During the Lunar New Year this year, Liu Chengxu celebrated the New Year at home, and many of his old relatives and friends came to visit. The first person to come was Aunt Ding's brother and his family. Since Mrs. Fu had just come back, Mrs. Fu was in charge of the house for the time being. She couldn't take over the housekeeping right at once, but she just wanted to teach her daughter how to understand the relationships in the family.
It is true that Mrs. Liu's daughter is good to Mrs. Liu, but the old lady will not teach her so carefully, and she will probably have her daughters to flatter her.
"The Ding family was originally the county magistrate, and the county magistrate was a civil servant. Aunt Ding's father died, and the county magistrate fell to his family because of her marriage to our Liu family. That year, your father was appointed as a magistrate in Jiujiang. Officials, the Ding family came to your father again and took money to donate to the prison. In just two years, they crossed many people. One of your father's colleagues happened to be in the Literary and Selection Department of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, so they established a relationship and let him be released as a county magistrate. This The three-year term of being sent abroad has expired, so I want to run it again." Mr. Fu quickly explained the relationship between prison donation and official staff very clearly.
Li Shu was puzzled: "Then why does dad help the Ding family run the business? To be honest, dad doesn't seem to like Aunt Ding very much."
Little Fu said: "Just because she didn't like her very much, your father tried his best to help her with money. Of course, the brother who helped her at the time also felt that he was an honest man and not someone who would bring trouble to the village, so he agreed. "
Probably this was also a way of making up for it. Lishu knew that her father was really not a very lecherous person. Aunt Su was originally the maid of his first wife, and Aunt Ding was the wife of Mr. Liu who made the decision for him. Other than that, they were two wives. He sent goods to Aunt Su's brother so that he could go south to do business and compensate his family. Although he didn't like Aunt Ding, Liu Chengxu also contributed money to her family and used his connections.
"Then will dad help Aunt Ding this time? County magistrates can usually only be those who have passed the imperial examination and become officials." Li Shu felt that it was not appropriate.
Little Fu smiled and said: "Yes, your father probably won't know it anymore, because he originally thought that the old man of the Ding family taught by words and deeds, and was also a wise man in Macheng. He didn't expect Aunt Ding..."
After that, Xiao Fu told Aunt Ding that during her pregnancy, Aunt Ding was hoarding food to prepare for a big windfall in disaster years. She thought she was doing it covertly, but was intercepted by Xiao Fu and Liu Chengxu.
"So, your father thinks that their family has no big ties, so let them take care of themselves. Your father won't help."
That's it. Li Shu nodded: "My parents did the right thing. Money is good, but the most important thing about being an official is how to serve the court and benefit the people. If there is a big disaster and the ground is full of people, it will be useless even if the officials are frugal in food and clothing." , but it can also express attitude. Even if it is done too covertly, the fire cannot be covered by paper."
Little Fu agreed: "What you said is very good. People should not be too greedy, although such people often live a good life."
"This is what I want to tell Mom. Last time Mrs. Chi asked me to bring the portrait, but I said I lost it accidentally. Mom, although you are doing it for my own good, you can't use Chi's crown." The words came out.
Little Fu laughed loudly: "Silly girl, you think I did it in private to please and be a good girl. Naturally, Chi Nuguan benefited. She asked me to paint her and her fiancé together that time, and she didn't know how to thank me after that. Just let me draw a picture of her so that she can have some relationship with Earl Chi's family. This also means that I can borrow some money from the Chi family."
Li Shu was embarrassed: "Mom, I am so self-righteous."
Little Fu shook his head: "It's nothing. If you don't rely on these, you can still live a good life."
"It's not like I'm living a good life, but I think there's no one in the world who can be more reliable than my mother. No matter how close Mrs. Chi and I are, and no matter how much I fawn over her, she won't do her best to me after all." Li Shu said.
Little Mrs. Fu was completely impressed by her daughter: "I didn't expect you to see things very clearly."
What I understand is that I have seen too many human feelings.
At that time, Aunt Ding was talking to her sister-in-law. Mrs. Ding had been an official's wife for three years, but things were different after all. The golden lilacs on her ears were replaced by pearl earrings.
Mrs. Ding expressed her grievances for Aunt Ding: "That little concubine has been hugging you adults and never stepped through your door. Is she the one who instigated it? Look at your room. It's such a cold day." , just use this kind of charcoal, I will ask your brother to send you a cart of good charcoal tomorrow. Your brother is working hard now, and the boss really praises him. If he goes one step further, Sister Rou has nothing to fear."
When she found out that Aunt Ding had never slept with a man for a night in these years, she felt cruel and nervous.
Aunt Ding said: "Well, I can rest assured that my brother can serve as an official well. As for myself, it's nothing more than this." Men like those who are flattering and flattering, and she can't do it. Come out, that would be detrimental to her dignity, only people with no bottom line would do that.
Mrs. Ding said again: "Sister-in-law, you are too honest. I heard that a few years ago your wife gave up after raising such a big son. She was pregnant. Isn't there anything fishy in this? Maybe it was her fault. poison."
Of course Aunt Ding had doubts about this kind of thing, but she was just an aunt, and she couldn't open Liu Shuzhao's coffin to see the body. But now there is no proof of death, and no one knows.
