Because they had something on their minds, Jiang Qizheng and Qiu Yilan were unable to enjoy the entire wedding banquet. It was already midnight when they returned to the Duke's Mansion, so naturally they could no longer disturb Mrs. Zhuang.
It wasn't until the next day, when the two of them went to Mrs. Zhuang to say hello and report on the banquet, that they took the opportunity to ask, "Is what Miss Lu said yesterday true or false?"
Mrs. Zhuang frowned and said, "The Lu family? How dare the Lu family dare to bring trouble to Man'er and Zui'er like this?" After saying this, she said, "It's true that the people in Zui'er's backyard haven't been sent away, but that's not the case. Zui'er couldn't bear to leave them, but it was Man'er's own decision."
Qiu Yilan and Jiang Qizheng both found it incredible: "What did Man'er mean?"
After all these years of handkerchief exchanges, the two of them really didn't realize that Zhuang Man was so broad-minded!
"She said that Zui'er cleaned up the backyard before she came in. Although it was an unspoken rule, and there were elders who came forward to prevent her from embarrassment, but after all, those people had served Zui'er for many years, and they had no merit but hard work, so they just drove them away. I'm afraid if Zui'er doesn't say anything, she'll feel guilty in her heart, and she might leave some gaps in the future!" Mrs. Zhuang took a sip of tea and said a little disapprovingly, "So it's better to wait for her to come through and deal with it by yourself... I said Why is this necessary? Zui'er can't blame Man'er for the elders' intervention! Besides, I asked Zui'er, he was young and ignorant now, but now he wants to be sent away so that he can live peacefully with Man'er!"
Qiu Yilan and Jiang Qizheng looked at each other for a long time, and then said for a while: "Maybe... this... Man'er is sincere to his adopted brother, so he pays special attention to his thoughts? When they get to know each other and understand each other's thoughts, there should be no problem. ? "When did Zhuang Man awaken to his virtuous attribute? Didn't notice it at all!
Mrs. Zhuang muttered: "Since she is so insistent, let her go for now! The eldest princess is a person who respects rules and will not let anyone disturb the order of hierarchy!"
When she said this, Qiu Yilan felt that Zhuang Man was persuaded by her family to do this to win the favor of the eldest princess? After all, there are only a handful of mothers-in-law like Mrs. Zhuang who want to persuade their daughters-in-law to kill their concubines. Most mothers-in-law prefer virtuous and tolerant daughters-in-law, such as little Tao.
"But Man'er doesn't seem like the kind of person who would deliberately please her mother-in-law!" Zhuang Man has Mrs. Zhuang as his aunt to rely on. She is not as face-conscious as Xiao Zhuang and is unwilling to talk about her grievances after marriage. Although the eldest princess Maode was the emperor's aunt, she was quite wary of this daughter-in-law. As long as Zhuang Man didn't go too far, how could the eldest princess dare to bully her
Qiu Yilan thought about it for a while, but couldn't figure it out, so she decided to ask Zhuang Man directly when she saw her later. Putting this matter aside for the time being, we began to discuss the incident caused by Miss Lu. Both mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, as well as Jiang Qizheng, felt that the matter was very suspicious: "If the Zhenxi Army is really defeated, even if I am in Beijing, I may not be able to survive." Chunjun! Unless your father is here."
Mrs. Zhuang said seriously: "But the Northern Xinjiang side cannot do without your father, and this matter is difficult to handle! Now we can only send a message to Shazhou to let Chunjun pay attention, especially remember to protect Mr. Ren!"
"That's what mother said!" Qiu Yilan nodded, "My wife will write a letter when she gets back!"
Jiang Qizheng pondered for a moment and then suggested: "How about asking the consort to deliver this letter? Just let the consort stay in Shazhou and help General Qiu!"
"My nephew and niece are still young, how can I not have a father to take care of and teach me?" Qiu Yilan refused without looking at Mrs. Zhuang's eyes, "I accept my sister's kindness on behalf of my mother-in-law, but my brother-in-law still stays in Beijing. Stay with your mother and son - Fu'er is already three years old and has started to remember people. Now she always regards me and Shijiu as her parents. How can this continue? "
Of course, Jiang Qizheng was reluctant to separate from her husband. The reason why she made this suggestion was to thank Qiu Jinglan. Now that she was rejected by Qiu Yilan, she felt relieved. Just as she was about to say something, Mrs. Zhuang muttered: "Well, let's check again. Check, are there any other people in the first and third rooms who can join the Zhenxi Army?"
