From the next day, Gu Tingye moved to the inner study to sleep; Minglan quietly prepared a jade-skin mat and bedding for him, and even more thoughtfully added a soft gauze curtain embroidered with azure ginger katydids, and two white jade mugwort incense burners to repel mosquitoes.
Gu Tingye stood in the side wing of the study, looking at the neat and comprehensive furnishings in the room, and became even more angry.
Strictly speaking, this is not a normal quarrel between husband and wife. One spouse is unilaterally angry, and the other listens obediently and even cries in fear. However, the result is in line with the normal process: quarrel - cold war.
The most troublesome problem in the world is knowing what the problem is but not being able to solve it.
Faced with her husband's murderous face, demanding that she show her true feelings like he was collecting a debt, Minglan was in a headache.
If Gu Tingye was an ordinary man, Minglan would be confident that she could pass the test by singing and crying. However, this man was experienced and good at judging people. He had understood Minglan's personality very well in the past two years and could not be fooled.
If Minglan ran over to express her grief and said, "Oh, I have realized my mistake, please forgive me, I actually love you sincerely", I guess the other person would not even raise an eyelid.
Minglan understood the meaning of Gu Tingye's words that night, but even though they were close, they couldn't always be honest. Otherwise, she would have said, "I actually traveled through time." She felt that she had been too comfortable recently, lacking her usual careful observation, and had neglected her husband's feelings. She really shouldn't have done that.
She decided to reflect on herself.
One wants the other party to recognize the root cause of the mistake and treat him/her sincerely, which is an emotional issue; the other thinks that there is no problem with the relationship, but the method is flawed and the strategy needs to be improved, which is a technical issue.
The former feels that his wife is not sincere and is always trying to be clever;
The latter thinks that her husband is too troublesome, and she just wants to live a peaceful life. What's the point of sincerity? Can sincerity be eaten as food?
Gu Tingye refused to come back on his own, and Minglan had no idea of a solution, so she could only take care of the housework and the children as usual. The couple sat opposite each other in silence and finished their meal. If the man's face was so ugly that it affected his appetite, Minglan would eat another meal later.
As time went by, Minglan actually felt that this kind of life was not so difficult. It would be great if she could have a few more children. Unfortunately, her husband refused to come back to sleep.
Seeing this, Gu Tingye became more and more angry and was even more reluctant to go back to his room to sleep. However, he missed his son, so he often took his son to the study to sleep at night. Now he was very familiar with coaxing the child to sleep, so it was not difficult for him.
If he came back late, he would wake up the sleepy Minglan in the middle of the night, wrap up Tuan Ge'er from the quilt and carry him away, and then Minglan would suffer from insomnia; if he had an early court session the next day, he would stuff his son back into her quilt in the dark room before leaving, and Minglan would be woken up again, and then she would hold the sleeping Tuan Ge'er and keep her eyes open until dawn.
The little fat boy did not feel uncomfortable with this kind of life where he slept with his mother in the first half of the night and with his father in the second half, and when he closed his eyes, his mother would be the one opening his father's. Sometimes he would wake up in the middle of the night and play with Gu Tingye for a while, and when he was tired he would just sleep until dawn. Touching her son's bald head that had just been shaved, Minglan sighed helplessly.
——Do you know that your father has been taking revenge on society lately at night?
The couple has been in a cold war these days, and there has been some movement in the house.
On the third day of the cold war, Qiu Niang was ready to go to the study to "visit" Gu Tingye with a plate of bird's nest. However, she said something that made Gu Tingye unhappy. He threw the plate and the bird's nest outside the door. Qiu Niang went back and burst into tears.
On the fifth day of the cold war, Cuiwei severely punished a woman who often delivered things to Caihuan in the manor, as well as her goddaughter. Each of them was given twenty strokes of the cane, and then they were sent to the manor together.
On the eighth day of the Cold War, Wang's family came to Beijing.
Uncle Wang had been exiled for several years, and now his term had expired. He was returning to Beijing to report on his work, but his family had come ahead. Wang had missed them dearly and had come to inform Minglan early. She said that after two days, after Old Lady Wang had settled in, the whole family would go to pay their respects to their elders. Minglan was at a loss for words, and could only hesitantly tell Gu Tingye about it, then stare at him longingly.
Gu Tingye pretended to be calm and said, "I'll be back early the day after tomorrow and we'll go together. Tuan Ge'er is too young to go for now."
