Cheng Jing wore a royal blue gown with auspicious cloud patterns, Cheng Xu wore a dark green Hangzhou silk gown with honeysuckle patterns, Yuan wore a bright red jacket with gold sleeves, and Min Jia wore a rose-colored jacket with a vase pattern. Cheng Jing was dignified, Cheng Xu was gentle, and both looked in good spirits. Yuan looked tired, and Min Jia was low-key and taciturn. They all looked dull and colorless like dusty jewels.
Not only Zhou Shaojin and Cheng Sheng noticed this situation, but also Mrs. Guo.
The old man was shocked. After they bowed, he stood up and asked Cheng Jing anxiously, "What happened to your wife and daughter-in-law?"
Cheng Jing smiled bitterly and said, "Brother Wen sent Nuo's wife back to Jinling six days ago, and sent someone to deliver a letter the day before yesterday, saying that Cheng Nuo was going to marry Kang Liuniang, and the date is today..."
As he spoke, Yuan took out a few wedding invitations from her sleeve and said, "They say these are for you, your fourth uncle, your second uncle, and Zheng'er."
Madam Guo closed her eyes expressionlessly, and after a while she said, "Silang and Mr. Peng are drinking tea in the flower hall. Dalang and Jiashan should also go over and keep the guests company!"
Cheng Xu glanced at Cheng Jing.
Cheng Jing, however, did not look away, but replied "yes" respectfully and stepped back.
Cheng Xu hurried to follow.
Madam Guo said to Min Jia affectionately, "You haven't been here for a while. I asked your aunt to make your favorite almond milk. Go downstairs and have some snacks with Ah Sheng!"
It is obvious that all the men and young people must be sent out.
Min Jia agreed respectfully and retreated with Cheng Sheng.
Zhou Shaojin felt a little uneasy. After seeing Min Jia and Cheng Sheng retreat, he hurriedly said, "Mom, I'll go see how the waterside pavilion is preparing."
Mrs. Guo nodded.
Zhou Shaojin walked out in a hurry.
Before Keren walked out of the Falling Flower Cover, she heard a "pop" sound behind her. Madam Guo said sternly, "Have you become confused after getting married? Is Wu dead or divorced? Cheng Wen has no sense of propriety, righteousness, and shame when it comes to marrying a wife. Are you also ignorant of it? You should have kicked out the person who sent this kind of invitation, but you actually accepted it. Not only did you accept it, you even brought it to Chaoyang Gate! Do you think your family is living too comfortably and want to find something to make people criticize you? Take this invitation and burn it!"
Yuan was scolded terribly.
She didn't expect Mrs. Guo's reaction to be so intense. She hurriedly took the post and was about to burn it.
How dare Chenxiang and others let her do it, so they quickly took it over.
Yuan murmured her thanks and bowed her head to apologize to Old Lady Guo: "Mother, I was confused about this matter. I will never act on my own again. I will always ask you first if I have anything to do in the future."
"Why do you have something to ask me?" Madam Guo sneered, "You have been married into our family for more than 30 years, and you are about to become a grandmother, but look at what you have done? Even if I want to give you face, you have to give me an explanation, right? You still need me to remind you of these trivial matters, what do you want me to do?"
Yuan couldn't help but whispered, "The Wu family didn't agree to Wu's return. Wu had no sons, and she was sent back to Nanjing to be with Madam Wen. There was no way she could make a name for herself in the future. But Kang Liuniang was different. It was said that she took over the family business at the age of fourteen. Her uncle protected her because she was so powerful. If everyone fell out, her uncle would only suffer..."
"So you're afraid that Kang Liuniang will give birth to a son and gain power? So you flatter the powerful and bully the weak like an ignorant woman and child?" Old Madam Guo said angrily, "You are the wife of a dignified minister, a third-rank official, and yet you're afraid of offending a merchant woman! If you think so, you might as well let Dalang retire and follow the Kang family into business - if a minister becomes a businessman, it will definitely be a very profitable thing."
Yuan's face flushed with embarrassment, and she said hurriedly, "Mother, I didn't mean that. I just think that the stronger the relatives are, the more help they will get..."
"Bah!" Madam Guo looked down on Yuan and said, "That depends on what kind of help it is. Qu Yuan is Gao Yao's father-in-law! What can the Kang family, who are not up to the standard, do to help you? If you still can't tell right from wrong, and can't tell the importance of things, I think you should stop being the head of this family, lest you bring trouble to Dalang. Let Jiashan's daughter-in-law take charge of the household affairs as soon as possible!"
"Mom!" Yuan's face turned pale.
If Min Jia had a child at this time, she could say that she had become a grandmother and enjoyed the company of her grandchildren by handing over the power of housekeeper. But now there was no sign of Min Jia at all, and it was time for her to recuperate and think of ways to have a child. So what was the point of her handing over the power of housekeeper to Min Jia
Not to mention others, I'm afraid that the people in the Min family will point at her back and say that she is abusing her daughter-in-law. The reason why Min Jia has not had a child since she got married is because she, as the mother-in-law, is interfering!
Madam Guo was too lazy to say anything to her and was about to let her leave when a little maid came through the curtain to report that Qiu had come with Abao and Aren.
"Hurry up and invite them in." Old Madam Guo smiled and instructed the little maid, but she put away her smile and said to Yuan, "Your sister-in-law and nephew are coming over, go and greet them!"
Yuan breathed a sigh of relief and quickly turned around to lift the curtain.
Zhou Shaojin, Cheng Sheng and Min Jia had not walked far. They were greeting Mrs. Qiu when they saw Mrs. Yuan coming out with a smile. They felt relieved and surrounded Mrs. Yuan and Mrs. Qiu into the house.
