Mrs. Jiang was shocked and said: "There is such a thing? Why didn't you tell me earlier? Wanying has a good family background and a bit of a proud temperament, but to say that she has the intention to harm others, this... is not a big deal, right?"
Mrs. Fang sneered and said: "Of course you are biased towards her, how could I deliberately make up lies just to instigate the relationship between your aunt and my niece? The reason why I didn't tell you before was because I wanted to leave some time for her. It was a bit of kindness, thinking that after leaving Feng Ju in the cold, she could reflect on herself. Who knows, not only did she not reflect on herself, but I feel that she has become more and more complacent these days. In short, you are her aunt, and there are some things that should be hammered on. I'll knock it out when the time comes. Let's just say that a while ago, because of Prince Rong's incident, no one in the whole family was in high spirits, but she dressed in bright and dazzling clothes, and laughed and laughed constantly every day. This was too shabby. Even if you have a grudge against Feng Ju in your heart, you shouldn't be conspicuous at that time. You need to know about Prince Rong, but it concerns our whole family."
Mrs. Jiang nodded thoughtfully and said: "Most of what you said is something I don't know about on weekdays. Well, just say that I am partial. Don't always think that Wanying is not good. You should always have a bowl of water to calm things down." Although Qiu Ning has a good temper, she is not suitable for a housekeeper. It is someone like Wanying who can take care of things in an orderly manner. Don’t you admit this?"
Mrs. Fang smiled and said, "I'm just giving you a heads up. It's up to you what to do. Well, it's snowing heavily, and I haven't been to your room for a while. I'm going to sit down." Ruanxiang goes back and gets me a snow coat, and I'll wait for her at your place."
Only then did Mrs. Jiang see that she had arrived in her upper room, so she nodded and said with a smile: "Yes, I haven't spoken for a while, so just come in and sit." As she said this, she stepped in and asked the maid next to her: "Master, what are you doing today?" Is your son out yet?"
The maid beside her, Linglong, quickly said: "To answer my wife's question, the master went to the study early this morning. He also asked the second master to tell him when he came to say hello that he should go to the study to find the master. Now the second master Xu Shi has not yet gone to court and has not come to pay his respects."
Mrs. Jiang nodded and said: "Okay, I understand. Fengju is back. Just tell me what I said. He doesn't need to come in to say hello. You can go to the old lady to say hello, and then go to the study to look for me."
Linglong agreed and went to guard the door without mentioning it.
Although Prince Rong missed the position of crown prince, his future is still unclear. But the emperor's body is healthy after all, and the holy family of the Jin family has not failed. The son of Prince Rong and Princess Jin Yanqiu, the fourth son of the palace, has been praised and rewarded by the emperor a few days ago. Even the son of the palace received Qingguo, because her father was also implicated that day, and because she gave birth to a son to Prince Rong, the emperor also pardoned her status as the daughter of a guilty minister and became an aunt in the palace.
All this seems to indicate that the future is not so dark. Therefore, this year in the Duke of Jingguo's Mansion was naturally very lively.
After listening to the laughter all day, Fu Qiuning was already very tired when he returned to Fengya Building, but he still had to stay up late. He saw the children holding lanterns laughing and chasing each other in the yard, as if they had endless energy. . Fu Qiuning couldn't help but lean into Jin Fengju's arms and sighed: "I'm really old, and I can't even compare to a few children in terms of energy."
Jin Fengju smiled and said: "How could it be? Even though they are having so much fun now, they fall asleep in the blink of an eye when they come back. Wasn't it the same last year? If you are sleepy, just sleep in my arms. When I am sleepy, you can call me again. Wake you up. We have to pay New Year greetings tomorrow morning, so it’s impossible not to sleep now."
Fu Qiuning said: "I know, but I just can't sleep. Master, do you think I should go back to my parents' house on the third day of the Lunar New Year this year? If I go back, do I have to take my mother and Aunt Luo back with me? I'm just afraid that my father will give birth to them. He was so angry that he left them here to torture them, but if he didn't go back, it would be disrespectful to others and they would be criticized."
