Chapter 14 Chapter 14 This Mrs. Deng is like their mother...
Fang Ying had just been lying down for a while, and now she had to comb her hair because she was going to meet a guest. Lichun wanted to find her some clothes to change into, but she stopped him, "Don't bother. Just bring me that new pomegranate red jacket and I'll wear it over it."
Lichun quickly found the jacket, and Xingniang and she helped her put it on, then went out to Li's room.
She felt that she had not delayed at all, but when she arrived at Li's place, she still didn't see anyone.
"Liu Lang, take them to settle down first." Li said, patted her side, asked Fang Ying to come and sit down, and then explained to her in detail.
"The fisherman's surname was Deng. His father died early, leaving behind only his mother and sister. His mother, Mrs. Deng, knelt down when she saw me. Several people helped her up. After finally sitting down, she burst into tears again when she mentioned her son and couldn't speak. Liu Lang said he would take them to settle down first, let them rest, and talk after they calmed down."
Fang Ying nodded. "It's been a long journey, and it must have been tiring. Madam Deng must be quite old, right?"
"I didn't bother to ask. She looks quite old, but her daughter..." Li frowned slightly, "She said she's only sixteen."
Fang Ying wasn't surprised at all. Wasn't this a common story in operas? When a rich young man falls into trouble, a beautiful woman will come to his rescue. Even if the beautiful woman can't save him herself, there will always be a kind-hearted and helpful father and brother who will lend a hand.
She remained expressionless and asked with a smile, "Really? That's great! He's about my age, and I have another person to talk to. Which courtyard will they settle in? I'll go get some thick bedding..."
Li held her hand and shook her head, saying, "They didn't settle down in our house. Liu Lang rented a yard for them outside. This brat has learned a lot of skills in the past few years outside."
Already rented a courtyard outside? Fang Ying had never imagined that with a courtyard and staff in the mansion, wouldn't it be more convenient to settle her there? Could it be that Ji Yanlang was really having an affair with the young lady from the Deng family? If so, she should be settled in the mansion, close to the water and conveniently kept in the room, unless... he wanted to marry her in a formal way...
"It's okay." Seeing Fang Ying lost in thought, Li squeezed her hand and soothed her with a smile, "I've sent Fu Niang over to help. We'll know what's going on soon."
Fu Niang was one of the maids who followed Li to the Ji Mansion when she married. She served Li for more than 30 years and was always trusted. It was said that she occasionally educated Li's sons on her behalf. Therefore, in the mansion, all the younger people had to respectfully call her Fu Ma.
This is a person who was sent to calm Ji Yanlang down.
Fang Ying's heart warmed. She leaned towards her mother-in-law and leaned against her, saying, "It shouldn't be a big deal. Liu Lang just wants to repay them for saving his life, right? Living with us is convenient, but they're orphans and widows, and they don't know our family's temperaments. I'm afraid they'll feel like they're living under someone else's roof. It would be more comfortable for them to rent a yard outside and live there."
Seeing that she was still speaking up for her son, Mrs. Li felt mixed emotions, some relieved, some sad.
"But why didn't he tell me beforehand? He's been out the last few days, apparently busy with this. I wonder if he's thoughtful enough. The Dengs, mother and daughter, came from the south, so they probably don't have any winter clothes. Mother, what's the size of that young lady? Will she be able to wear my clothes?"
"She's about the same height, so she can't wear your clothes. They're still in mourning. Have someone make another one quickly, or buy a couple of ready-made ones for her to wear first."
Fang Ying smiled and looked at Li's face. "Mother and Liu Lang are angry, but it's not good to vent your anger on others. I'd better wait for Aunt Fu to come back and ask what's missing so that I can help buy it. After all, I saved Liu Lang's life."
Li took her hand, placed it in the palm of her other hand, and squeezed it vigorously. She sighed, "I've made him so angry that he's confused. It's amazing that you still understand. Good girl, when Fu Niang comes back, I'll have her report to you."
Fang Ying agreed and advised, "Don't be angry, mother. Liu Lang is fine. Father will be home soon. There will be happy events in the future."
"If Liu Lang were half as sensible as you, I wouldn't have anything to be angry about. Now, go back and rest. You've been busy all day."
Seeing that her mother-in-law really didn't want to talk anymore, Fang Ying stood up and left as she said.
Xinmei walked her out all the way to the courtyard gate. Before she showed any intention of going back, Fang Ying joked, "Sister Xinmei, now you have some free time. Do you finally want to come sit in our courtyard?"
Xinmei smiled and said, "I had some snacks first to fill my stomach. I drank too much water and I'm a little bloated. I'll take advantage of sending Liu Niang off and walk a few more steps to relieve my gas."
Fang Ying took her hand and said, "That's great." They walked out together.
"Sixth Lady, aren't you curious about what the young lady from the Deng family looks like?" After walking a few steps, Xinmei spoke first.
"I'm curious." Fang Ying shook Xinmei's arm. "Sister, tell me quickly, is she a beauty?"
Since there was no one else on the road, Xinmei just let her call her that and replied with a smile, "Among the small families out there, I'd be considered a beauty, but I can't compare to Liu Niang."
This sounded quite interesting, so Fang Ying asked, "What about his temperament? Is it possible to tell?"
"What can you tell from just hearing her mother's howling?" Xinmei said, looking troubled. "Actually, the Madam's anger isn't just because Liu Lang brought someone in without even saying hello..."
"Didn't he tell Mom in advance?" Fang Ying had wanted to ask this for a long time.
