When the old master of the Luo family was an official in Yanjing, he bought a house with four courtyards in Laojuntang Hutong, Huanghuafang, east of the city. Later, the second master of the Luo family stayed in Beijing to serve as a hall official, and he lived in this house forever.
Later, the three brothers returned to the Ministry of Personnel in Yanjing to report, and naturally the house could no longer accommodate them.
The third master moved to Qiantang Hutong, Renshoufang, Yanjing, because his third wife had a three-story house as a dowry.
In this way, the eldest master will have to live together with the second master.
Not only did the second master and his wife have to give up the main house and move to the back house to live with their daughter, but the third master Luo Zhenda, his wife, and his youngest son also had to give up the outer courtyard for Luo Zhenxing and his wife to live in. It sounds troublesome, not to mention moving. The eldest master thought that his son and his wife had to study in the Imperial Academy. If he failed the exam, it would be common for him to live there for five or six years. It was not a good idea to squeeze with the second house. So he asked the second master to buy a three-story house in Gongxian Hutong, Baodafang.
Therefore, the eldest lady, after getting off the carriage, looked at the two locust trees in front of the gate of the house, which were as thick as a man's embrace, with a very unhappy expression on her face.
"How much did this house cost?"
The house of Laojuntang in Huanghuafang is a public property, and everyone has a share. It turns out that the second branch was an official in Beijing, so the house was given to them to live in. Now that several branches have gathered in Beijing, the second branch should vacate the house... Why is it still buying a house outside? Does the second branch think that the house is theirs?
Luo Zhenxing knew what his mother was thinking, so he whispered, "Mom, money is just a thing outside of our body. We just need to live comfortably."
The first wife looked at her son and her face brightened up: "Children and grandchildren do not ask about their parents' land. Brother Xing, this is the behavior of a man who stands tall and upright. With a son like this, money is really just a thing outside of my body."
Luo Zhenxing's face was slightly shocked: "How can my son be as good as his mother said!"
The eldest wife smiled without saying anything, but she looked at her son with a hint of pride and let him support her as she walked into the house.
Luo Zhenxing's wife, grandmother Gu, holding her son Xiu Ge, had already led the sixth concubine, maids, daughters-in-law, and old women to wait in front of the hanging flower gate.
Seeing the eldest wife, she hurried over to greet her. Brother Xiu immediately opened his arms excitedly and shouted "Grandma, Grandma" loudly.
The smile could no longer be concealed and flowed out from the corners of the eldest wife's eyes and eyebrows.
She walked forward quickly, stretched out her hands and hugged Brother Xiu in her arms: "Good Brother Xiu, do you miss grandma?"
"I thought about it!" The four-year-old Xiu Ge answered in a baby voice, hugged the eldest wife's neck and put his face against her chin.
"You're so good." The eldest wife patted her grandson's back gently with a smile on her face.
The Sixth Aunt and others came forward to pay their respects to the First Lady. The First Lady responded in a good mood, then carried Brother Xiu and was about to go into the house.
Grandma quickly reached out to pick up Brother Xiu: "Mom, you must have been tired from the journey, let me hold Brother Xiu!"
"I'm not so weak that I can't even hold a child!" The eldest wife hugged Brother Xiu tighter, as if she was afraid that someone would snatch him away from her arms.
The eldest grandmother stretched out her hand and held the eldest wife's arm: "Daughter-in-law will help you in." As she said this, she and the eldest wife walked into the main courtyard shoulder to shoulder.
Goldfish tanks, flower stands, stone tables and chairs, big trees taller than the eaves, and red window grilles on the windows... Although it is winter, the yard exudes a warm homely atmosphere.
Looking further, I saw a man wearing a royal blue floral waistcoat with his hands behind his back standing under the eaves of the main house.
He has black hair, fair skin, bright eyes and a tall figure. From a distance, he looks imposing, like he is about 37 or 38 years old, and is very handsome.
Seeing the eldest wife, he nodded slightly and greeted her with a smile: "I'm here!"
The eldest wife's eyes fixed, and she gave Brother Xiu to the eldest grandmother. She slowly walked to the steps, bent her knees, saluted to the eldest master, and called him "Master".
This man was none other than Luo Huazhong, the eldest master of the Luo family.
Eleventh Lady still remembers the shock she felt when she first saw him - she thought she would meet an old man with a timid appearance... but who knew that he turned out to be a middle-aged man with an excellent temperament.
The master politely asked his wife, "Did you have a safe journey?"
The eldest wife bowed and said "yes" respectfully, smiling, "I took the eldest brother-in-law's business card, and nothing went wrong along the way."
After hearing this, the eldest master hummed softly, as if he was not very willing to talk about this matter. He cast his gaze on the Fifth Lady and the Eleventh Lady behind the First Lady.
The two men hurried forward and saluted the master.
The master looked at them with a hint of surprise on his face: "How come they have grown so big in the blink of an eye!"
With just this one sentence, Eleventh Lady classified him as an irresponsible playboy.
The eldest wife's eyes turned cold when she heard this. Mrs. Xu saw it and secretly said "Oh no!" and immediately stepped forward to bow to the eldest master: "Master, how are you!" and drew his attention to herself.
The eldest master looked at Mother Xu and nodded slightly, then said to the eldest mistress, "Everyone is tired, let's go in and rest!" After saying that, he turned and went into the house.
Everyone followed him into the house.
Everyone sat down according to their seat size, and finally Eleventh Lady had the opportunity to look around the furnishings in the room.
The black lacquered furniture, the green official curtains, the bright yellow forsythia flowers on the coffee table, the lovely green fortuneana tree in the corner, and the porcelain screen with the Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea on the wall make the house full of vitality and interest.
