The first month of the year is already a busy day when we have to visit and entertain relatives, but now that Jiang Yalan's wedding has been added to the mix, everyone in the Duke's mansion is in a state of confusion - Shi Shi has been complaining of illness since she became a widow; Chu Yitong was pregnant again; even the eighth wife Huang, who was about the same age as her grandchildren, found out she was pregnant when she returned to her parents' home on the second day of the new year.
Now, the number of people who could handle everything was quickly reduced to three: Zhang, He Shuijin and Qiu Yilan.
You can imagine how busy they are!
There was no time to inquire about the outcome of the matter between Yan Linxue and Fan Taibi, so they finally welcomed Feng Hanyan in. The three granddaughter-in-laws managed to gather their energy to finish the wedding and send away the guests. After returning to the room, they didn't even have time to take off their coats, so they fell asleep directly. , slept until noon the next day before waking up one after another: "Why is it so late?!"
After Qiu Yilan was startled, she didn't panic at all. She slowly got up and put on her clothes. She casually asked Jiang Yashuang and the children how they had been doing for the past half day - Mrs. Zhang and He Shuijin had a headache, and Mr. He's mother-in-law was a bit petty. It just so happened that Chi and Chu Yitong got pregnant again around the same time last year, and since then He has been taking it out on his wife.
I woke up so late today. I missed paying my respects and paying attention to the matter. I don’t know what He will do to them
Sure enough, after the two of them had freshened up, they anxiously arrived at He's room and bowed. They heard He said in a nonchalant manner: "I tell you, none of you are planning to get up today!"
"My daughter-in-law knows her fault!" Having been He's daughter-in-law for so many years, both Zhang and He Shuijin knew that they must not talk back at this moment, so they both looked submissive, "Mom, please punish me!"
"Normally, you guys were very busy yesterday, so it doesn't matter if you come a little late this morning." He Shi snorted, "As a mother, I dare not say how generous I am, but I am not the kind of person who looks for trouble! If I had sent someone in advance, How can you not say it? But you didn’t say a word and just asked me to wait here... How did you do it? "
Mrs. Zhang and He Shuijin both cursed in their hearts: "Seeing that the master is so tired and unable to wake up, he didn't even know to come and ask for leave on his behalf. If the trusted maid is so stupid, why are we messing around?! We obviously just said it with our eyes open. It’s nonsense, you’re deliberately looking for trouble, and you still have to act rationally, it’s simply shameless!”
However, their mother-in-law's identity at this time made them dare not refute at all, and they had to follow He's wishes and admit their mistakes and apologize. They had to kneel for half an hour to get through. When they got up, they saw He's still unfinished, and they had to drag her. The aching body stepped forward, pinched his back and slapped his shoulders, and waited patiently. Lest this master would be unhappy and keep an eye on them!
It was time to retire for the day. Mrs. Zhang and He Shuijin exited the door with a smile on their faces. They both sighed, looked at each other, and left with a wry smile!
"Ma'am, you're really bullying me!" Shan'er angrily helped He Shuijin back to her room. Seeing no one around her on the way, she gritted her teeth and complained for her, "Young Madam has been so busy from the beginning of the year to the end of the new year that she hasn't had a good night's sleep. Yesterday, I was so worried about the marriage of the Thirteenth Young Master! My wife did nothing, just sit back and enjoy the results. Why are you looking for me like this today? You don't act like an elder at all. I'd like to punish you. In my heart: This is simply disrespectful!”
He Shuijin's expression was indifferent: "She can't win her husband's heart, she can't beat Aunt Chi, and even her sons and grandsons don't like to hear her complain about her grievances... Who else can she target if she doesn't turn her anger on her daughter-in-law?"
Then he sighed, "It's a good thing to come towards me, as long as it's not towards Ya'er!"
"Even so, Madam is really going too far now!" Shan'er bit her lip, leaned close to her ear, and whispered, "Young Madam, since we already have the Sleeping Fragrance in our hands... why... still need it? ?”
After all, it has been five or six years since He Shuijin got hold of Youmian Xiang, a powerful weapon of revenge. He is still doing well, but Shan'er can't hold back for her even as she watches!
"I originally wanted to do it four years ago, but the eldest son of the Nineteenth couple was poisoned. In order to prove their innocence, I had to tell them about it!" He Shuijin couldn't help gritting his teeth when he mentioned this. She secretly scolded Dafang for being crazy and crazy. The most hateful thing was that Dafang was so immoral. In the end, Jiang Jinglang was rescued and brought back, which also caused her long-planned plan to take care of the He family to be shelved!
It's simply that there is not enough success and more than failure!
"So don't use this method unless you have to!"
Shan'er asked puzzledly: "Why? My servant doesn't look like the Nineteenth Young Master and the Nineteenth Young Madam like the Madam?"
"This is not a question of whether they like my mother-in-law or not!" He Shuijin breathed out and sneered, "After all, we belong to two separate households. Even if they don't care about He's life or death at all, they may not mind borrowing this matter. Suppress our third room!”
"How could it be possible?" Shan'er pondered, "They all tolerated Dafang's attempt to murder the Seventeenth Grandson! Not to mention Madam..."
"You don't understand!" He Shuijin said leisurely, "In the case of Lang'er, they were thinking about my grandfather's face! But think about it, my grandfather has been unable to get up since he was ill last time. To put it bluntly, who can Do you know how long it can last? Once my grandfather is gone, do you think they need to worry about the elders being too old to bear the news of fratricide? "
"Although the third and fourth families are direct brothers from the same mother, they have never been very harmonious. The root cause actually lies with our father. In his early years, he disobeyed his grandmother and refused to join the army. When the fourth family developed in the army, But I feel regretful and jealous... If I were the fourth brother, I definitely wouldn’t want the third brother to suffer nothing and only want to take advantage of his status as his brother-in-law!”
