The male guests and all the stewards and servants avoided first, and the carriages stopped one by one before the gate of Pei's house.
According to the original arrangement, Mrs. Pei took her two granddaughters in the same car. Jiafu and Yuzhu helped the old lady go up, while Mrs. Xin and Mrs. Meng huddled in the back, and they sat down, but Zhou Jiao'e was still nowhere to be seen.
The second lady jokingly said, "Sister-in-law, is it possible that your new daughter-in-law and the second child are still in the room and are reluctant to come out? It's not just the new daughter-in-law.
Mrs. Xin probably also felt that her face was a little embarrassing, and with a slightly embarrassed look, she told a girl beside her to take a look. After she finished the order, she turned to see Zhou Jiao'e and Pei Xiuzhi coming from the direction of Ermen. Zhou Jiao'e was dressed so charmingly and enchantingly leaned against Pei Xiuzhi, but Pei Xiuzhi's face was extremely reluctant. She looked up and saw that everyone was looking at her. She raised her feet to leave Zhou Jiao'e, but she seemed to be called by her. Reluctantly, he finally arrived in front of the carriage with her, Fang accused of being late.
The second lady smiled more and more kindly, praising the love of the young couple and envy others. Pei Xiuzhi's expression was extremely stiff, laughing was worse than crying, but Zhou Jiao'e seemed to have a faint expression on her face, until the old lady said "come up" in the carriage, and then she was helped to climb up, and Jiafu and Jiafu Instead, he sat on the other side of the old lady.
After getting into the car, Zhou Jiao'e apologized to the old lady who was waiting for her, with a vague meaning that she was late because she was entangled by Pei Xiuzhi early in the morning.
The old lady just smiled and said nothing.
The morning light is dim. Under the envious gazes of passers-by in the morning, the Pei family's travel queue, whose head and tail are as long as several arrows, moved along the street. Go to the temple.
Jiafu is no stranger to Ci'en Temple, and after all, this is her third time here.
The Pei Mansion is going to have a long life. Today, the entire monastery is under wraps, and there is no other pilgrim. When they arrived, they were greeted by the monks who were waiting outside the mountain gate. The female relatives changed their clothes and settled down a little, and then began the ritual. The eldest grandson Pei You'an presided over, and the people of Pei's family recommended the tablets. Flowing water entertained the guests who came one after another, and the scene was extremely lively.
Jiafu listened to the old lady in the main hall until noon. The ritual was suspended and the fasting meal was eaten. Because some female family members of Beppu came one after another in the morning, Mrs. Xin and Mrs. Meng were busy welcoming and sending them away. Busy, I took the old lady to a quiet back room that had been laid out by myself. After serving and resting, the old lady told her to go to rest too. There was no need to stand in front of me. Jiafu answered. When I came out, listen to someone The newspaper said that Mrs. Qin Guogong's wife was also here, and just now asked the eldest grandmother. Recalling that the two of them sat together at Zhang's house that night, they were quite able to talk. She came and asked herself.
It was noon, the weather was hot, and the sun was scorching overhead. Jiafu picked up a side hall with a veranda and walked away. The monks in the temple also went to eat and rest now, and there was no one around. Ying, just turned a corner, and suddenly saw the head in front of him, Pei Xiuzhi and Zhou Jiao'e came out of the side hall, the two seemed to have just quarreled inside, Pei Xiuzhi had a gloomy face, and walked quickly, that Zhou Jiao'e was behind After chasing, holding a handkerchief in his hand, he seemed unwilling to continue chasing after him and arguing with him.
Afraid of embarrassment, Jiafu hurriedly backed away. Because of the different directions, she wanted to wait for the two to leave first, and then move on by herself. I didn't want the two of them to take a few steps, but stopped again, and the quarrel grew louder. Pei Xiuzhi said that if he hadn't seen through it, she would have been blinded by her at this moment, and Zhou Jiao'e started to cry, scolding him for being bloody and having no conscience.
