Chapter 645: Land and Water Dojo
When Jiao saw that not only her mother-in-law, the old lady of Duke Xin, was there, but also her father-in-law, the old Duke Xin, her heart skipped a beat.
In fact, she is a little afraid of her father-in-law.
But seeing that both her mother-in-law and father-in-law seemed to be in a good mood, Jiao hesitated for a moment before pretending to be calm and asked with a smile, "Dad, Mom, can we change our water and land training venue to Baiyun Temple this year?"
The old Duke Xin actually loved Yu Mingzhu, but Yu Mingzhu's previous behavior of hurting his eldest sister-in-law was really disheartening. In addition, when the old lady of the Duke Xin fell ill, Yu Mingzhu was aggressive towards Xing Xing, the savior of the old lady of the Duke Xin. The old Duke Xin and his wife felt that they could no longer tolerate it.
But it has been a long time now, and Mao Fuqiu's health seems to have improved a lot. The old couple, Duke Xin, originally wanted to find some time to check on Yu Mingzhu to see if she has reflected on her actions in recent days. If she has, they will have someone bring her back.
When Jiao brought up the idea of the water and land Taoist temple, the Xin Guogong couple looked at each other.
The old lady of Duke Xin spoke slowly: "You are in charge of the reward, and you decide for yourself."
Jiao was delighted, knowing that this meant that her parents-in-law had no objection. Furthermore, if she proposed to take Zhuzhu back home, her parents-in-law would probably not object!
Jiao was about to say something, but the old lady of Duke Xin said, "Oh, there is one more thing. Xingxing is here and will be here soon. Please wait for a moment."
Jiao felt an inexplicable shudder in his heart.
Her parents-in-law had hinted to her that Xingxing might be their daughter.
After all, she looks so similar to her when she was young!
But for some reason, Jiao seemed a little afraid to face Xing Xing.
In addition, Xingxing was polite yet distant to her. Every time they came into contact, she felt a pain in her heart like a needle. Over time, Jiao actually had a vague feeling of escape.
Jiao felt a little uneasy.
The old lady of Duke Xin glanced at Jiao.
To be honest, she originally had no opinion about her eldest daughter-in-law.
Apart from doting on his daughter too much, there was nothing wrong with him. He managed the family's rewards and rewards in an orderly manner, and was not bad for the concubines in the backyard, and did not harm them.
But at this time, the old lady of Duke Xin became more and more dissatisfied with Jiao.
She thought Jiao was just a fool.
Even though she is not my biological daughter, I still developed feelings for her. Everyone can understand that.
But the little girl who had been wandering around since she was a child and was suspected to be her biological daughter was already right in front of her. Instead of checking whether it was true or not, she even avoided it!
This is ridiculous!
The old lady of Duke Xin became angry when she thought about it.
Seeing Jiao sitting there feeling quite uneasy, the old lady of Duke Xin became more and more angry, and her face looked a little ugly.
At this moment, the maid outside came happily to announce that Princess Fusui had arrived.
The old lady of Duke Xin suddenly cleared up her expression and stood up with a smile on her face.
Although Jiao was somewhat evasive, she still looked around subconsciously when she heard the words "Princess Fusui".
The maid opened the door curtain, and a little girl wearing a pink jacket and a pearl hairpin, looking very happy and smiling, walked in leisurely.
Before Xing Xing could say anything, her face was already full of smiles: "Hello, old lady, hello, Duke."
She paused, looked at Jiao again, and said with a smile, "Hello, Madam Crown Prince."
The old lady of Duke Xin was full of smiles and took Xingxing's hand: "Good child."
Jiao pursed her lips and felt that the greeting "Hello, Madam Crown Prince" did not sound as intimate as the two previous greetings to her father-in-law and mother-in-law, and seemed to reveal a sense of strangeness.
Jiao felt uncomfortable again, thinking, is this really her daughter? Why is she treated so unfamiliarly? She is not even as good as Zhuzhu, whom she has raised for so many years.
Every time Zhuzhu saw her, she would feel honey flowing down her cheeks when she heard her call "Mom".
Jiao sat there, stroking the armrest, missing Yu Mingzhu more and more.
The old lady of Duke Xin didn't care what Jiao thought. Ever since Xingxing came in, her eyes had been glued to her.
The same goes for the old Duke Xin.
He had been a soldier all his life and was considered a tough guy. But when he got old, he became as gentle as a butterfly in front of his cute granddaughter, and the smile on his face never faded.
As per custom, Xing Xing took the pulse of the old Duke Xin and also took the pulse of the Duke Xin's wife.
The old lady of Duke Xin said that she had just checked his pulse two days ago, and she stretched out her hand with a smile on her face.
After Xing Xing checked the pulse of the two elders, the old lady of Duke Xin glanced at the absent-minded Jiao and frowned.
