Chapter 17 Chapter 17 This infatuated woman, it seems she must...
Fang Ying's thoughts raced, wondering whether to simply admit it and talk it out, or to cling to her words and remain infatuated to the end - both had their pros and cons, and it would be difficult for her to make a choice immediately, so she might as well find an excuse to delay.
Just as she thought of this, Xi Liu outside seemed to hear her inner voice and replied through the door curtain: "My dear, my lady, the madam sent a message saying that she received several gifts today and asked you two to go and take a look."
The reinforcements arrived, and Fang Ying breathed a sigh of relief in her heart - this girl Xi Liu was quite perceptive. She saw that the situation was not right and knew to report to the lady. She had to be credited with a merit.
"I understand. Let's go." Seeing that Ji Yanlang didn't say anything, Fang Ying responded first.
Seeing that he was still wearing his official robes, he asked, "Sir, would you like to change your clothes?"
Ji Yanlang was so angry at her nonchalant attitude that he laughed, "Who said they wouldn't leave until they had made things clear?"
"Didn't mother ask us to go..."
"What's the hurry? It won't hurt to say a few more words." Ji Yanlang turned to ask Lichun, "What's your name?"
Lichun had been panicking for a long time, and when he asked her this question, she couldn't help but tremble, "Your servant Li, Lichun."
"Why are you shaking?" Ji Yanlang was puzzled. "Get out first."
Although Lichun was afraid, he was even more worried about his master. He stood still, looking at Fang Ying, waiting for her to speak.
"Go ahead and ask Xiliu to prepare your husband's casual clothes. He will need to change in a while." Fang Ying's tone was calm, and her eyes were full of comfort.
Only then did Lichun bow and leave.
"Don't worry, I haven't mentioned this to my mother yet. If we can reach an agreement, I won't mention it again."
What? Was he going to bring up the idea of divorce again and have his wife adopt her as her adopted daughter? Fang Ying frowned slightly.
Ji Yanlang guessed what she was thinking and continued, "I said I agree with this marriage and won't talk about divorce anymore. I also remember all the hard work you've put in in my family over the past two years. I will do my best to take care of your family and won't treat you unfairly. However, I still say that you are not allowed to interfere in my affairs, especially those outside."
Fang Ying understood: "My dear, what you mean is that I should just stay at home and be a decoration. Am I right?"
"Whatever you think, this is my rule anyway. Take your time to think about it and come back to me when you've made up your mind." Ji Yanlang stood up and said finally, "Think clearly about what you want in this family and do less meaningless things." Then he strode out.
Fang Ying didn't stop him this time because she was genuinely tempted—just being a decoration at home, taking care of the people in the mansion, and not having to worry about him—was there such a good thing in the world? Wasn't this the reason she'd taken the risk and married him in the first place?
"My wife?"
Fang Ying came back to her senses and saw Lichun standing beside her with a worried look on his face. Remembering that she still had to go to Li's place, she smiled and said, "It's okay. Go get me my jacket. You don't have to come with me later. Just rest in your room. Tell Xingniang to come with me."
Lichun agreed, took the clothes and came back. While helping Fang Ying put them on, she asked quietly, "My husband won't tell my wife, will he?"
"He said no." Fang Ying comforted Lichun, but immediately asked in her heart: But can I trust him? Even if what he said at this moment was sincere, when a man turns his face and is ruthless, what can't he do?
She must never agree to his words. If she did, these words would become her handle and he could use it to threaten her to do anything he wanted. She could even skip the threat and tell Li about these words without her knowing...
Fang Ying broke out in a cold sweat instantly.
Forget it, there is no regret for making a move, and there is no turning back once the arrow is shot. It seems that this infatuated girl has to keep acting.
Fang Ying held Xingniang's hand, straightened her back, and walked out of the room.
Ji Yanlang had already changed his clothes and was waiting at the door of the east wing. When he saw her come out, he turned around and walked towards the courtyard gate without saying a word. Fang Ying took a few quick steps to catch up. The two of them kept a distance of one step away and went to Li's courtyard one after the other.
Li had a smile on her face. When she saw the two of them, she asked them to show the gift list separately. She also pointed at the little gadgets on the kang table and said who sent them and how unique and cute they were, as if she didn't know that her son and daughter-in-law had just had a fight.
Since she didn't ask, Fang Ying and Ji Yanlang naturally didn't mention it either. They just joined in the fun and praised it a few times, and asked their mother to keep it and play with it, which was their filial piety.
"Alright, I know you're filial, but I haven't liked these toys lately. I picked them out to remind you that the official rewards have arrived, and there are gifts from various families. You should also pick some out and give them to your brothers, sisters, and nephews and nieces." Li said, looking at her son, "Everyone has been worried about you all these years. Sending them some small toys is also a way to show your care."
