Chapter 094 Chapter 94

"Little baby, I am your aunt, you don't recognize me yet?" Yao Niang teased the little nephew in her arms.

When the child was born, his father was not around, his grandfather was dismissed from office, and Li was not in a good mood. Yao Niang occasionally took time to come and see her little nephew, hoping that he would grow up healthily, and she had no other wishes.

Li said, "He hasn't been given a name yet. Grandfather said that the child is too young and if he is given a name too young, the ghost will remember him."

"When I was a child, they were afraid that I wouldn't survive, so they called me by my nickname for several years. Only after I was able to survive did my parents give me a name." Yao Niang said with a smile.

Li always felt that her sister-in-law was lucky. She had sympathized with her sister-in-law for being tortured by her mother-in-law before, but now it seems that her parents-in-law are not a hindrance, and her husband is still by her side. Don't look at the fact that the second aunt Qianniang is the daughter-in-law of the prime minister now. After all, no one is better than you. Wen Shoufu was originally appointed as the prime minister again. Who knows how many years he can last?

Once Wen Shoufu leaves, won't you have to rely on yourself in the future officialdom? Unless you are the crown prince, otherwise, who will care about you when you leave?

Just as she was thinking, she heard outside that Aunt Shen had arrived. Li smiled and said, "Sister, leave the child to the wet nurse. You should go back quickly. Everyone is busy during the New Year holidays."

"I originally thought of coming here today to visit my sister-in-law and nephew, and letting my husband accompany grandfather. But I didn't know that grandfather was not at home. So we have to go back first." Yao Niang said regretfully.

Li said, "Grandfather is very satisfied. He likes Aunt Shen. He says she is good at swordplay and chess. Not to mention her personality, everyone likes her when she takes her out."

Yao Niang was extremely happy to hear others praising Shen Linfeng, but she was still a little embarrassed and said, "Sister-in-law is getting better and better at speaking now."

Speaking of this, she thought of her former sister-in-law, Guan. Ever since she had taken advantage of her brother's misfortune, Guan had not gotten anything good. After Gong Ci Fu left, many things were dug up about him, so he was forced to resign and return to Nanjing.

Of course, she also noticed that Lu Shaner didn't seem to have much contact with the Guan family, but even if she did, so what?

Moreover, she had noticed that Lu Shan'er seemed to be very clear about gratitude and resentment, but in fact she was a sophisticated and selfish person. Unless she was so desperate that she could kick such a person like a dog, she would not do anything for the time being.

After leaving Yan's house, Yao Niang and Shen Linfeng got on the carriage together. Shen Linfeng was wearing a sword in front of people, but after getting on the carriage, he leaned on Yao Niang's shoulder and said, "I'm so tired. I'm really tired today."

"Then how about we ask the kitchen to make beef spine soup today? It will be warm when you drink it." Yao Niang stroked his cheek and thought that he was so handsome, worthy of being her husband. Among all the men she had seen, there was no one more handsome and more lovable than him.

She didn't like people with greasy hair and powdered faces, poor manners, strong accents, and those who were timid and shy in doing things, and who were antagonistic to her. It just so happened that Shen Linfeng perfectly avoided all the shortcomings that she disliked in people.

Shen Linfeng looked up at Yao Niang: "My dear, you are so kind."

"That's right. If I don't treat you well, who will?" Yao Niang held his hand.

This year, each family had to prepare for the New Year. Mrs. Shen used to spend money freely from the account of the main family, but now she was in her own family, she started to be frugal. Whose money didn't come from the wind? On weekdays, she had to support hundreds of servants in the family, entertaining actors and drinking, cutting clothes, eating, drinking, defecating, all of which required money.

Unlike Yao Niang who deposited her money in a bank to earn interest, she probably used the cash to buy many apartments, shops and land. These sound like a lot, but when it comes time to use them, there is not much left.

Lu Shan'er from the Third House received money from an external account, and sometimes it was not enough. It was said that the Third House had spent a lot of money on the funeral of Shen Xunfu's original wife, and also on the marriage of the Third Brother Shen Linyun. Weddings and funerals were the most expensive.

