"How your daughter lives is none of our business?" Fu Lemei yelled rudely, "I think everyone in your family is very strange!" First, there was the self-righteous, hurtful, and uneducated Mrs. Lu, then the superficial and vulgar Hong Fang'er, and finally the bumbling Mrs. Hong who acted like a sad drama, which was really disgusting! Now Fu Lemei was extremely glad that Mingyu didn't get engaged to Lu Hao, otherwise she would have really fallen into a big fire pit.
Mrs. Hong didn't look at Fu Lemei. She wiped her eyes with a bitter face, pretending that she didn't hear what Fu Lemei said. She only looked at Mingyu and said, "Miss Xu, although I haven't seen you before, I heard Fang'er and the adults say that you are a kind lady. We all know that the adults are sincere to you. The adults have been in a bad mood recently. If you are angry, just take it out on me. Don't be angry with the adults and Fang'er. Fang'er is just a child. It's my fault that her father and I are incompetent. She has lived a hard life since she was a child. She can't compare to you rich ladies who have no worries about food and clothing, and have endless food and drink. She has everything she wants. She is afraid that you will marry into the family and the adults will not care about her in the future. When Fang'er was a child, she picked up other people's small clothes to wear. She never wore new clothes. She has been working behind the adults since she was a child. She is very pitiful! She never dared to argue with you. I beg you to tolerate her in the future for the sake of Fang'er's deceased uncle and give her a meal..."
Mingyu simply didn't know how to start. Mrs. Hong's words were simply the funniest things she had ever heard. According to her, the reason why Hong Fang'er stabbed her in the back was because she had a hard life as a child and was afraid that she would lose the life she has now...
"Stop! Don't say anymore." Mingyu took a deep breath and raised her hand to stop Mrs. Hong from chattering on. The more she talked, the more confident and righteous she became. If she continued, it would be like Mingyu was being unreasonable, bullying "little white cabbage", and wanting to punish the poor and weak woman who was living under someone else's roof before she even entered the door.
She finally understood why Hong Fang'er had such a weird personality and why Madam Lu was so arrogant and domineering. There was such a person behind the scenes who could confuse right and wrong. No wonder! They had their reasons for everything, and others should give in to them and respect them, otherwise they would be bullying and unreasonable.
"Miss Xu, I am an old woman and I cannot speak." Mrs. Hong apologized with a smile, "It is really because your Excellency has been angry with Fang'er recently, and Fang'er is feeling upset. As a mother, I can only shamelessly come to you to ask for help."
Mingyu shook her head and looked at Mrs. Hong, who was looking humble and fawning. She couldn't vent her anger anymore.
She thought of Mrs. Xu, both of them were mothers, and they were all very kind to their daughters. It was pitiful that all parents in the world were kind-hearted. Mrs. Hong had a problem with her concept, but she also stood in her daughter's perspective in all aspects, and shamelessly came here to beg a little girl for her daughter.
"Mrs. Hong, please go back." Mingyu shook her head and said, "There is nothing between me and Lord Lu. I don't know why he was angry and ignored Miss Hong. This has nothing to do with me. They are all adults, and they must have their own considerations and thoughts when doing things."
After saying that, Mingyu pulled Fu Lemei and turned into the yard, about to close the gate.
Mrs. Hong was anxious. She took two steps forward and blocked the door with a look of anxiety on her face. "Miss Xu, you can't do this! Fang'er..." Fu Lemei was annoyed and pushed away Mrs. Hong who was trying to squeeze in. Her face was full of anger. "What are you doing? If you dare to trespass again, I will report you to the lobby of Jingzhao Yin! What's wrong with your daughter? It's none of our business. Go away! You are the wife of an official after all. Don't make me ask the servants to drive you away and lose face!"
Fu Lemei didn't give her face. Madam Hong was also unhappy. She stood outside the door and raised her voice and shouted, "Mrs. Xu, don't pretend to be so good! You let your sister-in-law embarrass Fang'er in public, causing her to be laughed at and looked down upon!"
Mingyu frowned and was stunned for a moment. In her impression, Fu Lemei's sister-in-law Yang had always been a calm and gentle woman, a typical lady from a wealthy family. She was polite to others and could never be faulted. She would never embarrass a girl in public.
Mingyu was also annoyed at this moment, and said with a cold face: "I was wondering how Hong Fang'er, at such a young age, could have such a vicious heart? It turns out it's from her family! Speaking of which, I wonder how Lord Lu must be feeling bad about his bad luck to have such a cousin who is like a sticky candy!" After that, she slammed the door in front of Mrs. Hong.
Mrs. Hong was driven out, and when she heard these words, she felt extremely anxious. She was annoyed at Mingyu's airs, and she was also worried that her daughter would not be liked by Lu Hao and was concerned about her future. Her face turned red and white for a long time, and she stood there not knowing what to do.
