Chapter 027 Chapter 27

Before getting off the ship, Yan Yingqi invited Zhen and Xie to discuss the arrangements at home, even though he was not very willing. In his opinion, it was impossible for Xie to completely obey Zhen, and it would be too unfair to Xie to let Zhen manage Xie in the same way as a concubine.

Aunt Feng was helping Zhen with her makeup. Seeing that Zhen's expression did not change, she secretly praised her for being a person who could hold on. As Zhen's former maid, she knew Zhen very well. In fact, Zhen had a cousin at that time, who was the granddaughter of the eldest son of the cabinet. Normally, that was the one who should marry the old man.

But Zhen was introverted, tolerant and scheming, while the other man was too gentle and kind.

Xie is different now than before. In the past, she avoided him on her own initiative. Last time when Yan Yingqi was in Beijing, she took the initiative to stay in Jinling. But now she has followed him with her children, which is simply a strong enemy.

However, facing such a great threat from Xie, Zhen was able to remain calm, which was also very unusual.

Mother Song was also worried about Xie: "I'm afraid that the first lady will bring up the fact that all the people are from the first house. Our every move is under their surveillance. Besides, the first lady is not very stable, so it's possible that she will be plotted against."

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing." Xie said.

In fact, Xie and Zhen were somewhat like sisters-in-law. They seldom appeared together, and even when they met, they addressed each other as sisters-in-law.

The two met today at another place chosen by Yan Yingqi. When Xie came over, Zhen had already arrived. It was unknown what she was saying to Yan Yingqi with a smile.

"Sister-in-law." Xie called out as she entered the room.

Zhen said, "Come and sit down. We are waiting for you."

Xie smiled and sat down: "It's my fault."

Seeing that the two of them were seated, Yan Yingqi cleared his throat and said, "We will arrive at Tongzhou Port soon. Madams, why don't you discuss the household affairs? This will avoid confusion among the people."

Zhen smiled and looked at Xie: "I can say anything. It all depends on what you want, my sister-in-law."

"Sister-in-law is the eldest and I am the second. Originally, everything should be arranged by sister-in-law. But when we were leaving, the third old lady instructed that the servants of the third room and our expenses should be paid by ourselves. However, there is one thing. Sister-in-law is from the north and we are from the south. Our tastes are different. I also brought a few kitchen staff with me. If possible, we will set aside a kitchen. This is also a long-term solution." Xie said.

Zhen nodded slightly, "I have no opinion, what about the master?"

Yan Yingqi glanced at Lie and said, "You are all my wife and children. Do you have to pay for your food, clothing, housing and transportation separately? Do I not have the money to support you? We can build a kitchen separately, but the expenses will be charged to my account."

Xie thought more thoroughly. She said, "Master, there is really no need to do this. Living in the capital is very difficult! This will be too much trouble for my sister-in-law."

It's not that she's tired, but Zhen is not willing to use the money from the first wife's house to support the people from the third wife's house.

Yan Yingqi also saw it, so he said, "Since you all insist, let's do this. The east wing will be for Jing Zhao and his wife, and the west wing will be for Jing Zhang and his wife. As for the four sisters, Qianniang and Yingniang are used to living with you, Madam, so it's better for them to live together in the back building of our main house."

Zhen agreed immediately: "Master, the arrangement is very good. Second and Fourth Mother grew up together and have a very good relationship."

"Well, in that case, Ning Xin will live with Yao Niang." Yan Yingqi looked at Xie and said.

It was a joke. Xie Shi of course disagreed. It wasn't that she had any opinion about Yan Ningxin, but Yan Ningxin's personality. She had no boundaries with Zhou Lingguang before. It wasn't that Xie Shi was pedantic, but the child was already thirteen years old and had become a fixed person. Besides, she didn't get along with Ying Niang, but she might not get along with Yao Niang.

So, Xie smiled and said, "I would love for the eldest girl to keep company with our third girl, but my daughter Yao likes to practice the piano in the morning, and I can't stand her noise. I'm afraid that the eldest girl will be wronged."

Yan Ningxin is from the first wife's house. Why don't she get along well with Ying Niang? Our own Yao Niang has to coax her. Yao Niang is also the eldest daughter of their third wife, okay?

