Tang Jie'er's knot and fear
I was depressed like this for two days.
When Tao came to play with Huaicheng in her arms, she felt better when she heard Huaicheng's slurred voice calling "Abomu" (Second Aunt).
While the wet nurse was playing with Cheng'er in the yard, Mrs. Tao suddenly came over and said mysteriously, "Second sister-in-law, I heard from Sixth Master that Di Yuanzhi has already written a letter back to Youzhou. It won't be long before Tang Jie'er's marriage is settled, right?"
Ling Wan nodded, and then heard Mrs. Tao say softly, "Second sister-in-law has good taste! I've met the young master of the Di family with Sixth Master, and he's truly a man of good character!"
Ling Wan exclaimed "Ah!" How come she hadn't even met her future mother-in-law yet, but Tao had already met her.
Looking at Ling Wan's curious eyes, Tao smiled cunningly and showed a satisfied smile.
Tao was the youngest daughter of the Cheng'en Marquis's family. She had always been teased by her brothers and sisters-in-law since she was a child. How could she have ever had the chance to tease her peers?
When she married into the Shen family, she didn't have much contact with Wang Shi at first, and the only person she had some contact with was her eldest sister-in-law.
The eldest sister-in-law was always dignified and solemn. When facing her, Tao was more nervous than when facing the female teacher in the family school, so how could she dare to make fun of her?
Until later Ling Wan married into the family.
After getting to know her, Tao found that this second sister-in-law, who was younger than her, was really interesting.
Whenever she was teased, her face would be filled with innocence and ignorance, innocent and bright, like a child. No wonder her second uncle, who was always cold and aloof, could treat her so kindly.
"But I think my second sister-in-law will be able to see him soon. They say that the more a mother-in-law sees her son-in-law, the more satisfied she becomes. After seeing him a few times, my second sister-in-law will definitely be very satisfied."
Tao deliberately ignored Ling Wan's eager look, picked up a pickled bayberry and put it in her mouth. The sour, sweet and salty taste made her squint her eyes in pleasure.
Only after Ling Wan brought over the entire plate of pickled bayberries and promised to send her Gonglou's five-flavor apricot cheese goose and pine soil duck oil rolls the next day did Tao clear her throat, lean over to Ling Wan's ear, and whisper, "Don't tell Second Uncle."
"That Mr. Di is very good-looking, with an upright figure, a clear demeanor, and a dignified and upright appearance."
Ling Wan rolled her eyes inwardly. Ancient people loved using adjectives. Words like "gentlemanly and upright" and "gentle as jade"—when vague imagery like these was used to describe a specific image, it was like nonsense literature.
So Ling Wan asked in detail about her skin color, square or round face, big or small eyes, etc. Unexpectedly, Tao Shi didn't know the answer to any of the questions.
Seeing Ling Wan's speechless expression, she forced an excuse, "Although I was wearing men's clothes and following the Sixth Master at the time, I was married after all. As a lady in the inner chamber, how could I stare at a man so closely?"
Hearing this, Ling Wan wanted to pinch her philtrum. "Auntie, you're already hanging out in men's clothes, so this little bit shouldn't matter, right?"
"In short, although he is not as good as Huai Jin, when we take him out in the future and stand with our Shen family, it will not be a disgrace to our family." Finally, Tao waved her hand and stamped the summary.
All the men in the Shen family are good-looking. Except for the uncle of the eldest house, the eldest son and Shen Huaijin, whom Ling Wan has never seen, the other men in the Shen family that she has met are indeed "outstanding" handsome guys over 180cm tall.
It is said that the eldest son of Shen Cong, who studied at Songshan Academy, was the best among them and was known as Shen's Tanlang by the noble ladies in the capital.
Tao's words piqued Ling Wan's curiosity. Ten days later, her eldest sister-in-law told her that Mrs. Zhou, the Minister of the Central Secretariat, would be bringing Di Yuanzhi for a formal visit. In three days, they would first pay a visit to the old lady, and then come to Yanxiju to meet her and Shen Cong.
