Chapter 179: Ten Years in the East and Ten Years in the West
At the end of April, swallows chirp, doves sing, bees and butterflies bring fragrance, it is a good time for all things.
As soon as the work at the Daohua Farm and the shop was done, Zhou Jingwan couldn't wait to come over and take her out for an outing to enjoy the scenery.
There were two little girls, one liked to be in nature alone, and the other was impatient with social engagements. So when they went out, they didn't call anyone and played happily outside for the whole day before returning home.
"You still remember to come back?"
Daohua returned home as the sun set. As soon as she entered the main courtyard, Madam Li glared at her daughter angrily: "Don't you know the time? Next time you go out and come back so late, I will not let you go out again."
Daohua immediately begged for mercy: "Mom, I had so much fun today that I didn't notice the time. That's why I came back late. I will definitely pay attention next time."
Mrs. Li saw her daughter's rosy cheeks and bright eyes, and thinking of how busy she had been in the past two months, she didn't say anything more.
"Hey, the Dragon Boat Festival is still a few days away, why are you starting to give gifts now?"
Seeing the gift box on the table, Daohua went forward and flipped through it: "Mom, who gave it to you? It looks very valuable."
Madam Li's expression was somewhat indifferent. "Teacher Zhu from Linyi County used his connections to be transferred to Xingzhou. The gifts were sent by his family."
Upon hearing this, Daohua's expression immediately dimmed, and she put the gift box in her hand back.
Madam Li glanced at her daughter, knowing that she still remembered the time when Teacher Zhu's daughter was slapped by the master. "Madam Zhu may bring Miss Zhu to visit us in the next couple of days, and you'll have to meet her then."
Daohua showed no interest at all: "I don't need to. Isn't Miss Zhu getting along well with Yishuang and the others? Just let them meet."
Madam Li glared at Daohua and said, "What nonsense are you talking about? You are the eldest daughter of the Yan family. How can you let your younger sisters do the entertaining for you?"
"Mother knows you don't like the Zhu family, and neither do I. However, Instructor Zhu will be working under your father in the future, so we still have to keep our composure."
Seeing her daughter pouting and looking unhappy, Madam Li was a little amused. "I'm not asking you to get close to her, just to meet her. It's just right. You're too temperamental, so it's just right to use them as training."
Madam Li stood up, walked over to Daohua, and patted her head. "When you get married, you'll definitely meet more and more people. It's impossible for all of them to be your type. You can't possibly not see any of these people, right?"
Hearing Madam Li mention the matter of getting married again, Daohua felt a little irritated and immediately said, "Mother, is it not okay for me to meet you?"
Madam Li smiled and said, "Just don't be impolite."
She had no good feelings towards the Zhu family, so naturally she would not have any demands on her daughter.
The day after the gift was given, Mrs. Zhu brought Zhu Xiuyun to Yan's house.
Unlike when she was in Linyi County, this time when she entered the Yan Mansion, Mrs. Zhu no longer had the arrogance of the past, and there was a hint of restraint between her brows.
Who would have thought that Lord Yan, a seventh-rank county magistrate, would quietly jump three levels and be promoted to the fifth-rank prefect of Xingzhou.
She could look down on the wife of a seventh-rank county magistrate who came from a merchant family, but she could not be disrespectful to the wife of a prefect.
As the head of a state, in charge of several counties, the Yan family is no longer the poor family that she could look down upon.
Especially the news she heard about the Yan family in the past year.
The eldest, third, and fourth sons of the Yan family are now studying at Wangyue Academy, and they often go in and out with the young prince.
Young prince, he is a member of the royal family, what a great honor it is.
The master said that Lord Yan was an honest official with strong administrative capabilities. If it weren't for the suppression from above, he would have been promoted long ago. Now that he has the relationship with the young prince, it is only a matter of time before he continues to rise.
The Yan family became more and more prosperous, but the Zhu family was gradually declining.
This time, the master had gone through a lot of trouble to be transferred to Xingzhou, thinking that Lord Yan and him had a long-standing friendship and could lend him some support.
