In the Yixin Courtyard of the Hou Mansion, Aunt Zhou personally served hot tea to Meimei. Meimei took it with both hands, thanked her with a smile, opened the lid of the teacup, and gently placed it on the table. Aunt Zhou saw that she was thirsty, and hurriedly took out a silk fan to fan her carefully. Meimei smiled, took the fan and said, "I'll do it myself, Aunt, take a rest!"
Aunt Zhou was still insisting, but Xu Junxuan smiled and said, "Aunt, just listen to your sister-in-law!"
Although they had been redeemed as concubines, Aunt Zhou and Aunt Lin always remembered their status as slaves and always felt that it was their duty to serve Xu Junying and Meimei. Meimei saw that the two concubines were loyal and kind, so she naturally respected them as elders and had no other thoughts.
After listening to Meimei's story, Xu Junxuan was stunned for a long while: "I didn't expect that she... actually suffered so much! When I saw her so elegant and graceful, and her expression was peaceful, I thought she was just from a poor family."
Meimei nodded: "When I first met her, I had the same impression. But Madam Changlehou is not lying. There really was a flood in Pingzhou, Hunan last year, right? She was indeed a refugee. She used to be the daughter of a wealthy family, but now she is nothing - oh, no! She should be said to be a business woman. With the help of Madam Changlehou, she opened an embroidery shop. As the eldest daughter, she led her stepmother, two younger brothers, and a maid to make a living. That's the situation!"
When Bai Jingyu heard Meimei say that the woman that Lao Liu fell in love with was originally an embroidery shop owner, he was also stunned: "What should we do? Even if there is a relative like the Changle Marquis Mansion, it is after all a distant vine. The old lady will not let a merchant girl enter the house no matter what. Can Lao Liu really listen to the old lady? Marry the girl from the Luo family?"
Meimei looked at her: "Aren't the Luo sisters Teng Luosiman? Does the old lady like the Luo sisters so much? The younger sister is really daring and what she does is unreliable. The older sister is well-behaved and has a gentle temperament. Do you think she is good? If she is consistent in appearance and heart, then she is not bad - in fact, the old lady wants to marry the Luo sisters for the sixth son just because they will listen to her. The sixth son doesn't care about family background and is unwilling to force himself to marry a noble lady because he loves Madam Zhou and doesn't want his biological mother to suffer even a little bit of grievance. He is afraid that if he marries a noble lady from a famous family, she will look down on his mother!"
Bai Jingyu sighed and said depressedly: "The old lady... is really different from before. She always teaches us to pay attention to rules and etiquette, but now she indulges in transgressions again and again. Not to mention spoiling the eldest aunt, this is her own granddaughter. But she also protects the Luo family relative like this - I took Luo Xiangying to her to report the matter, smashed the handkerchief on her face, and waited for the old lady to deal with her. Guess what the result was? The old lady sent me away, and it sounded like she was scolding me inside. Later, I saw Luo Xiangying's face full of tears, and she was dragged back to Xianglanxie by her mother. The matter was left unresolved, and she didn't drive them away! The old lady also called me in specially and told me not to make it public, saying that the girl was too young and really liked Lao Liu, so let her accompany her sister to marry in and be a concubine for Lao Liu!"
Meimei looked at her in disbelief: "That's it?"
Bai Jingyu threw the handkerchief in her hand, her face full of resentment and resentment: "Isn't that it? I finally understand. No matter whether the relatives of the Zhuang family are good or bad, as long as the old lady is around, they have to rely on the men of the Xu family!"
Meimei snorted: "That depends on whether the Xu family wants it or not!"
Two days later, Meimei took two sets of clothing and took Cuixi and Cuisi out of the house. Baizhan and the guards followed them from front and back. Meimei was helpless. She couldn't even go out quietly to do something. They had to make a lot of noise and alarm the whole street. So she asked Cuisi to deal with Baizhan and asked them not to go too far and to keep a low profile.
As they were about to leave Houfu Lane, Xu Junxuan came back from the yamen, hurriedly dismounted, walked to Meimei's carriage, bowed, and asked his sister-in-law through two layers of window screens where they were going
Meimei said, "I made an appointment with Jixiang Embroidery Shop the other day to go and check out the embroidery products and try to do two pieces of embroidery for them!"
Xu Junxuan was silent for a moment, and naturally thought that the embroidery shop that Meimei mentioned must be the shop of Miss Liu. His sister-in-law found the person he wanted to ask for him, but he didn't move after thanking her. Neither the uncle nor the sister-in-law mentioned the matter again. Now, his sister-in-law wants to go see the girl. Does she have any ideas
In fact, he didn't sleep well for the past two nights. It was the first time that he seriously and carefully considered his marriage. Everyone in the mansion knew the old lady's thoughts, but he couldn't agree. He had been with the girl from the Luo family for a few times, but he had no feelings for her. He didn't even look at her appearance, let alone think about marriage. He was not a wooden man who only knew how to study. On the contrary, he knew all the active and playful young men in the capital, and who didn't know how to have fun? But he always kept a sincere heart and true feelings, looking forward to the appearance of his favorite beauty one day. When the eldest sister-in-law was married, it took him a long time to see the new sister-in-law. He felt like he had seen the fairy in his dreams. He was stunned for a long time. The weakness and helplessness of the eldest sister-in-law made him feel uncomfortable, but he was powerless. His mother couldn't get close to the eldest sister-in-law because she was a direct descendant. If she was in contact with the concubine's family, it would be bad if the eldest wife knew about it. He saw kindness in the flash of his sister-in-law's eyes. The natural kindness and elegance on her body made people fascinated. The standard of what kind of wife he should marry was instantly clear in his mind. It was true that he was born out of wedlock. This was not his choice. He had also received a strict and good education since childhood. The seventh child could be a little arrogant, but he could not. He was gentle and kind, but with the same bloodline and the same family of generals, how could he not have a little arrogance? It was okay to be filial and gentle to the elders, but it was impossible to obey orders and let others control your happiness for a lifetime!
