Chapter 93 Chapter 93 Ji Yanlang gradually realized that between the two of them...
The third and fourth wives were going to settle down in the garrison, so even though they had many disagreements in the past, Yue Qing'e and Fang Ying still agreed to send each of them a gift.
"It's such a long journey, and they already have to bring a lot of things with them. Let's save some trouble and just give them some silver." Yue Qing'e said.
Fang Ying also felt that taking the money was the easiest way, so she nodded in agreement and asked, "How much will the second sister-in-law get?" The second wife was the eldest brother, and she and Ji Yanlang were the youngest, so it was just right to reduce her salary by one level compared to the second wife.
Yue Qing'e asked, "How much did mother give them?" "Mother didn't tell me, so I didn't ask, but I guessed it was between five hundred and one thousand."
Yue Qing'e thought for a moment and said, "Then I'll give my family a hundred taels, just to show my appreciation."
Fang Ying smiled and said, "It's quite a lot." Since the family had not been divided, each branch had limited cash. The second branch already had many people and high expenses, and Yue Qing'e was going to have a third child. If it weren't for her generous dowry, she probably wouldn't be able to come up with two hundred taels of silver at once.
"You're young, so take less. Just a token of your appreciation." Yue Qing'e, worried her sister-in-law wasn't well off, pressed the issue, "Do you have any cash? Do you want me to exchange it for you?"
"Thank you, Second Sister-in-law. We have some. We saved up some silver ingots for the New Year holidays, and we haven't touched them yet." Fang Ying smiled and replied, "Then I'll go talk to Fifth Sister-in-law about it. Don't leave her behind."
"Okay, go ahead."
Fang Ying found her fifth sister-in-law Gao, and finally agreed that both of their families would receive eighty taels of silver. Then she went back to her room and told Ji Yanlang about it. The day before the third and fourth families set off, they sent the money to An and Cheng's rooms respectively.
In the evening, Li held a family dinner to see off the two families. An was unusually obedient. She was neither sarcastic nor bullying her sister-in-law overtly or covertly. She even took Fang Ying aside and talked to her from the heart.
After the banquet ended, they returned to their room and Fang Ying asked Ji Yanlang with a smile, "Guess what my third sister-in-law said to me just now?"
"What? Apologize to you and ask you not to hold a grudge against her?"
Fang Ying said, "That's part of the story, but the main point is that Aunt He and Fourth Sister-in-law instigated her a few days ago, using the excuse that their little Wulang was only a few months old and couldn't handle the fatigue of the journey as a pretext to delay their departure."
The child was young, so it wouldn't be too much to postpone it until next year when the child was older. But the third sister-in-law actually said that it was Concubine He and the fourth sister-in-law who instigated her. That was interesting. Ji Yanlang asked with a smile, "The third sister-in-law didn't agree?"
"Well, Third Sister-in-law said whoever wants to stay can stay. She's worried about Third Uncle being stationed alone at the border, so she wants to bring her family over to reunite with him. She also said that Mother has us, Second Uncle, Second Sister-in-law, Fifth Uncle, and Fifth Sister-in-law by her side to show her filial piety, so she has nothing to worry about. Although Xiao Wulang is small, he's still pretty strong, so it won't be a problem for him to ride all the way."
"Didn't mother say that we could keep the child first and send him over when he's older?"
"How could Third Sister-in-law agree? After all, he's a bastard. If he develops feelings for Mother and makes her look up to him, will she feel comfortable?"
Ji Yanlang thought about his third sister-in-law's character and sneered, "You're just thinking about these things. Then why did she tell you this? Is she trying to distance herself from Concubine He and the Fourth House?"
"He probably wanted me to learn it and tell Mom. Of course, the ultimate intention was to distance himself from the matter." Fang Ying sighed. "Although it's a little late, it's better for me to understand it now than to still harbor ulterior motives, remain silent, and encourage others to make trouble."
Ji Yanlang nodded in agreement and asked, "Why do I remember that Third Sister-in-law was not willing to go before?"
"She wasn't very happy about it. Even when Third Uncle's letter was first delivered, she looked troubled. But after she went back to her parents' home, her attitude completely changed. I guess she listened to her family's advice."
