Chapter 233 Inquiry
In the inner courtyard of Changle Marquis's mansion, the wife of Changle Marquis was holding Heng'er and walking side by side with Meimei, talking and laughing. It was obvious that this was not the first time that Heng'er had met the wife of Changle Marquis. He was very obedient in her arms. Suddenly, his little hand pointed:
"Cock!"
"Oh, that golden pheasant, go and take a look at it. I almost lost my mother because of this golden pheasant!"
Madam Changle Hou put Heng'er down with a smile, and waved to the maid behind her: "Go with my brother, and watch him carefully, don't let the golden pheasant peck him!"
Meimei said: "You are really capable. You can domesticate a pheasant. It won't fly away, and it won't be killed by you!"
Mrs. Changle Hou laughed, "I learned all this from my father at home. There are some tricks to it... Otherwise, what would I do every day? My mother-in-law takes care of the household chores, and my grandmother lives in the Buddhist temple. We don't have to go and pay respects to her every day. She only has to raise a pair of children, and has a wet nurse and maids. It's very leisurely!"
"Raise a few more children."
Marquis Changle sighed, "Of course there must be one. My daughter is six years old and my son is almost four. If there is no movement, my mother-in-law will force my husband to take a concubine!"
Meimei looked at her: "Yes?"
"He dares!"
Marquis Changle broke off a branch of young willow and waved it: "It's good enough to give him two concubines, but he still wants to take a concubine!"
Meimei smiled, and the wife of Changle Hou looked at her: "No one comes to see you for no reason. You came to see me today, what must be the matter?"
Meimei was about to answer when she saw the maid coming over, bowing to Madam Changlehou and saying, "Miss Liu is here!"
"There's no outsider here, please let her in!"
Mrs. Changle Hou took Meimei's hand and walked to a round table. Cushions had already been laid on the stone bench. The two sat down, and soon the maids brought tea and snacks.
Mrs. Changle Hou said, "Then let's meet my distant cousin first. Her name is Liu Jingyun, and she brought me some embroidered autumn clothes!"
“Making autumn clothes so early?”
"Well, I'll teach my cousin to do it for me first, otherwise she won't have time to take care of me. She has excellent craftsmanship, especially when it comes to embroidering peonies. She can really embroider them to convey a sense of wealth and luxury. You can take a look at them later. If you like them, ask her to embroider two sets for you!"
"good!"
After a while, a light blue figure walked out from among the flowers. She was tall and slender, wearing a white blouse with blue floral patterns, and a moon-white eight-panel skirt. There was a blue silk ribbon tied around her waist, which hung above her knees and was tied with an intricate and exquisite bow. The silk ribbon then spread out to the hem of her skirt, and her steps flew up and danced as she moved, making her steps look graceful and light.
Liu Jingyun came up to her, bowed, and spoke in a soft and gentle voice, as if she was afraid of disturbing someone's sweet dream: "Cousin!"
Meimei hadn't seen her face clearly yet, and was too embarrassed to stare at her, so she smiled and looked at the wife of Changle Hou.
The wife of the Marquis of Changle smiled and took Liu Jingyun's hand, pointing at Meimei: "Cousin, this is the wife of the Marquis of Weiyuan. She is very nice. Come and meet her!"
Liu Jingyun came over with a smile, and knelt in a proper manner. Meimei quickly stood up and helped her up, taking the opportunity to hold her in her hands and looking at her carefully, praising her: "She is so beautiful, worthy of being the cousin of the wife of the Marquis of Changle!"
Changle Hou laughed: "Look at that little mouth, she says whatever she wants. My cousin is indeed beautiful, but it has nothing to do with me. I'm not as pretty as her!"
Liu Jingyun was as her name suggested, with a quiet and elegant temperament. She didn't talk much, just smiled. When the two of them made fun of her, she just blushed and said nothing.
