Su Xin felt happy and frowned at the same time.
I'm happy because if she didn't really like her girl, how could the old lady have such idle thoughts? She frowned because the girl had a romantic relationship with Mr. Hou before, and Mr. Hou was such a person. After experiencing such a man, can an ordinary girl really see it? Next, does the girl really want to get married?
The question that Su Xin thought of, Su Jin also thought of. The two maids immediately looked at Sang Nianyue with sad faces and said, "Girl, what exactly are you planning? Just say something to help us understand."
Sang Nianyue still smiled lightly, "What plans can I have? Haven't I told you my plan before? I will never get married in this life, and I will live by Qing'er honestly. .When Qing'er gets married and doesn't need me anymore, I will buy a village and take you to move out."
Su Xin wanted to say, "Girl, it's already this time, stop joking." But looking at the girl's cold face and her completely indifferent expression, Su Xin also realized that the girl really planned to do this, and she was not trying to push back. The words were not meant to be a joke, that was what the girl was thinking, so she said so.
In this case, what else can Su Xin and Su Jin say?
Both of them also felt that there was nothing good about getting married, but if they grew up alone, it would look too pitiful.
Besides, if the old lady is a matchmaker, she is sure to be reliable. If you miss this time, the girl will probably not find a better candidate than this.
But the girl had no intention of doing so, and they stopped trying to persuade her. After all, they are there to accompany the girl. Even if the girl grows old and lonely, can't they still accompany her to talk and walk?
This matter was just missed.
*
Because the old lady's birthday banquet was coming soon, Sang Nianyue also carefully prepared birthday gifts for the old lady.
As for the clothes to be worn at the banquet, Sang Nianyue also had someone come to her home to make two outfits. Don’t seek to be outstanding, but seek to have no faults.
Matching jewelry? She has too many jewelry, but her jewelry is all in Jinju. When she went to Zhou's house before, she was worried that she wouldn't be able to keep the things her mother left for her, so she sealed them together with the books in the house.
Before the banquet, her jewelry could be sent to the capital together with the books. But after all these years, who knows how new those pieces of jewelry are still? Isn’t it too outdated?
The old lady wanted to find a husband for her, but she didn't want to cooperate, but she didn't want to be rude on purpose either. Therefore, when Sang Nianyue was preparing birthday gifts, she went to Zhu Cui Pavilion and bought two sets of jewelry.
The days passed in this busy way.
In the blink of an eye, it was the eve of the old lady's birthday party. On this calm day, Sang Nianyue finally received a letter from her nanny.
I opened the letter and saw that the nurse had arrived in Minzhou. She was a bit shrewd. After arriving in Minzhou, she secretly went to see Uncle Wang. She usually stayed away from people.
Because she was worried that the criminal who murdered Uncle Wang did not commit the crime on a whim, but deliberately murdered Uncle Wang, the wet nurse always kept her spirits up. Even when she went to bed at night, she would put a bottle at the door in advance to prevent any criminals from entering. But she slept so hard that she killed Uncle Wang.
This operation turned out to be very effective.
Because just a few days after she arrived in Minzhou, someone actually sneaked in one night.
The man was young and strong and wanted to stab Uncle Wang after breaking in. Fortunately, the nanny was prepared and just hit him with a rolling pin. The man might as well have been beaten up, but Uncle Wang had already lit the lamp at this time. He threw a rat weapon and quickly ran out.
Qing'er eagerly pulled her sister's sleeve and asked in a hoarse voice, "What happens after that? Did the wet nurse catch that person after that?"
"No." Sang Nuanyue was also a little disappointed. However, the nanny is such an old person. If she fights with the gangsters for a few times with real swords and guns, she may arouse the man's anger, and it is still unclear whether the nanny can save her life.
So, this situation is already very good now, after all, "the wet nurse saw the gangster's face clearly."
"really?"
"really."
The wet nurse went to complain to the officials early the next morning and described the man's appearance to the government officials. Now that the Yamen has filed a case and the murderer is being sought throughout the city, the personal safety of the nanny and Uncle Wang is temporarily guaranteed.
After hearing this, Qing'er breathed a sigh of relief and sighed, "That's fine."
"Wait slowly. The man didn't succeed this time. If he doesn't succeed, he will attack Uncle Wang next time. Next time, he won't be able to run away."