"Fortunately, my in-laws are sensible."
After the couple finished discussing the matter, they packed up and went to bed.
After breakfast the next morning, An and Cheng took the children to bid farewell to Li. Fang Ying and her fifth sister-in-law Gao, Ji Si Niang and other female relatives sent them to the outer courtyard and watched them get on the car and leave. Ji Yanlang had to go with his fifth brother Ji Yanhui to send his sisters-in-law out of the city.
"The weather is good today. There is a cool breeze and it doesn't feel so stuffy." Fifth sister-in-law Gao said, glancing at the sky.
Fang Ying nodded. "The further north you go, the cooler it gets. If you walk slowly, it shouldn't be too tiring."
Ji Si Niang looked around and whispered, "Have Fifth Sister-in-law and Sixth Sister-in-law seen Aunt He's eyes?"
"Well, did you not sleep well?" asked Gao.
Ji Si Niang shook her head: "I heard that she couldn't bear to leave her children and cried until midnight before going to sleep."
Fang Ying and her fifth sister-in-law looked at each other, and both felt that they had nothing to say to this person, so they went to assign housework.
As soon as the two families left, there were immediately fewer things to do in the mansion - they had people looking after their two courtyards, so there was no need for anyone else to take care of them, so Fang Ying and the others quickly finished their household affairs and left.
In the afternoon, Fang Ying woke up after taking a nap. Feeling too lazy to sit, she got up and practiced calligraphy for a while. Then, when she saw that the sun was not so bright anymore, she went to the main courtyard to talk with Li and learned An's words.
"Foolish people tend to have foolish thoughts." Li didn't care much and only commented, "But Sanniang has made some progress, although not much."
She had originally planned to keep the child born by Liu, and after the New Year, when she went to her husband's residence, she would take the child with her and have someone send the child to Sanlang and his wife. However, An refused and made a bunch of excuses to prevaricate. Li had long lost interest in them and simply gave up.
Now there is only concubine He left in the mansion. She is stupid and without anyone to instigate her, she can't cause any trouble even if she wants to be dishonest.
However, she still had to give them some warnings. Li ordered, "Watch the kitchen more closely. Anyone who asks for something beyond their allotted amount must pay for it themselves. Otherwise, the accounts won't match afterward. Whoever gave the item will have to make up for it."
"yes."
Fang Ying left the main courtyard and gave the same instructions. Two days later, Concubine He went to Concubine Jiang, Ji Si Niang's biological mother, and made a scene, saying that Si Niang bullied and deducted money from her because she had no one to support her. She even asked for a soup but the kitchen refused to make it for her.
When Mrs. Li heard about this, she only sent Nanny Fu to "send" Concubine He back to her room, taught her a lesson, and then confined her to her room for seven days to reflect on her mistakes and not to go out.
From then on, Aunt He was completely obedient.
Fang Ying was free, thinking back on the days since the third and fourth wives left, and couldn't help but ask Lichun, "Do you feel that these days have been particularly comfortable?"
Lichun nodded repeatedly: "I have wanted to say this for a long time." In the past, when she was doing business, there were always many eyes staring at her. Although she had a clear conscience, she was always uncomfortable. Now that the people from the two families have left, there are fewer than half of the eyes staring at her, and she feels much more relieved.
Fang Ying also had more free time. Not only did she go on a boat trip on the Bian River with Ji Yanlang, she also made an appointment with Zhou Congshan to have a vegetarian meal at Xiangguo Temple.
Unexpectedly, before the good times lasted for a few days, news of the Hu army's invasion again reached the capital.
"They are indeed heading for Yanmen this time. Don't worry, mother. We have made arrangements in advance and are well-rested. We will surely defeat them and force them to flee." Ji Yanlang was afraid that his mother would worry, so he spoke in an especially relaxed tone.
Mrs. Li shook her head. "I'm not worried about the war. I'm only concerned about your sister-in-law and nephews. I wonder where they are doing."
"They don't walk fast. They have probably only traveled half the way by now." With both women and children, Ji Yanlang calculated that it would be good if they could reach Daizhou in early August.
"That's not bad. I can move forward and backward easily."
