"Auntie, before you saw that the Second Madam only used feminine methods, but now she can go out with the master as a guest. When Auntie is at home, doesn't she also read and draw? Why not..." Qingfeng immediately advised Aunt Ding.
Aunt Ding entered the house one year after the young Fu. When she first entered, Liu Chengxu couldn't see her in the corner of his eyes, and he only had Fu, the principal wife, in his heart. Mrs. Fu was born into a noble family. Her father was a second-ranked Jinshi and a member of the Imperial Academy. Her mother also came from a wealthy family. She gave birth to a son and a daughter right after she entered the family. She took advantage of almost all the benefits in the world.
The master is not lustful. Aunt Su was his wife who served him before they got married. She was promoted to his aunt after she gave birth to two sons in succession. Her entry was completely decided by Mr. Liu. He made the final decision. Liu Chengxu was a filial son and it was not easy to resist. , but Aunt Ding knows who Liu Chengxu is.
She originally thought that she would be like a piece of glazed tiles or a tree in the Liu family, just sitting there quietly. Because when she entered the house, her parents abandoned their old ways and found a place for her, an old girl. Her husband already had someone he loved and would definitely not fall in love with anyone else.
Who knew that after Mrs. Fu's accident, little Mrs. Fu came in. This little Mrs. Fu was indeed as beautiful and refined as a Xi Tzu. The master was not kind to her either. He always felt that she was occupying the magpie's nest. He would rather come to her place than go to Little Fu's room. Even Aunt Ding was worried about the new lady's situation.
She even thought that the little Fu family would fade away, but she didn't know that the little Fu family was really powerful and could win over the master in just three months. At first, the master came to his place to show off and pretended not to care about Mr. Fu, but later he became obsessed with her.
The young Mrs. Fu seized the power in the family and punished the unruly slaves. Later, even if she gave birth to only a daughter, the master loved her as a treasure.
It happened that she also gave birth at that time, and although the treatment of her baby Lirou was good, it was not as good as Lishu. It was not because Lishu was a legitimate child, but because the master Aiwujiwu fell in love with little Fu.
Sometimes Aunt Ding still wonders, did the master fall in love with her sister because of Mrs. Fu, and regarded little Mrs. Fu as a substitute, or did he really like little Mrs. Fu?
Soon she got the answer, Mrs. Fu was back. As soon as she came back, Mrs. Fu became dim.
Aunt Ding started to sympathize with little Fu again. She didn't expect that after several years, she would be favored again. Of course, little Mrs. Fu is indeed beautiful. If it were just because of her appearance, she would not feel threatened. But now she will draw a portrait of the thief to help the master solve the case.
You can even go out with the master and let him treat you differently.
Aunt Ding was a little flustered when she thought of this. If the master only used Xiao Fu as a substitute at the beginning, after the real master came back, Xiao Fu would take a back seat. But now that Mr. Fu is still here, why is Mr. Fu still favored?
"I have never heard that she is good at painting. Since she even described the portraits of thieves and bandits in the government office, it shows that she is very good at it." Aunt Ding wondered whether the master was doing it for his official career.
Yes, in the past when the Liu family was prominent, the master, as the second son, became a popular scholar by reciting poems and admiring the moon. Now, Mrs. Liu and the uncle of the Liu family have been implicated and have never recovered. The revitalization of the family depends on their own masters, perhaps for the sake of their future.
Qingfeng couldn't help but said: "Auntie, what do you think?"
"Wait." Aunt Ding said calmly.
Qingfeng and Mingyue looked at each other, wait, what are you waiting for?
Aunt Su was still eating the melon, and her maids Cherry and Grape brought a small box of candied fruits. Aunt Su said "tsk": "It's almost melted, you can eat it."
Cherry smiled and said, "Thank you very much, auntie."
"Thank you for what I did. I can't compare to others. I fainted and can draw again. I heard that the third girl had such a jar of candied cherries. A small jar costs five hundred dollars. It's a pity that I can't Otherwise, I can buy it." Aunt Su looked unhappy. She was unhappy because she was not as good as a little girl.
Both Cherry and Grape knew that Aunt Su had to eat only on weekdays. She was chosen as the second master's wife because she was blessed with good fortune, and she is getting even more blessed now.
