Chapter 74
"Madam, some of my good friends want to invite me out for a drink, what do you think?" Shen Linfeng was a little afraid that Yao Niang would not agree.
Yao Niang smiled and said, "Go ahead, just don't drink too much."
Shen Linfeng was surprised: "Madam, do you really agree? Today is the Lantern Festival."
"My brother said that every Lantern Festival, scholars and men of letters like to drink, chat and compose poetry in the Chunfeng Manyue Tower. And this year is the year for the imperial examination. Although you are an official, it is okay for you to go. But there is one rule: you are not allowed to drink wine." Yao Niang straightened his collar for him.
She once heard her brother say at home that there is a type of friend who, if she knows that a man is henpecked or loves his wife, will create chaos and like to set traps for him. So she decided to be like Xie. It is better to let the man be free than to be too strict.
Shen Linfeng laughed when he heard it: "My dear sister, don't you know what I've been thinking about? My mother has been giving me a hard time these days just to accompany you, my sister the Goddess."
That's right. He has been with her since the Chinese New Year, whether it's playing chess or piano, or even washing her feet at night. You can say he is almost like a father and mother.
Yao Niang said angrily, "Your mother must think that I am unfilial. You can go now."
"I'm afraid she has no time to take care of it." Shen Linfeng thought to himself.
…
After Shen Linfeng left, Yao Niang suddenly felt a little pain in her stomach. She went behind the screen and took off her pants to see that her period had come. She had only had her period for one or two years, and it had never been very regular.
As expected, there was a slight pain in the lower abdomen. Gu Mama quickly asked someone to bring a menstrual belt to change her. She said, "Sister, this is a good thing. I noticed that your complexion has become much rounder these days. If I were to ask you, it's because you don't eat enough at home."
"I am also used to eating less." Yao Niang had always followed Xie to eat, and Xie ate less. For example, a normal person would have a plate of vegetables, but Xie usually only allowed half a plate of stir-fried food. She also had to eat vegetables at every meal and could not live without vegetables.
So at her age, it is easy for a normal woman to gain weight. For example, it is said that Wang Shi was not used to the Shen family's food but she still gained a lot of weight. Pian Yao Niang's face became slightly rounder. She does not like to be fat and does not like to gain weight.
Mother Gu said, "Grandma, I have something to say, but I don't know if it's appropriate or not. You're going to be a marriage mate soon, and you have to consummate your marriage after that. If you want to get pregnant sooner, you have to have some meat in your belly."
Yao Niang sighed and said, "It would be better if I don't have a baby. Forget it, let nature take its course. I don't want to eat so much just to have a baby."
Mother Gu thought that although the girl was a smart person, she still had the mind of a child.
The two chatted for a while, and Yao Niang was lying on the couch to rest, but Mrs. Shen said that she had sent someone to ask her to join a mahjong table. Mother Gu said, "Miss Zelan, our grandmother is not feeling well, look at this..."
Ze Lanye said in embarrassment: "Mother Gu, I was just responsible for passing on the message. Originally, Madam didn't plan to ask Grandma to come over, but a few ladies said they haven't seen you for a long time and wanted to see you."
Yao Niang had no choice but to get up and prepare to go. Not only she, but even Wang had to pay her respects every morning and evening before she could do her own things.
She had pain in her lower abdomen, her face turned pale, and bleeding was gushing out of her lower abdomen. This happened every time she had her period, especially on the first day when it was the most painful.
After finally coming over, Mrs. Shen said, "Your aunt and your second aunt are waiting for you."
Yao Niang thought to herself that her period had come, so why should she stay here to smile and chat? It was fine for the big occasions like the plays and drinking before, but now you asked me to come in the wind and snow. Since you have been unkind to me, don't blame me for being unfair.
She immediately covered her mouth and stomach, and forced a smile, "Madam, please come here, and the daughter-in-law will come over."
Mrs. Shen thought that she had run away a few days ago under the pretext of saying hello to her son, and now she didn't even come to greet the relatives. If it were them before, they would definitely be scolded. Their son should have married the eldest daughter instead. After all, the third Miss Yan was the youngest daughter at home, so she was so spoiled.