This was already said in an extremely euphemistic way. What's more, Zhen was Yan Ningxin's stepmother. How would it fit in with Xie?

Yan Yingqi knew all this, but Zhen had told her in advance that Yan Ningxin and Yingniang had different personalities, and it seemed that Xie didn't want Yan Ningxin either, so he had no choice but to say, "In that case, let Ningxin live in the west wing."

Zhen couldn't object any more and had to agree.

As for the rest, both sides put forward some opinions. Xie was not aggressive and Zhen showed complete respect. Only then did Yan Yingqi feel relieved.

Therefore, after Xie came back, she called her son, daughter-in-law and daughter over and told them about Yan Yingqi's arrangement.

"You and your wife can live in the east wing, but all expenses will be paid by our third branch. My eldest brother and his wife, your lives in Beijing will not be the same as in Nanjing. It's my fault that I didn't set the rules before. You don't have to come here often on weekdays, but you have to come to visit us morning and evening on the first and fifteenth days of the month. Otherwise, people will say that our third branch has no rules." Xie glanced at Guan.

She was going to the capital, and she had to discipline her daughter-in-law well, and she couldn't be like the Third Old Lady. The Third Old Lady was almost driven into desperation by her mistress, and later she agreed to let Yan Yingqi take over the throne, and only then was she able to gain the support of the First House. Moreover, the Third Old Lady had a rude temper and lost the support of the people.

If my daughter-in-law continues to act like that, she will have to clean up the mess if she offends anyone in the future.

When Guan heard this, she felt a chill in her heart.

Yan Jingzhao asked her in public: "Don't you usually greet your mother?"

Xie waved her hands and said, "She is so seasick, how can she greet you? Don't blame her too much."

Yao Niang was very happy to hear that she would live alone. She had been living with her sisters these days, and everything she did was under their noses. She would be accused of making noise when she practiced the piano, and the servants would easily get into disputes with each other.

"Once you enter the mansion, the servants must behave themselves and not cause trouble. Yao Niang, you are grown up now too, and you can't let them do whatever they want. Do you understand?" Xie said, looking at her daughter.

Yao Niang nodded heavily: "Please rest assured, mother."

Only then did Guan realize that her mother-in-law was actually not a fool at all, and was even very capable. She could compete with Zhen in the inner house, and was even more favored than Zhen.

She had been holding back until then, but when the power was cut off, the third old lady was no match for her.

After saying this, Xie smiled again: "We will be arriving in the capital soon."

The Yan family lived in Anrenfang. This big house was bought by the eldest and third old men when Yan Yingqi got married. Almost all the people who lived here were powerful and wealthy.

As Yao Niang traveled along the way, she felt that the capital city and Jinling were completely different. Jinling was quite cold at this time of year, especially in winter, when the coldness penetrated deep into one's bones.

The north is dry and cold. In the chilly spring, she wore a thick cotton jacket. When she got off the carriage, she put on a cloak and even a Zhaojun hat, otherwise the biting north wind would feel like a knife scraping her face.

Housekeeper Xie had many years of experience. After entering the house, they first found where they lived. Zhen lived in the fifth courtyard, and they lived in the fourth courtyard, because the fifth courtyard had a back room and was bigger, so there were more people in the big room.

In the fourth courtyard, Xie lived in the main house, Yao Niang lived in the west wing, and the east wing was set aside as a kitchen.

Guan Shi now did not dare to move around without permission, and stood with Yao Niang to watch Xie Shi's distribution.

"You must guard the East Corner Courtyard and the West Corner Courtyard with me. If anyone opens the door at night while drinking or gambling, I will not let them off. The third courtyard is for entertaining guests in the future. Since there are women in the family, you must remember who passes by every day. Do not let in anyone you are not familiar with."

…

Yao Niang finally got home. Gu Mama and the maids were all cleaning and making the bed. She had never worried about how to clean her own place before, as she had her mother around. But now it was different. Xie had let her take care of many things, and now she had to learn about household chores.

Compared to Yao Niang who lived alone and in the same courtyard with Xie Shi, Yan Jingzhao lived alone in the East Cross Courtyard. After he returned to the mansion, he was called over by Yan Yingqi. The competition between the Southern Zhili and the Northern Zhili was completely different. The Southern Zhili competed with the scholars from Yingtian, Suzhou, Songjiang, Changzhou, Zhenjiang, Huai'an, Yangzhou, Anqing, Huizhou, Ningguo, Chizhou, Taiping, Luzhou, and Fengyang. The competition was huge, while the competition in the north was smaller.