"Of course not. When we talked about what happened back then, Liu Lang just said that Deng Dalang had no male descendants in his family, only his widowed mother and young sister. He promised his savior that he would take care of them in the future, so when he returned to the capital, he arranged for someone to escort the mother and sister to the capital. Liu Niang knows Madam best. Not to mention Liu Lang's savior, even if she had no connection with him, she would not ignore such a matter after hearing about it."
Fang Ying nodded: "That's right. So he didn't tell Mother in advance that he would arrive today, right?"
"Yes, Madam only found out after everyone entered the second gate, so she immediately sent for Liu Niang. Also, Liu Lang had originally been talking to Madam about a younger sister, constantly referring to her as a little sister, and Madam had always assumed she was eight at most. But when she brought her in today, she turned out to be just twenty-eight."
“…”
Xinmei sighed, "That's fine. From what I've seen, Liu Lang truly treats that young lady like a younger sister. But that Madam Deng kowtows to Madam as soon as she enters the house, calling her 'Princess' all the time. I don't know where she learned that from..."
Her brows were furrowed, her eyes full of contempt. "I finally managed to help her up, but when I mentioned her son, she started slapping her legs and crying. She even said that if it weren't for Liu Lang, her son wouldn't have died."
Fang Ying never heard the whole thing. "How did Deng Dalang die?"
"He was killed by a stray arrow on the battlefield!" Xinmei squeezed Fang Ying's hand. "Sixth Lady, Madam is too kind to say this, but I can't let you be kept in the dark and really believe that Deng Dalang's death is related to us. I can't tell what the young lady is like right now, but Madam Deng seems to be blaming Liu Lang for everything."
No wonder the lady was so angry. Ji Yanlang really handled this matter... But he had been there for three years, and he probably had developed a bond with this family. Once there was a bond, it would be difficult for him to do things decisively.
"I see. Thank you, sister. It's windy and cold, so please don't see me off. Go back. If you're really free someday, I'll treat you to tea."
Xinmei smiled and said, "Okay, I'll bother Liuniang later."
After the two parted ways, Fang Ying took Lichun and turned east from the fork in the road. They walked around the small garden, took a walk, and sorted out their thoughts.
"My dear, why does it sound like my husband has no rules at all when doing these things?" Lichun asked her quietly.
"It sounds like there isn't one, but if you think about it, there is one."
Deng Dalang died from a stray arrow. Before he died, he must have entrusted his mother and sister to Ji Yanlang. When this news reached the ears of the mother and sister, they would inevitably think that he was entrusting his life to Ji Yanlang.
Regardless of whether Ji Yanlang had this intention or not, when he returned home and saw Li's attitude towards her and the Fang family, he knew that this was absolutely not feasible. However, he could not ignore the mother and daughter, so he first told Li vaguely, and then found time to rent a yard outside to accommodate Madam Deng and her daughter.
"I still don't understand why you don't just settle down at home. It's not easy to talk about it outside..."
"Do you think it's okay to stay at home? No matter what, he's in a suspicious position. If he lets the mother and daughter live here, they'll hear the servants gossiping sooner or later. It's better to keep them outside where it's quiet, at least they won't hear anything."
"That's right." Lichun said, thought for a moment, and then said, "It would be better to explain the matter to Madam from the beginning and let Madam make the arrangements."
Fang Ying smiled and said, "You're right. However, he probably felt that Madam Deng had already worried her so much over the past three years that he didn't want to burden her with these matters. Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. Madam Deng, seeing the wealth of the mansion, probably wanted to marry her daughter to him even more."
"Don't worry, my lady. Madam won't agree to it."
Fang Ying laughed: "What should I worry about? Let's go back and prepare some things. We don't have mourning clothes, but I remember making a new plain jacket, which I can wear over the linen coat. And find some padded trousers..."
The master and servant went back and rummaged through the drawers and cupboards to find a pile of winter clothes. Fang Ying also asked the maids to quickly make some menstrual belts so that the young lady of the Deng family would not be embarrassed to ask for her period when she got it, and would have to endure the discomfort and do it herself.
By the time she had finished packing the things, Aunt Fu also arrived.
"Liu Lang has already prepared the bedding and curtains. He has also bought winter clothes. I touched them and I'm afraid they are not very warm."
"I think so. Those sold outside are definitely not as warm as what we make ourselves. Sister Laofu, please bring these over. By the way, are there enough staff in the courtyard?"
"Don't worry, Liu Niang. When I left, I brought a few maids with me. Liu Lang didn't want to use anyone at home, so he hired two maids who could cook. But when I saw Madam just now, she was still worried and asked Madam Du to go with me and keep an eye on him for a few days."
Nanny Du is another person who is not afraid of Ji Yanlang.
Fang Ying couldn't help but smile: "Thank you for your hard work, Madams." "It's not hard at all. Actually, I just chatted with Madam Deng and her daughter, and talked about the rules of our capital."
Fang Ying heard the hidden meaning and signaled everyone else to leave, leaving only Lichun to serve. Then she asked Aunt Fu, "Did they come straight to the mansion to see mother when they arrived in Beijing?"
"Yes, but Liu Lang didn't originally plan to do so. He had already taken the people to the small courtyard, but it was Madam Deng who insisted on meeting the Madam, so she hurried over."
"Why didn't you send someone to report first? Mother only found out after we entered the second gate."
Nanny Fu said, "From what I've seen, it seems that the mother and daughter don't know that Liu Lang has married you."
It turned out that he was just on guard against her being there too.
The author has something to say:
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Sorry, my period has come...
Go to sleep, good night~
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