The Li family's birthday banquet lasted for three consecutive days. Ruan Jiading originally planned to come on all three days. After all, Mr. Li's father, Li Tan, was promoted to Hanlin Bachelor, a high-ranking official in the literary world, and he would have a say in the imperial examinations in the future.

But after hearing what his wife said about the Li family, he also had some private plans. They were indifferent to his life-saving grace, so would they be nice to him just because he tried to curry favor with them?

So I only attended for one day and concentrated even more on my studies, not daring to be distracted in the slightest.

Mi Niang sent her servant to buy the music sheet and practiced on her own, but she was not as diligent as before. Of course, this was also to protect her hands, so she only practiced for one or two hours every day.

After only a few days of practice, Luzhu, the eldest maidservant beside Mrs. Li, came over and asked Mi Niang to come over to learn the piano.

Mi Niang was surprised and said, "Your old lady has only lived for a few days, how dare I disturb her."

Having said that, he quickly waved his hand.

Luzhu said, "Miss Ruan is really considerate of others, but I think since our lady specially sent me to invite you over, she must have her reasons."

This is because Second Mistress Ding is unhappy with Madam Li's slacking off. If you don't want to do it, just say it as soon as possible and let others go find the teacher. But since you have agreed to teach, then do it seriously.

Mi Niang had no choice but to pretend to be enlightened: "If that's the case, then I'll go."

She changed her clothes, but to Luzhu, they still looked shabby. This kind of satin was not fashionable at the time. It was just an old local product and not worth any money.

But even with such clothes, when worn by Miss Ruan, she looks more beautiful than a flower.

What's more, she has a good figure and her face is enough to make people linger.

Madam Li was already waiting here in Yan Xi Hall. After not seeing her for a few days, Madam Li's face was still the same as before, and Mi Niang felt even more relaxed.

She held the pick in her bare hands, slowly twirling it gently and applying it again, and she actually made more progress than before.

"Not bad, I won't be long before you can switch to "Shou Ting Hou"."

"This is all thanks to your teaching."

The relationship between the two is neither too hot nor too cold, which is more in line with their relationship. Anyway, they have not become disciples, so Mi Niang does not need to serve.

When Mi Niang was about to say goodbye, she suddenly saw a servant running over and saying, "Madam, something terrible has happened. The old lady has had a fire."

"What?" Mrs. Li stood up suddenly.

If the fire happened somewhere else, it would be fine, but the fire happened at the old lady's place, and they lived not far from the old lady!

Mi Niang really didn't want to show off her abilities, but she was too experienced. In the past, the palace was often struck by lightning, and because there was too much wood, even the emperor's bedroom caught fire.

When she is in charge of the harem, she can handle it very well and put out the fire quickly.

"Ma'am, I'll go with you." If the fire gets big, it might burn to their house!

Jiangling has a lot of water and a humid climate, not as dry as the north, so fires are not as likely to start here as in the north. I'm afraid most people don't have enough experience.

For example, auspicious jars filled with water are placed at the entrances of most palaces in the palace to prevent fires.

Mrs. Li was originally very anxious, but after hearing what Mi Niang said, she felt that her child was causing trouble, and said impatiently, "You should go back first."

"Madam, our courtyard is very close to there. I will go with you."

Mrs. Li had no time to argue with her and had already walked past her at the brisk pace. However, Mi Niang did not bind her feet and ran even faster.

The scene has already started to fetch water, but this little water is just a drop in the bucket. Mi Niang looked at the small pond in front of the door and saw that there was clearly water, but the servants wanted to go around it. Isn't this absurd?

"Why don't you scoop water from the pond?"

"Miss Ruan, the fish in that pond are specially fed by our old lady. Each one of them is a blessing of great fortune..."

Mi Niang was impatient to listen any further: "When there are tigers and wolves on the steps, how can we still talk about cause and effect? ​​If you delay any longer, with the dry weather, I don't know if the entire Li family will be burned down soon."

She pointed at the boy who had just responded and threw a few hundred coins at him: "If you are not good at putting out the fire, you might be sent in to put out fires again. You will die anyway, so why not give it a try?"

After that, she took the lead to get a bucket of water to the pond, scooped up water and splashed it into the yard. People are gregarious, and seeing the fire getting bigger and bigger, everyone also went to the pond to fetch water.

"Yes, click to the south. OK, splash them all together."

…

"When tigers and wolves are lurking on the steps, how can we still talk about cause and effect? ​​This is a good saying." Li Tan pinched his beard and said.

Mrs. Li had heard Mi Niang's words not far away. She thought that this girl was really fearless. Li Tan hurried over, but saw that the fire had been brought under control.

When Mi Niang saw that the fire was under control and saw Madam Li, she quickly confessed her crime.

She felt that she probably couldn't live in the Li family anymore, which might not be a bad thing. As long as her mother and brother were safe, it was all that mattered. As for Madam Li and the old lady being angry, she couldn't do anything about it.

Compared to not offending anyone, human life is more important.

After she returned, she told Ding Erniang about the incident: "There is only a small garden between the two sides. If the fire gets big, can our family escape in time? My daughter can't care about these things."

Mrs. Ding felt warm at heart because compared to her husband who was always very enthusiastic, her daughter was very cold at heart. She understood her daughter very well, so she was not worried that she would get into trouble.