Ling Wan was both excited and nervous. Although Chen Tang was her stepdaughter, she had chosen this marriage after all, so naturally she was extremely concerned.
When Ling Wan learned that the young ladies could also hide behind the screen and watch secretly, she took Chen Tang to the front hall for an on-site inspection. After confirming that the height of the screen could ensure that Chen Tang could see the visitor, she waited contentedly in Yan Xiju for Di's son-in-law to come and pay a visit.
On the day Di Yuanzhi arrived, Ling Wan had deliberately donned a royal blue floral jacket to impress. The matchmaker, Madam Zhou, was renowned in Beijing for her eloquence, and the moment she saw Ling Wan at Yanxi Residence, she was slightly distracted.
Then he sat down and started talking to Ling Wan warmly.
Chen Yuanyuan should be grateful to Master Shen. He held a high position and great power. When the women of the capital were socializing, she only needed to sit still and smile from time to time, and then someone would come up to her and chat with her in a familiar manner, and at the end, they would praise her for her "steadiness and dignity."
The social rules summarized by Chen Yuanyuan were naturally also useful to Mrs. Zhou.
Mrs. Zhou has always been good at dealing with people, and at this moment, her mouth and eyes kept talking, and she kept looking at Xu Lingwan silently.
She had known that Master Shen's new wife was the granddaughter of the retired Lord Xu, young and beloved by everyone in the Shen family. But she hadn't expected her to be so young, looking several years younger than her second daughter.
However, looking at Xu Lingwan's words and actions, he felt that although she was young, her aura was indeed not to be underestimated. Just by sitting there, she had the elegance and dignity of a noble family.
Xu Lingwan naturally had no idea what Mrs. Zhou was thinking, but while she was talking, Lingwan was also quietly looking at the young man who was sitting upright.
Only then did she realize that the imagery words used by Tao were concrete. "Open-minded and upright" and "dignified and decent appearance" were indeed correct. If she simply said big eyes, small eyes, round face or square face, it was too superficial.
Ling Wan glanced at the screen four meters away, thinking that Tang Jie'er had also heard Di Yuanzhi's answer just now.
But he is such a man, I don’t know whether Sister Tang is happy or not.
Since the marriage between Chen Tang and Di Yuanzhi was almost a done deal, both the host and the guests were happy. After seeing off Mrs. Zhou and Di's son-in-law, Zhu Chi came to report that the fifth lady had returned to Qingtang Courtyard.
Didn’t they agree before that Chen Tang would wait for her to come back? She also wanted to ask Chen Tang’s opinion.
The more the mother-in-law looked at her son-in-law, the happier she became. But life still had to be lived behind closed doors, right? If Tang Jie'er didn't like him, she would cover it with her. Don't worry about your father, we'll just find someone else.
Ling Wan thought that Tang Jie'er was dissatisfied, so she turned around and rushed to Qingtang Courtyard with Hongyue, Luyun, Qingque and Zhuchi.
When the maids and servants in Chentang Courtyard saw their mistress coming, they hurriedly bowed and informed her. The two personal maids, Baizhi and Qingdai, were even more surprised and hurriedly lifted the curtain to welcome Ling Wan in.
As Ling Wan entered the room, she saw Chen Tang sitting under the window with his back to her, looking at the withered pomegranate flowers outside the window, wondering what he was thinking.
"Sister Tang, what's wrong?" Ling Wanping asked those around her softly.
This was the first time Chen Tang had seen her neither greet nor reply. Chen Yuanyuan thought, perhaps she was truly unhappy.
So, without knowing what to say, he just picked up a round cigarette, walked over to her and sat with her.
When they got closer, they realized that Tang Jie'er was actually crying. Chen Yuanyuan couldn't stand seeing people cry, so she immediately panicked and stammered helplessly, "Tang Jie'er, you, don't cry. If you don't like it, then we don't want this."
