After the whole family was swept away, I lay down flat

Chapter 995 Complaints
When Ma and Haitang saw Zhou Ma again, they felt that she had lost a lot of weight and looked very old.

How could a national mourning be so torturous? Zhou Ma was just a high-ranking official who went to the palace to mourn for forty or fifty days and then went to the imperial mausoleum. She was so exhausted that it was no wonder that she had to lie at home for so long before she could barely catch her breath.

Madam Zhou also complained to her sister: "When I was in the palace, it was cold and windy. The place where I knelt was far from the brazier and in the wind. I felt so uncomfortable! Fortunately, the Empress Dowager was considerate and sent palace maids to bring me a hand warmer and find a warm place for me to rest. I felt better, otherwise I would have collapsed! I don't know how many old officials of your age have fallen in those days! They still have relatives and friends who can take care of each other. If I hadn't had the help of the people in the Cining Palace, I would have been alone and I don't know what I would have done! The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law of the Cheng'en Marquis' Mansion are far away. I heard that she went directly to the Cining Palace to accompany the Empress Dowager..."

At that time, Ma Ma of Zhou had complained, why didn’t the Grand Empress Dowager call her over as well? They were all members of the Zhou family, so what was the difference between her and the women of the Cheng’en Marquis’s Mansion? But later, when she saw Mrs. Zhou and Zhou Wenjun were also among the women crying outside, she felt much better, knowing that the people of the Zhenguo Mansion were not particularly treated, but it was just that the Grand Empress Dowager was familiar with the wife of the Cheng’en Marquis and the wife of the Crown Prince, and they were emotionally closer to each other, so she kept them around. Later, when she heard that there was a commotion in the palace and that the Grand Empress Dowager was in danger, she felt more and more that it was good for her to cry outside. But when she thought about it afterwards, she felt a little regretful. Why didn’t she “faint” because of her “old age and frailty”? The fainted women could go to the side hall to rest, or they could take sick leave and go home to rest, so she wouldn’t have to suffer for so many days!
Thinking back now, Madam Zhou still felt a little angry: "I just thought of it as a face-saving measure for the women of the Zhou family! If I were gone, the only two young people left in the imperial edict team in front of the late emperor's coffin would be the fourth daughter-in-law and Wenjun, two young people from the Zhou family. It would be embarrassing for outsiders to see..."

Haitang thought her excuse was far-fetched, but she liked to deceive herself like this, so Haitang couldn't expose her on the spot. She could only smile and agree with her grandmother Ma: "Ah, right, right, right..."

Zhou Ma had a lot of things in her heart that she wanted to talk to, but she couldn't find anyone to talk to. Whether it was the younger sisters-in-law in the Cheng'en Marquis's Mansion, Mrs. Zhou Si or Zhou Wenjun in the Zhenguo Duke's Mansion, or her own husband Zhou Shigong, she was too embarrassed to tell them what was really in her heart, and she was too embarrassed to mention it to her grandson. On weekdays, she could only complain to the confidants around her. Now in front of her sister, she was finally able to vent some of her grievances, and her mood suddenly became much brighter.

She also solemnly thanked her sister Ma and lent her Ma Changnian and his wife and the pomegranate.

She had to bring her trusted maid with her husband to the imperial mausoleum, and Zhou Shigong also needed several people. But in this way, there would be no one at home. How would she take care of the two grandsons' daily life? She had to leave a housekeeper brought from Chang'an behind, and entrusted the rest of the chores to the people borrowed from Cheng'en Marquis's Mansion. Who knew that the housekeeper was useless? Because of a small matter, she had an argument with the people in Cheng'en Marquis's Mansion. When she was found out to be the one in the wrong, she became angry and hid on the pretext of being sick. If Ma had not borrowed three people at this time, so that Liangying and Liangxiong had someone to run errands in the outer courtyard, someone to take care of food in the kitchen, and someone to organize chores and do needlework in the inner courtyard, I'm afraid they would have to rely on the servants of Cheng'en Marquis's Mansion for their daily life. Although she knew that the people in Cheng'en Marquis's Mansion would not neglect the two children, Zhou Ma still felt that her maid had lost face in front of her relatives.

