Chapter 37 Chapter 37 "Let's go to Fengle Building later, I'll...
"Let's not talk about whether or not I really have a prejudice against them. Even if I do, you have to tell me more about their good points to dispel the prejudice. If you don't say anything, will the prejudice disappear on its own?"
Ji Yanlang was speechless for a moment.
"I think it's not mother who's being overly suspicious, it's you." Thinking about all the things Li had planned for him, Fang Ying felt indignant. "Don't you know what kind of person mother is? No matter how inappropriate Aunt Deng's words are, she and her family are your saviors. For this reason alone, mother will look up to them."
"Of course I know that. But I don't want my mother to look down on them just because they are my saviors."
"Then you should tell mother more about their good qualities!"
"I don't know how to put it."
What's there to not know? "Just tell Mother the same thing you told me..." Fang Ying was halfway through his sentence when he remembered that he had been hiding something from Li. He couldn't continue and could only laugh at him, "Look at the suffering you've brought upon yourself."
Ji Yanlang: “…”
Fang Ying asked Lichun to pour her a cup of tea. She thought about it for a while and felt that Ji Yanlang's prejudices, whether they were prejudices or not, just confirmed her initial judgment - he avoided talking about them in front of Li because he noticed that Li had reservations about the mother and daughter of the Deng family.
The problem wasn't wrong, so there was no need to dwell on the prejudice. It would be better to just come back and criticize him. "Actually, I didn't realize Mother had any prejudice against Aunt Deng. Back then, Mother even said that after we were done with mourning next year, we would find a good husband for the Deng sister, and then, like my sisters, give her a dowry of a house and land."
"When did you say that? Today?"
"Yes, after we talked about the gifts. Mother said they were both good people, but she was afraid the neighbors would get jealous and try to sow discord, comparing our wealth with theirs. I was so scared when I heard that. Why didn't we think of that?"
"What do you mean?" Ji Yanlang was a little confused. "Who is competing with whom?"
"Compare Aunt Deng and her daughter to our family." Fang Ying described the situation to him in detail. "Aunt Deng has lived there for a long time and can speak the language. How could she not interact with the neighbors? If they do, they must talk about their origins, how they moved there, and who that young general is who she often visits, right?"
Ji Yanlang understood. "You mean Aunt Deng brags to others that she's my savior, so we take care of her and she doesn't have to worry about food and clothing. The neighbors are jealous and will say that we are so rich, but we send them away so hastily and don't take them seriously at all?"
He had already thought of all the unpleasant things to say, so Fang Ying saved herself the trouble and nodded. "Even if the neighbors are all kind people and don't say these things, I'm afraid there will be some people with ulterior motives who will find a way to tell these things to the mother and daughter."
Ji Yanlang frowned: "I really didn't expect this part..."
"So I was shocked at the time. My mother saw it and comforted me before telling me about the dowry."
Ji Yanlang didn't say anything, but his expression showed that he was touched. Fang Ying continued, "I know you originally planned to find a son-in-law for Sister Deng so that Aunt Deng could continue to be the head of the family. But firstly, it's not easy to find a candidate. Secondly, the son-in-law has no parents, so his family can only rely on us. If you are sent out to guard a place in the future, do you mean to take them away again?"
"I'm thinking of looking for one in the cavalry camp. Many of them have lost their parents, and they've become like brothers. They don't have to worry about not having relatives to support them. And with me here, I don't have to worry about my son-in-law having no future."
He really wanted to take on the responsibility and manage the Deng family mother and daughter for the rest of their lives. Fang Ying pondered and said, "Have you told Aunt Deng about this? The eldest son of the Deng family died on the battlefield. Are they willing to find a son-in-law who joins the army?"
Ji Yanlang was silent for a moment, then he exhaled and said, "Let's talk about it later. There are still several months left."
He lifted the carriage curtain and took a look: "There's a market ahead."
This was something they didn't want to talk about anymore. Fang Ying didn't care. Where the young lady of the Deng family would end up in the end was none of her business. What she cared about was the mother-son relationship between Li and the man in front of her. She turned around and asked Lichun to bring the jade bracelet prepared by Li, opened it and showed it to Ji Yanlang.
