Foster son and husband

Chapter 52
On the nineteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, Meiniang and Ning Rulan had been busy in the Ziyun Hall all morning. The chores were settled, and the stewards dispersed. It was still early, and there were still snowflakes outside. The two sat around the fire, warm and harmonious Yes, she was not in a hurry to leave, and sent the serving women, maids and maids away to warm up the fire, and the two of them sat in the hall and talked leisurely.

Mei Niang said with a smile: "You have had enough wedding wine, right? Counting five or six events in a row, have you been drunk once? The end of the year is full of festive atmosphere, and you have to soak in it every day, so you have to get some!"

Ning Rulan caressed her knees and said: "Mother said the same thing, she also specially told me to go back to my mother's house again yesterday, what I thought I was going to do, but she took me and the third master to the family temple to read the scriptures for a day, and said yes I made a special trip to ask for the good scriptures copied by the eminent monks. There are only a hundred words back and forth. My legs are so numb that I can barely walk!"

Mei Niang burst out laughing: "My wife is such a wonderful person!"

Ning Rulan also laughed: "Last night, I came back late, and the third master and I hurriedly washed up and went to the old lady's place. The mother also prepared the Shu land rituals for the old lady and the wife for you and me. One serving, didn’t you suddenly like spicy food? This time, you can eat as much as you want. Those snacks, dried meat, dried vegetables and soy sauce, in all likelihood, are too spicy to eat. I brought you some back here... and the new autumn tea, some beautiful Sichuan embroidery, I will send Jinshu to Tsinghua University in a while."

She came closer: "In addition, there are some extremely rare preserved fruits and snacks, which were given by the newly married cousin's husband's family. My aunt brought some over, and my mother said that there are not too many, and there are three or four sisters-in-law at home. It is difficult to distinguish , simply give it to the two of us, and eat and play slowly in our spare time."

Mei Niang said with a smile: "My wife is really kind, let the two of us take advantage."

Ning Rulan had a proud expression on her face: "I have three brothers and three sisters. I am the youngest, and I have received the most love from my mother!"

Mei Niang looked at her carefully: "Well, that's right, I can see it! This appearance is the fate of an IKEA Wangfu and Fuze. Your mother is also a snobbish person. She must have figured out your fate a long time ago, so she loves you more." !"

Ning Rulan laughed and slapped her: "Nonsense again!"

The two laughed and quarreled for a while, Mei Niang suddenly remembered something, and asked, "Why does your family have the soil rituals of Sichuan? Where did your ancestors come from?"

Ning Rulan nodded: "My grandfather was born and raised in Sichuan. Later, he won fame and fame. He was among the top three in the palace examination. The emperor loved talent and was hand-picked into the Imperial Academy. Later, he married a wife and had children, and settled down in the capital. But he still misses his hometown. During the holidays, the Ning family in the capital city sent a team of horses to Shu to deliver goods and money, and Shu also prepared the soil instrument early, and sent it back with the car.

Meiniang was touched: "Wind, thunder, rain and snow, how can we break the blood and family relationship? The grandfather must be very homesick, he has already retired, right? Why don't you bring the old grandmother and go back to the hometown for a short stay?"

Ning Rulan smiled and said: "Grandmother was born in the capital, her body was extremely weak, she only gave birth to two sons, she became ill and couldn't go anywhere. My grandfather was homesick, but because of loving my grandmother, he never left the capital for half a step in his life. My grandfather is in good health , but passed away before my grandmother. My grandmother was too sad, and then died of illness. When she died, she left a last word, willing to return to her hometown with her grandfather to be buried together. Today, my grandfather and grandmother rest in peace in the ancestral graveyard of their hometown, and it has been nearly five years!"

Meiniang said: "What a touching and loving couple. My in-law's grandfather went to the Hanlin to accept the decree. He was a noble civil servant. Your father... the in-law's master gave up literature and went to military affairs and became a military officer."

Ning Rulan sighed: "It's just like this. As the eldest son, my father doesn't like reading, he only wants to wield knives and sticks, so my grandfather is helpless. Fortunately, my uncle is willing to study, and under the supervision of my grandfather, I got a good grade in the exam. Go to Zuosi Chancellor of Zhengliu Dali Temple."

"What kind of product is the in-law's grandfather?"

"Zheng Sanpin."

"What rank is our second master as an official?"

Ning Rulan looked outside the door, and said softly: "The second master was originally in the household department, and he was an official of the third rank. Because he received an imperial envoy last year, he was in charge of disaster relief in the southwest. The second master mistrusted someone and lost a lot of disaster relief money. , the victims failed to receive food and clothing in time, were visited by people from Yushitai, and were impeached. The emperor saw that he only suspended his salary for one year, transferred out of the household department, and took another idle position... If If it were someone else, it would be a crime of decapitation and imprisonment!"