Therefore, Lu Shaner discussed with Grandma Qing how to spend the New Year, after all, the third room was going to hold a separate opera and banquet this year.

Grandma Qing has started to help Lu Shaner with household chores. As time goes by, her thoughts have changed. She is preparing for childbearing and may have a child soon. If she can take control of the family, she can still communicate with the outside world. Now even Shen Linqing has to ask her for advice through her connections.

Therefore, Grandma Qing was very concerned: "In previous years, I saw that my aunt bought a batch of firewood very early. When the weather is cold, we always need charcoal. It will be expensive to buy it later. In addition, the manor will also send some firewood. We have two manors in Beijing, and the firewood sent in previous years is enough for our family."

The year before last, before Yan came into the family, Mrs. Shen asked her to help her calculate the accounts. "There are about 200 deer, roe deer, pigs and sheep, about 700 chickens, ducks, geese and rabbits, and more than 10,000 kilograms of charcoal..."

When Lu Shaner heard this, she was overjoyed: "So many."

"This is one year's supply. It sounds like a lot, but there isn't much to use." Moreover, Grandma Qing didn't say that all this would be sent to Shen Xunfu.

It looks like a lot, but the three wives only have these two manors.

Lu Shan'er was shocked: "Then there are more in the main house, right?"

Grandma Qing nodded and said, "As far as I know, the first branch has four manors in Wuxing, their hometown, and two in Beijing like us. Originally, I heard from my aunt that they sold two of the manors to hold the funerals of the old lady and the old grandfather. Later, it was Dalang of the first branch who suggested that the first lady buy two better places, and the first lady gave out several hundred acres of land for school use."

"I see that the first house has more servants than our second and third houses." Lu Shaner had also inquired about this before.

"That's because Yan brought a lot of servants as her dowry, several hundred of them. When Yan got married, she gave more than two hundred loads of dowry, and the warehouse was almost full. This was one reason. The second reason was that the eldest wife had a lot of income. She had invested a lot in the caravan, and also owned two pawnshops and a herbal medicine shop. All of these were entrusted to Linfeng to manage." Grandma Qing knew everything.

Lu Shan'er was puzzled: "Isn't he an official? He has to study every day, how can he have the time to do this?"

"We don't know about that. Anyway, he was the one who took care of things when I got married. He is a spendthrift and has a reputation for being extravagant. He is very picky about every little thing and spends a lot of money. You know that Luo Long, he bought a house and married a wife with the help of him, and we can't say anything." Grandma Qing shook her head as she listened.

Although she often bribed people with small favors, the person had to be useful. Shen Linfeng would lend money to others for several years, which was completely throwing money into the water.

Lu Shaner said, "Although the eldest son is undisciplined, I think the Yan family is young but smart. So everyone should live their own lives, and we should just prepare for the New Year's guests now."

It was getting dark, and the first snow of the year had fallen. Unconsciously, Yao Niang had been married for a year, but this year had passed slower than her three years at the boudoir. When she was at the boudoir, she always felt that the days were like flowing water, repeating one day after another. But after getting married, she was the master of her own house. Although she didn't have as much leisure as before, she felt very fulfilled.

Tired of reading the account book, Qingdai brought a pot of hot tea to her. The tea smelled sweet and she took a sip: "It's really delicious."

"You've been busy all day, why don't you take a break?" Qingdai advised.

Yao Niang yawned, "I don't know why. I can learn painting, playing the piano, reciting poems and composing composing poems very quickly. But why are these math problems he gave me so difficult? They are exactly the same problems, but I can't solve them just by saying them differently."

Hong Xiu then said, "I see you are quite good at calculating, aren't you?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty good at calculating, but the questions he gave me are not something that can be calculated easily. I suspect he is making fun of me on purpose." Yao Niang snorted.

Shen Linfeng, who had just walked outside, heard this and instantly didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He immediately came in and said, "I told you not to do it, but you refused to admit defeat, and now you blame me for coming."

"It's all your fault." Yao Niang deliberately ignored him.

