Foster son and husband

Chapter 3
Although Lord Hou said not to disturb the old lady and his wife, there was still a fast-talking woman who ran to the room and reported the letter.

On a cold winter night, Mrs. Xu and Mrs. Zhuang went into the warm pavilion early after dinner, dismissed the concubines who were talking with her, and was about to lie down to rest, when she heard the news suddenly, she shook her body , almost fell, the maids rushed to help, Ruixue, the eldest girl next to the old lady, turned her head dissatisfied, and said to Mrs. Pan who was standing by the door to report the letter:

"Mom usually only taught us to watch our eyes carefully, but I am so impatient, I'm about to stop now, can the old lady still sleep if you make such a fuss?"

Mrs. Xu waved her hands: "Forget it! This mansion is becoming more and more outrageous. After the eldest wife fell ill, the people below became more and more unruly. What kind of family are we, and such rumors can spread indiscriminately? People who lived for two days came back to life, there is such a miracle in the world! Quickly tie up that stupid slave who chews his tongue, and beat him to death!"

"Oh! Old lady, it's true! The servants are blind and have seen it all. If there is a little bit of falsehood, they will cut off the heads of the servants!"

Mrs. Pan also just went to the garden to find another woman to talk to, and she saw that scene from a distance. She couldn't bear it anymore, and ran to Mrs. Xu's room to report.

She was originally the little girl that the old lady brought over as a dowry, and she was also nimble, smart and capable, but because she was assigned a little manager who ran errands in the front yard for shopping, that man was not an honest guy, and he was clever and greedy for some money when shopping. Being exposed by others, sent to the farm to farm, Mrs. Pan was burdened by him, even though she begged the old lady not to send her away, she took the two children to live in the outer courtyard and did some odd jobs, but she never had a bright future in her life , but after all, she is the old lady's dowry, and she often asks about it, so others dare not look down on her too much, and come to the old lady's room from time to time, and no one stops her, and the old lady often rewards some food or old clothes. After taking care of her all the time, she couldn't help being arrogant, and her mouth became more and more broken. The maids around the old lady hated and felt helpless towards her.

Mrs. Xu couldn't lie down anymore, she got up by herself: "Go, call the ladies over here!"

Across the cold and gray wide screen of flowers and birds, a few women stood outside, heard the voice, lifted the curtain and went out, followed by three or four servants in the corridor, and went to pass the message.

Ruixue and several other close maids, Ruixia, Ruiyun, and Ruihong hurriedly put on a robe for her, put her hair in a bun again, put them on, helped her to sit on the kang couch, took a warm blanket and covered her knees, Ruihong Holding a cup of hot tea, Mrs. Pan eagerly reached out to take it and pass it on to the old lady. Ruihong hid, and cast her disdainful eyes, but her tone was not disrespectful:

"Mom, let's rest, be careful if you spill it, it will burn you!"

Mrs. Pan shyly withdrew her hands, but leaned closer to Mrs. Xu, and whispered: "The old lady forgot: Ever since Master Qi left, the eldest lady has been ill, but she can't come!"

The old lady glared at her sharply, and Mrs. Pan hurriedly shut her mouth, and stood obediently with her head bowed.

Ruixue and Ruihong gave her a blank look at the same time, this woman is getting more and more brainless, which pot can't be opened and which pot to carry, the seventh master Xu Junjie followed his uncle Weiyuan to wait for Xu Junying's northwest Jingbian, unfortunately died in battle two months ago, The eldest lady cried to death for Qi Ye several times, she collapsed on the bed and couldn't get up again. As a grandmother, the old lady is not sad when her grandson is gone.It was also languid for a few days, and it was getting better. Mrs. Weiyuanhou and grandma Qin died of a sudden illness. The black-haired man wanted to be sent by the white-haired one. The old lady was angry and resentful. Isn't this uncomfortable?

The old lady's eyes were gloomy, and she said with a cold face: "When you are sick, you should lie down and rest, and you can't just let it go. Jingyu is young, and there are things that she can't do without thinking carefully. Now that her natal family has something to do, she just walks away. My wife also suffered from dizziness at this time, and the whole family in the house was handed over to Ru Lan. Then Ru Lan was just like Mei Niang, she fell ill when the wind blows, and she didn't understand anything. Is there anything wrong with it? Look, isn’t it okay for the second wife to sit and talk here just now?”

Ruixue laughed and said: "Old lady, the second wife is feeling better today, so I came here to say hello to the old lady, didn't I ask for the old lady's dizziness pills along the way? It's obviously not all right!"

The old lady snorted, and suddenly saw a slightly fat woman with an awl in a bun, wearing a crow-blue trousers, a pleated silk skirt in a brown color, and a ruddy face. When Mrs. Pan saw her, her lips After taking a sip, she subconsciously hid behind Ruixue, but Ruixue didn't cover her, she took a step forward and said to the woman:
"Mother Ji is back. Mother Pan told the old lady something strange..."

Ji's mother was also the old lady's dowry maid back then, but she is more capable than Pan's mother. She has always been in charge of the old lady's side. The relationship between master and servant for decades is inseparable. One look and one word can understand each other. the meaning to be expressed.

