Chapter 119 Chapter 119

"I didn't expect Brother Shen's career to be like this now." Even Yan Jingzhao, after returning from exile for a few years, still had a sour tone when he saw Shen Linfeng doing very well.

Yan Yingqi heard that he didn't even call him brother-in-law, so he just asked, "Why? Do you say that because you think he has taken your place?"

Yan Jingzhao said quickly, "Father, I dare not. I just watched us both pass the imperial examinations. Now he is already the Right Vice Minister of the Right Spring Office and the Imperial Academy Lecturer and Daily Lecturer. My son can only be an official in the Ministry of Personnel. Although the censors are powerful, they will have to be transferred to other posts in the future. After all, it is far from enough."

"Humph, Shen Linfeng couldn't even continue in the Hanlin Academy because of your eldest sister's marriage, but he was able to pass the imperial examination again. Now that you have returned from exile, instead of thinking about how to get a good job, you are jealous of your brother-in-law?" Yan Yingqi scolded his son.

Yan Jingzhao was scolded by his father, but he was still smiling. When he saw Shen Linfeng coming to his house to announce the good news that his sister had given birth to a son, he was happy for his sister and brother-in-law. He went out personally to buy fireworks and firecrackers at the door of his house and set them off for half an hour.

Xie had not expected her daughter to be born so soon. Fortunately, Jingci and Run'er had already become sensible. Although they were uncle and nephew, they were equally smart and like brothers. She had time to take Li to Shen's house. Seeing Yao Niang lying on the bed, happily looking at the baby beside her, Xie breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's rare to see you in good spirits."

Although Yao Niang lost her strength during childbirth, she has now recovered a lot. She shook her head and said, "This delivery was much smoother than the last one. The midwife said that the last delivery opened up my body."

Xie was worried, "Now that you have given birth to this child, Sister Fu is not even two years old yet, she is still so young, how are you going to take care of her? Do you want me to take her home and take care of her?"

Now that Yan Jingzhao has returned, Xie has handed over all the household affairs to Li. She only needs to take care of Jingci every day, which gives her a lot of free time.

"Mom, if you are free, I will let Sister Fu go home, so I can feel at ease." Yao Niang was really willing to do so. She was in confinement now, and her daughter could not come in.

This is also the advantage of having her mother's family around. Xie was relieved to see that her daughter agreed, and she also thought about arranging for her granddaughter to live in her second room.

Ruofu cried when she was taken away by Xie, but when she was eating at Yan's house, she shocked Yan Yingqi. Usually, both Jingci and Run'er were very picky eaters and needed the wet nurse to feed them, but Fujie'er was not like that. She used a spoon to scoop up rice by herself and finished a small bowl very quickly, and she hardly needed the adults to worry about her.

What's more, her taste is not like that of a child, but exactly like that of an adult. Children hardly eat pickles, but she eats everything, including pickles, shredded beef, and pig ears.

Xie silently stroked her little bald head: "Sister Fu is really amazing. Do you want to drink more soup and eat some snacks?"

I also heard Fu Jie'er's wet nurse say, "Madam, our eldest grandmother doesn't allow the young lady to eat too much. She only needs to eat one bowl of rice per meal. After eating, we take her to the garden to digest the food. We are afraid that the young lady will eat too much and her appetite will get bigger and bigger."

Xie smiled and said, "Okay, let's do what your grandmother said. This child eats really well, walks fast, and speaks smartly. But now, let her sit for a while. After I finish my meal, I will take her and her uncle to visit the garden together."

Yan Yingqi whispered to Jie: "Have you noticed that Fu Jie'er, a child who is not even two years old, has thicker arms than Jing Ci, a child who is almost five years old?"

"Speak softly, don't let the children hear. Our sister Fu is very pretty." Xie scolded.

"No, I didn't say it's ugly. You are deliberately confusing right and wrong." Yan Yingqi was speechless. He felt that Xie was quite good at pretending to be a good person.

Xie drank a small bowl of soup, and then took Jingci and Fujieer, who had only eaten half a bowl of rice, out to play. Fujieer rarely made a fuss, and she walked very steadily. Jingci grew up with Runer, but Runer lived in the East Cross Courtyard with Li, and Xie did not steal her grandson's hobby. On weekdays, Xie and Yan Yingqi took care of the younger son.

"Grandma, Huahua." Sister Fu jumped up, pointing at a red flower.

Xie smiled and said, "Then let grandma ask someone to pick it for you to play with, okay?"

"Okay." Sister Fu said with a smile.

The servants quickly took it off, but Sister Fu gave it to Mrs. Xie: "Give it to grandma, she is beautiful."

Xie couldn't stop smiling when she heard this: "Grandma is old, but she is still beautiful."

Jingci used to act coquettishly in front of Xie, but now she acts like a little adult in front of her niece Fu Jie'er, but she sneaks a peek at her niece from time to time.

Usually, when Fu Jie'er goes out, she is served by two wet nurses and four maids. Two wet nurses are responsible for looking after her, and the four maids each carry a bag. One carries various dolls and small gadgets, while the other carries several sets of clothes, sweat towels, and prickly heat powder.

Xie suddenly felt that her daughter was taking good care of her granddaughter. She found a stone bench to sit on and watched the maids of the Shen family take out all kinds of exquisite toys. Jingci and Fu Jie'er played together, and she just had to look after them.

"How come Sister Fu's toys are so good and exquisite? I have never seen them on the market." Xie asked.

