The main courtyard is deep and quiet, and the willow branches outside the wall are graceful and swaying in the soft wind. Several orioles were hidden inside, emitting sweet and melodious chirps.
The afternoons in late spring and early summer were quiet, and it was obvious that the newly painted courtyard was burning with the scent of wood honey that could drive away bad smells. The red lacquered corridor pillars are illuminated by the light, and under the corridor, six pretty maids in colorful clothes are led by two women in charge. They all stand with their hands down, waiting for orders.
They were specially sent servants from the Shen family. They were afraid that Wei Changying would not have enough manpower. In fact, it was also a matter of etiquette. Wei Changying had so many people as his bride, how could he lack someone to serve him closely
After arriving at the Shen Family Courtyard in Gyeonggi Province before noon, Wei Changying saw these people. He just said a few polite words and asked for hot water for bathing. He bluntly said that he was more accustomed to being served by people around him, so he sent them away, leaving only The dowry people were busy around.
She had just come out of the bath at this moment, her skin was radiant and she was looking forward to it. Her wet black hair was draped over her shoulders and down to her knees. She sat on the couch and piled it down to cover half of the couch. Huang ordered the maid to wring her hands with a handkerchief, and said with a smile that she now looked like a water hibiscus, and it was a red lotus.
After a few jokes, Mrs. Huang ordered Jiaoge and Hange to choose clothes that were more homely but not too casual, and explained: "I'm afraid the second master has arrived a long time ago. I guess after the eldest lady has packed up, she will definitely I will come to visit the eldest lady.”
Because Wei Changying was brought out of the imperial capital in an infant form, she had no impression of this second uncle. From what Mrs. Song and Mrs. Song said, including Song Zaishui's reminder, Wei Shengyi has always been ambitious, coveting everything in the big house, and especially being deeply hostile to Wei Changfeng. However, she only bothered Mrs. Song. Someone who can hide this ambition for a while.
But when Wei Changying was ruined by someone in the imperial capital, Wei Shengyi helped him more or less. Mrs. Song did not hide this matter from her. Of course, Mrs. Song would not think that Wei Shengyi was a good uncle because of this.
In fact, this is what the old lady told Wei Changying: "Your second uncle is very cunning. He knows that your grandmother and I are still old bones, and there is Changfeng. He doesn't even think about the position of the clan leader." Think! If he continues to be stubborn, he will only harm his wife and children! But now he changed his mind and wanted to be submissive first to get your grandfather to protect him. Don't worry about it anymore! Ignore his solicitude. After all, he was not born by me, and he is not a person you can trust after all! However, since he wants to be a good uncle, don't hesitate to bother him if you have anything to do! Ignore you, just write to Fengzhou, and grandma will take care of him for you!"
Wei Changying understood the meaning of his grandmother's instructions and decided to meet his second uncle politely, being on guard, but also adhering to the ways of a junior. So after listening to Mr. Huang's words, he urged the girl to move quickly, lest she ask her uncle to wait outside before Wei Shengyi arrived, which would be too rude.
Seeing that she was getting anxious, Mrs. Huang smiled again and said, "Don't worry, eldest lady, there are people from the Shen family outside? Now the second master is probably serving tea in the front hall, and his uncle will receive him. Let's go back to eldest lady's place. The Shen family will tell you, and then the second master will come. Otherwise, it will be inconvenient for the eldest lady to meet here, and it will be awkward for the second master to wait outside. "
Wei Changying felt relieved now and said angrily: "Auntie didn't tell me everything. She asked me to worry about leaving my uncle outside."
"Yes, yes, my aunt is not good." Mrs. Huang said with a smile, "Miss, what do you think of this red grape-pattern cross-collar undershirt? It matches the twelve ragged undershirt and is tied with a gold brocade belt of peonies. After drying her hair, she asked Qin Ge to comb her hair. After all, although this is the first time that the eldest lady has remembered, it doesn’t need to be too grand. It’s better to be homely and show affection! "
Wei Changying turned his head and looked at it a few times, and said: "My aunt picked the right one, that's it."
After a while, the well-dressed Wei Changying welcomed his second uncle Wei Shengyi in the courtyard.
