Chapter 95 Chapter 95 Mother is going to Zhenzhou to tidy up the government office...
On the morning of the second day, the two who had reconciled went to Li's courtyard to have dinner. Before they even entered the house, the maid in the courtyard saw them from afar and went in to tell the lady that Liu Lang and Liu Niang had reconciled as before.
Li smiled and said, "This bastard has finally made some progress."
When the young couple came in, Li looked at them coldly. They were even more affectionate than before. Her heart, which had been hanging in the air since her son came back, finally settled down.
"Now there's nothing left for me to worry about in the mansion. Once Si Niang is married, we'll pack up and go to Zhenzhou with the Duke."
Li said this with a smile, and the maids also agreed with a smile, but they were a little panicked in their hearts. They quickly found ways to pass on the lady's words back home.
Madam is going to accompany the Duke of the County to the garrison, and these personal maids must go with him. Zhenzhou is a border town, and even if there is no war, daily life will certainly be more difficult than in the capital.
But since the madam had gone, the maids naturally did not dare to say they were afraid of the hardship. On the bright side, they would go there with the madam for a few years and then return to the mansion. Their qualifications would be incomparable to those who stayed in the mansion.
But not everyone can endure it. Fuhe, the first-class maid in the Madam's courtyard, is already twenty-two years old. Fanggui and Dingxiang are younger and will be twenty next year. Only Chunmai, who took over the vacancy left by Xinmei's marriage, is eighteen years old.
The four maids were all born into the family as slaves, and their parents were on duty in the mansion. The difference was that Fuhe, from her grandparents to her parents, were all married to the lady as part of her dowry, Fanggui and Dingxiang were born after the lady's marriage to the steward of the Ji mansion, and Chunmai's family was bought into the mansion later.
With different backgrounds, the choices will certainly be different. Li really wants to see how the four maids will choose, or how the servants behind them will choose.
She deliberately indulged him, and the news spread quickly. The next day, Fang Ying also heard about it and whispered to Ji Yanlang, "Is Mother really going to marry Si Niang and leave? I thought it would be difficult to walk on the road in the middle of winter with ice and snow. She would wait until next spring."
"You're not going there, are you?" Ji Yanlang was also surprised. "Second sister-in-law hasn't given birth yet at that time. How could mother not wait to see her grandson?"
"Why don't you ask later."
Ji Yanlang laughed: "Why are you asking me now?"
Fang Ying didn't explain, she just said, "You ask, I'll help you out."
"You, are you reluctant to leave your mother?"
Fang Ying was indeed reluctant, but she also knew that as a young daughter-in-law, there was no room for persuasion.
My mother-in-law and father-in-law have been separated for many years. Now my father-in-law is stationed at the border and rarely comes back twice a year. My mother-in-law has no elders to serve and no young children to raise, so it is time for the couple to reunite.
But, "When I think about my mother really going to Zhenzhou, I feel uneasy. What if the mansion encounters a problem that my second sister-in-law and I can't handle?"
Ji Yanlang held her hand and said with a smile: "If you say so, Mother must think that she should have gone earlier so that you and Second Sister-in-law can stand on your own feet."
"So, try to persuade her. Tell her that you can't bear to leave her. That's why you just came back and haven't shown her much filial piety. Please wait until next spring."
"Okay, okay, I'll go and tell him."
The two of them discussed it and brought up the matter in unison when they went to Li's courtyard for dinner.
"That's true. I'm not old yet. If you want to fulfill your filial duties, there's plenty of time for you to do so." Mrs. Li scolded her son with a smile. Seeing that he wanted to defend himself, she raised her hand to stop him. "I also want to go out for a walk while I'm still strong. It would be even better if I could visit your grandmother's birthplace on the way."
Li's mother was born in Taiyuan, but she herself was born in Shuzhong. The northernmost place she had ever been to in her life was Tokyo, where they were now.
After hearing this, Ji Yanlang and Fang Ying knew that there was no point in persuading her, but they still refused to give up. "I'm not trying to stop you, but it's winter since Si Niang got married. I'm afraid it would be hard for you to travel all the way. It would be better to wait until after the New Year when the ice and snow have melted before heading north."