"As long as they don't have such a person in their hands, even if the Zhenxi Army is defeated, they can only stare blankly!" Before Mrs. Zhuang finished speaking, Chang's mother, who was speaking to them outside and guarding the door, came in with a strange expression and said: "Mrs. , Mrs. Wen is in front of Mrs. Zhao asking to see you!"
Mrs. Zhuang just said that the dealer married her daughter yesterday and gave her something today, so she said to her daughter and daughter-in-law: "Let's talk about it after Mother Zhao leaves!"
So they stayed and discussed, and asked Mother Chang to bring Mother Zhao in. After Mother Zhao kowtowed to Mrs. Zhuang, she didn't mention bringing anything. Instead, she said with an embarrassed face: "Madam, Hongshan is here to serve our wife." , has always been an honest child. My wife also found someone for her six months ago, but she just got engaged, and the manager lost her mother, so she dragged her down! It’s just that her facial features are pretty good! Now this matter..."
Mrs. Zhuang was so confused that she didn't know what she wanted to say. Qiu Yilan and Jiang Qizheng were used to hearing such things. They looked at each other. Qiu Yilan coughed dryly, leaned slightly towards her mother-in-law, and reminded her in a low voice: "Yesterday... …Bago went to his uncle’s house alone to congratulate him!”
She deliberately emphasized the word "one person", and Mrs. Zhuang understood immediately and couldn't help but get angry: "Go and call Dan'er and me!"
In this situation, the younger sister and the younger sister-in-law must advise: "Mom, please calm down! I think it was a good day for my cousin Man'er yesterday, and Brother Myna was happy for her, but he drank too much and made a mistake!"
Mother Zhao sighed: "Did you drink too much? Otherwise, the Eighth Young Master was always served by Hongshan, and nothing happened." She had already said that the maid was not very good-looking, at most. It's not ugly, and it won't catch the eye of Jiang Yadan, who has read thousands of things. The banker didn't intend to give his nephew a maid, so he let Hongshan serve him all the time.
As a result... something went wrong last night!
Now that the deal is done, the reason why Mother Zhao came over is: "Originally, Madam wanted to give Hongshan more money as a dowry to cover up the matter! However, when the steward who was engaged to her knew about it, he asked Madam to find another person. As long as the body is clean, I am willing to serve as a maid, even if it is a rough job... Although the lady feels that Hongshan is wronged, since the steward doesn't want her anymore, forcing Hongshan to come over would be a disservice to Hongshan... So after much deliberation, she had no choice but to come and talk to the aunt. You say it here!”
Mrs. Zhuang was being pulled and persuaded by her daughter and daughter-in-law, so she didn't want to lose her temper. She could only hold back her anger and asked: "So what does sister-in-law mean? Although Dan'er is my son, you also know that this thing is really a bastard." Yes! It’s not necessarily a good thing to follow him! Besides, Dan’s daughter-in-law is not doing well these days. What if she gets angry if I tell her this?”
Mother Zhao said cautiously: "Madam, I think that Hongshan is now broken, so she will always be inferior to others. If the Eighth Young Master can give her a title, then let the Eighth Young Master marry her after that." go out… "
There is indeed a big difference in status between a maid who has been played with and a concubine from a high family. It can be seen that Mrs. Wen really likes Hongshan and cannot bear to have her killed for life.
However, although Mrs. Zhuang was unwilling to refute her sister-in-law's face, she still asked about Hongshan's appearance again and confirmed that she would never seduce Jiang Yadan under normal circumstances. Then she nodded: "But I'll send it over in a few days. Xiaoba's wife's You all know what happened. It’s really sad to tell her now! I’ll tell her slowly when she gets better.”
Mother Zhao was also afraid that Chu Yitong would be displeased if Hongshan came over now, so she agreed: "I will thank my aunt on behalf of Hongshan for her kindness!"
