So shameless!
Yang Jinyu covered his face, deeply impressed by Huo Jincheng's ability to display shamelessness so vividly. He had just gone to the toilet in the middle of playing chess, and when he passed by Jian Ning's room, he remembered that he still had the medical fee on him, so he took it out and gave it to Jian Ning.
Jian Ning asked casually, isn't it five hundred taels?
Yang Jinyu then went to Huo Jincheng in a rage. Wasn't this a blatant attempt to sow discord between him and his master? Huo Jincheng was still courting death. Not only did he show no remorse, but he even used the lamps to threaten him.
Shameless, shameless! He glared at Huo Jincheng angrily and waved his fist at him. Huo Jincheng glanced at his small fist and refused to shake even a finger.
Jian Ning felt that one hundred taels of silver was more than enough for the medical fee. She was only called here by Yang Jinyu. When she heard Huo Jincheng talking about the energy-saving lamps, she rolled her eyes at him, too lazy to argue with him, and turned around to continue making dumplings.
Ding Youtian was very happy. He walked up and patted Huo Jincheng on the shoulder, feeling guilty for his previous suspicion of Jian Ning.
Huo Jincheng saw him turn around and follow Jian Ning, and gave him a sympathetic look. Although he didn't know who gave these lanterns to Jian Ning, but Jian Ning kept it a secret from Ding Youtian, he was sure there was something fishy going on.
The dumplings were wrapped and each of Huo Jincheng's followers had a portion.
Ding Youtian went to the kitchen to light the fire and told Chang to go home and rest as they would be busy all day tomorrow.
Chang brought the cooked hangover soup to Jian Ning, who took it and turned to call Meixiang to take the dumplings in the winnowing basket to the kitchen to cook. Since it was her master and the people she brought with her that wanted to eat, it was natural for her to cook.
Meixiang agreed and took the winnowing basket to the kitchen. Since her master was there, she naturally wanted to perform well, otherwise she would not help with cooking.
She stepped into the kitchen, but she didn't expect Ding Youtian to be sitting in front of the stove and making a fire. Although she was shocked by Jian Ning's cruelty before, she glanced at Ding Youtian at this moment. In the light of the fire, his profile was so handsome that her heart was beating like a deer.
Meixiang's family, though originally from the capital, were commoners. She was sold into slavery at the Huo Mansion. The Huo family had over ten legitimate and illegitimate sons, and the best outcome for a maid was to be chosen by the master and become a concubine. But since she entered the Huo Mansion, she had never had the opportunity to serve the masters up close. Otherwise, she wouldn't have turned her attention to Miss Sun, Ah Man.
Moreover, it is not easy to be a concubine in a wealthy family. There is a mistress above you who puts pressure on you. If you make a mistake accidentally, the mistress can sell you at will. You are treated like an object, as worthless as grass.
Meixiang may not be young, but she's quite capable. After she won Ah Man's affection, she had more opportunities to see Huo Jincheng. Huo Jincheng was the eldest son of the Huo family, but he was cold as ice. No one in the Huo family dared to talk about Ah Man's mother. Meixiang only knew that Ah Man's mother was a woman of a different race, and that she and her eldest son had secretly betrothed to each other and gave birth to Ah Man.
Meixiang usually didn't dare to look at Huo Jincheng, so how could she dare to have any ideas about him? Her best way out was to serve Ah Man well and be promoted to a first-class maid, only then would she have the chance to be assigned to a prominent servant in the mansion. She had originally thought that this was her fate.
But now she didn't think so. Ding Youtian had the right look for her. His smile was as gentle as jade, and his words were kind. Although he had several children, was more than ten years older than her, and came from the countryside, he had a family business. The three girls could be married off, or sold into slavery like she had, to a wealthy family. Not only would they not be a burden to her, but they could also earn her a fortune. Most importantly, Ding Youtian was literate and might even pass the imperial examination, which was far better than marrying a servant.
After thinking about this, Meixiang forgot about Jian Ning. The water boiled, and she deliberately raised her wrist when putting dumplings into the pot. The boiling water splashed, and she screamed, her body tilted, and fell towards Ding Youtian.
"Be careful!" Ding Youtian also exclaimed. When the boiling water splashed, he instinctively leaned back. Meixiang fell right into his arms and knocked him to the ground.
He reached out to push Meixiang away, but Meixiang took advantage of the situation and hugged him tightly. Tian Shi happened to come in and saw this and shouted, "What are you doing? You little bitch, I'm going to beat you to death!"
Tian was furious and grabbed the spatula from the stove. Ding Youtian quickly pushed Meixiang away and climbed up, reaching out to Tian and shouting, "Sister Tian, listen to me. It's not what you think..."
Meixiang was afraid of Tian, so she hid behind Ding Youtian, tugging at his robe and crying softly. Jian Ning came over and saw this scene.
"What's going on?" She looked at Ding Youtian.
"My dear, listen to me, what happened was not what Sister Tian saw..."
"What did I see?" Tian interrupted him angrily, "They were both hugging each other, and now you're still protecting this little devil. You, you, brother, you're such a disappointment!"
Ding Youtian became more and more anxious and confused. He stamped his foot and tried to pry Meixiang's hands apart, saying, "Why don't you say something? Stop crying and explain to my wife what's going on!"
"I, what can I say? Aunt Ma has seen it all, what else can I say..."
"Ah? How could you, how could you, talk nonsense like that?"
Meixiang stole a glance at Jian Ning, seeing her standing there silently, expressionless, and her panic subsided. Things had already come to this, and Ding Youtian couldn't explain it, so she decided to stir up trouble and sobbed, covering her face.
The four little ones, Ah Man, and the three Ma brothers rushed in upon hearing the noise. Ah Man asked, "Sister Meixiang, why are you crying? Who bullied you?"
Dabao snorted coldly: "Which eye of yours saw anyone bullying her?"
Ma Xiaomi shouted, "Dabao, she wants to be your stepmother! My mother called her a little witch, I heard it all, she must have seduced your father."
"Go away! Who let you in? What nonsense are you talking about?" Tian slapped Ma Xiaomi on the back and said, "Children, don't meddle in adult matters. Go out and play."
Tian drove them out.
Erniu yelled, "We don't want a stepmother, you ugly bastard! My daddy won't like you!"
"Yes, he looks like Zhu Bajie." Ma Xiaodou also shouted: "Yaoyao and her mother are both fairies. You are so ugly and you dare to be Yaoyao's stepmother? You are dreaming!"
Huo Jincheng, Yang Jinyu and Ma Fuquan also came over. Meixiang looked at her son and burst into tears, then covered her face and ran to the backyard.
"It's okay, go play your chess, the dumplings will be ready soon." Jian Ning went to the pot to cook dumplings, and called Ding Youtian: "Add more firewood, what are you standing there for?"
Tian also hurriedly winked at Ma Fuquan and pulled him out, then called to Huo Jincheng and Yang Jinyu, "It's okay, it's okay. Go play your chess. I'll call you when the dumplings are ready. I'll go see if the wine has been served."
After they all left, only Jian Ning and Ding Youtian were left in the kitchen. Jian Ning pointed the spatula at Ding Youtian, glanced towards the backyard, and said to him with a half-smile, "Go check on your little darling, don't let him jump into the cesspool."
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