Chapter 15 Chapter 15 An An, the Lu family will make you suffer...

Chapter 15 Chapter 15 An An, the Lu family will make you suffer...

During the years Cheng Yian had been in Yizhou, she seldom did needlework. Most of the time she was counting the accounts, helping her sister-in-law with the payment and handling personal relationships. She had long since forgotten these noble skills. Recalling her childhood in the Cheng family, she was also famous for her good skills. Now she couldn't embroider anything good and was afraid of arousing suspicion. After half a day's work, she managed to sketch out the shape of a forehead, but she was so unfamiliar with the stitches that she had no choice but to call Ruhui for help.

Ruhui sat on Jinwu below her, threading the needle while worrying, "What if she recognizes me?" She was also puzzled. Wasn't the girl very good at needlework? Why did she suddenly stop liking it?

Cheng Yian saw the doubt in her eyes, coughed lightly, and evaded the question, "My aunt said that needlework can hurt my eyes, so she didn't let me do it."

Cheng Yian felt guilty when he said this, but Lu Xusheng was not so considerate.

Ruhui thought about it and realized that she had not touched needlework since she got married. It seemed that although her aunt was a little blind, she was a considerate person. "You also did needlework for the old ancestor before. I was just afraid that I would recognize that the old lady had sent you..."

Cheng Yian consoled him, "Just do it first. There are dozens of girls in our Cheng family. Not to mention every year, even every day, someone sends handicrafts to our ancestor. Does our ancestor really look at them one by one? He just keeps them there to collect dust."

Ruhui smiled when she heard this, "That's right, not to mention the girls, there are also many wives, and the old ancestor is afraid that he will be overwhelmed by the choices every day."

Without any worries, Ruhui started to take action.

Cheng Yian drew a headband style for her and Ruhui did as she was told.

In fact, the wives and girls in the family only sew as a token of their appreciation, and the old lady in Beifu probably doesn't need it. Why? Beifu has a needlework room with as many as twenty needlework ladies in it, and there are countless apprentices and managers. Most of these needlework ladies were selected from Suzhou and learned from famous masters. The embroideries they made were really beautiful, and every piece of clothing for our ancestors was exquisitely made.

In addition to the sewing room, the Cheng family also had a fabric room, a gold and silver room, an antique room, and a horse and carriage stable, which was not much different from the 24 bureaus in the imperial palace.

Even with hundreds of years of inheritance, many of the skills are more sophisticated than those in the imperial palace. The Cheng family's businesses are spread all over the world, and the rent they collect every year is in the tens of millions. Not only does it have to provide daily expenses for thousands of people in the family, big and small, but it also has to distribute dividends at the end of the year. For example, the fourth branch of their family has to rely entirely on the dividends from the eldest branch at the end of the year to survive.

I remember that the year she came of age, the fourth branch received a dividend of 15,000 taels at the end of the year. The Cheng family had more than a dozen branches, and some of them had more branches than the fourth branch, so they received even more. The silver distributed alone was no less than 200,000. The wealth of the Cheng family's eldest branch was immeasurable.

Therefore, her craftsmanship is not good enough in other people's eyes.

Thinking of this, Cheng Yian felt less burdened. Fortunately, he lay down to rest and let Ruhui toss and turn.

On September 28th, it was the 63rd birthday of the old lady of the Cheng family's North Mansion. Cheng Mingyu had said early on that he would not hold a banquet, but the old lady's status was there, and there was still a lot of traffic in front of the Cheng family's house that day.

Early in the morning, Lu Xusheng ordered someone to harness the carriage and personally escorted Cheng Yian to the carriage. "You really don't want to let me go?"

Cheng Yian laughed, "Are you embarrassed to go?"

Lu Xusheng really didn't take it seriously and asked Qiu Qing to drive the car himself. "If there is anything wrong with the young lady, please inform me at any time."

"Don't worry, Major General."

Qiu Qing was an old soldier from Baiyin Mountain, and was not used to calling him Second Master, and always called him General.

Lu Xusheng nodded and followed the carriage for a while. When they arrived at Zhengyang Gate, they said that Lu Xusheng went to the Governor's Mansion while Cheng Yian went to Cheng's Garden. The servant outside the Cheng's alley had discovered the Lu family's carriage early and hurried to the fourth room to deliver the news. The old lady guessed that Cheng Yian was unwilling to return to the fourth room, so she showed up at the door with her whole family at the right time. She happened to meet Cheng Yian who had returned home, and then they entered the North Palace together.

