The second girl
She actually came to Heqin
Guo Honglei was completely confused, and he almost suspected that he was dizzy from rushing so fast. He reined in his horse and jumped off.
"Look, it's the Second Young Master."
"The young master is back," the servants in the Guo residence rushed to greet him.
Jiang Yushu turned around upon hearing the voice, pleasantly surprised, "General Song has granted you leave."
"It's the old lady's birthday. It's rare that you have time to come home." Wang Qiaozhen greeted her with a smile. She watched the Jiang sisters and her second brother and thought to herself, "Ha, with the second brother back, it will be even more lively now."
According to custom, a captain could bring two personal guards with him when leaving the camp. Guo Honglei tossed his whip to his personal guard, strode with his head held high, and answered in a clear voice, "It's my mother's birthday. I should definitely come back when I have time." He stood beside his wife, first greeting his eldest sister-in-law, then looked at Jiang Yushan in surprise for a few seconds, then turned away and whispered, "Why is your sister here?"
"My sister-in-law and I just received someone and were wondering about this as well." Jiang Yushu whispered back.
Having been engaged and then broken off, it was inevitable that they would be awkward when they met. Guo Honglei, dressed neatly in military uniform, politely addressed her as "Second Miss."
The moment she found her beloved, Jiang Yushan's heart raced, a chorus of emotions, a surge of excitement. She clutched her handkerchief tightly and opened her mouth, but couldn't utter the word "brother-in-law," nor could she address him as "Second Young Master." She lowered her head in despair, straining to maintain composure before finally calling out, "Brother-in-law."
Guo Honglei nodded, not wanting to talk any more, and looked around, then asked his wife, "Did your sister just arrive?"
"Yeah. We were just about to go into the house when you came back." Jiang Yushu looked at the carriage following the warhorse, smiled knowingly, and asked with certainty, "Is that cousin Liao in our carriage?"
Guo Honglei replied briefly, "When I passed by Liu Village, Brother Gong was about to leave, so we came back together to celebrate Mother's birthday."
Tsk, Liao Xiaodie is here again, causing trouble. Wang Qiaozhen has always disliked the "vixen distant cousin" and is very unhappy. Seeing her sister-in-law's lively smile fade a little.
In a flash, the carriage stopped, Gong Yipeng got out, and turned to support his wife. Liao Xiaodie appeared. The "apricot spots" and redness, swelling, and ulcers on her face had healed, but two scars remained on her left cheek. They were not deep or obvious, and could only be seen clearly when looking closely.
As the daughter-in-law of the Guo family, Jiang Yushu took a few steps to greet them and said with a smile, "Cousin, brother-in-law. The old lady has been thinking about you all the time and finally waited for you to come."
"I'm so ashamed, so ashamed." With all his property confiscated, Gong Yipeng was strapped for cash. Wearing the clothes Guo Honglei had left at his old home in Liu Village, he apologized and explained, "We've wanted to come and pay our respects to your great-aunt since your cousin recovered. It's just that the recent heavy rains made the roads muddy and difficult to travel, so we've been delayed until now."
Jiang Yushu smiled, raised her hand and said, "No problem. Please, everyone, please come in and sit down. It's so lively today, the old lady must be very happy."
"Please." As the eldest daughter-in-law, Wang Qiaozhen had to cheer up and receive the guests.
Seeing this, the escorts were immediately anxious. The escort leader hurried forward, but was stopped by the soldiers for questioning. He hurriedly explained the reason and begged his employer to pay the full reward. The soldiers reported the truth. Guo Honglei was stunned after hearing it. He gestured to his wife to avoid the crowd in the crowd and whispered, "So Yushan owed the escort agency a reward?"
"It seems so, but I haven't had the time to ask her in detail." Jiang Yushu sighed calmly, thinking that in the eyes of the world, after all, "you can't write two Jiang characters with one stroke", and it is not appropriate for the elder sister to openly ignore her younger sister.
The sister-in-law's reputation was a matter of great importance to both the Jiang family and his wife. Guo Honglei could not sit idly by and whispered, "My men have asked, and the escort leader said there's still one final payment left, two hundred and fifty taels of silver."
Idiot Jiang Yushu almost laughed out loud on the spot.
Guo Honglei glanced at his sister-in-law, whom he was almost going to marry, frowned, and made a quick decision. He asked seriously, "What do you think we should do?"
