in spring

Chapter 293 The Filial and Virtuous Third Young Mistress

Early the next morning, Chunying freshened up, put on a thick padded jacket, and took care of the second old lady's waking up, grooming, breakfast, etc., and then ran out of the second door to see the old lady while she was eating. People prepared the carriage for going out in winter, added cotton pads and thin quilts, and set up a warm stove, then returned to Songyiyuan, installed the hand stove, took a big cloak, and wrapped it in a cotton cover Fill hot tea in the teapot and so on.When everything is ready, the second old lady can go out.

After getting into the carriage, Chunying sat in the same carriage with the second old lady carrying bags, and Jin Yu followed with her teapot in her arms.This car is specially used for women's family members to go out in winter. The interior of the car is very spacious, so the three of them are dressed so thickly, and they don't feel crowded when they sit in it.

Seeing that everything was in order, the second old lady was in a good mood: "It's only a few steps away? What are you doing with so many things? It's not a joke."

Chunying has been serving her for nearly a year, and she is usually attentive, so when she heard her tone, she knew that she was not really criticizing, so she smiled and said: "Although we are close, go out from the second door of our house and arrive at It will take a while to get off at the second gate of the Hou Mansion, and the road is covered with snow, making it difficult to walk. If the old lady wants a cup of tea for a while, she won't have nowhere to look for it." After finishing speaking, he said to himself A newly made fur muff and a pair of ear muffs were taken out and put on by the old lady.

The latter smiled and said, "Where is this useful? Isn't there a hand stove?"

"Although the hand stove can keep you warm, when you don't hold it, the wind blows and your hands are cold again. It's cold and warm, but it's not good for your opponent. Wearing this muff, even if you leave the hand stove for a while, you won't feel cold. Besides, even if the old lady is holding the hand stove all the way, she can't warm her ears?"

Hearing this, the second old lady let Chunying put on the muff and earmuffs for herself. At the same time, she took a serious look at her and patted the back of her hand lightly: "Good boy, I know you are a meticulous person. You used to be really nice." Nobody thought of this for me."

Chunying smiled and said: "The sisters all serve the old lady with all their heart, but the servant girl has a weird temper and always has some weird ideas. It's good that the old lady doesn't mind making noise."

The second old lady smiled, comfortably with a muff in her sleeves, ear muffs, and a hand stove in her arms, leaning against the back cushion warmly, and began to chat: "You went out yesterday and said that your wife was looking for you. What did you say? Why haven't you come back in the middle of the night?"

Chunying knew that she was going to ask, just in case, she tried her best to flatter her, and after hearing this, she hurriedly replied: "I don't have much to say, Madam just asked about the old lady's daily life, just asking Halfway through, the master asked his wife to talk, and the servant waited outside, because he didn't have his wife to speak, so he didn't dare to leave, so the time was delayed."

The second old lady laughed: "You are too careful. They talk to each other. If you want to leave early, just tell the girls. You are my girl, so naturally you have to rush back to serve me. Could it be that they ignored you all night?" You, are you going to stand there all night? Your master and wife will definitely not blame you for this." Then he was a little curious, "What did the couple say? They left you alone?"

Chunying was putting on the appearance of a loyal maidservant with a humble and courteous face. Hearing the words, she thought that the second master and the second wife had finished discussing the matter, and the latter told herself to let her parents go out. It might not be beneficial for the wife to poke it out in front of her, so she covered her mouth and smiled: "The master and wife are talking in the room, how can the servant know?"

The second old lady thought that her son and daughter-in-law were intimate and were talking privately, and her mood got better, so she didn't ask any more questions.

Jin Yu sat silently by the car door, watching Chunying's actions quietly, wondering what was going on in his mind.

After a while, we arrived at Houfu.Everyone got out of the car at the second gate and walked in. Those who came to greet him were Mrs. Hei and Mrs. Mei Xiang, Mrs. Chen.Chunying was puzzled, and reasoned that since the Hou Mansion posted a post to invite people to come to discuss important matters, and they invited elders who were of the same generation as the old lady, it was naturally different from the usual visits, why didn't the younger family members of the Hou Mansion come to visit welcome?