Then Yan Yingqi would have to change his nationality, which would make the provincial examination much easier.

This was a serious matter, so Yan Jingzhao only told the servant to go to Xie's place and tell her to come back for dinner.

Little did he know that the people around him had changed their minds. Mother Wang and Mother Gu used to compete with each other, but now because Yan Jingzhao was close to Xie, they quickly became united after hearing what the third old lady said.

Mother Wang's daughter is Mingyue, Yan Jingzhao's maid. Ever since Guan married into the family, Mingyue has been loyal to Guan, but secretly she and Mother Wang are of the same faction.

"Mom, what did you call me for?"

"Did you know that your brother's job was taken away by the guy next to Madam?" said Mother Wang.

Mingyue nodded: "Who told my brother not to do his job properly? He chose to slack off and drink, and was caught by Mother Song."

Mother Wang snorted coldly, "This is what the Second Madam did on purpose. Now your brother's job has been investigated. I'm afraid that Mother Wei and I will be driven away sooner or later. If it weren't for the old lady's insistence, Mother Wei and I would not have come to the capital this time."

"That being said, you can't be like the way my brother was when he was little. Back then, the old lady had the final say and the second lady was in frail health. Whenever she came to visit the eldest master, she had to say nice things and give him money and food. Now that my brother has grown up, you still don't change your habits." Mingyue advised her mother.

王媽媽不以為然：“哥兒是吃我的奶水長大的，我每個月八兩銀子的月例也是老太太定下來的，方才二夫人讓我和你們幾個丫頭的月例一樣，一個月才一兩銀子。下一步，恐怕就是打發咱們出去了。”

明月則勸道：“娘，三姑娘的乳母顧媽媽還是二夫人原本身邊伺候的人呢，月例銀子還不是只有一吊錢。”

“那怎麽一樣，顧媽媽日後是跟着姑娘出門子的，好日子還在後頭呢。咱們這位大奶奶也是個擅專的主兒，原本也沒我們站腳的地兒了。”王媽媽哭訴。

明月卻不肯跟着胡鬧，哥哥的差事雖然沒了，但她依舊是哥兒房裏的大丫頭，夫人已經承諾調她去書房伺候，可母親偏心兄長，若是知曉這個，恐怕又撺掇她做小老婆不說，還讓她幫着讨差事。

王媽媽見女兒不說話，她也不肯偃旗息鼓，偏魏媽媽也有這個意思，她和王媽媽更不同的是，她上次不過是好心說讓顏景昭別去二夫人那裏太勤，怕老太太擔心，這原本是一句好話，反而被哥兒斥責說她管太多了。

這也就罷了，那翠娥是她幹女兒，哥兒卻不愛翠娥，只寵寶華。

先頭在金陵時，還做做樣子，如今離開三老太太，哥兒連樣子也不願意做了。

她們這些人都是三老太太的人，她們若是不撐住了，即便求三老太太，恐怕也會當成沒用的人一腳抛開。

若不趁着現在混亂的時候下手，恐怕到時候更難了。

可是怎麽讓哥兒聽她們的呢？

這麽大的哥兒白日都在外面書房讀書，夜裏并不過分貪戀美色，只在關氏或者寶華那裏歇着。這讓魏媽媽想起曾經的一件往事，當初三老太太把顏景昭抱到身邊，後來七歲時有一年顏景昭生病了，那個時候，正是解氏想把哥兒要回來的時候，三老太太不欲人知道大爺得病，只讓她們幾個乳母偷偷照顧。

那個時候就是她不停的擦汗，用酒擦拭哥兒的身體，才把高燒降下來。

從那之後開始，哥兒很依賴她們幾個乳母，解氏要看兒子還得偷偷的塞錢，哥兒也只聽她們的話。

若是哥兒小病一場，只要她們照料得當，豈不是重新獲得哥兒信任？

但要害主子，她當然還沒那麽大的膽子，只是沒想到這個機會這麽快就等到了。

是日，因為竈才剛打，無法使用，所以解氏讓管事在外定了一桌春風滿月樓的酒席來。她還對關氏道：“你也坐下吧，不必伺候，就咱們幾個人，都一起用飯。”