Jin Fengju smiled and said: "It doesn't matter, of course I have to go back. At that time, I just said that your mother had been playing for a while and contracted the cold. Aunt Luo stayed at the house to take care of her. Your father and your grandfather are now tigers without claws. It has lost its previous prestige. Prince Hong has fallen. No matter how loyal they are, they will always find support again. Even if they are towards Prince Lie in their hearts, but judging from your sister’s words that day, whether he is sincerely seeking refuge with us or pretending to be If you get too close, he won't even dare to offend you to death. Don't worry, I'll go with you that day. If you have anything to say, it's up to me and them to talk about it. They will naturally understand the pros and cons. "
After he said this, Fu Qiuning felt relieved and lay in Jin Fengju's arms. She just felt that it was good to have such a man to rely on. When he was in a daze, he saw Jin Zangfeng, Jin Zhenyi and others finally getting tired and running back one by one. Jin Fengju then said to Jian Feng: "Take them to bed. Tomorrow we will open an ancestral hall to worship the ancestors, and we will enter Zangfeng Zangjiao into the family tree. That’s a big deal, don’t let them fall asleep at that time, otherwise they will really be embarrassed in front of the family relatives.”
Jian Feng agreed with a smile and took the children back to their room to sleep. Here Jin Fengju looked at Fu Qiuning sleeping in his arms, and listened to the occasional sound of firecrackers outside, and felt extremely satisfied in his heart.
On the second day, after everyone went to Kangshouyuan to celebrate the New Year, they went to the ancestral hall to worship their ancestors under the leadership of Mrs. Jin. Then Jin Yu presided over the ceremony of inscribing Jin Zangfeng and Jin Zangjiao into the genealogy. They were busy until noon. . Because they stayed up late last night, most of the people looked tired at this time. They didn't even use the lunch carefully prepared by the cooks, so they all went to bed.
The servants and children can still take some time off from their busy schedule, but the masters cannot. For three days in a row, Jin Yu, Jin Shi and Jin Fengju, as well as Jin Luanfeng, who came back from other places to celebrate the New Year, were visiting various noble families, and they also wanted to invite people to have New Year's wine at their own homes. Last year Fu Qiuning was able to take some time off in Wanfengxuan, but this year he couldn't. Old Mrs. Jin forced her to meet those princes and ladies, but she was calm at last, and Jiang Wanying liked to stand out, so she wasn't forced to go. I am a guest at the house of another prince.
On the third day of the Lunar New Year, Jin Fengju accompanied Fu Qiuning back to her parents' home. The King of Zhenjiang and the Crown Prince were indeed not in trouble, but because Yu Shiluo was not in the Zhenjiang Prince's Mansion, Fu Qiuning had no intention of joining in with these people, so they exchanged a few words and had lunch before the couple came back.
Yu and Luo had been worried, not only worried that their husbands would force them to go back, but also worried that Jin Fengju and Fu Qiuning would be blamed because of them. When they came back and found out that the Zhenjiang Palace had not made things difficult for them, the two of them became happy. He clasped his hands and recited the Buddha's name, thinking to himself, are these hard days really over? From now on, I no longer have to go back and watch those people live their lives.
After being so busy for several days, I finally managed to get through all the entertainment. On this day, Fu Qiuning went to the nearby Jiaofangsi and talked with the singers and dancers for a while, because on the first day of the Lunar New Year, a new "Female Consort" was performed in the palace, which the Queen Mother and the Emperor liked very much. These singers and dancers They all received a lot of rewards. When they saw Qiu Ning coming over, they gathered around her and showed her their rewards.
During the Chinese New Year, the emperor also rewarded everyone in the Duke of Jingguo's palace, and the standards were not low, with one thousand taels of silver and dozens of pieces of colorful satin more than ordinary noble families. Even Fu Qiuning received a separate reward. So she didn't envy the rewards of these young girls. When she heard that they let her choose, she smiled and said: "I don't have anywhere to put my own things. Why do I care about you? If you like it, just keep it and keep it as a dowry in the future." , wouldn’t it be shameful to say that it was rewarded by the Emperor and the Queen Mother?”