"Thank you, my Lord."
Minglan was waiting for him to say this. She didn't want to hug Tuan'er in the first place, but she didn't want to be the bad person either. What he said was perfect. Thinking of this, she happily went over, hugged his arm, and leaned her head against him.
Gu Tingye looked at her for a while, turned his head, and sighed in his heart: She is like a child, admitting her mistakes sincerely and accepting punishment honestly. She is very cute and well-behaved, but she doesn't know where she is wrong and is not even willing to correct it.
Her shoulders and arms were soft and fragrant, and her smile was as beautiful as a flower. He liked it very much and unconsciously put his arm around her waist. Suddenly, he thought in a very useless way - it's fine this way, let's just live like this, why bother to be so serious.
The next day, Minglan went to invite Shao Shi again as usual. She shook her head as usual, smiled apologetically, and said, "You and your second brother go. When the two young ladies come back from school, the three of us will have dinner together."
Perhaps because she had grown accustomed to a low-key life under Xiao Qinshi's care, or perhaps because she was well aware of the long-standing feud between the Gu Tingyu brothers, Shao Shi behaved very respectfully in Chengyuan. Young widows are prone to gossip, and she rarely ventured outside her own family home. Furthermore, she had not offered a helping hand on the day Minglan gave birth, and she was even more apprehensive when meeting Gu Tingye and his wife afterwards, becoming even more humble and cautious.
Minglan sighed and said softly, "I'll leave those two girls to my sister-in-law."
In fact, she didn't blame her. There are only a few selfless people in this world, and most people just think about themselves first.
Gu Tingye changed out of his court robes, and Minglan specially picked out a dark blue Shu brocade robe embroidered with dark crabapple patterns for him. Then she also dressed up exquisitely before the couple went out.
Although the Wang family's old house was not big, its location was better than that of the Sheng family. It was only half an hour's carriage ride away from the imperial city, so they arrived quickly. The old servant at the door had been waiting for a long time with his neck hanging. As soon as he saw the black lacquer emblem on the carriage, he knew it was the son-in-law of the Sheng family from the Ningyuan Marquis' Mansion, and he quickly and respectfully welcomed the couple in.
When I went in, I found that everyone from the Sheng family had arrived. Old Mrs. Sheng was sitting next to a white-haired old woman, and Old Man Sheng Hong was standing respectfully beside her, talking with a smile on his face. There was a circle of people sitting or standing around them.
After stepping forward and bowing, the old woman quickly raised her hand and told Minglan and Gu Tingye to stand up. Old Madam Sheng said with a smile: "Come to think of it, this is the first time I've met the Sixth Girl."
Wang, who was standing nearby, shifted her toes uncomfortably. Old Madam Wang didn't take it seriously. She pulled Minglan over to her and took a closer look. "Hmm, it's indeed a neat child. My sister is so lucky."
In fact, Minglan had never seen any of this so-called maternal grandparents' family. This time, when she saw them for the first time, she turned her head to take a closer look and found that although Old Madam Wang was old, she had a delicate and straight nose and dignified eyebrows. She looked very similar to Aunt Kang. She must have been a beautiful woman when she was young. In comparison, Aunt Wang next to her was much inferior, with a serious expression and a stern face.
Cousin Wang, whose given name was You, looked quite like Wang, with a square face, a wide nose and mouth, and was a rather honest young man. Naturally, he also had Minglan's old acquaintance, cousin Kang Yuaner, who had married into the Wang family.
At this moment, she was criticizing Minglan's dress with a haughty look, from the lapis lazuli double-ring jade bracelet on her wrist to the white jade inlaid with gold thread phoenix hairpin on her head. This phoenix hairpin was made of seven or eight pieces of mutton-fat white jade with red gold thread. Regardless of its value, the craftsmanship alone was extraordinary. The whole piece of mutton-fat white jade had to be polished to be as thin as a cicada's wing. It was said to be a lost skill from the previous dynasty.
Kang Yuaner felt a pang of pain in his heart for a long time before he tried hard to control himself from speaking.
Minglan ignored her and turned to Yuner and said, "Cousin, are you back in Beijing?" Sheng Changwu is such a good husband. I don't know how he found the excuse to bring his wife back from her hometown.
Kang Yuner looked at Aunt Kang in front of her, stepped forward and held Minglan's hand, and whispered in shame: "My dear sister, what happened before the New Year... was all my mother's fault. You, you... please don't take it to heart."
