"I don't think so. Xiu'er is the same as before." Wei Jun answered honestly.
Zhao Jingyu just asked casually. Of course he knew that Xiu'er couldn't have been replaced, but it was just as Lvliu said, everything Xiu'er did was for the young master's sake.
What kind of connection is there between her and the young master that no one else knows about
The next day was Mid-Autumn Festival. The court, government offices and schools were closed for three days to worship the moon and celebrate family reunion.
According to the customs of the Great Zhou Dynasty, men do not worship the moon and women do not worship the kitchen god. The morning sacrificial activities are performed by the brothers and nephews from the three mansions led by Marquis Dingyuan. The evening moon worship ceremony is performed by the old lady and all the female members of the family before the family dinner.
Qin was in charge of all matters concerning the banquet, and also arranged for servants to deliver fruits and mooncakes to the homes of relatives and friends to convey holiday blessings.
In other mansions, servants could deliver the goods, but in the General's Mansion, it had to be delivered personally by the son-in-law Zhao Jingping.
Qin was afraid that he would make mistakes, so she told him the night before not to go out and play, not to drink and have fun, and to get up early the next day, take a bath, change clothes, dress neatly, and prepare generous gifts to visit his father-in-law and mother-in-law.
When Zhao Jingping heard that he had to go to the general's mansion, he felt terrible and asked his mother if someone else could do it for him and he could say that he was seriously ill.
Qin was furious and scolded, "It's a big festival, why are you saying such unlucky words? Your father-in-law won't eat you, so what is there to be afraid of?"
Zhao Jingping said: "He won't eat me, but my brother-in-law will kill me."
Qin hated his cowardice and said angrily, "Even if I kill you, you have to go. If you don't go, I will have you tied up and thrown at the gate of your father-in-law's house. Let's see who will be embarrassed then."
Zhao Jingping's hair turned white with worry. He said timidly, "Why not ask my second brother to go with me? That will give me some courage."
Qin Shi didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "That's your Yue family, not his Yue family. Why should he accompany you? Do you have a good relationship with him?"
Zhao Jingping scratched his head and grinned, "It's not bad. After all, he is a brother. I think he won't refuse."
"Brother?" Qin sneered, "You treat him as your brother, but I'm afraid he doesn't treat you as his brother. I think he is closer to the children of the Cheng family than to you. Besides, don't you know what kind of person he is? He never participates in the family's sacrifices, so how can he accompany you to see your father-in-law?"
Zhao Jingping thought about it and said dejectedly, "Okay, I'll go alone. It's just one life anyway."
Having said that, he was so frightened that he barely slept a wink the whole night. Early the next morning, Qin personally sent someone to call him. He followed what was said the night before, bathed, changed his clothes, and went to the ancestral hall with his father to pay homage. After the ceremony, he left with a carriage full of gifts that Qin had prepared for him.
The coachman was driving the carriage at the back, while Zhao Jingping was riding his horse alone in front to lead the way. He was feeling very anxious, but unexpectedly he ran into Zhao Jingyu at the gate.
As usual, Zhao Jingyu did not attend the sacrifice. He dressed up beautifully and prepared to ride in his extravagant carriage to find Cheng Zhiye to spend his time drinking and carousing.
Seeing Zhao Jingping riding out, Zhao Jingyu held the car door with one hand and asked with a smile: "Brother, where are you going?"
Zhao Jingping pointed at the carriage behind him with a sad face and said, "Go to the general's mansion."
"Ah, ha, are you going to visit your parents-in-law?" Zhao Jingyu reminded him with a cheerful smile, "Be careful of your bad-tempered brother-in-law!"
"..." Zhao Jingping thought, you really are talking about something that is not relevant.
Zhao Jingyu waved at him, turned around and got on the carriage, leaning comfortably on the big pillow: "Brother, see you later, I wish you good luck!"
"Wait!" Zhao Jingping called him loudly, "Second brother, I have something to ask of you."
"What's the matter?" Zhao Jingyu asked.
Zhao Jingping quickly got off the horse, ran to his carriage, leaned inside and pleaded, "Second brother, if you don't have anything urgent to do, would you mind accompanying me to the general's mansion?"
"Why?" Zhao Jingyu laughed, "He's your father-in-law, not mine. Why would I go and calculate it?"
"I am really timid." Zhao Jingping no longer cared about his shame and bowed to him with his hands clasped together: "Please, second brother, please."
Zhao Jingyu laughed and asked him, "What's the benefit of me going with you?"
When Zhao Jingping heard that there was a way, he hurriedly said, "You can have whatever you want."
"That's what you said!" Zhao Jingyu hooked her finger, "Then you come on up, I don't want to ride a horse, it's very tiring."