The second old lady's expression was indifferent, so the second wife asked, "Why didn't you see your wife?" The black lady carefully lowered her head and replied, "My wife is not feeling well, and she is recuperating at home." The second wife raised her eyebrows: "Then yours?" Where are the young mistresses?" "The eldest mistress is not here today, the second mistress... is also sick, and the third mistress is in front of the old lady."

Seeing that the black lady only knew how to answer honestly, Mei Xiang hurriedly stepped forward and said with a smile: "The old lady has been expecting the second old lady and the second wife to come over early in the morning, and she has urged her several times, please come in."

Chunying made friends with her, so she helped to persuade her: "Old lady, madam, it's windy outside, it's not good to stand cold." yard to go.

The old lady's room in the Hou Mansion was very lively.Fan Xiru, the third young lady who has just entered the house, is chatting and laughing with the old lady, coaxing the old man to burst into joy.When Chunying and his party entered the courtyard, they heard laughter coming from the main room. It was only after entering the door and meeting the ceremony that they realized that except for Fan Xiru, the other juniors were not in the house, only two respectable nuns, plus The four big girls are just accompanying the old lady.

Suppressing her doubts, Chunying waited for the second old lady to take off her earmuffs, muff and big cloak, then helped her to sit down, then brought her freshly poured hot tea from agate, held her in her hands to keep warm, and then pulled her for a while. Standing behind the second old lady, Jin Yu began to look at Fan Xiru calmly.

Fan Xiru has changed her young wife's attire, because she is a new daughter-in-law. She is wearing a red gold silk jacket with peony, lotus, chrysanthemum, and begonia patterns, and a horse-faced skirt with tooth-colored cloud patterns all over her. She wears a bun on her head. A golden flower, dotted with two small silver-red gauze flowers, she looks festive, plus the fine hair on her face is twisted, and the makeup is applied just right, which makes her face even more beautiful.It's just that Chunying watched her speak and act, and always felt that there was something different. Her delicate and well-behaved appearance had not changed, but she was more stable than before when she was not married. look.

The second old lady also noticed some changes in Fan Xiru, so she smiled and said to her sister-in-law: "Your brother and daughter-in-law haven't seen each other for half a month, but she is better than before, but I think she is more stable than before when she was not out of the cabinet." After all, it’s different to be someone’s daughter-in-law.”

Fan Xiru smiled shyly and approached the old lady in the Hou Mansion. Although she didn't say a word, her actions were telling others that she was acting like a baby.The old lady seemed to be very useful, and said with a chuckle: "That's natural, being a daughter is different from being a wife. Brothers and sisters, don't look at her loving and sympathetic look. After all, daughters from everyone are better than those from small families." I can't help being a virtuous daughter-in-law like her aunt before, and I was not blessed to keep her for a few more years. Every time I think about it, I feel sad. Now that I have such a grand-daughter-in-law, God treats me as well. Not too thin."

Although these words were a compliment to Fan Xiru, they seemed to belittle An Shi.The second old lady's heart skipped a beat when she heard this, and she turned to look at her daughter-in-law.The second wife, Zhuo Shi, asked very winkingly: "I heard that my sister-in-law is sick. I don't know what the symptoms are? Does it matter?"

The old lady frowned when she heard this: "What could be wrong with her?! It's just a mental illness! I saw her working hard as a housekeeper, so I asked her to assign some affairs to Xiru. I was sick, and I didn't come to ask for peace. Xiru went to greet her, and she still had to show her face. Fortunately, Xiru had a good temper and didn't take it to heart. She still said good things for her in front of me. Who knew she was not satisfied, The third wife of the Fan family came to visit a few days ago, and she actually scolded Xiru in front of others. It really embarrasses our Li family! The third wife of the Fan family is really self-restraining, and she still said that Xi Ruding was not good enough in front of me Alright, I just made my mother-in-law angry. I’m almost ashamed to see her! For such a daughter-in-law, it’s better to let her recuperate in peace earlier!”

The old lady suddenly made such a big call and acted very excited, everyone in the East Mansion was very surprised.Fan Xiru hastily persuaded: "Grandmother calm down, it's all the granddaughter-in-law's fault. If the granddaughter-in-law hadn't been careless and made mother angry, this kind of thing wouldn't have happened..." She wiped the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief , the eye circles were red, and tears were about to fall.

