The old lady finally caught her naughty granddaughter, checked her little feet and found no pricks, then took her to wash her feet.
"I'll go, Auntie." Madam Cui took Jiayin from her, kissed her chubby cheek, and then asked, "Auntie, are you going to steam red bean buns?"
"Yes," the old lady replied, "Yu Ru's family is short of red beans. I gave her all the ones we had at home, so we're out of food. I'll go to Aunt Wu's house to ask for some, and we'll cook some in a little while."
"Auntie, don't go. My family has planted quite a lot. I'll have Sister Qiong go back to take care of some things and bring some over with her."
"That's great," the old lady said with a smile, "You can eat dinner at home, don't cook. The red bean buns should still be fresh out of the steamer, they're soft and sweet."
Jiayin listened to their gossip and went to the basin to test the water temperature, but she was stunned when she put her head in.
Who is that dark-skinned woman reflected in the water?! She's so dark and fat, she looks like a black bear come to life.
"Wow!" She burst into tears right then and there.
Mrs. Cui and the old lady were terrified and quickly lifted her up to examine her closely. "What happened? Was the water too hot, or were you bitten by mosquitoes?"
"Waaah, Grandma, Fu Niu has become ugly! She's so dark, so very dark!"
Jiayin cried so hard; she regretted it now, feeling so much joy she had earlier.
How could she forget the lesson she learned from getting two-toned skin in the spring!
The old lady was both amused and exasperated, and gave her granddaughter's chubby bottom a pat.
"You brat, you're only two years old! How do you know about beauty and ugliness?! So what if you're a little dark-skinned? Nobody's complaining about you!"
"No, no, it's too ugly!" Jiayin shook her head vigorously, becoming even more heartbroken.
Can anyone understand this chubby girl's desire to look good?
Just then, Li Zhensheng returned from outside and was startled to see his little niece crying so pitifully. He quickly took her into his arms and comforted her.
Hearing that his little niece had cried because he was ugly, he chuckled to himself, "Don't cry, Fu Niu. Stay home and play with your uncle for a few days and you'll get fairer. Besides, can you be as dark as Cat Brother? He's so dark you wouldn't be able to tell the difference if you threw him into a ditch."
Old Mrs. Li and Mrs. Cui couldn't stop laughing when they thought of Cat Boy.
Before they could speak, Sister Qiong came in from outside carrying half a bag of red beans and a box of pastries. "Madam, I picked up a box of peanut brittle that our kitchen just baked and brought it back for Miss to eat."
"Good, good, you've come just in time." Madam Cui quickly gave the snacks to Jiayin.
As Jiayin munched on the pastry, the sweetness on her lips brought her tears back.
But even while sitting in her uncle's lap, she didn't forget to pull up his sleeve and cover her head with it.
It seems that this way, we can mend the situation after the fact and make it turn white again quickly.
Everyone tried their best to hold back, occasionally chuckling to themselves.
Seeing that the children were not around, Sister-in-law Qiong whispered, "Madam, we ran into Mr. Wen on the road. He sent someone to deliver a message. Tomorrow... tomorrow Wang E is being exiled to the southwest. She is about to set off."
Everyone was stunned for a moment. Before they could speak, Old Lady Li jumped up, climbed onto the wall, and began to rummage through a basket.
Li Zhen was afraid his mother would fall, so he stood below and tried to persuade her, "Mom, if you're angry, just scold me a little. Don't do this. Be careful not to fall and hurt yourself."
Old Mrs. Li quickly climbed down from the wall, glared at her son and scolded, "That bitch provoked me, and it has nothing to do with you! Let me tell you, tomorrow you and Cat Brother should stay home and pretend you don't know anything about this. I'll have Fourth Brother take me into the city."
How could Li Zhensheng dare to refuse? He immediately nodded, "Okay, Mother, whatever makes you happy is fine!"
Jiayin rolled her eyes a few times and guessed that her grandmother was going to find fault with Wang E. She also wanted to go and watch the fun.
But she had already cried and made a fuss, and her grandmother was still angry, so it was really not a good time for her to act spoiled or unreasonable.
