Li Zheng took Lu Heng to see the surrounding rivers, the commander is so elegant, how dare the county magistrate and the prefect not to accompany him. Cheng Zhifu could only face bitterly, got into the airtight sedan chair, and walked into the mountains under the scorching sun.
Lu Heng and the prefect took away most of the servants. After they left, Hegu Village fell silent again. Fifty-one families in this village have just lost their fathers, husbands or sons, and they look rather gloomy in the warm July sunshine with their white clothes on.
From this point of view, Wang Yanqing is lucky, she doesn't have to endure bumps and can sit under the eaves to escape the heat calmly. She thought that she and the second brother grew up together, and the tacit understanding was extraordinary. She didn't say a word, and the second brother understood what she meant.
Although she pinched her arm, it was still a little numb now.
Li Zheng's house suddenly welcomed a distinguished guest, as if even the air was cramped. Lizheng led the way for the adults, only Lizheng's old wife Qian, daughter-in-law Wu and five-year-old grandson Li Zhengze were left at home. Qian Shi nervously asked Wang Yanqing to sit down, and shouted to his daughter-in-law: "Hurry up and bring Zheng Zheng and kowtow to the noble."
Wang Yanqing hurriedly said, "Old lady, I'm just a maid of Lord Lu, not a nobleman."
The Qian family insisted, and took over the grandson in person to salute Wang Yanqing. The prefect is the most powerful person in Qian's cognition. Even the prefect respects the young adult. The identities of these people are far beyond Qian's imagination. The seven-rank official in front of the prime minister's gate, even a maid beside the big man is made of gold.
Wang Yanqing got up quickly and stopped Qian's movements: "What are you doing, old lady, get up quickly, don't scare the child."
Wang Yanqing moved out their grandson, and the Qian family finally stopped. Wang Yanqing secretly breathed a sigh of relief, she motioned Qian and Wu to sit down quickly, after a long time, they were finally able to sit down and talk.
After such a tug, a thin layer of sweat broke out on Wang Yanqing's body. She took out a handkerchief to wipe her sweat, and Wu Shi quickly said, "Wait a minute, girl, I'll find a fan..."
Saying that, Mrs Wu lifted the curtain and ran into the back room, pinged and pinged for a while, and took out a silk fan: "Girl, this is what my parents gave me, it is said to be the style from the capital, which is the prefecture. There's nothing more fashionable than this. I haven't used it yet, so you can use it first."
Wang Yanqing thanked him and got up to take it. She glanced at the pattern on the silk fan. It was indeed the style of the capital, but it was only last year, and a new pattern has already become popular this year. Wang Yanqing didn't reveal it, and smiled in surprise: "It's really a new style. Is Mrs. Wu's family from the capital, and the news is so well-informed?"
Wang Yanqing said this was originally a hot topic. She wanted to inquire about news, but she couldn't come up and ask people's privacy. Her family's home, the capital, is a good entry point.
Wu Shi really showed a complacent smile, which was expected by Wang Yanqing, but unexpectedly, a complicated expression quickly flashed across Qian Shi's face.
Her eyelids were slightly squinted, and the whites of her eyes rolled up, as if disdainful. But there was a smile on her lips, which was fleeting.
This discovery surprised Wang Yanqing. Wang Yanqing quietly paid attention to Qian's family, and at the same time heard Wu's efforts to restrain herself, but still couldn't help showing off: "My parents' family has acquaintances in the capital who do some small business. I have said it several times, but I don't need these The delicate things, but my brother always brings me."
Wang Yanqing nodded with a smile: "I see. Lady Wu's family is so kind to you."
Sure enough, after Wang Yanqing said this, the disdain on Qian's face deepened. As a mother-in-law, it is normal to dislike a daughter-in-law showing off her family, but the expression should be anger or disgust, why is it disdain
From what Wang Yanqing sees, the Lizheng family's wealth is not strong enough to despise the daughter-in-law's family who can resell goods from the capital, right? Moreover, when Qian heard her daughter-in-law say that her family was rich, she was disdainful in her eyes, but she couldn't help but smile at the corner of her mouth.
What is she laughing at
Wang Yanqing murmured silently in his heart, it was a surprise that there was a breakthrough so soon.
Mrs Wu was so excited to talk about her parents' family, but she was interrupted by Mrs Qian without saying a word: "It's July, and in two months, Qi'er should take the exam."
Qian's words were very abrupt. Wu stopped for a while, Wang Yanqing smiled and asked, "Is the old lady talking about Young Master Ling? I heard that Ling Lang did very well in the county school. This time Qiu Wei will definitely be among the best."