Wei Shengyi is three years younger than Wei Zhenghong. His appearance is not similar to Wei Zhenghong or Wei Huan, but he is also very upright and beautiful. Wei Changying speculates that he should look like his biological mother, Lu.
The attitude of this second uncle was as kind and close as Wei Changying expected. He was extremely sincerely pleased to see his grown-up niece, and sighed with emotion when he saw that his grown-up niece was getting married.
The uncle and nephew were very sad to meet under such circumstances. When it came to the emotional point, Wei Shengyi even took out a brocade box with her own hands and said that she was giving extra makeup to her niece - at the beginning of the year, the second wife's gift and makeup were all Hurry up and send it to Fengzhou.
... After Wei Shengyi left, Wei Changying opened the brocade box and saw inside a pair of mutton-fat jade mandarin ducks the size of a baby's hand. They were carved lifelike. There were holes on the necks of the mandarin ducks, so they could be worn with palace ribbons or laces. Under the brocade at the bottom of the box, there are neat eight-inch long palace ribbons of different colors and styles for Wei Changying to use as he pleases.
This gift is not priceless, but it is not light either, and it has a beautiful meaning. Mr. Huang said aside: "This seems to be a piece of fine mutton-fat jade that the second master bought in the early years. He has kept it untouched. Maybe he took it out this time to carve mandarin ducks. It seems that the carving is from the Ye family. .”
The Ye family, a craftsman, and the Ji family, a medical doctor, both have been inherited for more than a hundred years. Although they belong to the craftsman level, they have met many aristocratic families from generation to generation and have some status. It is difficult for ordinary people to hire them to do work for them. of. If they can be recognized by a wealthy family, their skills will naturally be good. But Wei Changying has been accustomed to wealth since he was a child. This time when he came out of the cabinet, Mrs. Song opened the Wei family's warehouse again, selected thousands of Liancheng treasures and packed them to the bottom of the box for her, and also took her to expand her horizons in the warehouse.
Therefore, although the pair of mandarin ducks were not bad, they only looked at them casually once and then handed them over to the cage that Huang received and there were still vacancies.
Wei Shengyi came over to visit and send the couple as a gift tomorrow... It was just to express an attitude, so he didn't pick anything really valuable. Good mutton-fat jade and Ye family's handicrafts were enough to pass the scene. .
Wei Changying thought that his grandmother told him to be careful about his uncle, but he shouldn't feel embarrassed if he should find him. Now it seems that Wei Shengyi thinks the same way. In the scene, he was very cheerful as an uncle should do. Not refusing. As for the other side of things, only later will we know.
But then again, now that I am marrying into the Shen family, I am a member of the Shen family. I really want to find her natal family... Even in the imperial capital, Wei Shengyi is not the only one. The second aunt who married into the Su family is her grandmother's biological child. daughter.
Besides, although Shen Zangfeng didn't come to see her in person because of the rules, he had people greet her and take care of her every day. Whenever she made some requests, such as staying in a certain city and praising the scenery there, Shen Zangfeng would use the excuse that his mount was tired and order the team to stay for two days to rest, but privately sent someone to escort her to play nearby. Fan…
Now it seems that this husband is very considerate to her. When she entered this courtyard today, the servants of the Shen family she met were also extremely respectful, showing no signs of contempt or rudeness. If you act cautiously in the future, you may not need support from your parents’ family.
This day is the fifth day of April, and the official day of entry has been decided early on, which is the seventh day of April. So I will stay in this villa for two nights and then go to the city on the seventh day.
Because Wei Shengyi wanted to see her off and show her importance to her niece, she took a leave of absence and arrived today. After all, Wei Zheng Yin, the second direct aunt, was the daughter-in-law of another family. She could not be as free as Wei Shengyi, so she sent her confidants to visit her one day late.
The person sent by Wei Zhengyin was an old acquaintance of the Huang family. Her surname was Qu. She was already a grandma's age, but she still looked very energetic. She respectfully saluted Wei Changying and said hello. After Wei Changying excused himself, she said in an apologetic tone why Wei Zhengyin could not come to visit in person: "Madam, I wanted to come in person, but these two Madam Ri Lao feels unhappy and cannot help but serve the decoction in front of the bed. "
"I'm supposed to visit my aunt after arriving in the imperial capital, so how can I bother my aunt?" Wei Changying expressed his understanding, "But I bothered my grandma to make this trip."