Zhao Jingping smiled happily, asked the guard at the door to take his horse back, and climbed onto Zhao Jingyu's carriage using his hands and feet.
Soon, everyone in the mansion knew that the second young master accompanied the prince to the general's mansion.
The fourth young lady didn't have to go to school today. After breakfast, Xie Nanjia and Suhe helped her choose clothes and jewelry for the family dinner in the evening.
Zhen'er came in from outside and said with a smile, "It's rumored outside that the Second Young Master accompanied the Crown Prince to visit the Yue Family."
Ah? Xie Nanjia was stunned for a moment, thinking that Zhao Jingyu really did things as he pleased. It wasn't his Yue family, so why was he running there? It was meaningless!
Su He joked, "Second Master, do you want to experience what it's like to meet your father-in-law in advance?"
The fourth young lady knew Zhao Jingping very well, and said with a smile: "It must be that the eldest brother was afraid and didn't dare to go alone, so he asked the second brother to go with him."
Xie Nanjia thought so too. Zhao Jingping must have been scared by Nanfeng and was afraid of suffering if he went alone.
Thinking of her brother, she couldn't help feeling melancholy. She hadn't seen him since they parted in the courtyard that day. He even said that he would come to eat the food she cooked when he was free, but in the end he left without a word.
You little brat, I don’t know where he’s gone now.
…
Xie Nanfeng was also riding his horse towards the Dingyuan Marquis Mansion.
A few days ago, he went to the military camp with his father and only returned to Beijing yesterday. This morning, he was woken up by his mother and went to Dingyuan Marquis' Mansion to deliver Mid-Autumn Festival gifts.
Xie Nanfeng was reluctant to come, thinking that the people from Dingyuan Marquis' Mansion were not worthy of eating his food.
Madam Xie lectured him sternly, saying that other things could be ignored but etiquette could not be abandoned. After all, the Dingyuan Marquis' Mansion was still a relative of the General's Mansion. Your sister had just passed away, and you severed your relationship with them. If this got out, people would laugh at you. And then there's your poor little nephew. He has lost his mother's protection, and if his maternal family ignores him, everyone in the mansion will look down on him. If Zhao Jingping marries a new wife and she has children, will he still have a chance to survive in the mansion
Mrs. Xie's eyes turned red as she spoke: "Your sister is gone, and we are the last support for that child. If you, as his uncle, don't go to see him, your sister's spirit in heaven will be disappointed."
After listening to his mother's words, Xie Nanfeng put aside the worries in his heart, took the cart of gifts carefully prepared by his mother, and went to Dingyuan Marquis Mansion.
His mother was right. No matter what else he did, he had to do this honorable thing for the sake of his little nephew.
He couldn't let his sister down, nor would he allow his only nephew to be looked down upon.
From now on, he is his nephew's most powerful supporter.
Xie Nanfeng did not meet the Zhao brothers on the road because Zhao Jingyu, that ostentatious guy, insisted on walking through the downtown area, admiring the street scenes and girls along the way, greeting every acquaintance he saw, and wishing that everyone knew that he was going to accompany his brother to the general's mansion.
Zhao Jingping felt that he did it on purpose, deliberately wanting to embarrass the eldest brother.
But he had no way out, because compared to being embarrassed, a bad-tempered brother-in-law was more terrifying.
But he didn't expect that the terrible brother-in-law was heading towards his house from another road.
When they were about to reach the Marquis' Mansion, Xie Nanfeng suddenly remembered the maid named Xiu'er in the mansion.
Recently, he was trained like an animal by his father in the military camp. He was exhausted every day and forgot about everything else.
He remembered that he had made an agreement with the little girl to try the dishes she cooked, but he never went. He wondered if the little girl would say that he was untrustworthy.
Since I'm here today, it's a good opportunity to see her and see how she is doing.
When he arrived at the marquis's mansion, the guard at the door recognized him from afar, hurried forward to greet him, and sent someone inside to report.
When the chief steward got the news, he went to the door to greet him personally, and at the same time asked someone to report it to the lady.
Qin was directing people to receive gifts from other houses. When she heard that her relative's son was coming to visit, she was surprised and uneasy.
She had thought that even if someone came from the general's mansion, at most they would send a servant to deliver some symbolic gifts. She didn't expect Xie Nanfeng to come in person, and she heard that he brought a carriage full of gifts.
In view of Xie Nanfeng's violent temper, Qin thought that sending only the steward to welcome him might make him angry again, so she hurriedly sent someone to notify Marquis Dingyuan to ask him to welcome the troublesome little ancestor on behalf of her son.
Unexpectedly, after a while, someone came to report that Young Master Nanfeng had gone directly to see the Young Master.
(End of this chapter)