“I’m back!”
Wang Caiwei saw the two of them walking in side by side and stepped forward to hold Qiao Xin's arm.
"The third brother's wife is here too! The third brother is such a jerk. You two just got married and he's already taking you everywhere. He's not considerate at all!"
"Mother, you have wronged Third Master. It was I who wanted to come and see Mother and Father myself!"
"Have you met your father?"
Wang Caiwei laughed: "Well, my father used to go fishing and play chess every day, and he lived a very comfortable life. Ever since my husband was named a prince, the threshold of our house has been almost broken by people stepping on it. My father has been pretending to be sick these days and has been staying at home to refuse visitors!"
No one cares about the poor in a busy city, but the rich in the mountains have distant relatives!
His father had been hiding in Lao Hu Town for a long time, but he was still snatched out by someone!
When I was a rich man, I had to look at people's faces everywhere. Now, not only do people who travel with me greet my father with a smile, but even the county magistrate and the prefect show courtesy to my father.
And his second aunt, who had already separated from the family, came to live with her cousin. She used to dislike Qingyang Academy, but now she is trying to find a way to get her cousin to study there. Whenever she sees her, she tries to please him in every way and no longer says that she is an old maid who can never get married!
Qiao Xin didn't know that just one sentence would make her daughter-in-law think so much. She tied on an apron and cleaned the crucian carp with Qiao Yunting.
Wang Caiwei, she didn't expect that her husband would do kitchen work!
She stared in amazement as Qiao Yunting picked up the back of the knife and struck the fish's head with it quickly and accurately, knocking the fish unconscious. Then he quickly scraped off the fish's scales, removed the gills, and cut open the fish's belly...
But in just a moment, he caught a crucian carp.
Her mother-in-law had already been standing in front of the chopping board, chopped onions, ginger, and garlic, marinated the cleaned crucian carp for a while, then fried it in a pan and made soup.
She stood there awkwardly, wanting to help, but didn't know where to start. She had always been served by others since she was a child and had never done such a job with her own hands!
Seeing that she was feeling uncomfortable, Qiao Xin smiled and comforted her, "They say a new daughter-in-law is only half a year old. Just sit still. Today, let us cook a meal for you, the new daughter-in-law!"
"Listen to your mother, this is the rule of our family."
"Then the eldest and second brothers can also cook?"
Qiao Yunting raised his eyebrows and boasted to his wife, "Of course I can't, but what my eldest brother cooks is edible, and my second brother pays attention to details and cooks the best. He has cooked a lot in the past.
But later on, everyone was busy, so they seldom did anything themselves! Even the little ones below could make a few dishes!
Thanks to my mother for teaching me these things. When I patrol the border in Jiangcheng, I sometimes have to sleep outdoors. These skills come in handy, don't they?"
..........
During the meal, Qiao Yunting told Qiao Xin about the situation between Qiao Yunting and Zhang.
"My second brother originally wanted my second sister-in-law to concentrate on taking care of the children at home for the sake of Sanlang and Sanniang, and just do some reading when she's free. But then the prime minister's wife came to visit, and after my second sister-in-law received her, my second brother proposed to divide the property and live separately!"
Qiao Xin pursed her lips and said expressionlessly: "You don't have to tell me these things. I am not unhappy at all. We are all adults. We have to bear the consequences of our choices!
Whether it's divorce or property division, even if they are still in love, I will not interfere anymore. Everyone has his own way of life. I can't order him to do what I want just because I am his elder!
Your second brother can weigh the pros and cons better than I can. He didn't want to divorce because he didn't want others to criticize the child in this regard. After all, Sanlang is about to take the imperial examination, and Sanniang is almost at the age of marriage, so Liulang still needs a mother."
Qiao Yunting found it incredible: "Mother, you are not angry?"
Qiao Xin shook her head, not caring at all.
"Why are you angry? I don't have much expectation for you. This is your own life. I don't expect you to support me in my old age.
Don't forget that I built this family by myself. I taught you and your elder brother all your skills. Other people's mothers are honored by their sons, but in our family, it seems that the sons are honored by the mother. I earned my position by myself!"
Without expectations, there will naturally be no disappointment. Nowadays, those tense relationships between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, and between couples, simply because they have raised their expectations of each other. Once their expectations are not met, they will feel a sense of disappointment, and naturally they will be disappointed, sad, and angry!
But after hearing this, Qiao Yunting felt sick!
He really couldn't refute it. His biological mother, the princess, was of noble birth, and even after she passed away, she still fought for the title of prince for him.
His adoptive mother Qiao Xin taught him a lot of skills, and he used these skills to get to a high position...
It seems like I really didn't count on him!
Wang Caiwei, with stars in her eyes, looked at her mother-in-law in admiration. What a domineering statement! She must learn from it!
Qiao Yunting couldn't describe the feeling in his heart, he felt lost and sad. Did they imagine that his status in A Niang's heart was too high?
Will my mother agree to let me visit Jiangcheng?
Qiao Xin also figured it out. It doesn't matter where you live in retirement. Since the third brother and his wife asked, he would go over for a visit. After more than 20 years of separation, Qiao Xin would just treat it as a revisit to his old place!
"Go, the capital isn't a good place for me to stay anyway, but I promised Dalang and the others that I would accompany them until the end of the imperial examination! After my birthday, I'll go to Jiangcheng with you guys!"
"Of course it should be, but A Niang Da Lang has become your Majesty's personal guard!"
"I know. Dalang and his men left just as you came back. But there are still Erlang and Sanlang. They will all suffer this time."
After Qiao Yunting came back, he took good care of his nephews and knew basically all their situations.
"I think Sanlang is fine, but Erlang is a little bit hard to say. That guy is not interested in being an official. He wants to pass the imperial examination to make it easier for him to do business."
"It's impossible for all the members of a family to be officials. There must be someone to take care of the chores. Your Majesty may not agree that everyone should work for the court. I think Erlang will be good at doing business. As long as he doesn't do anything that harms the world, you should stop using your status as elders to interfere."
The current situation in their family where there are both civil and military officials will not last long. When Dajing completes the great cause of unification, the military power in the hands of the eldest and the third son will probably have to be handed over as soon as possible.
She has separated the family now, which is also to reduce Emperor Wu's suspicion! No matter how wise Emperor Wu is, he will not allow others to sleep soundly under his bed!
Qiao Xin is not a warmonger, and will not torment the people of the world for her own selfish desires. There are too many ambitious people in this world who torment the world from time to time. They regard the people as pigs and dogs and start wars for their own selfish desires, but Qiao Xin can't be so casual.
Since Emperor Wu ascended the throne, he has always adhered to the idea of "people-oriented" and has been putting it into practice step by step. At least in front of Qiao Xin, Emperor Wu has shown enough sincerity.
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