The nurse smiled and said, "Some of these were bought overseas by our eldest master's cousin, some were made by Mr. Lu, and some were given by Mr. Qin's family. Mr. Lu is said to be good at machinery. Mr. Qin works in the Ministry of Industry and is said to have been skillful since he was a child. He even gave our young lady a revolving lantern during the Chinese New Year this year."

Xie suddenly realized what was going on. She saw Fu Jie'er playing with a doll, while Jing Ci was very interested in some institutions. Xin Wan also came out for a walk at this time. She had a weak spleen and stomach, so she would easily overeat every time and feel uncomfortable in her stomach. Now she came out to relax and happened to see Jing Ci and Fu Jie'er playing together.

Although Jingci is young, he is handsome. Fu Jie'er does look like a Western Hu girl, and her little bald head is very cute. Xin Wan thinks that she has been married for several years but still has no children. Although her mother-in-law has not urged her, she has become more and more rude to her.

Being the cousin of the Yan family and being the daughter-in-law of the Yan family are actually very different.

"Second Madam." Xin Wan came over with a smile.

When Xie saw that it was her, she smiled and said, "Brother Wen's daughter-in-law, you are here, why don't you sit down?"

Xin Wan explained, "I just finished my meal and I feel a little tired, so I want to take a walk first, please don't worry about me. Yes, I heard that Yao Niang gave birth safely, I am really happy for her."

"First the flowers bloom, then the fruits are produced. This time she has finally got what she wanted. Master Shen is the only child of the eldest son, so she must give birth to a son to inherit the family business." Xie accidentally said what was in her mind.

Don't talk about whether to adopt or not. Even your own son may not be filial to you, so how can you expect a foreigner to be good to you? It would be even worse if you let a wolf into the house.

This is also what she wanted to tell Xin Wan. Being a housekeeper is a small matter. The most important issue is the issue of offspring.

Seeing that her daughter-in-law was so frail, Zhen did not help her to take care of her body, but instead let Jin'er torture her. She didn't know what she wanted to do.

Xin Wan nodded slightly after hearing what Lie said, but she added, "I guess the Shen family must be very busy today, right? I'll go over there in a few days for the third day of the lunar year."

Xie nodded and said, "When I came back, I saw that their aunt and uncle were all here."

Yes, Shen Mo and Pang Qian and his wife came to congratulate, and Shen Mo even prepared all the three-day bathing and full-month ceremonies in advance, as this was a big event for her husband's family. Although she blamed her brother and sister-in-law before, her brother had just become a daily lecturer, and it was said that he was personally appointed by the emperor, and he was also a registered household of Wenyuan Pavilion. The ministers of the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works did not dare to offend her brother, and she did not dare to say anything.

Shen Linfeng naturally observed this point, and it was indeed just as Yao Niang said, if you live a good life, these people will naturally come to you.

When they arrived, Yao Niang had already fallen asleep due to exhaustion, but the delivery room was already tidied up. Shen Mo even asked Shen Linfeng, "Why don't you see Sister Fu?"

"Oh, she went to the Yan family. I'm busy with official duties now, and your sister-in-law is still in confinement. I'm worried that I can't take good care of her, so it's a good opportunity for Sister Fu's grandmother to take her back to take care of her." Although Shen Linfeng missed his daughter, he thought that since his wife agreed and his mother-in-law seemed to be careful and considerate, he had nothing to worry about.

Shen Mo got anxious when he heard this: "Brother, you don't want to get closer to me, do you?"

She was pregnant, and if she gave birth to a daughter, she would naturally hope that she could marry into her parents' family. If she gave birth to a boy, she would even want to marry her niece. The Yan family's dowry was extremely generous, and the Shen family was already wealthy, not to mention that her brother had a bright career, so she didn't want the Yan family to cause trouble.

Shen Linfeng frowned: "What nonsense are you talking about?" Having experienced his own marriage, Shen Linfeng knew that marriage should be based on the love between two people. What parents think is a suitable match may not necessarily be a real match.

"I mean the children are too young and unstable." Shen Mo explained.

Shen Linfeng then relaxed and started talking to Pang Qian again. Pang Qian never came empty-handed when he visited someone's house. This time, the Shen family's eldest son had a baby, and he brought some supplements such as bird's nest and fish maw just to visit.

Before the two of them could say a few words, Wen Qilang and Qianniang came over. Qianniang felt unhappy. Her two younger sisters had given birth to sons, and her eldest sister was going to marry a man who had won the third place in the imperial examination. She was the best-married among her sisters, but now she was the worst-married one. She was far behind in terms of her husband's official position and having sons.

Originally, when the second elder of the Shen family got into trouble, Qianniang sympathized with Yaoniang and secretly rejoiced at the same time, but she didn't expect that Shen Linfengsi was not affected at all.

Compared to Qianniang's sour grapes, she was nervous when she saw her nephew not saying a word. When she heard Shen Mo say that Yaoniang specially sent her daughter back to her parents' home and joked whether she was going to marry Run'er, Qianniang became nervous immediately. After a few words, she was ready to go back and send her daughter over as well.

Over the years, she and Li have had a very good private relationship, and it's not for nothing.

As for Yingniang, she gradually regained her true nature after giving birth to a son. Apart from being a little bit scared towards Xu Sijia, she was simply arrogant and picky in the Shen family. She either said that the swaddling cloth was not good or that the position was not good at all. Yaoniang, who had just woken up, happened to hear this and instantly regained her fighting spirit: "Yan Lingrong, you dare to say one more word, next time I will go directly to the Xu family, do you believe it?"