Shen Linfeng coaxed her softly, "Okay, it's my fault, isn't that okay?"

Yao Niang was of course not really angry. She said to Shen Linfeng, "Since you are back and came here quietly, do you want to eavesdrop on what I say bad about you?"

Shen Linfeng pretended to be surprised: "Huh? What bad things do you often say about me? Can you tell me?"

This sentence made Yao Niang laugh so hard that she was shaking with laughter. Shen Linfeng saw her like this, looked at her charming face, and the way she swayed in his arms yesterday, and even the anklets on her jade feet, which reminded him of the past and made his eyes darken. It was common for young couples to have a passionate relationship, and the servants withdrew tactfully.

Yao Niang was picked up by him and hit him: "I thought you were a serious person before, but you always think about this kind of thing."

"I'm almost hurting myself internally, and you still blame me. I've already been restrained enough." Shen Linfeng also felt aggrieved.

He felt aggrieved, and as soon as he saw his wife relax, he immediately carried her to the bed and took off her clothes and socks in no time. Yao Niang was too embarrassed to say that she had not bathed, but Shen Linfeng was already ready to go, and the couple made a fool of themselves in the room.

Mother Gu took people to the kitchen to prepare the meal. Qingdai said to Hongxiu, "I heard Jinli, who is beside the eldest girl, say that when our aunt and the eldest girl are together, he either talks to our eldest master or rides a horse. He said that the two of them get along like brothers. But look at how the aunt treats our young lady. His eyes are glued to her. It's really different."

Hong Xiu rebuked, "Don't talk about this. Last time you mentioned the eldest girl, the girl told you to shut up. Don't mention it again in the future. Our girl is a person who won't beat a drowning dog. Since the eldest girl treats her as if she doesn't exist, why should the girl compare herself with such a person?"

Qing Dai repeatedly said yes, and slapped her own lips again: "Thanks to my sister for reminding me, otherwise I would have said something I shouldn't have said, and the girl would be angry with me."

“姑娘對咱們倆是沒話說的，可是你也知曉的，姑娘也被暗算過幾次，還好運氣好躲過了，有些事情咱們覺得沒什麽被人家拿來做文章就不好了。”紅袖苦口婆心道。

青黛也警覺起來，她怎麽都忘記了上次姑爺不在家中，那游大的事情，興許和二房還脫不了幹系，沈家也并非淨土。

卻說沈臨風和窈娘一共要了兩次水，二人才一起吃飯。

窈娘摸了摸自己的臉，總覺得很熱，沈臨風見她臉上潮紅，遂道：“明日我不出題了，你好好在家貓冬，別出去讓自己受涼。”

“嗯，明日我多睡會兒，我現在日日中午起床，我都怕人家說你娶了個懶惰的女子。”窈娘打了一個哈欠。

沈臨風拉過她的胳膊暗自把脈，見脈象平息也松了一口氣。

窈娘吃過飯之後，又有些累，今日睡的比沈臨風還早，沈臨風則等她睡着後，又想起自己的前途，許多人都說要等，或者要熬，但若不靠着年輕做些事情，年事日高，恐怕無心于仕途了。

況且，他和窈娘想的不同，所謂真相，每一個人都希望公平，似乎王子犯法與庶民同罪，可游大怎麽會突然自缢，誰也解釋不清楚？人必須爬到高位，才有所謂的公平。

就像顏家陪嫁來的下人，如今發月例的人是沈家，即便她們聽從女主人的，也在他面前獻媚，人心真是醜陋。

想到這裏，他親自掌燈到床邊看窈娘的睡顏，見她小鼻子呼吸均勻，不由覺得很可愛，又想天下竟然有這樣好的姑娘，他唇角勾起。原本被她的孝道所感動，被才華品貌吸引，到如今卻是全身上下無一不吸引他。

“睡吧，我的好姑娘。”沈臨風拿起燈盞放到桌上。

次日，窈娘醒來時屋子裏寂靜無聲，她搖鈴後，下人方才進來伺候她梳洗。

顧媽媽笑道：“大爺說今日不出題了，說您的賬本也做的很好，讓您這幾日多歇着，反正家裏也就你們倆，別太操勞了。”

