Bai Jingyu raised his hand to stroke his temples and looked at Mother Qiao: "Our wife is not feeling well. She gets a headache at the slightest sign of trouble. Are you going to tell her this? I think you should forget it!"
"But… "
Bai Jingyu smiled slightly, "The clothing workshop is managed by mom in public, but I actually assign people to arrange the work... I mentioned it to my wife earlier. Although our second house has the salary of the master and the second master, mom has seen how much it costs. The master and the second master have social events in the officialdom, and colleagues pay gifts to each other. When giving gifts to each other, it costs 30, 50, 100 or even 300 to 500 taels of silver. If you don't have a few taels of silver to reward a servant or a peddler, you will lose your dignity. How much money do I use from my own pocket to pay for my wife's bills throughout the year, and buy expensive and good supplements, perfumes, and fabrics to honor her? , even the silver was sealed and sent to her room. Doesn't she have an idea of how much it costs? If I didn't know how to calculate and didn't do something, how could the second house have lived so well in the past two years? With the little monthly salary from the kilometer, Madam doesn't have such an easy life - she goes to major temples every few days to hire monks to do Buddhist rituals, and lights longevity lanterns everywhere. When she returns to Gui Mansion, the gifts for her grandmother and several uncles and aunts can be piled up for several carts! Don't worry, mom, I will say whatever you want, and I will have my share when Madam comes back."
Mother Qiao just smiled and didn't dare to say a word.
Bai Jingyu glanced at Mother Huang, and Mother Huang went to lift the cloth curtain embroidered with rich flowers and birds, and went into the next room. After a while, she came out with a flat blue cloth purse in her hand, and handed it to Mother Qiao, saying with a smile:
"You're here just in time. Grandma asked me to look for you last night, but I was so busy that I forgot about it. I'm really old and confused! This is for you. It's almost the New Year, and the whole family has something to look forward to. You can use it to buy some New Year's goods, buy new clothes for the kids, and give some lucky money!"
Mother Qiao said, "That's not possible!" She pretended to refuse and looked at Bai Jingyu hesitantly.
Bai Jingyu smiled and said, "Mom, take it. You run around all day long. During festivals, we always have to reward you. Here is a fifty-liang silver note. Take a look, mom!"
Mother Qiao took the small purse that Mother Huang handed over and said with a smile: "Ah, ah, there's no need to look... Grandma is always so considerate of us servants. I, this old servant, will remember your kindness in my heart. Thank you for the reward!"
Bai Jingyu knelt down and saluted, then waved his hand: "Mom, go and take care of your business. The garment workshop will make all the arrangements and will not let you be troubled at all!"
Mother Qiao hurriedly said a few nice words and expressed her loyalty, and then she took the silver note and was sent out by Mother Huang.
Bai Jingyu immediately arranged the staff, left Xiangxue to serve him, and asked Huang Mama to lead all the maids and servants in the room who could sew, and divide them into groups of three or five, and quietly go to the garment workshop.
Xiangxue was handing water and tea to Bai Jingyu when she saw the wet nurse carrying her eldest sister in. The three-year-old sister had two small buns on her head, her face was rosy and white, and she wore the same bright red cotton-padded jacket as her mother. When she came in, she pouted her little mouth and had watery eyes, looking aggrieved and pitiful. Bai Jingyu was so distressed that he didn't even bother to drink his tea. He reached out and took his daughter to sit down beside him and asked the wet nurse what was going on.
The wet nurse looked embarrassed and stammered for a long time before she could explain clearly. Bai Jingyu was furious.
Two children were playing together, fighting for a puppet. The eldest sister hit Shen Ge'er. Shen Ge'er didn't cry at first, but the fifth grandmother Fang came up and hugged Shen Ge'er and asked repeatedly:
"Where did you get hit? Does it hurt, Shen'er?"
Shen'er burst into tears. The master, who was sitting in the room drinking tea with Aunt Yan, ran out, snatched the puppet from the eldest sister's hand without saying a word, gave it to Shen'er, and asked Fang to coax Shen'er slowly. However, he did not even look at the eldest sister who was about to cry with tears in her eyes, but just waved his hand and asked the wet nurse to take her away.
He is just a concubine's grandson, and he is not as precious as the legitimate granddaughter. The master is so partial to her that he doesn't hesitate to let the eldest sister suffer. It's really too much!
