Chapter 34 Chapter 34 Think about her temperament, she can...
In between dishes, Ji Yanlang toasted everyone individually, from Li to Fang Ying. Finally, when all the dishes were served, he raised his glass to toast everyone and was about to leave so that the women could relax. "There's nothing else to do. Mother and sisters-in-law, please feel free to drink a few more glasses. Make sure you enjoy yourself."
Li nodded and said, "Go ahead. I'll have someone contact you if there's anything."
As soon as Ji Yanlang left, the women at the table immediately relaxed a lot. Yue Qing'e and the others felt hot because they had drunk some wine and eaten some mutton soup. When they saw him gone, they took off their outer jackets to cool down.
"Isn't Sixth Sister-in-law hot?" After taking off her clothes and sitting down, An asked Fang Ying when she saw her sitting there without moving.
"I'm fine, because I was wearing a cloak and nothing thicker underneath."
"You are still smart." An smiled.
Seeing that everyone had returned to their seats, Yue Qing'e suggested that they toast Li together. Li finished her drink and said with a smile, "Okay, this is my toast already. You are not allowed to toast me alone again. I will drink it slowly by myself. You sisters-in-law can do as you please."
The daughters-in-law looked at each other and said with a smile, "Then there's no need to toast each other. We can just drink slowly while talking."
The topic naturally started with Ji Yanlang. Yue Qing'e first said that she felt that Liu Lang had grown up a lot after his return this time, and his actions and words were thoughtful and appropriate, so his mother could rest assured in the future.
"Yes, that's why our Sixth Brother and his wife are so lucky." An continued, looking at Fang Ying, "If Liu Lang had the same temper as before, wouldn't you two have been arguing eight times a day?"
Her words were unusually free of sarcasm, and her tone and demeanor were genuine. Fang Ying smiled and said, "Perhaps this is the reason for my connection with him."
Yue Qing'e nodded in agreement. "That's right. Every couple has a different destiny, and their lives are also different. Like Liu Lang and his wife, their true love is revealed through hardship, and they live together till old age."
Cheng was very displeased to hear this, and Pian An did not say anything, and looked as if it was really true, as if she had become a different person. She herself was unwilling to take the initiative, so she had to pick up the cup and drink it all in one gulp, using the wine to block her mouth.
"Is Fourth Sister-in-law craving for wine?" Yue Qing'e saw it and said jokingly, "Drink slowly, or you'll get drunk in no time."
"She can hold her liquor well, she won't get drunk." An interrupted. "Come to think of it, the connection between Fourth Brother's wife and Si Lang is probably due to alcohol, right?"
Cheng was a little annoyed: "What did the third sister-in-law say?"
An said, "Isn't it? I remember that you and Silang got together over wine before you even got engaged?"
"Really? There's such a thing?" Yue Qing'e was surprised. "How come I didn't know about it?"
"No..." Cheng wanted to deny.
"I heard it from Sanlang, too." An had already begun to chatter. "It seems that Silang liked to go to a tavern to drink. One day, it happened that my fourth brother's wife went there to buy wine for her in-laws. It seems that she had a long conversation about drinking with the owner on the spot..."
"Third sister-in-law is getting more and more outrageous. What kind of profound theory is that? I just said something about how to make the wine taste better..."
An interrupted her: "That's about right. When Silang heard this, he took it to heart. Later, mother wanted to choose a daughter-in-law from the Cheng family..."
Cheng was sitting across the table from her, unable to reach her, so she had to change the subject: "Third sister-in-law, you're really making me sound like a heavy drinker. Why don't you mention your relationship with Third Uncle?"
Yue Qing'e clapped her hands and smiled, "I know about their relationship. You are the wine, and they are the flowers."
Fang Ying and her fifth sister-in-law Gao had never heard of this matter, so they went to find out the truth.
"Don't you two know?" Yue Qing'e smiled and pointed at the wine glasses in front of the two sisters-in-law. "Drink this one, and I'll tell you."