Putao said with relief: "How can the second lady compare to you? If you can draw again, it's just a blind cat chasing a dead mouse. You have two sons and one daughter, and our two girls are liked by the master and his wife. Even if the little Fu is now If you are favored, it will not depend on your face in the future."
Aunt Su smiled and said nothing.
That night
Mrs. Fu had been sitting by the window. Mother Rao sighed slightly in her heart, put on a smile and came forward, still calling Fu Chunhua as she did when she was in the boudoir: "Miss, it's getting late, you'd better take a rest. "
Madam Fu concentrated for a moment and then couldn't figure it out: "Mom Rao, you said back then my mother said she wanted to go to my sister's house and remarry. Why didn't she leave?"
This sentence is irrelevant, but Rao's mother knows what it means. She said: "The second young lady has been obsessed with scorpions since she was in the boudoir. She has longed to marry into a high family, and finally married into the Liu family. She How could you retreat?"
"I used to feel sorry for her. She was also married to a matchmaker. As soon as I came back, I would never go to her place again. But I know that it is impossible for three people to exist in a relationship, so I have to be selfish. She only has one daughter, and I even want to let my Shu Zhao also support her after Li Shu gets married." Mrs. Fu smiled bitterly.
But seeing what Rao's mother wanted to say, Mrs. Fu stretched out her hand to stop her, and said: "I guess she was afraid that she would bear the reputation of Heli, so she had no choice but to stay here. Now that I think about it, she thinks I am in the way."
Rao's mother said loudly: "What kind of truth is this? It's clear that you are the original wife, and she occupies the magpie's nest. How can there be such a shameless person..."
Even Rao's mother was so angry that she shed tears. She felt that Madam was really suffering.
At this time, there happened to be a noise outside, and Yulan came in and replied: "It's the master and the second lady who are back."
Everyone knows that I am afraid that the master is going to see Little Fu today, but there is nothing they can do. The fortunes of the women in this house all depend on the favor of men.
Rao's mother was afraid that Mr. Fu would be upset, so she changed the subject: "Brother Zhao seems to be suffering from cold these days. Madam, do you want to call the doctor to come over tomorrow?"
Mrs. Fu is a very smart person. She knows that if a woman starts to count on her son, and the servants also hint that she is placing her hopes on his son, it means that her husband may have fallen in love with someone else again.
This kind of pain is difficult for ordinary women to bear, let alone Mrs. Fu.
Of course, Liu Chengxu also figured it out a lot. At first, he felt guilty towards Mrs. Fu and neglected the little Mrs. Fu, so that the little Mrs. Fu lost her will to survive and became a walking corpse.
In this case, it is better to just go with your heart.
Little Fu took off her hairpin ring under the dressing table. She thought she would be ignored when she went out to socialize today. After all, her sister usually took care of banquets for officials and ladies, but she didn't expect that although she was accompanying the last seat, everyone also treated her with respect. She is very friendly and even knows that she is good at painting and praises her as a good wife.
There were a few people who were trying to push the sweetness, but Mr. Fu didn't care about it, and he never thought about winning everyone's favor.
She was really stuck in her ways before.
With her black hair hanging down like a waterfall, Liu Chengxu hugged her from behind and couldn't help but joke: "I will rely on you in the future."
Looking at Liu Chengxu, Xiao Fu seemed to be able to imagine that he should be funny and humorous in his youth, different from the gloomy and violent man she had just married at that time.
Therefore, she also started joking: "Ms. sir, people say that eating the emperor's salary and being loyal to the emperor is a matter of loyalty to the emperor. I have helped you like this, so how can you thank me?"
Liu Chengxu knew that Mrs. Fu was a concubine and had never dared to ask for anything. But seeing her say this, he was curious: "I should thank you, but what do you want?"
"It's not curfew yet, I want to eat Jiujiang's famous Xiushui whistle." Little Fu smiled and tilted her head to look at him.
Xiushui whistle is a snack for common people in Jiujiang. It is a delicacy made from taro. It is peeled and steamed, then stirred into a paste, then added with sesame oil and kneaded into small balls. There are two kinds of fillings. The sweet filling can be white sugar, sesame powder, Orange cakes, sweet-scented osmanthus, etc. are mixed with lard or sesame oil, and the salty filling can be made with bacon or ham, garlic, shrimp and other ingredients.
It melts in your mouth and has a soft and refreshing fragrance.
