All the way north from Jiujiang, there were several people who got seasick. Aunt Su and Liwan were so dizzy that they couldn't stop vomiting. Even when they got closer to the cabin, there was a sour smell that lingered for a long time.
It happened that the two aunts lived together. Aunt Ding asked people to use incense to diffuse the smell. Lirou still pinched her nose: "Auntie, why can my daughter still smell that smell? Why don't you tell the madam and let her Come and stay in another room with us."
"Why bother? Besides, where to go?" Aunt Ding didn't want to cause trouble.
Lirou was not as cowardly and mediocre as she was in school. At Aunt Ding's place, she couldn't help but say: "I remember there is still an empty room on the second floor of the second lady's house? Why can't we live there?"
Aunt Ding shook her head: "You idiot, why are you so competitive? Could it be that you didn't remember what I told you? The second lady is now the housekeeper at home. She is not as kind as the eldest lady. We can't do it. You need this or that, otherwise, your father will think that we ask for too much."
"Not at all. Daddy visited us in school the day before yesterday and praised me for doing well in my studies." Lirou always felt that her aunt was too careful.
Aunt Ding sneered: "He only praised you once or twice, but he cares so much about your third sister that he personally taught her to write."
Seeing that her aunt was angry, Li Rou quickly said: "It's all my daughter's fault. There's no need for my aunt to be angry. My daughter is not as good as my third sister."
Aunt Ding saw that her daughter's face was pale, and she breathed a sigh of relief. She couldn't help but said: "As the saying goes, deep love will hurt your life and wisdom. That third girl has an outstanding appearance and is very smart. However, beauty has always brought disasters. . As for women, they still have a gentle temperament and are good at running a household. It is true that they can live a low-key and ordinary life."
Li Rou nodded in understanding.
The closer to Beijing, the happier Lijia became. Even when Lishu came to her place, she, who was always cautious, actually got carried away.
"Sister, I got the copybook you asked for, but the boat is rocking, so my mother said you should go to Beijing before writing." Lishu sat down and said.
Lijia nodded: "Thank you for sending it over. Why don't you send a girl to deliver it?"
Lishu smiled and said, "I also want to come out for some air, otherwise I would be so suffocated in the room all day long. Yes, how are you these days, aunt?"
She and Lijia have a very special relationship. Their mothers are sisters, and they are also sisters.
"Mom is still the same these days. She always sheds tears when she thinks of my eldest brother. Fortunately, I can go back to Beijing soon. Then I can meet my grandparents and several uncles. They love me very much. I used to be away from home when I was young. My ancestors loved to see morning glories, but those morning glories were short-lived. They bloomed only when exposed to dew in the morning and withered at noon, so they put those morning glories in the ice cellar so that I could watch them all day long." Lijia said. When I mentioned this, there was a smile on my face.
Although my mother fell out of favor at home for a while, with the Fu family around, my grandfather has now been promoted from the Minister of Rites in Nanjing to the Left Minister of the Ministry of Rites in Beijing. My father's official position is not as high as my grandfather's.
As for the second lady, Lijia couldn't help but said to Lishu, "I forgot, that's your uncle too."
This is interesting. The sons of the Fu family are the same mother as the Fu family. They don't care about the little Fu family at all. Even Li Shu knew that the Fu family gave people and gifts to the Fu family, but she didn't do anything. One time it was given to Mr. Fu. This kind of differential treatment also made Mr. Fu have no feelings for the Fu family and never mentioned her maternal family.
Lishu had no feelings for the Fu family, and they had ignored her in her previous life, so she said, "I grew up outside and have never met my uncles!"
Lijia also realized that she had made a mistake and said quickly: "We can see you soon. Not to mention the uncles, you can also meet your grandparents. Sister Li Zhen from the eldest aunt's family can also work together. Just kidding."
She thought Lishu cared about her, but she didn't know that Lishu had a shallow relationship in her previous life. She smiled, said nothing, and then left.
In the second half of the day, she went to her father to teach her how to write, while her mother was sewing beside her. Occasionally, she heard her brother crying, which made her feel warm inexplicably.
"Come on, your wrists need to be strong." Liu Chengxu held Li Shu's hand and taught her slowly.
Li Shu looked back at Liu Chengxu. She remembered her father who came to her door several times to beg her for forgiveness before she returned to Wusun. Also, after her mother passed away, her father was afraid that others would say that she was the eldest daughter of a widowed woman and would be disliked by the Zheng family. I want the old lady to put her under her knees and raise her. Even when he failed to marry into the Zheng family and married her into the Yu family, he personally told her that Yu Maozhong would definitely be promoted in the future.
For a moment, Li Shu felt very complicated again.
But most of the time, she spends time with her mother and younger brother. Sometimes Mrs. Fu herself cooks a few side dishes to relieve her tiredness. Today, she made a dish of shredded radish mixed with vinegar and sprinkled with chopped peanuts. It made Liu Chengxu and Li Father and daughter Shu ate up everything.
This gave little Fu a sense of accomplishment, and Li Shu said: "Mother, my daughter will never be able to live without you from now on."
When he heard this, Mr. Fu didn't do anything. Liu Chengxu said, "I should be the one to say this. You girl, how can you steal what daddy says?"
Little Fu's face turned slightly red, but he didn't say anything else.
That's it. Li Shu felt deeply that Liu Chengxu was very concerned about little Fu's mood. He probably knew that she was a concubine and was very uncomfortable in the Fu family, so he always gave her a sense of security. But her parents were like this, Li Shu I often feel embarrassed.