"It's just that I am the daughter-in-law of the third family. Of course I have to think about it. Now the third family and the fourth family stand together and are separated from the first family. On the one hand, my father was deceived by Jiujiu. When my grandfather fell ill before , and gave the foundation to the fourth aunt to gain her understanding and support; secondly, the second and fifth bedrooms that the eldest family brought back this time made us, the Duke's Mansion, unsure of their thoughts, and it was inevitable that we would have to stick together ! But the days are long, who knows if there will be conflicts between the third and fourth houses in the future? "
"Earlier, our third bedroom was most incompatible with our eldest brother, but in order to deal with the fourth bedroom, why didn't we stand together? The previous time, because my grandfather was seriously ill, we became enemies again - we don't know tomorrow, so how can we know who is against whom? friend?!"
"If I still use Youmianxiang to deal with my good mother-in-law, do you think that when the third and fourth rooms fight, the fourth room will not expose me? Don't forget, the natal parents of the nineteen brothers and sisters were affected by this Youmianxiang. Damn by sleeping incense! She knows the signs of being poisoned by this incense all too well!”
"I used my daughter-in-law to harm my mother-in-law. If word of this spreads out, will I still be able to live? Can I still go out with my family?"
He Shuijin sighed, "So, I can only continue to endure He Shi and think of other ways!"
"But they have no evidence!" Shan'er bit her lip and said resolutely, "Even if we are sure that the madam was poisoned by Youmianxiang, so what?! Who can say that it must have been you, the young madam? The young madam is the madam. My niece, what are you trying to do to kill the madam? If the fourth room says it’s because the madam killed you first—how can we, the third room, or the He family admit it?”
"Don't forget that Youmianxiang is not a poison that will kill you as soon as you use it!" He Shuijin said calmly, "It will die after years and months - Sifang does not need to reveal the matter publicly, he only needs to quietly reveal it to Hui My mother-in-law is not dead, what do you think my mother-in-law will do?"
She gritted her teeth and said, "When I came here, I helped her take care of her property and taught her how to arrange the backyard. I did so many things for her! But she did it to my child and her direct grandson! She didn't just start with her. , and the eldest son of Sixth Brother is gone!"
"With two legitimate grandchildren gone, do you think she has ever felt guilty or ashamed over the years?!"
"If she knew that I was attacking her, she would definitely use all the vicious methods she could think of to deal with me - to deal with me alone, I'm really not afraid to fight her! But what about Ya'er?! What about He Jia? ! She is so selfish that she doesn’t care if she goes crazy, but can I not care?”
He Shuijin sighed, "So, I can only endure it!"
Shan'er said sadly: "Young lady, you have worked so hard!"
...Compared to the hundred-forbearance-forever here in Shuijin, Qiu Yilan had an easy time. At the moment, she was standing on the porch with great interest, watching Jiang Yashuang, Jiang Jingkun and Jiang Jinglang, building a snowman in the courtyard.
"I forgot to ask in the past two days, how are things in the palace?" Looking at the sky and seeing the three of them sweating profusely from playing, Qiu Yilan stepped forward to stop him with a smile, and sent the wet nurse to take two The other children went to bathe and change clothes, while she handed a handkerchief to Jiang Yashuang and said, "Is Fourth Aunt feeling better now?"
"Yan Linxue and Concubine Fan abandoned the city, and their families were exiled." Jiang Yashuang took the handkerchief and wiped her face while saying, "The concubines and concubines in the Zhenyu Palace were arranged to the Imperial Manor outside the city. To avoid something like this happening again in the palace... Fourth aunt is much better, but she still needs to rest for a while. "
At this point, he said in a strange tone, "The queen was fined and grounded, and the palace power was temporarily handed over to the female official... The imperial concubine has no hands on it, and she has to serve the fourth aunt."
Qiu Yilan asked in surprise: "Didn't the imperial concubine do it this time?" But then she thought again, "Maybe the imperial concubine took the opportunity to clear her name! After all, she can deceive others, and the fourth aunt and the queen are not Do you know what kind of person she is?"
"Maybe so." Jiang Yashuang said thoughtfully, "It would certainly be a good thing for her if Fourth Aunt and the Queen let down their guard against her. However, Fourth Aunt is not that easy to coax, and now she is just perfunctory with her. Don’t worry about the queen! After all, the queen is the one chosen by the fourth aunt herself.”
"That's right." Qiu Yilan thought for a while, whether it was considering the friendship between the elders or the direct descendants personally selected by the Empress Dowager Jiang, Jiang Huizhi and Xin Fubing were incomparable. There is really no need to worry that her attentiveness will shake Xin Fubing's position.
He became concerned, "But the concubines and concubines are sent to the Imperial Mansion... To put it bluntly, the palace is under the eyes of the fourth aunt and the empress. No matter how loose the palace restrictions are, they are still tighter than those at the Imperial Mansion. Where is the Imperial Mansion?" No one can tell what it will look like!”
The Imperial Manor is also guarded by royal guards, and there are no empress dowagers, emperors, or empresses there to keep an eye on it. Maybe these people from the late emperor’s time went there and caused more chaos—whose idea was it? !
"But the Imperial Mansion is far away from the capital!" Jiang Yashuang explained, "Whatever happened there would be easier to deal with, so that it wouldn't be known to both the government and the public like this time!"
"..." Qiu Yilan was speechless. Just as she was about to say something, Jiang Yashuang said, "Speaking of this matter, Lu He's apprenticeship will not be until after the Lantern Festival. Taking advantage of the festival, you can bring your fourth sister-in-law and her daughter to the palace. , talk to Fourth Aunt and the Queen? "