Chapter 20 Chapter 20 "I can't do it without making amends," Ji Yan...
When Ji Yanlang went out to the cavalry camp in the morning, he also heard about this matter from his followers. Nanny Fu had wanted to report to him in person yesterday, but she had never seen anyone, so she had to teach the words to the followers who accompanied him every day, so as to avoid delaying it for another day and causing trouble.
The two maids were hired from outside and signed a working contract. With the way Madam Deng is making trouble, they might quit tomorrow. Then they could find another job and chat with the other servants, saying that the previous family didn't even give them a full meal and only had porridge and pickles for two meals a day. Wouldn't that spread like wildfire and become known to everyone in the streets?
Their wife has done good deeds all her life, and they cannot let the reputation of the Ji family and Liu Lang be ruined by this Madam Deng.
After hearing this, Ji Yanlang was not surprised. He had originally planned to go back home directly after the court was dismissed, but because of this matter, he went to the Deng family first. When he returned home, he was a little later than yesterday.
When Fang Ying saw him enter the courtyard, she asked Xingniang to boil water and make tea. However, Ji Yanlang did not come in directly like yesterday. Instead, he went back to the east wing to change out of his official robes before coming to the main room and asking her to sit down in the study to talk as usual.
After taking his seat, Ji Yanlang drank a cup of tea to quench his thirst. He waited for the maid to refill the tea. He thought for a moment, not knowing where to start, so he simply told her about what happened today. "I just went to the Deng family. Aunt Deng is used to being poor, and suddenly she assigned them maids to do things. She was very uncomfortable with it. She always treated the maids as outsiders, not letting them into her room, and was reluctant to give them food."
"Those who have never employed servants are bound to be like this." Fang Ying didn't know what he meant, so she continued ambiguously.
"It's not just that I haven't had servants..." Ji Yanlang sighed softly, "It's that life was too hard before. When I was first brought back by Brother Deng, they had no food to eat the next day. That's why Aunt Deng complained and scolded me a lot."
Fang Ying was completely surprised. Seeing her surprised expression, Ji Yanlang smiled and said, "You didn't expect that I could experience the suffering of the people so thoroughly, did you?"
"...Does mother know?"
Ji Yanlang shook his head: "How can I tell her this? Don't say anything. It's over."
Then why did you tell me this? Fang Ying was muttering to herself when he continued, "I'm not telling you this to complain, but to say that Aunt Deng didn't mean to mistreat the maids. She hasn't had a full meal in a few days, and she's always worried about not having enough. She also feels that the maids don't do any serious work except sweeping the yard, buying groceries, and cooking, and yet they get paid, so why should they eat the same food as her and her daughter?"
"But people have to eat to live..." Fang Ying couldn't help but say.
"Yes, but in her opinion, not having enough to eat is the most common thing. Hiring a maid, the work is light, there is no beating or scolding, and the wages are paid, and they also have enough to eat. Where in the world can such a good thing be possible?" At this point, Ji Yanlang smiled helplessly, "When I told her, she was anxious and asked me to fire the two maids and give her all the wages. She can do everything herself."
Fang Ying thought about it, came to her senses, and sighed, "Indeed, I took it for granted. I forgot that even being a maid in the capital is much better off than many poor people in the world."
It is true that wealth and status are dazzling. She has witnessed with her own eyes the tragic situation of people who, no matter how hard they work, cannot afford to feed their families and have to sell their children. When she heard about Madam Deng's behavior, she did not even think about her original background, and she began to praise and criticize her in her heart. She felt ashamed for a moment.
"It's rare that you think this way," Ji Yanlang said sincerely. "If it were anyone else, they would definitely think I was exaggerating to save face and excuse Aunt Deng. They would never believe that there are people in the world who live such a hard life."
Fang Ying really didn't expect that one day she would hear these words from Ji Yanlang's mouth. She couldn't help but suspect that she had heard it wrongly - why did he become so cynical?
After Ji Yanlang finished speaking, he also felt that something was wrong and laughed, "Why does this sound like you said it?"
"..." Fang Ying couldn't help but defend herself, "I'm not that bold to curse so many people with just one sentence."
"I think you were quite brave when you scolded me." Ji Yanlang raised his eyebrows.