The Li family is now a high-ranking official. Normally, she would have returned early today to move her family out first, which would have been the best of both worlds. However, she subconsciously feared that the fire would spread, and did not want any accidents to happen, just to protect her family. This time, she offended the Li family.

"Mi Niang, it's okay. We can live anywhere anyway."

"I'm afraid of the relationship between Bad Daddy and Mr. Li."

Second Madam Ding was more open-minded: "What's the big deal? If your father was truly talented, people would have looked up to him a long time ago. We ordinary people talk about relationships, while officials talk about exchanging benefits."

"Mom, you really see things clearly." Mi Niang felt that if her mother grew up in a wealthy family, it would definitely be more than this.

The mother and daughter were packing up their boxes. As for Ruan Jiading, Second Mistress Ding said in a domineering manner that there was no need to say more.

My mother is becoming more and more confident now. She has herself and my brother, and she is standing taller and straighter.

But on the other side, Li Tan was asking the doctor: "How is the old lady?"

"Fortunately, the fire was put out in time and only a few puffs of smoke were inhaled. Otherwise, the consequences would be disastrous. I prescribed a few prescriptions to warm the lungs and nourish the qi. It will be fine after a few days of recuperation."

Only then did Li Qin feel relieved.

This time the fire broke out in a small Buddhist temple. The old lady was afraid of offending the gods, so she didn't allow anyone to knock over the incense table, so the fire got bigger and bigger.

Madam Li also sent someone to follow the doctor to get the prescription, and waited until the old lady fell asleep before leaving.

When Li Qin and his wife came back, they happened to see their son Li Guan. Li Guan was a 14-year-old boy with a face as beautiful as jade, a tall figure, and excellent academic performance.

He was originally attending a literary gathering outside today, but when he heard from his servants that there was a fire at home, he hurried back home.

"Dad, Mom, I heard that there was a fire at home?"

Li Tan nodded: "It's okay, the fire was quickly put out, you don't have to worry."

Li Guan asked about the cause of the fire and learned that it was a fire in the Buddhist temple. He thought to himself that his grandmother had become more and more devoted to ghosts and gods recently. Fortunately, nothing happened. Both his father and he had to observe mourning.

"To be honest, this is all thanks to Miss Ruan. Although she is young, she is quite decisive. The koi in the pond is your grandmother's most precious thing. She said it is used to gather blessings. The servants were reluctant to fetch water from the pond, but she acted decisively."

Mrs. Li couldn't help but raise an eyebrow; her husband seldom spoke highly of anyone.

But she hesitated and said, "Although her intention was good, you also know the old lady's temper. If she wakes up and finds out that Jinli has died in the sea of ​​fire, what will she do?"

Mrs. Li certainly knew that it would be better to do what Ruan Mi Niang did, but sometimes political correctness is more important than saving lives.

If the old lady knew that the Buddhist temple was in a mess and the pond was destroyed, she would blame her first. At her age, how would she have the face to live like this if her mother-in-law kept making trouble for her.

Since ancient times, if a minister is not careful, he will lose his life, which means that if a minister is not careful in what he says, he will bring disaster upon himself and his family. So, in this family, if she, as a daughter-in-law, does not do things according to her mother-in-law's requirements, she will not have a good ending.

What Miss Ruan did was not bad, but it was too much.

Li Guan laughed and said, "When there are tigers and wolves on the steps, how can we still talk about cause and effect? ​​This is absolutely true. Many things have been ruined by an outdated rule, and many jokes have been made by putting the cart before the horse."

"Okay, go see your grandmother, kowtow to her and come back." Mrs. Li sent her son away.

Her husband was going to Beijing soon, and Mrs. Li had to seek her husband's consent, which gave her another bargaining chip in front of the old lady.

"The fourth daughter of the Song family came to celebrate her birthday a few days ago. Her father and our family also have frequent contacts. The main thing is that the child's mother has the appearance of a boy, so she will be able to have children if she comes into the family in the future." Madam Li only has one son, Li Guan, so she has been worried all year round.

Moreover, she learned from Li Guan's servant that Li Guan and the daughter of his husband Guan Daru had secretly promised to be together for life.

Guan Daru was well educated, but a girl who grew up in a privileged family was totally ignorant of worldly matters and had a peculiar personality. She had met Miss Guan once and found that she had a pointed chin and no flesh on her body.

Compared with Fourth Miss Song, there is a world of difference.

Her son has been bewitched by a ghost. She has been suffering these days, but she cannot make a fuss. It would be bad if the relationship between mother and son is damaged because of a woman.

So I should settle it as soon as possible while my father is still at home so that I can feel at ease.

"They are all quite old," Mrs. Li added.

Li Tan sighed: "You don't know, on the day of my birthday, my mother told me that Miss Huang has a peaceful temperament and that she and I get along very well!"

"The old lady said Miss Huang is nice?" Madam Li didn't expect the old lady and the second son's family to be so mean and actually said it that day.

Listen to Li Tan: "In my opinion, Guan'er's daughter-in-law cannot be too weak."

Mrs. Li was delighted to hear this. Although Miss Huang also came from a prominent family, her family background and talent were far inferior to those of Miss Song the Fourth. The old lady was old and only liked people who obeyed her wishes. In Mrs. Li's view, there was nothing special about Miss Huang except a pair of perfect three-inch golden lotus.

The old man really has a keen eye.

Before she started laughing, she heard Li Tan say, "Sometimes talent is more important. I think Miss Ruan is pretty good."

Mrs. Li was no longer able to laugh at all.