"Mother is so thoughtful. I didn't even think of this." Ji Yanlang said first, "But according to our family's rules, whether it's a reward or a gift, isn't it always confiscated by the public? Wouldn't it be inappropriate for me to give these to my family members?"
"There's nothing wrong with it. You were away from home for three years, and I gave every one of them enough. Besides, the things were given to them, so I'm the only one who suffered a loss."
Ji Yanlang smiled and said, "Wait until I make more military achievements and earn more rewards for mother..." Halfway through his words, he saw Fang Ying wink at him, and then saw that the smile on his mother's face had indeed faded. He came to his senses and said, "Then I will be promoted to a high position and become a prime minister, so mother will not be at a loss."
Li glanced at him sideways and said, "Your father didn't even dare to ask for the position of Prime Minister, yet you dare to think about it."
Ji Yanlang chuckled: "Think about it, what's there to be afraid of? Mom, is the meal ready? Your son is hungry."
In fact, Mrs. Li saw Fang Ying winking at her son, and based on this, she judged that nothing serious happened between the two, so she asked someone to put the things away first and serve the meal.
After dinner, Li sent Fang Ying back first and asked Ji Yanlang, "I heard you were furious when you came back. What happened?"
"No." Ji Yanlang played dumb. "Who said that?"
"From the main gate to the secondary gate, everyone who saw you said so. Fu Niang also said that you went to Deng's house first, sat there for a while, and then left with a face full of anger."
“…”
"Since you refuse to tell me, let me guess. You were chatting and laughing with me when you came here, and you didn't look for anyone else when you went home. This anger... is directed at Ying'er, right?"
Ji Yanlang listened to his mother's calm words, without any accusation on her face, and said, "My son really doesn't get angry. It's probably because I've been in the army for a few years and have trained my face to look too fierce in order to intimidate my peers. My family isn't used to it, so when they see me without a smile on my face, they think I'm angry."
Li glanced at him and asked, "Have you practiced this?"
"Of course not. When Dad comes back, I'll have to ask him for advice on how to appear more majestic."
Li snorted, "Your father's authority isn't something he cultivated." Without waiting for her son to reply, she went back to the subject, "If you don't want to talk about it, forget it. I've actually decided to refrain from interfering in your affairs as a couple in the future."
"mother……"
Ji Yanlang wanted to explain, but Li waved her hand and said, "I'm speaking from the heart. You're grown up and have experienced a lot. You don't need me to teach you how to live your life. Besides, when it comes to matters between husband and wife, it's not something that can be fixed just because I, as a mother, want you to be well. It all depends on you."
Her son has been rebellious since he was young. No matter how much you tell him to do something, if he doesn't want to do it, he will make you feel bad even if he does it. On the contrary, the more you forbid him to do something, the more he will try to overcome it, even if there are thousands of difficulties and dangers ahead, to see what the situation will be like.
So Li really made up her mind that as long as the situation did not get out of hand, she would not interfere in the conflict between the young couple. It was because of this decision that she did not send anyone away immediately when the little girl came to report the news.
Young couples will always have quarrels. They can just make up after the quarrel and slowly get to know each other's temper.
"But there's something I need to tell you. Xinmei," Li called the maid over, "tell Liulang what the ladies said about the Deng family mother and daughter in my room yesterday."
Ji Yanlang frowned immediately: "Who? Why are they talking about them here with you?"
Li picked up the tea and said calmly, "Listen carefully and we'll talk after you finish."
Seeing Liu Lang looking at her, Xin Mei recited the story from beginning to end, reciting how An and Cheng had started the conversation and how Fang Ying had responded. "In the end, Er Niang felt less and less like what they were saying, so she pulled Liu Niang aside and excused herself. That was the end of it."
"Did she - I mean Fang Ying - really say that?" Ji Yanlang asked.
"My memory is pretty good, so I shouldn't have learned anything wrong," Xinmei said.
Mrs. Li nodded and said, "Yes, that's what I said. If you're worried that we might have remembered it wrong, you can ask your second sister-in-law."
Ji Yanlang came out of his mother's yard with a lot of confused thoughts in his mind. After thinking about it, he really went to his second brother's place.
Ji Yanshou thought his sixth brother still wanted to discuss the Imperial Guards, so he asked the maid to tell him to go to the study and wait, and he would be there soon. Unexpectedly, the maid replied, "Sixth Brother asked if the lady was free. He said he had something to ask."
Yue Qing'e was sitting next to him. Upon hearing this, she said in surprise, "Ask me for advice? What could he possibly want to ask me for advice on? This is truly strange."
"Then please invite him to sit in the hall." Ji Yanshou waited for the maid to leave and said to his wife, "Didn't you just say that Liu Lang rushed into the house with a furious look on his face and many people saw it?"
"Could it be that he came for his sixth brother's wife?" Yue Qing'e guessed.
"Probably. Let's go."
The couple went out of the hall and Ji Yanlang came in.
