Chapter 121 Chapter 121 Husband and wife are one, so this is what it is like...
When Ji Yanlang arrived at the Fang family's house to meet his father-in-law, he began with some polite words about his parents' well-being, and recounted his experiences on the way north. Then, before Fang Chengxun invited him to dinner, he said, "I'm here today to apologize to you, my father-in-law."
He stood up and bowed deeply. Fang Chengxun was stunned and quickly stood up to support him. "What are you talking about, Liu Lang? What's worth apologizing for?"
Ji Yanlang turned around and called out, "Bring the things here."
After his attendant delivered the bundle of money, he feigned shame and said, "When my son-in-law returned home, Ying'er was happy, but there was a look of worry between her brows. When I asked her about it, I learned that she was upset because she forgot to send this month's money."
Fang Chengxun looked puzzled: "Didn't it come?"
"It seems my mother-in-law didn't mention it either." Ji Yanlang smiled bitterly. "Then... Ying'er came back once on the fifth day of the first lunar month. Did my father-in-law know about it?"
Fang Chengxun vaguely sensed something was amiss, but nodded nonetheless. "Your mother-in-law said something was going on at the Zhou residence, and they wanted to take Chu Yin, the second-in-law's mistress, back home."
"That's what my mother-in-law said..."
"What's going on?" Fang Chengxun asked. Seeing Ji Yanlang's troubled expression, he pressed on, "What's going on? Liu Lang, feel free to tell me."
Ji Yanlang then recounted Fang Ying's story from the beginning, concluding, "After Ying'er returned, she couldn't understand why her mother-in-law missed her so much. She was so heartbroken that she even asked the servants to prepare the Double Ninth Festival gifts. A few days later, her grief subsided, and when she asked, she learned that the servants had only delivered the festival gifts."
Fang Chengxun just kept listening without interrupting, but his expression had already darkened.
"My son-in-law asked her why she didn't send someone to bring it over that day. She said that she still felt a little angry when she thought about it. She was only thinking about her sister, but she didn't expect to be so suspected. It was delayed until my son-in-law returned home."
Ji Yanlang stood up again and clasped his fists, saying, "I am also at fault in this matter. When my second uncle was doing that, I didn't consider my mother-in-law..."
Fang Chengxun also supported him again and said, "What's wrong with you, my dear son-in-law? In my opinion, this is not a big deal. It's just a misunderstanding between mother and daughter."
Misunderstanding? Are you trying to smooth things over?
Ji Yanlang thought to himself, but he agreed with his words, "Father-in-law is right. I am afraid that if I don't explain clearly, it will lead to more misunderstandings, so I came to your house to report this."
"I'm well aware of your and Ying'er's filial piety. How could I misunderstand you over such a trivial matter?" Fang Chengxun supported his son-in-law's elbow, his tone exceptionally gentle. "As for the money, I've always wanted to tell you, but I was afraid of offending your filial piety..."
"father in law……"
Ji Yanlang wanted to interrupt, but was stopped by Fang Chengxun: "Although my salary is meager, your brothers and sisters are still young and don't have much to spend money on. They also rarely socialize. On the contrary, you can't neglect your social interactions. Now that Madam is not in the capital, you should save some money for emergencies."
As he said this, he asked Ji Yanlang to take the money back, but Ji Yanlang naturally refused - the money had already been placed in front of his father-in-law, what would it look like to take it back?
Although Fang Ying also said that Fang Chengxun would not accept it this time, Ji Yanlang felt that he had to accept it. "Don't worry, father-in-law, the family has made arrangements. Ying'er and I will never be short of money."
The father-in-law and son-in-law refused for a long time, but Fang Chengxun finally accepted it reluctantly, but asked Ji Yanlang to promise that this was the last time and he would not send money again in the future.
"How am I going to explain this to Ying'er when I go back?" Ji Yanlang acted helpless.
Fang Chengxun said, "What should I tell her? Just say that it was me who said it." He then sent someone to the inner courtyard to tell the kitchen to send some wine and food so that he could have a few drinks with Ji Yanlang.
Ji Yanlang couldn't refuse, so he accompanied Fang Chengxun for dinner and drinks, and talked about major and minor events in the court and the capital. After the meal, he drank some tea. When he saw that it was almost time, he asked to leave.
Today, when he came to Fang's house, although the business was done, Fang Chengxun's attitude was beyond Ji Yanlang's expectations, leaving him with a thorn in his throat. Now that he could finally leave, he felt a little relieved, but he didn't expect that when he walked out of the room, there was a maid waiting in the corridor, asking him to stay.
"Guess what she said to me?" Ji Yanlang returned home and asked Fang Ying with a smile.
"Does my stepmother have anything to say?"
Ji Yanlang nodded: "He specifically waited for me to leave and said that."
Fang Ying thought about it and couldn't help but hold her forehead with her hand: "She's not going to complain to you, saying that I didn't give her this month's money, is she?"
"No one knows her better than you." Ji Yanlang said with a smile.
Fang Ying felt ashamed to have such an aunt and stepmother, but she was also curious: "Did my father hear it?"
"I didn't ask my father-in-law to see me out, but..." He chuckled twice, "There were quite a few people in the corridor, including Xu Kuan, who was sent by my father-in-law to see me off. His face turned green at that time."
"You left the money for my father?"
"Well, thank goodness I stayed, otherwise I would have been the one being laughed at."
"That won't happen. If I didn't keep it, it must be because my father was determined not to accept it. I slapped him in the face."