Aunt Qu said with a smile on her face: "You can't call it Miss's labor. The old slave shamelessly asked Madam for this job. To be honest with Miss, Madam has a lot of people who want to share in My Lady's happiness. I got it because I have served my wife for many years!"
Wei Changying pursed his lips and smiled, saying, "Mommy, you really know how to talk." Then he invited her to have some snacks.
Aunt Qu chatted with her for a few more words, left her condolences, then left and returned to the city to give Wei Zhengyin a reply.
When she left, Huang volunteered to see her off. When he came back, he didn't show anything. He didn't wait until the night when he served the guard chief Ying, and then whispered: "When Grandma Qu left, she said to the servant girl that she was a young lady from the Liu family who came two days ago. I’ll stay at Shen’s house since then.”
"Huh?" At this time, Huang would never say anything that had nothing to do with him, and Wei Changying frowned.
Sure enough, Mrs. Huang said: "This Miss Liu is a clan sister of the eldest young lady of the Shen family. It is said that the eldest young lady misses her sister and specially invited her to come and stay for a while. But Aunt Qu said... This Miss Liu was very popular before. Pay attention to our uncle."
"So what?" Wei Changying frowned and thought for a moment, then sneered and said, "I am Shen Zangfeng's legitimate wife. No matter how careful she is, she can only take a sneak peek, and she has to be on guard not to be discovered... What’s the point of staying with the Shen family for a short period of time? What if she stays there for a long time?”
Huang said with a smile: "What the eldest lady said is true, but according to what Aunt Qu said, Mrs. Su also likes Miss Liu very much, so if the eldest lady meets her after passing by, she must be careful to avoid being arrested." If you find a reason, you can gossip in front of Mrs. Su."
"Both my grandmother and mother said that my future mother-in-law values rules. If she values rules, why would she like people who gossip?" Wei Changying bit her lower lip and said, "Besides, even if she complains skillfully, how can she be so close to someone else?" , It’s not like we don’t have a mouth. After all, I am just right, so who does she mean?”
After pondering for a moment, Wei Changying added, "Even the second aunt knows that Miss Liu covets Shen Zangfeng. I think my future mother-in-law may not know about it, but she still allows my future sister-in-law to take her to Shen Zangfeng." Staying at home... I thought about the pair of blood jade hairpins before. "
Huang only smiled and said nothing.
Wei Changying glanced at her and was about to say something but stopped and said angrily: "Okay, Aunt Huang, I know what you mean. I haven't even entered the door yet, but the test of my husband's family has already started. Again. It's the blood jade hairpin, and it's Miss Liu... But what is supposed to come will come. I don't think there is anything to be afraid of. There is only one position for the clan leader. Shen Zangfeng is both talented and beautiful, so he may be jealous or coveted. , Unless I don’t marry him, this situation will happen sooner or later. Besides, if people know earlier that I’m not easy to mess with, I can be cleaner in the future.”
Huang was very pleased to see that she was not worried about Mrs. Su's connivance with Miss Liu, who coveted Shen Zangfeng, in the Shen family's small residence, but she still reminded: "It's good for the eldest lady to have such a demeanor, but guard against others. You must have a heart. As far as my servant knows, there are many ladies in the imperial capital who fall in love with my uncle. Mrs. Su only allows Miss Liu to stay at home, which shows how powerful this Miss Liu is. "
"How powerful can she be?" Wei Changying snorted and said, "Who among the serious girls would live in the home of a man she loves without any name or status? Even under the guise of visiting her cousin, Does the Shen family really not know what she is thinking? Not to mention that I am about to come in. What is wrong with her living in the Shen family? Isn’t it shameful? I think she is a brainless person. Come out as a cover!"
He rolled his eyes, smiled again, and said, "Even if he is really a powerful person... I still have your aunt here, right?"
"You!" Mrs. Huang couldn't laugh or cry, she pointed at her forehead and said angrily, "Of course my maid will try her best to help the eldest lady, but it's getting late now. She has to dress up early and prepare to go in tomorrow. Come on, young lady, take a rest quickly so that you don’t lose your energy during the day, that’s not good!” (To be continued)