Liu Jingyun's demeanor and appearance attracted him. Without any verbal communication, he could sense that she was a woman of excellent character, which was not comparable to the Luo sisters. He played nearly ten games of chess with Luo Xiangying. At Luo Xiangying's request, he watched Luo Zhaoying paint on the spot and made fair comments. He followed the etiquette of cousins and discussed the matter based on facts. He said what he should say. He did not cross the line at all. How could he cause Luo Xiangying's behavior? The old lady had already called for a marriage, but had not officially informed him, but he would not agree. He also had to settle down with a girl as soon as possible to stop the old lady from manipulating his marriage. But Liu Jingyun's background was so great that she could not even meet half of the conditions of the eldest sister-in-law back then. If he insisted on settling down to fend off the Luo sisters, he was afraid that the old lady would be angry to death. That was too much. What should he do
Meimei couldn't hear Xu Junxuan's reply, and wondered what this scholar uncle was thinking? She was indeed curious about Liu Jingyun. Regardless of whether Lao Liu would like her, she wanted to learn more about her. After all, this strong and capable rich lady had walked the same path she had walked before. However, it was obvious that Liu Jingyun had a harder time than her. What was the reason? The answer was simple, because she was married, she had Xu Junying as a big tree to rely on, and with his influence, she even dug up his friends, while Liu Jingyun had nothing but a little financial support from the wife of Changle Hou.
But there is one good thing about Liu Jingyun: she is not imprisoned or forced to marry; she is free!
Xu Junxuan finally responded: "Sister-in-law, can you wait for my brother? Let my brother go with you?"
Meimei was stunned for a moment, and Baizhan beside her was also a little surprised: Brother-in-law accompanied sister-in-law to visit an embroidery shop? I don't think I've heard of it. They are called uncle and sister-in-law, but in fact the sister-in-law is younger than the brother-in-law. If someone who knows them sees them walking together, it would be strange. But if someone who doesn't know them sees them and mistakenly thinks they are a couple, what should they do
In his heart, he prayed that the young lady would not agree. It is better to have less trouble than more. As a guard, he also has to worry about the reputation of the young lady. This is what the Marquis has instructed: prevent all irrelevant men from approaching the young lady! During the time when the Marquis was not at home, he was extremely nervous as soon as the young lady left the house, for fear that the young lady would become willful and overbearing and he would not be able to control her whereabouts. Fortunately, apart from the contact with the few masters she usually saw, the young lady did not have any new situations. Zhang and Ling were very disciplined and always kept a distance when talking with the young lady. The King of Qi did not follow the rules and had to get very close, but it was just a conversation. What could Bai Zhan do to the prince? Could he go up and say: Please stay away from our lady
Therefore, every time he saw the King of Qi, Bai Zhan felt nervous and had a headache. Following the Young Madam was several times more tiring than following the Marquis.
What's up with this Sixth Master today? He wants to accompany his sister-in-law to the street for no reason. This group of guards are not here to eat and do nothing. So, Sixth Master, please don't bother with your coming. Go back to the mansion and have a rest!
Xu Junxuan asked again: "Sister-in-law? Can I let my brother go with you?"
Bai Zhan opened his mouth, and Meimei agreed from the car, which made his mouth open even wider and he couldn't close it!
Meimei said, "Thank you, Sixth Brother. Go and change your clothes!"
Jixiang Embroidery Shop, the size of two shops, is much smaller in momentum and rules than Bai Jingyu's embroidery shop, but it is very clean and tidy, with a unique style. The embroidery styles displayed inside are also rich and varied, exquisite and exquisite. The embroidery art from Jiangnan is pleasing and exquisite, and is not only loved by the daughters-in-law and daughters of wealthy families, but also by the vast number of wealthy businessmen from small families. There are only two or three clerks guarding the door of Liu Jingyun's embroidery shop. It is estimated that there is another embroidery workshop. A woman in her thirties with simple clothes and a kind face came over, bowed to Meimei and Xu Junxuan, and carefully introduced the embroidery on the counter to her with a smile, and asked her if she needed to process her dress or buy something
Bai Zhan didn't dare to follow too closely, so he entered the store first, found a corner in the store where he could see the overall situation at a glance, and stood there, watching the Young Madam and Sixth Master walk into the store.
I heard the woman say, "Grandpa, grandma, do you need to buy embroidery fabrics? There is a private room upstairs. Why don't you go upstairs and sit down for a while, have a cup of hot tea, and then someone will bring some samples for you to choose from?"
Xu Junxuan blushed and stopped intentionally to put some distance between them, but Meimei was looking through the embroidery on the cabinet while walking, not thinking about anything else and not feeling his embarrassment at all. It was normal to have a man accompany you while shopping in your previous life, and besides, he was Xu Junxuan, whom she thought was simple and harmless, so she didn't have the time to pay attention to how people addressed her, such as master or grandmother, as the maids and old women in the mansion also called her that.
Bai Zhan secretly complained in the corner: What's going on? It really made people misunderstand, didn't it? Liu Ye, Liu Ye, what are you planning? (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendation and monthly tickets on Qidian. Your support is my greatest motivation.) (To be continued)