“是。”關氏笑着坐下。

解氏又問着關氏：“你們院子這一天都收拾好了嗎？”

關氏連忙道：“您放心，都收拾好了。”

“嗯，這我就放心了。剛來時，千頭萬緒，這幾日就直接在外面叫飯過來吃就好，明日你也不必過來，我讓人送過去就行。”解氏笑道。

窈娘看着滿桌子菜，豎起大拇指：“還是娘想的周到，我還在想京裏的飯菜和咱們這裏的飯菜有什麽區別呢，這可不就是好吃，尤其是烤鴨，比咱們南京的還好吃。”

“你大娘倒是請我們過去吃飯，我只說下人們去吃就罷了，咱們幾個這麽過去到底不好。”解氏笑道。

三房的私産頗多，三老太爺在甘陝和河南都主政一方，為官幾十年，家中田鋪商鋪幾乎都由解氏慢慢經手，況且解氏嫁妝也打理的很好，她也想趁着上京，給兒女置辦些田産鋪面。所以，她得多嘗試這裏的酒樓、茶葉還有生絲價錢如何。

這些事情關氏看的心焦，她只覺得甄氏比解氏會過日子，甄氏雖然出自宰相之家，但頗勤儉，和她們關家一樣，都知道愛惜飯菜，不會如此巨奢，偏解氏花錢大手大腳，不是長久之道。

但酒樓的飯菜很是可口，關氏喝了甜湯又喝了鹹湯，都很好喝。

顏景昭也宣布了一個好消息：“我可以在京中參加鄉試了。”

“這就好了，你和你媳婦兒明日也去你岳家看看，我備了些薄禮，早上就讓人送過去。”解氏道。

關氏的父親是翰林學士，無論是鄉試還是會試，主考官和房考官很有可能出自于翰林院，去拜會聆聽教誨，自然比旁人多一份勝算。

只不過在顏景昭告辭的時候，解氏說有東西給他，讓他先留步，窈娘則打着哈欠回去睡了。

顧媽媽扶着窈娘，還打趣道：“咱們姐兒吃了一杯果酒，就裝醉。”

窈娘嘻嘻直笑：“我那是學我爹爹醉酒的樣子。”

這一天從通州到家裏，忙忙碌碌的，窈娘沾着枕頭就睡下了。顧媽媽熄滅了蠟燭，叮咛紅袖和青黛守好門，她再出去了。

等顧媽媽一出去，紅袖就和青黛道：“方才二夫人讓大奶奶先回去收拾床鋪，我看大奶奶心不甘情不願呢。”

“人家母子說幾句話又怎麽了，怪道大家都說她是小老太太，和三老太太一樣，都想霸占大爺。”青黛不屑。

紅袖小聲道：“看咱們姐兒多大氣，都不怕夫人私下給大爺什麽，還樂呵呵的。”

青黛笑道：“那是，咱們姑娘可不是一般人，說起來大姑娘差點和咱們姑娘住在一起了，還好沒有。”

“是啊，她是大房的人，和四姑娘關系不好，放咱們這裏，什麽都要咱們姑娘教，我們姑娘又不是她娘。”兩個丫頭也都是慶幸三房擺脫了顏寧馨。

偏顏寧馨還覺得不自在，她住的廂房對面是幾個姨娘通房的住處，可她又沒辦法拒絕，家中家務有大夫人操持，一切份例也是給到了的。

金盞和銀丹也為她不平：“這裏都說是姑娘的家，可是和寄人籬下沒兩樣。”

顏寧馨搖頭：“其實在這個家中，大家只是和我不親近，但是總是我自己的家。”

就像瑩娘不管怎麽不喜歡她，也不過是拌幾句嘴，不會真的做什麽，可是在齊王府，或者在魏家，那可不是鬧着玩兒的。

那些話比現在的這些，要有多難聽就有多難聽。

金盞笑道：“那也是，奴婢聽說三房那邊叫的酒樓的飯菜來的，崩提多香了。大夫人和二夫人身邊的人都送食盒去書房給老爺，也不知道老爺吃哪邊的？”

