)
Jasmine Extra—Two People, One Home (Part 2)
Zaoer rushed over and hung on Shuanzi's arm and said, "Little uncle, stay here a little longer. If mother kicks you out, I will take you in."
"Mom, let's talk to your uncle. You can do what you should do." Jasmine knew that Zao'er and the others' outing could not end so soon, so she directly asked her, "Come back early in the evening and give you a little Uncle, take the wind and wash away the dust."
When Zaoer heard this, she rushed over and hugged Jasmine and begged: "Mom, we agreed that we would have dinner in the evening, swim in the Denghe River and then come back. Tomorrow, I would like to help my little uncle to wash away the dust, okay? It's up to you. I went all the way to accompany my little uncle home, so I’m going to show off to you now!”
Shuanzi didn't wait for Jasmine to speak before he spoke: "Go, go, it's all your family's fault. Don't listen to your mother's nonsense."
"Little uncle is the best!" Zao'er cheered, greased the soles of her feet and ran away.
Jasmine sat down directly on the porch, leaned on the beauty's back and asked, "Okay, let's talk about it, who are you coming to hide from me?"
Shuanzi sat down, lifted up his robe and crossed his legs and said, "Eldest sister, you are becoming more and more like the second sister now, the kind of person who knows everything well."
"Stop being such a mouthful and speak quickly." Jasmine rolled her eyes at him.
Shuanzi curled his lips and said: "The eldest brother and the second sister forced me to get engaged, so I just ran away!"
"Engagement?" Jasmine was immediately attracted by this matter, "Whose girl is it? What does she look like? What is her character and temperament like? Since the eldest brother and He Hua both think it's good, then it won't be too bad... "
"Sister, stop it, stop it." Shuanzi stopped him quickly, "I'm here to hide from the limelight, so don't miss me, otherwise I'll hide somewhere else so that you can't find me."
"Okay, I won't ask anymore. You can do whatever you want. My parents are too lazy to care about you, and I'm too lazy to say anything." When Jasmine saw this, she didn't want to say anything more, otherwise she would get really anxious and run away without a trace. Without a trace, it will be even more troublesome. "I'll ask someone to clean up the guest room for you."
"Pack one close to the back door so that I can get in and out more easily." Shuanzi quickly requested.
Jasmine spat at him and said, "You are already a grown-up now. When did you become a master?" But she still led the girl to the back to clean up a side yard and come out.
When Jiang Shiyan came back in the evening, Shuanzi had already gone to play somewhere and didn't see anyone.
Jasmine couldn't help but complain, Jiang Shiyan said with a smile: "I'm not an outsider, so there's no need to be so polite. He originally came from the south. If you nag like this now, what will happen if he runs away again." "
"I know that too, but at his age now..." Jasmine said when she saw Jiang Shiyan's half-smiling expression, she had to stop and said, "Okay, okay, why don't I stop talking! When will the new prefect take office? I have prepared some gifts today. Come and see if they are in good condition and see if there is anything that needs to be added or subtracted. When everything is ready, I will ask Shuanzi to write out the gift list tomorrow. He does not read much and cannot write well. It’s still pretty good.”
The two of them discussed adding and subtracting things, and Jasmine woke Shuanzi up early the next morning to write a gift list.
Shuanzi didn't sleep enough, so he yawned and said, "What time of day is it? I won't run away, and there is no need to write the gift list so early in the morning."
While copying, he muttered: "This is too much. What kind of corrupt official do you have here? He actually has to honor so many things..."
"It's a lot of nonsense to ask you to copy a list. Finish it quickly and go back to sleep." Jasmine said helplessly, "When a new official takes office, he must be filial."
"So I said a long time ago that you might as well go do business under Brother Sun. I don't know how much money you will save on the filial piety during the New Year every year." Shuanzi stuck out his tongue.
"Don't make bad ideas. We are a store, not a businessman like you. We want stability and rely on customers. Are you still moving around with Mr. Sun?" Bu Tiao said.
Jasmine hit Shuanzi on the head. Shuanzi tilted his hand, and there was a scratch mark on the gift list. She couldn't help but wailed: "Sister, I've almost finished writing it, look at you..."