The old lady held Cheng Yian's hand all the time. Cheng Yian remembered that his mother was still very uncomfortable seeing the people from the fourth room, but she couldn't say anything in public. The eldest master and the third master were on the left, the eldest and third wives were on the right, Cheng Mingyou, Miao and several young ladies in the mansion followed behind.

Cheng Yian listened to the conversations between the eldest and third masters on both sides, lost in thought.

The eldest master suddenly remembered something and said to Cheng Yian,

"Your grandmother has been on a low income these days. If An'an has time, she should go home to visit her often. She doesn't listen to anyone, except for a few words you say."

The eldest master's voice was particularly melodious, and he had always been like this. Even Cheng Yian could feel his extremely loving gaze, and suddenly goosebumps appeared in his heart.

Cheng Yian didn't look at him and nodded uncomfortably.

The eldest lady glanced at Cheng Yian, then turned to the attentive eldest master, and finally sneered softly.

The North Palace was built against the mountain and covers a large area. When you walk through the south gate, the first thing you see is a majestic main hall with the three words "Rong Zheng Tang" inscribed on it. This was a plaque bestowed by the emperor when the Cheng family donated their property to the national treasury for disaster relief one year. There is a side hall on each side, the Jinzhong Hall on the left and the Jingxian Hall on the right. Usually the main hall is not open and guests are received on the side halls.

To the left and right of the two side halls are the outer study rooms of the old masters and young masters in the mansion. To the west is a large area where the Cheng family’s ancestral hall in the capital city is located. At the beginning and end of each year, the clan leader Cheng Mingyu would lead everyone in the mansion to hold a grand worship ceremony.

Behind an alley between the east side hall and the main hall is a banquet hall with three rooms. The floor tiles in front of the hall are spotless, and on them are placed six banks of neatly trimmed chrysanthemums. The red clusters of chrysanthemums are as bright as clouds, making the whole world dazzling.

Behind the banquet hall is a small garden. Following the central axis, you will reach the hanging flower gate.

Compared to the solemnity of the front yard, entering the hanging flower gate is another scene. Looking around, you can see carved dragons and painted buildings, flying pavilions in the sky, silk and silk through the forest, and curved corridors everywhere, which have a kind of harmonious and graceful charm. Compared with the extravagance displayed in the open of Lu Mansion, the luxury of Cheng Mansion is much more low-key. For example, the stone road leading to the main courtyard of the old lady is winding and inconspicuous at first glance, but it is made of a kind of jade from the northwest. It is said that this stone has a natural mineral. If you take off your shoes and socks and step on it, it will have the effect of prolonging life.

For example, at the end of this cobblestone road, there is a small pond in the bamboo forest. In the pond are planted late lotus flowers. The lotus flowers have already withered at this season, but why are there pink and yellow lotus flowers here? It is because a spring is drawn from the top of the mountain. The spring is warm, and it is the time when the green grass is blooming.

They are all ordinary scenery, but they have something unusual about them.

Beyond this patch of thin bamboos is the small third hall on the east side of the old lady's courtyard. This hall has curved eaves and corridors on three sides. Many exotic flowers and plants are planted in the small courtyards on the left and right, some of which are spitting cinnabar, and some are like floating green ribbons, which make the small third hall look unique and beautiful.

Today the sun is bright and the autumn wind is chilly. A kind of windproof gauze curtain is hung in the small third hall. The gauze curtain is white and does not block the view. The small third hall is full of people, all of whom are relatives from various branches of the Cheng family, mostly young girls and young women. They were originally talking and laughing noisily, but when they saw the people from the fourth branch coming from afar, they suddenly stopped moving.

"Hey, isn't the one leading the group Cheng Yian? How dare she come here?"

"The rumors a few days ago have spread. The Lu family's prince really has no respect for his elders. He wants to challenge the eldest princess to support his wife. I respect him as a man, but it is wrong for him to bring up my cousin's uncle."

Another person continued, "But having said that, I really admire Prince Lu for having such courage. Sister Yi An is also very lucky."

"If you put it that way, maybe Prince Lu is resentful that his uncle didn't marry Sister Qiao, but married Cheng Yian instead, and he's venting his dissatisfaction on purpose."

"You never know."

The Sister Qiao they are talking about is Cheng Mingyu's youngest daughter Cheng Yiqiao, who is 19 years old this year, two years older than Cheng Yian. It was Cheng Yiqiao who was chosen by the emperor at that time.

As soon as the man finished speaking, a sarcastic voice came from the corridor.