But the matter is not over yet.
After lunch, Mrs. Guo went back to her room to take a nap and asked Cheng Jing to accompany her.
On the way, Madam Guo said to her eldest son, "You should cultivate yourself and take care of your family. You are now a minister in the cabinet. You should also pay attention to the affairs of your family. Why did you come here with the invitation from the fifth room today?"
Cheng Jing said guiltily, "Mom, it's all my fault. I'll talk to her properly when I get back."
Old Madam Guo shook her head and said, "It seems that I haven't taught you well. You were full of energy when you came, but your wife was exhausted. Have you ever thought about what your wife has been busy with these days? If it's about the Fifth House, then you shouldn't do it. There are some things that your wife can't make up her mind about, so you should help her make a decision. Some things are not something that everyone is born with, so you can't ignore them just because they are matters of the inner house. In this regard, you are not as good as your two younger brothers. Look at Erlang. Qiu always asks him to make decisions on everything. Although this has disadvantages, his family is peaceful, the couple is harmonious, the children are filial, and they will not make mistakes in major matters. Not to mention Silang, his wife is the daughter of a widowed mother, and she is not as good as Qiu. But now, although there are some shortcomings in the small matters at home, she has never made any mistakes in major matters. As the saying goes, teach your son in front of the hall and teach your wife by your pillow. You have to think about it carefully. Don't let the things in the backyard drag you down in the front hall."
Cheng Jing nodded and said "yes".
Mrs. Guo didn't know whether he had heard it or not, and she sighed deeply.
The back garden is very lively.
The children were rowing in the lake. The lively Cheng Sheng pulled Min Jia on the boat. The two were clumsy and the boat kept turning around on the shore for a long time without moving away, which made Zhou Shaojin, Cheng Zheng and Cheng Xiao who were watching in the corridor on the shore laugh. Cheng Zheng said bluntly: "You still say that we are boring. We just have such a rare free time. We want to sit and talk with the sisters." Then she called Cheng Xiao and Zhou Shaojin, "Let's go rowing too."
Yun'er was still young, so Li took him and Zongjin to take a nap. However, Youjin was full of energy and was reluctant to leave after playing with Abao and Guzhong. Her wet nurse sat with her and rowed the boat with Abao and the others.
Seeing Cheng Sheng getting off the shore and onto the boat, she stood by the boat and called out to Zhou Shaojin: "Second sister, second sister, come rowing too. Rowing is so much fun!"
The wet nurse smiled and held her hand, afraid that she would run away.
Zhou Shaojin rarely encountered such a situation. She turned around and looked at Cheng Chi who was sitting in the pavilion next to the waterside pavilion.
The pavilion was covered with felt carpets. Cheng Chi, Cheng Shao, Gu Xu, Yuan Ming, Peng Zao, Cheng Xu and Cheng Rang were sitting around the tea table in the pavilion, talking and drinking tea. Cheng Rang was the youngest and he consciously made tea for everyone. Although their expressions could not be seen clearly, everyone seemed quite relaxed and the atmosphere seemed good.
Zhou Shaojin was relieved and replied "OK" with a smile, saying, "I don't know how to row a boat very well, A Zheng, please teach me."
Cheng Zheng smiled and nodded.
Cheng Xiao asked, "Why doesn't Aunt ask me for help?"
Zhou Shaojin was stunned.
Cheng Xiao smiled and said, "Among the sisters, I am the best at rowing and swimming."
"Really?" Zhou Shaojin opened his eyes wide, "How did you learn to swim?"
"I learned it from my mother-in-law when I was young." Cheng Xiao said with a smile, "I was ignorant at that time, but I had to learn it, so my grandmother asked someone to teach me."
Cheng Zheng smiled and added: "Don't be fooled by her quiet appearance. She is very brave. We didn't dare to go into the water at that time, but she was so noisy."
Cheng Xiao smiled, got on the boat first, then stood at the stern and helped Cheng Zheng and Zhou Shaojin on board.
The boat was swaying, and Zhou Shaojin sat down carefully.
Cheng Xiao smiled at Cheng Sheng and said, "Ah Sheng, why don't we have a rowing competition? Whoever reaches the white tower over there first wins. How do you think?"
"No, no." Cheng Sheng laughed, "You have three people on your side, and we only have two people on our side. It's not fair."
Yuan and Qiu stood up nervously after hearing this and said in unison, "No competition allowed, just rowing will be enough."
"It's okay!" Cheng Zheng smiled, "Are you afraid that they will fall into the water? Even if they fall into the water, let them have a taste of what it feels like." As she said that, she laughed heartily.
"Why are you such a naughty kid?" Yuan was quite helpless.
Qiu laughed and said to Yuan: "We were just like them when we were young. We are all mothers now. We should just leave them alone and let them have fun. It's a rare opportunity for them to be together."
There are many rules for girls when they get married.
The Yuan family also went through this.
She said nothing more.
Min Jia, who had felt ashamed to come to Chaoyang Gate ever since she found out about Cheng Xu and Zhou Shaojin, also laughed at the scene.
For a moment, the atmosphere by the lake was very good.
Zhou Shaojin stood up suddenly and looked at the corridor on the shore with a serious expression.
Cheng Zheng and others were slightly stunned and couldn't help but look in the direction she was looking.
I saw the boy Qingfeng beside Cheng Chi and Cheng Shao's aide Mr. Wu jogging towards the pavilion where Cheng Chi and others were sitting.
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Hey guys, today's update.
PS: I have things to do tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, so I can only update once, and the time is set at around 10 o'clock in the evening~~~~(>_