Childhood is the purest and happiest time. There are not many such days.
Eleventh Lady smiled and patted Xu Sijie's head: "Now that you are all gone, who will help me take care of Jing'er?"
Ten-month-old Jing'er is very active and lively. He will crawl to the side of the kang if you are not paying attention. He will chew anything he holds in his mouth. He will get impatient if you hold him in your arms for a few seconds. He will kick your belly with his legs and will be ready to jump. Anyone who holds him has to be more careful. But he can't talk yet. He just says "oh oh oh" to everyone. Shiyi Niang is very worried, but the lady thinks she is making a fuss: "The fourth child didn't start talking until he was one and a half years old. He is only ten months old!"
Eleventh Lady was not sure whether her ten-month-old baby should be able to speak, so when she had free time, she would hold him and teach him about things around the house.
Xu Sijie's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he said with a smile, "Then I'll stay home and play with Brother Jin."
Xu Sizhun was a little disappointed and said, "Well, I'll bring you some delicious food!"
"Okay!" Eleventh Lady said with a smile, "Tell me what happened when you climbed the mountain when you come back. I have never climbed a mountain before!"
It refers to the scene in this time and space where one person is walking in front and several people are following behind with stools, feather fans, or even toilets.
Xu Sizhun happily agreed.
Eleventh Lady saw the two brothers out.
Mother Song came over: "It will be Aunt Qin's mourning ceremony soon..."
"Let's do it according to the usual practice!" Eleventh Lady nodded.
Mother Song responded and left.
On that day, Taoist priests and nuns were invited to perform a seven-day ritual. Xu Siyu changed his clothes and came back to greet Xu Lingyi, the lady dowager, and Shiyi Niang.
Xu Lingyi asked about his homework, and the lady asked about his health. When he came to Shiyi Niang, he was surprised to see Jing'er's wet nurse Gu Mama and Jing'er's mother Wan San's wife standing in a ventilated place under the eaves and talking.
Wen Zhu hurriedly whispered, "Fourth Madam is personally taking care of Sixth Young Master. I heard that she will wean him after he turns one year old!"
Since you like children so much, why don’t you let Jing’er drink milk for a few more days!
Xu Siyu was secretly puzzled. He said "hmm" and ignored the maids and old women who half-knelt down to greet him, and followed Qiuyu into the west room.
Shiyi Niang and Jing'er were both sitting on the big kang by the window in the west room. The kang table had been moved away, so Shiyi Niang sat on the edge of the kang, while Jing'er sat in the middle of the kang, holding a mallet for beating wooden fish. There were several bowls and plates of different sizes, as well as wooden fish and small drums around him, and Jing'er was beating happily with the mallet.
When he saw Xu Siyu coming in, he looked up and smiled at Xu Siyu, revealing his two big front teeth.
That pure smile without any impurities shocked Xu Siyu.
"Sixth brother has grown up so much!" He stared at Jin Ge'er for a while before saying this.
Eleventh Lady held Jing'er in her arms and said with a smile, "You're back. Did you have a safe journey?"
Only then did Xu Siyu remember to pay his respects to Eleventh Lady.
"Let mother worry about me, I am fine!"
It was just two short sentences, and Jin Ge'er jumped and hopped in Shiyi Niang's arms, twisting his body to knock over the bowls and dishes.
Eleventh Lady didn't want to disturb the child's interest, so she smiled apologetically at Xu Siyu and said, "He is a little naughty!" Then she put Jing'er on the kang.
Jing'er immediately crawled to the small drum, but found that the mallet in his hand was missing. He looked around for a while, crawled over and grabbed the mallet in his hand, crawled to the small drum again, and lost the mallet again. He became worried. He looked at Shiyi Niang, then at Xu Siyu, and seeing that both of them were unmoved, he burst into tears.
Xu Siyu found him very interesting, so without thinking much he went over, picked up the hammer and handed it to Jing'er.
Jing'er stopped crying immediately and smiled at him with tears on his face.
Xu Siyu couldn't help but touch his head.
Jing'er ignored him and lowered his head to beat the small drum. The room was filled with a "dong dong" sound that was sometimes loud and sometimes soft. It was so monotonous and a bit noisy.
Only then did Xu Siyu realize that the red mallet in Jing'er's hand had been polished to be round and smooth, with a lotus pattern engraved on the top.
He looked at Eleventh Lady with some surprise.
Eleventh Lady smiled at him apologetically and said, "It's a bit noisy!" She then explained, "If you don't let him knock, he'll cry, which is even noisier than this!"
"Maybe I don't hear much, so I don't think it's noisy." Xu Siyu smiled and glanced at Jing'er who was having fun.
He has a gentle expression, soothing tone, and the image of a gentle and elegant young man.
Eleventh Lady smiled and talked about Xu Siqin's marriage: "...Our family is small, and now that you are back, you can take the steward to Tongzhou to help Brother Qin get his dowry!"
Xu Siyu smiled and replied “yes”: “You told me when we went to Luoye Mountain two days ago.”
So, Xu Siqin went to attend Aunt Qin's mourning ceremony!
Eleventh Lady said pointedly, "Since you brothers have discussed it, I won't say much. Three days after marriage, there is no age limit. Relax and have fun for a few days."
Xu Siyu responded with a smile. Seeing that his mother did not play with him as usual, Jing'er dropped the hammer and climbed into Shiyi Niang's arms and started to make noises.
Eleventh Lady knew that he was clamoring to be held by her, and was about to call Mother Gu, but Xu Siyu stood up and said, "Mother has something else to do, so I will go to Second Aunt to greet her first!"