"Hey, you guys can be so hard on yourselves, don't blame me. My fiancé just passed away, and it's etiquette to mourn for him for a year. What does it have to do with Lu Xusheng? You guys are jealous of Cheng Yian, don't drag me into this."

The person who spoke was not someone else but the eldest granddaughter of the Cheng family's eldest branch, Cheng Yiqiao, the apple of Cheng Mingyu's eye, the eldest lady who was truly doted on by everyone.

Normally, the girls were submissive to her because of her noble status, but now that she had caught them red-handed, they dared not say a word and apologized quietly.

Cheng Yiqiao glanced at everyone lazily, and pointed towards the flower hall impatiently.

"Okay, stop standing here and gossiping. The stage crew is ready in the flower hall. Let's go and have fun there."

The girls then followed her.

After a while, Cheng Yian and his party arrived at the main gate of the old lady's courtyard in the North Mansion.

There were crowds of people talking in the courtyard, but it was not noisy. When they got here, Cheng Yian stepped back and let the elders go in front.

The steward led the people from the fourth room in with a smile. In the middle of the main hall was the main room, where the old lady's portrait was placed. Passing the main room was an extremely spacious warm room, which was now filled with the elders from each room.

There is a person sitting upright on the bed of Arhat in the north.

She was wearing a thick jacket with a front opening and a brocade pattern of gold-woven round flowers and a ruyi pattern. She was sitting on a velvet mattress with a pattern of precious stones. Her plump earlobes were adorned with a pair of round Hetian mutton-fat jade earrings. In her hands she held a string of mammoth ivory beads. She had no other accessories. She had long eyebrows and high ears, and a plump face. She seemed to have a smile in her eyes as she listened quietly to what the subordinates were saying, but her lips were slightly pursed, and she was truly intimidating without being angry.

The nanny led the person forward and then stepped back.

The old lady from the fourth room brought people from her own room to pay birthday greetings to the ancestor.

"Today is my sister-in-law's birthday, I should have come earlier, but I ate some melon last night and got up late, so I'm a little late today."

The old lady in the main house glanced at the crowd, nodded and smiled,

"You're welcome, sister-in-law. I'm glad you're here."

Not much to say.

The old lady from the fourth room sat down, and the rest of her children kowtowed and wished her a happy birthday.

Several old men paid their respects and left, followed by the wives and the girls who were still in the house, who kowtowed to him. Perhaps because they had seen so much of it, the old ancestor showed no sign of being happy even though the people from each room tried their best to please him.

She didn't like to mobilize a large number of people. "I have a lot of things here. You don't have to waste your time in the future. I'll be happy if people come to join in the fun." She gave out rewards one by one.

Cheng Yian was the only daughter of the fourth family who married out, and was the last one to be married.

When she kowtowed, the warm hall suddenly fell silent. In the past, no one had ever taken this eldest daughter who had lost her mother seriously, but who would have thought that she would quietly become the wife of the prince of a noble family. With Lu Xusheng's great achievements, she would be on an equal footing with the ancestor on the seat in terms of titles and imperial decrees in the future.

It was truly unexpected that a golden phoenix emerged from a grass nest.

Yes, the fourth branch of the Cheng family is not very noticeable in the entire Cheng family. How inconspicuous is it?

Among the dozen brothers of the old lady's generation, he was born out of wedlock. He was not good at studying and was mild-mannered. When the old lady of the fourth room married in, she was often ridiculed by her sisters-in-law and saw the coldness of the world. Unfortunately, the old lady died early and did not save much family property. The fourth room had many sons, and they either wanted to marry wives or have grandchildren and marry daughters. Money was spent like water. The fourth room had the least family wealth in the entire Cheng family. At the end of each year, the fourth room was always stepped on at the bottom. The old lady was a woman who could not beat those men. She didn't know how many tears she shed secretly and vowed to make a name for herself.

Look, now you are successful.

Have a duke son-in-law.

The fourth wife's status rose rapidly.

The old lady in the main house looked at her deeply and waved at her.

"child

Son, get up."

Cheng Yian presented her embroidery, "My niece has prepared a headband for our ancestor."

She said "prepare" instead of "embroider".

Cheng Yian was feeling extremely guilty at this moment. She would not have known until she came here that her cousin Cheng Yiqing had started preparing a month ago and had embroidered a hundred-character longevity painting for the old lady. Her sister Cheng Yiqian had carved a jade pendant containing the longevity and fortune that she had prayed for the ancestor in person at Xiangshan Temple. Even the silly sister Cheng Yime from the third room had painted a picture for the ancestor.