She had a pair of gentle eyes, curved willow-leaf eyebrows, a delicate nose and diamond-shaped lips, a typical facial makeup of a Jiangnan beauty. There were no other ornaments on her black bun except two pearl flowers and an ordinary jade hairpin, but the hairstyle she tied was exquisite and elegant, which was definitely not something that ordinary girls and wives could do on their own.
Meimei had a good impression of Liu Jingyun. Seeing that her skin was white and clean, with delicate texture and a slightly tired look on her face, she asked, "Miss Liu, are you feeling unwell? Or are you too tired? Sit down and rest for a while!"
The wife of the Marquis of Changle hurriedly said, "Sit down. This is my cousin's home. Do you think you are a guest? Come on, sit down and have a cup of tea. Do you need my cousin to pull you over?"
Liu Jingyun smiled and shook her head: "Cousin, you know that I am busy. I have accepted embroidery work from two wives these days, and I have to rush back to do it. I have to finish it as soon as possible so that I won't be too busy when new work comes. I came to bring clothes to cousin because I wanted to see cousin try on the Haitang brocade robe. I felt that the dressmaker sewed the sleeves a little off. I saw it when I was embroidering. Maybe others can't see it, but people who are good at clothes will know it!"
"Really? Let me see!"
Madam Changle reached out to grab the bundle that Liu Jingyun had brought and placed on the stone table. Liu Jingyun hurriedly said, "Wait for my sister to untie it!"
She stretched out her hand to untie the bundle. Her fingers were white, slender, soft and nimble. In a few seconds, she untied the bundle and shook out the brocade robe. When Madam Changle Hou tried it, she found that the shoulder bone was indeed dislocated. She couldn't help but curse:
"Who is the blind one in the clothing factory? Wait till I come over and slap her in the face!"
Liu Jingyun smiled and said, "Tell my cousin to be careful when making the changes. If the embroidery thread is really damaged, it's okay. Please send it to the store and I will send it back after it is fixed. Bye, sister!"
"Hey, what are you in such a hurry for?"
Marquis Changle dropped his clothes, grabbed Liu Jingyun, and pointed at Meimei: "I have guests here, and the wife of Marquis Weiyuan also asked you to embroider two clothes. Why are you leaving so quickly? Have a cup of tea and some snacks before you leave!"
Liu Jingyun looked embarrassed. She looked at the smiling Meimei, then she sat down again helplessly. She leaned forward slightly and said apologetically, "Please forgive me, Madam Weiyuan! I... I was so busy that I was confused. I offended you, Madam!"
Meimei smiled and said, "You don't look well. You must have stayed up late last night. You should take a break. No matter how busy you are, you have to rest and eat. You can't just focus on work. If you are exhausted or hungry, you will be even less able to do the work. Don't you think so?"
Liu Jingyun was startled, looked at Meimei gratefully, and nodded: "Yes! Madam Weiyuan is right! I have learned my lesson!"
Madam Changle glared at her and said, "I usually say something wrong? But she said it and you listen to her!"
Liu Jingyun blushed and lowered her head: "Thank you for your careful teaching, cousin!"
"Look! It's me who has to ask for her thanks!" Lady Changle smiled at Meimei, "Tell her if you want to embroider the clothes, and tell her to leave quickly. It's annoying to see her distracted look - a young lady who is well-versed in poetry and books, but now she only cares about money!"
Liu Jingyun's face turned even redder, and she didn't dare to look up at anyone: "Cousin, you're making fun of me again! I know things are different now, and I'm no longer the same person I used to be!"
Madam Changle Hou sighed: "Why won't you listen to me? How long will you struggle alone?"
Liu Jingyun was silent for a while, and then said softly: "Sister, everyone has their own opinions, please understand my sister!"
After saying this, she lowered her head, stood up, bowed deeply to each of them, and said, "My sister, it's time to leave. If the wife of Weiyuan Hou has any clothes to be embroidered, you can send someone to a small shop on the west side of South Street, called Jixiang Embroidery Shop. I will embroider them and send them to your house within two days!"