Minglan smiled slightly and asked, "Why didn't Brother Wu come today?"
Yuner said, "He's been assigned to the Western Suburbs Camp recently and can only come back once every two weeks." Seeing that Minglan refused to take her place, she knew she was still angry, and she felt very sad. But no matter how wrong her biological mother was, she was still her biological mother.
"Fifth sister can't come either." Minglan knew what was on her mind, but she didn't intend to forgive Aunt Kang because of Kang Yuner, so she changed the subject, "An uncle of the Wen family passed away recently, and she went to the countryside to pay her respects." Wen Yanjing's transfer to a foreign country was basically decided. Recently, Ruolan has been very obedient to her in-laws. She was afraid that something unexpected would happen and she would not be able to leave again.
Madam Wang said softly to Gu Tingye, "I am too proud to call you my grandson-in-law. From now on, he will be my son-in-law."
Gu Tingye sat sideways and gently hugged her with both hands: "Old Madam, are you well."
Old Madam Wang was slightly displeased. When they were meeting just now, he called Old Madam Sheng "Grandma", but when he saw her, he called her "Old Madam", which was clearly a formality. She glanced sideways and saw her daughter-in-law's eyes flash, and then she looked at her eldest daughter.
Aunt Kang was standing there angrily.
Old Lady Wang sighed inwardly. She knew all about her eldest daughter's troubles with the Marquis's mansion. Ever since she arrived, neither Minglan nor Marquis Gu had ever called her "Auntie." She simply couldn't understand her daughter. Relatives like these, not even blood relatives, should be polite to each other. Otherwise, why would anyone bother to pay any attention to them?
Sheng Hong was in high spirits and asked with a smile, "Excuse me, mother-in-law, when will my uncle be back?"
When he first went to the Wang family to propose marriage, no one was optimistic about him. However, his mother-in-law treated him very kindly, and his uncle Wang was also a kind person. In the first few years of his official career, he took special care of him and gave him advice.
Madam Wang looked lovingly at her satisfied son-in-law. "A month at most, half a month at the fastest. I have to hand over the matters at hand before I can leave. I just missed you and came here early because I haven't seen you, my sister, for so many years."
Old Madam Sheng smiled and said, "Speaking of which, Brother Bo and his wife will soon be returning to Beijing to report on their work. We can have a family reunion dinner then."
Aunt Wang's eyes flickered as she asked with concern, "Brother Bo is truly ambitious. He's already a local official at such a young age, while my brother You is still studying. Oh, and didn't he say last time that he was pregnant? Now she's having a baby."
Old Madam Sheng was even happier: "The baby was born on the second day of March. Both mother and child are doing well."
Wang was also very happy and couldn't help boasting, "The maids who came back to report the news all said that he's a big fat boy, who can eat and sleep well and is very energetic! He even has a lucky mole on his chest, which means he will be smart and wealthy for the rest of his life!"
Aunt Wang smiled and said, "Congratulations, old lady. You are so lucky to have another grandson, and the house is full of children and grandchildren." Although she didn't say anything, Kang Yuaner and Aunt Kang were already restless.
At this time, Hua Lan came in from the doorway, straightening her rolled-up sleeves as she walked. A group of children followed her. She said, "...Now that the fruit has been eaten, you must stay here quietly..." She looked up and said with a smile, "Oh, Sixth Sister, Brother-in-law, you're here."
"Big sister, how are you?" Minglan said with a smile as she stepped forward. Gu Tingye also stood up and bowed. "How is your brother-in-law these days?"
"All right, everything is fine at home."
Minglan tried to say something cheerful: "I heard that the horse farms outside the city have been thriving in recent years, and now many people are waiting for my brother-in-law's horses."
"Him!" Hua Lan waved her hand, unable to conceal her pride. "These past few days, he's been out early in the morning and back in the middle of the night. There's no peace at home either, with people coming every day."
Aunt Wang pointed and laughed, "No wonder you came so early this morning. You came here to get some free time!"
Hualan leaned against Aunt Wang and smiled flatteringly, "Oh, from this morning until now, I've been helping you move things around, and I haven't had a moment's rest. Even if I haven't done anything meritorious, I've certainly worked hard. Are you saying this because you're afraid I'll ask for payment?"
Aunt Wang pretended to think for a while before she said, "Okay, I'll give you some fruit later."