"Why is Second Sister-in-law like this?" Fang Ying refused at first. "You just asked about Fourth Sister-in-law, and you didn't even have a drink."
"That was because your sister-in-law didn't ask me to drink. Now it's different. I have to make you drink before I tell you."
An covered her face and shook her head: "Second sister-in-law is so skilled that I am ashamed of myself."
The sisters-in-law were chatting and laughing, and it was very lively. Li took a few sips of the mutton soup and slowly looked at Cheng. She was wrong. She didn't expect that this marriage was arranged by the fourth daughter-in-law herself. No wonder she didn't say which young lady from the Cheng family it was at first, but Silang himself said "Cheng Sanniang is not bad".
When Cheng's thoughts reached this point, she suddenly turned her head and her eyes met Li's. She froze for a moment imperceptibly before smiling respectfully.
Li also smiled and looked away to see Fang Ying and Gao finally drink the glass of wine. Then Yue Qing'e began to talk about An and Sanlang.
"I didn't see it myself, but I heard that they were admiring flowers on a mountain. They both picked the same branch of peach blossoms from the same tree. In the end, Sanlang gave up the flower but married the beautiful woman."
An couldn't help but spit out, "Second sister-in-law is getting more and more outrageous."
"What's so outrageous about that? Are you not beautiful or not pretty?" Yue Qing'e asked with a smile.
An couldn't help but touch her face and sighed, "Maybe it was okay back then, but now I'm the mother of two children, I can't compare to the fresh and tender young lady."
Yue Qing'e said, "This is getting more and more outrageous. How old are you to say such things? Mother is still here!"
An, also drunk, sighed and hurriedly apologized to Li. Li said, "Different ages have different beauties, but there's no need to say that. Besides, you're still in your prime, so what's there to compare?"
"Mother is right." An responded at first, then revealed a look of grievance, "But Sanlang's treatment of me this time when he came back was obviously not as good as before. He even suspected me of having bad intentions for the sake of a concubine..."
When she said this, her eyes turned red and she actually shed tears.
Li said, "I'm sure you've been wronged in this matter, but your father has already taught Sanlang a lesson, and he's admitted his fault. You and your wife still have to move on with your lives. Since you've forgiven him in person, you'd better not mention it in the future, otherwise it will only push Sanlang further away."
An wiped her tears and said, "I know this truth, but sometimes I still feel sad when I think about it."
Yue Qing'e had previously enjoyed watching her laugh, but now, seeing her crying in person, she felt sorry for her and offered some words of advice. She then asked, "Why would Sanlang suspect you of the pregnancy-preserving medicine? Did Liu really say anything to him?"
"How could he possibly say anything? Later, he even denied suspecting me, saying I was overthinking it and that he was just asking casually." An wiped her tears, picked up her wine glass and drank it in one gulp. Then she sighed, "That one is still pregnant. If I confront her, Sanlang will never know what crime he will accuse me of."
There was a moment of silence at the table, and Cheng suddenly spoke: "I asked the one in my room, and she said that her sister has been weak since childhood. Perhaps the pregnancy-maintaining medicine prescribed by the doctor was a bit strong, and she was too weak to bear it, so there was a misunderstanding..."
"I didn't invite the doctor!" An felt even more aggrieved. "Besides, she's weak and can't handle the medicine. Why didn't she tell the doctor? I didn't even touch the medicine from beginning to end..."
As she spoke, she became more emotional, tears welling up in her eyes again. Li was helpless and said, "Well, we're all having a feast together today, supposedly to have fun. Why bring up these things again? Sanniang, don't take Sanlang's words too seriously. He values the child in Liu's belly, not Liu. Now that Concubine He is taking care of her, you don't have to worry about it anymore. Why bring it up and only cause sadness?"
Yue Qing'e echoed, "Mother is right, Third Sister-in-law, don't overthink it. You and Sanlang are husband and wife. He wouldn't be so absurd as to favor a concubine over his wife. Once the child is born safely, everything will be fine. Speaking of which, our family is really going to be very prosperous next year. All three of our branches will be well-off. Fifth Sister-in-law and Sixth Sister-in-law might also be pregnant by now..."
