Chapter 51 Chapter 51 They will soon surround Taiyuan City, expect...
"Although it's not very kind, I can't help but say: If I had known this would happen, why did I do it in the first place?" Fang Ying sincerely felt that Cheng Shi had brought this upon herself. "If she and Third Sister-in-law hadn't been praising Concubine He for the past two years, would Concubine He be able to stand up and dare to intervene in her own affairs? Now she thinks of asking you for your opinion."
If she were to say, Cheng deserved to suffer the consequences of being the second mother-in-law she had created.
Mrs. Li just smiled and said nothing. Fu He, who was standing beside her, boldly interrupted, "Who says it's not true? They all admire our Madam's kindness and generosity, and they try to coax her into helping them."
"At least he knew to turn back, unlike the other one who wouldn't give up until he hit a wall." Li dropped her smile and said calmly, "It was He who overstepped the bounds in the first place. If I don't step in, who will?"
Fu He thought that the Madam was displeased with her for being too talkative, so she bowed her head and said, "It was my fault that I was mistaken."
However, Fang Ying could tell that Li had another meaning in her words - Aunt He had crossed the line of her tolerance, and as the mistress of the house, Li had to discipline her.
That's right. No matter what, Cheng was the daughter-in-law of the Ji family who was married off officially. Even if she made mistakes, it was not the turn of He Yi Niang, a concubine, to blame and question her. Taking this opportunity to teach He Yi Niang a lesson would not only give her a legitimate reason, but also help to separate her from Cheng, killing two birds with one stone.
This was not something Fang Ying should get involved in, so she just smiled and said nothing.
Soon Yue Qing'e and her husband came with their child to pay their respects, and then the third and fifth wives also came one after another. After paying their respects, Ji Yanshou and the fifth son Ji Yanhui went back to the yamen. When the female relatives started talking, they naturally brought up the matter of Aunt Liu's premature birth yesterday.
"Why haven't you seen Fourth Brother's wife?" An asked, "But have you come to tell Madam about the good news?"
Li simply nodded. Seeing her mother-in-law didn't want to speak, Fang Ying answered for her, "Fourth sister-in-law went back to rest. When I came just now, she looked exhausted. When I asked her about it, she said she only took a nap during the night and didn't get much sleep, so Mother let her go first."
Mrs. An sighed, "Staying up all night like this is really exhausting. When she wakes up, let's go see her together. We can also check on our nephew."
Yue Qing'e interrupted, "Hasn't you heard that your third and fourth sisters-in-law live so close? My nephew was born too weak. The doctor said he can't be exposed to the wind, and it's best if he doesn't see anyone except the wet nurse, lest someone bring in the cold, which the child won't be able to bear."
Full-term babies are also not allowed to see the wind right after they are born, but it is rare that they are not even allowed to visit.
An tutted her tongue and said, "This Liu is also unlucky."
Her words were obviously a double entendre, otherwise where would the "also" come from? But the other Liu hadn't even been pregnant for six months, so to say she had no blessings was a bit too much.
Neither Fang Ying nor Yue Qing'e wanted to respond to her. Gao was always a quiet person and she would not say a word. The room became quiet for a while.
No one responded, and An felt a little embarrassed. She looked left and right, and was about to start a new conversation when Fanggui came in and reported that the concubines and Ji Si Niang came to pay their respects, finally breaking the awkward silence.
An heaved a sigh of relief, turned around and saw Aunt He leading the way in, her eyes dark and her face haggard, she couldn't help but sneer in her heart - a humble woman is a humble woman, she treats the child born by a woman of unknown origin as a treasure and even guards the child herself, she is really lowly.
After Aunt He and others paid their respects, Li directly ordered her daughters-in-law to go back first, and even sent Ji Si Niang away.
Fang Ying knew that Li was going to punish Concubine He, but the others, not knowing the details, were a little surprised.
After they left, Yue Qing'e took her with her and quietly asked her, "What happened?"
