Chapter 066 Chapter 66

Yao Niang lives in a large family like the Yan family, with many brothers and sisters, and even more relatives and clansmen. She certainly understands some social etiquette, so when Shen Linfeng did this, she certainly didn't want to refuse his kindness, but she still smiled and held his hand: "Today is the first day of marriage. According to the rules, I should serve my mother and husband, so let me do it."

Shen Linfeng also reacted. He even heard the Goddess's sister calling him husband. He couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion in his heart. He looked at Yao Niang getting up and said to Madam Shen, "She asked me what you like to eat this morning. I was afraid that something might go wrong."

"Oh, this child is indeed filial." Mrs. Shen's compliment was of course not heartfelt. She didn't even understand why Shen Linfeng had such a special liking for Concubine Yan.

But now that her son is married, she can no longer be at odds with him and act like a bad person like before. It would be bad if her son hated her.

The Shen family had a very light breakfast. There were several kinds of porridge, such as peanut porridge, lily porridge, milk porridge, chestnut porridge, almond porridge, and fresh fruits such as cherries, kumquats, candied dates, etc. There were layers of cakes and vegetables stacked up. Yao Niang could only barely see a few of the ones in front of her, such as sesame cakes, lamb liver cakes, and crystal dragon and pheasant cakes, not to mention venison and cabbage, braised lamb, and three-fresh duck.

Yao Niang certainly couldn't just serve the dishes casually. She saw Mrs. Shen's maid serve her a bowl of chestnut porridge, and there was salted duck on the plate. She thought that Mrs. Shen probably had the taste of Jinling, and people in Jinling loved to eat salted duck.

So, she picked up a piece of bamboo shoots and baked vegetarian ham with chopsticks and put it on Mrs. Shen's plate, then picked up the knife on the table, broke it in half with chopsticks, and cut a piece of fried eel for Shen Linfeng.

Although Yao Niang couldn't cook, she was good at serving dishes. Xie had been a daughter-in-law for many years and had a powerful mother-in-law like the Third Old Lady. Therefore, Yao Niang had been very experienced in eating crabs, peeling shrimps and removing fish bones since she was a child.

Mrs. Shen wanted to eat a piece of vegetarian ham, but she didn't expect her daughter-in-law to have it in her mouth. She also saw that the child was serving dishes to Lin Feng, and she was very serious and didn't even look at her son. She knew some sense of propriety. She said, "Brother Feng, daughter-in-law, you should sit down and eat with us. The rules in our family are not that strict."

Only then did Yao Niang sit down to eat. She was not a picky eater, so she finished the peanut porridge and ate the braised mutton. Mutton was the best for replenishing qi and blood. The sesame cake was also crispy and fragrant. She looked at Shen Linfeng with a frown: "It's delicious."

Shen Linfeng didn't dare to help like he did just now, but seeing Yao Niang's smile, he felt his heart melt. He had a good impression of her at first because Yao Niang helped her mother to fight for the imperial edict. Shen Linfeng was of course aware of Xie's identity, but most people just resigned themselves to fate, and even felt that the Xie family had benefited from the Yan family. Otherwise, if they really had the status of the Xie family, they might not be able to marry Yan Yingqi. They had all gotten it.

It was Yao Niang who told him with practical actions that a son will not despise his mother's ugliness, and a dog will not despise his family's poverty. No matter what your status is, you are my family, and I will always fight for you.

Therefore, he admired her very much, and along the way, Yao Niang felt very comfortable getting along with him.

He was worried that Yao Niang was neglected and miserable at home, but he didn't expect that she had such a good appetite.

He is pretending to be cheerful, but she is genuinely bright.

After the three of them finished their meal, Shen Linfeng left first, saying that men should not stay in the inner house for too long. Madam Shen took Yao Niang's hand and said, "Your second brother's wedding will be in a few days, so there are many relatives living in our house. You should also pay a visit to the elders."

"Yes, it is my duty. However, I am young and cannot speak well. I am afraid of offending others. I hope you can help me." Yao Niang said with a smile.