Bai Jingyu was stroking his chest to calm his breath when he suddenly saw the door curtain lifted and the Second Master Xu Junlang, dressed in official uniform, walked in with a sullen face. He ignored Xiangxue and the wet nurse who greeted him and sat down in front of the couch, staring coldly at Bai Jingyu across the low table.
Bai Jingyu was frightened by his look, and couldn't think of what he had done to displease him, so he could only say gently:
"Master, you just came back from the government office? Are you hungry? Let Xiangxue help you change your clothes first, and then ask for food to be served. Lian'er is here too, let's have lunch together..."
The eldest sister climbed up from Bai Jingyu's arms, walked around the low table, snuggled up to Xu Junlang, and called softly:
"Father!"
Xu Junlang reached out and touched his daughter's face, then said to the nurse:
"Take her away. From now on, the eldest sister will be placed next to Madam. Madam will teach her how to behave herself!"
Bai Jingyu was stunned for a moment: "What did you say, Master? I am fine here, but you let Lian'er follow the Madam to learn the rules? Don't I, as a mother, know how to teach her?"
Xu Junlang watched the nurse carry the eldest daughter out, and motioned Xiangxue to go down as well. Then he pointed at Bai Jingyu and said angrily:
"You are considered a lady from a wealthy family, and you know that you are a mother. Look at what you have done!"
Bai Jingyu had never seen him like this before, and his expression changed for a moment: "What did I do?"
Xu Junlang sneered, "You don't remember what you just did? You caught Xiangrui, but with her body like that, how could she kneel down and kowtow to you? Now she is lying there covered in blood, unconscious... Xiangrui is your girl, you gave her to me, and now you are jealous of her. The child in her belly was obtained by her mother's vegetarian and Buddhist prayers. If anything happens to her, the child will be gone. Bai Jingyu, just wait and see!"
The master favors Shen Ge'er and doesn't like the eldest sister. The evil child in the girl's belly hasn't been born yet, but her husband has already protected her. Why are all the men in this family so despicable!
Bai Jingyu felt a surge of anger rushing to his head, and looked at Xu Junlang with a frown:
"A cheap girl, is she worthy of my hatred? My Lord, please look at how sick I am. Do I have the energy and spirit? I am just worried. If I call her here to teach her about childbirth, she will kneel before me, her master. Can I get off the bed and help her up? Not to mention that she is still a month away from being born, even if she dies in my womb, what's the big deal? A bastard, what's so rare about it!"
Xu Junlang was so angry that his face turned blue: "What's wrong with a bastard? They are all flesh and blood of my Xu family, you should give me a legitimate son! We have been married for four years, and I have been guarding you, but you only have one Meilian. Last year, mother gave me Chun'er, who was by her side. But in just half a year, Chun'er got pregnant. I accompanied Lord Lin on a business trip and came back. She said she was gone, don't think I don't know anything... Bai, I tolerate you because your great grandfather gave me some convenience when he was taking the imperial examination. I am not an ungrateful person. But don't go too far. I don't have a son at my age, and I am laughed at and my mother is worried. It is all thanks to you, a virtuous mistress, in the room. If you play tricks on me again and cut off my descendants, I will not forgive you!"
Bai Jingyu started to cry: "It turns out that Grandpa treated me well in the past only to repay my great grandfather's kindness. Now that my great grandfather has passed away, Grandpa doesn't have to care about the relationship between husband and wife anymore!"
Xu Junlang slapped the low table and said, "What nonsense are you talking about? You know how I've treated you since I married you!"
"We have been married for four years. How have I treated you? Tell me from your heart, good or bad? I just haven't given birth to a son. I'm still young. Won't I have one in the future? If you say I'm not virtuous, didn't you give it to the maids? Xiangrui and Xiangxue are the best looking and gentlest around me. What else do you want? How have I gone too far? Chun'er died of illness, and my wife witnessed it. Xiangrui entered my room safely, and I asked Mother Huang to send her out safely. Maybe she accidentally bumped into something and couldn't protect the baby in her belly, so she blamed me! Well, if you want to beat or kill me, go ahead. I'll just close my eyes and everything will be over, so that you can marry a better, more virtuous, more powerful and noble woman. It's a pity for my poor girl!"