Compared to them, the headband that Cheng Yian had her maid spend a day embroidering was simply shabby.

She noticed that everyone who had come to celebrate her birthday had given all the birthday gifts to the housekeeper beside her, so she naturally gave them to the housekeeper, but the old ancestor's eyes followed the forehead brush.

"Come, show me."

Looks very interested.

Cheng Yian secretly thought that this was not good, but he gritted his teeth and handed it over, embarrassing himself by saying, "My forehead wiping technique is crude, I hope the old man will forgive me."

The ancestor took it and looked at it carefully.

"No, the stitches are very fine and the pattern is unique."

Several sisters-in-law who were nearby leaned over and even the old nanny beside her took a look and was secretly shocked.

It cannot be said to be bad. It is considered good craftsmanship in ordinary families, but this is the Cheng family's Northern Mansion.

The embroiderer in your mansion can easily embroider a headband that is a thousand times better than this.

If you insist on exaggerating, there is nothing we can do.

Cheng Yian felt quite ashamed.

"My grandniece is so ashamed."

Naturally, there are those who cannot stand this and want to find fault with it.

"This doesn't look like An An's craftsmanship. An An's needlework is always deft. Although the needlework on this forehead is very detailed, it is too strict and not flexible enough." Then the man changed the subject and looked at Cheng Yian.

"Maybe you climbed up the social ladder and now you don't even care about your ancestors."

As soon as she finished speaking, the old man at the top suddenly frowned.

"Just think of this as a vegetable market, where you can pick and choose!"

Cheng Yian never expected that the ancestor would speak for her and was slightly stunned.

The old sister-in-law suddenly became embarrassed and stood up hesitantly, feeling extremely ashamed and angry.

"Last time, Lu Xusheng made rude remarks that damaged Mingyu's reputation. Today, Cheng Yian did not apologize and tried to please you, but instead tried to fool you. I just couldn't stand it, so I said something."

The old ancestor frowned and said,

"Have you got your eyes on the ground? An An almost got into trouble, and we were so worried. Even if Lu Xusheng said something cruel and Ming Yu's reputation was damaged, what does it matter? Can it be compared with An An's safety?"

The old sister-in-law looked embarrassed, thinking that even the ancestor of the Beifu had to look down on Lu Xusheng and sell face to Cheng Yian. This really messed up the world. Where did her usual arrogant and conceited demeanor go?

Of course she didn't dare to say this, so she sat down in boredom.

The old ancestor, however, held the headband in his palm.

"I think this headband is very good. I will try it later." Then he asked Cheng Yian.

"Has the Lu family wronged you?"

The old man asked her the same question in her previous life. At that time, she was gentle and did not want to cause trouble, so she naturally said it was very good.

Now, it’s really good.

"Very good, my aunt respects me and values ​​me."

The old ancestor heard this and leaned back on his pillow and laughed, "I can see that."

He even dared to block the princess's carriage and claimed that he would cut off Cheng Mingyu's fingers, which shows how much he cherishes Cheng Yian.

Cheng Yian heard her teasing, blushed and knelt down,

"He said something wrong in a moment of impulse. I hope you and my uncle will not take it to heart."

The old ancestor smiled and said, "Anyway, if you get mad at the Lu family, just come to me and I'll take care of it for you. The girls in our Cheng family are all very precious and don't want to be bullied outside."

Cheng Yian looked at the extremely kind old lady with mixed emotions. If she had been brave enough to go back home and complain in her previous life, the old lady would surely have spoken up for her. This shows that sometimes people cannot be too honest.

"Thank you, ancestor."

Afterwards, the old man asked the nanny to hand a brocade box that had been prepared earlier to Cheng Yian.

All the other sisters, regardless of whether they were close relatives, received a string of pearl bracelets, but hers was the only gift that came in a box.

On the other hand, this is a sign of nobility.

Everyone saw it, but kept silent. They thought that Cheng Yian was being treated differently now that she had married into a wealthy family.

Cheng Yian knew that there was a very rare coral bracelet in it, with a rich and warm color, as red as cow blood. In her previous life, her ancestor also gave her something like this. At that time, she didn't know the price. Later, when she went to Yizhou and saw a similar coral bracelet, she realized that this one would cost at least two or three thousand taels of silver. What's more precious is that this thing came from the sea, and it's hard to find it. In her previous life, her ancestor's dress caught her eye, so he appreciated this thing, so he had a reason to give it to her in this life?

I can only say that Lu Xusheng is really prestigious.

