Chapter 94 Chapter 94 The couple had a little quarrel
The things that sisters add to their makeup are nothing more than gold and silver jewelry.
Fang Ying's own jewelry was too ordinary to be presented, and the expensive ones were all given by Li. She couldn't find any suitable ones in other jewelry shops. As the auspicious day was approaching, Fang Ying had no choice but to seek help from Li.
"I have something here." After hearing Fang Ying's intention, Li took her to the east room and pointed to the high table beside the couch. "What do you think of this table screen? Does it suit her taste?"
Fang Ying walked closer and saw that the table screen was framed with rosewood carved with a phoenix and a peony, with a gauze inlaid in the middle. The gauze was painted with a picture of a phoenix and a crane singing in harmony. The tails of both birds were decorated with emerald feathers and mother-of-pearl, which was brilliant and dazzling. Their eyes were also shining, as if they were alive. However, a closer look revealed that each bird was inlaid with a piece of amber.
"Isn't this too expensive?" Fang Ying exclaimed as she looked at it. "Even the flowers on the sides look so real."
Li smiled and said, "This was originally painted by Chen Zhenggu, a famous painter in Shu. Your grandmother loved his paintings for a while, so someone brought this table screen in for her birthday. But your grandmother loved the paintings, and this table screen, with its expensive decorations, overshadowed the paintings. It was truly a distraction, a pretentious display, so it was never displayed for a single day, and eventually became my dowry."
"Since it's my mother's dowry, then..."
Mrs. Li knew what Fang Ying was about to say and took over, saying, "I have a lot of dowry. If this one hadn't been unearthed recently while collecting Fourth Lady's dowry, I don't know how long it would have been left in the box. It's quite a blessing, actually, to coincide with the princess's wedding last week. Not only will it see the light of day, but it's also going to meet a new owner who is incredibly precious."
What she said was humorous and witty, and this table screen was indeed suitable for giving to Zhou Congshan. Fang Ying did not refuse and bowed to thank her mother-in-law.
Mrs. Li told her not to mention herself when sending the dowry gift, "This is a relationship between you two sisters. Our family and the Zhou family will have a separate gift."
"Yes, I understand." Fang Ying responded.
"I'll have them pack the things and send them to your room later."
Fang Ying chatted with Li about family matters for a while before leaving and returning to her room.
She had gotten over a worry and was in a good mood. When Ji Yanlang returned home, he only glanced at her face and asked, "What good news is going on today? You look so happy."
Fang Ying touched her face: "Am I happy?"
"Don't you feel happy?" Ji Yanlang laughed, "You're still reaching out to touch it. Do you want me to hold a mirror for you to look at it?"
Fang Ying glanced at him: "No, where does the good news come from?"
"Oh, I see..." Ji Yanlang stretched out his voice and said with a smile, "You're happy to see me back."
Fang Ying ignored him and pushed him to the inner room to change clothes. Just then, the maid came in and reported that the lady had delivered the things for the mistress. Fang Ying hurriedly asked them to move the things in and temporarily put them in the east room.
"What is this? It's so big?" Ji Yanlang was curious.
"A dowry gift for Miss Zhou." Fang Ying explained after the maid carrying the boxes had left. "I've been worrying about this for days and couldn't find a suitable gift, so I shamelessly went to ask Mother for it today."
Ji Yanlang was surprised: "You have been worried about this? Why didn't you tell me?"
"Didn't I tell you?"
"No, not a word."
Fang Ying said, "What's the use of telling you? I still have to go and ask my mother for help."
Ji Yanlang felt something was wrong. "This isn't about asking anyone for help, but you said you've been worried about this for days, but you didn't say a word to me."
"..." He actually took it seriously. Fang Ying thought for a moment and said with a smile, "I just said that, and you took it seriously."
She stretched out her right hand, placed her index finger and thumb together, and said, "This is all I've been worried about these past few days."
"But when I walked in just now, you were unusually happy." Ji Yanlang pulled her hand over and held it. "Are you happy that the dowry gift is settled and a worry is gone?"