"..." Why are you talking about this again? Fang Ying didn't respond and circled back to ask, "So what happened in the end? Did you really fire the maid?"
"No." Ji Yanlang didn't argue and continued, "They are new here, unfamiliar with the place and unable to speak the language. How can I feel at ease if I don't arrange for someone to take care of them? I told her to choose, either to leave two maids behind or have Aunt Fu send someone. Aunt Deng understood very well and naturally chose to leave the maids behind."
Fang Ying couldn't help but smile - this Aunt Deng really knew what was going on. She knew that the people sent by the Ji family were beyond her control and were far less obedient than the two maids.
"She also asked someone to buy more rice and flour, filling up the rice and flour jars at home, and storing more winter vegetables. When she saw that there was surplus food at home, she felt at ease, and everything else would be easy to deal with."
Ji Yanlang picked up the tea and drank half of it before continuing, "Actually, Aunt Deng was only mean-spirited. She had a very hard time as a family of three. No matter how much Aunt Deng scolded me, complaining that I was incompetent and only cared about eating, she never thought of handing me over for money."
"That is indeed very rare. They can be called a family of heroes." Fang Ying's words were truly from the heart. From what she had seen, her biological father and uncle were both thinking of sending her to the palace to be a concubine for the sake of their official careers. The temptation of the bounty to the Deng family was probably no less than her father's official career, and Ji Yanlang was just a stranger to them. They were still able to take Ji Yanlang in. Only the word "hero" could describe him.
Ji Yanlang also felt that this resonated with him, and he nodded repeatedly, "You're right. Although Brother Deng has never been to school and cannot read, he is a generous and righteous man, far superior to many noble men I've met. It's a pity that God is jealous of his talent..."
At this point, he felt rather sad. Afraid Fang Ying would notice, he pretended to look down at his palms and changed the subject, "I learned a lot of skills from him, such as casting nets to catch fish, chopping wood, mending nets, drying fish, and repairing boats..."
Fang Ying began to understand. He had said in the morning that he would tell her about the Deng family mother and daughter when he got back. In fact, he probably wanted to explain how much the Deng family had done for him and why he had arranged for the mother and daughter in that way.
Sure enough, he went on to say, "Before Brother Deng passed away, he entrusted Aunt Deng and my sister to me. I promised myself that I would be filial to Aunt Deng as if she were my own mother, and love my sister as if she were my own."
Ji Yanlang raised his head and looked at Fang Ying, "But I also know very well that as long as they are brought to the capital and immersed in the wealth and prosperity, this matter will change its nature."
His savior had passed away, leaving only his mother and younger sister. His younger sister was of marriageable age, and he had lived in someone else's home before, so any story of a romantic affair would be a lie. The Ji family was large, and each branch had its own concerns. When he was in trouble, some people even dared to covet the family fortune. If a mother and daughter from a poor background, who had barely had a full meal, had moved in, they would have been immediately manipulated and given the opportunity to cause trouble.
"I've never been afraid of trouble, but I can't let them get involved innocently. They'll become a knife in someone's hand. So I'll explain the whole thing to my second brother and ask him to help rent a place for them—as you said, to help them find a home first."
It turned out that he had even considered all these things. It was really like seeing a man again after three days of absence. She had thought that Ji Yanlang was like many men who were unwilling to take the quarrels between sisters-in-law seriously and deceived himself that his brothers were friendly and peaceful.
"Have you heard?" Fang Ying gave him a rare compliment. "But I'm not as thoughtful as you are. I just think it's a bit inconvenient to stay at home after all, since we're still in mourning."
Ji Yanlang smiled and said, "To be honest, I really haven't considered the mourning period. But even though we have different ideas, at the root, we all want them to settle down as soon as possible and live a good life."
He paused, then suddenly stood up and saluted Fang Ying with a fist. Fang Ying was surprised by his sudden action and quickly stood up and dodged to the side.
"Yesterday, I didn't know how to be kind, I misunderstood you, and said a lot of things I shouldn't have said. I apologize to you here."
"My dear, are you trying to embarrass me? Just say it. I don't deserve the word apology." Fang Ying said as she returned the salute.
"You can't not apologize," Ji Yanlang said jokingly, "Even if you don't blame me, mother, brother and sister-in-law won't forgive me."
