Chapter 56: All Men Are Bad
"Mrs. Qiu? It's been a long time." Several ladies looked over, and the smiles on their faces instantly became more sincere.
Mrs. Qiu and Qiu Yuanzheng knew each other when they were young. They had a deep relationship for many years and had only one son and one daughter.
Even though Mrs. Qiu was frail and stayed at home to recuperate for many years after giving birth to her daughter, there was never a concubine or a maid in the house.
All the noble ladies in the capital envied her good fortune, and because of the cheerful personality that Mrs. Qiu had shown when they occasionally met before, everyone had a very good impression of her.
Mrs. Qiu smiled as she stepped up the stairs and urged, "Ladies, please walk faster. The sun is so strong, don't let the sun damage your delicate skin."
Several people subconsciously touched their faces and hurried to catch up.
The General's Mansion has been getting worse and worse over the years, and has long been weak inside. However, Old Madam Lin is too proud to lower herself and make friends with the families of lower-ranking officials, and she cannot reach the top of the social class.
Most of the ladies in the capital came from prominent families and they looked down upon Madam Lin's behavior. If Song Yanxi had not married into the family two years ago, they would not have bothered to associate with her at all.
Lin Tingye was also taught by her to have high expectations but low skills. Although he was an official in the court, he prided himself on being a clean official and was unwilling to "go along with the crowd". He was also arrogant and conceited, and was disliked by others. He was dissatisfied with the fact that few of his colleagues had any contact with him.
The general's mansion was usually deserted, and the doorman had never seen such a scene. By the time he realized what was happening and wanted to report it, several people had already entered the gate chatting and laughing.
Several ladies praised Mrs. Qiu for her good complexion and rosy face, saying she looked like a young girl in her twenties.
Mrs. Qiu smiled and said, "It's all thanks to Mr. Yan. If he hadn't been so generous and given me a bottle of elixir from the Divine Doctor Valley, I'm afraid I would still be lying in bed today."
"But the Valley of Miraculous Healers hidden in the mountains?"
"I heard earlier that the Yan family had a history with someone from the Divine Doctor Valley. I thought it was just a rumor, but I never thought it was true."
"Mrs. Qiu is so lucky. I'm sure Mr. Qiu must have put a lot of thought into finding the medicine."
Listening to the different words from several people, Mrs. Qiu just smiled in response, obviously unwilling to say more.
The doorman wanted to lead the ladies to the flower hall for tea, but before he could open his mouth, he happened to see Lin Tingxuan reluctantly seeing Doctor Lu out.
Seeing the ladies who had ignored them in the past appear in her home, she thought she was hallucinating. She pinched herself hard before she came to her senses and hurried forward to greet them.
"The man who just left seemed to be Doctor Lu from the east of the city, but who is sick in the mansion?" a lady asked with a faint smile.
Lin Tingxuan cursed her inwardly for bringing up such a topic, but she smiled brightly and said, "My mother just caught a cold. I just asked a doctor to come and take a look. She's fine."
Mrs. Qiu frowned. "In that case, it's really unfortunate that we came here."
"How could that be!" Lin Tingxuan was immediately anxious when she saw them leaving. She said hurriedly, "My mother didn't know you ladies were coming, so she wasn't prepared. Please move to the flower hall first. I'll go and invite my mother over."
As she spoke, she couldn't help but steal a glance at one of the ladies in a dark purple dress, and a hint of shyness flashed in her eyes.
Taking all of this in, Mrs. Qiu vaguely remembered that the wife of the Minister of Justice had a son who was outstanding in appearance and talent in the capital, and was at the age of marriage.
"Madam Lin is ill, there's no reason for her to get up and greet guests. We should be the ones visiting her."
Lin Tingxuan had never met Mrs. Qiu before. Seeing that she was quick-witted and easy to talk to, she thought of taking the opportunity to make a good impression in front of them, so she agreed immediately.
When she heard someone call her Mrs. Qiu on the way, she just thought the surname sounded a little familiar and didn't think of anything else at all.
In order to better show herself, she even said shamelessly that she had been living in Fushou Hall these days, taking care of Old Madam Lin every step of the way.
"Really? Then Miss Lin is truly filial." The Minister's wife smiled, her tone particularly meaningful.
The ladies looked at each other and smiled.
For some reason, when Lin Tingxuan saw their smiles, she didn't feel the joy of being praised. Instead, she felt a chill down her spine.
She couldn't afford to show her weakness in front of the mother of her beloved son, so she said, "Please wait at the door for a moment while I go in and inform my mother."
After she left, the Minister's wife was the first to turn cold, "The General's Mansion's habit of taking credit for itself is truly a passed-down tradition."
"Why do you say that, Madam Xu?"
Madam Xu sneered and told her what she had heard from her mother, about General Lin stealing merits on the battlefield, and how Zhou, who took care of the sick every day, was still forced by her evil mother-in-law to use her dowry to support Master Zhong.
Although the other people had heard about it, they did not know such details, and their faces changed immediately.
"I've always thought that the old lady of the Lin family was difficult to get along with, but I never thought she would do such a pathetic thing. No wonder the princess mentioned the divorce in public on the day General Lin returned home."
Madam Qiu said quietly, "It's easy to say. If divorce were as easy as it sounds, there wouldn't be any women in the world who are forced to die unjustly because they have nowhere to turn."
Women are more likely to empathize with each other. Although they didn't say anything, they had already silently taken sides in their hearts.
Inside the house, Madam Lin frowned and asked, "Did they really not mention anything else?"
These women have always looked down on their family by relying on their aristocratic backgrounds. Now they come uninvited, which does not seem like a good thing no matter how you look at it.
"Mother, are you thinking too much? I see that Madam Xu and the others have brought gifts. As the saying goes, you shouldn't hit a smiling person. You have to let someone in to say something." Lin Tingxuan said impatiently.
No one knows a daughter better than her mother. Madam Lin hesitated for a moment and said, "Please go and invite the person in. Be polite."
As she spoke, she instructed the people around her, "Take a few people to Lingxi Pavilion and fence off the yard for me. Don't let that Song out."
*
"The girl is getting more and more beautiful now." Zhuzhi picked up a pomegranate hairpin and inserted it into Song Yanxi's hair, unable to help but praise her.
Zhu Yu, who just happened to come in, joked, "Our bamboo branches are also beautiful. I really wonder which son will be so blessed in the future."
Zhuzhi stamped her feet shyly and said, "I won't get married. I want to stay with you forever and serve you until we grow old."
Recalling their miserable plight in their previous life, Song Yanxi curled the corners of her lips and said, "You are indeed at the age to discuss marriage."
The two said in unison: "We won't marry!"
Zhuzhi: "All men are bad."
Zhu Yu: "If I get married and can't show my face in public, how can I do business then?"
A few people were chatting and laughing when Zhu Lu came in through the curtain and said solemnly, "Miss, someone is coming from Fushou Hall."
"How dare they come!" The two bamboos made a move to walk out.
Song Yanxi stopped him and said, "Why are you so anxious? They are the ones who should be anxious."
She glanced at her reflection in the bronze mirror and stood up slowly. "My mother-in-law is ill, and as her daughter-in-law, I should go and take care of her. I can't let outsiders see and laugh at me."
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