"My fourth sister-in-law came this morning and complained about Concubine He..." Fang Ying repeated her mother-in-law's words, "I think she's going to punish Concubine He."
"I thought so." Yue Qing'e laughed. "Mrs. He is indeed becoming more and more outrageous. But she dared to stretch her hands so far today. She has no idea how much she weighs. Isn't it also because of the flattery of the Third and Fourth Houses? When my third brother's wife insisted on shoving the people from her room into Mistress He's place, I knew there would be a joke later. I didn't expect that the Fourth House would make a scene before the Third House even made a move."
Fang Ying said, "I also think they deserve it. Mother is such a good mother-in-law, but instead of being filial to her, they have to flatter my stepmother, and end up creating a second mother-in-law."
Yue Qing'e smiled even more cheerfully, "Madam He was scolded by Madam today. Do you think she will bear a grudge against Fourth Brother's wife and wait for Si Lang to come back and complain?"
"I'm not very familiar with Aunt He's style. What do you think, second sister-in-law?" Fang Ying asked with a smile.
Yue Qing'e squeezed her sister-in-law's hand and said with a smile, "Her behavior was very simple. She first wiped her tears and cried, then said that she didn't blame Si Niang, but that she forgot her status and spoke too much. However, she was only worried about Liu and the young master who had a premature birth. She had no intention of blaming Si Niang - and she would never dare to do so."
She said this in a pretentious tone, which made Fang Ying laugh. "Madam He is capable of this? I have always underestimated her."
"A concubine who is favored and has given birth to three children in a row, even if she is really stupid, still has some ability to make a living." Yue Qing'e said this and sighed softly, "So we can't take it lightly. No matter how honest and dutiful they seem, we still have to be on guard."
Fang Ying seemed to be lost in thought. Yue Qing'e sighed, then smiled at her expression and said, "You're still newlyweds, don't think about these things. Go back to your room quickly, it's really cold today."
After the two said goodbye, Fang Ying went back home, but she couldn't help but think about the matter of the wives and concubines in the backyard again and again. When she saw Zhou Congshan a few days later, she couldn't help but say to her, "I now realize that my previous idea of choosing a concubine to bear the child and save myself from suffering was indeed too simple."
"It's not too late to find out now." Zhou Congshan answered with a smile, and then asked, "But Ji Liulang is not at home, so why did you think of this?"
"The concubine we brought back from Xiangzhou gave birth prematurely. The child only lived for two days and died on the third. Our wife felt sorry for the poor child and came to Xiangguo Temple to perform a ritual again."
The two of them were in the meditation room of Xiangguo Temple at the moment. When Zhou Congshan heard about the premature birth, he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow: "How did it happen?"
"She said she had been having stomach pains for a few days before the premature birth. The doctor prescribed medication to preserve the pregnancy, and she's been bedridden ever since." Fang Ying knew what she meant and explained, "My fourth sister-in-law gave birth to two sons herself, so at most she might not be paying attention, but she wouldn't be so vicious as to kill someone."
"Oh, is the concubine okay?"
"She was fine, but after the baby was born, she was too weak to be taken out of the delivery room. She kept it next to her. So she couldn't hide the fact that the baby was gone. I heard she fainted several times from crying." Fang Ying couldn't help but sigh. "Seeing her miserable state, I feel even more sorry for her."
Zhou Congshan didn't understand: "What can't you bear?"
"It's just what I told you before. Choose a concubine to give birth to a child for Ji Liulang, and then I will raise the child under my knees."
"Are you afraid of giving birth prematurely like this one, or something else bad happening, and you feel uneasy?" Zhou Congshan asked.
Fang Ying nodded: "It's as if I deliberately brought bad luck to others."
Zhou Congshan took her hand and said, "You are too soft-hearted and kindhearted. You don't realize that in the eyes of so-called 'others', this is not only not bad luck, but also a stroke of luck."