This time, he didn't even mention "my mother." Fang Ying's worries from the morning surged back up—had he really taken what she said last night to heart? She had seemed overly understanding and sympathetic just now. No, she had to say something he didn't want to hear.
"My dear, you are too kind. I think if you had told me this earlier, I would not blame you. Later..."
Ji Yanlang really didn't want to hear that, so he interrupted her and said, "I'm already an adult, and I still need my mother to worry about everything. Is that right?"
"But this way, mother will have to worry a lot, right?" Fang Ying said in a low voice.
Ji Yanlang: “…”
Is she doing this on purpose to piss him off?
Fang Ying wasn't finished yet, "I heard that when you told mother in advance, you didn't tell her how old the Deng family's sister was..."
"Sit down and tell me." Ji Yanlang was about to explain this. "It's not that I intentionally concealed this. In fact, I didn't know how old my sister was before."
Fang Ying didn't believe it in her heart, as she had just said that she was of the right age to get married.
"I still remember her as a child back then, so naturally I'm referring to her as my little sister. I've explained this to Mother. Big Brother Deng treats me like a brother, and I promised him I'd treat his sister like my own. I'm not a beast, so how could I possibly have any dirty thoughts?"
Fang Ying said, "Of course I know you're not that kind of person, but what about Aunt Deng?"
Ji Yanlang's aura visibly faded. "She has some misunderstandings, but I have made it clear to her today. After the mourning period is over, I will find a fatherless, reliable man to be her son-in-law. I will let her continue to be the head of the family. She is very happy."
"Then why are you so angry when Aunt Du mentions me?"
"Didn't I say it was a misunderstanding?" Ji Yanlang said vaguely.
"What misunderstanding? What misunderstanding?" The more he asked, the more Fang Ying pressed on. "I just can't understand why this could make you so angry."
Ji Yanlang: "...It's all in the past. Didn't you also say that it's okay to just talk it out?"
"But the topic hasn't been brought up yet. Why don't you want Aunt Deng to know that you're married?"
"It's not that I didn't want her to know, but I just didn't have the chance to tell her." Seeing he couldn't dodge the conversation, Ji Yanlang had to start over. "At first, I woke up in Brother Deng's house. I didn't dare to tell you my real identity and origins. I just pretended to be surnamed Li and came from a family of minor officials. Later, Brother Deng and I were conscripted into the army, so I told him my family background. But Aunt Deng and her daughter didn't know my real last name was Ji until we went to Beijing."
For the mother and daughter of the Deng family, it was shocking enough that Ji Yanlang went from an unknown boy to the son of the Jiedushi and the eldest princess of Shu. Just two days after arriving in Beijing, they learned that his unmarried status was also false. They inevitably felt repeatedly deceived and extremely angry.
"Plus, they were here for three days. On the first day, I sent them to their residence and went home. On the second day, I went to court to receive an award and had no time to visit them. When I went back on the third day, Aunt Deng thought I had gotten promoted and made a fortune and didn't want to care about them anymore. So she deliberately let Aunt Du say those words to make them aware of the situation."
Ji Yanlang secretly glanced at Fang Ying, but he didn't expect her to be looking at him. He immediately withdrew his gaze guiltily and said vaguely: "I... I..."
"You just think that it was me who 'deliberately let Madam Du say those words so that the mother and daughter would know what was good for them.'" Fang Ying finished speaking for him.
Ji Yanlang had nothing to say, so he apologized again, "I was mean-spirited and wronged you. I'm really sorry."
This time he apologized while sitting down, so Fang Ying also sat down and nitpicked: "You're not just blaming me wrongly, you're also taking your anger out on me, right?"
"..." Ji Yanlang thought for a moment, then his eyes suddenly lit up as he said, "I heard from the brothers in the camp that there's a restaurant that roasts really delicious lamb chops. How about I bring you a pack tomorrow as an apology?"
A bag of grilled lamb chops is enough to offset this? Fang Ying took a sip of tea, trying to cover up the saliva that was dripping from her mouth. She pretended to be indifferent and said, "If it's not fragrant, it doesn't count."
Ji Yanlang immediately smiled: "Don't worry, if it doesn't smell good, I'll buy you something else."
That's about right.
The author has something to say:
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I'm so hungry after writing this. The grilled lamb chops I had in Zibo before were so delicious! Hungry...
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