Fang Ying nodded, asked the maid to open the box, and pulled him over to take a look. "This gift mother chose is so satisfying. It's absolutely perfect."
Ji Yanlang took a closer look and agreed, "Indeed, it's elegant and valuable, and has a good meaning. But..."
Fang Ying thought he was being audacious and was going to find fault with his mother, but he went on to say, "The gift is very nice, but it only accounts for half of your happiness, right?"
Still unable to get over this, Fang Ying played dumb: "Huh? You've confused me. How come it's only half?"
Ji Yanlang saw at once that she was pretending to be confused, and asked with a half-smile, "Why don't you ask me what my other half is?"
"..." It was an obvious trap, and Fang Ying didn't want to fall into it. "How could I be as happy as you say? It can be divided into two halves."
After she finished speaking, she told the maid to close and lock the box, and then she turned around and went back to sit in the west room.
Ji Yanlang was left there, stunned for a while, but no one came to invite him back, so he had to go back by himself.
Seeing that he was still wearing his official robes, Fang Ying ordered Xi Liu to help him change his clothes. Seeing that she was sitting still and not even looking at him, Ji Yanlang became angry and said coldly, "No need," and went into the inner room.
Lichun walked up to Fang Ying and was about to open his mouth to persuade her, but Fang Ying gave him a look and Lichun closed his mouth, not daring to say a word.
She had always been the one Fang Ying trusted the most. Seeing her, the other maids did not dare to persuade her, and they did not dare to say anything either. They all found things to do, leaving Lichun to serve in the room.
In the inner room, Ji Yanlang stood in front of the clothes rack and waited for a while, but no one came, and he became more and more depressed.
After changing into his casual robe, Ji Yanlang went out with a sullen face. Fang Ying didn't say a word except asking Lichun to serve tea, and he didn't say anything either. The two of them stayed in such an awkward state until dinner time.
On the way to the main courtyard, Ji Yanlang kept waiting for her to speak first - it would be bad to bring this little disagreement between the couple to the front of their mother, right?
But Fang Ying was always half a step behind him, not saying a word. Ji Yanlang couldn't bring himself to say anything to ease the situation. He just thought angrily: "I'll see if you talk to me when you get to my mother later!"
Fang Ying really didn't talk to him.
Because there was no need, when they were in front of Li, they didn't talk much. Either Ji Yanlang would talk about what he saw and heard on duty, or Li would talk about family matters, and Fang Ying would just listen with a smile.
The couple had their meals at Li's house both morning and evening, in order to show filial piety and accompany their mother. Naturally, their mother was the main focus of their conversation. Fang Ying sat there and listened with peace of mind, only answering a few words when her mother-in-law asked her a question. In fact, if Ji Yanlang took the initiative to talk to her at this time, she would also answer. In front of her mother-in-law, she would never offend her husband no matter what.
But Ji Yanlang was still struggling in his heart, waiting for Fang Ying to give in and talk to him first before he would give in. So how could he take the initiative to talk to her?
So the two of them returned in silence, just as they had come all the way.
Dingxiang, the maid in Li's room, watched the young couple leave the courtyard, then turned back inside and whispered to Fanggui, "Are they having a quarrel?"
Fang Gui laughed and said, "Madam was just talking to Fu He about this. They must have had an argument."
Mrs. Li was very sharp-eyed and, having heard the two of them talking, she immediately instructed Fu He, "Go tell them that no one is to ask about this matter, let alone try to mediate. Young couples who have a quarrel are most afraid of someone intervening to mediate. Without someone to mediate, they might reconcile that very day. While someone to mediate might only exacerbate the situation."
Fu He hurriedly responded and went to pass on the message.
On the other side, the young couple had no idea that their mother had seen through them. They went back to their rooms and each found something to do, ignoring each other.
Before going to bed, Fang Ying asked the maid to make the bed and fetch water. Ji Yanlang reacted very quickly, closed the military book in his hand, stood up, and walked into the inner room in a few steps.
