Chapter 10: Can we go back to the birthday party?
In the blink of an eye, it was Wu's birthday. It was her sixtieth birthday, and the Chengguo Mansion had been preparing for this event for a long time, so naturally many guests came to the Chengguo Mansion that day. In addition to relatives and friends, many of Zhou Chang's colleagues also came, and it was extremely lively for a while.
Before the dinner started at night, the Empress Dowager's reward to Mrs. Wu came down. The family of Duke Chengguo went to receive the reward first, and paid their respects to the Empress Dowager from afar. After seeing off the palace eunuchs, the birthday banquet officially began.
Chen Lianxiu was a newly married bride, so naturally she would only stay with Zhou Linjin on such occasions. Besides, he couldn't be without people around him, so she was happy to eat and drink on the side, and just needed to socialize with Zhou Linjin when people came.
However, she watched coldly as Zhou Chang and Zhou Rong's families sat next to Mrs. Wu at the top, with Zhou Chang and his wife on the left and Zhou Rong and his wife on the right. However, Zhou Chang and Mrs. Yang were not as good at socializing as Zhou Rong and little Mrs. Wu. They were very warm and attentive in helping Mrs. Wu receive the guests who came to congratulate them. Mrs. Wu also seemed more willing to talk to her second son's family.
Chen Lianxiu thought about it and understood. Perhaps the old lady liked her younger son more, and since Xiao Wu was her niece, she was naturally closer to her.
She had no interest in continuing to watch the second wife and Wu having fun, so she turned her head to look at her side. Below Zhou Chang and Yang was Zhou Yishao, and then there was her and Zhou Linjin. It didn't matter that she glanced at Zhou Chang holding Yang's hand under the food table, and Yang's originally unhappy expression gradually eased.
Chen Lianxiu quickly withdrew his gaze, not daring to look again. He wanted to pick up the wine glass to cover it up, but in his haste he accidentally spilled the wine. Fortunately, there was not much wine in it. Zhou Linjin heard the noise and asked Chen Lianxiu.
Chen Lianxiu didn't dare to say anything, she just said that she was careless. After that, she didn't dare to look around anymore. She just ate the food in front of her quietly, and occasionally gave Zhou Linjin some dishes.
Time passed quickly, and as the birthday party was coming to an end, some guests were already preparing to leave.
At this time, Wu said, "Erlang's eyesight is not good, let Dalang see the guest out."
Zhou Linyu stood up and saw off a few guests. Just as he was about to sit down, he heard Wu say, "Da Lang, come to Grandmother. Grandmother has something to say."
Chen Lianxiu saw Zhou Linjin's expression change and frowned almost imperceptibly.
Upon hearing this, Zhou Linyu walked over to Wu and said obediently, "Grandma, what else do you want me to do?"
Wu said, "I want to tell your uncle, not you."
Although some guests had left at this time, most of them were still seated. When they heard Wu's words, they all became quiet for a moment and looked towards their seats.
Yang glared at Zhou Chang, who said, "Mother, let's talk later. We have guests here right now, so I'm afraid it's not convenient."
"Are you afraid I'll embarrass you?" Wu said with a pleasant smile, "I just wanted to take advantage of my birthday today to ask for another birthday gift from you."
As soon as Wu said this, with the word "filial piety" weighing heavily on his shoulders, Zhou Chang had nothing to say.
Mrs. Wu looked at Zhou Linyu with satisfaction, then continued to talk to Zhou Chang, "You'll be leaving again in a few days, leaving behind such a large family business. It needs someone to support it. I'm old, and I just hope our family can be harmonious and prosperous. How about this? Dalang is so old and hasn't been able to do much. As his uncle, you should always support him. You know, only a good family can last long. Before you leave, find a job for Dalang. Only then will I feel at ease."
It was obvious what Mrs. Wu meant by having to say these words in front of so many guests. She just wanted Zhou Chang to have no way to refuse.
Zhou Linjin took the cold wine on the table and took a sip. He was reluctant to put down the glass, and before he knew it, his fingers had become white from clenching.
Zhou Chang did not answer Wu immediately, but he could not just leave Wu alone.
After a long while, he said, "Dalang has a fickle personality. I'm afraid I can't help him find a job."
Wu's mouth curled downwards: "Even if I stay by your side, it's not possible?"
"No." Zhou Chang refused firmly.
At this time, Xiao Wu interrupted and said, "Forget it, forget it, mother, forget it. It's Dalang's fault. He doesn't deserve it. Why make things difficult for uncle?"
"What do you mean by 'unworthy'?" Mrs. Wu refused to give in. Instead, she snorted coldly and said, "It's true that you are the Duke of Cheng, but I am also the ancestor of this family. I'm just a young man seeking a job. Why should I embarrass you?"
Zhou Chang sighed, his eyes sweeping across the field. Although he didn't want to talk about these things in front of so many people, he had no choice: "Da Lang is always inconsistent in his actions. It's not that I haven't helped him before, but he never does anything well. There are always many people coming to me to complain. I really..."
"The past is the past. Although Dalang was not very ambitious before, he has grown up now and may not be a bad person," Wu interrupted Zhou Chang. "Besides, we still have Erlang in the family. Erlang is your biological son. I also know that the family business will eventually be handed over to him. I never said anything and just let Erlang and his family live under someone else's roof. But now Erlang is blind, and the doctor said it is very likely that he will never be able to recover. How can I be at ease with you? Erlang has become a disabled person, and there must be someone to support the family when you are not at home."