However, she didn't expect that when the daughter-in-law walked up to her, she staggered and collapsed to the ground.
Mrs. Shen was startled, and the people around Yao Niang hurried forward to help her up. Gu Mama said, "Madam, our grandmother can't stand the cold. She had her period today and she was in great pain. It's not intentional."
"She should have told you if she wasn't feeling well." Mrs. Shen thought it was bad luck, and was afraid that people would say she was mistreating her daughter-in-law.
But Yao Niang is not a pushover. As a daughter-in-law, she will not bully others like Wang Shi, who would kick people out when she feels uncomfortable. She must manage her superiors.
She immediately pretended to be dying and terrified: "Madam, it's all my fault, please forgive me."
Madam Shen said that she was finished, but Madam Shen II knew the truth. She thought that Yan was really generous and knew how to show weakness. Everyone sympathizes with the weak, and wealthy families are especially concerned about their reputation. It was her sister-in-law who loved to control others and was used to it.
"Madam, I'm fine, really fine." After saying this, Yao Niang made a move to get up.
It was the aunt who said, "Sister-in-law, why don't you have someone carry your nephew's wife back in a warm sedan chair to rest? This won't do."
Lifting a sedan chair? I'm still covering for you, right?
Yao Niang immediately said, "Thanks to my aunt's favor, I just can't bear to dirty this place. Madam, wait for my daughter-in-law to go back and rest for a while. If she feels better, she can come back to serve me."
Madam Shen said, "You should take good care of yourself before coming back."
"Thank you, Madam." Yao Niang leaned on Qing Dai and was supported by someone to get up. When she met pedestrians along the way, Hong Xiu shouted, "Grandma, please stop thinking about serving Madam. Who doesn't know how filial you are? You go out early and come back late on snowy days. The snow is over your ankles every day. Your whole body is frozen. You should take good care of yourself."
Yao Niang naturally had no frostbite on her body. Sometimes she was too cold and would even lie on the sedan chair, but as the saying goes, there is no construction without destruction.
If she tries to cover up for her mother-in-law so casually, she will not only be despised and unlucky in the future, but will also continue to be bullied.
As she lay there, Wang was gloating over the misfortune: "She doesn't even know how to serve her parents-in-law, and she fainted. It's really embarrassing."
In fact, although Wang stood in a proper manner, Madam Shen was not a person who liked to bother others. Usually, Wang would pay her respects in the morning and evening and then come back. She would only go there a few times to serve soup to her mother-in-law. Yao Niang, on the other hand, had to serve dishes in the morning and evening, and she had to stand in a proper manner after working for a long time. Madam Shen had many guests, so Yao Niang had to accompany them whenever they came, serving tea and water, and seeing them off. She was much more tired than Wang.
Chunluo said, "Second Madam, I met the First Madam outside. The First Madam looked pale, not like she was pretending, and she was held by the maids and servants. I heard that when the Madam sent someone to call her over, she said she was not feeling well, but the Madam's people insisted that she go over to serve, and she got away with it. Second Madam, no matter what kind of person the First Madam is, when are you going to visit her?"
Although Wang was happy about the misfortune and even scolded Yao Niang quickly, she still had to do her best to show her human nature.
"Let's wait and see who goes first, and then we go over." Wang said.
This was Wang's idea. After all, she was the younger daughter-in-law who came into the family later, so as long as she followed the example of the previous ones, she would not make any mistakes.
Second Madam Jiang was the first to come over to visit after hearing this. Shen Linjiang was still at home at this time. Seeing that she was going to visit, he also praised her: "Although your father is in trouble, your grandfather and brother are both officials. I heard that Mr. Zhushan also went back to Beijing with our father to report on his work. Maybe he can be of use in the future."
"Yes, I think so too." That day, Second Madam Jiang impulsively told Yao Niang about the cousin of the Han family, but the matter had never been spread out, which was enough to show that Yan was a tight-lipped person. She was also afraid that something really happened to her. After all, she was still young, and she didn't expect that Madam Shen would torture her like that.