The coachman on the carriage waited for a long time, but Mrs. Hong showed no intention of getting on the carriage. In impatience, he leaned out from the front of the carriage and shouted, "Madam, do you want to take the carriage or not? If not, pay the money. You haven't moved for such a long time, and you are just wasting my business!" Mrs. Hong came to her senses, pouted her lips and looked unhappy. She walked to the carriage and rolled her eyes at the coachman, "I didn't give you a penny less, why are you yelling!" Now she has plenty of money and is no longer the poor person she used to be.
The driver looked at Mrs. Hong angrily, and when Mrs. Hong got on the carriage, he whipped the horse and urged her to sit down. Mrs. Hong fell into the carriage with a cry of "ouch", and cursed for a long time. The driver snorted secretly, "Why are you pretending to be rich? Would the wife of a wealthy family ride in his carriage? Would she bargain for a few yuan's fare?"
After driving Mrs. Hong away, Fu Lemei was still indignant, "What kind of person is this! Do you have any sense of shame? Not only did you not apologize, but you also asked you to go and tell Lord Lu. What did you say? What is there to say? Is Hong Fang'er worthy of it?" In fact, Fu Lemei was a little embarrassed to say it in front of Mingyu. In her opinion, Lu Hao was at least a rare existence among men. If such a person liked Hong Fang'er, it would be laughable! Not liking someone is normal!
"Alright, alright." Mingyu said with a smile, "Why would you get angry with that kind of person? You see, what kind of mother brings up what kind of daughter she is. It's no wonder that Hong Fanger has such a weird temper since she has a mother like that."
She really didn't understand the structure of Mrs. Hong's brain. Even if Mingyu and Lu Hao were engaged, she couldn't possibly ask her fiancé for the sake of her future aunt, so that her husband wouldn't get angry with her aunt? She wanted her husband and aunt to get along harmoniously and have a sweet and harmonious relationship? Oh, God, that would require a saintly woman to the level of virtuousness! Mingyu thought she didn't have that kind of mind. If she really wanted to marry Lu Hao, the first thing she had to do was to get Lu Hao to marry Hong Fang'er off before she got married, as far away as possible, and not to make trouble in front of her.
Fu Lemei hummed twice to show her agreement.
Mingyu thought for a moment and said, "Sister-in-law, why don't you go back to your parents' home today and ask your eldest sister-in-law what's going on? Don't let any misunderstandings arise. It would be bad if you let them talk nonsense."
Fu Lemei nodded. She didn't quite believe that Yang would target anyone in public.
Before noon, Fu Lemei came back. The two families lived close together, and it only took two quarters of an hour to get there by carriage. When Fu Lemei came back, she pulled Mingyu and laughed so hard that she lay on the bed and rubbed her belly. After a long rest, she finally recovered and told Mingyu what happened.
It turned out that during the time they were back in Lu'an, a family in the capital held a chrysanthemum appreciation banquet and invited many rich young ladies. In order to give Lu Hao face, Hong Fang'er was also invited. The host family couldn't take care of it, so they asked Yang, who was popular with people, to help take care of the rich young ladies' table, and Yang readily agreed.
Crabs are a must at the chrysanthemum-viewing banquet. After eating crabs, the maids served each of the girls a cup of warm tea, which smelled sweet. It was originally used for the girls to wash their hands, but Hong Fang'er picked it up and drank it all in one gulp. She wiped her mouth and pretended to complain that the tea was not as good as their family's top-grade Dahongpao. The girls present laughed so hard that they were out of breath.
Mingyu laughed so hard that her stomach hurt. She could almost imagine Hong Fanger's proud and cool expression as she showed off her own Da Hong Pao. Unfortunately, she did it in the wrong place.
“Then why do you blame it on my sister-in-law?” After laughing, Mingyu asked, “Are they being unreasonable again?”
Fu Lemei shook her head and said with a smile: "Hong Fanger secretly asked her sister-in-law what this was. She said it was tea brewed from Longjing before the rain, with spices added."
It was true that the water for washing hands was indeed made from tea with spices added, and was specially used for washing hands for distinguished guests. But Hong Fanger took it for granted that tea was for drinking, and firmly believed that it was Yang who made her lose face. However, Mingyu recalled Yang's calm and elegant smile, and felt that it revealed a sinister meaning. Yang must have done it on purpose. She could have stopped Hong Fanger when she was about to put the tea into her mouth, but in order to vent Fu Lemei's anger, she let Hong Fanger lose face in public.
In the afternoon, when Mingyu returned home from the store, she saw Nanny Wei and Bixi standing respectfully in her yard, talking to Madam Xu. Seeing Mingyu, Nanny Wei and Bixi bowed to her together, and Nanny Wei smiled and said, "You're back."
Mingyu nodded in surprise. When she saw the business card in Mrs. Xu's hand, she understood everything and her face turned slightly red.
Bixi looked at Mingyu and smiled teasingly, then winked at the name card and said with a smile: "Second... Miss Xu, our wife will come to your house to visit Mrs. Xu tomorrow."
However, since he left his name card so solemnly before the visit, the purpose of the visit is more than just a visit.