Chapter 149 Chapter 149 Ji Yanlang took the children for a walk...
An followed Ji Yanchang into the courtyard and saw the beautiful women sitting in the corridor. They hurriedly stood up to greet them when they came in. An frowned and asked, "What are you doing outside?"
The two concubines showed signs of fear. Seeing this, Ji Yanchang said, "They just arrived today. How could they dare to barge in without your permission?"
An sneered, "There are many things I haven't said anything about, but I haven't seen them do less."
Ji Yanchang didn't answer and walked quickly into the room.
An Shi didn't follow them in, but asked her trusted confidant who had come to clean up first to lead the way. After a quick tour inside and outside, she went into the room and said to Ji Yanchang, "I've taken a look. This courtyard has a few more rooms in the back than the one in Bianjing. It's more than enough for us to live in. But Dalang and Sanniang are not young anymore, so they should have their own rooms."
"You decide."
Ji Yanchang was impatient with these trivial matters. Seeing that the concubine had not yet entered, he said to An Shi: "Don't be so sentimental in the future. Look at how good Madam is at winning people over. When she entered the house, she ignored her own children and grandchildren and first coaxed the fifth son and his wife." An Shi sneered: "If the county lord were to act like you, speaking up for the concubine in front of the servants in the courtyard, do you think Madam would still have the heart to win people over?"
"Here you go again! I say one thing and you say ten." Ji Yanchang also became angry. "If you were more tolerant normally, would I say that?"
"I'm more lenient? I'm not lenient?" An's hands were shaking with anger. She ordered the maid, "Go, call everyone in. I want to ask each of them one by one whether I hit them or scolded them to deserve such a crime!"
The maid was so frightened that she dared not move. Ji Yanchang did not wait for her to move. He stood up and strode out. When he reached the door, he saw a maid peeking in. He had no place to vent his anger. He went up and kicked the maid on the leg, cursing, "Where did you come from, you slut? You have no manners. How dare you eavesdrop on what the master is saying?"
The maidservant screamed "Ah" and fell to the ground. The concubines and maids in the corridor and courtyard were so frightened that they were silent and dared not make a sound.
Ji Yanchang was still not satisfied, so he kicked the maid twice and then walked away with his hands behind his back.
At this time, Fang Ying and the other two in the main courtyard were unaware that the commotion had already begun as soon as the third wife arrived. Li was instructing her youngest son, "I have Ying'er here with me. Go check on Mr. Zhu to see if he's settled in. Then go check on Sanlang."
"What's so good about him?" Ji Yanlang knew what his mother meant, but he couldn't help but say, "He's white and plump, and you can tell at a glance that he's lived a life of luxury."
Mrs. Li also knew why her son was reluctant to go, and advised: "No matter what, he is your brother. He just arrived in Xijing today. Can you go and see him and say a few words? Remember to ask Wulang to come."
Ji Yanlang went there reluctantly.
Fang Ying waited for him to leave and sighed, "Liu Lang has been angry about Third Uncle a lot."
Li also sighed, "Who isn't like that? Although he had some small thoughts at first, he still knew what was important. Who would have thought that he would suddenly... Never mind, not talking about him, but I see how you've become even thinner."
"No," Fang Ying looked down at herself and smiled, "What mother remembers is what I looked like when I just gave birth to Hong'er, right?"
Li thought about it and smiled, "It's true."
"I was fat then, and my face was round."
Fang Ying smiled and touched her face, chatting and laughing with Li. Seeing that she didn't have any instructions and was really just talking to her, she felt warm in her heart, but she was also worried that her mother-in-law was tired. So she glanced at the sky and said, "Mother, you've been traveling all the way. Lie down and rest."
"Well, that's fine. You should go back and rest too."
Fang Ying stood up and said, "I'll come and have lunch with you at lunch time."
Mrs. Li nodded and said, "If Hong'er doesn't want to go back, let her play with her sisters so she doesn't have to run back and forth."
Fang Ying responded and left. When she found the children, they were indeed having a great time. Sisters Huaiyun and Huaizhi were very friendly to her and gathered around to greet Aunt Six.
Fang Ying held one of them by the hand and asked a few questions. Then she pulled over the shy Huai Di who was hiding nearby, patted her head, and asked if her aunt was okay. Huai Di nodded and whispered, "Yes."
Huaizhi interrupted, "Auntie is pregnant too." She gestured with her hand, "Her belly is this big."
"Really?" Yue Qing'e didn't write it in the letter, and Fang Ying really didn't know that Lianpeng was pregnant again.
Huaiyun nodded: "Mom said we'll know whether it's a brother or a sister in May."
Hong Er interrupted: "I also have a sister and a brother."
Fang Ying and Ji Yanlang had already told Hong'er that she was pregnant. Upon hearing this, they smiled and patted their daughter's back, saying, "Yes, you are too. Come on, go play."