"Let's prepare first and talk about it later. If the government allows your father to come back and marry his daughter, I will go with him. If your father can't come back, we can wait."
After hearing this, Ji Yanlang and Fang Ying didn't know whether they should be happy or not. They naturally hoped that their father could return home and personally preside over Si Niang's wedding, but if that happened, their mother would definitely go to Zhenzhou with their father.
Seeing the two children looking at each other in confusion, Mrs. Li couldn't help but smile: "Okay, don't worry about me. Let's set the table."
The two of them had no choice but to collect their thoughts and accompany their mother for dinner. After dinner and tea, Li asked Fang Ying to go back first and asked Ji Yanlang to accompany her for a walk in the garden to help digest the food.
"Mom, put aside other things, my second sister-in-law is still pregnant. Can you really just leave her alone?" Ji Yanlang did not give up and held his mother's hand to persuade her.
"Your second sister-in-law is already pregnant with her third child. Do you still need me to watch over her? Besides, I'm only here to help you calm down. You're all grown up and have families. Don't expect to rely on me for everything. When I gave birth to you, there wasn't a single elder in the family? Not to mention elders, even your father wasn't at home."
Ji Yanlang: “…”
Mrs. Li paced forward a few steps, motioning the maids to step back. Then, while holding her youngest son's hand, she walked forward and whispered, "I'm planning to take more servants with me to Zhenzhou this time. Go back and tell Ying'er that there are some things going on in the mansion that need to be dealt with."
"You mean?"
"Your mother was just lazy before, not senile." Li looked up at the sky. "I've remembered everything about the spring outing, but I just couldn't find the right time. The third and fourth wives were at home at the time, and I didn't want to make a fool of myself by them."
"How do you plan to deal with this?" Ji Yanlang immediately became interested. He had always felt that the punishment he had given to the cook that day was too lenient.
Li said, "Those who have made contributions and have not committed major offenses will be taken directly to Zhenzhou. The older ones will be raised in honor. Those who have been involved with the third and fourth houses will be sent away. As for the rest, you and Ying'er will discuss with your second brother and sister-in-law about how to use them. I will also explain this to your second brother tomorrow. Your sister-in-law is pregnant now, so I have to ask Ying'er to work harder."
Ji Yanlang said: "She doesn't think it's hard to do these things. After all, we are just running errands for the second brother and his wife."
"You," Li shook her head, "don't just think about the outside world. Although Ying'er has been helping your second sister-in-law manage the household for a long time, she only has Lichun by her side. She doesn't even have anyone she can stand up to and argue with those old women. If I don't mention it, won't you think of helping her find two?"
Ji Yanlang was stunned: "I, I thought..."
"What do you think? Do you think she doesn't want it, or that I won't give it to her?"
Ji Yanlang was stunned by the question.
Mrs. Li glanced at him and sighed, "Forget it, you really don't understand these things. Logically speaking, those who can appear for the master should be included in the dowry, just like the maids around me, or the housekeepers around your sisters-in-law."
Ji Yanlang suddenly realized - Fang Ying only had two maids as a dowry, and the elderly maids in their courtyard were assigned by his mother. He had no idea whether he was alive or dead before, so it was certainly impossible for these maids to serve Fang Ying like a dowry.
"Aren't you arranging the private school with your second brother? You have dealt with the managers of the outer courtyard to some extent. They are all married men with children. It will be easy to pick two capable young wives from them to help Ying'er." Seeing her son was silly, Li finally gave him some advice.
"Yes, son, I've made a note of it." Ji Yanlang felt quite ashamed. "You see, it's you who has to do it. Otherwise, son would only think about treating her well, but he would never do it. He could only come up with some food, drink and fun."
Li snorted, "Use your brain more in the future and don't always rely on your mother."
Ji Yanlang agreed honestly and went back to put the matter aside. He only told Fang Ying that his mother was going to Zhenzhou to tidy up the servants in the mansion.
Then, following his mother's instructions, he found two particularly reliable stewards from the outer courtyard who served him, saying that he wanted to choose someone to serve Liu Niang, preferably one who was eloquent, bold in action, and loyal to his master.
When the managers heard about this opportunity, they were very enthusiastic and sent the candidates to Ji Yanlang's courtyard just after the Mid-Autumn Festival.
