Chapter 394 Extra 4
Pei Dan shouted joyfully, hugged her mother happily, and said, "Remember to tell me when you come." Then she hurriedly said hello to Gu Xi, "Auntie, I'm leaving first. Come visit us when you have time."
Gu Xi wanted to ask her "when", but then she remembered that Pei Dan always said this every time he met her, but he never really sent her a message. She once half-jokingly and half-seriously asked Pei Dan when he would invite her to his home. What did Pei Dan answer her? It seemed that she said that the mother-in-law was in charge of the family affairs and she had no right to make decisions. But everyone in the capital knew that Madam Qin always praised the daughter-in-law she personally selected. Pei Dan's words were just an excuse.
Maybe after the separation, she is no longer Pei Dan's formal sister-in-law.
Pei Dan doesn't have to respect her so much, right?
Thinking of this, Gu Xi still felt a little sad.
She wanted to make friends with officials in the capital, and a sister-in-law like Pei Dan was a good way to do this. If Pei Dan didn't associate with her, it would be a great loss for her.
But she couldn't force Pei Dan.
Their family was already inferior to Pei Dan's. If she continued to advance, she would be looked down upon even more.
These things flashed through her mind. She smiled secretly at herself and replied to Pei Dan, "Okay, let's get together again when we have time." Then she and the second wife sent Pei Dan out.
The second wife looked at her daughter's receding back and kept complaining to Gu Xi: "This child is getting more and more outrageous. I don't know how she lives in her mother-in-law's house? I think her mother-in-law is also a very disciplined person. What if one day she makes her mother-in-law dislike her?"
The second son of the Qin family got married a few years ago. His wife is a girl of equal status and was personally selected by Madam Qin as a daughter-in-law. She was pregnant and just gave birth to a son a few days ago. The second wife's worries are not unreasonable.
Gu Xi hurriedly comforted the second wife and asked the second young lady of the Pei family: "Is it true that you want to take the child with you to follow your aunt to take up your post?"
They used to correspond frequently a few years ago, but since the separation, their contacts have become less and less. Now, if she wants to know the news about the young ladies of the Pei family, she has to ask the second wife.
The second wife nodded with a smile and said, "You know, she is the most stubborn among the nieces. When she got married, we were all very worried about her. We told her to be more careful after getting married. She just ignored us. But I didn't expect that the second aunt is such a good person. She has not had a child for so many years, but the second aunt has never looked askance at her and has always treated her as before. Thanks to such an aunt, her temper has gradually softened. Now the clouds have finally cleared and the moon has appeared. For her, the second aunt was transferred to Huai'an Prefecture as a judge, and she has made up her mind to follow her aunt to take up the post. In this way, you give me a step and I give you a step, so that we can live a good life. As for the child, if there is one, there is one, if there is not, we can adopt one, it is not a big deal."
Gu Xi was very surprised.
She thought Miss Pei would make such a fuss that she would become estranged from her husband.
In the early years, because of the obstruction of Miss Pei's stepmother-in-law, she had many disputes with her husband. For a period of time, she even lived in Ku'an Temple and helped Ku'an Temple manage the Buddhist incense business.
The second wife smiled and said, "I didn't expect that either. I heard that the third aunt went back specially to visit her and advised her for several days."
The third daughter of the Pei family married back to her maternal family. Although her aunt was not very talented, she was honest and reliable and studied hard. The third daughter was also a sensible and indifferent person. She lived peacefully with her husband in her hometown to honor her parents-in-law. She was not jealous of her brothers who passed the imperial examinations and became officials. Her parents-in-law liked her personality and valued her especially among the other daughters-in-law. They gave her all the good things that her sons had given her.
Although their family is managed by the mother-in-law, in fact all household affairs have been handed over to the third young lady. Not only does she often promote the third young lady's reputation, making her reputation gradually grow in recent years and famous far and wide.
It is naturally best for her to advise on some matters.
Gu Xi thought of the Fourth Young Lady and couldn't help but laugh, "Is she still that fierce?"
The second wife glared at Gu Xi and said, "You can't say that." After she finished speaking, she also laughed.
The fourth young lady married into a family named Hu in Fuyang. Their ancestors had several governors and county magistrates. Because they were related to the family of the fourth young lady's aunt, her aunt mediated and the two got married. The fourth young lady married a lower-class man, and she was straightforward in her words. The people of the Hu family did not dare to neglect her, let alone stop her. As time went by, people in Fuyang thought that she had a hot temper and dared to say anything, and they were a little afraid of her.
This is something no one expected.
Gu Xi didn't want to expose the fourth young lady's scandal, she wanted to ask about the situation of the Hu family.
"I heard that when Fourth Auntie went back last time, she brought her younger aunt back with her." She said carefully, "I wonder if her younger aunt told her about it?"
Gu Xi still believed in the character of the Pei family from the bottom of her heart. She felt that since the Pei family could marry their daughter to the Hu family, the Hu family must have a good family tradition.
If Pei Fei could marry into the Hu family, not only would her relationship with the Pei family be further strengthened, but her relationship with Pei Fei would also be further strengthened, making it more difficult for the first wife to cause trouble.
She didn't want to waste all her energy on the first wife.
Pei Tong was about to leave, and she had to find a teacher to enlighten her son.