She supported Lichun and slowly returned to her own yard. As soon as she entered the room and sat down, Bai Sang came to report that Ji Yanchang had quarreled with An and had kicked someone in anger.
"Who did you kick? Is he hurt?" Fang Ying asked.
Bai Sang replied, "It was Nanny Yu who serves Xiao Sanniang. The injury should be nothing serious. She didn't ask for a doctor."
Why would a couple take out their anger on the child's nanny when they were arguing? Fang Ying asked, "Is it because of the child?"
Bai Sang shook his head. "I heard it was because of those two concubines. Yu Ma was just unlucky. Because Xiao Sanniang was seasick and had been feeling unwell, she rushed to report it. Unexpectedly, she ran into Sanlang just as he was coming out."
Fang Ying frowned: "How is Xiao Sanniang? Do you want to see a doctor?"
"I've already replied to Wu Niang and asked her to come."
"I understand. Go ahead."
Bai Sang retreated. Fang Ying took a deep breath, but couldn't help but sarcastically said, "What a capable hero."
Lichun advised: "My lady, please take a break. It's not worth getting angry about such things."
Fang Ying let her help her change into casual clothes, and then she lay down on the couch. Still furious, she cursed, "No wonder. He's been so unfaithful and unfilial, and you still expect him to be loyal to his third sister-in-law and not beat or scold the servants?"
After a pause, he added, "Next time, maybe I'll kick my third sister-in-law."
"With the madam here, Sanlang shouldn't dare, right?" Lichun answered while massaging his wife's legs.
Fang Ying thought about it and agreed, but then thought about An's past actions and couldn't help but say, "I wonder if Third Sister-in-law will regret it later."
"I don't think so."
Fang Ying thought about An's character. Not to mention self-reflection, even at this moment, she certainly hated her concubines and maids instead of her husband. She couldn't help but smile bitterly: "You're right."
Neither of them spoke again. The room was quiet for a while. Suddenly, there was a movement outside. Lichun looked back and said, "My husband is back."
Fang Ying was too lazy to move. She waited for someone to come in before she raised her head and said, "I thought you guys were going to have dinner together."
"I'm too lazy to deal with him. There's a welcoming banquet tonight." Ji Yanlang walked over to sit next to her, looking her over and asking, "What's wrong? Are you tired?"
"Yeah, I want to lie down for a while." Fang Ying answered, then asked, "Did Third Uncle tell me about his rage today and the time he kicked me?"
Ji Yanlang was stunned: "No, who did you kick?"
Fang Ying asked Lichun to learn. After hearing this, Ji Yanlang was so angry that he cursed, "You are becoming less and less like a human being."
"If they don't say anything, let's just pretend we don't know." Fang Ying said lazily, "After all, it's their own business."
"Well, don't tell Mom. It's a good day to move into a new house and welcome the new family. There's no need to get upset about something like this."
Fang Ying also meant this, but when she heard him angrily call Ji Yanchang "such a thing", she couldn't help but smile: "You are right."
So when they went to have lunch with Li at noon, they both talked about happy things. Since the three nieces were there, Fang Ying even mentioned Feng Rong specifically, saying that when she had questions about her studies, she would ask Feng Rong for advice and she really benefited a lot from it.
"Since you say it's good, it must be excellent." Li said, and seeing Huaiyun and Huaizhi pouting, she smiled again, "But we just arrived, and we have to hold a housewarming party in a few days. Let's invite Mr. Feng to meet us after the party."
The two sisters' eyes lit up and they looked at Sixth Aunt. Fang Ying couldn't help laughing and said, "Listen to mother."
Huaiyun and Huaizhi were beaming with joy. Hong'er didn't know her sisters didn't want to study. She heard her mother talking to her grandmother about Mr. Feng, and whenever she had a chance, she would say, "Hong'er wants to go to school too."
Ji Yanlang smiled and said to his daughter: "You haven't experienced the hardship of going to school."
Mrs. Li glared at her son and said, "You don't like studying yourself, so don't be a bad influence on the children." Then she put on a smile to coax her granddaughter, "Hong'er, if you want to go, go. But your sisters just arrived, so you can play with them for a few days before going to school, okay?"
"Okay." Hong'er nodded vigorously. "Big sister, second sister, third sister, let's go to the garden to fly kites later. Daddy bought so many beautiful kites."
Now even Huai Di, who had been silent the whole time, became happy. Seeing the children happy, Li was happier than anything else. She nodded and said, "Go, but don't run. Let them show you."
Ji Yanlang said, "If you're not tired, come along and see if the garden suits your taste and help digest your food."
"That's good. I heard they say the peonies in the garden are in full bloom. I was thinking of going to see them."
There were also peonies in Li's room, but the varieties planted in the garden were more numerous and richer. So, a group of three adults and four children went to the garden in a mighty procession. Ji Yanlang took the children to fly kites, and Fang Ying accompanied Li for a stroll. The seven people in the family all enjoyed themselves.