It was at this time that Ji Yanlang explained the reason to Fang Ying: "I was inconsiderate before. You can use these two first. If they are not suitable, we can choose and replace them."
At this point, he chuckled and said, "Because my mother is going to Zhenzhou, the servants at home are a little panicked. I heard that you are short of people here, I don't know how many people are vying to come here."
Fang Ying met the two young wives and heard that they had worked in the mansion before and were quite eloquent, so he decided to keep them for the time being.
She really lacked capable people around her. She used to think that she was just helping the second house to manage affairs and accumulating some credit in front of her mother-in-law. It was enough to do everything just fine.
But now that Ji Yanlang is back, they will have their own children sooner or later, and Li is vaguely intending to delegate power to her and Yue Qing'e this time - although this mansion belongs to the eldest son, the day of separation is still far away, and it is impossible for the second branch to dominate the mansion and replace all the managers with people from the second branch - she really should make some plans and win over some trusted servants.
"I knew Ji Liulang would never think of these. Sure enough, I just asked him a few words and he said that it was our wife who taught him." Fang Ying told Zhou Congshan with a smile.
It was already August 25th, and Zhou Congshan was to marry the King of Qin in three days. Fang Ying had come in advance with gifts to enhance her friend's makeup and share some intimate thoughts.
"Your wife is truly impeccable." Zhou Congshan said with a smile as he admired the table screen. "But Ji Liulang is not bad either. He was able to get this done so quickly, which clearly shows that he cares about you."
Fang Ying said: "Well, it was released, so it was released..."
She couldn't think of what to say for a moment. Zhou Congshan turned around to look at his friend and asked with a smile, "What's wrong? Are you still dissatisfied?"
Fang Ying shook her head. "I didn't have high expectations of him, so I can't say I'm dissatisfied. I just feel that these men, who are so preoccupied with worldly affairs, don't seem to put people in the right place when they put them in their hearts."
Zhou Congshan didn't understand: "What do you mean by 'not a place'?"
"Let me put it this way. When we women put someone in our hearts, we will definitely think ahead of them in everything we do, care about them all the time, and weigh their joys, sorrows, anger, and happiness. We will completely put that person in our hearts."
Fang Ying propped up her chin with one hand. "But men are just like that... Take Ji Liulang for example. He felt that my life in the Ji Mansion was not easy before. Now that he's back, I can just enjoy my life in peace."
Zhou Congshan laughed: "Is he so naive?"
"...Is this naive?" Fang Ying put down her hand and shook her head. "In short, he thinks this is good for me, so I have to listen to him. And like this incident, it's been almost a year since he returned home, and it was only because of my wife that he realized I needed someone around me."
Zhou Congshan thought about it carefully and nodded, "That's true. It's a good thing it was your wife who brought it up. If you had said it yourself, he wouldn't have said 'why didn't you say so earlier', which would have been good."
"I can't tell you anything, Madam. If you don't want to mention it, then I'll wait until Madam goes to Zhenzhou and choose two people myself." Fang Ying said, and then turned around and advised, "But you're different. If you need anyone in the future, or anything else, just ask the King of Qin."
"I know."
"Also, if the King of Qin is like Ji Liulang, and uses the excuse of worrying about you and worrying about your hard work to prevent you from taking charge, don't listen to him." Fang Ying lowered her voice. "We women are trapped in the backyard, and we're already blinded and deaf. If we don't take charge and don't know the news inside and outside, won't we be truly blind and deaf?"
These words should have been taught to her by her mother. Zhou Congshan's eyes reddened and she held her friend's hand: "I've taken note. Thank you, sister."
Fang Ying cupped her hand with her free one and whispered to her some of her experiences with her husband. They talked for a long time until someone outside announced that close relatives had arrived to pay their respects to the princess. Then Fang Ying hugged her friend and said, "I'm going home now. I'll come back on an auspicious day to see you off."
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The author has something to say: Long time no see ~ waving ~
Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or provided me with nutrient solution between 2022-10-30 00:30:14 and 2023-02-08 23:51:34~
Thanks to the little angel who irrigated the nutrient solution: avahgao 60 bottles;
Thank you very much for your support. I will continue to work hard!
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