She looked at her husband again: "My aunt is definitely trying to make things difficult for my daughter-in-law because of the incident with the eldest daughter of the Yan family. I'm afraid I'll be targeted if I go, but what's better than helping someone in need?"
Shen Linjiang shook his head: "The same goes for my aunt. Since she has been married into the family, I think my sister-in-law has done nothing wrong." He wanted to say that my aunt really had a bad heart.
But as the saying goes, word of the wise should not be heard, so the couple would not spread the news of their discussion.
Grandma Qing also talked about this matter. She and Shen Linqing had a respectful relationship. Shen Linqing was different from Shen Linjiang. Shen Linjiang and Shao were at least a loving couple outside, while Shen Linqing and her were purely arranged by their parents. But they still discussed all matters at home.
"I'm afraid my aunt won't be happy if I go, so I'll send someone to deliver something."
Shen Linqing asked: "How did it become like this?"
"Master, you have always been studying outside and don't understand these things in the inner house. I heard that Master Feng was at home a few days ago, so he asked Yan to accompany him. This is probably what made your aunt unhappy." Grandma Qing is also a daughter-in-law, and she thinks she understood it correctly.
Shen Linqing was speechless: "My aunt is old and confused."
Grandma Qing didn't want her husband to praise others. She just said, "It is a woman's responsibility to visit her parents every morning and evening. Even we often go to pay respects to our aunt. It's the same for Brother Yan's daughter-in-law."
"That's true." How could Shen Linqing say that filial piety is bad?
Therefore, Yao Niang had Jiang's second wife Shao come to visit her in person. When she saw Yao Niang lying on the bed, her little face amid her black hair, she felt even more sorry for her. She didn't know who was wrong directly, so she just said vaguely, "Your body is your own, so you still have to take good care of it."