“多少人看着我呢，不過我倒是可以休息兩三天，前幾日從早忙到晚，也算是已經操勞完了。”窈娘伸了個懶腰。

顧媽媽和伺候的人怕她肚子餓，又上了各樣的粥和菜。

吃完，她去園子裏轉了一圈，又在家裏窩着，想起沈臨風每日冒着風雪去上衙，她便吩咐人送了一份參湯去翰林院。

正收到參湯的沈臨風也很意外，因為窈娘其實很少跟他送東西，總覺得辦公事的地方就辦公事。

周圍的人都打趣，人人都知道沈臨風新婚不久。

沈臨風喝了一碗參湯，看着外面的風雪：“這風雪看起來似乎久下不停啊。”

衙門在年底也關了，沈臨風難得在家閑着，今年沒有沈老爺和沈夫人在，但祭祀還是在大房，這些禮節沈臨風雖然做過好幾年，但今年尤其慎重。盧扇兒也是頭一次參加這樣的祭祀，但女人們是不進祠堂的，只不過她見顏氏年紀不大，那一摞摞的祭祀所用的糕點卻一絲不錯，拜祭完了之後，還拿出來分給大家吃。

“諸位嬸娘，嫂嫂們弟妹，你們都嘗嘗吧，我頭一次做這些，總怕自己做不好。”窈娘謙虛道。

沈二夫人見她吃的這花糕，氣孔較小，顏色均衡，和之前的味道想必沒有太大的區別，她也不是那種當衆為難人的人，這不是她的人設，所以她率先道：“你這個年紀，就能操持祭祀就比許多人強了。”

“二嬸真是過譽了。”其實窈娘能聽的出來她是在說自己雖然做的不足，但是她們都能包容。

盧扇兒突然覺得自己要學的很多，顏氏平日看起來根本不下廚房的人，居然還能帶着人做祭祀之物，也是不簡單。

她們一大家子，男女分開坐下，沈二夫人和盧扇兒坐在高堂，窈娘等人另外坐一桌。

邵氏頗為矜持，夾了幾筷子菜就不吃了，窈娘和她面上和好了，但是知曉她心底是不服自己還記恨自己，所以也并不與她多話。說白了，以前沈夫人這個大家長做的過于稱職了，現在變得正常了，她們還不适應。

清大奶奶近來人緣倒是頗好，她還對窈娘道：“我問了二伯母，她們那邊是準備了七天的戲酒，我們便準備在元宵節之前也辦幾日，不知你們大房怎麽安排的？”

“我初二是要回娘家的，今年老爺太太都不在京裏，我們也就接些近親和朋友們過來，我們大爺說逢六是吉日，故而今年定初六。”窈娘也不想辦那麽多戲酒。

清大奶奶心想大房倒是越來越摳門了，只是面上不好說出來。

不過，王氏倒是很羨慕窈娘，她能當家作主，自己想如何就如何，這點比她強，她現在還得事事聽婆母的。

飯畢，還未說完話，邵氏就道：“我擔心家中的孩子吃不好，就先回去了。”

她在年前産下一子，沈臨江和她都欣喜若狂，如今邵氏也是事事一幅有子萬事足的樣子。她這一走，清大奶奶城府頗深，并不表現出來，韓若華剛嫁過去不久，且沈三郎還要讀書，夫妻二人也沒有常常被窩裏翻紅浪。

王氏卻有些羨慕：“真是羨慕江二嫂嫂，我們女子所盼望的就是相夫教子，她如今是什麽都有了。”

今日王氏多吃了幾杯水酒，也是有感而發，她和沈邦彥的關系很一般，二人不怎麽同房。可是她又想成為人人稱頌的賢妻，可賢妻哪裏能沒有自己的孩子？

窈娘卻笑道：“肯定會有的，說起來兒女都是緣分，二嬸常常積福，又行善助人，你肯定将來會兒女雙全的。”

這話倒是說的很妥帖，王氏道：“謝嫂嫂吉言。”