Whether she is a master or not can be known after just a few words. When Mrs. Shen saw that Yan Ningxin had run away and came to apologize, causing the father and son of the Yan family to lose everything, she knew that she was a big swindler. And this Miss Yan San has always been the proud daughter of Minister Yan, and she is always flawless in what she says and does.

Mrs. Shen couldn't refuse, of course: "Okay, you are my daughter-in-law, I always treat you as my own daughter."

"My mother also said that Madam is kind and asked me to be more filial to you after I get married. I also know that these filial piety cannot be said just by words, but time will reveal a person's true heart." Yao Niang is the best at talking pretty words. Anyway, as long as you don't catch any handle on her, she won't believe any nonsense that you treat her as a daughter.

Mrs. Shen held her hand and sat down. Yao Niang was actually a little uncomfortable, but she still sat there with a smile on her face. After a while, several relatives of the Shen family came over.

Although there were some disagreements with the second aunt yesterday, Yao Niang looked the same as when they first met, without any grudges. She even heard the eldest aunt of the Shen family say, "I think the bride's forehead is white, smooth and full, she must be a blessed person."

This eldest aunt was already a grandmother, with white hair on her temples. Because Yao Niang got married in a hurry, she was not very familiar with the relatives and relationships of the Shen family. Seeing her complimenting her, Yao Niang bowed and thanked her.

Aunt Gan looked at the needle and thread that Yao Niang brought over, picked up the headband and said, "When we were young, we also liked to embroider some complicated patterns on this headband. Now that we are older, we just want it to be windproof. This headband looks good, but it is a little too narrow."

In fact, this is just picking bones in eggs. Yao Niang thought that she didn't know how long she had been doing these headbands. Now that people said this, she didn't think it was her headband's fault. This is just like Ying Niang.

Then, Mrs. Shen Er said to Mrs. Shen: "Sister-in-law, Linfeng finally got married. I envy you for having many children in the future."

Mrs. Shen smiled and agreed, but she thought that her daughter-in-law would not agree to consummate the marriage until she was fifteen years old, so she would have to wait until next year! Thinking of this, she felt unhappy.

Yao Niang is now in a stage where she is not familiar with anyone. No matter what they say or do, she will listen first and then watch, and will not express her opinion. Fortunately, the people in the Shen family are really not wild women, so they will not say anything no matter how unpleasant it is.

Shen Mo also took the initiative to say: "Sister-in-law, you just got here, if there is anything you don't understand, just ask me."

"Thank you, sister. By the way, I have something I want to give you. You are so beautiful and charming. I am afraid that no one else can resist you." If you want to give an expensive gift, you must give it in front of everyone.

Shen Mo didn't expect Yao Niang to give her something. She was a little surprised. When she opened the box, she found a pair of bracelets inlaid with rubies.

Yao Niang said, "If you like it, it doesn't matter if it's expensive. I felt it suited you the first time I saw it. I just want to tell you that the ruby ​​on it comes from Zhen. My father bought it from a wax merchant when he was the Minister of Rites. Please keep it well, it won't change color in ten years."

She herself had been a sister-in-law, and no matter whether Yu Shi had done a small favor or not, giving a dressing box to these sisters-in-law as a present when they came into the family was really a way to win their favor, and Yao Niang should have given something big. Even if the daughter of the newly arrived Marquis Xinning came into the family in the future, she would also learn from Yu Shi to give gifts, but the value of the gifts would definitely not be as valuable as this pair of bracelets.

Instead of attacking separately and giving gifts to this and that, which would make it easy to be regarded as a sucker, Shen Mo is definitely the target to be conquered first. Even if she can't win her over, if Shen Mo speaks ill of her in public, outsiders will know that she accepted such a valuable gift from her, and they will definitely think that there is something wrong with Shen Mo.

Shen Mo was delighted to get the pair of bracelets. The second aunt, who had wanted to push Yao Niang yesterday, looked at the pair of purses she had received and curled her lips slightly.

"Sister-in-law, I will keep it well. By the way, sister-in-law, I will go to play polo in a few days, will you come with me? I will teach you then." Shen Mo said.

Yao Niang smiled and said, "Thank you very much, sister."