Liu Chengxu glanced at her and didn't want to agree at first, but seeing her coquettish expression, he couldn't help but nod: "Okay."
…
When Lishu woke up early in the morning, she was stuffed with a "water-repairing whistle" by little Fu, and she drank a bowl of medicine. Lishu knew it was a pregnancy medicine when she smelled it, and she started drinking the medicine to prepare for pregnancy. of.
"Mom, where did this come from?" Lishu was curious.
Little Fu just smiled and said nothing.
Liu Chengxu didn't come over that night. Hearing that Fu's son Liu Shuzhao was ill, Dan Hong curled her lips and said, "The master has been here with us for a few days, and this is what the eldest lady is like."
"Yes, I heard the slave in the main room gossiping about why you didn't leave back then..." Dan Qing was also very angry.
Little Fu was stunned and shook his head. When Yunying was not married, her aunt would only talk about a small landowner in the countryside, a small landowner with no foundation. What's more, if you become a concubine, you can have a husband?
I'm sure they are the kind of people who can't express their sufferings, just like my aunt herself, who has a sweet face and a bitter heart. He also asked her aunt to act as a facade, and also gave her aunt medicine to avoid pregnancy. After taking the medicine, her waist and abdomen hurt for more than half a month, and her menstruation was like heavy bleeding, so that her aunt died the year she got married. .
She herself had suffered from her aunt, so could she abandon her daughter and let her live like this again in the future, looking at Fu's face?
"Just listen to such gossip. Maybe Shu Zhao is really sick." Mrs. Fu didn't say much. She didn't think Mrs. Fu used this method. She only had one son, and she made her son sick for no reason. , it is really unwise.
Furthermore, she also discovered the tiredness of fighting for favor in the back house. The portrait she painted found the thief and allowed many wealthy people to live and work in peace and contentment, which gave her a great sense of accomplishment.
Lishu heard that Liu Shuzhao was ill, and she went to visit him once with Mr. Fu. Lishu didn't take it seriously when she saw Mr. Fu, and thought it was just an ordinary cold.
But she understood that Liu Shuzhao died young at the age of nine in his previous life.
Compared with what happened at Fu's place, more than a month later, little Fu received the good news that she was pregnant. Liu Chengxu, who had just returned from a business trip out of town, heard about it and immediately rushed to the west courtyard. When he saw Li Shu putting her head on little Fu's belly, he quickly pulled his daughter away.
"Don't crush your mother."
He sat on the edge of the bed again and said, "But is it true?"
Little Fu nodded shyly: "It's been two months. Although the month is light, the doctor said that the diagnosis and treatment have been completed. Yes, is the painting I painted for you last time useful?"
Liu Chengxu was about to speak when he saw Yuping stumbled in: "Master, it's not good, our eldest son..."
"How is he?" Liu Chengxu stood up suddenly.
You must know that Liu Shuzhao is the eldest son he has high hopes for, and he will be dead in a few years. A few days ago, he sent someone back to ask, saying that Shuzhao was doing much better.
Yuping cried: "The doctor has agreed that I had an extra bowl of rice porridge this morning. How could I have known that at this time when the book boy pushed the door in and walked in, he had already passed away. Madam, she was hugging the young master's body. Willing to let go..."
Hearing this, Lishu looked at little Fu's belly and couldn't help but think, it was really happy and sad at the same time.
Aunt Su and Aunt Ding came out when they heard the commotion. They originally heard that Mrs. Fu was happy and wanted to come to congratulate her, but they also heard that Mrs. Fu's son had died.
The two people didn't have much contact with each other on weekdays, but they had equal status. Although Aunt Su was born as a slave, she had two sons and one daughter. Although Aunt Ding was the daughter of the county magistrate and was born as a good concubine, she only had one daughter.
Aunt Su spread her hands: "What is this?"
Aunt Ding seemed to realize something: "I'm afraid it won't be so peaceful in the future."
"Do you think the kid did this?" Aunt Su asked Aunt Ding with a smile.
Aunt Ding said coldly: "I advise my sister not to talk about unnecessary things."
Aunt Su raised her eyebrows. Isn't this obvious? After the little Fu family became favored, the big Fu family's son died, and then the little Fu family became pregnant again. The lack of protection is the result of little Fu's evil hand.