She is still a six-year-old little girl now! Can you husband and wife be more shy?
Fortunately, the ship reached Tongzhou, and Li Shu finally ended this embarrassment, because after disembarking, the four sisters were in the same carriage, and even Liwan, who was seasick, seemed to have returned to normal.
It only takes half a day to ride a carriage from Tongzhou to Beijing. After entering the city, there is a bustle of people and an endless stream of hawkers. Liwan gently opened a corner of the carriage. Apart from Lijia, who was sitting still, Lishu and Lirou's little heads were also crowded there. Lishu could even smell the fragrance of the big buns.
"What kind of stuffed buns are these? It's so delicious." Lirou took a sip.
Li Shu covered her mouth and laughed: "This is anise-flavored."
Lirou was surprised: "You've never tasted anise flavor, how do you know?"
Of course, Li Shu had eaten it in her previous life, because her aunt was hosting a banquet for guests. She didn't go because her mother was ill, so her mother asked Danhong to buy buns for her to eat, especially the anise-flavored ones, which were her favorite.
But now she pointed to the banner next to the store: "Second sister, look, it says fennel buns."
Liwan and Lirou both said: "How come we haven't had this kind of food in Jiujiang?"
Lijia explained: "That's because fennel is mostly produced in the north. We are all southerners. Just like the lotus root and pork ribs soup that we often eat, people in Beijing don't drink it often."
Everyone agreed, and the four sisters were enjoying themselves now.
After bypassing this street, we soon arrived at the Liu family's house in Beijing. This house was built by my grandfather when he was an official in Beijing. It is said that there are five entrances and five exits, and there are two stone lions and tigers at the door.
They could vaguely hear the manager coming out and saying hello to Liu Chengxu excitedly.
The Liu family is a big family, but the main branch of the Liu family is not prosperous. Mrs. Liu gave birth to two sons, Liu Chengzong and Liu Chengxu, and another daughter married to the youngest son of Lu Guogong. After Lu Guogong passed away, the family was separated, and her husband My son-in-law is now an editor at the Hanlin Academy.
I heard that the reason why Mrs. Fu was able to marry into the Liu family back then was precisely because she had a good relationship with Mrs. Liu's aunt.
After Lishu and her sisters got off the carriage, they all followed little Fu through the east corner gate. From the official residence in Jiujiang to here, it was a transition from frugality to luxury. Everywhere in the Liu family is decorated with carved beams and paintings, and the servants are also dressed in silk and satin. The servants hold their breath and concentrate on it. They can only hear their footsteps as they walk along the way.
Little Mrs. Fu now looks very dignified and generous. She and Mrs. Fu walk side by side without flinching.
"The old lady arrived just a month before the second wife and the third wife went to Beijing. I had just packed it up, and it happened that you came over. Today, the aunt and the eldest lady are both here, and they are looking forward to the second master, the ladies and the young master. Miss, come back."
In the past, in Jiujiang, Mrs. Fu was called the eldest wife, and Mrs. Fu was called the second wife. Now, because they live together with the eldest son, all the titles have been changed. The eldest aunt, Mrs. Xu, is called the eldest wife, and they are the second wife and the third wife.
Li Shu thought that her mother had not given birth to a younger brother in her previous life, but there was no such thing as the third lady. Most of them only called Mrs. Fu the second lady. Life is really unpredictable.
The woman who spoke was the housekeeper of the Liu family. Her husband, Lin Ji, was the housekeeper in the house. She was also a person whom the old lady trusted very much. She was known as Mrs. Lin from the Lin Ji family, and some called her Mrs. Lin.
"Oh, when the second master and the big family come back, the house will be lively. The old lady is looking forward to your return!" Lin Ji's family said with a smile.
Young Mrs. Fu felt that these words were inappropriate, as she seemed to be hinting at something to her sister-in-law, Mrs. Xu, but she couldn't answer the question and just said: "We are also eager to have fun with the old lady."
"Yes, we all came back to honor the old lady." Mrs. Fu also seemed to realize it.
The eldest sister-in-law, Mrs. Xu, is the granddaughter of the chief minister. When she got married, the dowry was three hundred pieces, and a total of 600 women were required to carry the dowry. In order to marry Mrs. Xu, the Liu family was afraid that the dowry of Mrs. Xu's daughter would not be enough, so they built a six-story building. It is installed in a tall building with a large wall door.
The Xu family had not gotten married for several years, and only then did the Fu family come in as a suitable man. And the Fu family was indeed very lucky, and gave birth to a boy and a girl right after they entered the house.
It's just that although Mrs. Liu was happy before, she still looked forward to the eldest son giving birth to a son, and the relationship with her sister-in-law was still harmonious.
Now listening to Lin Ji's words, it seems that they don't want to see the big house.
Everyone had different thoughts, but Lishu followed the sisters to the Xishun Hall with her eyes and nose, and just in time the curtain opened, and a little maid with a bun walked out. Her face was like a clear water hibiscus, and her eyes were black and white. It was obviously a hibiscus face, but when he looked at the person, his expression was gloomy, as if cold air was flowing out.
Lishu didn't expect that she didn't even see the old lady of the Liu family and her eldest aunt, but she actually met Aunt Ying in her previous life. Most people didn't know that her son would inherit the entire Liu family in the future, including Aunt Su's two sons. Aunt Su herself was defeated in her hands.
Now Aunt Ying is still a maid who is about ten years old and holds a dog. The white dog in her arms is nestled obediently in her arms, just like her own person, and it seems to be well-behaved and sensible.