... Although Mrs. Zhuang had a gag order on this matter, she was not allowed to tell her before Chu Yitong finished her confinement. But Chu Yitong still knew. After all, people from the Huainan Palace also went to the banker's house to drink wedding wine. As Mrs. Wen's confidant, Hongshan was dragged into the house by Jiang Yadan. Several people in the banker saw the scene where Hongshan was dragged into the house by Jiang Yadan. Since Bian knew, how could he not tell Chu Yitong
"Sister, please relax. What is a mere maid?" The next day, the wife of the Prince of Huainan obeyed her husband's order and came to inform and comfort her sister-in-law. After everyone was dismissed, only two sisters-in-law were left. Holding Chu Yitong's hand, she earnestly advised her to be more open-minded, "Besides, I've asked the maids around, and they're not as neat as the maids who sweep the courtyard at our house! If my uncle hadn't drunk too much, I might be tired of washing his feet. It’s an eyesore! Even if the banker supports her and lets her in, she will still have to survive in this backyard!”
"And your mother-in-law hates this kind of thing the most. She may not be willing to let her in!"
"Besides, it's all the dealer's fault in this matter. If you're really angry, wait a few months after entering the house. Your mother-in-law has gone to Northern Xinjiang. If you want to find someone else, feel free to deal with her. Even if the dealer is your mother-in-law's natal family, it will be difficult for you. Can I go beyond your mother-in-law for a maid to teach you, my nephew-in-law?"
The prince's wife talked for a long time, and finally saw that Chu Yitong's expression calmed down, so she left with peace of mind and went back to Chu Weixian.
She didn't know that as soon as she stepped out of the yard, the calmness on Chu Yitong's face disappeared, replaced by deep hatred. She picked up Yu Ruyi on the couch, slammed it to the ground, and said with gnashing teeth: "Beast!! !”
Jiang Yadan has done too many things like this, and Mrs. Zhuang thinks that the reason why her eldest son was so debauched in the past was because his parents were not around and no one really advised him to be good. Now that she is here, her eldest son must He will never do bad things again—so this time Jiang Yadan returned to his old ways, and Mrs. Zhuang was the most angry!
Others, including Qiu Yilan and his wife, Jiang Qizheng and his wife, were not surprised.
The country is easy to change, but the nature is hard to change. They didn't get along with Jiang Yadan for only a day or two, and they never expected Jiang Yadan to really learn well. I was just a little surprised that Jiang Yadan did not wait until Mrs. Zhuang went to Northern Xinjiang before committing the crime again - after all, Jiang Yadan had a very good attitude towards his parents.
The daughter, her youngest son, and her youngest daughter-in-law comforted each other for two or three days, but they still couldn't calm down the anger in Mrs. Zhuang's heart. After forcing Jiang Yadan to kneel in the ancestral hall for three days, Mrs. Zhuang felt very guilty for Chu Yitong and asked her from her private room. A large number of things were transferred to her as compensation - and she was afraid that Qiu Yilan would think it was unfair, so she asked her mother to explain to her. Qiu Yilan smiled and said: "Mother's things should be decided by herself, so I took them. It’s the mother’s benefit. Besides, the eighth sister-in-law is the eldest daughter-in-law, so she deserves more!”
When Mrs. Zhuang found out, she sighed to Chang's mother: "All wives are good, Shuang'er is good, and I don't need to worry about my daughter and son-in-law. This Dan'er really makes me not close my eyes until I die!"
Chang's mother scolded her for talking nonsense: "Madam is still in her prime, how can she say such unlucky words? Besides, the Eighth Young Master has been raised by the bad people in the first house for so many years. How can he be corrected in three to five days? That's right. I need your advice from time to time!”
"I hope I can see him learn well before I go to Northern Xinjiang this year!" Mrs. Zhuang was upset. "My husband didn't say it, but in his heart he didn't want Dan'er to make progress and stop focusing on women? I hope I can bring him good news when I leave, and the bitter cold and loneliness we have endured over the years will not be in vain!"
Tragically, Mrs. Zhuang not only failed to bring good news with her, but at the end of April and the beginning of May, the aristocratic families in Beijing began to pack their bags and prepare to travel with them to escape the summer heat. A piece of news that was almost bad news came from Kui County: Jiang Jingzhan, the eldest grandson of Wufang and the fifth son of Jiang Yawan, was assassinated. A man from Kui County mourned the loss of his great-grandson. After hearing the news, he lay ill on the bed and was dying!