"Mother specifically chose one with a small inner diameter, remembering that the Deng family's younger sister was slender."
Ji Yanlang nodded: "Mother is always thoughtful."
"So stop being silly and talk to Mom more. Mom cares about you more than anything else. If you tell her about your plans, she'll worry less. The less you say, the more she'll worry secretly."
Ji Yanlang thought about it and realized that this was indeed the truth. "You are right. It is indeed me who is overthinking, not my mother. I think too much and it makes me lose sight of it."
He admitted his mistake quite quickly. Fang Ying had thought he would have to waste some more time talking, but surprisingly, he saved himself a lot of trouble. He couldn't help but smile: "What do you think? Could this mediation of mine be considered a good idea?"
Ji Yanlang was stunned for a moment before he realized what she was talking about. He laughed and said, "It's interesting, but it can't be called a plan."
"..." Want to cheat? Fang Ying was unwilling to work in vain. "Then I will give you a suggestion: just say what you want to say."
Ji Yanlang frowned, and Fang Ying added, "If there are things you feel you really can't say, I can talk to your mother on your behalf. It's better than keeping it to yourself and causing a rift between mother and son."
The man's brow immediately relaxed, and he smiled happily, "Madam, this is indeed a brilliant idea! It's settled. Let's go to Fengle Tower later, and I will reward you with some fine wine."
Fang Ying: “…”
After all this fuss, he has been waiting for me to say this!
However, Fang Ying took the initiative to bring it up, and she also had her considerations.
Her mother-in-law really liked her and had treated her like a daughter in the past two years. But she was only a daughter-in-law after all, not a daughter. Ji Yanlang was back, and with him as an additional variable, it would probably be difficult for the relationship between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law to be as close as before.
But if Fang Ying could be the messenger between her mother-in-law and her husband, or the mediator of their mother-in-law-son relationship, then her status in her mother-in-law's heart would rise instead of fall, and she wouldn't have to worry about being neglected if she failed to give birth to a grandson or granddaughter for Li.
Now that Ji Yanlang said this, Fang Ying just wanted to do him another favor, so she deliberately put on airs for a while and let him coax her with some nice words.
Afterwards, the carriage arrived at a small shop selling food. Ji Yanlang took her out of the car and bought some fresh fruits, and then went to another shop to buy some dried fruits. "It's a pity that they are still in mourning period and can't eat meat, otherwise we can go to the front and buy a wind chicken to take away." Ji Yanlang said.
"If it weren't for the mourning period, mother would have brought some meat today."
So in the end they just bought some more sweets and cakes and got in the car to go to Deng's house.
The Deng family's courtyard was smaller than the Fang family's. The two of them got off the car outside the door. The gate was already open, but there were only two maids and Ji Yanlang's personal attendants waiting there.
Fang Ying supported Ji Yanlang's hand and stood on the ground. She looked into the courtyard and saw the door curtain swaying. A short young woman walked out of the main room. Suddenly she remembered something and whispered to Ji Yanlang, "What's the name of the Deng family's sister? Why didn't you tell me?"
"I think her name is Hua'er. I always just followed Brother Deng and called her sister, and I never asked." Ji Yanlang replied in a low voice.
In the space of two words, the two of them had already entered the courtyard together. Ji Yanlang saw someone coming out to greet them and said with a smile, "Sister, why are you still out? It's cold outside, and you're not a stranger. Come in and talk."
The young lady came forward and bowed, then said, "Sister-in-law, this is your first visit, how can I not greet you?"
Fang Ying heard her words, although they still had a strange accent, but she could already understand what she meant. She hurried forward to support her and said with a smile, "Sister, stop being so polite."
The maids hurried to the main door, one lifted the curtain and the other pushed open the door. Fang Ying took the young lady's hand and walked in together. The hall was quite dim, and she blinked before she could see the woman sitting motionless on the chair.
His head was tightly wrapped with a blue-gray scarf, with only some gray hair showing at the temples. His face was dark red, with wrinkles on his cheeks and forehead. His eyes were a little cloudy, but he looked at people with a fierce look.