Qing'er said: "Sister, please send some more banknotes to the wet nurse, and ask the wet nurse to hire a few more people to look after her and Uncle Wang, so that the next time the bad guy comes again, he can be held down directly."
Sang Nuanyue responded dotingly: "Okay."
Qing'er felt a little embarrassed when her sister looked at her with such gentle eyes. But thinking that Uncle Wang had suffered all these crimes in vain, he was very angry. He couldn't help but said angrily, "I don't know what grudge he has with Uncle Wang. He has tried to kill Uncle Wang several times. Huh, if I catch that person, I will break his legs."
The two siblings had a conversation and then went to rest.
Tomorrow is the official day of the old lady's birthday party. Sang Nianyue embroidered a statue of Bodhisattva for the old lady. Because it was too late to start, she had been rushing to work these days. Seeing that it would be finished in just one hour, Sang Nianyue couldn't wait to get to work.
*
Soon the next day came, and the siblings packed up and went out together.
They thought they had set off early enough. When they arrived at the gate of the Hou Mansion, they saw many carriages parked on the street, and many people had already arrived.
When the siblings arrived at the gate, they were sent to the second gate by the housekeeper, and then taken to Heyan Hall by Shuangli.
The Heyan Hall is already very lively. The old lady’s natal sister-in-law, younger siblings, nieces, etc. are all here. In addition to the two concubines of the Hou Mansion who were married a long time ago, as well as the aunts from the previous generation, plus the clan members of the Hou Mansion, the whole room was packed, and it was really lively.
But when Sang Nianyue came in, the old lady asked Shen Yuyao to lead several young girls to play in a nearby pavilion.
There were too many people in the room, and Shen Yuyao didn't care to stay. She greeted Sang Nianyue and asked her to go to the pavilion to find them later, and then took the lead to lead the girls away.
Sang Nianyue bowed to the old lady, said a congratulatory speech, and sent congratulatory gifts, and the old lady hurriedly called them up. Her affection was beyond words, and she wished she could hold her hand and say a few more words.
But the second wife's family members were also at the door. In addition, there were so many people in the room that it was really not the place to talk. The old lady said: "You go and play with Yao'er first. I'm afraid I won't be able to take care of you today. Come back to me two days later. I have something to tell you."
Sang Nianyue knew clearly what the old lady was talking about, so she had to respond first. She said "Okay" and then said, "Then I will come to visit you in a few days."
The old lady laughed happily.
She took another look at what Sang Nuanyue was wearing today. What she wore was neither bright nor outstanding. The upper part is wearing a hazy purple damask Ruyi cloud pattern shirt, and the lower part is wearing a jade-colored ruqi embroidered with folded branches and flowers. The jewelry on her body is also simple, using pearls from Yishuier. At first glance, this set does not look impressive or leaky, but upon closer inspection, it is truly elegant to the extreme. Coupled with the bookish air all over this girl, she is really a very clever jade beauty.
The old lady was even more satisfied. She smiled and said with narrowed eyes, "Go and play outside quickly. Yao'er is waiting for you outside."
Sang Nuanyue took her brother out.
Later, when they reached the fork, she asked Qing'er to go to the outer courtyard. There are many female relatives in the inner courtyard, and there are still many little girls here today, ranging from three or five years old to seventeen or eight years old. At Qing'er's age, people wouldn't be offended, but a wealthy family values rules, so it doesn't hurt that Qing'er abides by etiquette.
Watching her brother go away, Sang Nianyue went to look for Shen Yuyao.
She is a widowed woman who has nothing to do with these unmarried girls. Several of Shen Yuyao's cousins-in-law were also there, but most of them came from high-ranking families and were somewhat arrogant in nature. Although they would express their closeness to Sang Nianyue by saying hello, their deep-seated arrogance could not be hidden from others.
Sang Nianyue had no intention of reaching out, and she didn't think there would be a chance to meet them in the future, so when a few people talked, she mostly listened indifferently. Only when you specifically ask yourself questions, will you reply with a few gentle words. His tone was neither flattering nor flattering, and he was well behaved and upright, which made people look at him with admiration.
Soon there was a moderate noise in the yard, and several little girls looked towards the direction of the sound. Then a little maid ran over and said something in Shen Yuyao's ear.
It was just a word, but Shen Yuyao's expression changed. She wanted to say: "How dare she come? Aren't she afraid of being embarrassed?"