As the two looked at each other, the old lady took a deep breath and almost swallowed the small piece of tea in her mouth.

"Is that... for real?"

Ji's mother blessed Fushen: "Return to the old lady: It's true! I brought medicine to the second girl and came back. When I heard about it, I stopped by to see the eldest young lady. She was lying on the couch, and the master asked him to go to the imperial hospital. The most famous Imperial Physician Su came and took a closer look at it. Imperial Physician Su said that there was such a case of breathlessness due to long-term illness decades ago, and it was also seen by Imperial Physician Su. Now I have retired and returned to my hometown, and I am living a good life!"

"Doctor Su really said that?"

Ji's mother smiled and said: "Princess Su sighed that the young lady is a blessed person!"

The old lady's eyes flickered: "Just don't let people misunderstand that our family almost buried people alive! She is also a blessed one--the daughter of a declining official family can marry into our Xu residence and become the wife of Weiyuanhou, First-class life-stricken woman, you should be content!"

Mother Ji's slender eyes looked twice, Ruixue and other girls quietly retreated, and even Mrs. Pan quickly slipped away.

She squatted down, sat on the mahogany floor mat, pinched the old lady's calf, and said softly: "Calculating the distance, the third master picked up Miss Lan, and he should be there tomorrow morning!"

The old lady sighed slightly: "Speaking of which, Miss Lan is also unlucky. If she is not too weak, this Mrs. Marquis of Weiyuan should be hers... You lake was caught by the sun, and she got sick. Baba stood on the shore and waited. But let Junying meet Qin Meiniang in the middle of the lake, what's wrong with playing the piano? Don't we girl Lan have that talent? Alas, Junying is a stubborn one. He always does things directly. He found out that she is the daughter of the Qin family. After being teased by the Holy Majesty, he invited the imperial decree to grant her marriage... Mei Niang was seriously ill, and she seemed to be dying. The cousin of the Zheng family served her diligently every day. How can I not understand what the eldest wife is thinking? Although Junying is filial to him Mother, after all, she and Lan Yatou are childhood sweetheart cousins, I thought that this time I would definitely teach him to fool around, but I didn't expect..."

Ruixue yelled crisply outside the door: "The eldest wife and the second wife are here!"

Mrs. Xu exchanged glances with Mother Ji, and Mother Ji stood up, walked to the screen and waited:
"The old lady is waiting, invite the two ladies to come in!"

Mrs. Zheng, the first wife of the Xu family, and Gui, the second wife, walked in. Mrs. Zheng was in front, wearing a knee-length padded jacket with dark colored satin, casually combed into a round bun, and only inserted two strands of pure gold flat hairpins. On it, a wide emerald forehead was tied, a face was pale and bloodless, but he managed to squeeze out a smile that was uglier than crying, and leaned deeply towards Mrs. Xu, and said in a hoarse voice:
"Greetings to the old lady! My daughter-in-law is not feeling well these days, and I am really terrified and uncomfortable for not being able to do my filial piety in front of the old lady!"

The old lady looked at her: "I know you're feeling bad, and your body is still weak, and you always have to go out for a walk, suffocating in the room, the more you lie down, the more you can't get up-I'm still holding on to my old bones, What do you mean when one or two of you are too sick to move!"

With tears in her eyes, Mrs. Zheng lowered her head and sat on the embroidered pier with Ruixue's support, unable to say anything.

Mrs. Gui wore a blue dark-pattern padded jacket, with a melancholy expression on her face. After saluting the old lady, she sat down under Mrs. Zheng. After listening to the old lady's words, she carefully said:
"It's the daughter-in-law's incompetence, which made the old lady suffer! Rulan just came to tell the daughter-in-law about Mei Niang's matter. The waiter is here, and it's already taken care of. The old lady doesn't have to worry. Rulan will take care of the rest. The mothers-in-law are in a hurry to finish the work, the Yizhuang in the front yard will be demolished in a short while, and they are preparing to go around to inform relatives in the early morning of tomorrow, so as not to let everyone know, and there will be chaos at the originally scheduled funeral time one game."

The old lady hummed: "It's difficult for Rulan, although it's not as transparent as Jingyu, it's pretty good to be able to do things well without panicking at a critical moment."

Looking at Mrs. Zheng again, she sighed: "No matter how sad you are, you mother-in-law, you should go see Mei Niang. After all, she came back from the dead. Few people can have this experience. She is still too young, she was frightened, so comfort her. Soothe her. There will be many relatives and friends coming to see her from tomorrow onwards. Her natal family thinks they are on the way and they are here for the funeral. She may not be able to speak now. You have to teach her well, Mo Disrespectful in front of people!"

Mrs. Zheng bowed her head in response: "My wife knows."

Then he asked Mrs. Gui: "How is the Bai family? Isn't Jingyu back yet?"

Mrs. Gui said: "I just heard that the funeral will be postponed again. Jingyu heard about Mei Niang and sent someone back to ask..."

The old lady nodded: "Let her do her filial piety at her mother's house with peace of mind. There is nothing else going on in our house, so she doesn't need to worry about it!"

(End of this chapter)