Meimei looked at her slowly walking away and made a bet with herself: She is 100% sure to be the woman Lao Liu had seen!
Mrs. Changle Hou answered a few questions from Meimei, and then listened to Meimei's purpose. She was silent for a while and said:
"Could it be that they are really destined to be together? Your sixth brother really has good eyesight. My cousin is indeed a rare and good woman!"
Then he laughed again, "The men in your Xu family are really extraordinary. What kind of eyes do they have? Rumor has it that Xu Junying also fell in love with you at first sight. This time, your sixth son..."
Meimei was somewhat helpless: "What's so funny about this? If there is a destiny, then naturally just one look will do. If there is no destiny, then it's useless to look at each other for a lifetime!"
"Well, that makes sense!"
Madam Changle stopped smiling, restrained her expression, and resumed her dignified and noble manner: "You want to know about my cousin, right? Let me tell you - Cousin Jingyun's grandmother and my grandmother are sisters. One of them married in the north and the other in the south. The one in the north is naturally my grandmother, and the one in the south is Jingyun's grandmother. We are cousins within three generations. Jingyun was born in Pingzhou, Hunan, which is a land of fish and rice. The Liu family has more than ten thousand acres of fertile land, and the gold and silver treasures accumulated by their ancestors are countless. It is a truly wealthy family. My cousin has been a delicate lady who can only read, play the piano, paint, and embroider since she was a child. She never expected that there would be heavy rains at the end of last summer, and the Penghu embankment collapsed overnight. The area within a radius of several hundred miles was completely submerged, and tens of millions of people died in the flood disaster. My cousin's family of several hundred people were all washed away. She and a maid grabbed a wooden basin and floated on the water. They were washed to a high slope in the neighboring county. Fortunately, a local rich family opened a porridge stall, and she relied on the maid to make half a bowl of porridge every day to survive. God had mercy on her. Later, she met her stepmother on the way to escape. The stepmother took my cousin's thirteen-year-old brother and eleven-year-old stepbrother to escape. In this way, the family was finally gathered together, begging all the way, doing some needlework for others, and came to the capital to seek refuge with me... She knew me because when I got married, she came to the capital with her family to attend the wedding banquet. She was only ten years old at that time!"
The wife of Changle Hou shed tears, "Do you know what she looked like when I saw her? She was skinny, like a thin reed. If she didn't tell me who she was, I wouldn't recognize her at all! I placed them in the side courtyard of the mansion and took care of them for a few months before they gradually got better. My cousin is a strong-willed person. I don't know how her parents taught her since she was a child. She refused to eat for free and insisted on leading her stepmother and the maids to do some needlework for the mansion. The embroidery skills of their Liu Mansion are indeed very superb and exquisite. After her body was completely recovered, she asked me to help her open an embroidery shop. With so many rich and noble girls I know, I will find a piece of clothing for her to embroider from each family. After a year, the money she earns is enough to cover her family's living expenses and there is still some left. She said that this is the only thing she can do. She can't rely on her cousin for the rest of her life. She has to work hard to earn a living, raise her younger brothers, let them study, and pass the imperial examinations. Only in this way can the Liu family have hope!"
Meimei was touched. This weak Liu Jingyun had a stubbornness that was quite similar to her.
"How old is Jingyun? Is she engaged?"
Madam Changle Hou wiped her tears and said, "She is seventeen years old this year. She was engaged when she was young. The man she was engaged to is also a wealthy local family. His surname is Lin, and one of them is an official in the court. Her fiancé went to the capital to study two years ago. His hometown was washed away by floods, and all his family property and land were lost. The young master of the Lin family lived with his relatives in the capital. The two met on the street before, but they are now strangers. The young master of the Lin family married a rich family and married a merchant girl. Jingyun has nothing to do with him anymore! You can see that Jingyun has outstanding character and appearance. She usually wears a veil when she goes out. Someone who has seen her true face has asked someone to introduce her to a matchmaker, but she just refused. She said - she will never marry in this life!"
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