Mi Niang had never seen Second Madam Ding so happy before. Her joy was almost overflowing. She looked like a dead tree coming back to life, radiant and light-hearted. Unlike before, when even her smile was filled with bitterness and she felt unhappy even when she laughed.
She combed her bangs again and again with a small comb, and Second Mistress Ding teased Mi Niang: "Look at you, you don't even recognize your father, and your father always misses you. Later, when your father comes out of your grandmother's room, you can't do that. Remember to call him father, not uncle."
"I understand." Mi Niang never expected that the father she imagined was completely different from the father she saw now.
In her impression, Ruan Jiading was a very slovenly middle-aged man with a long beard that he didn't take care of. His life became increasingly difficult after his mother's death. He even borrowed money to take the provincial examination, but ultimately failed. After returning home, he was recognized by the governor of the river for his expertise in water management.
That day, Mi Niang still remembered that Ruan Jiading was very happy, and he went home to tell her to be obedient at home and gave her two silver coins for her expenses. It was at this time that the Yu family came to visit. Mi Niang was still young at that time, and she only heard Yu concubine mumbling to her father for a long time. Later, within two months, her father was hacked to death.
Even when Mi Niang became a concubine, she sent people to investigate secretly, but they could not find out the cause of the crime. They only said that the murderer had made a mistake and thought Ruan Jiading was Yu Dazhong, so he killed him. However, the person who killed Ruan Jiading had already been brought to justice, and Mi Niang could do nothing about it.
But every time she thought of her father's burial, his body was so badly mutilated that he didn't even have a coffin because he had no money. He was buried in a hurry, Mi Niang felt a burning pain in her heart.
Thinking back to the Ruan Jiading I saw today, he was very young and full of vigor. There was no sign of his family falling into poverty. Instead, he was in good spirits.
Yes, at this time, Ruan Jiading's knowledge was praised by the teacher, and he was preparing for next year's college entrance examination with great confidence. Soon he would be a scholar, so how could he not be full of energy?
But no one could have imagined that the next year, the mother would not only lose the baby in her belly, but would even commit suicide in a mysterious way, thus separating them from each other forever.
While Mi Niang was lost in thought, Ruan Jiading had already returned. He and Second Lady Ding were reunited after a short separation. Although they did not have any intimate actions, every move they made was full of tenderness and affection.
"Mi Niang, Daddy bought you a flying rope and a shuttlecock in the city. You can use them to play with your friends tomorrow."
The flying rope was made of red and green silk, very delicate, and the feathers on the shuttlecock were shiny, and it was obvious that they were carefully selected. Mi Niang took it and said sweetly, "Thank you, Daddy."
Ruan Jiading was surprised and said, "Mi Niang is so polite. Last year when Daddy was at home, you said you would beat him if he didn't buy it. Daddy went to your aunt's house last year and when he came back he insisted on being carried back home. This year he is indeed much more sensible than last year." After saying that, he looked at Second Grandma Ding with satisfaction and said, "It's all because of your good teaching."
"It's not that I taught her well; she's grown up on her own. You don't know that Eleven was getting married a few days ago and the candidate had been decided, but this little smart girl went there and called Eleven, and they let her go, and even got a hundred dollars in return." Although Second Madam Ding only gave birth to a daughter, she never disliked her and was always proud of her daughter.
Mi Niang knew that her chance had come. She acted like an adult and said, "I did it for my mother. I heard from Lan Jie'er and the others that being a rolling bed boy would earn you brown sugar and money. My mother and I are hungry every day, so I want to make money."
In fact, Ruan Jiading knew very well what kind of people his parents were, but he never thought that he would be hungry.
"Shujun, do you often feel hungry at home?" Ruan Jiading asked.
Of course, Second Mistress Ding was not really a good person, but she seldom said bad things about her parents-in-law before, because no matter how many faults Mr. Ruan and Mrs. Ruan had, they were still Ruan Jiading's parents, and if she said them out loud, her husband would think she was picky.
But my daughter is different. She is still so young and everyone will believe what a child says.
If someone puts on airs, the Second Wife is a fool if she doesn't step up, so she shook her head and said, "Husband, don't listen to Mi Niang's nonsense. After I sell the cloth, I usually buy some fried rice and put it at home. We can just make a bowl of it with hot water."
How can fried rice fill your stomach?
Ruan Jiading was really disappointed with his parents.
Mi Niang is well aware of the essence of palace fighting. If you directly say something bad about someone, then even if what you say is right, it means that you are brave and fierce, or that you have the face of a mean person who gossips about others behind their backs. In this case, just talk about the facts.
She immediately pretended to be angry and added fuel to the fire: "Mother, I'm not talking nonsense. Auntie has taken all the fried rice. Mother, you're hungry every day."
"Mi Niang..." Mrs. Ding seemed to think that her daughter was immature.
Ruan Jiading gritted his teeth, his face was blue and white, he held the hand of Second Lady Ding and said, "This time I was promoted to an inner dormitory student in the academy, the tuition fee is three cents a month, plus the daily copying of books, a total of ten taels of silver saved. In the future, we will buy our own food, you don't have to worry."
Hearing Ruan Jiading's words, Second Mistress Ding was very happy.
Mi Niang was still dissatisfied: "Dad, you will only be home for a few days. When you leave, we dare not eat. Aunt often comes in and rummages through the boxes."
"This Ping'er is getting more and more outrageous." Ruan Jiading still doesn't know that the reason why Ruan Ping'er's marriage fell through was because she was seen by the man while scolding her sister-in-law.