這是她們這些下人最愛八卦的閑話，顏家有兩位夫人，顏老爺又不是那種妻妾成群之人，所以他去大房或者三房，下人們都能判斷哪位夫人最近最得老爺的心意。

顏寧馨不是真正的閨閣小姐，聽她們議論也不免道：“大夫人得了面子，二夫人得了裏子。”

“可不是，端看自己怎麽想了。”

顏寧馨自嘲：“其實這也是和三妹妹的區別，我雖說是府中嫡長姑娘，可論寵愛和實惠，窈娘比我可更像個小姐。”

主仆幾人說了幾句，見夜深了，也睡下了。

東跨院

顏景昭今日在關氏這裏休息，他正和關氏道：“娘私下給了我五十兩銀子，你先拿着，誰家也不靠月例過活。你平日有什麽花銷，都拿這個用吧。”

關氏欣喜：“沒想到娘私下還貼補咱們。”

“這京裏住着哪一樣不要花錢，誰也不靠俸祿過活，我娘很會打理家業的，你不知道我幾個舅舅們雖說功名沒有，可家底殷實。”顏景昭也是希望關氏能夠改過想法，和她們擰成一股繩子，否則關氏起了外心，那才是一将無能累死三軍。

關氏卻心想就沖婆母這般大手大腳，也不是持家之道，但她不好當着丈夫說婆母的不是，只暗自記下。

夫妻二人今日也是累極，自然不再被窩翻紅浪，可關氏還好，顏景昭卻起床如廁好幾次。

每次起了正房都有動靜，一直暗中窺伺的魏媽媽忍不住笑了，她在銀壺的壺口加了少量巴豆，這樣既讓人腹瀉，又不至于上吐下瀉。

這樣還可以傳出去說是二夫人照顧不好大爺，是不祥之人，反正大家以前也都說她克子，若非生了三小姐，大家可能都快忘記了。

到了隔日，魏媽媽又熟稔的在壺口處塞巴豆，待會兒等顏景昭從解氏那裏回來之後，她再讓茶水房的丫頭把水送進去，再把巴豆摳出來，這樣沒有人抓得到。

只是沒有想到，這次她塞巴豆進去的時候，茶房的門開了，門戶赫然站着顏景昭。

“哥兒，哥兒怎麽在這兒？”魏媽媽大驚失措，原本十分心虛的心，現在更是渾身抖似篩糠。

顏景昭冷笑道：“你平日總以祖母賜下自居，我也敬重你這個媽媽，這次我若是沒有發現，恐怕下次下的就不是巴豆，是毒藥了吧。”

魏媽媽見顏景昭眼睛似利刃一般，她立馬跪了下來，陳情道：“大哥兒，奴婢真的不敢啊，奴婢只是……”

“只是想讓我腹瀉，再腹瀉幾次，我看我就命不久矣了。”顏景昭走到她跟前，又低聲說了幾句話。

Mother Wei fell to the ground. The next morning, while Xie was still washing up, she heard Mother Song quickly run up to her and say, "Second Madam, it's bad. Mother Wei has hanged herself."

"What?" Xie had already sent people to keep an eye on Mother Wang and Mother Wei. As the confidants of the Third Old Lady, she knew their plan in advance and told Yan Jingzhao about it that day, wanting him to see with his own eyes who these people given by the Third Old Lady were.

In her expectation, Yan Jingzhao would at most send Mother Wei away without hurting the reputation of the Third Old Lady and Yan Jingzhao. Little did she know that her son was so tough and cruel.

But now, Xie still wants to clean up the mess for her son. "Give 10 taels of silver to Wei Mama's son, and let him buy a coffin. He can continue to work hard in the future, and his mother's affairs will not affect him."

Compared to Xie who was relatively calm, Guan was so frightened that her hands couldn't stop shaking. She remembered how Yan Jingzhao had introduced this Mother Wei when she first came in. She said how respectable this Mother Wei was and that she was the one who had brought up Yan Jingzhao since he was a child. She could be dead just like that.

She had seen her mother beating people with sticks, but she had never seen anyone die in front of her.

Although she and he were husband and wife, they had no affection for each other. If she offended him in the future, she didn't know what would happen to her. Thinking of this, Guan was panicked.