Chapter 482 Brothers (Part 2)
After the Little New Year, the festive atmosphere becomes stronger.
The house was cleaned up and down, bright red lanterns were hung on the veranda, lush flower trees were placed in front of and behind the house, the kitchen was busy heating up the oil pan and making brine, and the New Year's bonuses and clothes were received, and everyone's face was filled with happy smiles.
Eleventh Lady and Amber discussed arrangements for the New Year: "... before the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, try to give everyone two days off."
Amber smiled and nodded.
The needlework department delivered two Xiang skirts made by Shiyi Niang in a hurry, each with twenty-four pieces.
"This plum blossom embroidery is really nice." Amber said after looking at it, "I didn't expect there is such a good craft in needlework."
Eleventh Lady nodded and asked the maid who delivered the skirt, "Whose craftsmanship is this?"
"Ou'er embroidered it." The old woman smiled and whispered, "It was Cui'er's sister who used to serve Qin Yi Niang and later died of illness."
Eleventh Lady fell silent.
The old woman was terrified and knelt on the ground with a thump. "Madam, please forgive me. Madam, please forgive me. It's because we rushed this job and it was cold, and the needlework caught a cold. Although Ou'er just came into the mansion, she is very good at needlework, so we asked her to help embroider a few plum blossoms. It's all because of our inconsideration. We didn't expect that she was still in mourning..."
"Get up!" Shiyi Niang knew that the old woman had misunderstood and did not want to explain to her. She signaled the little maid to help her up and said, "Cui'er is a good girl. Tell her sister that since she has entered the mansion, she must do her job well." Then she asked Amber to take five taels of silver to reward Ou'er, "...This flower is embroidered beautifully, I like it very much."
Seeing that Shiyi Niang did not blame her, the old woman happily took the silver and retreated with many thanks.
Eleventh Lady asked Yanrong, "How is she doing?"
Amber smiled and said, "That's amazing. I think Brother Cao is a little depressed."
Eleventh Lady looked at the bright and radiant Amber after marriage and couldn't help but joked, "I think our Brother-in-law Guan and Brother-in-law Cao will have endless things to talk about when they are together."
"Madam!" Amber blushed with shame and turned around to collect her skirt.
Xu Lingyi comes in.
"Oh! I made new clothes."
Eleventh Lady stood up and helped him change his clothes: "Prepare them for the New Year's greetings."
Xu Lingyi said, "Make two silk-carved jackets for our brother Jian as well! He will also visit his relatives when the time comes."
"It's only been a month. It's a waste to use silk to make a small shirt, and I'm afraid it will scratch the skin." Eleventh Lady immediately objected and said, "You have to bring Jiang'er to pay New Year's greetings when the time comes, right?"
Since the day when the Madam Tai showed her desire to see Jian Ge'er, Shiyi Niang would hold Jian Ge'er in her arms every time she went to the Madam Tai's place. Although the weather was cold, it was warm enough to wrap him in a fox fur cloak. But it was different when she went to visit other people's houses. Sometimes she might not meet anyone, and most of the time she was traveling in a car. The child was too young.
"The Emperor, Empress, and Crown Prince all sent eunuchs to ask them to bring the child into the palace for a look during the New Year."
There is no other way.
"Then you can't make a small silk blouse." Eleventh Lady laughed and said, "That's too extravagant."
"When you go to the palace to pay New Year's greetings, everyone wears clothes from the bottom of the chest. It's okay for you to wear a small silk jacket." Xu Lingyi thought Shiyi Niang was too worried. "But since you're afraid of scratching your skin, just make a small shawl!"
If Xu Lingyi continues like this, it will be difficult for Qin Ge'er not to become a playboy!
Eleventh Lady felt that her early education plan was dark.
She couldn't help but say angrily, "My Lord, no matter how good something is, it has to be comfortable to use. Although the carved silk is beautiful, it is too hard. It's better to be like the Songjiang Three-Shuttle Cloth that the Madam gave me, which is soft and warm..."
Xu Lingyi didn't think much about it. Although Kesi is expensive, it's not out of the reach of the family. Besides, there are several children, so he thought he should make one for Jiange'er as well.
Wen Yan smiled and said, "Then you decide! Make a nice new dress for Jian'er, and we'll take him out to pay New Year's greetings."
Just make some new clothes!
Eleventh Lady thought about it, then smiled and nodded.
A little maid came in and reported, "Madam, our fourth aunt from Gongxian Hutong is here!"
Ever since Twelve Niang returned home on the third day and Eleven Niang and Xu Lingyi went back to recognize their relatives, the two have not met each other since.
"Please invite Fourth Aunt in!" Eleventh Lady said, and stood up and went to the hall to welcome the guest.
Grandma Luo Si wore a royal blue gown with gold sleeves, her hair was neatly tied into a bun, and she wore a big red shawl flower. Although she looked very capable, there was a hint of anxiety between her brows. It was obvious that she came for something.
"Eleventh Aunt," she smiled and bowed to Eleventh Lady, "Wu Xiaoquan's family brought some dried fish yesterday. Since there are still a few days before the New Year, my family and I will give you some to try."
"I'm sorry to bother you, sister-in-law." Eleventh Lady smiled and welcomed Luo Si's grandmother to sit on the big kang by the window in the east room. Amber went out to get the maid's things. "Are you and your sister-in-law okay? Did you say when you would go to the capital?"
Grandma Luo Si laughed after hearing this and her expression became much more relaxed.
"My eldest brother was originally planning to go to Beijing in early November." She took the little girl's
He took a sip of the tea on his mane and said, "It turns out that my sister-in-law is pregnant. My brother decided to leave after the Lantern Festival. He was afraid that we would worry, so he sent someone to tell us the news."