Whether it was Ling Wan's childish words or her clumsy actions, Shen Tang burst into laughter. Her expression was no longer as cold as usual. She said, "Mother, this isn't like going out to buy something. How can you just say you don't want it?"
"Ah." Ling Wan was a little stunned when she heard her call herself "mother" for the first time.
Moreover, it sounded to her that Tang Jie'er's words did not sound dissatisfied.
"I heard from my great aunt that mother is very worried about my marriage." Chen Tang looked at the puzzled expression on her stepmother's face, wiped the tears from her eyes, and said, "My great aunt said that mother wants to find the best and most gentle man for me, so that he will respect and love me all his life, right?"
Ling Wan couldn't help blushing and nodded when she heard the person involved say what she had said before.
"Is there such a person in this world? How could such an outstanding and gentle man respect and love someone like me?" Chen Tang turned his face away.
She was not unaware of the rumors that the fifth young lady of the Shen family was indecent and openly took off men's clothes.
Ling Wan fell silent. It turned out that Shen Tang couldn't get over this hurdle either.
Seeing that her stepmother was silent, Chen Tang twitched the corner of her mouth in self-mockery. As a girl herself, how could her stepmother not understand the importance of purity and reputation to a girl in the boudoir?
Her stepmother had chosen such a good man to marry her, but how could she be worthy of him? If she married him, she would only delay his life in vain.
"Why not?" Just when Shen Tang thought his stepmother was embarrassed because she didn't know what to say, Ling Wan asked in a clear voice, and then said proudly, "The clear will be clear, and the turbid will be turbid."
"You've been determined to become a doctor since you were young, and you've remained true to your original aspirations. I'm proud of you. You're a compassionate doctor, saving lives and healing the wounded. I'm also proud of your kindness and righteousness."
"You are worthy of the best and kindest man in the world!"
"Life is only a few decades long. If you focus all your attention on what others think, it will be too tiring." Ling Wan took her hand, placed it on her chest, and asked, "Tang Jie'er, ask yourself, if you could turn back time, at the banquet at the Duke of Yue's mansion, facing that young servant who suddenly collapsed, would you have stood by and watched him die?"
"Of course not!" Chen Tang blurted out without thinking.
Such a lack of hesitation also stunned Chen Tang himself.
"That's it." Ling Wan smiled. Seeing her staring at him blankly, he took out a handkerchief and gently wiped her hot tears. "Since you have no regrets, why should you care about others?"
"If you underestimate yourself because of rumors, what's the point?"
Remembering that his eldest sister-in-law had said that Chen Tang respected his father Chen Cong the most, he added, "You are so smart and intelligent, and your father often said that the Shen family should be proud of you."
"Proud of me?" The sensitive and brave girl came to her senses and murmured.
"Yes." Xu Lingwan held her hands with both of hers and looked into her eyes with a firm and bright look. "Yes, in the eyes of your father and me, the entire Shen family should be proud of you."
After ten years of enduring grievances and suffering humiliation and ridicule, she once wanted to resist with the sharp thorns all over her body, but she didn't expect that the extreme would backfire and she ended up getting hurt.
Facing the contempt and disdain of everyone in the world, no one ever told her, "A man of integrity is innocent and has a clear conscience," nor did anyone ever tell her, "You have lofty ambitions and a kind heart. I am proud of you, and the Shen family should be proud of you." Not even her own mother.
And she, the young stepmother, knew that if anyone heard her say this, she would be laughed at and accused of corrupting etiquette and teaching her children bad things, but she still told herself firmly that she did the right thing and she was proud of her.
"Mother!" Chen Tang couldn't hold back any longer and threw himself into Ling Wan's arms, bursting into tears.
She cried freely, her tears like the moon opening its floodgates, as if she wanted to let out all the tears she had swallowed back for the past ten years.
"Don't cry, don't cry..." Xu Lingwan patted her back clumsily and gently, like coaxing a child.
The two of them also didn't see that Mr. Shen, who had been standing outside the door at some point, had red eyes and moist eyes.
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