Thinking about how the master had repeatedly told her last night to be on good terms with Madam Li, Madam Zhu felt a little uneasy. After all, when they were in Linyi County, her attitude towards Madam Li was not very good.
Mrs. Zhu looked at her daughter who also lowered her head and sighed again.
It was a wrong move to make friends with Lin. No matter how favored a concubine was, she was still just a concubine, and the one who could go out and socialize was only the lady of the house.
Linyi County is small, with not many wealthy families, and the rules and etiquette are not that strict. But in Xingzhou City, if she makes friends with another concubine, I am afraid that the ladies of other families will stay away from her.
It is a loss of status for the wife to be on good terms with the concubine!
Led by her maid, Mrs. Zhu walked towards the main courtyard with her daughter, full of thoughts.
Zhu Xiuyun was very well-behaved along the way, but at this moment, she was also a little nervous.
After all, she was the culprit who caused Miss Yan to be slapped hard by Lord Yan.
Main courtyard.
Ping Xiao smiled and welcomed Madam Zhu and her daughter into the hall. "Madam Zhu, I'm so sorry, but our wife has something urgent to attend to. Please wait here for a moment."
Mrs. Zhu's smile froze for a moment, then she said with a smile, "We arrived at an unfortunate time. Let your wife take care of her own business first. I'm fine anyway, so it's okay to wait."
Ping Xiao smiled and went downstairs. As soon as he went out, Ping Tong pulled him aside.
Ping Tong glared at Ping Xiao and said, "Didn't you ask for a better excuse? Although Madam wants to give her a cold shoulder, she doesn't want to go too far."
Ping Xiao curled his lips and said, "Just based on Madam Zhu's previous attitude towards our Madam, I'm lucky enough to smile at her. I don't even bother to think of excuses."
Pingtong was speechless, but did not refute.
Back in Linyi County, Madam Zhu looked down on ladies from merchant families. Seeing that Aunt Lin had a scholar father and a scholar brother, and was also favored by the master, she would talk to Aunt Lin every time she visited, but left the mistress of the house aside, which was really annoying.
Ping Xiao sneered, "When Miss Zhu was injured in our house, the master gave her a slap in the face. How many times did the lady cry for this?"
"Later, Madam Zhu and Concubine Lin also got involved in the issue of Master Qin's stay or departure."
"Mrs. Zhu claims to be from a family of scholars, but nothing she does is in accordance with the rules. If I were your wife, I would never meet such a person."
Ping Xiao wanted to complain a few more times, but when she saw someone suddenly coming into the yard, she immediately greeted them with a smile: "Hey, Aunt Lin, why did you come just now? You kept us waiting for so long."
Seeing the head maidservant beside the Madam so enthusiastic, Lin was a little puzzled, but she didn't show it on her face. She smiled and said, "Because of the sudden call, it took some time to change clothes. I wonder if Madam can help?"
Ping Xiao glanced at the living room and said with a smile, "Good news, you have a friend coming over, aren't we asking you to come meet them?"
Aunt Lin was stunned.
Friends? What kind of friends could she have? And she was a concubine, would the lady be so kind as to let her out to meet guests?
Yan Yishuang, who was also called over, asked, "Who is it?"
Ping Xiao smiled and said, "Miss Three, this is your good sister, Miss Zhu. She and Madam Zhu are here. Madam, don't you want to have a good time, so she specially asked you to come and meet her?"
Seeing that Aunt Lin and her daughter were a little dazed, Ping Xiao urged, "Aunt Lin and the third young lady, please follow me quickly. We can't keep our guests waiting for too long."
In the living room, Mrs. Zhu and her mother, who were left out in the cold, looked unhappy.
Just then, he heard a sound coming from the yard. Thinking that it was Mrs. Li coming, he immediately stood up to greet her.
However, when Mrs. Zhu saw that it was Aunt Lin and her daughter who came in, the smile on her face almost disappeared.
She let her concubine receive her. What did Madam Li think of her?
(End of this chapter)
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