The evening family dinner was naturally held in the flower hall. Fang Ying sat across from An and saw Xiao Sanniang Huairong leaning against her listlessly. She asked, "What's wrong with Huairong?"
An placed her palm against her daughter's face and replied, "She was seasick and didn't eat much during the trip. We asked the doctor to see her at noon, and he said she would be fine after a rest and a good meal."
There was nothing unusual in her expression or words. She was not like before, unable to hide her thoughts and showing them on her face. Fang Ying coaxed Huairong a few words and asked Honger to bring some candied fruit to her sister.
Seeing that Hong'er was not afraid of strangers, Mrs. An teased her and said a few words to her, creating a rare harmony among the women at the table.
When the food and wine arrived, the fifth and sixth wives of Xijing came first to toast their mother and brother and sister-in-law. An drank a few cups with them, then said she would not drink anymore, "The two little ones are crying a bit, so they need to be more alert at night."
Fang Ying and Gao exchanged a look of surprise. The two little ones that An mentioned were probably the illegitimate sons and daughters who were born last year. It was not surprising that the children were crying after the long journey, but the children had wet nurses and nannies by their side. Why did she need to take care of them personally?
Li didn't ask any more questions, only saying, "I think these few cups are just right, please clear the wine away."
After the wine was removed, everyone quickly ate their fill, and the children were all sleepy. Li asked the wet nurse to take them back and coax them to sleep, and then said to An: "You should go too, and rest early, and don't just focus on the children."
An kept what she wanted to say in her heart, and since no one asked her, she had no choice but to leave with her daughter in disappointment.
Fang Ying saw it clearly and knew there must be a reason. Sure enough, the next day she heard that An had arranged for all her concubines to live in the back room.
"They said that Dalang and Xiao Sanniang were old enough to have their own rooms. Dalang still needed to study and write, so he and Xiao Wulang lived in the east wing, and Xiao Sanniang lived in the west wing. The two little ones were raised in Sanniang's room."
"So, these two children were not raised by my third sister-in-law before."
Bai Sang replied, "Yes, I heard that when they were in Bianjing, the two concubines lived in the side rooms. Sanniang already had Dalang, Xiao Sanniang, and Xiao Wulang by her side, so she couldn't take care of them all."
Fang Ying couldn't help but smile: "Now that it's been separated, the back room can't accommodate the child and the wet nurse, so she can take care of it. She is really virtuous." No wonder she looked like that last night.
Lichun asked in confusion, "Isn't Sanlang very protective of Auntie? How could he agree to it?"
"I was in the wrong for the moment." No matter how bad he was, after finding out that he had kicked the nanny beside his daughter, it would not be good for him to fight with his children for a place to live for his concubine.
"Besides, he's not protecting his aunt. He thinks his third sister-in-law isn't virtuous and generous enough, and hasn't allowed him to live a happy life with his wife and concubines."
Lichun said, "How could such a thing happen in the world?"
Isn't it in this mansion? Having watched his wife behave since childhood, Ji Yanchang probably dreamed of making An the second Li, without even thinking about who he was and whether he was worthy.
The small incident in the third house did not cause even a ripple in the new house of the Ji Mansion. Li seemed unaware of it. After resting for two days, she, Gao and Fang Ying drew up a list of guests for the banquet and sent out invitations one by one.
Because she was pregnant, Fang Ying only spoke a few words throughout the banquet. On the day of the banquet, she couldn't drink, so she sat at the table with the unmarried young ladies and went back to her room early after the banquet. After the housewarming banquet, in April, Li finally sent someone to invite Feng Rong to meet him.
Feng Rong was a little reserved, but Mrs. Li treated her with great courtesy. She asked her granddaughters to pay their respects to the teacher seriously and decorated the small hall on the other side of the small garden as a school, where classes would begin on the third day of April.
Fang Ying was worried, so she went to listen in for the first two days on the pretext of accompanying Hong'er, but on the third day, she felt that there was no need to go.
"Aunt Feng was well prepared, she was just a little nervous at the beginning. And from what I see, she plans to teach according to each student's aptitude. Huaiyun is older after all and knows more words. Huaizhi and Huaiyi are a little behind, and Huairong only started learning to read after returning to Bianjing, so she's not much better than our Hong'er."
The five children are all different, so naturally they need to be taught differently.
Ji Yanlang nodded: "That's very thoughtful."
After the two of them finished talking about this, they discussed the arrangements for a family outing on the weekend. The weather in April was neither too cold nor too hot, and the scenery was just right. Fang Ying was not in good health and her morning sickness had eased, so it was a good opportunity for her to accompany Li out to relax.
However, unexpectedly, before the tenth day of the lunar month came, urgent military information came from the northwest that the Hu cavalry were invading Fuzhou on a large scale.
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Author's comment: Wow! It's already 500,000 words! [Cracked]
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