"..." Was he afraid that she would have to sleep in a separate room, so he rushed in first to grab a spot? Fang Ying was both angry and amused. She waited for the hot water to come, motioned for Xing Niang to go in and help Ji Yanlang wash his feet, and stayed in the outer room until she was done before going in.
When Ji Yanlang saw her come in, he breathed a sigh of relief, but looked as if he didn't care at all and went straight into bed.
Fang Ying ignored him and went to the dressing table to take off her hairpins and rings and put on facial cream. Then she walked slowly to the bed, took off her shoes and got on.
Lichun came over, put down the curtain, blew out the candle, closed the door and went out. The light outside gradually dimmed. Fang Ying turned over and was about to fall asleep when Ji Yanlang suddenly leaned over and whispered in her ear, "You little heartless thing, you still think you can turn back?"
"?" Fang Ying was stunned for a moment, then she remembered that when she went to bed just now, Ji Yanlang, who was sleeping on the outside, was facing inward. She didn't want to face him, so she also lay down facing inward. But when she wanted to sleep, she forgot about it and turned over as usual.
I didn't expect him to use it as a way out. Well, if I let this matter go on overnight, it would be difficult to resolve.
Fang Ying snorted softly, "How can I be so heartless? Preparing a dowry gift for Sister Zhou is something we sisters should do together. I can't find something suitable at the moment, so even if I'm a little worried, it's not a big deal. Why do I have to tell you about it?"
"That's what I'm saying. We're husband and wife, and sharing everything, big or small, is the right thing to do. If it's not a big deal, then you don't have to tell me. How many things can we talk about in a year?"
"..." He had probably already thought of what he was going to say. Fang Ying choked him, and he couldn't answer for a moment.
Ji Yanlang had indeed thought of this sentence when he pretended to read the military manual. Seeing that she had indeed stumped him, Ji Yanlang pressed the issue: "Besides, you treat Princess Zhou like a sister. Others may not know it, but how could I not know that you care about her as much as a sister?"
Fang Ying didn't say anything. In the darkness, Ji Yanlang couldn't see her expression clearly. He explained, "I'm not saying this to pick on you. I just want to help you share your burden, just like you helped me share my worries before."
It would have been fine if he hadn't mentioned this, but once he mentioned helping him share the burden, Fang Ying started to complain: "You didn't tell me that yourself back then. Didn't I see it and ask you about it before you told me?"
Ji Yanlang: “…”
It seems to be true!
"Ahem," he cleared his throat to hide his embarrassment, "I'm certainly not as attentive as you are, so I need you to tell me more..."
"I'm telling you everything, won't you be annoyed?"
"How could I be annoyed? As long as it's about you, I want to hear everything. Whatever I see outside, I want to tell you when I get back."
Ji Yanlang's question not only lifted the pent-up anger in his chest, but also made him feel a little ashamed of his own inconsiderateness. "Yes, she loves me so much. Even if she doesn't show it normally, she must be like any other woman, worried about not pleasing her husband. How could I still be angry with her over this?"
He quickly lifted the quilt, crawled into her bed, held Fang Ying in his arms, and apologized softly: "I was impatient today. I only thought about you and I should talk about everything, and forgot to understand you. But I also really want to know what you did at home, whether you were happy or sad, no matter how big or small, I want to hear you say it."
At the end, Ji Yanlang lowered his voice and leaned close to her ear: "This way it's as if we've always been together."
His words were so heartfelt that Fang Ying felt deeply moved when she heard them.
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The author has something to say: Long time no see~ Alas, this chapter has been written intermittently for a long time, mainly because the idea is completely different from when I first started writing. It is a bit difficult to write the second half of the copy.
Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or provided me with nutrient solution between 2022-08-02 22:08:09 and 2022-10-30 00:30:14~
Thanks to the little angel who irrigated the nutrient solution: 3 bottles of Xin Zi Zai;
Thank you very much for your support. I will continue to work hard!
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