“我也不是說什麽吉言，就是咱們同時嫁進來的，大家都是一樣的。”窈娘今年就十六歲了，她想再等一年有身孕也不遲，她也沒那麽着急。

王氏颔首。

飯畢，沈二夫人等人出去只覺得風雪陣陣，從大房角門到二門時，突然有個東西掉下來。她身邊的錢媽媽撿了起來，卻見是一枚玉佩，玉佩上寫的一個字，錢媽媽不識字，遂遞給了沈二夫人。

“這仿佛是誰的玉佩，怎麽恰好落在您的腳邊了，老奴看這玉色真好。”錢媽媽還從未見過水頭如此足的玉。

沈二夫人年紀大了，但她眼不花耳不聾，身體比沈夫人好多了。她拿起那塊玉，上面俨然寫的是一個“羿”字，上面打的絡子看起來已經飽經風霜了，但是這絡子的手法卻很熟悉，這是打的梅花絡子。

當年畢家落魄後，就是靠她們娘幾個做針線掙錢。

只是後來嫁進沈家之後，沈家富貴，她很少做那些讨厭的針線了，每次做這些都是作為禮物送去，這仿佛就是當年她打的。

沈二夫人心一緊，她見除了自己身邊跟着的仆從就空無一人，再折返到西角門去，見牆角附近沒有任何腳印，她冷哼一聲，不管誰在裝神弄鬼，活着她都不怕，更何況死了。

錢媽媽不明所以還問道：“二夫人，這是什麽？”

“沒什麽，不知道是誰家孩子丢的一塊玉佩。”沈二夫人回去之後就把這塊玉佩放桌上的匣子裏。

夜了剛收拾好，窈娘已經回來睡了，沈臨風堅持他自己守夜，讓窈娘早些回來歇息，怕她傷身子，還把她送往正院。

“寶寶，好好休息，今日我守夜就好。”

“方才你出去送客送了好久，都是自家人，你怎麽跟送我似的送這麽遠嗎？”窈娘怕他凍着。

沈臨風搖頭：“我沒事兒。”

窈娘笑道：“你不必送了，我無事兒的。”

一貫到點就準時睡覺的沈臨風要守夜，窈娘也是心疼的很，但是也沒辦法，有時候即便是夫妻，也不能動搖對方的堅持。

因為沈臨風守夜，沈邦彥和沈家幾位兄弟也都留了下來，他折返回來時，還聽沈邦彥打趣道：“風大哥真是疼嫂嫂，還要親自把人送回去再回來。”

“诶，你嫂嫂弱齡嫁給我，她父母兄弟又不在身邊，我若不多照顧幾分也不成啊。倒是你，二郎，今年你鄉試未過，也不必氣餒，過兩年一定會中的。三十老明經，五十少進士。”沈臨風拍了拍沈邦彥的肩膀。

沈邦彥沒想到沈臨風一下就戳到他的痛處了，他若三十歲中舉再及第，那至少還有十年的功夫呢。

其實若是沈臨風沒中，他們沈家一衆子弟讀書也沒什麽，但是沈臨風已經進了翰林院了，就已經遙遙領先了。

沈臨江嘆了一口氣：“科舉怎麽就這麽難呢！”

“還是臨風一路連捷。”沈臨清誇起沈臨風。

沈臨風笑道：“我算什麽，說起來我可比不得大哥哥，那時候他讀書完全都不必那般勤奮，天生的過目不忘。”想到這裏，他又語氣惋惜道：“可惜天妒英才。”

Shen Linqing was about the same age as Shen Linyi. He was very jealous of his elder brother Yi at that time. His mother was still alive at that time. She was arrogant and always forced him to study until midnight. Even so, he could not catch up with his elder brother Yi.

Shen Bangyan listened to them talking about Shen Linyi and couldn't help but say, "My mother treated Brother Yi better than I did. No one in the family disliked him."

Shen Linfeng's eyes darkened, and he smiled again: "Second Auntie does love Brother Yi very much, but she loves you, Bangyan, even more."