Hua Lan bit her lip, turned around and said with a smile, "Grandma is really capable. I don't know where she found this aunt. Tsk tsk, with such a capable daughter-in-law, won't the Wang family prosper day by day?"
The women in the room were already laughing so hard they were bent over. Old Lady Wang was laughing especially hard, pointing at Hua Lan and scolding her, "Monkey! You dare to make fun of your elders! Tell your father to beat you!"
Even the men couldn't help but smile. Old Madam Sheng, along with Wang Shi and Sheng Hong, all looked at Hua Lan with loving affection. Only Aunt Kang and Kang Yuan'er, mother and daughter, had uncertain expressions. Zhuang Jie'er and Hui Jie'er stood demurely to the side, while brothers Quan and Shi'er both clung unsteadily to Old Madam Wang, affectionately.
Aunt Kang suddenly turned to Minglan and said, "It's a happy occasion today, why didn't your niece bring your son?"
Minglan was slightly stunned. She hated Aunt Kang very much, but she looked at Gu Tingye with an embarrassed expression.
Gu Tingye answered for her: "The child is still young. Wait until he is older and then bring him out."
Aunt Kang sneered. Kang Yuner saw something was wrong and pulled her mother's sleeve worriedly, but Aunt Kang refused to give up: "The young master of the Marquis's Mansion is very precious..."
"Whose children aren't precious?" Old Lady Wang suddenly interrupted, "Why bring a child who's not even a year old here?" Then she lectured him in a deep voice, "You've already given birth to several children, and you don't even understand this?!"
Aunt Kang closed her mouth unwillingly.
Minglan stood at the back and looked at Old Lady Wang coldly - she had lived far away for many years, but she knew Tuan Ge'er's age so well.
After lunch, everyone left one after another. Aunt Kang said she had no mother-in-law and would stay with her biological mother for a few days. Uncle Kang then left. Wang Shi wanted to do the same, but Sheng Hong dragged her away. Old Lady Wang said she wanted to take a nap, told Aunt Wang to go and do her own thing, and then she and Aunt Kang returned to the inner room. After dismissing everyone, they began to talk privately.
"When will you ever change this bad habit of yours?" Old Lady Wang sighed. "You knew Marquis Gu was so powerful, so why did you have to provoke that girl?"
Aunt Kang pouted disdainfully: "What's so great about it? It's just the child of a lowly servant..."
"Shut up!" Old Lady Wang yelled. "Why do you care how she was born? Now she's higher up in the world and more successful than you. You have to respect her, give in to her, and be polite to her. Otherwise, you'll suffer!"
Aunt Kang was not convinced: "It's just that she is young and beautiful now. When Marquis Gu stops favoring her, she will suffer! But... haha, it will be soon. Recently, this bitch and Marquis Gu had a falling out, and Marquis Gu moved to the study to sleep. Look at them today, the two of them are indeed not as close as before..." As she spoke, she laughed.
But Madam Wang didn't care. She scolded him instead, "I told you to stop doing these evil things, but you wouldn't listen. Where did you get this information from? Marquis Gu isn't close to her, so how could he be close to you?! What are you so happy about? Didn't you see the look on Marquis Gu's face when he looked at you today? What did you do to deserve such contempt?"
Aunt Kang pursed her lips, refusing to reveal her conspiracy with Xiao Qin, feeling only a little regretful.
Although Caihuan had been ordered to go to the manor as punishment by Minglan, she had managed to win over a maid in the manor whose goddaughter was cleaning the outer courtyard of Jiaxi Residence. As soon as Caihuan got the news, she quickly informed herself. Unfortunately, after only one message, the head of the manor was aware of it.
Then the line broke.
Aunt Kang suspected that Minglan had long suspected that her surroundings were not completely clear and was waiting there on purpose, otherwise it would not be such a coincidence.
Madam Wang suddenly remembered something and said, "I heard that a bastard girl from your family became a concubine to the Prince of Anyang? The old prince is already seventy years old, and the child is only in her teens. How could you have the heart to do that to her?"
This time, Madam Kang actually laughed. "Mother, this time it wasn't me. It was your good son-in-law who wanted to cling to Prince Anyang. I was just offering a suggestion."
"Aren't you afraid that girl will gain your favor and come back to control you?!"
Aunt Kang laughed triumphantly and said, "That girl's mother and brother are both in my hands, what are you afraid of!"
"No wonder you're so confident. It turns out you're hooked on Prince Anyang."