This is a topic Qian's favorite topic, she immediately chattered about her son Li Qi, and the smile on Wu's face solidified like a paper flower. At this time, Li Zhengze ran in to look for his mother to play, and Mrs. Wu pushed her son's hand away and whispered, "Don't make trouble, didn't you see the distinguished guest?"
Li Zhengze was rejected by his mother and ran out gloomily. Seeing that his grandson was unhappy, Qian Shi hurriedly shouted "heart" and chased out.
After Qian went out, Wu smiled apologetically to Wang Yanqing: "Don't take offense, girl, my mother-in-law is old, and she likes to talk about those old sesame seeds and rotten millet."
Li Zheng and Qian Shi are extremely proud of their talented son. Even if they fail the exam, they will definitely pass the exam this year. However, for Mrs. Wu, she had seen early on that Li Qi was not a candidate for reading, and the talent in this life would come to an end. However, Li Qi had a very high self-esteem, refused to go home to farm or find work in the city, and recited those sour poems all day long.
Wang Yanqing listened with a smile, and guided a few questions from time to time, but did not interfere with the conflicts between the Liu family's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. It's not a good way to say this, but speaking ill of someone together is definitely one of the fastest ways for two strangers to get closer. Even if Wang Yanqing didn't answer, the Wu family quickly became close to Wang Yanqing.
Wang Yanqing thought about it, and said, "You don't need to worry, madam, Li Xiucai has fame and fame, and you don't have to worry about food and clothing in this life. Besides, fortunately he has fame, or else your family will be conscripted to serve in labor this time, Li Xiu. Qi and Li Zheng might not be able to come back."
Hearing this, Mrs Wu sighed and said, "Isn't it, it's a blessing in disguise."
"How can this be called a blessing in disguise?" Wang Yanqing said with a smile, "This is a mistake, and it is destined."
Wang Yanqing noticed that Mrs. Wu pouted slightly, picked up the fan, and shook it slowly: "Yes. Li Qi, if nothing else, is always lucky."
Listening to her tone, she seems to be quite resentful towards her husband and in-law's family. Wang Yanqing's eyes moved slightly, and she glanced outside. She saw Qian took her grandson out to play with her own eyes, so she put on a sad face, and sighed in pain: "The things in this world are always so unreasonable, rich people are so unreasonable. People have been rich from generation to generation, but the unfortunate people are getting more and more unfortunate. Mrs. Wu, your husband is famous, and he has a smart and well-behaved son. You don't have to worry about it in the rest of your life. If you change to another family's wife, you will have to pay taxes again , the family lost a man again, what can I do to make a living in the future?"
Wang Yanqing let out a long sigh, but out of the corner of his eye kept focusing on the Wu family. When Wu shi heard these words, he lowered his eyes and pursed his lips unconsciously.
Wang Yanqing recognized it almost immediately that she was guilty. Guilt is an emotion that people with a high sense of morality will have. When a person feels guilty, they are most inclined to make self-punishments that benefit others and harm themselves.
Wang Yanqing quietly used her guilt: "But fortunately they received silver taels from the county government. Although the two most important pillars of the family are missing, they have money in their hands and can handle it for a few years. I just don't know how to wait for this money. After the money is spent, what will they do?"
Wu shi lowered his head and did not answer. Wang Yanqing took her hand and said with a smile, "Thanks to the fact that they met a good Lizheng. I heard that Aunt Liu's family went to the county government several times to complain about their grievances and no one answered them. They annoyed the county magistrate and were almost tortured. It was Lizheng who came forward to fight for funeral expenses for the villagers, so that these orphans, widows and mothers had some money to live. Yes. It is a blessing for your son to be reborn in such a family."
"What a blessing to be born in their family!" Wu Shi was excited, she took a deep breath, lowered her head and said, "Sorry, I lost my temper."
"What's wrong?" Wang Yanqing looked at her with concern. "Don't worry, I am also a maid, and understand the pain. Did your in-laws treat you harshly?"
These words had been held back in Wu's heart for a long time, and today she somehow felt a surge of energy, she followed this impulse and spit out the suffocation of the past: "It's not enough to be harsh, after all, the Lizheng family wants to face the face. But their family has never regarded me as one of their own, and they give Zheng Zheng around me for any good things, and they also tell Zheng Zheng not to tell me. Bah, who cares?"
Once you find an outlet for your emotions, it's hard to stop them later. Wang Yanqing looked incredulous and asked, "Really? I think Li Zhenggu is warm-hearted, serious and responsible, and the old lady is also a straight-hearted person. How could she say such things in private?"