Mei Niang was stunned for a moment: "Second master came out from the household department, but second master went in again. Doesn't this still make people remember the incident of Xu's family?"

Ning Rulan smiled: "I heard from the third master that the second master is really capable, and the uncle is so proud. As soon as he came back, he asked the Hou Mansion to pay the large amount of money that the second master made. Yes, haven’t you seen it? The second master has to figure out the remaining decimals. He begged the emperor’s grace to put the second master into the household department. It seems that he wanted the second master to replace the second master and make a few more things. Contributing to the merits, making the merits a crime, also makes people change their views on the people of the Xu family, and gradually forget the fault of the second master."

Mei Niang was thoughtful: "I heard that some of the masters in the mansion are going to be officials after the new year, and they are all getting excellent official positions?"

Ning Rulan looked at Mei Niang strangely: "Didn't the lord tell you? This time we won a big victory and defeated the seventh master of our family. The emperor's family gave a lot of rewards, among which are: The elders will choose the official positions for the brothers who have achieved fame and fame. Several masters, after all, are all qualified candidates. I want to take this opportunity to become an official."

Mei Niang nodded and said: "That's good, the men have things to do, so we can rest assured!"

He secretly thought, Xu Junying has this convenience, if he can pull his brother Qin Boqing, it will save that sick man to have to work hard there. It is said that he is a well-educated person, and it should not be a problem to get a Jinshi.No matter what the imperial court is, they can get a few places just by grabbing it like Xu Junying. I am afraid that there are many cheaters in the imperial examination room, because the Qin family has no background, and their real talents will be buried. Qin Boqing has studied hard for many years. Wouldn't it be unfair for Di Dong to rush back from other places and not be able to get a job?
Regarding Ning Rulan's doubts, Meiniang didn't know what to say. Could it be that she couldn't see anything?I really thought that Xu Junying and herself were like their husband and wife, loving each other and talking about everything.

There is no need to be on guard in front of Rulan, Mei Niang said calmly: "My uncle and I are no better than you and the third master. We...we got married in a hurry and haven't been together for a long time. I always feel a little bit of identity. He treats me now, Not even better than Cousin Yu and Cousin Lan, don't you think?"

Ning Rulan lowered her eyes, looked up at her for a while, and sighed sympathetically: "There is a saying in the house: It is said that the uncle married you because he was fascinated by your appearance for a while, and the old lady also asserted that the uncle will wake up." When I was here... I don't see it that way, the uncle has great vision, you are a very good woman!"

Mei Niang smiled: "I'm afraid you are the only one in this whole family who is willing to praise me like this. Okay! I appreciate it. In fact, I also think that I am an excellent woman!"

Ning Rulan couldn't help but slapped her with a smile again, and Mei Niang suddenly asked: "Since your family has been an official for generations, do you still have time to do business? I heard you said that your natal family has various shops."

Ning Rulan withdrew her smile: "There are not a few family members of Beijing officials who have shop business, but they just don't show up, and everything is left to the people below to take care of it. My mother's family has more than a dozen tea shops, seven or eight embroidery shops in the capital, and there are more than a dozen of them. There are pawnshops and so on, all of which were my mother’s dowry back then, I only saw my mother read the account books when I was a child, and the manager would come in to answer from time to time, but I never saw her go out to look around.”

Mei Niang said: "How many dowry shops were there for the in-law's wife back then, and are there still so many shops now?"

Ning Rulan shook her head: "I heard from my mother that the increase is more than doubled, and that Steward Feng under her command is her companion. I did a dowry with my sisters."

Mei Niang couldn't help but said: "Wow! You have your own farm, you can be a landlady!"

Ning Rulan blinked: "What are you talking about? I don't want to be a landlord's wife! The farm has its own housekeeper to take care of, and the grain, fruits and vegetables harvested every year, and the poultry and livestock are handled by them, and the money can be entered into the account by themselves. "

Mei Niang sighed: "I don't have any of these, no wonder people look down on me!"

Ning Rulan blushed slightly: "It's all external objects, worthless. I, I can talk to you very easily, without holding back..."

Mei Niang said with a smile: "If I mind these things, I won't discuss them with you. Although I don't have one, I am very curious."

Ning Rulan nodded hurriedly: "I know you are a sensible and transparent person. It's too vulgar to judge your worth by dowry. In fact, my dowry is considered small, but my second grandmother has a lot. She has three farms and countless shops. When she got married, The real ten-mile red makeup has a total of 120 dowries!"

"So much? Didn't you empty out the Bai family?"

Ning Rulan smiled: "At that time, the Bai family will not be hollowed out. It is a famous rich man in the capital."