Jiafu heard the two quarreling, and it seemed that she didn't know how long the quarrel would last. Just as she was about to turn around and leave, she heard Mrs. Xin's voice coming. Unable to hold back her curiosity, she turned her head to signal for Tan Xiang to keep quiet, and she quietly stuck her head out a little bit. Sure enough, seeing Mrs. Xin hurried over, she sent the accompanying girls away from a distance, and then she lowered her head. He scolded his son and comforted Zhou Jiao'e.
Zhou Jiao'e cried so much that she choked up while wiping away her tears: "Mother, you have seen it too, since I got married, I wanted to live a good life, but he looked at me sideways, which was not pleasing to the eye, and was picked in eggs. Bone, look for me every day. If he doesn't look down on me, I'm not bad at your family. I'll report it to the empress, and let her make the decision. It's a big deal, and it saves me from being bullied like this every day."
Mrs. Xin hurriedly hugged her, kept saying my heart and soul, comforting her in every possible way, and asking her son to apologize to her. Pei Xiuzhi looked very reluctant, but she couldn't resist Mrs. Xin, and finally reluctantly accompany Zhou Jiao'e, Zhou Jiao'e Then gradually stopped crying. Mrs. Xin ordered her son to take her to take a lunch break first, but Pei Xiuzhi stood there still, saying that he would go to the front to accompany the guests. Mrs. Xin looked very annoyed, but forcibly suppressed it, saying that the sun was poisonous here, and Zhou Jiao'e Go back first, and then teach your son a good lesson, and let him go back at night, no matter how good you are, to apologize to her.
Pei Xiuzhi's face was ashen, but Zhou Jiao'e turned pale, glanced at her husband, and turned away.
"Mother! She clearly doesn't keep the woman's way. I tried to fool her that night, but I found out. How can you protect her? I'm going to let her go!"
As soon as Zhou Jiao'e left, Pei Xiuzhi yelled at his mother.
Mrs. Xin covered his mouth and looked around.
Jiafu hurriedly retracted her head.
Mrs. Xin pulled Pei Xiuzhi to the inner corner, twisted it hard, and then lowered her voice and scolded: "Why are you so mindless? You are already married, you are so noisy, everyone knows, It's you who is embarrassed!"
Pei Xiuzhi said, "How can a husband bear such humiliation? I'm going to divorce her!"
Mrs. Xin was silent for a while, and said, "Xiuzhi, you hate me, why don't I? It's just that now, our mothers are helpless, but she can talk to the queen's mother, and she may have to talk to her in the future. Count on her family to help you, you should bear it."
Pei Xiuzhi's voice was surprised: "Mother, what do you mean by that? Isn't there still a brother here?"
Mrs. Xin's face gradually became gloomy, her eyes showed annoyance, she gritted her teeth, and finally made up her mind, attached to her son's ear, and whispered a word.
When Jiafu heard Pei Xiuzhi's sudden voice, her voice was full of horror: "What? Isn't the eldest brother your son?"
Mrs. Xin covered her son's mouth and snorted.
To be honest, Jiafu originally just had a gossip, and it was just for fun. Anyway, it wouldn't go out, so she suddenly pricked up her ears when she heard this sound coming out of Pei Xiuzhi's mouth.
Madam Xin looked around again, dragged her son into the side hall, and closed the door again.
Jiafu heard the voice disappear and the door closed. She knew that the two of them should enter the side hall. Her heart was pounding. She couldn't help it. In front of a window, he leaned over, held his breath, and listened carefully to the voices inside.
Mrs. Xin led her son to a corner of the side hall, and then said: "Xiuzhi, I didn't dare to tell anyone about this. If the old lady finds out, it will be a big deal. It's just that she is not benevolent, and she doesn't care whether our mothers live or die. If I say it first, I will not be righteous. You listen, you know it, it's good to have a precaution in your heart, and don't let others know. Pei You'an is in power now, and it's not something our mother and daughter can provoke. "
Pei Xiuzhi was at a loss: "Mother, what are you talking about?"
Mrs. Xin fell silent and fell into a memory of the past.
Twenty-four years ago, she married Duke Wei, a handsome and heroic man, and a few months later, she got pregnant as she wished, but half a year later, Duke Wei told her one day that he was in There was a son outside, just a few days after he was born, and his mother was gone. He hoped that the child could live a decent life, and he planned to bring him home, asking her to recognize the child in her own name and put him in her own name. He was raised as his own son.