But although everyone present was close relatives, there were also one or two who were relatively estranged from each other. Shen Yuyao was concerned about her own image and didn't want people to spread some unreasonable speculations, so she had to swallow back the words she was about to say.
But the scene was not big. Although the maid spoke in a low voice, there were still one or two people with sharp ears who heard the key words.
Immediately, Xu Lingwei came over and asked Shen Yuyao: "I heard Princess Changrong..."
Another cousin from my uncle's family also came over and asked Shen Yuyao: "Cousin, it's Princess Changrong who came to the house, right?"
Regardless of whether everyone heard it clearly just now, everyone now understands that the disturbance just now was caused by Princess Changrong. Princess Changrong came to the Hou Mansion to pay her birthday to the old lady!
Everyone looked at each other with interest and thinking in their eyes.
So, are you here to celebrate her birthday, or are you here to bring bad luck to the old lady?
Princess Changrong had divorced Shen Houhe. When she came to visit her at this time, the news she conveyed was... somewhat intriguing.
Immediately, a little girl timidly said, "There were rumors everywhere on the street that Princess Changrong blocked the Marquis in a deserted place when she was staying at the Xishan Palace..."
Shen Yuyao was immediately annoyed, "What's this mess? My eldest brother can just let people block it?"
"I just heard what others said."
"Those are all rumors. Do you believe the rumors?"
Shen Yuyao was extremely angry and wanted to defend her eldest brother. The eldest brother has clearly broken up with Changrong, but he still wants to go on a blind date to get a new wife. They are so gibbering and spreading all this, what girl from a good family will still dare to marry the eldest brother?
Is it worth marrying a man who has no connection with his ex-wife?
Shen Yuyao pointed at the little girl and said, "Don't dare to say this again, otherwise my mother will be annoyed if it spreads to her ears."
The little girl said with lingering fear: "I know, I really know, and I will never say anything again."
But even if the little girl didn't mention it, everyone was still itchy and unbearable.
After all, gossip is human nature, and the liveliness of Princess Changrong and Marquis Shen is indeed worth watching. But who told them to come out too early and not in time.
Everyone felt sorry.
At this time, the old lady looked very unhappy when she saw Changrong who came to wish her birthday.
But after all, after being an old lord for so many years, the old lady's expression management is still very good. The old lady soon smiled affectionately again, asking Changrong to get up quickly, and even pulled Changrong to sit down in her seat. Her face was filled with joy, but the joy was somewhat polite, and it was completely incomparable to the joy of seeing Sang Nuanyue before.
There were also several highly respected ladies in the flower hall, and their expressions were very subtle after seeing Changrong. But everyone is a person in the scene. Although I feel that Changrong is not kind in going back and forth between the two men, there are some things that can be said behind the scenes but not in front of others, otherwise they will offend people to death.
Everyone greeted Changrong politely. Princess Changrong was also modest and asked to take a seat at the end.
But she is the princess who fell in love with Yudie in the imperial court. Who dares to treat her so slowly?
Finally, the old lady's sister-in-law personally gave up her seat. Princess Changrong refused in every possible way, and then she sat down.
When the second lady brought new guests over, she was really sweating when she saw the scene in the flower hall.
The eldest brother divorced, and for some unknown reason, Zhou Baolu was sent to the family temple to repair her illness on the pretext of recovering from illness. So much so that when it came to a big scene like today, the second lady had no choice but to brave it.
Fortunately, there are still a few eloquent cousins and sisters-in-law who can help welcome the guests. Otherwise, she would have to break her legs today and talk nonsense, but she would not be able to do everything.
But even if someone helps, the second lady is still very tired. She had only had time to drink a bowl of bird's nest soup since she got up at midnight, and had eaten nothing else. Now she had no strength at all and really wanted to find an open space to lie down and rest.
Therefore, when the second lady saw Princess Changrong sitting peacefully at the old lady's position, the second lady suppressed herself so that she could not show a jealous expression.
At this time, she wanted her eldest brother to remarry Changrong. At least by then, Changrong, as the clan's wife, would be the one to take the lead in such a thing. Although she cannot escape the fate of being busy, it is better to have someone to support her and help share the burden than to have to bear everything on her own.
Although this looks very beautiful, it is also really tiring.
The second lady had a lot of ideas, but she did not dare to express them at all. She could only swallow a bitter taste and continue her work.