"Hurry up and write, I have a lot of things to do!" Jasmine realized that she was wrong, so she stopped nagging, took another blank gift list and handed it to Shuanzi, and stood aside without saying anything.
That night Jiang Shiyan went to attend the farewell banquet of the prefect. When he came back, he said that he would leave tomorrow. The new prefect Liu would arrive in Yixin the day after tomorrow, and the city had to prepare to welcome him, which would inevitably require money from various merchants.
Sure enough, when the magistrate was seen off at the city gate the next day, fellow magistrate Master Hu cleared his throat and said: "Everyone knows that the new prefect Liu will take office in the future, and we must prepare a welcoming ceremony. Bar… "
All the merchants understood what it meant, so they naturally nodded in agreement with a smile, and that afternoon they sent their servants to deliver the money to the Yamen one after another.
On the day Lord Liu arrived, both sides of the city gate were crowded with welcoming officials and people. The third floor of Zuixian Building, the largest building in the city, was occupied. Officials at all levels gathered around Lord Liu and went directly to the third floor. Most of the people on the second floor were occupied. The prominent people in the city, except for a few big local families, were all placed on the first floor, while the women went directly to the garden at the back.
Jasmine didn't like this kind of thing the most, but she still had to go and show up, and sat in the seat at the back, enjoying herself. But things often happen in this world. The more you want to avoid trouble, the more trouble will come to you.
I don’t know what was said in front of me, but I saw many people looking this way, and then someone with good intentions came over and said: "Mrs. Jiang is so famous. Mrs. Liu has heard of you before. Please come over and talk." Where is my son!"
Jasmine half-closed her eyes, hiding the look in her eyes. Although she had been given a reminder before, she still felt helpless when the matter came to pass, and was afraid that she would lose control of her temper and get down to business.
"The commoner woman has met Madam." Jasmine stepped forward and bowed politely.
"You're welcome, get up and sit down to talk." Mrs. Liu said with a smile on her face.
Jasmine looked at her table where the wives of officials at all levels were willing to sit down. She backed away slightly and said, "It's fine for a civilian woman to stand and talk to the lady. After sitting for a long time, her legs and feet are numb. I would like to thank the lady for calling me." Here comes the peasant woman!"
Mrs. Liu's expression paused slightly, her narrow eyelids moved up and down, and the right corner of her mouth raised slightly as she said, "It seems that this banquet has been too boring for too long, and Mrs. Jiang's legs and feet have become numb."
When Jasmine heard this, she secretly screamed. This person was indeed the same as what Madam Zhifu said before. Any words she said would be distorted into something wrong. Madam Tongzhi should have taken the lead in preparing the banquet for the female family members. Now Mrs. Liu said this As soon as she came out, her face suddenly became ugly.
"Madam, what you said is really insulting to a common woman. To tell you the truth, a common woman's legs and feet suffered from a disease when she was a child, and her legs and feet become sore and numb even if she sits for a while." Jasmine hurriedly added.
"Oh, why is the disease so serious?" Mrs. Liu asked as if she was very interested.
"The folk woman's hometown is very far north. For four or five months every year, the mountains are covered with heavy snow. In winter, the snow is so thick that it can reach a man's waist. When she was young, the folk woman didn't know how powerful it was. She loved to go there. I froze my legs and feet from stepping around in the house. Even though I take medicine every year, I still feel bad, especially my right leg, so I live here slightly south to take good care of it. Take care of these two legs." Jasmine made up her words randomly, tapping her right leg as she spoke.
Mrs. Liu gave her a suspicious look, as if she felt that she shouldn't push too much when she first arrived, so she changed the subject with a smile and said: "In this case, I won't give in, Mrs. Jiang can do whatever she wants."
After that, she didn't say anything to let her go back. She occasionally tilted her head to say something to Jasmine, and then continued to hang there until the banquet was over. Jasmine's legs were really sore from standing there, and she waited until everyone had left. , then held the girl's arm and slowly moved out.
Jiang Shiyan had already boarded the carriage, which was parked not far from the back door and waiting. Seeing that everyone had almost left but Jasmine hadn't come out yet, he was lifting the bamboo curtain to look out. When he saw this, he jumped out of the car and stepped forward to help her and asked: " What's wrong? Are you injured?"