After thinking for a moment, she sneaked off to the neighbor's yard, and of course, she didn't forget to grab a winnowing basket to use as a straw hat and put it on her head to shield herself from the sun.
The Marquis was sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed), dealing with some documents. He opened the window to let the wind blow in, and occasionally when he looked up, he saw a winnowing basket filled with beans with a pair of chubby little legs, wobbling in from outside the courtyard.
He spat out a mouthful of tea, laughing so hard he almost aggravated the injury on his back.
"Open the door, cough cough, Ye Shan, open the door! A basket spirit wants to come in!"
Seeing his master suddenly choke on her tea, Ye Shan, not knowing what was wrong, quickly went to open the door. He was so amused to see Jia Yin carrying a winnowing basket that he couldn't stand up straight. "Young Miss, what happened here..."
Jiayin put down the winnowing basket, her face contorted in misery, and rushed straight to the Marquis, crying out, "Godfather, waah! Fu Niu doesn't want to live anymore! Fu Niu has become ugly! Nobody likes Fu Niu anymore!"
The Marquis quickly picked up the girl, held her in his arms, and asked in a hoarse voice, "What's wrong? Who said our Fu Niu is ugly?"
Ye Shan quickly soaked a cloth in water and handed it over.
The Marquis wiped the chubby girl's face and, upon closer inspection, realized that she was also struggling to suppress her laughter.
No wonder the little girl was sad; she had indeed gained a lot of weight and gotten much darker in the past two weeks!
But you can't just say it directly, you can only coax her.
Fortunately, Jiayin wasn't really there to complain about this. After a few words, she quickly changed the subject and started talking about "serious business."
"If Fu Niu is unhappy, she can go to the city to play. But Grandma will only take Daddy, not Fu Niu!"
After thinking for a moment and guessing what was going on, the Marquis said, "My godfather needs to go back to the Marquis's residence to take care of some business. Why don't you accompany him back?"
"Okay, okay." Jiayin's eyes lit up as her wish came true. She nodded hurriedly and hugged the Marquis's arm, acting coquettishly, "Godfather is the best. Fu Niu will take care of you when she grows up."
Both the Marquis and Ye Shan laughed.
Just then, the old lady, who had lost her granddaughter, rushed over in a panic. When she heard the Marquis mention taking Fu Niu into the city the next day, there was nothing she couldn't guess.
So she glared at her granddaughter, helplessly saying, "That girl, she can't miss out on any excitement!"
Jiayin shrank her neck and snuggled into the Marquis's arms, which made the Marquis laugh again.
“Auntie, don’t blame Fu Niu. Children love excitement; it’s in their nature. I’m going back tomorrow anyway, so why don’t you ride in my carriage and take Fu Niu to visit our Marquis’s residence? You can come back with me in the evening.”
The old lady thought that the village was busy and it wouldn't be good for the fourth son to be absent from work all the time, so she agreed.
The next morning, Old Lady Li, carrying a basket and Jiayin, boarded the Marquis's carriage.
The chestnut horse clattered as it pulled the carriage away from the village. Apart from Uncle Zhao and a few others on patrol, no one else in the village knew about it.
Jiayin wore a veil, which she refused to take off even inside the carriage, determined to conceal her dark face.
She was twisting her little head and looking around, feeling that something was off about the taste, but after the Marquis patted her twice, she calmed down.
Xinduli was unusually lively this morning, with many people gathering from the government office to the city gate.
Some vendors even seized the opportunity, carrying baskets and selling steamed buns and fried dough sticks.
Someone bought steamed buns and chatted with the people around them while eating them.
"Brother, you're here too."
"Of course! How could we miss such a grand event?"
"You mean Wang E is about to be exiled, and the Wang family still can't show their faces? Logically speaking, the Wang family is usually quite protective of their own, so even if they can't save her, they should at least come to see her off and make some arrangements!"
"You don't know this, do you? I heard that the Wang family is also in trouble and can't even take care of themselves right now."
"What trouble?"
Amidst these discussions, the side gate of the government office finally opened.
I was held up a bit today, I'm so sorry. I'll try to be earlier next time. Here's the update at midnight~~
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