"Let's go to the lady's house for dinner later." There was nothing else to say if they stayed any longer, so Eleventh Lady smiled and instructed Xu Siyu to ask Qiuyu to help see the guests off.
Xu Siyu stood up and saluted. His eyes paused on the red mallet that Jing'er had casually thrown on the corner of the kang, then he turned and walked out.
Eleventh Lady couldn't help but take the hammer.
So thoughtful!
Even Xu Sizhun didn't notice it.
This is what Madam Tai usually uses. That day, Jing'er held it in her hand and wouldn't let go. Madam Tai was afraid that he would cry, so she gave it to Jing'er...
She smiled and asked people to put everything away, as the Fifth Madam arrived.
"You only worry about giving birth but not raising it." She smiled and took Jing'er's hand and walked around the house twice symbolically, then handed the child to Gu Mama and sat on the big kang with Shiyi Niang. "I looked forward to it every day for those few years, and now he can walk. In a few days, he will be able to call dad and mom."
Eleventh Lady smiled and sat with her, saying, "I heard from Mother Shi that Brother Chen's head can stand up now?"
Speaking of her son, the Fifth Lady smiled: "He can only stand up occasionally. It won't work for a long time. I don't dare to let him stand up..." Then she said the purpose of her visit, "What are you going to do about Qin Ge'er?"
Eleventh Lady smiled and said, "I will listen to the Marquis."
The Fifth Lady's eyes turned slightly, "That's on paper. What I mean is, when the bride and groom come to recognize each other the next day, what gift will the Fourth Sister-in-law prepare to give to the bride?"
"That depends on what Mom wants!"
They couldn't give anything too expensive that would go beyond the Madam's reach.
"Mother is the elder." Fifth Madam said, "Of course she can't sit in the hall like us and wait for the bride to recognize her relatives. They have to go to her mother's room to greet her." She said, blinking at Eleventh Madam, "But we are different. Not only do we meet the bride in the hall, but when we give the gift, there are also a group of relatives from Third Sister-in-law's family. Fourth Sister-in-law also knows that if we don't give enough, we don't know how the Gan family will frame us. That's why I came to discuss it with Fourth Sister-in-law!"
Eleventh Lady understood something, and she smiled and asked, "What does Fifth Brother's wife mean?"
The Fifth Lady leaned over and whispered into Eleventh Lady's ear.
Eleventh Lady couldn't help laughing.
The Fifth Lady repeatedly reminded him: "It's settled. Don't make any mistakes when the time comes..."
Eleventh Lady nodded continuously.
On September 15th, Eleventh Lady and the others dressed up and brought in the dowry.
All of them were high-quality black lacquer furniture, with a smooth and shiny surface. The porcelain and tin dishes were all in sets. The bed curtains and bedding were of timeless old styles as well as new ones. The boxes for clothes were so tight that you couldn't even put your hands in. It can be seen that Miss Fang's dowry was not only rich, but also very substantial.
The female relatives all praised it.
The third lady's face flushed as she greeted the guests loudly.
When Eleventh Lady saw the two mothers from the Fang family who came to deliver the dowry, dressed simply yet festively, and spoke enthusiastically yet calmly, she couldn't help but nod secretly.
Someone came over and saluted Eleventh Lady: "This is the eldest brother-in-law's fourth aunt, right? I am the eldest cousin's wife of your niece's wife!"
Eleventh Lady couldn't help but look in the direction of the voice and saw a young woman of medium build looking at her with a smile.
"So you're the lucky person who made the bed for our Qin Ge'er." Eleventh Lady greeted her with a smile, "It's our first meeting, and we're unfamiliar. Please forgive me for my impoliteness!"
The first thing she did was to call her "the eldest brother-in-law's fourth aunt". She secretly praised the eldest cousin's wife of the Fang family for her ability.
The eldest cousin's wife said hurriedly, "You are the elder, and I should come to pay my respects to you. It is impolite of me to say that." She smiled and cast her eyes on the fifth wife, "This is the fifth aunt!" Then she bent her knees and saluted the two of them, "Our eldest daughter will ask the two ladies for more guidance in the future!"
As soon as I entered the door, I found Eleventh Lady first, and then found her...
Madam Wu looked at Eleventh Lady and said with a smile, "Of course not! The Fang family is a famous family with generations of scholars, unlike our family, which came from humble origins. If there is anything that is not considerate, please say a few good words in front of Fang's father-in-law."
"I don't deserve Fifth Madam's praise." The eldest sister-in-law said with a smile, "The reputation of our ancestors has lasted for several generations. We, as the younger generation, dare not neglect it..."
He did not deny the Fifth Lady's humble words.
The Fifth Lady looked at Eleventh Lady again.
Seeing her standing there smiling, he forced himself not to say anything.
Someone over there touched the bright red quilt with a phoenix and the rising sun in the box and said with a smile, "Twenty-four berths and twenty-four covers. I see, even the bedding for the grandson is ready."
The eldest cousin's wife laughed and said, "Every wealthy family in Jiangnan marries off their daughters like this. They pay attention to the red dowry - although the daughter marries into someone else's family, her food, clothing and daily necessities for the rest of her life will be from her parents' family. When needed, she can even give money to help her husband's relatives. Only in this way can she gain a foothold in her husband's family and stand up straight!"
The whole yard fell into silence after hearing these words.
The Fifth Lady looked at Eleventh Lady again.
This time, their eyes met in the air, and they both saw a hint of surprise in each other's eyes.
The eldest cousin's wife laughed: "Otherwise, I wouldn't have started saving dowry for my daughter now."
Some of the female relatives also laughed.
The quiet atmosphere became lively again.
※
I went to get an injection this morning, so I’ll post a draft first!
O(∩_∩)O~