"It's okay, my legs are just numb." Jasmine waved her hand. She knew this was not the place to talk, and she had to be careful that the walls had ears.
After returning home, Jasmine sat down on the couch. Lanzhi and Lanhui, one on each side, used beauty fists to hit her legs.
Lanzhi said angrily: "Grandma, this new Mrs. Liu is bullying others too much. She's just here for the first time, and she's trying to use Grandma against her to establish her authority!"
"What on earth is going on?" Jiang Shiyan looked confused, "Have we ever celebrated the holidays with Mr. Liu? Although our family is not a big merchant, it is above average in Yixin Mansion. What does she want to do? To embarrass you?"
"She didn't deal with the one she followed. It's no secret that I have a good relationship with that person. It's normal for him to give me a blow or something. I'm fine, it's just..."
Hearing this, Lan Hui said: "Grandma said it was okay. They were talking, laughing, eating and drinking over there. Grandma stood aside and didn't say anything, asking whether to eat or drink. We are no less filial than others." , why are you doing this, bitch?"
"Okay, you both go down. It's such a trivial matter, I'll let you talk about it." Jasmine sent the two girls off and said to Jiang Shiyan: "Even if she stands for a little longer, I'm afraid she will just It's just a gamble, if it happens this time, let's just pay tribute."
Jiang Shiyan frowned and said, "Remember to tell me everything. Don't support it by yourself. At worst, we won't do this business. I, Jiang Shiyan, may not have any great abilities, but I can't let my daughter-in-law suffer for the sake of business."
"Nowhere can you say it is so serious. Don't be crow-mouthed. It's not too early to take a rest."
Jasmine was very tired, so she dealt with it casually and went back to her room to rest. Unexpectedly, Jiang Shiyan's words came true.
All the filial gifts and money were sent to the Liu Mansion's back house and kept there. Jasmine thought that everything would be fine, but she didn't expect that she would be made things difficult for her again and again, whether it was a flower viewing party or an occasional get-together. All are subject to verbal abuse.
Because of Mrs. Liu's attitude, other people with whom she had no friendship began to gradually alienate and exclude Jasmine. Unexpectedly, every time she went to a banquet, there were posts from her.
Jasmine didn't want to tell her family about this, so she had to endure it every time and hide in her room to sulk when she came back. She also had to put her mood and expression in order before Jiang Shiyan came back.
I was really feeling depressed during this period of time. Within a month, I started to feel too lazy to move due to physical discomfort. I often just had chest tightness and shortness of breath. I lay at home for a few days but didn't get better. I refused to call a doctor, which made Jiang Shiyan so angry. The room was in chaos, but they couldn't overcome Jasmine's stubborn temper. They didn't even bother to take care of the business in the store, and insisted on staying at home with Jasmine.
Jasmine was not happy to see him hanging around in front of her eyes every day, and would always find an excuse to send him away. There was another noisy day just now, and Jiang Shiyan was very angry, but he couldn't get angry when he saw Jasmine's languid look. Come, I have to throw away my hands and leave.
"Grandma, my uncle is here to see you." Before Lanzhi finished speaking, Shuanzi had already stepped through the door.
"Sister, how are you? Are you feeling better?" Shuanzi came over with a smile and sat down on the embroidered pillar beside the bed.
"There's nothing wrong with it, it's just..."
Shuanzi didn't wait for Jasmine to finish her words before he cut off his words and said, "It's just that I'm feeling anxious and unhappy, that's all!"
"You... how do you know?" As soon as Jasmine saw the way he smiled, she knew that this brat had come to find her because he was clear in his heart, so she stopped hiding it and relaxed and leaned on the soft pillow. , rolled his eyes and said, "Actually, I'm not always pretending to be sick. My chest is indeed always tight, and I don't want to eat or sleep. I can't cheer up every day."
"It's just a mental illness of yours. It's not a big deal. If you take care of Mrs. Liu, your illness will naturally be cured." Shuanzi didn't take it seriously at all and said softly and skillfully.