Bai Jingyu sobbed and didn't wipe her tears. She just twisted her handkerchief and let the tears flow. Xu Junlang frowned and looked at her for a while, then finally lowered his eyes and sighed:
"You've never cried so easily before. Who wants to kill you? Am I that kind of person? I'm just reminding you that as the principal wife, you must have the necessary virtues! I'm not the master who only loves sons and not daughters. Meilin is my first child and the one I love the most. But as the eldest son of the second wife, I have to have a son to save face and my mother can also breathe a sigh of relief. You know the master... You are a strong-willed person and you are willing to take the lead in everything. If you hadn't been so stubborn and ran out to check the shop on a rainy day to make the fetus fall, you wouldn't have all these worries now..."
Bai Jingyu cried even more sadly when she brought up the past. "Isn't it because of the master's incident? The money from the public treasury was short, and the mistress asked me to raise money everywhere to fill it up, and she had to do it secretly without letting anyone know. I could only think of a way to get it from the shop I got as a dowry... Poor my grown son! I worked so hard for you and this family, and in the end you still treat me like this!"
Xu Junlang's expression had somewhat relaxed, but after hearing her second sentence, he got annoyed again: "Am I not good enough to you? Have I done what I promised you? I go home after finishing my work at the government office every day. I don't hang out in places of pleasure, I don't visit prostitutes or take concubines. I can only have a maid if you agree. I stay in your room most of the time every month, and I don't often go to Xiangxue's place. I spend more time with Xiangrui because my wife asked me to pay attention to her, so that the son I give birth to will be good... Before I married you, wasn't I a romantic and elegant person who loved elegance and calling friends? I've given up so much for you, and you're still not satisfied!"
Bai Jingyu lowered her head, thinking about how before she got married, she hid behind her great-grandfather's painting hall and peeked at the young scholars in front of the hall through the carved fragrant wood screen. Among the seven or eight people, she fell in love with the handsome and gentle Xu Junlang at first sight.
After marriage, the two spent a harmonious, sweet and warm time. As time passed, the eldest daughter was born, and the wife discovered her ability to make money. She treated her as a cash cow, as if she was looking for a treasure. She would look to her for any shortage. She had to put all her energy into managing the store, making money, and taking care of the children. She inevitably neglected Xu Junlang, thinking that her husband was still the same husband, and his heart was only on her, until one day the wife gave Chun'er to Xu Junlang, and he said nothing and went to Chun'er's room to spend the night naturally. At that moment, she wanted to kill everyone in the yard!
Xu Junlang was still very good to her. He only went to Chun'er's room during her daily life. He stayed with her at other times. He loved their daughter Meilin sincerely. Even though the master was unhappy, he was unwilling to let his daughter suffer any grievances. For this reason, Bai Jingyu could not hate Xu Junlang and felt that she was still the most important in her husband's mind.
But she refused to let another woman bear a child for him, nor did she want the wife to send anyone else into the room. Chun'er's death was caused by her greed. She was pregnant, but still wanted to restrain the master. She pretended to have a stomachache in the middle of the night and asked the little maid to ask the master to come over. Once she left, she never came back. She used this method many times, and Xu Junlang was not annoyed, but she hated Chun'er to death.
Chun'er's death made Xu Junlang sad for a few days. She generously gave him the smart and beautiful Xiangrui, but secretly forced Xiangrui to take contraceptive soup. Xiangrui used tricks to pour the medicine and successfully got pregnant. She then gave him the gentle and honest Xiangxue...
Xu Junlang kept his promise when they first got married, not indulging in prostitutes and not taking concubines, which was considered to be doing his best for her. But isn't it good enough that she has done this for him? How much more virtuous does she need to be
Bai Jingyu wiped away her tears and thought silently: If the news Xiangrui said was true, the wife might take a concubine into Xu Junlang's family when she came back. The concubine is talented and beautiful. Xu Junlang attaches great importance to women with talent. So what if she is his legal wife? Xu Junlang had experienced several maids, and his feelings for her faded a lot. He listened to his wife the most. If he really got a concubine, she would not be as easy to control as Xiangrui and Xiangxue.
Xu Junlang himself mentioned the old agreement, so why not take this opportunity to have a good talk with him, reminisce about the old times, and give him a warning. When his wife comes back and persuades him to take a concubine, even if he can't refuse directly, at least he should be cautious and not agree behind her back. (To be continued)