Chapter 271 Ayao
Two days later, the Shi family came to announce the good news that Zhuang Yulan had given birth to a boy. The old lady was so happy that she kept saying, "Look at our Lan'er! This blessing is so good that I don't know how to describe it. She is truly a perfect match for a family. Mr. Shi's ancestors have accumulated virtues and cultivated good karma for eight lifetimes before he was able to marry her!"
She was also busy preparing gifts, asking the two families to prepare one each, and putting the rest of the gifts that the daughters-in-law wanted to give themselves together. She sent Mother Ji to deliver them immediately, and then the Second Madam would go to check on them in the third morning.
Meimei prepared two gifts, one for the Hou Mansion. Thinking that Bai Jingyu and Ning Rulan had given gifts, she prepared one for herself as well. Mother Ji received it and told the old lady about it. The old lady snorted:
"This is a gift for free. The person who gives the gift will be blessed to receive it. She herself cannot have children, so if she doesn't give it, she is unaware of the blessing. That's stupid!"
Mother Ji looked at the maidservants serving beside her and said softly, "Grandma, please don't say that. Grandma..."
"What can I say? I can't have children!"
The old lady glared at her angrily, "I've lived to such an old age, what have I not seen? How can a person who is so sick and has died and come back to life again, be cured? It's just that her ancestors have accumulated good deeds, and she can live a few more years. She will be happy to be able to eat and drink. I hope she can give Junying children. Don't even think about it! Just wait and see, if Junying doesn't listen to me, he will only have Heng'er as his child. If anything happens to him, there will be no descendants!"
Mother Ji didn't dare to say anything more. The old lady's words were getting harsher and harsher. If Lord Hou and the eldest young master's wife heard this, there would be another quarrel.
In the evening, when Xu Junying returned home, Meimei told him about Zhuang Yulan's birth of a baby boy. He smiled and said, "That's great. This way, her position as the mistress of the Shi family will be secure. The old lady can rest assured."
"The old lady will say you don't know gold and jade again!"
"Jin Xiangyu is here! They don't understand, but I do!"
Xu Junying pinched her face and said, "Miss Liu still won't give in? I tried Lao Liu yesterday. He really was like you said, he insisted on having Miss Liu!"
"Well, the more I know him, the more I like him. But I think Miss Liu is not unmoved either. She didn't react, but she just had some concerns!"
"What are you worried about?"
"Girls' thoughts. Why are you asking so many questions?"
"Isn't this a request for my brother?"
"I'm here! Your sister-in-law is like a mother. You don't have to worry about marriage and having children!"
Xu Junying smiled and pulled her long black hair: "You are the eldest sister-in-law... the eldest sister-in-law who is greedy for money!"
He remembered something and let go of Meimei: "I have to read the official documents. It may be late. If you are sleepy, go to bed first!"
Meimei responded. Looking at his back, she suddenly realized what was going on and jumped up to chase him: "Give me back my money..."
The study door had been closed long ago. Xu Junying laughed softly at the door and said, "Don't make a fuss! The money will show up in a few days. How can you make a fuss if the servants hear you?"
"Well! You bad guy, liar!"
Meimei kicked the door and turned to leave. However, Xu Junying could not help but open the door and carry her into the study. The two of them lingered in there for a long time before Meimei came out with a blushing face, called Cuixi over, and asked her to prepare a midnight snack for Lord Hou.
Xu Xiaorong was pregnant a few years ago. She was extremely unwell, and Liang Yongzhi was considerate of his wife. He wanted to bring gifts back to Hou Mansion to pay New Year's greetings, but he had to ask his uncle. His uncle was worried, and the father and son came together, so Hou Mansion had to entertain them. The old lady thought of Xu Xiaojuan, after all, she was her granddaughter, and she was in the capital, so it would be too cold not to let her come to pay New Year's greetings, so she asked Xu Junying to send someone to pick up her family of four, so that they could entertain two sons-in-law on the same day.
Xu Xiaojuan's appearance hasn't changed much, she's still fat or thin, but she still looks deceptively cold and proud, with the elegant demeanor of a noble lady. Meimei was deceived by her appearance at first, but after getting to know her, she realized how stupid and annoying she was.
Li Zhao had changed. He became less talkative and no longer as handsome as he was in the Hou Mansion. He had lost weight and looked unwell. However, he took care of the two children more than Xu Xiaojuan, so the two children stayed around him longer.
Xu Junying did not tell Meimei about the couple Xu Xiaojuan, but Gan, who was sitting with Meimei while drinking tea, told her quietly: two of Master Li's concubines were pregnant at the same time, and then the concubine, Luo Xiangying, also became pregnant. The eldest aunt took advantage of Master Li's absence to visit friends and asked the maid to force the two concubines to drink abortion drugs. The three-month-old fetus came out at noon after being fed the drugs on an empty stomach in the morning. Hongyu died on the spot, but Luyu survived by chance. Luo Xiangying was frightened and fainted, fell down the stairs and miscarried. Master Li came back and fought with the eldest aunt like crazy. At that time, a family member ran back to the Hou Mansion to report the news. The housekeeper received orders from the Hou that as long as there were masters at home, the eldest aunt's affairs should not be reported to the eldest young master's wife. The fourth master went to deal with the matter. The fourth master came back and said that the scene was indeed bloody and horrible. He did not dare to reprimand his elder sister, so he could only comfort Master Li. The sixth master arrived shortly afterwards and brought some silver and supplements. What else could he do?
Meimei watched Xu Xiaojuan trying to please the old lady. Her face, which looked so much like Mrs. Zheng, gave her a slight chill in her heart.