Yao Niang nodded with a smile: "It's all because of my weak body."
“快別這麽說，說一句剖心之論，咱們做人婦都不容易。”邵氏關懷備至。
窈娘依舊只道自己的不是，邵氏勸慰她不少才離開。
等人走了，青黛才上前道：“姑娘，您為何不把太太苛待您的時候說給她聽？讓江二奶奶幫您也擴散一下。”
窈娘謹慎道：“別看她來關心我，可誰知道是套我的話到處說還是如何？快扶我起來，我要換月事帶了。”
青黛知曉她家姑娘之所以之前晨昏定省沒有二話，可能就是為了今日這一遭，就跟當年在莊子上似的，表面隐忍不發，實際上早就準備給沈夫人難堪。
此次發難可能是無意之舉，但等待這個機會可是不易。
下人們自然是議論紛紛，就是一家主母又如何？正所謂公道自在人心。
沈夫人頗為後悔，她對周媽媽道：“臨風還未回來，若是臨風回來，她們添油加醋說些什麽？這可如何是好？”
周媽媽哪裏敢摻和這些，上次私底下沈臨風就找過她，說顏氏年紀還小，讓她幫襯一二。她若說了什麽，顏氏若真的身體有好歹，太太是無事，她可不就被大公子記恨上了。
故而正欲打馬虎眼，又見外頭的人說：“韓姑娘來了。”
沈夫人讓韓若華進來，韓若華進來時，周媽媽就帶着下人都退下去了。
“今日你表嫂的事情？你可聽說了。”沈夫人問道。
韓若華點頭：“略有耳聞。”
“原本是你姑母和二嬸娘說起你表嫂會打馬吊，想找她來作陪，哪裏知曉她身子不适？你可去探望過了？”沈夫人問道。
韓若華笑道：“姨母，依我看這原本就是一件誤會，表嫂嫁過來都快三個月了，怎地之前她有事哪次姨媽沒許呢。這次誰也沒想到表嫂身體虧成這樣，不如您多賞賜些廚房的補湯，如此也算是體恤表嫂。”
沈夫人聽了心下稍安：“對，我這就讓廚下送烏雞湯去。”
只不過，沈夫人道：“若華，你的身體如何，要不要也補補？”
這姨甥女幫自己出了大力，她自然也想體貼一下，韓若華就道：“姨母放心，我的身子骨很好，便是月事來了，也沒表嫂這般嚴重。”
沈夫人心想臨風媳婦身體這般差，那腰細的一只手可以箍住，太過弱質纖纖，好看是好看，就是沒甚福氣，若華倒是嬌媚可人，一臉福相。
只可惜如今臨風已經娶妻了……
一碗烏雞湯送了過來，窈娘對顧媽媽道：“就放桌上吧。”
沈臨風從春風滿月樓回來時，已經是半夜了，他今日也算是很暢快了，陪窈娘當然很好，但他朋友多，在一起也是說說笑笑。
平日窈娘都會替他留一盞燈，今日回來的時候卻黑漆漆的，他這一進來，就見下人忙着上前點燈，沈臨風見窈娘背對着他睡在床上，他對下人道：“別弄出聲響來，快些給我弄一盆水來就好了。”
纖紅出去讓粗使婆子準備水。
沈臨風卻立馬漱口，怕酒氣薰着窈娘了，漱口完，他才上前看窈娘，卻見窈娘似乎醒過來了：“夫君。”
她還坐起來伸出手臂來，沈臨風趕緊摟過她，卻見窈娘瞬間淚如雨下。他吓了一跳：“娘子，怎麽了？”
“沒，沒什麽，就是我的小日子來了身體不舒服。夫君，你明日能不能去太太那兒替我說項一二，都是我不好，今日太太讓我去作陪，結果我月事來了，支撐不住，暈倒在地，這實在不是我所願，就怕太太覺得我丢人了。原本想明日再去請安，可我小腹墜痛的厲害，今日血流不止，明日恐怕去不了。”窈娘有些瑟縮。
沈臨風倏地站起來，他道：“怎麽會這般？上次你來小日子不是還好好地嗎？要不要請大夫來看看？”
見他作勢要出去，窈娘怎麽可能讓他出去，雖說她月事來的時候有些疼，實際上也一如正常，今日她就是疼痛也有，但更想用這件事情作筏子。
“不用，我是最受不得凍的，大抵是今日風雪太大，那風直接灌進來了，沒事兒的。”窈娘“善解人意”道。
沈臨風扶住窈娘的肩膀，見她臉色白皙，臉上淚點如星，如病弱西子一般，讓他心裏忍不住憐惜萬分，“好妹妹，我扶着你先躺下，你放心，我定會去太太那裏說的。”
窈娘搖頭：“你千萬不要為了我和太太鬧起來了，千錯萬錯都是我的不是，誰讓我姐姐當時做下那等荒唐事呢？原本我也不想嫁到你家來，上次在開封時，我就是準備婉拒沈家的，偏偏我和你有緣分，你待我又那樣好，我就想刀山火海我都跟定你了。”
“我知道，我什麽都知道，你的性子一貫最矜持的，卻抛下女兒家的自尊專門來送我。咱們雖然成婚沒多久，但是我知曉你待我的深情厚誼。都是我沒有顧好你的身體，總想着出去玩兒。”沈臨風頗為自責。
窈娘心想還好她遇到的是沈夫人這種戰鬥力不是很強的，否則，也只有另想他招了。
又說沈臨風梳洗之後，特意用大手幫窈娘捂肚子，他心想自己幫窈娘說話，再有妹妹沈陌一貫幫窈娘，沈夫人肯定不會對窈娘有什麽意見，再者，無論如何，窈娘要在宅子裏生活，光有自己的疼愛沒用。
