Wu Niang was talking to Ziwei and Ziyuan, while Mother Xu was replying to the first wife.
"Nothing?"
Mother Xu's face turned red.
"Given her personality, it's impossible for her to just leave Shi Niang alone. She must have given all the valuables to Shi Niang. Otherwise, those two wouldn't have the guts to run away." The eldest wife's face was a little gloomy, "Check it out for me again. I don't believe that she won't reveal any flaws."
Mother Xu said hurriedly: "I have already told Jinlian and Yinping to be more careful."
The eldest wife nodded slightly and said, "From what Wu Xiaoquan said, Brother Sheng will arrive in Beijing in the next two days. Please put him in the west wing of the main courtyard for me!"
Mother Xu was stunned.
The eldest wife glanced at her and said softly, "I heard that he took Di Jin into his room!"
He was made the housekeeper, which caused two concubines to disappear and one concubine to hang; he also took in the maids around him without the consent of the elders... The former was incompetent, and there was nothing he could do; the latter was completely immoral and had a problem with his character. A son without morals and incompetence, compared with the master, I am afraid that even if he was born from the first wife's belly, she would not like him, let alone a concubine who had fallen out of favor!
Mother Xu suddenly realized and nodded repeatedly: "Don't worry, I will make sure that the eldest master knows about the fact that the fourth master secretly took the ground brocade!"
The eldest wife nodded and changed the subject: "Fifth Lady and Tenth Lady are getting married one after the other, so we have to think carefully about the dowry."
Mother Xu's mind changed after hearing this, and she asked tentatively, "How about giving the forest to Miss Five and the dry land to Miss Ten?"
Seeing that Mrs. Xu completely understood what she meant, the eldest wife's eyes flashed with a smile: "Not bad. That's it!"
The Luo family's assets are all in the south of the Yangtze River. They can earn a few taels of silver from the mountains and forests, but they can't grow anything on the dry land except peanuts.
"And there's the dowry money. Wu Niang, give me more!" A trace of fatigue flashed across the eldest wife's face. "Anyway, she has always been well-behaved and obedient in front of me."
Mother Xu smiled and said, "I will tell Miss Fifth. She is a well-behaved girl and will definitely accept your kindness."
The first wife sneered: "You want to impress the master by dying, huh..."
Mother Xu didn't dare to say anything.
For a moment, the room was silent.
A little maidservant reported through the curtain: "Madam, the master is back!"
The eldest wife winked at Madam Xu, who nodded slightly, and the curtain was drawn aside with a swish. The eldest master walked in with a sullen face.
"When will that evil boy come?" As he said this, he sat down opposite the first wife.
"Just these two days!" said the eldest wife, "I have already asked Madam Xu to clean up the house."
Mother Xu had personally served tea to the master, and then led the servants in the room to leave.
"Master," the first wife sighed, "drink some tea to calm yourself down. Don't get sick from anger."
The master took the teacup and his expression eased slightly.
"Children are young, and it's common for them to make mistakes." The eldest wife gently advised the eldest master, "But I am very worried about the two concubines. They have been in the Luo family for decades, and they have never left the house. If they have any conspiracy, I really can't think of it. Moreover, no matter how confused Brother Sheng is, there are Wu Xiaoquan and others at home. They will definitely arrange people to follow him to the temple fair. I think it's more likely to be bad than good. But the fourth concubine chose to die at this time. Yuhang is a small place. If this gets out, our Luo family will lose face. And it will be bad for the reputation of the fourth master. And it just happened that the fifth and tenth concubines were talking about marriage. It's really worrying."
The master snorted harshly after hearing this and said, "Throw Yang into the mass grave!"
The eldest wife was delighted, but said with a worried look on her face: "Master is talking nonsense again. How can he throw Fourth Aunt into a mass grave? My idea is to keep this news secret for the time being, and wait until Fifth and Tenth Aunt are married, and then hold a funeral for Fourth Aunt. What do you think?"
The master hesitated for a moment: "Does Shi Niang know?"
"I haven't told her yet." The first wife said, "You also know that our family has not been like before in recent years, and we can't afford to marry off our daughter. Whether it's the Duke of Mao's Mansion or Mr. Qian, they are both first-class marriages. If you miss this opportunity, you may never get it again..."
The eldest master listened with his mouth slightly twitching. Just as he was about to say something, the eldest wife said, "I know that you are not satisfied with these two marriages. But think about it, how old are our two daughters? Besides, the fourth daughter of the second house, the legitimate daughter, had a dowry of 3,000 taels of silver, but what happened in the end? Didn't the second brother's wife spend money and favors to finally find a juren..."
"Okay, okay." He felt guilty when he mentioned Master Qian, "Just make the decision!"
The eldest wife smiled slightly, and a little maid said through the curtain: "Eldest wife, Sister Yanhong from the Yongping Marquis's Mansion is here."
Yanhong is Yuanniang's personal maid.
The two were startled, and the curtain was opened with a "swish", and a beautiful woman rushed in: "Madam, come on, Madam, Madam, something is wrong."
The eldest wife heard a buzzing sound in her head and then she fell sideways.
The master was so frightened that his face turned pale. He pinched the first wife's philtrum and shouted, "Quick, go get the doctor!" He then said, "Call the eldest mistress!" He turned around and blamed Yanhong, "Can't you take a breath before talking!"