"But I just don't want to go through the pain of giving birth, so I'd rather let someone else do it for me..."
Zhou Congshan had originally disapproved of her actions, and he had only offered that advice to Fang Ying to avoid further self-torment. Now, he smiled and said, "Since you can't get over this hurdle, forget about it. I have something good to tell you. A letter arrived from my father yesterday, saying they'll be surrounding Taiyuan City soon, and they expect to conquer Northern Zhao before the New Year."
"Really? That's great news!" Fang Ying was delighted. "I heard it's freezing cold in the north, and the soldiers are fighting in the wind and snow. It's incredibly difficult. If we can capture Taiyuan before the New Year, everyone will have a good New Year."
"Yes," Zhou Congshan agreed. "No one can have a good New Year's Eve until this battle is over."
Indeed, the emperor was personally on a campaign with his two princes, and he wouldn't return to court until victory was achieved. Naturally, no one in the court was thinking about celebrating the New Year; they were all focused on the battle reports from the front lines. The Ji family, with four of them, father and son, were on the battlefield, and from the Li family down, no one was unconcerned about the war.
The purpose of coming to Xiangguo Temple to perform rituals was also to pray for the safety of the four members of the Ji family, father and son. When Fang Ying got the good news, he immediately reported it to Li when he returned.
Li was overjoyed: "When your second uncle came back to tell me, I didn't believe him and thought he was just trying to comfort me. Even Uncle Zhou has written home, which shows that he is really going to return to the court with a great victory. Oh, maybe this year we can have a family reunion. We must prepare well."
She suddenly became energetic. After returning home, she pulled Fang Ying and Yue Qing'e to discuss how to prepare New Year's goods. She was previously too lazy to take care of things such as how to prepare gifts for the in-laws, but now she was in a good mood and gave some advice.
On the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, the news that the army had defeated the Hu reinforcements and surrounded the Northern Zhao city of Taiyuan reached the capital. Everyone in the Ji family was overjoyed. Li was so happy that she even exempted He Yiniang from the punishment of kneeling and reciting the Heart Sutra for half an hour every day.
"That's a good deal for her," An said privately to Cheng. "But you better make plans early. Don't wait for Silang to come back and tell her about your mischief."
Cheng said, "I don't need to, thank you, Third Sister-in-law. But Silang is fine. He doesn't like what she says. I have a clear conscience and I'm not afraid of her. By the way, how is Liu in Third Sister-in-law's room?"
"They say they're raising it well. Anyway, it wasn't my fault, so if it gets better or worse, it's not my fault."
Seeing An's unconcern, Cheng was puzzled. When had she finally come to terms with this? She'd always been the most intolerant, having caused such a scene before, yet now she was willing to let Liu have the baby in peace? Or was she planning to wait and see if it was a boy or a girl before deciding?
The two sisters-in-law sat facing each other, each with their own thoughts, while Fang Ying and Yue Qing'e were working together, busy preparing for the New Year.
In a blink of an eye, it was the 20th day of the twelfth lunar month, which was the beginning of spring. The weather was fine and the red plum blossoms in the back garden of the Ji Mansion finally bloomed. Li was in a good mood and took several daughters-in-law and Ji Si Niang to the back garden to enjoy the flowers and drink tea. They were talking about the army that had besieged Taiyuan for more than ten days and why there was still no news, when the brothers Ji Yanshou and Ji Yanhui came together with joy on their faces.
"Mother, urgent news of victory has just arrived, traveling six hundred miles. The King of Northern Zhao surrendered yesterday, and the imperial court has entered Taiyuan. This battle was a resounding victory!"
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The author has something to say: [Changed my name, don’t worry if you have read it]
Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or provided nutrient solution between 2021-02-05 23:52:50 and 2021-02-17 02:20:39~
Thanks to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: 56 bottles of Mingzhu Youyou Qianjinyou; 20 bottles of Baiyuemengzhou; 1 bottle of the exam must pass;
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