Mi Niang felt that the only way to make her mother's health better was to move out. Her father was not the eldest son, and their family separated after marrying their eldest uncle's family. The elders of the clan also separated the family because they were afraid that Mr. Ruan would devote himself to gambling and get involved with his two sons.
The ancestral home can be left to grandparents as a sign of filial piety, but living together with them and going hungry all year round is not a life for a human being.
Her mother knew how to weave, and after entering the palace, Mi Niang's embroidery skills were second to none. Her father passed the imperial examination and became a scholar, so even if they could make a living in a palace, they would not be rich, but they would not be able to live like at home.
No matter how powerful your parents are, they are helpless when it comes to the word "filial piety".
Mi Niang said again: "Dad, my uncle's family can live in the county, why don't we go? I heard that Zhou Furou has gone to the county, Mom, I want to go too."
After saying that, he started acting coquettishly again, just like a real child.
After hearing the last part, Aunt Ding Er laughed: "Silly girl, you are still angry because of the other day."
Ruan Jiading couldn't help but ask, "What happened to Sister Mi?"
"It's the niece of Grandma Shu who lives by the bamboo forest. Our Mi Niang went to be a rolling bed boy, but her niece couldn't do it. I ran into her when I went to Shang Si's house the other day. She said that her niece can already read. Grandma Shu sent her niece to the county school for girls. She said in front of me that Mi Niang was having fun all day. The little girl came back and asked me what a girls' school was and pestered me to go." Grandma Ding Er looked at her daughter and felt that she had treated her daughter badly.
Hearing this, Ruan Jiading smiled. He originally thought that his daughter might have often heard her mother complain, so she said these things at such a young age. He never thought that it was because of a desire to compare with others.
However, Ruan Jiading was interested. He looked at Second Lady Ding and said, "Actually, I also want to move to the county. Our Jiangling County is the capital of Jingzhou Prefecture, and the prefectural school is also there. It would be nice if we could go there, and I could open a school there."
Mrs. Ding shook her head and said, "That's true, but we don't have the money to buy a house. It would cost several dozen taels."
"If I don't have money to buy it, can I not rent it? If I pass the imperial examination and become a student on government stipend, I can earn tens of taels of silver a year by acting as a guarantor for others."
Speaking of this, Ruan Jiading was very excited: "Anyway, I'm already preparing for next year's college entrance examination at home, so why not rent a small yard nearby so that we can live here as a family? How about that?"
Mi Niang was the first to say yes, and Second Madam Ding pretended to be hesitant. Ruan Jiading couldn't help whispering a few words in her ear, as if they were talking about something private. Second Madam Ding glared at him and naturally agreed.
Dad is back, and Mom seems to have someone to rely on. Mi Niang is also happy when she thinks about going to the county town after the New Year. She feels that everything is going in a good direction.
Celebrating the New Year with Mr. Ruan and Mrs. Ruan meant there was no festive atmosphere. They each hid their own private savings, and the bacon and fish were not damaged at all, and there was basically no smell of fish. Later, my uncle's family came back, and my uncle and dad bought some fish and meat and we had a barely adequate New Year's Eve dinner.
Mi Niang was not close to her grandparents or her uncle's family at all. To be honest, after her parents died, they neither beat her nor scolded her, but they didn't want to take care of her. She lived with her great aunt for a year or two. Later, her grandparents sold the old house, and they ran to the provincial capital to live with her uncle without telling her.
She was adopted by the childless Fourth Lady Shang for another year. Fourth Lady Shang simply knew that her parents had arranged a marriage for her and wanted to use her to gain benefits. Of course, this plan did not work out, and Mi Niang kept wandering around. Finally, the Ruan family chose her to enter the palace.
Of course, Mi Niang knew very well that after the death of her parents, no family would be rich, so why would they support you? Although her grandparents were not kind and her uncle was also indifferent, these people were at least not good. What really frightened people were those who looked kind on the outside but were actually hypocritical.
"Husband, Aunt Yu is coming today. Why don't we ask her where we can rent a house?" Second Madam Ding said with a smile.
Ruan Jiading nodded: "Yes, you are right. My aunt has always been kind to me. We will live in the county and she will take care of us in the future. Shujun, when we have more money, we can send Mi Niang to a girls' school, how about that?"
Mrs. Ding Er smiled and said, "Of course it's good. I'm blind. You taught me to recognize a few words, but I still feel nothing compared to my fourth sister-in-law and the others. If Mi Niang can read and write, she'll be better than me." She then said, "My aunt came home yesterday and gave me a prescription for having a child. My husband, it's been my fault that I haven't been able to conceive for so many years. In fact, only my aunt treats us like a family."
"It's not your fault. I'm studying away from home, so we're rarely together. Besides, Mi Niang could speak at eight months old and recite poetry at one year old. She's smarter than many boys."
While her husband was comforting her with sweet words, Mrs. Ding felt as if she had turned into a pool of water.
This couple reunited after a long separation, so naturally they had a lot of intimate things to do, but poor Mi Niang stuffed cotton in her ears and turned her back. This was also the reason why she was eager to move out. Her parents had a very good relationship and were in love with each other every day. She was the heart of an adult, but they treated her like a child.
However, she could still tell from the tone of her parents' voice that they had a very good impression of Aunt Yu. Not to mention her father, even her mother, who had seen through the world, trusted Aunt Yu very much.
They probably didn't realize that their father's death was closely related to this kind old man.
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