The old lady hurriedly said: "What good things can you say for her? Don't be afraid, your uncle and aunt are both from your own family, and they know each other well. How can you not know what your mother-in-law is? You are full of praise, but now you say you will change, and you have lost your temper, which is really disturbing!"

Fan Xiru shook his head, and apologized to the second old lady's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law with tears and smiles: "I made my uncle and aunt laugh, please don't blame my mother for being rude, she is really not good."

Zhuo laughed dryly: "The family doesn't need to be too polite. My sister-in-law is not in good health. We all know it. How can we blame her?" Coughed, "By the way, didn't you say we want to discuss the matter of worshiping ancestors? What's the matter? Don’t you see Master Hou and Brother You? Where are Brother Chang and his wife?”

Fan Xiru lowered his head: "Father went out to visit friends, and my husband is studying in the study outside."

The eyes of the second old lady flashed, and Zhuo, who was highly valued by her mother-in-law, said, "This is too hard work. It's almost Chinese New Year, and the court officials are all on leave. Our master met the saint the day before yesterday, and the saint rewarded him. Tell him to go home to celebrate the new year first, and arrange follow-up matters after the new year. Is Brother You busier than the officials of the court? According to me, he was pampered since he was a child, how could he suffer so much? Or tell him to rest For a few days, it’s good to take care of yourself.”

"That's what I said too." The old lady of the Hou's mansion turned her head and patted the hand of the daughter-in-law, "Even your aunt said so, so you should persuade Brother You a little more. You are still a newlywed couple, you should be closer No matter how important the scientific examination is, it will not end until next year or two, so how can there be such a hurry?"

Fan Xiru responded in a low voice, blushing, and then said embarrassedly: "Today, I invited my uncle and aunt over to discuss business matters. Our family only has my grandmother and me here, and my mother is ill again. Why don't you come here?" Invite the second elder brother and the second sister-in-law? It’s better to discuss with several people.”

The old lady of the Hou Mansion sighed: "Forget it, I don't have the time to watch them bicker. Every time they scold them, they agree, and it's still the same afterward. , but also to be secretly complained by them. Now that you have married in, with you and Brother You, they are both sensible and motivated good children, and I don’t have the heart to deal with them.”

Now even Chunying was secretly surprised.With the old lady's preference for the second young master, she would say such a thing today, is she really discouraged? !In the past few months, what happened to the Hou Mansion?Why didn't the East mansion hear any wind?
The second old lady seemed to feel that if she continued chatting like this, she would never be able to get to the point, so she cleared her throat and said, "What do sister-in-law think about the ancestor worship, you might as well tell me."

The old lady hurriedly expressed her suggestion, it was nothing more than making it more grand and upgrading the standard, firstly to report the merits of the second master to the ancestors, and then to let him meet with the clan again, after all, it has been away for many years The second is to introduce the new granddaughter-in-law to the family members of the clan.Although the branch of the Qingguohou Mansion is not the patriarch, it has always been famous in the clan. Li You is the future heir, and his wife is the future mistress of the Qingguohou Mansion. Naturally, he solemnly introduces it to the clan members. .

To reschedule the ancestor worship ceremony and the subsequent clan meeting, the old lady has already made plans for all the things that need to be added.Fan Xiru whispered reminders in her ear from time to time, and made a few suggestions, and she basically used one of them, just making up for what she hadn't thought about, and the final plan was perfect.Zhuo thought about it in secret, but he had a high opinion of Fan Xiru.

After discussing the business, the old lady of the Hou's mansion wanted to keep food, and the second old lady said: "My son is at home, we agreed to go back to eat." The former thought that their family had been separated for a long time, so he let them go.

Back on the carriage, Chunying stretched out her hand to test the temperature of the hand stove, and then asked Jin Yu to add a piece of charcoal to the stove in the car. When she turned around, she saw the second old lady looking thoughtful, so she didn't bother her, and only ordered the driver to set off. But the second old lady sighed, and Jin Yu asked, "Old lady, why are you sighing?"

The second old lady smiled and shook her head: "The daughter-in-law married by Xifu...is really amazing."

"Isn't it amazing?" Jin Yu smiled, "You are beautiful, virtuous, filial, and have the ability to be a housekeeper. When I listen to their girls talking outside, they are all praising the third young lady. If our family It would be nice to have such a young lady." Chunying glanced at her.

The second old lady smiled lightly and said nothing.

(End of this chapter)