Several maids came to serve tea quietly.
The eldest master suddenly asked, "Why didn't Shi Niang come with us?"
The air in the room stagnated.
The eldest wife smiled modestly: "Her asthma has recurred, so I didn't bring her here!"
The master frowned slightly: "Didn't we agree on this? Why did you do it again?"
"She has been in and out of shape for the past few years. This time when I came to Beijing, I was thinking of finding a better doctor for her," the first wife said with a calm and natural expression. "It's not a good idea to keep dragging it out like this. She's already fifteen years old this year, and it's time for her to start looking for a husband. If they knew she had this disease, I'm afraid there would be a lot of trouble."
The master nodded and stopped talking about Shi Niang. Instead, he asked Wu Niang, "How is your calligraphy going?"
Wu Niang stood up and said respectfully, "Father, mother has been instructing her daughter in calligraphy."
The eldest master glanced at the eldest wife and said with a smile: "Your mother studied with your grandfather since she was a child, and her Yan style calligraphy is better than mine. You have your mother's guidance, but you must know how to cherish it."
Wu Niang replied respectfully, “Yes.”
A smile flashed across the eldest wife's face.
The eldest master asked Eleventh Lady again: "Do you still stay at home doing needlework every day?"
Eleventh Lady stood up like Fifth Lady and replied respectfully, “Yes.”
"Why do you look so bad? Are you seasick?" The master looked at Eleventh Lady.
Eleventh Lady nodded: "Yes!"
"It's okay to be seasick, you'll feel better once you get off the shore!" The master laughed, "Then make me a pair of shoes some other day, so I can see how your needlework is going!"
Eleventh Lady responded solemnly, "Yes."
The master looked at her and shook his head, then said with a smile, "You are so young, who do you look like? You are so formal and reserved!"
Eleventh Lady's face flushed and she murmured in silence.
"Okay," the eldest wife came to the rescue, "The children haven't seen you for a long time, and everyone is scolding you. How can we let go?"
The master smiled and was about to say something when a maid came in and reported, "Master, Madam, Master, Madam, and Madam have sent someone to pay respects to Master and Madam!"
Everyone in the room was stunned.
As soon as the eldest wife arrived, the eldest aunt's people arrived right after... Did the uncle send someone to inform the eldest aunt?
Everyone's eyes fell on Luo Zhenxing.
Luo Zhenxing was also surprised and said to the eldest wife, "Mother, I didn't send anyone to report to my sister."
The eldest wife looked at the eldest master.
The master also shook his head: "I estimate that it will take you another four or five days to arrive..."
That is to keep paying attention to the situation here!
The eldest wife had a stern expression on her face, and hurriedly ordered Mother Xu: "Quick, go and welcome him in!"
Mother Xu left as soon as she was told. The faces of the eldest master, the eldest mistress, the eldest uncle and the eldest grandmother all showed a solemn expression, without any joy of family reunion. As a result, a sense of uneasiness began to spread in the house.
Children are the most sensitive. While being held in his mother's arms, Xiu Ge looked at the eldest master and then at the eldest mistress with a timid expression.
Wu Niang looked at them and smiled softly, "Mother, my elder sister is really filial... She has been looking forward to your coming with all her heart!"
The eldest wife's lips curled up slightly: "She has been clinging to me since she was a child!"
"I don't know what my eldest sister looks like now!" Wu Niang said to the eldest wife with a smile, "Come to think of it, I was still young when my eldest sister got married..."
Before she finished her words, Mother Xu came in with a woman wearing a lilac-colored jacket with ten patterns of brocade.
The woman was no more than thirty-five or thirty-six years old, with her black hair neatly combed into a bun, revealing her smooth forehead. She looked dignified yet capable.
Wu Niang quickly stopped talking.
The woman knelt on the ground and kowtowed: "Madam... your servant Tao pays respects to the master and the madam."
The eldest wife let out a soft "Ah" and sat up straight, and said with some excitement, "It turned out to be Mother Tao!"
"It is I!" Mother Tao stood up and knelt on the ground again, kowtowed three times to the master and the mistress, saying, "I kowtow to the master and the mistress on behalf of the lady."
When the eldest wife saw this, she stood up and walked forward, personally picking up Mother Tao and asked: "How is my Yuanniang?" Before she finished speaking, her eyes were already filled with tears.
"Okay, okay, okay." Mother Tao's eyes were filled with tears, and she tightly held the hand of the first wife. "Madam, everything is fine! It's just that I haven't seen the first wife for many years, and I miss her so much."
When the eldest wife heard this, tears began to fall like rain, causing Mother Tao to apologize: "I said something wrong and made the eldest wife sad."
Mother Xu advised, "This is a great happy event, why is the first wife crying?"
The eldest grandmother even gave Brother Xiu to the nanny beside her to hold, and took out a handkerchief to wipe the eldest wife's face herself: "You are crying with joy, crying with joy. Although you are happy, you can't scare us like this."
Wu Niang, Shiyi Niang and Liu Yi Niang also stepped forward to persuade: "Madam, please stop crying!"
The eldest wife took the handkerchief from the eldest grandmother with some embarrassment, wiped the corners of her eyes, and said with a smile: "I am old now, and I like to feel sad about the passing of time."
Everybody laughed.
Mother Tao smiled and said, "I have been asked by the Madam to invite the eldest lady to come to your house tomorrow afternoon for a chat. I wonder if it is convenient for you? Do you want to change the time?"
(I will continue to update today... Sisters who have votes, please continue to vote! O(∩_∩)O haha~)