"It really hurts your back to stand and talk. I am the wife of Zhizhou, not a country woman, so I can let you deal with it so easily." Jasmine said angrily, and then she suddenly became nervous and asked, "Is this Isn’t it possible that the matter has spread all over the world? Then your brother-in-law... "
Shuanzi waved his hand and said: "Don't worry, even if these words are spread, they are discussed privately by everyone. Who would be so stupid as to rush to make irresponsible remarks to my brother-in-law? I have also been in contact with business recently and have become close to a few people. After a while, I heard the news. Fortunately, Mr. Liu is still a bit reliable and has not made it difficult for my brother-in-law's business because of his wife's affairs. "
"It's not difficult now, but it's hard to say what will happen in the future. I heard that Mr. Liu has a good character but is extremely henpecked. If the wind blows on his pillow, it will always be effective." Jasmine frowned, "I can't think of any good ideas now. Your brother-in-law's temper is only good at home. He's like a cannon outside. If I tell him, I will definitely cause trouble again."
"Sister, in fact, you don't need to be so afraid. Although our family doesn't have a big background, Brother Jianyu's uncle is now a member of the Holy Family in the capital." Shuanzi took a sip of tea and said.
"Why do other people's holy relatives have anything to do with us? How can we still expect Mr. Sun's uncle to help us with such a trivial matter?" Jasmine didn't understand Shuanzi's meaning at all.
"Sister, you don't know much about the officialdom. We really don't have any friendship with Mr. Sun in the capital, but it's common knowledge in the south that the eldest brother is Brother Jianyu's confidant. People in the officialdom think and fear the most. We have a relationship, no matter how many twists and turns it takes." Seeing that Jasmine was still confused, Shuanzi said in detail, "Eldest brother and Jianyu brother are as good as brothers. This is the case for many people in Jiangnan. Everyone knows that Brother Jianyu’s uncle has no biological son, and only this nephew is raised as his biological son. Many people also know it, so as long as you let people know whose sister you are, the rest will not matter. You don’t need to say it, they will think about it themselves: if you are wronged and complain to your elder brother, your elder brother will definitely tell Brother Jianyu, and if Brother Jianyu makes a bad word to his uncle, it will affect someone. A person's career... Although it may not really have such an impact, she doesn't have any conflicts with you, so naturally she won't take such a big risk just for such a small amount of time."
Jasmine was a little dizzy from being talked about by him, but she generally understood it. She was just a little doubtful, but she felt that there was no harm in it even if it failed, so she and Shuanzi worked together to figure out how to get the news out.
Before the two people could come to a conclusion, Lanzhi knocked on the door and said, "Grandma, Mrs. Liu sent someone to see grandma and said she wanted to give grandma something else."
"A cat cries and a mouse pretends to be compassionate. I'm afraid they're here to see if I'm really sick or if I'm just pretending to be sick!" Jasmine spat angrily, "I can't get up, please bring me in!"
Originally, I planned to ask Shuanzi to avoid it for a while, but unexpectedly, he refused to leave, so he had no choice but to call people in.
The first person to come in was Hong Luan, the eldest girl next to Mrs. Liu. When she saw Shuanzi, she was stunned for a moment. After hearing Lanzhi's introduction that it was her uncle, she hurriedly put on a smile and stepped forward to salute: "I've seen Mrs. Jiang before. I've seen her before." Congratulations, Master."
"Get up quickly!" Jasmine said politely, "If anything happens on a hot day, it's really hard for the labor girl to come over."
Lanzhi immediately handed over the reward money.
Hongluan smiled and stopped, kowtowed before standing up and said: "Mrs. Jiang, our wife heard that you were unwell, and she was very worried about you. She sent a servant to say hello to you. Our wife also said that she is not in good health. It's because I can't serve Master Jiang well. Grandma is usually so polite and generous, so we have to reciprocate, so we sent two girls over to serve Madam."
Jasmine didn't expect Mrs. Liu to do this. After hearing these words, she was stunned for a moment and didn't react. Before she could regain her composure, she heard Hong Luan continue: "These two girls are all bought from the south." When I come back, I have been provided with fine clothes and food since I was a child, and I have learned to play music, chess, calligraphy and painting. I look like one of the best in the world. She is more valuable than other girls in other families. It is most suitable for me to serve my wife."