婆媳關系不好，到時候受罪的是他們自己。
但這些他不願意窈娘受苦，故而沈臨風道：“窈娘，不如到時候我自請外放，咱們夫妻也能獨自在外。”
窈娘是顯宦之女，一聽就覺得不成：“你這樣不就是從清流到濁流嗎？你好不容易才成了翰林院編修，這是多少人羨慕的翰林院的清貴，怎麽能外放嗎？”
“可我母親年紀大了越發左性，我在家的時候還好，就怕我不在家的時候她對你不好？”沈臨風隐約擔心。
窈娘則想這個人都已經完全站在自己這邊了，她還有什麽可愁的，沈夫人經此一役，恐怕為了維護自己慈婆婆的心态，定然會對自己好的。
所以，她又特別委曲求全道：“不會的，有些苦我能吃就吃，你千萬不要為了我傷及你的孝道，這是我最看不慣的。”
她不這麽說還好，越這麽說沈臨風胸口燃起了一簇火苗。
原本他睡眠極好的，也翻來覆去好一陣子才睡下。
卻說次日起，窈娘自然不去請安了，沈臨風就親自去沈夫人那裏請安，沈夫人見到他有些心虛，還問：“你媳婦兒好些了嗎？”
沈臨風嘆了一口氣：“她受不得寒，上次就疼的死去活來的，這次更甚，已然是支撐不住了。”這些話是他自己編的，窈娘還說過幾日來請安，他當然不許了。
“那要不要找大夫來看看？”沈夫人連忙道。
若顏氏真的有三長兩短，那顏家也得找她算賬。
見沈夫人慌了神，沈臨風心想早想到這些不就好了，非要一意孤行。他就道：“我替她把脈了，兒子這也是不讓事情顯露于人前。可母親，窈娘她稚年嫁給兒子，兒子傾慕于她，她的才學人品也值得兒子喜歡，若是她真的有三長兩短，兒子恐怕此生已無餘念。”
沈夫人見兒子說這些，也是忍不住哭了：“你說這些也是存心氣我，你哥哥沒了，娘就你一個兒了。”
“等新婦好了，兒子和新婦還是一樣孝敬爹娘，只盼着娘也要想想她爹娘丁憂回鄉，多心疼她吧。”沈臨風也算是懇切了。
沈夫人摩挲着兒子的頭道：“好。”
小時候的臨風多聽話啊，什麽都不敢在自己面前分辨，現如今卻是這般。
不知道是不是沈夫人為了自己的面子，還是因為沈臨風的這番話，還親自探望了窈娘一回，讓人送湯水滋補，窈娘自然配合演完将相和。
五日之後，窈娘月事已經逐漸沒了，只有一些殘餘，但整個人已經恢複如初了。她了解到當時是韓若華在這件事情後安慰的沈夫人，原本以為沈陌會落井下石，沒想到這個人神隐了。
顧媽媽道：“興許是大爺懇求的呢？”
“不是，此人倒還算是個人物，算是小人之桀雄。”
“這又是個什麽說法？”
“我原本以為那位韓表姑娘看起來穩重端莊，即便是江二奶奶那裏，我也覺得是江二爺自己不檢點。現在看起來她心大的很，反而是沈陌卻知道這種事情沾染不了，從頭到尾都沒似乎沒她這個人似的。”窈娘現在在沈家這個宅子裏，越來越覺得看起來不是那麽簡單了。
這次窈娘身體好了，沈臨風也陪着窈娘去寺廟上香散心，沈夫人心中未必喜歡窈娘，但見她說要給自己伯祖父點一盞長明燈，倒也不好阻攔，只吩咐沈臨風照顧好她。
小夫妻二人上山時遇到一位身着缁衣背着柴的尼姑，那尼姑窈娘倒也認識，仿佛還是個世子夫人。
"Do you want to help?" Yao Niang saw that she was quite thin, but still carrying firewood.
Rong Fanyin smiled and said, "No need." She had originally planned to travel around with her maid, but Xiaolan's family wouldn't let her. She had no choice but to become a nun here. Although her life was poor, she was comfortable.
When he saw Shen Linfeng again, he was stunned again. Isn't this Master Kongjian? In his previous life, Shen Linfeng was rejected by the Yan family. This matter made a big fuss. Although he passed the imperial examination, he was addicted to Buddhism and became a monk after only a few years. Mrs. Shen cried so much that her eyes were blinded.
How come he is married now?