What would it be like if Madam Zheng was as healthy as before and took charge of the mansion?
Not long after the brother-in-law and the aunt were talking with the old lady at Jinhua Hall, the housekeeper came in person to report that someone from the palace had come to deliver some items to the old lady.
The old lady was startled, then delighted. She quickly stood up and pointed at Xu Xiping and Xu Junying, "Hurry up and answer her! Go! It's the Empress Dowager from the palace. Don't neglect her!"
Xu Junying did not move, and motioned Junxuan to go out. After a while, Lao Liu brought in a beautiful and pretty girl. After directing the palace maids who followed her to present the gift given by the Queen Mother, she knelt down in front of the old lady with a smile:
"Ayao kowtowed to the ancestors!"
"Good boy, get up, get up! Come here - who are you?"
The old lady took Wu Ziyao's hand and looked her up and down: "Oh, this girl is like a fairy from the sky, so lovely!"
Wu Ziyao held the old lady's hand and said with a smile: "Grandma, my name is Wu Ziyao, and my father is Wu Busheng!"
"Oh my! Are you Wu Busheng's daughter? My son! He's already this big!"
The old lady couldn't help but feel happy: "Wu Busheng, General Fengguo. How is your father? He came to my house that year and carried your brother Junying on his shoulders. Junying was only this old at that time!"
The old lady gestured, Wu Ziyao pursed her lips and smiled, then turned her head proudly to glance at Xu Junying, who was sitting below Xu Xiping, his eyes looking at her nose and his nose looking at his heart, which Meimei found very funny.
"Grandfather! A Yao has been in the capital for a few days. Because the Queen Mother was not feeling well the other day, A Yao could not leave the palace to pay respects to the Grandfather. I hope the Grandfather will forgive me! These gifts are from the Queen Mother. The two things over there were specially prepared by my parents. I asked A Yao to bring them to the Grandfather, and taught A Yao to kowtow to the Grandfather more often!"
"Good! That's thoughtful. I received your feedback. Thank you for your parents' concern!"
The old lady smiled and hugged Wu Ziyao to sit down beside her. She grabbed a handful of pine nuts and put them in her hand. She smiled kindly and said, "These are freshly fried. They are very fragrant. Eat them. If you like to eat candied sugar, melon seeds, and candied dates, they are all on the table. You can choose whatever you like."
Wu Ziyao peeled the pine nuts and put them into the old lady's mouth, smiling sweetly: "The old ancestor eats them too! I like the old ancestor as soon as I see him. The old ancestor loves me. I will come here often in the future!"
"Come, you must come! You might as well live here with our ancestors. Treat this place as your home. This place will be your home from now on!"
In front of a room full of people, an old man and a young man showed respect for the elderly and love for the young. Meimei was very depressed: Do you really treat the people below as the audience? You should ask them if they like to watch it first!
Then the old lady asked Wu Ziyao in detail: "How old is Ah Yao this year? Are you living well in the palace? Have you seen your sister?"
"To answer the old ancestor: A Yao is fifteen years old this year. My father asked A Yao to come here to pay respects to the Queen Mother, and then come to visit the old ancestor. The Queen Mother loves A Yao very much. Sister Zhenfei has also seen it. The Emperor loves Sister Zhenfei. Sister Zhenfei is becoming more and more beautiful. A Yao is very happy! But...someone treats A Yao badly!"
Wu Ziyao pouted and acted unhappy, and the old lady tried to comfort her: "Who is it? Whoever dares to treat our Ayao badly, I will beat him with my cane!"
Wu Ziyao turned her head to look at Xu Junying, smiled again, and said to the old lady coquettishly: "Grandma, you love Ayao and make the decision for Ayao. It's brother Junying who treats Ayao badly!"
The old lady looked at Xu Junying and said, "What did he do to you? Tell me, I will punish him!"
"Brother Junying deserves to be punished! He loved me so much when I was a child, but now he not only refuses to acknowledge me, but also beats me! On the Lantern Festival, I was waiting for him at the palace gate. I finally waited for Brother Junying's carriage to arrive. I wanted to meet him, but he hit my horse without any mercy, causing me to fall off. My legs are almost broken!"
"Oh? How could this happen?" The old lady scolded Xu Junying sternly: "Junying, this is what you did wrong. How could you treat A Yao like this? She is like your sister! Her father was a general under your father's command and loved you so much. You should not repay him, but you should not have broken her horse and caused her to fall to the ground. How can you take responsibility for the fall of such a delicate girl? You! Why don't you say something to A Yao?"
Wu Ziyao looked at Xu Junying from the side, smiling. Xu Junying glanced at her and said:
"She was too naughty and bumped into my carriage. I should have walked in front of the palace gate. If the guards had been in front, you would have been dead!"
Wu Ziyao's smile disappeared, and she shook the old lady: "Look at him, Grandfather! He also scared me like this in the palace. The emperor is still here, and he dares to say that!"
The old lady frowned and said, "Junying, don't treat your sister like this! I don't know about this, but you have to say something nice to her today!"
Xu Junying looked at Meimei, Meimei turned her eyes away, Xu Junying smiled helplessly: "Okay, just say it, this year has passed, and you still want to hear nice words - Sister Ziyao, I'll apologize to you, okay?"
Wu Ziyao smiled happily, but then said, "This doesn't count!"
The old lady was surprised: "This is pretty good, why doesn't it count?"
Wu Ziyao shook the old lady's hand: "Grandma! Brother Junying didn't call me like this since I was a child. He called me 'Ayao', that counts!"
"Oh! My little ancestor!" The old lady smiled and said to Xu Junying, "In that case, just call me son, or your grandmother will be so confused by her!"
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