"My sister-in-law is pregnant!" Eleventh Lady was surprised and delighted, "Brother Xiu is also eight years old this year... This is really a happy event!"
"That's right!" Grandma Luo smiled, "Otherwise, Big Brother wouldn't have postponed the trip."
"I have to write a letter to congratulate her." Eleventh Lady smiled. The two chatted for a long time before Fourth Lady Luo got to the point. "...Twelfth Aunt got married, but Duke Mao didn't come to the wedding. I didn't want to be rejected. But your eldest brother said that no matter what she does, we should just do our job without any guilt. I thought about it and it makes sense. I was thinking of sending her things first, and then coming to your place so that we can have a good talk. Who knew that I would meet Fifth Aunt in front of Tenth Aunt..." She stopped talking here, and her eyes looking at Eleventh Lady were a little unclear.
Eleventh Lady was very surprised. She paused holding the cup and asked, "Did you meet Fifth Sister?"
Fourth Grandma Luo nodded and said thoughtfully, "Fifth Aunt told me that the New Year is coming soon, and she came to see Tenth Aunt. Knowing that I was here to give her some dried fish, she accompanied me to see Tenth Aunt."
"When Yinping saw me, she looked very embarrassed. She said that Tenth Aunt was not in good health and could not see guests, and asked me to be understanding. I dropped my things and was about to leave. But Tenth Aunt suddenly came out. She said to me loudly," she blushed, "A married girl is like spilled water. No matter how much money the Luo family has, it still belongs to the Luo family. She is now a daughter-in-law of the Wang family. She is a member of the Wang family in life and a ghost of the Wang family in death. She has no relationship with the Luo family anymore, and there is absolutely no reason for her to go back to the Luo family to ask for money. If Fifth Aunt feels uncomfortable and can't swallow this breath, just go back to the Luo family with Eleventh Aunt to ask for money. Don't think about her."
Eleventh Lady simply didn't know what to say.
Not only was Wu Niang obsessed with money, she also urged them to go back and ask for it!
Shi Niang specifically mentioned her, maybe Wu Niang said something to Shi Niang, and Shi Niang misunderstood that she was also involved in this matter. Otherwise, Luo Si Niang would not have sent her dried fish to test her attitude!
Thinking of this, she said in a clear tone: "We sisters, it's hard for others to say anything. But when I got married, my mother didn't treat me unfairly, and she would never ask my eldest brother to supplement my dowry. If Fourth Sister-in-law is worried about this, don't worry."
"Eleventh Aunt has misunderstood." Grandma Luo smiled bitterly, "Others may not know what kind of person Aunt is, but I do. It's because of Tenth Aunt that I once blamed Fifth Aunt, but Fifth Aunt insisted that this was something she had discussed with you, because Tenth Aunt and you don't get along, so she was asked to be the middleman... I thought, I have to tell you about this, so that Aunt won't get a bad reputation without knowing it." She said implicitly, "There is still Twelfth Aunt between you sisters!"
"Thank you, sister-in-law!" Eleventh Lady was very grateful. "I will talk to Fifth Sister about it. I will also go and say hello to Twelve Lady."
"That's not necessary." Grandma Luo smiled, "I have to go to Twelve Aunt to deliver the fish jerky anyway. You just need to talk to Fifth Aunt."
Wu Niang is Luo Zhensheng's younger brother, so there are some things that Fourth Grandma Luo finds difficult to say.
Eleventh Lady thanked her, and Fourth Lady Luo greeted the lady dowager and returned to Gongxian Hutong.
She wrote a congratulatory letter to Luo Zhenxing in the study. But she kept thinking about Wu Niang. The more she thought about it, the more she felt that Wu Niang was so unreasonable. After all, she grew up in the eldest wife's house. Although she suffered a little financially when she married Qian Ming, she was much better off than ordinary people. How could she become so worldly!
Eleventh Lady put down her pen and sighed.
The Sixth Aunt only thought about gaining more benefits for the Twelveth Aunt, but she didn't think carefully about the Twelveth Aunt's position - even when she married into the Marquis's Mansion, the specifications of her dowry were not much different from those of the Fifth Aunt and the Tenth Aunt, in order to treat them equally and avoid disputes between the sisters. Regardless of whether the Fifth Aunt gets the money this time, the knot between her and the Twelveth Aunt is likely to be formed.
Sitting cross-legged on a meditation chair covered with a large red brocade cushion, Xu Lingyi felt that his wife had been absent-minded since Fourth Lady Luo left. Now she looked even more worried. He asked, "What's wrong?" and walked to Shiyi Niang in slippers and sat down next to her, saying softly, "Did you encounter any difficulties in Gongxian Hutong?"
Eleventh Lady was upset, and Xu Lingyi sat beside her with a gentle expression. She thought for a while and told Xu Lingyi what had happened: "...Tomorrow is New Year's Eve, we have to go after the fifteenth day of the first lunar month! But I'm worried that she will do something in the next few days..." She looked very embarrassed.
Xu Lingyi thought for a moment and said, "I think I should go talk to Zichun about this matter!"
"This is not good!" said Eleventh Lady. "Once your man said this, he has exposed the matter. What if Qian Ming doesn't know about this? Wouldn't that create a rift between the couple?"
Xu Lingyi disagreed: "If Zichun doesn't know, then you should tell him - she is doing this behind Zichun's back, she doesn't care about her husband at all, it will cause a big disaster sooner or later. Rather than being unable to deal with it when the time comes, it is better to let Zichun take good care of it. If Zichun knew..." His eyes flickered, "Doctors have their own ways and their own ways. If he is like this, even if he enters the officialdom, I am afraid he will dare to become a big shot!"
*****************