Fang Ying and Gao said together: "Second sister-in-law is bullying us again." "Maybe? Then I thought that Second sister-in-law might be pregnant now!"
Li was delighted: "Great, great, all of them."
As he spoke, he raised his cup, and his sisters-in-law followed suit and raised their cups, and they drank together.
The topic then turned to the children. "Cousins born in the same year start school together and have each other's company, so they must be closer," Yue Qing'e said first.
"It's good to have sisters. They can really keep each other company. Unlike our fourth sister, her sisters are all married, and she is a loner. We only speak a few words a year." said An.
"Yes, why did you call her here today?" Cheng asked.
Fang Ying replied, "I asked her, but she doesn't drink and was afraid that coming would spoil our fun. I repeatedly told her no, but she was still hesitant. I figured she really didn't want to come, so I told Liu Lang not to force her."
"How can I be so nice with such a bad temper?" An shook her head. "If we hadn't been fighting Northern Zhao this year, we would have been talking about marriage."
Yue Qing'e said, "Mother knows what she is doing. She will find a son-in-law who has a good temper and a simple family."
Everyone nodded and continued to gossip about weddings and funerals at the in-laws' families. After a few rounds of drinks, they all dispersed after getting a little tipsy.
Fang Ying was supported by Lichun and Xingniang back to her room. Ji Yanlang came over, glanced at her face, and asked with a smile, "How much did you drink? Are you drunk?"
"Not bad." Fang Ying said lazily, "Sit down first, I'll go wash my face."
Seeing her rosy cheeks and lips redder than usual, Ji Yanlang felt itchy in his heart, but remembering what she said during the day, he had to endure it and sat down on the couch first, waiting for her to wash her face, change clothes and come back to sit down.
"Have some hangover soup first." Ji Yanlang pointed to the hangover soup that the maid had just brought to the table and asked, "Did mother and sisters-in-law enjoy it?"
"Yeah." Fang Ying responded, then picked up the bowl and slowly drank the sobering soup.
"Are the dishes delicious? Which one do you like best?" Ji Yanlang asked again.
Fang Ying slowly leaned back on the pillow, holding her forehead and said slowly: "If you ask me now, I can't quite remember it."
Ji Yanlang was amused by her: "You can't remember it now? What should I do? Won't you remember it even less tomorrow?"
"Well, maybe you'll remember it when you wake up." Fang Ying still spoke slowly.
Ji Yanlang felt that she was a hundred times more charming than usual, and he couldn't bear it anymore, so he simply said, "Then go in and sleep. I see you can hardly open your eyes."
After he finished speaking, he stood up, walked to Fang Ying and held her arm. Fang Ying also felt her eyelids heavy, so she stood up with him and went into the warm room together.
"You sit down first." Ji Yanlang asked Fang Ying to sit on the kang with bedding, bent down to take off Fang Ying's shoes and socks, then helped her legs to put them on the kang. He also quickly took off his robe, shoes and socks, and went up to put down the tent.
Lichun, who followed in, had just put away his robe when he heard the lady in the tent moaning, as if she wanted to say something but her mouth was blocked. He was so scared that he hurriedly retreated, closed the lattice door, and even forgot to turn off the light.
Fang Ying had drunk a little too much and was feeling dizzy. She asked Ji Yanlang to press on her and kiss her, which made her breath difficult and her dizziness even worse. She was unable to struggle and could only let him do whatever he wanted.
She had never been so docile since the night they consummated their marriage. Ji Yanlang liked it very much. After they finished, he couldn't help but hug her, kiss her and whisper sweet words in her ears.
Fang Ying was already drowsy and didn't hear what he said clearly, so she naturally didn't respond. When she woke up the next morning, she recalled last night's events: how he hadn't waited for Lichun to leave before kissing her, and how he had even kept the lights on while they continued. Suddenly, a surge of rage shot through her head.
Men are so shameless and lustful! Everything I said to him yesterday was in vain!