Mei Niang asked: "Has the Bai family been in business for generations?"

Ning Rulan shook her head: "Second Grandma's grandfather was in business, and the eldest grandfather of the Bai family who just died was originally a second-rank Beijing official in charge of water transportation. I also heard from the third master that the Bai family made their fortune from water transportation. The Bai family has been doing such a convenient thing for many years, using water transport ships to entrain Tuyi, and all kinds of goods from the north to the south are exchanged!"

Mei Niang sighed: "You don't need road money to do business, and you don't have to worry about being robbed by bandits. You have a large number of officers and soldiers to protect you. It couldn't be better!"

"It's not good in recent years. The old man of the Bai family became an official, and his business began to fail. He was ill for a year or so. Now that he's gone, the Bai Mansion will be in a bad shape."

"I've earned enough money, enough for his family to live and drink for generations."

Ning Rulan said: "No matter how much money you have, you can't help tossing about it. The great uncle and the second grandfather of the Bai family have accumulated a large amount of property with one heart, and have been divided among the children and grandchildren. The second grandma's illness is partly for the best of her life." Xiaojiu suffered from the cold on his knees, half of which was due to heart disease. As soon as the eldest grandfather of the Bai family was buried, the next dozen descendants took advantage of the fact that the second grandfather of the Bai family was sick, and quickly separated the family. I only married one wife, but the Second Grandfather has wives and concubines in groups. The second wife has suffered a lot, and the sons of the First Grandfather are extremely powerful, so they divided most of the property and real estate. The descendants of the Second Grandfather have almost nothing After being assigned, some were expelled from the house and lived in the corridors of the back street, where the servants of the Bai family used to live... The second grandpa has been so angry that he can't get up now."

Mei Niang looked at Ning Rulan, unexpectedly she would gossip like this: "How do you know?"

Ning Rulan smiled and said: "Oh, these days I've been eating weddings outside, gathering with sisters and sisters-in-law in the clan, and I've heard about everything. Do you know? Many people like to ask about you when they see me, and they feel that You are a person of great fortune and wealth, and because of this resurrection, you are now famous, which is a good thing!"

Meiniang wondered, "How can I do this?"

Ning Rulan hesitated to speak, but was gently pinched by Meiniang, and said with a smile: "Don't worry, maybe this can't be done? Uncle and cousin Lan grew up together as childhood sweethearts, but uncle used to Didn't agree to marry Cousin Lan, did he fall in love with her now and marry her again? Even the third master said that the uncle only had a brother-sister relationship with Cousin Lan, and there would be nothing else... If he really listened to the old lady, he would marry her again. Marry Cousin Lan to enter the house, Cousin Yilan is from a family background, so she will definitely not be a concubine, but he first married you as his wife and gave birth to a constant son, and now your reputation as Marquis of Weiyuan is spreading everywhere. If you die and come back to life, that is a great virtue and great kindness Only people with this kind of experience can have such a chance. The uncle just takes a concubine. No one will say anything. If you leave a virtuous wife and marry a new wife, you will be criticized by others. The waiting mansion is very embarrassing. This is extremely difficult. I am most afraid of the uncle. It will be different if the old lady persuades her to soften her heart and ask the emperor for grace, or if the old lady gets the permission of the queen mother!"

Mei Niang pretended to be heavy, and sighed: "Never mind him, I'm tired of these things, old ladies and wives are like this, in the name of the Lord Hou's spreading branches and leaves, let him marry a wife and take concubines, think about it." With his status, he should have several wives and concubines, right? Don’t you think so?”

Ru Lan stared blankly at her: "Aren't you unwilling?"

"Of course I don't want to." Meiniang picked up the silver chopsticks and picked up the ashes in the brazier: "If people insist on squeezing in, if they can't stop them, then forget it. I'll just quit. It's a big deal. Give me a break." Book, let me go back!"

Ru Lan grabbed her hand: "Sister-in-law, you are the imperial order, and the imperial ordering lady cannot give up! You, if you refuse to accommodate, the uncle will only raise you in another hospital and will never let you leave. You marry me!" As the wife of the Xu family, she has been sealed, and her surname cannot be changed in life or death!"

Mei Niang was stunned: "No way? How old am I? Could it be true that I will be imprisoned for the rest of my life?"

Rulan looked worried: "I think the uncle is a kind person. If he really reaches that point, there should be a way. He can't neglect you because of that person who came from a famous family. Just bear with it. You are also in the same wife's marriage." How? You were the first to carry through the door, and Heng'er came first, no one can surpass you!"

Mei Niang smiled and shook her head: "Ru Lan, I advise you not to take a concubine for the third master, but you are better off, instead persuade me to endure the uncle and marry a bride!"

(End of this chapter)