He kept saying that he was serving the madam, but no one was a fool. How could he not understand such an obvious meaning? Jasmine felt angry at first, but later she was so angry that she laughed.
Shuanzi suddenly said from the side: "Are these two girls behind you? Raise your head and show me."
The two girls raised their heads timidly. As expected, they both looked like women from the Jiangnan water town. They were only about fourteen or fifteen years old. They were really beautiful with red lips and white teeth.
"Tch..." Shuanzi sneered with unknown meaning, pointed to the girl below and said to Jasmine, "Sister, look, a girl like this is considered valuable nowadays, so why hasn't the Angelica dahurica next to the second sister become a fairy and come down to earth? Why not? I'll go fetch the Angelica dahuricae and give it to you, so as to prevent these people who have a little bit of hair on their heads from squeezing their heads towards the house and looking into the bed..."
This was said in a very rude manner. Both girls' faces turned pale, and Hongluan's face turned blue and purple. She knew her master's temper well and did not dare to change her decision without permission. He could only try his best to maintain a smile and said: "Look at what Young Master Zhu said, he just stayed to serve Mrs. Jiang, how could he..."
"Come on, it's only because of your skills that a fool will be fooled by you." Shuanzi crossed his legs and said, "My eldest brother and second sister are both in the south. They dare not see everything, but they are not like this. She has light eyelids and looks down on such a beautiful girl, let alone my brother-in-law. Even I will look down on her. We should avoid doing such messy things in the future. It would be shameful for everyone to cause trouble, but we are not afraid."
Hong Luan was confused by Shuanzi's words. She didn't know who this master was, so he kept saying what he said without giving him any face.
Shuanzi didn't wait for her to speak, took out an envelope from his arms, threw it to her and said, "My eldest brother is paying homage to you adults. You can send it back by the way. It's enough for me to make another trip."
Hong Luan was completely confused this time. She had no idea what Shuanzi was. Although the two words "wow" were used as honorifics, there was no respectful tone. As a result, the back of the envelope was sealed tightly with lacquer. , he gave up the idea of peeking and said, "I will definitely deliver the letter to the master." After that, he was ready to leave.
Shuanzi shouted angrily in the room: "Take these two girls away, my family doesn't need this."
Hong Luan stumbled, almost tripping down in the courtyard, and finally led the two girls back to recover in despair.
Mrs. Liu became so angry that she almost dragged him out to beat her before Hong Luan finished speaking. Hong Luan hurriedly sped up her speech and explained everything clearly.
Mrs. Liu then said thoughtfully: "Does the Jiang family have any background? To be so confident, it's no wonder that the woman before was closer to his family. It turns out that's why.
After reading the letter, Mr. Liu did not mention the content. He only said to his wife: "You will get along well with that Mrs. Chiang from now on."
Jasmine also asked Shuanzi afterwards what was written in that letter and who wrote it... Shuanzi only smiled and said that the secret must not be leaked, and remained tight-lipped and refused to say anything.
However, Jasmine's life has indeed gotten better. Mrs. Zhongwei in the city has finally seen Mrs. Liu's change in attitude. She was so disgusted with her before, but within a few days, she started to take the initiative to show her kindness. It is really incomprehensible. .
People who were originally focused on trying to please were suddenly confused and began to look at the situation from a distance.
The only one who was kept in the dark from beginning to end was Jiang Shiyan. After less than half a month, he came back and said happily to Jasmine: "My wife still has a way. No matter what kind of person comes here to be the prefect's wife, you can do it." Let’s settle it, business has been going very smoothly recently, and they haven’t made things difficult for me even once.”
When Jasmine heard this, she only showed a faint smile and had no intention of telling him the inside story. At night, I looked at Jiang Shiyan sleeping soundly and said softly: "The two of us must work together to support our home. I don't mind being the woman behind you, but I will also protect you and our home in my own way." ( To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to subscribe and reward. Your support is my biggest motivation.)
Jasmine Extra—Two People, One Home (Part 2)