Shen Mo introduced Han Ruhua to her again: "This is my cousin from my uncle's family. Her nickname is Ruhua. She is from Jinling like my sister-in-law."

Han Ruohua stepped forward to pay her respects, and Yaoniang quickly helped her up: "Sister Han, why are you being so polite? Get up quickly. I don't know you, so I didn't have time to prepare a gift. If you don't mind, I'll give you this pair of bracelets as a gift for meeting you."

After saying that, he took off the white jade bracelet on his hand and put it on Han Ruohua's hand.

Mrs. Shen was sitting above watching and couldn't help but nod.

The women were talking about their children and gossip in Beijing, and Yao Niang was listening carefully. Mrs. Shen was just asking the Third Aunt's wife, "Why didn't you bring Song'er with you this time?"

"How can a pregnant woman walk? But the period is not obvious yet, so I can't say for sure." The third aunt was very happy when she mentioned her daughter.

Mrs. Shen glanced at Shen Mo. Song'er was the same age as her daughter and was already pregnant. How could she not be anxious?

…

After coming out from her mother-in-law's place, Yao Niang felt a thin layer of sweat on her forehead unconsciously. There were too many people inside and it was too hot.

Because Shen Mo got Yao Niang's bracelet, he also wanted to care about Yao Niang, so he walked with her and introduced her, "Now our family lives with the second and third wives, but the third wife has divided the property but not the family. The second wife has only one son, Second Brother Yan, and Second Aunt is usually the kindest to us young people."

"Why isn't the third wife ranked together with the first and second wives?" Yao Niang asked with a smile.

Shen Mo said: "My third aunt had been with my third uncle in his post. It was only after my third aunt passed away a few years ago that my two cousins ​​came to the capital and were taken care of by my mother, so their families were arranged according to their own arrangements."

"So that's how it is. Thanks to my sister for telling me. I was just afraid that something might go wrong and I might offend someone." Yao Niang put her hand on her chest, seeming very worried.

Shen Mo smiled and said, "Don't worry, sister-in-law. The two sisters-in-law from the third room often come to our place to play and they get along well."

Yao Niang didn't believe this either. The way a sister-in-law treats her younger sister-in-law is different, and the relationship between sisters-in-law is also different. Yao Niang has lived in a relatively complicated environment since she was a child. Naturally, she is very nice to anyone and doesn't believe that anyone is as indifferent as a chrysanthemum. As long as a person is a human being, he or she will have seven emotions and six desires, and will fight for this and that, unless the person is not a human being.

But she definitely wouldn't tell Shen Mo, instead she looked at her and said, "That's good."

The two walked arm in arm to the bridal chamber. Yao Niang said a little embarrassedly, "There are still some things that have not been packed properly. I will invite my sister to come over after I have packed them up."

Shen Mo also said with interest: "I like my sister-in-law too much. I will come next time."

"Okay, we still have a lot to talk about." Yao Niang also acted affectionately.

After Shen Mo left, Shen Linfeng's wet nurse and people close to him came to pay their respects. Mama Gu brought in a mother who was about forty years old, wearing a light blue boa. She had two gold hairpins in her hair, which looked sleek.

There was not a single wrinkle on her face, her face was round and plump, and at first glance she looked like a woman with a good temper.

"I'm here to pay my respects to the great-grandmother. I wanted to come over to see the bride yesterday, but yesterday was a big day, so I had no choice but to come over now to pay my respects to you."

"Mother Zhu, why are you so polite? Since you have been my father's nurse since he was a child, you are considered an elder." Yao Niang smiled and said to Qingdai Hongxiu, "Bring us some new tea quickly."

Mother Zhu didn't expect that although the new grandmother was young, she was very friendly. She even said, "I just came to see the grandmother. Why do you like her tea?"

Then Yao Niang said, "Why are you being so polite to me? I just got here and I was worried that I had no one to talk to. Now that you are here, let's have a good talk."

During this time, the maids served tea but no snacks. Yao Niang's eyes flickered for a moment, and she said, "I remember there were rose cakes in that box. Pick out two plates and give them to Mother Zhu to taste."