Ji Yanlang couldn't help but laugh out loud again: "Today I finally understand why you always can't help but say a few harsh words to your father-in-law."
"When have I ever been mean to my father?" Fang Ying didn't recognize the word. "Don't say that casually. I'm just straightforward and like to tell the truth."
"Yes, yes, you are straightforward." Ji Yanlang couldn't stop laughing.
Fang Ying glanced at him, but couldn't suppress her curiosity and asked, "What happened today? Has my father finally returned to his true self in front of you?"
Ji Yanlang laughed heartily: "Return to the true self..." He wiped away the tears of laughter, "You are so smart."
What's so funny about this? She was just trying to be more subtle. Otherwise, if she said "revealed her true colors," wouldn't he be surprised that she was disrespectful to her own father?
Seeing Fang Ying just staring at him without saying anything, Ji Yanlang smiled and replied, "Not really. It's more like I was blinded by a single leaf." He paused briefly and laughed, "That's a perfect phrase for this situation. It's like not seeing Mount Tai, isn't it?"
Fang Ying couldn't help but smile: "So, today I saw the real Taishan."
Ji Yanlang sighed and repeated his conversation with Fang Chengxun.
"He saw through your little trick immediately." Fang Ying smiled and shook her head. "Have you forgotten what kind of official he is?"
Ji Yanlang was stunned for a moment: "Official...ah!" He patted his knee lightly, "Father-in-law saw through me from the beginning, didn't he?"
"Well, first of all, he won't believe that I forgot, and you say I'm upset, which is even more impossible."
Ji Yanlang: “…”
"You didn't expect it, did you? My father knows a thing or two about my personality. If you listen to me and tell him I'm just angry, he'll actually believe it."
"That won't work. Saying you're angry is like admitting that you intentionally withheld the money." Ji Yanlang shook his head. "We can't use that as an excuse."
Fang Ying thought for a moment and said, "You're right. At least he has to acknowledge our filial piety now."
"Yes. But even if he saw through what I said, he shouldn't take it so lightly, right?"
What Ji Yanlang was most dissatisfied with was that his father-in-law didn't care about his mother-in-law's suspicion of Fang Ying. This clearly involved Fang Chengxun's two daughters, but he just used the four words "a little misunderstanding" to lightly let it go.
Thinking about it now, he was still a little angry. Unexpectedly, Fang Ying was not surprised at all when she heard it. She even laughed and said, "Last time, when it came to my uncle's matter, you even defended him by saying that since you were his son-in-law, it was only natural for him to cover up for my uncle and save his face. Why are you so angry now?"
"You mean..."
Fang Ying nodded: "He can't say bad things about my stepmother in front of you." Even though her father had scolded Pan in front of her, he did it on purpose to show her, and secondly, he did it behind closed doors so as not to embarrass himself in public.
Ji Yanlang was different. No matter how stupid Pan was, she was still his father's legally married wife and had given birth to a daughter and two sons for him. If he convicted Pan just because of a few words from his son-in-law, wouldn't he be looked down upon by his in-laws?
"You can't just let it go like this, right?" Ji Yanlang was still a little upset. "You clearly did it out of sincerity for your family. You went through so much trouble to invite Chu Yin, spending money and effort, but in the end, not only did you get nothing good, but you're also suspicious of you. I can't swallow this anger."
Fang Ying couldn't explain how she felt right now. She had actually expected her father's attitude and hadn't taken it to heart at first. But after hearing Ji Yanlang's words, a feeling of grievance did overflow from her heart.
Her stepmother was suspicious of her, and her biological father pretended to be deaf and dumb. In the end, only Ji Yanlang could empathize with her, feel sorry for her, and stand up for her.
For the first time, Fang Ying felt that perhaps Ji Yanlang was the person closest to her in the world. After hearing so many times about husband and wife being one, she realized that this was how it felt.
"Don't worry," she smiled and reached out to hold his broad hand. "Even if my father wanted to gloss over it, he can't get away with it now."
Ji Yanlang also laughed, stretched out his arms to pull Fang Ying into his arms, and nodded, "Yeah, who would have thought she would have someone waiting for me outside?"
"Maybe my father is angry right now." Fang Ying leaned on his shoulder and comforted him.
Ji Yanlang's anger finally dissipated, and he asked his daughter how her day was. The two chatted about family matters for a while, and the room was filled with tenderness and warmth. Lichun and other maids all breathed a sigh of relief.
Although they didn't see what happened the night before, yesterday morning, Liu Lang hissed as he stood up. When they rolled up their sleeves, they saw that his arms were covered with bruises.
The lady looked guilty and asked them to bring some medicinal wine, and then she rubbed Liu Lang's skin herself. Liu Lang was joking with the lady at the time, so they all thought it was nothing serious.
Unexpectedly, after turning out the lights and going to bed at night, the two of them started to quarrel again for some reason. The wife refused to let Liu Lang touch her, and Liu Lang seemed to be angry as well. When they woke up this morning, there was still an awkward feeling between them.
Things seemed to be getting better. After serving his two masters, Lichun took the lamp, closed the door, and went to the outer room to stand guard.
In the inner room, Ji Yanlang had his hand on Fang Ying's waist and was leaning close to her ear to ask, "Should it be over tonight?"
"Not too good."
Ji Yanlang was discouraged and was about to say a few more words of comfort when he heard Fang Ying continue, "Only once."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