Just as the old lady of Duke Xin was thinking about how to ask Xingxing to help take Jiao's pulse, Xingxing took the initiative to speak up and said with a smile: "It just so happens that the wife of the prince is here too, how about I take her pulse as well?"
Xingxing felt that many of the things that the old couple Duke Xin had given her before were rare medicinal herbs, which were very valuable and saved Xingxing a lot of effort in searching. Xingxing would like to return the favor by helping more people in Duke Xin's mansion to check their pulses.
The old lady of Duke Xin was very moved: "Our Xing Xing is so nice."
But Jiao was still a little distracted.
The old lady of Duke Xin's face darkened: "From the old family!"
Jiao suddenly came to his senses: "Ah?"
The old lady of Duke Xin's face was slightly cold, and she said calmly, "Xingxing said she wanted to take your pulse."
Xing Xing also asked with a smile: "Madam, is it convenient?"
When Jiao looked at Xingxing's smiling face, she felt as if she had been hit by someone.
This little girl might very well be her biological daughter, and she was treated so lovingly, yet she was still distracted.
Jiao felt guilty and held out her hand, but she didn't know what to say. She could only say dryly, "...Thank you, Princess."
Xing Xing felt Jiao's pulse and said, "Madam is in good health, but she has been a little too anxious recently. She can drink some calming soup every day, which is good for her health."
Jiao didn't know what to say and just responded hesitantly.
The old lady of Duke Xin carried Xingxing on her back and glared at Jiao in anger at her for not fighting back.
But when Xingxing looked over, the old lady of Duke Xin was smiling again and asked Xingxing, "...Xingxing, in a few days, our family will go to Baiyun Temple to do a water and land training. I am old now and I would like to have someone to accompany me. Do you have time?"
Jiao was stunned for a moment and subconsciously looked at the old lady of Duke Xin.
They have a water and land temple at their house. What would it look like if they brought Xingxing, who is still an outsider, over there?
The old lady of Duke Xin ignored Jiao and just looked at Xing Xing expectantly.
Xingxing was fine, but she remembered that her grandmother, Mrs. Wei, said two days ago that she wanted to go to the mountains to worship the gods.
After Xingxing told this, she asked whether the old lady of Duke Xin could bring her grandmother along as well.
The old lady of the Duke of Xin naturally agreed: "Old Lady Wei is open-minded and broad-minded. I really like to get to know her. You can bring Old Lady Wei with you, so that we can talk on the way."
Jiao pursed her lips, wanting to say something, but she didn't dare to say anything for fear of losing face for her mother-in-law.
After Xingxing left, Jiao had not left yet. She said to the old lady of the Duke of Tongxin, feeling a little uncomfortable: "...Mother, we are doing a water and land Taoist ceremony in our house. Isn't it a bit..."
The old lady of the Duke of Xin glanced at him coldly: "What do you mean by others? If you don't want to, then let's go to another place."
When Jiao heard that they wanted to change places, she quickly said, "No, daughter-in-law doesn't mean that..."
She didn't want to cause any more trouble about the meeting with Yu Mingzhu, so she smiled and said, "My daughter-in-law is just asking casually. Since mother has decided to take that old lady Wei and Princess Fusui with her, she has her reasons."
The old lady of Duke Xin said calmly, "It's good that you know."
After Jiao left, the old lady of Duke Xin couldn't help frowning and said to the old Duke Xin: "...I always feel that the old lady is a little unreliable. She is Xingxing's biological mother. Xingxing has been living away from home for so many years and had such a hard life when she was a child, but she doesn't feel sorry for her at all. Mingzhu brought it upon herself. She felt so sorry for her that she had to live in Baiyun Temple for several months with food and drink. It makes me angry just thinking about it."
The old Duke Xin patted his wife's hand and said, "Okay, the eldest daughter-in-law is confused, it's good that we two old people can be clear. Xingxing is not young anymore, and in a few years, the eldest daughter-in-law, as a mother, will probably not give Xingxing a dowry. I know Xingxing is doted on by the Yu family, and her dowry will not be less. But what the Yu family gave was given by the Yu family, and we, as grandparents, must give Xingxing a dowry on behalf of that confused mother."
The old lady of Duke Xin nodded repeatedly: "You are absolutely right, I think so too. The children and grandchildren in the mansion are all well-fed and well-dressed, each with their own luck. I plan to take out half of my private property and give it to Xingxing to supplement her dowry."
The old Duke Xin smiled and said, "Isn't this a coincidence?"
They smiled at each other.
Xingxing didn't know that she had suddenly made two huge fortunes without knowing it.
After she returned home, she told Mrs. Wei that the Xinguo Mansion had invited them, her grandparents and her grandchildren, to go to Baiyun Temple together.
Mrs. Wei had developed the habit of worshipping gods from a long time ago. When she heard that it was the old lady of Duke Xin, with whom she had a good chat before, who invited her, she was very happy and agreed immediately.