Duke Wei said that he would keep the child outside and bring the child back when she gave birth. At that time, regardless of whether she gave birth to a boy or a girl, it was said that she gave birth to twins.
Wei Guogong also said that he knew that it was not good for her, but that child was born with a weak body and was very likely to die early. He said that if she was willing to accept it, in return for her, he assured her that he would not take a concubine in his life.
Mrs. Xin was undoubtedly in pain at the time. Her husband gave birth to a child with another woman outside, and now she wants her to recognize the child in her name. But after some struggle, she finally agreed.
Since her husband opened his mouth like this, if she didn't respond, she would show that she was narrow-minded. If the child really died early, the impact on her own child should not be too big. Moreover, Duke Wei's promise was also one of the reasons why she was tempted.
She agreed. On the day of giving birth, she gave birth to a daughter. Sure enough, that night, the child was quietly carried back.
When Mrs. Xin saw him at first glance, she knew that Duke Wei should not lie to herself. The child was born very well, it should have been a few months old, but it was as weak as a kitten, and it didn't look easy to raise.
At that moment, her feelings for that child were very complicated. In addition to disgust, there was also some pity in my heart. She even thought about taking care of her husband according to his wishes until the day he passed away due to illness.
Her own daughter died soon after. And this child who was originally thought to be unbearable from outside, was like grass in the wild, and his vitality was extremely tenacious. Although he stumbled, he grew up slowly.
The following year, Mrs. Xin gave birth to her own son. As her son grew up, the days passed, and Mrs. Xin's feelings for that child finally began to change.
Duke Wei really fulfilled the promise he made to her, and he never touched another woman until he died on the battlefield 16 years later. The concubine who came in two years before his death was the emperor's military reward. After he came, she stayed in the empty room by herself.
But this is far from enough to make Mrs. Xin feel psychologically balanced. Duke Wei still lied to her after all. That wild child, not only did not die, but at the age of four or five, he began to show his extraordinary talent. Not only did he take up everything that originally belonged to his son, but in contrast to him, his healthy son seemed so mediocre.
It seemed that God had given all the gifts and honors to the child with the most humble background.
Mrs. Xin regretted her previous nod. Her mind was finally completely out of balance.
She couldn't control it and began to hate the child, why he didn't die as early as Wei Guogong said, hating him for taking everything from her son, this hatred has been haunting her, she can't go away, until now .
Now in addition to hatred, she also felt panic.
That night, what this son said in front of her made her realize.
It turned out that Pei You'an knew that he was not his biological mother!
He already knows everything!
Thinking of the two eyes that Pei You'an looked at her that night, she couldn't help shivering, gritted her teeth and said, "You brother, was brought back from outside by your father and raised a lowly adopted son under my name! He didn't know it before! That's all, I must have learned it from your grandmother now. Now that I know, no matter what he said, no matter how good he is now, he must hate me to the core. When your grandmother is gone, how can you treat me well in the future? You and me? If you don't curry favor with your daughter-in-law and rely on the queen's concubine, we don't know how our concubine will die in the future!"
…
The sound of words, through the window, faintly entered the ears.
Jiafu's heart was about to jump out of her throat when she heard footsteps inside. Afraid of being discovered, she held her breath, turned around, and quickly returned to the original place. She winked at Sandalwood, who was at a loss, and led her. left in a hurry.
For a whole afternoon, she was in the main hall, listening to the Dharma by the old lady's side, but her heart was immersed in the few words she heard at noon, and her spirit was uncertain.
She finally understood why the eldest son was clearly so good, but he was not always favored by his mother.
She thought about the ending of Pei You'an's previous life, thinking about the past when he fell from Yunfeng to the bottom of the muddy valley when he was sixteen years old and carried everything out of Beijing alone.
Listening to Mrs. Xin's tone, Pei You'an himself knew the secret. But this man was high in the mountains and deep in the water, and the clouds were light and the wind was light.
Kafu felt extremely sad in her heart.
As long as Pei You'an can be happy, she is willing to do everything for him.
Jiafu looked at the Buddha sitting on a high lotus platform overlooking all living beings and thought to himself.