On his way here, he felt that if he didn't ask clearly, he wouldn't be able to sleep tonight. Now that he saw his brother and sister-in-law, he felt a little presumptuous. He rubbed the back of his neck and said with a silly smile, "I'm really disturbing my second brother and sister-in-law so late... Are my nieces asleep?"
"No, I need to play for a while before I can go to sleep. Liu Lang, please sit down." Yue Qing'e and her husband also sat down and said with a smile, "It's rare for you to come and sit down. Your second brother and I are very happy. But, is there anything you can ask Liu Lang?"
Ji Yanshou echoed, "That's right, why are you being so polite to me and your sister-in-law?"
Hearing his brother and sister-in-law say this, Ji Yanlang was not one to beat around the bush, so he said directly: "I just vaguely heard that yesterday at my mother's house, the third and fourth sisters-in-law asked about my benefactor's mother and sister. I want to know what they said. Can the second sister-in-law tell me?"
"This matter..." Yue Qing'e began to wonder in her heart. It was not right that Liu Lang cared so much about the mother and daughter.
"Why don't you ask your sixth brother's wife?" she asked after a pause.
Ji Yanlang didn't know how to answer for a moment.
Seeing this, Yue Qing'e's face showed enlightenment: "Did you just have an argument with your sixth brother's wife and feel embarrassed to ask her?"
Ji Yanlang: "..." Does this mean the whole family knows that he and Fang Ying had a fight?
"Then you've come to the right person to ask me." Yue Qing'e sighed. "Speaking of which, I've met many kind-hearted and charitable people, but she's the only one like my sixth sister-in-law who, at such a young age, understands and sympathizes with those facing difficult circumstances, and isn't condescending or self-righteous at all."
She imitated the verbal exchange between the sisters-in-law yesterday, "To be honest, I originally thought that you shouldn't have done this, Liu Lang. But after hearing what Sixth Brother's wife said, I realized that you had good intentions."
Ji Yanshou, who was standing nearby, nodded repeatedly as he listened. After his wife finished, he smiled and said, "I didn't expect Sixth Sister-in-law to understand your thoughts better than we do. You should control your temper from now on. If you have anything to say, talk to your sister-in-law. I think she's very reasonable."
Ji Yanlang remained silent. Yue Qing'e thought for a moment, then glanced at her husband with a smile, "How dare you say that? Yesterday, when I left mother's house, I even apologized to my sixth brother's wife for secretly helping Liu Lang rent the small courtyard."
"..." Ji Yanshou couldn't help feeling embarrassed when his wife scolded him in front of his sixth brother. He cleared his throat twice and picked up the teacup to drink.
Yue Qing'e didn't really want to blame him, she just wanted to lead to the next part: "Who knew that Sixth Brother's wife said no, she really thinks Liu Lang's arrangement is correct - Liu Lang is not wrong, so what can you, your 'accomplice', do wrong?"
Ji Yanshou put down his teacup and glanced at his brother: "Did you hear that? Go back and apologize to them. Sixth brother's wife is so magnanimous. If you still insist on being stubborn, you won't be a real man."
Seeing that Ji Yanlang still had a look of hesitation on his face, Yue Qing'e simply asked, "Sixth Brother, do you have anything else to ask? What was the matter with you two today? I've been with your sister-in-law for a long time. Tell me so I can help you understand."
"Sister-in-law, I have always had a question. Mother said Fang Ying has feelings for me. Do you think so too?" Ji Yanlang hesitated for a moment, but still asked this question.
"Sixth brother's wife just has feelings for you, otherwise how could she do all this?" Yue Qing'e said without hesitation.
"Then how did you know? She wouldn't tell it herself, would she?"
Yue Qing'e laughed: "She is just a young lady, how can she say such things? We saw it."
"How did you know that?" Ji Yanlang asked.
Yue Qing'e smiled and said, "It's difficult to explain this clearly. It's nothing more than observing her words and actions. Young girls' feelings are especially hidden. If I weren't close to her, I might not be able to see it."
Seeing that he couldn't get any more answers by asking, Ji Yanlang finally stood up and said goodbye.
Ji Yanshou escorted him out and, as they reached the courtyard, instructed him, "Go back and apologize to them. It's been really hard for Sixth Brother's wife to be with us these past two years. It's so hard for you to finally come back, but not only do you not show any sympathy for her, you're also letting her suffer further ridicule because of you. How can you live with that?"
Second brother has always been good-tempered and never says harsh words to others. To him, this sentence is already considered very harsh. Ji Yanlang nodded: "I know, second brother, go back."
On his way back, his second brother's words kept lingering in his ears, and he couldn't get rid of them until he entered his own yard.
"My dear, you are back. Your lady is waiting for you in the hall. She said she has something to tell you." The maidservant at the gate reported.
Ji Yanlang glanced at the lights in the hall and walked over slowly.
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