little sorry for his father and hurriedly said to smooth things over: "Dad, my brother and I have something to ask you."

Hua Hou looked at his children and said, "If you have anything to say, just say it."

Hua Qinghan then recounted what happened when she went to the government office today.

"What?" Hua Hou couldn't believe his ears: "Do you suspect that a cousin of the Chen family was responsible for the kidnapping?"

Mrs. Hua turned her face and said coldly: "Master Marquis, do you think it is our mothers who are framing your cousin Qingli?"

Hua Hou touched his nose unnaturally: "Madam, I misunderstood. I just feel that there are still many doubts about this matter, so we must not jump to conclusions easily."

Madam Hua sneered: "The attendants around me are all stewards surnamed Hu with Bohai accents. There are so many noble children in the capital who only focus on the kidnapping of the eldest son of my Hua family. Do you think there is any doubt in this matter?"

Hua Hou said: "Madam, you know that Bohai County is located in a remote place and is not a wealthy place.

Although my cousin's husband is the prefect of Bohai, his family has been poor since he was a child, and he has been quite honest as an official in these years.

In addition, the Chen family's cousin's dowry is limited, so five thousand taels of silver is not a small amount..."

Mrs. Hua was so angry that she almost blurted out curse words.

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of a pair of children. She gritted her teeth and said, "Qinghan Xiaohan, if you want to know why cousin Chen hates our family, ask your father."

"Madam, what you said..." Hua Hou was extremely embarrassed.

Hua Xiaohan tugged on his sleeves hard: "Dad - there are no outsiders here, my brother and I are not young anymore, there is nothing you can say to us..."

Hua Hou was most afraid of his little daughter acting coquettishly, so he could only say: "Okay, okay, daddy will tell you everything. You should let go of your hands first and see if your official uniform is torn."

Hua Xiaohan let go of his hand and gently stroked the folds on his sleeves.

Hua Hou said helplessly: "In the past, our family's life was not well-off, but your grandmother couldn't help but feel ashamed. In addition, she felt sorry for my sister's niece, so she still took them into our house..."

"Dad -" Hua Xiaohan was unhappy: "We all know this, just tell the key points."

"You kids are really..." Hua Hou glanced at his wife helplessly: "Cousin Chen's family has lived in our family for five or six years, and my father has always regarded her as his biological sister..."

Mrs. Hua said: "Master Hou, please stop fooling people. What young man is not sentimental? It has been over thirty years, so why bother to hide it?"

Hua Hou blushed slightly: "Madam...my mother had such a plan at the beginning. I was still young at the time and had never gotten along with other girls, so I thought...it seemed good to follow my mother's arrangements.

But I haven’t done anything that is against the rules, right? God knows, ever since my father arranged a marriage for me, I have only one wife in my heart."

The Hua family brothers and sisters were all amused.

Hua Hou quietly glared at the two brothers and sister, and continued: "As for why my cousin hates our family, it must be my wife's fault."

Mrs. Hua said: "Don't bring these nonsense to me!"

Hua Hou spread his hands and said: "My wife is capable and prosperous. Within ten years of marrying into the Hua family, our family has been re-established, and my career has been extremely smooth.

Not to mention my cousin, there are so many jealous women in the capital!"

The brother and sister laughed again.

My father is seeking death!

Sure enough, Mrs. Hua scolded: "Tell me honestly, how many affairs did you have when you were young?"

"Madam, you are serious..." Hua Hou suppressed his smile: "My husband admits that he had a slight crush on his cousin from the Chen family when he was young, but it was not a romantic affair.

After I got married to my wife, I concentrated on my career and spent very little time with you. How could I have the leisure to think about other people?

Besides, if I had any evil thoughts about my cousin, how could I bring her and Teng Zhiyuan together?"

Mrs. Hua knew that what he said was the truth, but there was another reason why she was angry.

"You have no wrong feelings for her, but what about her? Although Teng Zhiyuan passed the Jinshi examination, his family is impoverished.

How could your arrogant cousin be willing to marry into the Teng family?"

Hua Hou coughed lightly: "It was my aunt's intention to let her be my concubine. Not to mention me, even my mother refused.

Later, my wife prepared a generous dowry for my cousin, and she got married happily..."

Mrs. Hua sneered: "At that time, our house could only breathe a little sigh of relief, but we were still far from being rich.

Besides, I'm not a good person. She, Chen Qingli, has done so many disgusting things to me. Why should I drain all my wealth just to let her marry in glory?

Mr. Hou, can you please stop messing with me?

We have been together for thirty years, why can't I still accept your truth?"

"Madam, I..."

"Originally, I wanted to save some face for you in front of the children. Since you don't care about it, why should I cover it up?

When Chen Qingli got married, how much money did you give her?"

Hua Hou was so anxious that the sweat on his forehead dropped.

"Madam, you know exactly how much money I have since I got married..."

"You don't have much money, but where is the old lady?" Mrs. Hua was so angry that even her mother didn't bother to call.

When my niece gets married, it is understandable that Mrs. Hua, as her aunt, will add makeup for her.

But Mrs. Hua never expected that her mother-in-law, who always cried about her poverty in front of her, would be so generous.

The Teng family was poor, and Teng Zhiyuan was an honest official. With his small salary, five thousand taels of silver was enough for their family to save for a lifetime!

If her mother-in-law hadn't given Chen Qingli a large sum of money to replenish her makeup, why would she be so generous?

The more Mrs. Hua thought about it, the angrier she became.

In the first few years after she married into the Hou family, she was exhausted from taking care of the housework.

So much so that after giving birth to my eldest daughter, I was unable to get pregnant again for many years, and I had to endure many looks from my mother-in-law for this reason.
Chapter completed!