In contrast to her, Ji Yanlang was in a very good mood when he woke up in the morning. He even asked her slyly if she wanted to have a couple of drinks together in the evening. It was obvious that he was enjoying it.
Seeing that it was still early, Fang Ying asked the maids to leave after she had finished dressing. She said to Ji Yanlang, "I can't understand why you can be so considerate of Aunt Deng and her daughter, even at the risk of being misunderstood by my mother, to place them outside first, so that they don't have to listen to the gossip and be looked down upon by the servants at home. Why can't you think of me as well?"
Ji Yanlang was stunned. "Which servant dared to gossip about you? Who? What gossip?"
"I haven't heard anything yet, but maybe tomorrow the rumor will spread that Liu Niang is indeed from a humble family, has no bearing of aristocratic family, blindly obeys Liu Lang, has no self-respect, and flirts with the maids in broad daylight..."
"Why are you bringing this up again? Didn't we talk about it yesterday?" When Ji Yanlang heard that it was still the same thing, his good mood disappeared in an instant and his face turned cold.
"We talked about it yesterday, and you agreed to it, but what did you do tonight?"
"How can I do it? You can't let me do nothing even after the curtains are drawn?" Ji Yanlang's tone became more and more aggressive.
Compared to him, Fang Ying was relatively calm. "Can't you just wait until Lichun leaves? Are you so anxious for just a moment?"
"I..." Ji Yanlang opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. After exhaling a heavy breath, he said in self-abandonment, "I'm just anxious. When a man is anxious, he can't wait!"
"..." He is shameless and yet he feels justified in being shameless!
Ji Yanlang was indeed justified. "You only know how to blame me, why not blame Lichun for being tactless? Who told her to follow you into the warm room? Besides, during the day you said you didn't like people pointing fingers at you to show affection. I promised you that I would change that. Then you have to tell me what kind of intimate gestures you like? How about holding hands? Or as long as it's not dark, I'm not allowed to touch you?"
Fang Ying was stunned by his question. If she were to say, it would be the latter and it would be best not to touch it, but she couldn't say it out loud.
Ji Yanlang was unaware of the situation and thought he had the upper hand, so he became complacent: "Take your time to think about it, and tell me when you've figured it out."
After he finished speaking, he got up and went to the outer room. Fang Ying sat there and was angry for a while. She repeated to herself "He is about to leave" several times before she calmed down and went out to have breakfast with Ji Yanlang.
"By the way, speaking of Aunt Deng and her daughter, let's wait for one of the warmer days in the next two days and take you there, shall I?" Ji Yanlang discussed with her on the way to the Li family courtyard, "First, to meet them and get to know them, and second, since I'm about to go to the war, I need you to take care of them while I'm away."
This wasn't the time for him to tell her to stop interfering. Fang Ying complained in her heart, but she agreed readily on the surface: "It should be so."
The slight displeasure that Ji Yanlang still had in his heart disappeared instantly - is there such a thing as a wife who is completely to one's liking? She was just strong-willed and didn't like to flirt in front of servants. That was nothing. From now on, when they were together, they would try not to have servants around.
In fact, thinking about it from another perspective, this is also a good thing. It shows that she knows how to respect herself and love herself. Thinking about her personality, she can still love him so deeply. Ji Yanlang couldn't help but feel overwhelmed. He couldn't help but move closer to Fang Ying and said, "Wait until I accomplish a great deed and win an imperial decree for you."
"Don't think like that. To achieve great achievements, you must go through great dangers. I would rather not have the imperial edict. It is a blessing for the whole family if you come back safely." Fang Ying said immediately.
Ji Yanlang's heart suddenly became even more agitated: She doesn't even care about the imperial edict, she only cares about my safety. She really loves me deeply!
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The author has something to say: I don't like writing CPs where the male is strong and the female is weak. The female protagonist in this article is particularly strong-willed. If you are not used to this kind of female protagonist, I can only say that this article is not to your taste~
And in feudal society, no matter how pitiful a man is, he is still not as pitiful as a woman. Sigh
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