"As the wife of a duke, she is not arrogant at all, and she thinks highly of me, a country old woman." Mrs. Wei was very touched, "What a good person."
Xing Xing also laughed: "That's because grandma is also very nice, so the old lady is also nice to grandma."
Mrs. Wei smiled even more happily.
Xing Xing thought that the old lady of Duke Xin and the old Duke Xin were really nice people, and she wanted to be close to them from the bottom of her heart.
When the day came for the Xin Guo Mansion to hold the water and land training ground, Xing Xing and Mrs. Wei got on the carriage early in the morning and joined the long convoy of Xin Guo Mansion outside the city gate.
Mrs. Wei and Xingxing were directly invited to the carriage of the old lady of Duke Xin.
In the carriage of the old lady of Duke Xin, there were only her and Nanny Qingluan beside her.
At this moment, Xingxing and Mrs. Wei came over, and the carriage didn't seem to be congested at all.
Nanny Qingluan smiled and said, "Our old lady is quite nervous today. She just asked me, 'Is my hair messy?' 'My clothes look neat, right?' I even told our old lady that those who know her think that our old lady and old lady Wei are going to visit Baiyun Temple together. Those who don't know would think that our old lady is going to visit each other."
The old lady of Duke Xin laughed so hard that she pointed at Nanny Qingluan and said, "You have such a big mouth!"
The atmosphere in the carriage was very good. Mrs. Wei took out the leaf cards again, and the four of them started playing cards right in the carriage.
In the other carriage sat Mao Fuqiu, a concubine's daughter from the second wife, and a concubine's daughter from the third wife.
Naturally, these two concubines' daughters had to call Mao Fuqiu "sister-in-law" because they were slightly younger than Yu Mingzhu.
Mao Fuqiu looked relatively calm.
Yu Xiuxiu, the concubine of the second wife, asked Mao Fuqiu in a low voice: "Sister-in-law, are you feeling better?"
Mao Fuqiu nodded slightly: "Thank you for your concern, second sister."
Yu Xiuxiu then showed a somewhat happy expression: "It seems that the blessing you went to Baiyun Temple to pray for was really effective. When I see you, I will tell you that my eldest sister-in-law is much better now. You will definitely be very happy."
Mao Fuqiu couldn't help but curl the corners of her mouth.
Are you happy?
I’m afraid not.
…
The long convoy of carriages from the Xinguo Mansion moved forward slowly and after most of the day, they finally arrived at Baiyun Temple.
The Baiyun Temple is located deep in the mountains. When the carriage reaches the foot of the mountain, it can no longer go up and has to be replaced by a sedan chair.
Jiao's arrangements were very appropriate, and several sedan chairs were waiting on the roadside early in the morning.
Mrs. Wei originally wanted to decline, saying that she could easily climb three mountains, but when she saw the old lady of Duke Xin holding the hand of Nanny Qingluan and getting into the sedan chair, she hesitated and followed suit.
The second and third concubines were still young and active, and neither of them wanted to ride in a sedan chair. They held Mao Fuqiu's hand and said, "Sister-in-law, please come with us."
Mao Fuqi hesitated for a moment, but finally refused: "The mountain is high and the road is steep, I'd better take the sedan chair."
The second and third concubines could only stick out their tongues and go climb the mountain by themselves.
Xingxing was going to accompany the old lady of Duke Xin and her grandmother, Mrs. Wei, so she chose a sedan.
Jiao and several of her sisters-in-law also rode in sedan chairs.
The rest of the people walked up the mountain.
The group walked in a mighty manner towards the hillside deep in the mountains where Baiyun Temple was located.
Yu Chongjie's brothers, except for the youngest who is still studying abroad, are all here today and walk up the mountain together.
Yu Chong'en looked at Xing Xing and Wei Pozi sitting in the sedan chair in front of him, and for some reason he became a little irritable. He came over to complain to Yu Chongjie, "Brother, what are they doing here at our water and land dojo?"
Yu Chongjie lowered his voice: "Alright. It was my grandmother who invited them here. Don't make things complicated. In addition to doing the land and water dojo this time, the first thing we need to do is to bring Zhuzhu back as well."
Yu Chongen responded.
Yu Chongjie was about to say something, but his eyes fell on Yu Chongen's neck and he suddenly paused.
There was a red mark there. Having been married for many years, he naturally knew what the red mark was.
Yu Chongjie frowned: "On your neck..."
Yu Chong'en also noticed his elder brother's gaze. He subconsciously raised his collar to cover the red mark and coughed: "Nothing, just a bug bite."
After saying that, Yu Chongen added, "Brother, I miss Zhuzhu. I'm going to the front now and try to be the first to arrive at Baiyun Temple."
After saying that, he ran so fast that he was in front in a flash.