Old Lady Wang tried to persuade her daughter, but seeing that she remained stubborn, she became discouraged and sighed, "Forget it, forget it. I'm old, and I can't take care of your affairs anymore. But I want to discuss Yuan'er's matter. After all, it's a matter of great importance to the Wang family's succession."
Aunt Kang's heart tightened. Her daughter hadn't given birth yet, and Aunt Wang had long been dissatisfied. She said in a trembling voice, "Mother, Yuan'er is your own granddaughter, you can't..."
"Brother You is also my grandson!" Old Lady Wang said angrily.
"...Yuan'er talks back to her mother-in-law, disobeys her father-in-law, and even hits my mother. She's crazy and almost stabbed people with a knife! If she weren't my granddaughter, do you think I would have tolerated her until now?!"
Madam Wang took a deep breath. "One year, I'll wait at most one more year. If Yuan'er still isn't pregnant, your sister-in-law will have to marry You'er off to a concubine. Don't worry, after the child is born, it will be registered under Yuan'er's name, and it will be the same."
Aunt Kang screamed, "My eldest uncle's eldest brother is the eldest nephew of Sheng's brother-in-law. His wife hasn't been pregnant for many years, but hasn't she been waiting? Now she finally gave birth to a child..."
"That's because they have two brothers!" Old Lady Wang said immediately, then added earnestly, "But we only have Brother You, and he's weak. We can't take this risk. If anything were to happen, how could I be worthy of your dead father?"
Aunt Kang's sharp teeth almost bit into her lips. Finally, she said fiercely, "Okay, one more year. If it doesn't work out, I'll take her as a concubine, but—" She stared at the biological mother intently, "You must keep the son and get rid of the mother!"
Old Lady Wang was shocked, but when she saw her daughter's face which was very similar to hers, her heart softened and she nodded slowly.
…
After returning home, Gu Tingye saw Minglan excitedly holding a small yellow clay jar, with a childish smile on her face. He couldn't pretend to be indifferent: "But it's a local product from Chengde? What good things are you so happy about?"
Minglan looked up and smiled, "It's an auspicious vegetable." Seeing that the man didn't quite understand, she added, "It's fern."
"You like to eat this?" Gu Tingye was surprised.
"It's not me, it's the wife of Weibei Hou, the elder sister of the Zhang family."
Minglan slowly lifted the oilcloth and looked at the tender green bracken inside. The salt water was clear and clean. She suddenly felt a liking for Aunt Wang. She and Xiaotao had just taken two bites of it. Although it was very salty, it was indeed crispy and refreshing.
"Ordinary bracken is dried, and each family soaks it in water before eating. It's good, but unfortunately it lacks some freshness. Although this jar of bracken has been pickled, it looks fresh and has been picked recently. I'll use spring water to dilute it and then I can eat it."
Seeing her excited, Gu Tingye couldn't help but smile: "You told me to say that. I'm already greedy."
"There are two jars. Let's keep one for ourselves." Minglan smiled. "However you want to eat it, I'll make it for you later. Whether it's for soup, stir-fry, or oh no, it's best served cold right now."
Gu Tingye smiled slightly.
She has a cheerful and optimistic temperament, healthy and positive, as if no matter how big the problem is, she can start over again. Every sunrise is hope, and every tomorrow has happiness waiting ahead.
"Give me the jar and I'll send it over as soon as possible!" He suddenly felt younger.
Minglan wrinkled her nose and said with a mischievous smile, "Eight hundred miles in a hurry? Don't make fun of me. Let's keep the Marquis's fast horse. It's still early. I'll harness the carriage and go over to have a few words with Sister Zhang."
Mrs. Zhang is about to give birth, so I sent her some of her favorite food and gave her some comfort. I thought it would be the last psychological counseling before the birth, hoping that she would have a smooth delivery. It would also be a way of repaying Mrs. Zhang for taking care of her several times.
"Go quickly and come back soon." Gu Tingye smiled.
Minglan nodded vigorously, two small dimples popping out of the corners of her mouth: "I'll have dinner as soon as I get back."
The fragrance of crabapple blossoms filled the courtyard. The man sat in a large rattan chair under the porch, rocking the little girl in his arms, smiling as he watched her leave - he could never stay angry with her for long.
Unfortunately, she didn't come back until dusk. She looked tired, with a few drops of blood on the corner of her skirt.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
