In addition to the sweltering heat in summer, the most annoying thing is the chirping of cicadas.
Because there are many trees planted in Fugui's mansion, there are also many cicadas. Once you fall asleep, you can hear the cries one after another. So the servants had work to do. They took bamboo poles, carefully put spider webs on them, and stuck them everywhere.
This is almost a common thing in every noble house, and Duke Jingguo's house is no exception. However, there is one place where the servants never have to do this.
Fu Qiuning has now moved to Qingningxuan. This was Jiang Wanying's Qingwan Pavilion at that time. It can be said to be the center of the entire back house of Duke Jingguo's mansion.
Because the old lady liked peace and quiet at that time, Kangshouyuan was located on the north side of the back house. Mrs. Jiang didn't care about anything, and she was the Duke's wife after all, so she and the Duke's upper room naturally occupied the east side. Qingwan Pavilion is in the center, but it is just for the convenience of moving around and doing things. It is not far from everywhere. It is for work considerations, not because it is the center of the entire back house.
After Jiang Wanying left, Fu Qiuning had to take on some household affairs, and Qingwan Pavilion was the main residence of Jin Fengju and his wife. Now that Jiang Wanying had left, she would naturally move here.
For this reason, Jin Fengju was very busy. He renovated the entire Qingwan Pavilion and replaced all the furniture. He also wanted to change the name of this place to "Fengqiu Courtyard". Fu Qiuning stopped him after hearing this and said with a smile: "I know what you mean, but since we are already in love, do we still have to tell the world about such a trivial matter? It is so straightforward that people can see it at a glance. Why don't we recruit those princes? Madam, are you making fun of me? I will never agree to such a change."
The lady spoke, and Jin Fengju had no choice but to agree, and then changed Qingwan Pavilion into Qingningxuan. Because these children are now fostered under Qiu Ning's name, several nearby courtyards were also opened up and integrated into one The large yard was carefully decorated, and it took half a year to complete it for Fu Qiuning and others to move in.
At this time, Jin Yanfang was sitting in the inner room of Qingningxuan, talking to Fu Qiuning. Because she heard the annoying sound of the cicada, she smiled and said: "I really don't know what sister-in-law thinks? At this time of year, everyone must give orders. The servants are obsessed with cicadas, why don’t you do these things? How annoying is this noise?”
Fu Qiuning was comfortably embroidering lotus flowers on a bellyband. When he heard this, he smiled and said: "A calm mind will naturally cool down. You may feel that you are upset, but your mind is still restless."
Before she finished speaking, Jin Yanfang snorted and said: "Yes, yes, of course I am restless. With so many things going on at home and outside, how can I be calm? My sister-in-law, on the other hand, only cares about you and my second brother. This kind of thing, I dare to be leisurely and leisurely, but it only makes my sister-in-law and I suffer hardship, and now I dare to say such sarcastic words... "
Before he could finish his sentence, he suddenly heard the little maid outside say: "Grandma is here." Then a voice said with a smile: "Okay, I'm exhausted from all the work, but sister Yanfang is lazy and came here, so I Why can't I find you anywhere?"
Following the words, Jin Pengzhan's wife Liu stepped in. Fu Qiuning hurriedly put down the embroidery frame, stood up with Jin Yanfang and said with a smile: "Sister-in-law is here? What kind of wind brings you here?"
Mrs. Liu smiled and sat down on the chair, pretending to be angry and said: "Brother and sister, do you have the nerve to ask me? According to my heart, I would like to come to your place three times a day, wouldn't it be good to talk to you and talk about dramas? What's the result? From the time I came back a year ago, until now, have I had any free time? It would be better for you to become a hands-off shopkeeper and leave all this family to me. How can you do this? "
This sentence made Jin Yanfang and the maids laugh. Fu Qiuning couldn't help but laugh and said: "Sister-in-law, please don't say that, as if I have become a robber. I am not without hard work. Fengju's affairs are here." Don't you have to worry about it at all? I picked it up myself."
Mrs. Liu snorted and said: "Although the second brother is prominent, how many of those favors are for him alone? Is there anyone in this world who is smarter than those officials and wealthy businessmen? Even if they want to curry favor with him, We have to go through the Duke's palace. In the end, you and your second brother only have more things to do here? You actually want to talk about it."
Fu Qiuning had nothing to say, Liu was right. But she also knew in her heart that although the other party was not as easy to show off her talents as Jiang Wanying, she was still happy to be able to take over the power in the family. Now she was just joking.
She doesn't have any bad feelings towards Mrs. Liu. She is a person like Jin Yanfang. She has the talent of a housekeeper, but is kind-hearted. With both kindness and power, the servants are neither treated harshly nor do they dare not do things carelessly. After the two of them are in charge, they are more popular than Jiang Wanying. The reason why it was not revealed before was because Jin Fengju's status was higher than that of Jin Pengzhan, and Jiang Wanying was very arrogant. Naturally, Mrs. Liu did not want to compete with her. She was a person who put her husband first, and would rather follow Jin Pengzhan all over the world. I don't want to leave him. Now that Jin Pengzhan is expected to be transferred to Beijing, Fu Qiuning is unwilling to take charge, so he takes up this responsibility.