Ji Yanlang nodded: "Don't worry, with Lao Luo here, he will act according to the circumstances."
Lao Luo was originally Ji Guangting's personal soldier who led his horse. Because he injured his leg in the battle and could no longer go to the battlefield, Ji Guangting arranged for him to marry a wife and let him stay in the mansion to command the guards.
This time the women from the two families took their children to the northwest. Ji Yanlang and his two brothers all held official positions and were unable to see them off, so they had to ask their brothers from their mother's families to do the same, and asked Lao Luo to bring more guards to escort them.
Li nodded and said nothing more.
But Fang Ying asked Ji Yanlang after returning to her room, "Were you just trying to appease our mother, or do you really think this battle is foolproof?"
"I can't say it's foolproof, but the chances of success are really high, don't worry." Ji Yanlang smiled and approached her, "Let's try that thing from last night later..."
Fang Ying glared at him, and Ji Yanlang stopped talking. However, he noticed that his wife's cheeks were red, but she didn't look unhappy. When it was time to go to bed, he let go and tried the same method with her as last night.
Sure enough, this time she was even more excited than last night, and she even couldn't help but moan softly. When Ji Yanlang heard it, he felt like his soul was flying away and he was extremely happy.
Afterwards, both of them were sweating profusely and had to ask the maid to bring in water to wash up. When they returned to bed, Fang Ying was extremely tired and sleepy, but Ji Yanlang leaned over and asked, "Did you have a good day today?"
Fang Ying pretended to be asleep and ignored him. Ji Yanlang chuckled softly, kissed her lightly on the lips, and lay down to sleep.
After this night, Fang Ying herself didn't feel anything, but Ji Yanlang gradually realized that the two of them were closer than before. Even Fang Ying's look at him was more tender. He was quite encouraged and spent more time thinking about this matter.
Unfortunately, Fang Yingyue's death came within a few days, and Ji Yanlang had to recuperate before fighting again.
It was also at this time that the victory report of the Battle of Yanmen was delivered to the capital. When the news spread, everyone from top to bottom breathed a sigh of relief.
The summer heat has dissipated and the weather is clear and cool, which is a good time to go out for an outing. Li took into consideration that Ji Si Niang was going to get married in December and that she would not be as comfortable at home as a wife, so she arranged for the whole family to go out for an autumn outing so that the women could relax for a day.
Everyone was happy when they heard about this, except Yue Qing'e, who was pregnant and had difficulty moving. If she didn't go, she was afraid of spoiling her mother-in-law's fun. If she went, she was worried that something might happen during the bumpy ride in the sedan chair.
She was worried but didn't want to tell anyone else, so she told Fang Ying.
Fang Ying comforted her and later reported the matter to Li: "Second sister-in-law was afraid of spoiling your fun, but I said you wouldn't be disappointed by this anymore. Instead, you would feel bad if everyone else went out to play and left you alone at home."
"This child." Li sighed, "I originally thought that since she is about five months pregnant, the fetus is stable and her belly is not too big, she could go out and relax. Well, since she is worried, it is better not to go. Let your second uncle stay at the mansion and accompany her."
Fang Ying omitted the first half of her words and only told Yue Qing'e the last sentence: "Mother said that Second Uncle should stay at the mansion to accompany you well. Everything should be done according to your happiness."
Only then did Yue Qing'e feel relieved.
So on July 29th, Li took her two granddaughters, the fifth wife and her children, Fang Ying, Ji Yanlang and Ji Si Niang, and the whole family went on an autumn outing to Fantai.
This time, there were half fewer people, so there was naturally less work to do. Fang Yingyue's affairs were also finished, and she finally had a real trip. She came out happily and returned home happily.
As August entered, the Mid-Autumn Festival was just around the corner. Relatives from all over had to prepare gifts for the festival, and the palace also had to prepare seasonal food and various decorations in advance. Fang Ying was very busy, but she was still worried about one thing - Zhou Congshan was going to marry the King of Qin on the 28th, but her dowry had not yet been received.
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The author has something to say: I wanted to write a new chapter in July, but I wrote too slowly, so it was delayed until today, this historical moment...
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