"Auntie, you're sitting very comfortably." Ji Yanlang said as he entered the room.
The woman's eyes immediately turned to Ji Yanlang and she started talking incoherently.
Fang Ying didn't understand anything. Ji Yanlang just smiled and pointed at her, introducing her, "This is my wife, Fang." Then he said to Fang Ying, "This is Aunt Deng."
Fang Ying let go of the young lady's hand and stepped forward to pay her respects as a junior. "Hello, Aunt Deng. I've been wanting to come see you and your sister for a long time, but I've never been able to be at home..."
Aunt Deng was talking again, but Fang Ying couldn't make out a single word and could only look at Ji Yanlang in confusion.
"It's good that you're here as Auntie said. Sit down." Ji Yanlang said, reaching out and pulling Fang Ying to sit on the chair on the east side.
Fang Ying saw a hint of anger on Aunt Deng's wrinkled face, and thought that Ji Yanlang might have tampered with her meaning. At this time, the young lady walked up to her mother and started talking babble. Aunt Deng snorted, turned her head away, and refused to look at them.
"Don't be offended, sister-in-law. My mother has a bad temper." The young lady turned to Fang Ying and smiled, "My name is Lotus."
"Lotus, that sounds nice. My sister is as beautiful as her name, smart and pretty. I really should have come to see you earlier."
Fang Ying's words were not just a compliment. Although Deng Hehua was not tall, she had a very delicate face and a pair of eyes with distinct black and white, which were very lively. If her eyes were whiter, she could really be called a beauty.
Deng Hehua didn't quite understand the words Fang Ying used, but she knew it was a compliment. She smiled sheepishly and said, "When I met my sister-in-law, it was like meeting a fairy."
Ji Yanlang heard the two of them praising each other's appearance and felt uncomfortable sitting there. He interrupted and said, "Auntie, my mother heard that we were coming and brought you a gift to celebrate your arrival. Would you like to take a look?"
When Aunt Deng heard this, she immediately turned around and stood up: "Where?"
Even Fang Ying understood these two words. Ji Yanlang smiled and asked someone to bring them in. He then personally pointed out to Aunt Deng which ones were sent by his wife and which ones were brought by him and Fang Ying.
Fang Ying took advantage of this opportunity to walk over to Deng Hehua and gave her the jade bracelet that Li had prepared. "This is a gift from Madam to you. She told me to make sure it fits you."
Deng Hehua didn't refuse. She readily held out her hand and let Fang Ying help her put it on. Then she looked at it herself and said, "It fits. It will be fine if I grow a little more flesh."
Fang Ying saw the jade bracelet dangling slightly on her slender wrist. She had originally thought it might be too big, but after hearing this, she couldn't help but smile and said, "Yes, sister, it would be better if you gained some weight." She then gave her the silver hairpin she had chosen, "Since you are in mourning, it would be difficult to wear other things, so I'll give you a silver hairpin to tie your hair."
Deng Hehua took it and saw that the silver hairpin head was shaped like a lotus bud. She liked it very much and said thank you with a smile: "Thank you, sister-in-law, it is really beautiful."
"What?"
Aunt Deng suddenly rushed in between the two of them, dodged the silver hairpin, and took it to look at it carefully.
Deng Hehua's expression suddenly changed, and she called out in a deep voice, "Mom!"
Aunt Deng was actually taller than her daughter, but when she heard the voice, she shrank back unconsciously, glanced at her daughter sideways, put the hairpin back in, muttered something, turned around and told the maids to pack up the gifts.
"Sister-in-law, please forgive me." Deng Hehua said to Fang Ying, "My mother doesn't know etiquette..."
Fang Ying was prepared for this and didn't take it to heart. The main purpose of her trip was not Aunt Deng, but Deng Hehua in front of her, so she took the opportunity to ask Lichun to help Deng Hehua comb her hair again and replace it with a silver hairpin.
Deng Hehua also felt that it would be better to talk away from her mother, so she took Fang Ying and her servant into the inner room.
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