Hearing what she said, Jin Yanfang also smiled and said: "I just said that the second sister-in-law will stay away for a while, so how can I find a way so that she can't hide from the idleness, so that the eldest sister-in-law and I can be more relaxed. "
Fu Qiuning said hurriedly: "Don't touch me. I'll let you catch me this afternoon. I didn't see the scene I played with the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl a few days ago. It was rain or shine. If you say you can do it for me, If you leave me to rehearse the show, why not take care of the house for you?"
Ms. Liu smiled and said: "You are so crazy. I think you are the only one who knows Huangmei Opera, and you have the support of the Queen Mother, right? Use this to suppress us."
While several people were chatting and laughing, Jian Feng came over and served tea. Fu Qiuning looked at the chicken fat rolls in front of him. He didn't know what was wrong, but he felt disgusted from the inside out. So he pushed it aside and said: "In this summer, whoever eats this greasy food will feel sick. Let the kitchen pick up some light snacks to make. I don't drink tea either. I just want to drink some sour plum soup. You go and pour it." Bring me a bowl to drink."
After hearing this, Ms. Liu and Jin Yanfang couldn't help but their eyes lit up, and they hurriedly came forward and said, "What? Do you feel sick? Do you still want to drink sour plum soup? Isn't this a sign of happiness? You should find a doctor to take a closer look. Yes. Qiuyu, go quickly..."
Before Mrs. Liu could finish speaking, Fu Qiuning covered her mouth. She simply made the gossiping sister-in-law laugh and cry. She shook her head and said: "Stop talking nonsense, sister-in-law, how can such a coincidence happen? I saw greasy things in the summer. It is human nature not to want to eat. As for sour plum soup, iced sour plum soup is naturally better than tea. Don’t you drink it on weekdays? If you call a doctor just because of this, nothing will happen by then. You can just clap your hands and leave. Just leave me here to be embarrassed."
Mrs. Liu and Jin Yanfang couldn't help laughing as they talked. Mrs. Liu nodded and said, "Okay, okay, aren't we worried about you too? You and Fengju have been in the same room for two years, right? Why is there no movement in your belly yet?" ?”
Fu Qiuning said with a smile: "Our Duke Jingguo's family has never been very prosperous. However, when it came to the generation of eldest brother and Feng Ju, the children suddenly became prosperous. This is God's favor. How can everything go as expected? When giving birth to a child, You can't force this kind of thing. Besides, look at me now, even if I haven't given birth to children, do I still have fewer children? They are all sensible and smart. Even if they are not their biological mothers, who can I pick out who is not better than me? Are my biological children still close to me?"
Mrs. Liu smiled and said, "That's true. Those children are very smart. I heard that my husband often praises them." Before he finished speaking, he suddenly heard a voice from outside: "Master is back."
Mrs. Liu and Jin Yanfang stood up together. Jin Fengju opened the curtain and came in. When he saw them, he smiled and said, "Hey, how come my sister-in-law and sister Yanfang are free to come here today? It's a coincidence that I came back."
Mrs. Liu smiled and said, "Isn't that right? You've been busy all the time. You finally took half a day off from Fusheng today, and you came back to compete with us for your wife."
Jin Fengju quickly raised his hands and said, "Sister-in-law, please don't say that. I don't dare to compete with you even if I borrow my brother's courage. Sit down, I happen to have something to do in the study."
After saying that, he was about to go out, but heard Mrs. Liu smile and say: "Okay, we have been out for a long time, and we must have something to do, so we are leaving now."
So Jin Fengju and Fu Qiuning saw them off and then came back. After the couple said a few words, the children left school. For a while, Qingning Xuanli immediately became lively.
*********************
It rained the next day. Summer rain comes and goes quickly. In the evening, there was a burst of frogs croaking in the backyard of Qingningxuan.
Those frogs seemed not to be tired and were croaking. Jin Fengju also had insomnia due to the reform on the southeast coast. He felt upset and agitated and simply sat up.
Fu Qiuning was confused. When she heard him getting up, she opened her eyes and asked lazily: "What's going on? Can't you sleep?"
Jin Fengju picked up the fan on the side to fan the wind, and said bitterly: "Those frogs are so annoying, I will catch them all and roast them."
Fu Qiuning smiled and shook his head: "You two brothers and sisters are really interesting. Yesterday, Yanfang thought that I knew too much here and asked me why I didn't send someone to come down. Now you are complaining about the frog's croaking. If you had known this, why bother? Do you want to build that pond in the backyard just to see the lotus flowers?"
Jin Fengju smiled bitterly and said: "I'm just making a joke, you just come to me. Don't you want to see the lotus bloom?"
Fu Qiuning smiled and said: "Yes, of course I saw it too. After seeing the lotus, I had to endure the noise of the frogs. The same goes for me. The ancients said that listening to the sound of frogs is very poetic and picturesque. You are also a talented man after all, so you can't Do you want to taste the taste of this? I just think about roasting frogs, which really ruins the scenery."
Jin Fengju touched his nose and muttered: "Where am I in the mood to be poetic and picturesque right now? I have been busy since the beginning of the year after the emperor retreated to the crown prince due to poor health. Okay, is that my brother-in-law? I think it is My creditors have used me like a stone, moving it wherever it is needed. Until now, I don’t even have a serious official position, so I just appoint an official to do whatever I want.”