When they arrived at the Hu family's house, the carriage went straight to the second gate. Mrs. Hu was waiting anxiously at the door. Her eyes were red, and it was obvious that she had been crying and had not slept well.
When Xu Lanyin got out of the car, Mrs. Hu pulled her aside and whispered, "Miss Xu, Yi'er is making a fuss again. What should we do?"
Xu Lanyin was puzzled. Hu Yi was in a good mood when she left yesterday. If she hadn't been upset, she wouldn't have gotten sick. She asked, "What upset her?"
Mrs. Hu blushed and told what happened yesterday.
Xu Lanyin was at a loss for words. Not everyone could be a hypnotist. She emphasized again, "Mrs. Hu needs to explain things clearly to Mr. Hu. Be patient, don't be impatient, and don't provoke her any further. And that method is very particular. It's not something that can be done by just shaking a purse."
Mrs. Hu blushed and nodded repeatedly.
When I arrived at Hu Yi's room, Hu Yi was still leaning on the beauty couch with a dull look in her eyes.
Xu Lanyin took out a tender yellow duck doll and waved it in front of her eyes, smiling, "Is it cute?"
Hu Yi's eyes followed the little duck's movements, and a sparkle appeared in his eyes. He praised, "Wow, it's so beautiful. A little duck can wear a headscarf? The little headscarf is also beautiful, and it's embroidered with flowers."
Xu Lanyin smiled and said, "Who says ducks can't wear headscarves? Come, I'll teach you how to do it."
The maid served tea and then left. Xu Lanyin knew this girl; she was the one who had previously visited Dr. Wei to inquire about her condition. Her name was Meng'er. In the Hu family, besides Mrs. Hu and her husband, only she and Mrs. Hu's two trusted maids knew Hu Yi's true condition.
Only Xu Lanyin and Hu Yi were left in the room. They looked at the dolls for a while, discussed them for a while, and then started making them.
Mrs. Hu brought Fang Jie'er to visit, and Mrs. Hu chatted with them in another room.
Mrs. Hu told Mrs. Hu that after Hu Yi's disturbance at her house yesterday, many neighbors came to her house to inquire about the matter. They said that one of the servants had been upset. At the same time, she issued a gag order to several servants, saying that if anyone dared to spread the news, they would be beaten half to death and sold into the mountains. She assured Mrs. Hu that the matter would not spread. She then apologized sheepishly, saying that the incident happened in her own home after all...
Mrs. Hu was still somewhat angry with Mrs. Hu and Hong Zhen, believing that it was their negligence that led to this incident in their family. However, Hong Zhen was an official, and with the support of the Pingjin Bo Mansion, her family could rely on them. She especially wanted to keep her niece on her side and absolutely could not let her husband let her daughter become Hong Xin's concubine.
Mrs. Hu talked about what Hu Shaogeng had done yesterday, and then said with red eyes, "My master still wants Yi'er to be Hong Xin's concubine to curry favor with Ping Jinbo's mansion. How dare he think of that!"
Mrs. Hu also frowned and said, "Second Uncle is confused. He would rather be a poor man's wife than a rich man's concubine. No matter who it is, Sister Yi cannot be a concubine to anyone else. And Hong Xin is even worse. He never looked at my master straight in the eye, and my master doesn't like him either. The two of them rarely interacted. For some reason, he suddenly came to stay at my house for a few days last year, and this happened." She took Mrs. Hu's hand and said, "It's my fault. I didn't think highly of Sister Yi before. Don't worry, Second Aunt, I won't let her suffer anymore. I will let my master persuade Second Uncle to change his mind. Besides, Sister Yi is like this. Even if her illness is cured, she can't be provoked. As long as she becomes a concubine, she will inevitably be bullied..."
Mrs. Hu finally felt relieved. She also told Mrs. Hu not to let Hong Zhen cause trouble at the Pingjinbo Mansion. The bigger the commotion, the greater the loss Hu Yi would suffer. Her family was of low status and couldn't afford to offend those nobles. She considered herself unlucky to have suffered this loss and would just stay away from them from now on...
At 3 p.m., Xu Lanyin was leaving for home. Seeing her daughter in good spirits, Mrs. Hu was delighted. She gave Xu Lanyin a bag of fine rice, a bag of flour, five pounds of tea, a ham, two jars of wine, and a piece of satin. She also asked Xu Lanyin and her siblings to keep the matter a secret. Zhao Wu, in particular, was a constable. If the story got out to the public, not only Hu Yi but also the Hu family would be embarrassed to stay in Nanping County.
Xu Lanyin said, "Don't worry, Madam Hu. My two younger brothers and Zhao Wu are not talkative people. I have repeatedly warned them."
When they got home, Qin saw so many things and said with a smile, "We don't need to buy food for the New Year."
When the eldest wife slaughtered a pig, she not only left a large bowl of pig-killing dishes for Xu Lanyin, but also gave the second wife five pounds of meat and a piece of pig liver. The pig liver was specially for Xu Lanting to nourish his body.
Xu Lanting pointed at the pig-killing dish and took credit, "I asked my grandmother to leave some extra blood sausage for me. It's really delicious."
Looking at the blood sausage, Xu Lanyin thought of the sausages from her previous life. It seemed like there were no sausages in this place. She wondered if there were any in the south. If not, she could still make some money from this stuff in the future.
Suddenly, it was the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month. Xu Lanyin had been at Hu's house for seven consecutive days. For the previous six days, Xu Lanyin had only discussed embroidery and doll-making with Hu Yi, nothing else. Following Xu Lanyin's design, Hu embroidered a handkerchief, made two little ducks, and then began embroidering soft curtains for spring and summer.
That day, Xu Lanyin casually opened up about her personal affairs. She had been engaged to Gu Wangchen since childhood, but later realized he wasn't the right man for her and tried to break off the engagement...
She only said that Gu Wangchen was not a good man, without going into details, and it was not considered a breach of promise.
Her personal experience can resonate more with people.
Gu Wangchen was a prominent figure in Nanping County, and Hu Yi knew this. She looked Xu Lanyin up and down and said, "Sister Xu is Mr. Gu's fiancée. I heard that Mr. Gu broke off the engagement with his previous fiancée because she had a serious illness and was unable to have children."
Xu Lanyin denied it, "Gu Wangchen was so angry that I asked to break off the engagement that he tried to link my illness to my offspring. Look at me, I'm in good health, there's no serious illness at all."
Hu Yi stared at Xu Lanyin blankly and said, "I saw Gu Juren from a distance once. He was truly handsome and gentle, but it turns out he's not the right man for you. And he even said that about you. It's really too much!"
Xu Lanyin said, "Are not all good-looking people good people? Otherwise, why would there be the term 'beast in human clothing'?"
"You and him have been engaged for eight years and it's broken up just like that. Aren't you sad?" Hu Yi still didn't quite understand.
"I was a little sad at first, but later it wasn't. I'm even more glad that I pulled away early and cut ties with him. It's called cutting losses in time, preventing myself from getting hurt further. Although my family wasted so much money supporting him, and even eight years of my life, at least I'm still alive and well. My mother didn't die young, and I have my brothers to protect. I'll keep my eyes open and look for another one in the future. There are always beautiful women everywhere."
Hu Yi blinked. She could still think that way... It seemed that it was right...
She asked again, "Aren't you afraid that others will laugh at you? Everyone knows that you are going to be the wife of a juren, yet you broke off the engagement."
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