I had just arrived at the Shen family and was unfamiliar with everything. I didn't know where to get snacks, so I had to use the ones I brought from home to make up the number.

She was also trying to see if Mother Zhu would be considerate and do good for them. If she really wanted to do good for her, she should tell her more about the rules here. However, she didn't expect Mother Zhu to say a word and only asked a few more questions when she saw the rose cake.

They have never been of any use to her. They are not sincere people. Yao Niang will not really be sincere to them, but she still has to find out the information she wants.

"Aunt Zhu, was Grandpa the same as he is now when he was a child? I want to be like him too. I took good care of him." Yao Niang said with a smile.

Mother Zhu looked a little strange, but she recovered in an instant: "My brother has been a smart child since he was young."

"So what does he like to eat? Is there anything he likes to do?" Yao Niang put down the teacup and asked.

Mother Zhu explained this very clearly: "When he was in Wuxing, his taste was different from many people. He loved to eat roasted food, and it became even more so after he came to Beijing. I remember one year he ate too much and got those small pimples on his face, so he stopped eating."

Yao Niang laughed when she heard this: "Really? It's possible. He can give up his appetite, which shows that he is very determined. Mother Zhu, I'm not interested in anything else. Just tell me more about the master."

Seeing that Yao Niang was indeed very interested in Shen Linfeng, Mother Zhu also picked out a few things to say: "Grandpa is very particular about his clothes, accessories, and appearance. He was fine when he was a child, but the older he got, the more particular he became. He doesn't eat beans, rice balls, pumpkins, or even tofu and tofu pudding."

"Really? But why? Is it because I get flatulence easily?" Yao Niang was curious.

Mother Zhu smiled and shook her head: "I don't know about that. Later, my brother grew up, and I stopped taking care of him. Speaking of which, one year my brother had a high fever. My grandpa and my wife invited many doctors to reduce the fever, but none of them could cure it. Then I thought of a folk remedy, but I didn't dare to try it. In the end, I wiped the fever with alcohol and it finally reduced the fever..."

She seemed to have heard this story from the wife of Chen Tongzhi in Kaifeng. It was nothing new. Yao Niang interrupted and said, "Mother Zhu, what was my husband's personality like before?"

"He smiles at everyone he sees, he's very cheerful and has a very good personality, no one dislikes him. To be honest, I was worried that he would be bullied at first, he's such a nice person. Some bad boys cheated him, but he never got angry with them, I was the one who stood in front of them." Mother Zhu was talking about her hard work and great achievements again.

Yao Niang immediately praised her and said, "Mom, you really worry about your husband. Qingdai, cut two pieces of colorful silk and give this box of rose cakes to you as a reward."

Mother Zhu asked, "How can I have the nerve to ask for your things?"

"Don't think it's too little. You and I just met and I don't know what you like. If we get to know each other better in the future, you will know how good I am after a long time." Yao Niang smiled.

Zhu's mother didn't know why, but she heard the hidden meaning. The grandmother meant that the more information you tell me, the more I will give you. She originally thought that Yan was a new daughter-in-law, and her dowry was so abundant that the storehouse couldn't hold it all, so she should be very generous. She didn't expect that she only gave two pieces of colorful silk.

In fact, Yao Niang was also thinking about what kind of daughter-in-law she wanted to be. There were already several such daughters-in-law in her family. Yu was the type who pretended to be a pig to eat the tiger, and gradually showed her fangs later. Guan was the type who acted like a tyrant from the beginning. Li was the type of virtuous wife and good mother who admired her husband and was very docile.

The Zhen and Xie families of the previous generation are not very good references.

She couldn't find a single reference, so she finally decided to just be herself.

As for people like Zhu Ma who were demanding rewards and speaking unpleasantly, she just sent them away casually. She was not the kind of person who would spend money casually, otherwise the monthly allowance would not be enough to pay for the servants.

Just as she was thinking about it, Shen Linfeng came back. Yao Niang hurriedly stood up and walked forward: "Brother Shen."

Shen Linfeng joked, "Third sister, don't you call me husband?"

