"Don't feel wronged. You two have higher status than me now. One is the Nine-Sky Cat King and the other is the Nine-Sky Crow King. I haven't been crowned king yet. What do you have to feel wronged about? You will never fall out of favor with me. You will always be my beloved Baimei'er." Jane Ning comforted it for a few words, and it became happy. It jumped a few times on Guoguo's back to show that it accepted her comfort.
Jane Ning was really worried that one day it would transform into a human form, like a spirit.
"Madam, why are you here instead of resting at home?" Ding Youtian asked after opening the door.
"I was just saying that you woke me up while I was sleeping soundly. I was dreaming about a big plate full of lobsters, and I was just reaching out to take it when you woke me up. How annoying!" Jane Ning glared at him.
"Madam, you are talking about shrimp, right?"
"Why, you know lobsters?"
"My master loves this dish. Because it's shaped like a dragon, it was originally called lobster. Later, because the word 'dragon' offended the emperor, it was changed to shrimp. Every year when it's in season, it's sold in large restaurants in the capital and the prefectures, but the quantity is small and it's very expensive. Few ordinary people eat it. How could I not know about it? Some people even make lanterns out of shrimp shells."
"There should be some in Lao Liu's restaurant. I once heard Master say that it's in season from May to September every year. If Madam wants to eat there, she can go there on her way back to Beijing. What's the problem?"
Ding Youtian said, smiling and reaching out to touch her belly, "I think it's not the Madam who wants to eat, but our child who wants to eat."
"Stop bothering me. It's getting late. Go back and get some rest." Jian Ning nodded his chin towards the guqin on the table. "Put it back to where it belonged for Uncle Liu. Don't forget to find it when he comes back."
"Master has not played the zither in the past few years. Anyway, I haven't seen him play the zither in the past few years. I don't know where he went. I don't know if I can see him again in this life. Sigh."
He sighed, picked up the guqin again, and tapped it with his fingers. "The wood of this guqin is very fine. It's a pity to leave it here. Master once said that I can take anything in his room that I can use. Tomorrow I will ask Jinyu if he can tune it for me and teach me. Let's go."
The next day, he took his zither and went to the town to find Yang Jinyu. There were few sons of officials who didn't know how to play the zither, chess, calligraphy and painting. These were almost compulsory courses since childhood.
"Master, this zither is very valuable. It belongs to Nan Xiang, right? It is a great regret in your life that you didn't learn from such a famous teacher like Nan Xiang!" Yang Jinyu felt sorry for him after seeing the zither.
"Don't talk nonsense, just tune it for me right away if you can."
Ding Youtian stayed in Pu Ren Hall for about an hour. When he was about to leave, he had just left the hall and was still talking to Yang Jinyu at the door when a carriage drove by and stopped. Ding Zhu and a maid holding a child got out of the carriage, "Fourth Uncle."
She bowed gracefully to Ding Youtian.
His demeanor seems more dignified and steady than before. I guess he has made a lot of progress in recent years.
Ding Youtian chatted with her for a while, asking about Lord Yang's recent situation. He learned that Lord Yang had also been promoted to an official in the capital and was on his way to the capital with his wife. He instructed Ding Zhu, "Only tell your parents that you met us in Yancheng when you go back. Don't mention it to your grandparents, not a single word. Do you remember that?"
"Don't worry, fourth uncle. Your niece won't have to worry about it." Ding Zhu bowed slightly again.
Tong Bajin drove over. Ding Youtian looked at the child in the maid's arms. It looked less than a year old. He felt around in her arms and didn't have anything good to give. Yang Jinyu was about to go into the store to get something, but he stopped her. He said to Ding Zhu, "I'll ask your fourth aunt to make up for it after we go to the capital. Go back first."
Ding Zhu thanked him and turned around to get on the carriage with the maid.
Ding Youtian asked Tong Bajin to drive the carriage past Ding Zhu's and head to the village first.
On the day Ding Zhu brought the child home, Old Ding and Mrs. Meng had a big fight because the inkstone Ding Zhu bought for Ding Quan was better than the one he bought for Ding Fu. Ding Quan and Ding Fu were both studying in the clan school. Ding Fu complained a few words to Mrs. Meng, and when Mrs. Meng heard it, she immediately rushed into the eldest son's house and ordered Ding Zhu to exchange the inkstone for Ding Quan with that for Ding Fu immediately.
All the things brought to her mother's family were picked out by Ding Zhu herself in the store. When she bought the inkstone, she only gave Ding Quan that one, and the other inkstone was not distributed by her. When she arrived home, Ding Quan and Ding Fu were still in the clan school, and it was Gao and Meng who picked them out.
Old Mrs. Meng didn't care about all this. She wanted Ding Zhu to exchange it back. Ding Zhu thought that Mrs. Gao was not an easy person to deal with and she didn't want to offend her, so she declined.
Old Mrs. Meng was furious. She jumped up and started to curse Ding Zhu's past. Ding Zhu was accompanied by the servants and boys from the Yang residence. Ding Zhu was so angry that she wanted to bang her head against the wall. After Liu and Mrs. Meng had a fight, she cried all the way with her hair disheveled. She first wanted to go to the old house, but then she realized that was not right and went back to the headmaster's house with tears in her eyes.
Jian Ning and Ding Youtian only found out about this after hearing about it from Erniu and Sanniu. Erniu and Sanniu reconciled after waking up. They were playing in the village and heard the noise, so they went to see the excitement. When they got home, they imitated it for Jian Ning.
Sanniu said, "Mom, my elder sister cried and wanted to commit suicide, my uncle squatted at the door crying with his head in his hands, and my aunt and..."
"And her mother-in-law." Erniu saw Sanniu pause, thinking she didn't know how to address Old Mrs. Meng. She took over and continued to imitate her for Jian Ning, "They started fighting and grabbed each other a few times. The eldest aunt went to the village head's house crying."
Jian Ning pointed at them and said, "From now on, no matter what happens in the village, whether it's a quarrel or a fight, you two are not allowed to go and peek in. There's no good in the quarrel, and hearing a lot of nonsense won't do you any good. If you dare to learn those words and use them to curse others, I'll tell you how I'll deal with you two. Do you understand?"
Old Madam Meng cursed profusely. Jian Ning knew exactly what she was going to say. She glanced at Ding Youtian and said, "Lord Yang and his wife are good people. You have a lot of ideas. See how we can resolve this. If we continue to make a fuss, it will only damage Lord Yang's reputation."
Ding Youtian smiled slightly and said, "This matter is easy to solve. I'll go to the village head's house."
When he arrived at the headman's house, Liu was still crying and accusing Meng. When she saw Ding Youtian coming, she felt a little weak, afraid that he would think they had too many troubles, so she quickly wiped her tears, turned aside and lowered her head.
The headman was smoking a cigarette. He was really impressed by Old Ding and Mrs. Meng. He was really troubled by these two old guys. They would cause trouble every now and then, making everyone in a mess.
"Look at what a commotion you've caused. You've even alarmed your nephew Youtian again." The village head threw down his pipe and was about to stand up when Ding Youtian stepped forward and pressed him on the shoulder. "No need, uncle. You're the elder. Just sit still."
The village head sighed and glanced at Liu who was standing beside him. "Are you here for that incident?"
Ding Youtian lowered his hand and said with a smile, "Exactly. This isn't difficult. Listen to me."
When Liu heard this, she pricked up her ears.
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