At this time, Wu's favoritism towards the second house had been completely exposed. She didn't care about anything else and didn't even care about the word "useless person". It was like stabbing everyone in the first house with an awl.
Zhou Chang sat down without saying anything, and still did not agree with Wu.
Everyone present was watching the show. Zhou Yishao was quick to react and smooth things over, saying, "Grandma, it's getting late. Let's disperse so the guests can go home early."
Wu's request must be explained in the end. Either Zhou Chang agrees or continues to refuse, but the time for resolution cannot be now. Otherwise, if it continues, the Chengguo Mansion will probably become a laughing stock in the capital.
However, Wu was not at all willing to follow the path Zhou Yishao had given her.
When she didn't get a response from her eldest son, she angrily said, "You only have Erlang as your son, and now he's blind, while your brother's family is fine. You refuse to find a job for Dalang simply because you're jealous of Dalang's health, while Erlang will be blind forever. Zhou Chang, wake up! So many doctors have come to see him, but Erlang won't get better!"
After saying that, Wu stood up and left in a huff. Zhou Linyu was beside her and was pulled away by her. After Zhou Linyu left, the second wife also left immediately.
All that was left was a mess for Zhou Chang's family.
The guests did not want to stay any longer and said goodbye one after another. Zhou Linjin was blind and could not see them off, so Zhou Chang personally saw them off at the door.
However, after the guests left, Zhou Linjin still sat there.
When Shen Lianxiu looked at him at this time, she found that his hands were placed on his knees, clenched tightly, and even trembling.
Just now, in order to ask for a position for Zhou Linyu, Wu kept saying that the person who was hurt the most was Zhou Linjin.
In public, she said that Zhou Linjin was a disabled person and announced that there was no hope for Zhou Linjin to regain his sight.
No matter how difficult people's lives are, they usually don't want others to know about it. However, Wu directly told Zhou Linjin the most frustrating and painful things both physically and mentally.
He couldn't see the expressions on those people's faces when they heard these words, nor did he know what they would say about him after they returned.
Zhou Linjin didn't want to feel gloating or sympathy.
Zhou Chang, Yang and Zhou Yishao must be sad at this moment, even Chen Lianxiu is sad, but their sadness is definitely far less than Zhou Linjin himself.
"My dear." Shen Lianxiu couldn't help but call him softly.
Zhou Linjin seemed not to hear it.
"Erlang," Shen Lianxiu called him again, "Shall we go back?"
Zhou Linjin finally came back to his senses. He turned his head and looked at Chen Lianxiu, but his eyes still couldn't meet hers: "Okay."
He stood up, perhaps because he had been sitting for too long, his steps were a little unsteady when he first stood up. Shen Lianxiu almost reached out to help him, but stopped in time halfway and let him stand on his own.
Tonight the moon is bright and the breeze is gentle. It is very pleasant to walk under the moonlight.
But both of them were in no mood and just walked towards Zhuoxinzhai.
***
Wu's birthday party ended in a bad mood. After seeing off the guests, Zhou Chang went to Wu's Shouning Hall and did not come out until late at night. It is unknown what the mother and son talked about.
For several days thereafter, Zhou Chang did not stay in the mansion, but was always outside, often not returning until nightfall.
Zhou Linjin seemed to have no interest in the affairs of his grandmother and father, and did not ask about them again after the birthday party.
About five or six days later, Zhou Chang's recent frequent comings and goings out early and late had a result.
Zhou Linyu got a sinecure position as Chengfenglang. Although it was just a casual official and the rank was not high, it was already Zhou Chang's biggest compromise and concession to Wu. Moreover, Zhou Linyu was actually quite famous in the capital. He was idle and uneducated, so Zhou Chang spent a lot of effort to get this official position for him.
After finishing this matter, Zhou Chang did not stay in the capital any longer. He quickly set off to
Just after he left, as if she could no longer hold on, Yang, who had originally recovered, fell ill again in bed, even more seriously than the last time.
So compared to the second wife's joy after getting what she wanted, the first wife can be said to be in a gloomy mood.
Faced with the fact that Yang's illness was obviously caused by anger, little Wu took Su Qiong to Si Ning Garden to take care of her for a few days, but she let the matter go after a few days. She only sent a servant to ask about Yang's condition occasionally. Wu didn't say anything at all. After hearing that Yang was ill, she sent some supplements and nothing happened afterwards.
Because of Yang's illness, Zhou Yishao's trip was delayed. Originally, she was going to go back to her husband's home after Wu's birthday, but in the current situation, Yang was seriously ill and Zhou Linjin was blind, so they were unable to leave and simply stayed at home to take care of Yang.
Chen Lianxiu would follow Zhou Linjin to Si Ning Garden to visit Yang every day. As time went by, she became more familiar with Zhou Yishao. Zhou Yishao was a quiet and gentle person, and treated Chen Lianxiu, the newly married sister-in-law, very well. Sometimes Zhou Linjin stayed in the study, and when Chen Lianxiu had nothing to do, she would go to Si Ning Garden to talk to Zhou Yishao.
The author has something to say:
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I will reduce the word count and not update tomorrow. Then I will update according to the ranking. I will update daily after I become a V.
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