Now that she mentioned this matter, she didn't have the courage to visit the Cheng'en Marquis's Mansion. She had already dismissed the housekeeper's wife. Her husband Zhou Shigong didn't say anything this time. The housekeeper's wife was not a capable person, but her husband was Zhou Shigong's confidant. He stood firmly on Zhou Shigong's side during several changes in the family, so Zhou Shigong would specially favor his family. Zhou Ma hated this and thought that her husband's meddling in the family affairs caused her to lose face in front of the sisters-in-law of the same clan. Even if the people in Cheng'en Marquis's Mansion didn't mention what had happened, she still felt that her family had made a fool of itself.

Madam Zhou complained to Madam Ma: "Yesterday was Laba Festival. The Cheng'en Marquis's Mansion specially invited my husband and I to bring our two children to eat Laba porridge. I didn't feel comfortable going. I said I was not feeling well, so I let my husband and the two grandchildren go. There are so many gossipy people in the mansion over there. I don't know how they are laughing at our family behind the scenes!"

Ma said, "Neither the wife of the Marquis of Cheng'en nor the wife of the Crown Prince are that kind of people. Don't worry, big sister!"

Zhou Ma couldn't help but be suspicious. In fact, when she was at home in Chang'an, she had already handed over the power of household affairs to her daughter-in-law. She had been idle for a few years and now she had to take charge of household affairs again after coming to Beijing. The rules in Beijing were very different from those in Chang'an. She was not used to everything, and she couldn't adapt to the diet and climate. She always made small mistakes in interpersonal communication, and felt more and more overwhelmed. She was worried that everyone was laughing at her. How could the little sister of a fifth-rank official family understand this kind of hardship? !
Ma was not very happy after hearing this: "What's wrong with being a fifth-rank official? Even if our family is only a fifth-rank official, it's not like we haven't made friends with high-ranking officials! I'm not used to the rules in the capital either, but I have Chang'an and Baoshun to help me, and cousin Xie reminds me from time to time, and Tangtang helps me all the time. I don't think I've made any big mistakes, and my life has been smooth and peaceful, right? Big sister, at least you have people from the Cheng'en Marquis' Mansion here, so what can go wrong? Look, it's you, big sister, who is stuck in a dead end. You always think that others are laughing at you, but in fact, that's not a big deal? The Cheng'en Marquis' Mansion is now busy celebrating the birth of another queen in your Zhou family, and there will be several more happy events next year, so how can they take care of you, big sister?!"

After hearing this, Madam Zhou was a little unhappy: "What? So what if there is a queen? It's not like there hasn't been one before. When the Empress Dowager entered the palace, the whole Zhou family was overjoyed. When the prince was born, they were even happier. They said that the Great Chu Dynasty would have an emperor with Zhou blood, but what happened in the end?! For decades, when has the Zhou family ever benefited from the queen? We have suffered a huge loss! What if there is another queen now?! Whether she can sit firmly on the throne, whether she can give birth to a prince to inherit the throne, it is still uncertain!"

Seeing that she was going too far, Haitang coughed loudly and winked at her grandmother, Ma.

Ma glared at Zhou Ma knowingly: "Big sister, you are really sick and confused. What are you talking about? How can you say that?! If someone hears it, how can you live in the Zhou family?!"

As soon as Madam Zhou Ma said this, she actually regretted it. Now she was a little scared. Seeing Haitang standing up and looking outside, she hurriedly said, "Caijuan and Cailuo are guarding outside. No one will come in. I have already ordered that no one is allowed to come to the upper room in the main courtyard. Just rest assured."

Haitang returned to her seat and sat down. Ma, after receiving a hint from her granddaughter, knew that there were indeed no strangers around, so she put aside her worries and glared at her elder sister with a stern face: "Even if no one else heard it, you shouldn't have said such things! If you let it slip and start talking nonsense in front of others in the future, you really won't be able to see anyone!"

Pray for Shigatse, and may the deceased rest in peace.