Cheng Yian stepped aside holding the things.

At this moment, a silver bell-like laughter came from behind the screen.

"Grandma, I'm late because I'm busy setting up the stage. Am I late for the banquet?"

No one in the room dared to speak loudly, except for this person who had a loud and clear voice and a strong breath. He walked in with his skirt fluttering in the wind and a coquettish tone in his voice.

Being interrupted by her, the old lady put her headband in her hand and looked away.

"You know you're late, and you don't even look at the time. If your sister-in-law hadn't called you, you would still want to slack off..."

The young girl walked in smiling, wearing a red gold headpiece, a pair of jade bracelets on her wrists, and a string of tourmaline necklaces hanging on her chest. Each tourmaline was as big as a fingernail, with various colors and very rare. It was Cheng Yiqiao who had just stopped the gossip.

She came straight to sit beside the old ancestor, hugged her arm and acted coquettishly.

"What's the big deal? They are our elders, and they are the most compassionate to the weak. They won't argue with me, right or wrong, my aunts?"

The old lady in the sixth room laughed, "Miss Qiao is really a clever talker. Now that you said that, we can't blame her even if we want to."

The old ancestor snorted softly, "We can't say anything to you. We can only wait for your father to come back and teach you a lesson." Then he said,

"Okay, now that you're here, take these sisters to the flower hall to play. There's no need to keep them here bored."

The girls and grandmothers in each room said they dared not,

"It is our blessing to be able to benefit from your presence."

Cheng Yiqiao stepped down upon hearing this and greeted him openly.

"Sisters-in-law, come with me to the flower hall. I have prepared some good shows for you. Let's enjoy them first. Otherwise, after the luncheon, there will be no place for us."

After lunch, the old ladies had a play.

The old ancestor listened to her nagging and said angrily, "Alright, you are just being cunning like a monkey. If you want to see it after lunch, how can I stop you?"

Not long after, Cheng Yiyan's wife, the eldest lady from the first house, also came in. Together with Cheng Yiqiao, they welcomed the young daughters-in-law, aunts and girls out. Cheng Yian was also pulled out by a sister-in-law from the eighth house.

There were only a few old ladies and wives left in the house.

The old lady from Room 6 glanced at Cheng Yian's departing back and said to the old lady from Room 4 who was sitting at the upper left,

"Fourth sister-in-law, why did I hear that Sister An came home a few days ago and asked for her mother's dowry? What's going on? Our Cheng family is the most disciplined, and we never allow men to covet women's dowry. If this matter is reported to the Censorate, our head of the family will be embarrassed."

The old lady from the sixth room was also an old widow. The two rooms lived next to each other, and she often competed with the old lady from the fourth room.

Among the sisters-in-law, the old lady from the fourth room disliked her the most.

The old lady in the fourth room was very calm and kept her composure.

"An An's marriage was arranged by Mingyu, and the dowry list was also reviewed by him. If you have any questions, you can ask him."

The old lady from the sixth room snorted disdainfully.

She didn't know that Cheng Mingyu didn't want to get involved in the dispute between the Emperor and the Empress Dowager, so he chose Cheng Yian, a concubine, to marry, and secretly gave Cheng Yian a lot of dowry. Otherwise, with the financial resources of the Fourth House, could they afford 168 loads of dowry?

"Don't be vague. Although An An's dowry is generous, it doesn't mean that all her mother's things are given to her. Otherwise, how could such a well-behaved girl come home to make trouble with you? We, the aunts, have seen what kind of person An An is. She is definitely not an ungrateful person." She winked at the sisters-in-law in each room, and everyone nodded.

The old lady in the fourth room knew that they were all jealous of her and tried every means to make fun of her, but she did not change her expression and even replied in a friendly manner, "She is my granddaughter who I raised with my own hands. How can I treat her unfairly?"

After hearing this, the old man at the head held the headband, his heart ached, and he suddenly waved his hands impatiently.

"Okay, stop talking."

At this moment, a maid came in and said that the master of the house had passed through the hanging flower gate.

Everyone knew that Cheng Mingyu had returned from court, so they didn't want to stay long and went to the banquet hall.

As the person left, steady footsteps could be heard from outside the screen. The old man didn't know why, but he suddenly said to the old lady beside him in a serious tone,

"I don't know who sent me this string of beads last night. I just saw that Miss An was very fair and clean, and I thought it would be very suitable for her wrist, so I gave it to her. I wonder if I made a mistake."

The old lady glanced outside and smiled softly.

"Your eyesight is always good.

Excellent, it must be right. "