"That's how I address you when speaking to outsiders. I don't quite know how to call you that way towards you." Yao Niang was actually a little shy.

Shen Linfeng glanced at her and said, "But we have to come up with a name for it."

That's true, Yao Niang said, "Why not call me by my name? My full name is Shen Fei, and my nickname is Yao Niang. Everyone in my family calls me Yao Niang."

"Then can I call you Yaoyao?"

"Well, it sounds cute. Then I will call you Linfeng. I will still call you Master or Husband to others." Yao Niang smiled.

So Shen Linfeng also agreed.

Yao Niang told him about Mother Zhu's visit, and said, "This mother talked to me for a long time. I gave her some colorful silk and a box of rose cakes. Is this appropriate?"

Seeing Yao Niang asking him, she looked like a young swallow, afraid of making mistakes, so he held her hand and said, "Very good, very appropriate, it's okay, it's something you gave, who dares to say it's not good?"

"I won't do anything about my own idle chatter, for fear of embarrassing you." Yao Niang felt that he seemed to like holding her hand, so she let him do it.

Shen Linfeng didn't like to hear about these household matters, so he specifically asked Yao Niang about her hobbies at home. Yao Niang smiled and said, "I used to play the piano and paint, but later because my wedding was brought forward, I stayed at home doing needlework all day." After that, she added, "I originally planned to learn cooking, but I don't have the time to learn it anymore."

"No need to learn." Shen Linfeng said quickly.

Yao Niang said, "What if neither of us can cook? At least one of us has to know how to cook. Do you remember when we came back from Kaifeng, the fisherman was rowing the boat in the front, and the fisherwoman was cooking in the back, with the smoke rising from the stove?"

Shen Linfeng also remembered the scene she described. He smiled and said, "Why are you in such a hurry? I can cook, right?"

"A gentleman stays away from the kitchen. How could you possibly cook?" Yao Niang didn't believe it.

Shen Linfeng explained: "Every time we took the imperial examination, we stayed in for several days, and I cooked everything myself. I made longan porridge, boiled noodles, and once I took chicken wings with me. I roasted them right away because they smelled so good. I actually fell asleep after eating them."

"Really? That's so funny. Are there any candidates sitting next to you who are also confused by the fragrance?" Yao Niang really thinks Shen Linfeng is very interesting.

Shen Linfeng thought for a moment and said, "It seems someone really said that some idiot came to the examination room..."

Yao Niang laughed so hard that she fell backwards.

Seeing her like this, Shen Linfeng thought that she was really nice. If it were someone else, they would definitely say that you are so ridiculous. No wonder you didn't do well in the provincial examination.

The servants standing outside, hearing the laughter inside, thought that the eldest master and the eldest mistress had similar temperaments.

The two of them were admiring paintings again. Yao Niang told Zhu's mother about her complimenting him: "Everyone said you were loved by everyone when you were a child. To be honest, were there a lot of girls who liked you?"

"No, I looked quite cheerful when I was a child. You know, every family probably has a pistachio-like person, and I was that pistachio. Then when I was about ten years old, I suddenly became good-looking. Wherever I went, a group of people would look at me. They looked at me when I ate, when I walked, and even when I read. It was actually a bit troublesome." Shen Linfeng said.

At first, people said he was handsome and good-looking, so he was quite happy. In fact, he received many preferential treatments because of his handsome appearance, but he still encountered many troubles later on.

Yao Niang comforted him, "I have the same trouble, but being good-looking is better than being ugly."

Fearing that he would be bored, Yao Niang drew the fisherman and fisherwoman she had described earlier. She also added a little orange cat on the chopping board, jumping around to try to eat the fish in the bowl.

Shen Linfeng liked this painting very much. The setting sun was shining on the river, and smoke was rising from the couple's boat in the middle of the golden light. However, he pointed at the orange cat and asked, "I remember there were no cats here?"

Yao Niang covered her mouth and laughed, "I have a habit. Whenever I draw, I like to add a little cat. It's very cute, right?"

Shen Linfeng recalled a painting he had received from the Prince of Qi. There was also a cat like this in that painting, and the style of painting was exactly the same. His heart suddenly sank.