"They're used to pretending." Seeing Wang Yanqing's disbelief, Mrs Wu was eager to prove herself, and spoke ill of her parents-in-law like pouring beans, "Miss Wang, I'll only tell you this. Don't look at my in-laws pretending to be outside. Like the Bodhisattva, in fact, the county government gave the villagers a huge amount of funeral expenses.”
Wang Yanqing covered her mouth in surprise. While wondering if she was acting too exaggeratedly, she continued to ask exaggeratedly, "Is there such a thing?"
"Really." Mrs Wu said, "My mother-in-law is such a stingy person, and she was suddenly willing to buy meat recently. I accidentally dropped a bowl, but she didn't have a seizure. Two days later, I bumped into her secretly and said to Zheng Zheng that the money in the family will be his in the future, and told Zheng Zheng not to tell me in every possible way."
As Wu shi said, he rolled his eyes and sneered: "This is not a windfall, what else could it be?"
As long as they live under the same roof, no matter how cautious people are, they will inevitably reveal clues. What's more, even if you don't say anything about money, you will show it in your behavior and attitude.
Wu found that her father-in-law and her mother-in-law seemed to have added a lot of money recently, but their family had nothing to do. The only accident was that many people died in the village recently. This is not the greed of the government government's pension to the widow, what else could it be
Wang Yanqing suddenly realized that the Lizheng family had made a fortune recently and wanted to hide it from his daughter-in-law, but he was overheard by the Wu family. In this way, the behavior of their mother-in-law and daughter-in-law just now can be completely explained.
Mrs Wu held her breath in her heart and deliberately showed off her family's wealth in front of others, while Mrs Qian knew how much money her family had saved, and was very disdainful of the so-called wealth of Mrs Wu's family. The corners of Qian's mouth couldn't help laughing, because she felt that she was stronger than Wu's, and she didn't bother to expose it, so she was secretly happy.
Now I get a very important clue. The Lizheng family made a fortune that cannot be shown to others. I don't know how it came, but it can be confirmed that the amount is not small, at least far beyond the income of ordinary people. Wang Yanqing was thoughtful, and slowly inquired about another matter: "I didn't know there was such a thing, the second old man really doesn't look like this kind of people. I heard that someone nearby has disappeared, could it be the missing person? The family is looking for someone, please, the reward?"
Wu shi cut a voice disdainfully: "Some time ago, the lost people were either orphans, widowers, or rogues. They have no one at home, and no one cares about them. Who will pay to find them?"
Wang Yanqing was surprised: "It turns out that they are all lonely, widows, old and weak? Oh, I just saw Zheng Zheng pulling the old lady out and running out. The two of them are a child and an old man. They will be fine outside, right?"
Wu Shi was also worried when she heard it. She stood up and looked out: "It shouldn't be. I haven't heard of any child or woman who got lost."
It was about his son, Mr. Wu couldn't sit still, and hurriedly said: "Miss, you are sitting here, I'm going out to find Zheng Zheng, I'm sorry."
Wang Yanqing hurriedly said "it doesn't matter" and urged Mrs Wu to go quickly.
After the Wu family left, Wang Yanqing was the only one left in the room. She glanced out the window, got up quietly, and looked around the room.
She rummaged through where she might be hiding something, then carefully put it back in place. Thanks to her years of martial arts practice, her ears are sharper than others. When she heard chaotic footsteps outside, she immediately restored her things, sat back to the original position, and calmly picked up the fan.
She just fanned it twice, when Wu's voice sounded outside the window: "I told you how many times, don't go to the river. There are monsters in the bottom of the river, be careful to drag you down and eat!"
Qian Shi's sharp voice sounded: "Just talk when you talk, what does Jiu Bao'er do?"
Wang Yanqing listened to the quarrel between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, and smiled lightly.
Wang Yanqing was "raising his body" at Lizheng's house. It was almost noon and the people who went out had not returned, so Wang Yanqing had to eat at Lizheng's house. Mrs. Qian and Mrs. Wu warmly welcomed Wang Yanqing. After the meal, Mrs. Wang offered to help, but was stopped by Mrs. Qian: "Miss, you are a distinguished guest, how can you do such a thing? You can just rest in the main room."
Mrs Wu also said, "Yes, Miss Wang, you are not feeling well. Don't touch the water. I'm used to doing this, and I'll clean it up in a while."
Wang Yanqing no longer insisted, and said, "Okay, it's time to work."
Mrs. Wu was washing dishes and cleaning the table outside, Mrs. Qian went into the room with her grandson to sleep, and Mrs. Wang sat by the window, leaning against the edge of the window and slowly fanning her fan. Looking at the dazzling white sunlight outside, she couldn't help thinking, where are the second brother and the others now
Running around in such a hot sun, how do they eat at noon
Qian coaxed his grandson to sleep, but the five-year-old child's energy was much stronger than that of the old man. In the end, Qian fell asleep, and Li Zhengze's eyes were still rolling. Li Zhengze quietly climbed out of his grandmother's arms, slipped down to put on his shoes, and ran out.