Everyone blushed when she said one sentence, and they all pushed her and joked. Seeing that the sun was turning to the west, Fu Qiuning said: "I'm afraid it's not the end of the year, so I should go back. After the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, we will rehearse a new play. My ex-son went into the palace to pay respects to the Queen Mother. The old man is getting anxious."
The women naturally smiled and agreed, and Lin Sile sent Qiu Ning outside the gate, watched her go, and then turned around.
When Fu Qiuning returned to the house, she happened to meet the boy next to Jin Fengju. She smiled and said, "Where is your father?"
The boy smiled and said: "Our master returned to Fengya Building earlier. Sister Jian Feng said that grandma was out, so he went to the study. Now he sent me to the street to buy two new books. I think he was still in the study. That's right. Mr. Yun just came here, talked for a while and then left. It was he who mentioned this new book to me."
"Mr. Yun?" Fu Qiuning thought that the name was somewhat familiar. After thinking about it carefully, he finally remembered and secretly said goodbye. Wasn't it Mr. Yun who seemed to have some involvement with the Yuntai class that day? With this matter in her mind, she simply came to the study.
Jin Ming and a few boys were talking in the corridor. When he saw her, Jin Ming stood up and said, "Hey, grandma rarely comes to this place on weekdays. What kind of wind brought you here today?"
Fu Qiuning smiled and said, "I'm here to see you, is he still in there?" After saying that, Jin Ming nodded and said, "Here, grandma, go in quickly. Second Grandma Ning is here to pick lotus jasper."
Cai Lian Biyu was outside. Hearing these words, he hurriedly picked it up and heard Jin Fengju's voice ringing in the inner room: "Is it Qiu Ning? Come here quickly."
Fu Qiuning walked in and saw Jin Fengju leaning on the couch by the window, reading. She shook her head and smiled: "This study is a place for you to study. Since you are studying, you should sit upright in the chair and lie down here. , I felt like falling asleep after a while, so what’s the point of studying?”
Jin Fengju smiled and said: "It's the Chinese New Year, but I'm just reading a few books to relieve my boredom. It's not about learning, so what should I do strictly? Come and sit down." After saying that, he stood up and sat on the couch, letting Fu Qiuning sit on the couch. He went to the other side of the small table and said with a smile: "I heard that you went to Jiaofangsi. I figured it would be time to come back. I was about to go to Fengya Building, but I didn't expect you to come here."
Fu Qiuning said: "I didn't want to come over. I heard the boy next to you said that some Mr. Yun came over, so I wanted to come over and ask if he was the Mr. Yun from the big market we went to years ago. Are you the one who said they made that big episode?"
Jin Fengju smiled and said, "You think I don't know what you are thinking? That's not what you want to ask, right? You want to ask if Mr. Yun is involved with Xiao Wu from Yuntai class, right?"
Fu Qiuning smiled and said: "I can't hide anything from you. Since you have guessed it, I won't go around and around. Did you ask him what happened to that troupe?"
Jin Fengju smiled and said: "How could I not ask? Speaking of which, when he came to visit this time, he specifically asked me to convey a word of thanks to you. It is said that the Yuntai team has become more and more skilled in skills after receiving your guidance. His reputation among the people has grown. His mother originally didn't like his association with actors, but after hearing Xiao Wu's plays, she turned a blind eye to their relationship. Now he has bought a house for the theater troupe. If Xiao Wu hadn't still wanted to sing, I'd probably have gotten him into the house."
Fu Qiuning was lost in thought when he took a sip of tea. Hearing this, he almost spit out the tea. Jin Fengju hurriedly wiped her mouth with a handkerchief, patted her back again, and said amusedly: "As for being so surprised? Didn't I tell you? Those actors who dress up as women, no one regards them as men. , but most of them have become the playthings of the powerful. People like Xiao Wu are lucky, Yun Jinlong is not a ruthless person, and if you are so considerate to him now, you will not give up on him easily in the future."