The so-called sister could just walk away, but the Guo family settled in Heqin and had to maintain their reputation. Jiang Yushu hesitated for a moment and replied helplessly, "What else can I do? I can't refuse to pay the debt in front of the family. I'll pay it off first."
"Well, it's up to you." Guo Honglei was wise and didn't say another word. He was busy entertaining the guests.
Jiang Yushu's expression remained calm as she softly instructed, "Cui'er, go back to your room and take out two hundred and fifty taels of silver from my pocket to pay the escort."
"Yes." Cuimei bent her knees and hurried to get the silver.
Jiang Yushu breathed a sigh of relief, thinking to herself that she must find a way to get the money back. Jiang Yushan was short of money, but her mother was wealthy. I don’t have the spare money to raise someone else’s daughter.
The next moment
"Second Uncle"
The uncle and nephew put down their homework and rushed out of the study. Guo Yu ran over, very happy. The fat boy shouted, "Second uncle, you are finally home!"
"Second brother." Guo Hongzhe and Guo Hongxuan surrounded their elder brother and greeted Gong Yipeng and his wife. In fact, they had already heard about the visitor, but when they heard it was Jiang Yushan, they decided not to show up and let their sister-in-law handle it.
Guo Honglei responded one by one, rubbed his nephew's head, and said happily, "Not bad, you have grown taller."
There were dozens of people at the gate of the mansion, plus neighbors who heard the noise and came out to check it out, talking and chatting, making it very lively.
"Let's go." Wang Qiaozhen took Jiang Yushan's hand and led her over the threshold, saying warmly, "It's a mess outside, come inside. We haven't seen each other for many years, let's have a good chat."
"Madam, please." Jiang Yushan stepped forward, glancing at her beloved, dressed in military uniform. Her heart ached. Back then, the Xu family had orchestrated a plan, successfully securing her daughter's place among the capital's noble ladies and securing her an engagement with the second son of the Marquis of Jingyang. The young woman, newly embroiled in love, met Guo Honglei and fell in love at first sight, her heart unable to hold onto another man.
Who knew that things are unpredictable, the man who was supposed to be my husband turned out to be my brother-in-law
In a short while, a group of people rushed into the main hall.
Suddenly a group of strangers came. The baby lying next to the grandmother and playing turned his head. His big black and white eyes were watery and bright, and he made a baby voice and wooooooowed a few times.
"Old Madam," Wang Qiaozhen let go of Jiang Yushan's hand, and approached her mother-in-law like a gust of wind, and asked affectionately, "Look, they all came here specially to celebrate your birthday. Are you happy?"
"Happy, of course I'm happy. Oh, when the servant told me just now, I thought I had heard it wrong." Wang was delighted and smiled from ear to ear, squinting her presbyopic eyes to scan the younger generations.
Guo Honglei strode forward with great vigor, knelt on both knees and kowtowed, saying respectfully, "Son pays respects to mother."
"Hurry up." Wang smiled, her wrinkles smoothing out. She couldn't wait to ask, "How are you doing in Yongzhou? Have the enemy soldiers caused any trouble recently?"
Guo Honglei shook his head. He always reported good news but not bad news. "It's fine. The border has been peaceful recently. You don't have to worry." After he finished speaking, he gave up his place to greet his son and stepped aside. He noticed that his son had been looking at him. While feeling happy, he carefully looked at the baby lying flat on his back.
Immediately afterwards, Gong Yipeng and his wife brought their daughter Baozhu to pay their respects and greet the guests.
"Xiaodie, are you healed now?" Wang was very old, and even if she squinted her eyes, she could not see the shallow scars on Liao Xiaodie's body covered by makeup.
Although Liao Xiaodie had no evidence, she was convinced that Wang Qiaozhen had secretly disfigured her. She hated her to the core, but appeared normal on the surface. She replied respectfully, "Thank you for your concern, old lady. I'm fully recovered."
Humph, you dare to offend me, you deserve to be disfigured. Wang Qiaozhen snuggled up to her mother-in-law, smiling, feeling relieved.
Finally, Jiang Yushu gave a gentle push and said with a smile, "Sister, come and meet the old lady."
"Yushan pays her respects to the old lady." Jiang Yushan knelt down and bowed straight.