Seeing this move, I'm obviously used to it.
Wu Shi packed up her lunch. She saw her son squatting in the corner to play, and hurried him back to sleep. Wang Yanqing said, "Miss Wu, go and rest. I can't sleep, so I happened to be watching him here."
Wu Shi was a little hesitant, but Wang Yanqing said, "It just so happens that I like children very much, and I feel happy."
There is a folk saying that if a woman who has not had children hugs more boys, she will be able to give birth to a boy in the future. Mrs Wu had already guessed about Wang Yanqing's identity, so she no longer doubted it, and went back to her room to sleep.
She is different from Wang Yanqing. She wakes up early in the morning to clean up the housework and serve her in-laws. She was cooking and cleaning just now, and she was already tired after the morning. Li Zhengze squatted under the eaves and played with stones, while Wang Yanqing leaned against the window and watched him play. After a while, Wang Yanqing said, "You can't hit like this."
Li Zhengze glanced at Wang Yanqing and ignored her. Wang Yanqing took a black bean from the table, flicked it lightly, and hit Li Zhengze's stone with precision.
Li Zhengze looked back at Wang Yanqing and said with a puffed face, "What's the matter with you, I will too."
Wang Yanqing nodded: "Okay, then who can play accurately in our competition."
Wang Yanqing supported Yi with one hand and bullied the child leisurely. Not surprisingly, Li Zhengze couldn't beat her at all, and he was convinced by Wang Yanqing after a while. He quietly came over and asked, "How did you do it?"
Wang Yanqing asked slowly, "Want to learn?"
Li Zhengze nodded vigorously. Wang Yanqing said: "You can learn if you want, but you have to pay for it."
"Beam repair?"
"It's the money to learn the art from a teacher." Wang Yanqing said, "I teach you the craft, and you have to give me your most important thing."
Li Zhengze, who was only five years old, came into contact with the concept of trading for the first time. He thought for a while and said, "Wait, I'll get my jelly beans. You are not allowed to teach others!"
Li Zhengze ran out as he spoke. Wang Yanqing wondered why he had to pick up the jelly beans. She was afraid that something would happen to one of his children, so she hurried out.
Li Zhengze ran all the way to the river. He crouched beside a willow tree and laboriously dug on the mound. Wang Yanqing stopped behind him leisurely, watching Li Zhengze's movements patiently.
Li Zhengze dug several holes and finally found his "treasure". He dug out a few stones from the soil, picked the largest one and handed it to Wang Yanqing, saying, "This is my most valuable thing. I searched in the river for a long time to find it. I will give this to you, and you will teach me. bouncing rocks."
Wang Yanqing took the wet stone and looked at it, then nodded with a smile, "Okay."
The child's heart is pure and sincere. She said that she wanted to be repaired, so he dug out his most important things and gave them to Wang Yanqing. Wang Yanqing kept his promise and taught him how to play stones.
Wang Yanqing sat under the willow tree by the river, ignoring the soil on the ground, and competed with Li Zhengze who could throw the stone more accurately. Lu Heng came back along the river bank and saw such a picture at first glance.
Cheng Zhifu was so tired that he had more air and less air. He vaguely saw someone under the shade of the willow in front of him and asked, "Who is that?"
The attendant squinted and said, "It seems to be a woman and a child, playing with stones."
Cheng Zhifu was very surprised after hearing this: "It's a hot day, it's okay for children to be ignorant, and adults also get nervous?"
The attendant showed an expression that could not be explained clearly, and glanced at Lu Heng vaguely: "That seems to be the woman brought by Master Lu."
Cheng Zhifu was embarrassed, and after a while, he laughed dryly: "Hahaha, Mrs. Lu is really innocent and lively, and her childlike heart is not lost."
Cheng Zhifu was afraid that Lu Heng would be angry, and deliberately exaggerated Wang Yanqing's identity. This woman said she was a maid, but Lu Heng did not forget to take it with him when he went out to handle the case, which shows that he was very favored. Cheng Zhifu gave Lu Heng face and called her Mrs. I hope that Lord Lu will not care about him because of his flattery of this woman.
Lu Heng looked at the green hills and willows in front of him, the sparkling Milky Way, and the woman who was wearing a light-colored long dress and sat on the ground without shyness. As if he hadn't heard what Cheng Zhifu said before, he smiled: "It's true that the innocence is not lost."