She didn't want her son to be like Pei Tong, who grew up in the hands of a woman, was indecisive, and didn't know what to do.
The second wife didn't want to have anything to do with the first wife, so she said, "Why don't you write a letter to ask the fourth aunt?"
The last time the fourth young lady brought her younger aunt to the Pei family, she wanted to use the Pei family's reputation to find a better family for her younger aunt.
At that time, Yu Tang had already returned to Lin'an. The Hu family and Yu Tang's sister-in-law's family were both in Fuyang. With Yu Tang's personality, she would have made this good connection.
However, that was all before the New Year. It’s a bit late for Gu Xi to talk about it. I wonder if Miss Hu’s marriage has been settled?
But Gu Xi also has his own concerns.
Pei Fei had been very disdainful of her before, so there was no need for her to bother with his affairs.
Now that he had dared to defy the First Wife, he was in the same boat with her, so she would naturally want their relationship to be better.
The two returned to the house, and Yuan Ge'er was dozing in his wet nurse's arms.
The second wife asked the nurse to take Yuan Ge'er downstairs to rest first: "Don't bother the child anymore. Wait until he falls asleep. You can stay here and have dinner before going back."
Gu Xi wanted to refuse at first, but then she remembered that Pei Tong would not be back for dinner today, and Pei Fei was so angry with the first wife that he went to stay in Daxiangguo Temple temporarily. She might as well not go back and let the first wife have dinner alone at home.
She also decided not to let anyone tell the first wife at this time, and that her people would report to the first wife when Yuan Ge'er woke up.
When the first wife has dinner is none of her business.
After all, she didn't expect the child to sleep for so long, right?
Gu Xi agreed with a smile, called He Xiang in, asked her to tell the first wife, and winked at He Xiang behind the second wife's back.
He Xiang understood, nodded with a smile, and stepped back.
The wet nurse held Yuan'er and rested in the second wife's green gauze closet.
The Second Wife was afraid of disturbing the children, so she and Gu Xi simply went to the small courtyard in the west where Gu Xi lived when he first came to the capital.
The courtyard has changed a lot since she moved out.
Camellias were planted in the place where peonies were originally planted, and a grape trellis and a rose wall were built in the yard. Although it was winter, the roses were still blooming brilliantly and were very bright.
The gardener was hired by Yu Tang. He was an honest man. He stood in front of the second wife and bowed stiffly, reporting the matter of tidying up the courtyard: "The place where the third wife lives is full of green trees according to the old custom. There are many flowers planted in the courtyard, which are different in each season. If you think it is inappropriate, I will transplant the flowers in the yard into pots and put them in the greenhouse before the weather gets completely cold."
"No need!" The Second Wife had no intention of changing Yu Tang's decision and said with a smile, "Even if this courtyard is for living, it is for the guests of the family. It would be better if there are flowers and scenery. As for the Third Wife, it's all the Third Master's quirks. You don't have to take it to heart."
The gardener breathed a sigh of relief.
The second wife was accompanied by her maid to see the plastered walls and the newly painted ceiling.
You can see that they are all very attentive.
She couldn't help but ask, "It cost a lot of money, didn't it?"
After saying this, I felt that I had said something wrong.
In the past few years, she has been taking care of the one and a half acres of land at home, and has to plan carefully for her daily necessities. She is not old yet, but she looks like a yellow-faced woman.
The Second Wife didn't think much about it and smiled, "Your Third Uncle is very good at everything he does. The family is getting more and more prosperous, and we have also benefited from it in the past few years."
In other words, the money for renovating the house came from the public.
Gu Xi really wanted to ask why Pei Yan didn't go out, but when she thought about the close relationship between the two Pei brothers, she swallowed the words in time.
When she returned home that night, the first wife was really angry and called her in to give her a severe lecture.
She had expected it.
When he came back, he sent the wet nurse to accompany Yuan Ge to rest first.
She lowered her head and let the eldest lady scold her.
The eldest wife was tired from scolding, and she went to rest with the help of the maid, panting. She tiptoed out of the room, and when she looked up, she saw Pei Tong standing under the eaves.
The bright red lantern shone on his face, which was cold and pale, with a frosty chill.
She was shocked and asked, "When did you come back? Why didn't you tell me you came back? Grandma just went to bed. How about...you come and greet her tomorrow morning?"
If it were any other time, Pei Tong would definitely not agree.
But this time, Pei Tong thought about it, nodded, and said to her calmly: "Let's go! The weather is quite cold, you should go back to the house and rest early!"
Gu Xi responded meekly and followed Pei Tong, but his heart was filled with joy.
If once doesn't work, try twice. If twice doesn't work, try three times... One day, she will make Pei Tong feel disgusted when she sees the First Madam and feel annoyed when she hears what the First Madam says.
The next morning, Pei Tong did not go to greet the first wife. She told Gu Xi that she had gone to the Daxiangguo Temple to look for Pei Fei: "We can't let him live in the temple forever."
When Gu Xi asked about the Yang family, Pei Tong also acted indifferently and said: "It's natural for relatives to help each other, but the money was left to my father by my grandfather, and the two uncles in the family were also in their prime, so they were in charge of it." Well, if you want to use that money, you have to say hello to your two uncles."
The implication is that it is not easy to do.
It just means to find an excuse not to lend it.
"Got it!" Gu Xi responded, grinning in his heart.
(End of this chapter)