At the head of the table, Wang stared intently at the girl she had personally chosen as her second daughter-in-law, a wave of emotion welling up in her. She was lost in thought for a moment, unable to raise any questions in public, so she replied kindly, "Get up. Sit down, everyone. Serve the tea quickly."
When relatives come to visit, the daughter-in-law is very busy, and the sisters-in-law are responsible for arranging tea, meals and guest rooms.
Jiang Yushu had just ordered the maid to put the cakes in place, and when she took a breath, she looked up and saw her husband sitting beside the low couch, reaching out to pick up the child.
"Don't," Wang hurriedly stopped him, whispering, "You're so tired. You can only hold Ye'er after you take a bath. A child this young can't stand getting dirty."
Guo Honglei could only nod, "Yes."
There was a slight "click" sound on the couch. The baby kicked his legs, punched the mat with his fists, turned over with a roll, lay on his stomach with his head raised, and babbled to his father.
The father and son looked at each other. Guo Honglei's eyes were focused and there was a smile in them. He listened attentively for a while and asked curiously, "What is he talking about?"
"Only he himself knows what the gibberish means." Jiang Yushu couldn't help laughing. She went closer, took out a handkerchief, and wiped the child's saliva.
The hall was bustling with activity. Guo Yu not only enjoyed the hustle and bustle, but was also happy not to have to study. He ran over and replied, "I know my brother must be paying his respects to my second uncle."
"Oh," Guo Honglei believed it and said to the baby majestically, "Not bad."
Liao Xiaodie took the opportunity to compliment him, "Look, both children are white and plump, Yu'er is smart and sensible, Ye'er is lively and cute, even our Baozhu has become stronger. The old lady really knows how to raise children."
"Yes." Gong Yipeng hugged his daughter and expressed his sincere gratitude. "Zhu'er is indeed much stronger. I really apologize for your worry. I am ashamed of you."
Once someone started, the others would inevitably chime in, talking at once and complimenting the elders.
"Hahaha"
"No, they are still young and very naughty. They are far from being sensible." Wang doted on her grandsons and protected them like precious treasures. She loved to hear people praise her grandsons as "fat, sensible and lively" and she would smile when she heard it.
The whole room was filled with laughter, but Jiang Yushan felt very uncomfortable, trying to hold on. She witnessed Guo Honglei teasing his son with her own eyes, feeling sad and bitter, and extremely uncomfortable. She gritted her teeth and kept smiling.
After about two quarters of an hour of greeting and chatting, the guest was invited by the servants to go to the guest room, wash up and rest, and then have lunch.
The courtyard was bustling with activity until the welcoming banquet in the evening, when it gradually became quiet.
Behind the screen in the east wing
After working up a sweat during the day, Jiang Yushu finished her housework before she had time to take care of herself.
The sound of water is roaring and the mist is thick.
Jiang Yushu leaned against the bathtub, taking a bath while thinking about how to deal with her sister.
After an unknown amount of time, a voice suddenly rang out from behind her: "What are you thinking about?"
"Ah ...
"It's me, don't shout." Guo Honglei was quick to cover her mouth. "If you shout, people outside will think there's a thief."
Jiang Yushu struggled to break free, gasping in fear. She turned around and pressed herself against the tub, grabbing the edge of the tub with her left hand and reaching out to hit him with her right hand. She asked in shock, "When did you come in? It's so scary!"
Guo Honglei raised an eyebrow and easily grabbed her wrist. "You just came in. You were clearly in a daze and didn't even hear the door open."
"How is it?" Jiang Yushu came back to her senses and immediately asked, "Did you get any news?"
"If I had nothing, how could I dare to come to see the madam?" Guo Honglei took off his outer robe, threw it on the screen, and then untied the belt of his inner garment.
Jiang Yushu was stunned. "What are you doing?"
"Take a bath." Guo Honglei also threw his undershirt on the screen, leaving his strong upper body bare. "Let's take a bath together. We don't have to change the water and wait."
Since getting married, the couple has never bathed together.
Jiang Yushu suddenly felt embarrassed and said hurriedly, "I'm done. If you don't mind, continue washing."
"Really?" Guo Honglei smiled, supporting himself on the edge of the bucket with his arms, leaning over, forcing her to subconsciously retreat into the water, and asked seriously, "My men have heard a shocking piece of news. Do you want to hear it right away?"
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