Yanhong didn't know what to say when she saw this scene, but in her heart she was thinking about the shocking blood that Yuanniang spat on her clothes.
* * * * * *
"Mother, it's often said that you teach your son in front of the hall and your wife by your bedside. But the Marquis, he didn't tell me anything..." The pale and thin Yuan Niang lay quietly on the bed, her clothes and bedding were clean, and there was a faint scent of jasmine. Her big eyes were filled with tears, "You know that I like Jiang Bai's daughter, but you insist on betrothing Jiang Song's daughter... You don't even think about the fact that Jiang Song's daughter is only ten months younger than Zhun Ge. Women are not as good at aging as men. When the time comes, won't she be like Zhun Ge's mother..."
"Yes, yes, yes." The old lady nodded continuously: "It's all Xiao Si's fault. I will definitely say something bad about him." The eldest wife held her daughter-in-law's hand, "I'll let him accompany you."
The couple had an argument, no, they didn't even have an argument, but she wanted the husband, a senior official in the court, to apologize to his wife. If this were to get out, she would definitely be labeled a shrew.
Yuanniang leaned weakly on the pillow, shook her head gently, and a smile appeared on the corner of her mouth. She didn't know whether she was laughing at herself or at the lady.
When I turned my head again, I saw a pair of black and white boots under the screen in front of the bedroom door.
At this time, at this place, who else could be here except Xu Lingyi?
Is he standing behind the screen because he feels guilty towards himself or because he disdains to see me?
A trace of mockery flashed across her eyes, and she said quietly, "Mom, do you still remember what happened when I first entered the mansion?"
Yuanniang suddenly mentioned this and the lady was stunned.
"At that time, my second sister-in-law was still in charge." She showed a look of reminiscence, "I heard that the two rabbits in the back garden were fostered by the Queen, so I took the initiative to ask my second sister-in-law to feed the two rabbits every day. In the end, the two rabbits died. You took a lot of effort to find two identical ones to get away with it."
The lady smiled as she listened: "You were crying so hard while holding the rabbit cage!"
"At that time, I thought that my second sister-in-law was your favorite, and my third sister-in-law was smart and good at speaking. I was not as good as them in everything, so I tried to take the lead in everything to please you." As she said this, Yuanniang grabbed the lady's hand and said, "Mother, I really want to be your good wife. I'm just stupid and always fail to do well. Don't blame me..."
She saw the boots behind the screen move a few times uncomfortably.
Listening to these words that sounded like a last will, and looking at her daughter-in-law's face that was so pale that it was transparent, the old lady couldn't help but feel a little moist in the corners of her eyes: "I have always known that you are filial. Don't say anything more, just take care of yourself." As she said this, she personally took the small blue and white porcelain bowl from the tray placed by the maid beside her.
There were thinly sliced ginseng in the bowl.
"Here, take one."
Yuan Niang shook her head. Her dark eyes looked at the lady steadily, revealing a sincerity: "Mother, I'm fine. I just want to talk to you."
"Please take this into account before you speak." The lady coaxed her with a smile, and her tone was doting as if she were treating a child.
Yuanniang politely declined: "I will put it in my mouth when I sleep later, the effect will be better."
The lady knew her temper and thought what she said made sense, so she didn't force her. She sighed softly and handed the bowl to the maid beside her: "Then remember to take a ginseng slice before going to bed!"
"Yes!" Yuanniang nodded obediently.
Since my wife said she had something to tell me, it was nothing more than what had happened today that had made her so angry that she vomited blood. I had just received the marriage certificate, and there were still many things to do in the future. It was impossible to bypass my mother.
As the thought flashed through her mind, the lady spoke first: "Yuan Niang, we were wrong in Zhun Ge's matter. Although Jiang Song's daughter is only ten months younger than Zhun Ge, Jiang Song has no official position. Our family is a meritorious family, and we have a queen. If we want to live in peace and safety, we can only act cautiously, keep a low profile and be tolerant..." There was a hint of guilt on her face.
"Mother, I know." Yuan Niang interrupted the lady with a smile, "You and the Marquis are both knowledgeable people. I know you did this for a reason. I was just angry that the Marquis didn't discuss it with me." As she spoke, she pursed her lips and smiled, "Mother, that's not what I wanted to say. I'm just afraid that once I close my eyes, I will never have the chance to tell you what's in my heart again!"
The more Yuanniang refused to tell him the truth, the more it showed that she was keeping it in her heart.
But in this situation, the lady couldn't insist on talking about this topic.
She had no choice but to pretend to be angry and put on a stern face: "Nonsense. You are still young? Zhun Ge hasn't married yet, and I'm counting on you to take care of me in my old age..." As she spoke, she thought that her wife had been just holding on over the past few years, and tears welled up in the corners of her eyes.
"I know my own business!" Yuanniang glanced at the screen, her voice lowered with a hint of sadness, "I am the eldest daughter in the family, and my parents treat me like a treasure. Later, when I married here, you treated me as your own daughter, and the Marquis respected me in everything. There is nothing to regret for a woman to be like me. But I can't bear to leave Zhun Ge, I can't bear to leave you, I can't bear to leave... the Marquis..." As she spoke, tears fell down her face, and she sobbed a few times, as if she couldn't breathe for a moment, and suddenly she covered her chest and coughed.
※
The update may take until the early morning, so go to sleep first and watch it tomorrow...