"But now that the master loves her, there's nothing I can do about it." In fact, in Aunt Ding's heart, she felt that she was the same as Mr. Fu, but she was unlucky.
If she had married a year later, maybe she would be the first wife now.
Nowadays, the status of the little Fu family is different. Maybe in Beijing, they are still worried about the Fu family. Whatever the second wife is doing is currently under the control of the Fu family. But the greed of the little Fu family will definitely be captured again.
The aunt and sister-in-law were talking, and it was said outside that Lirou was coming.
Mrs. Ding saw several servants around Lirou, cheering and hugging her. She also saw that she was extremely beautiful. She was so happy that she pulled out all the hairpins on her head and said: "My sister is really beautiful, like a fairy." Yes, I’m sorry for my aunt’s blindness, but I have never seen such a beautiful girl.”
Li Rou also liked Aunt Ding's family very much. The concubines like them were treated coldly when they went to their real uncle's family, Fu's family. She could feel the enthusiasm of Aunt Ding's treatment of her.
"Aunt." Lirou was very happy.
The Ding family has never been very rich, but now Aunt Ding has spent all her money to give her two sets of golden headdresses, and then said in a panic: "We have nothing to give to my sister."
In the past few years, Mrs. Liu has been with Mrs. Liu, and Li Rou has a lot of private property. Originally, every month or two, Mrs. Liu would supplement some privately. In addition, there were clothes for the four seasons and eight festivals, and rewards from various places. She saved them and built a private house. It was quite rich, and unlike Lishu who spent all the money to buy books or expensive paper, it was said that not only did she use up her personal money, but she also used up all the money given to her by the young Fu family.
So, Li Rou instead took out a wooden box with a pair of butterflies and two golden hairpins inside. She smiled and said, "My aunt has been very good to me. This is my gift to my cousin."
Aunt Ding praised Lirou again and again, and Aunt Ding and Lirou had a lot of private conversations with her.
After she left, Li Rou smiled and said, "Auntie said that uncle got excellent marks in his exams. Is it possible to fill a gap?"
Aunt Ding nodded: "The officialdom is not just about ability, the most important thing is connections. If there is no one above, no matter how good you are, you won't be able to do it."
Lirou thought that her aunt had always been law-abiding, and her aunt's family was still an official family. If her grandfather had not died early, the family business was in decline, and the position of county magistrate almost fell to someone else, she would not have married her. My aunt once said that although her father did not dote on her, he was a kind and caring person who took great care of the people around him.
Of course, the reality is the opposite. Not only did the Ding family not hold any official positions, but when they returned to their hometown, their former position as county magistrate was also replaced by others.
This is another story, but it is said that when Mrs. Ding came out of Aunt Ding's place, she happened to meet a girl. Her bun was as black as lacquer, her appearance was as bright as spring flowers, and as bright as the autumn moon. Her temperament was extremely unique, and her smile was like a Luo Shen. Come into the world.
Aunt Ding was shocked by the beauty of this little girl and couldn't help but ask Mingyue: "Who is this? Why is she so beautiful?"
Mingyue said: "This is our third girl."
"Oh, it turns out it's her." Mrs. Ding understood immediately that she was the daughter of Mr. Fu. She was really good-looking. Her sister-in-law was considered to be very good-looking and outstanding in Shilibaxiang. In this house, There are deficiencies again.
After Liu Chengxu took office, little Mrs. Fu went back to her parents' home alone. Although she seemed indifferent, she came back in less than half a day. This was completely different from the fact that Mrs. Fu could stay in the Fu family for a month, and the Fu family tried their best to keep guests.
Li Shu thought that if it weren't for filial piety, she might not even go back.
The more this kind of embarrassment and contempt, the stronger Little Fu becomes. Of course, Lishu is aware of this situation, but she knows very well that her mother does not want others to see the ridiculed side of her, so she never takes her and her brother with her. Let's go back.
But people are not like grass and trees, so how can they be ruthless? No matter how others ridicule her, no matter how strong she appears on the outside, she will still feel frustrated and depressed. This is probably also the difference between Little Fu and Li Shu. Little Fu is still a little weak at heart and can easily get melancholy, but Li Shu is the kind of person who cannot be liked by just one person, but she can make up for it by making a hundred people like me.
"Mom, is Aunt Zhu going home?" Li Shu only had to interrupt her with other things.
When Mrs. Fu saw her daughter coming over to ask, she quickly said: "Yes, she has been with you for three years, and she has taught you very well. It just so happens that when this time is over, she can go home and take care of herself."
"Every banquet in the world must come to an end, my daughter understands." Li Shu said.
Then Li Shu said: "Mother, the second sister has already exchanged tokens. This time the Zeng family will treat our family as their in-laws, so why don't the eldest sister's marriage be settled as soon as possible?"
Little Fu didn't know this because she was not at home: "Maybe your aunt hasn't found a suitable candidate. If it weren't for the Zeng family, I wouldn't recommend proposing marriage so early. There have been too many changes."
Lishu suddenly raised her head and looked at Mr. Fu. She knew that her mother felt that there would be many changes in getting engaged early, which fully demonstrated that the marriage between her and Zheng Hao was definitely arranged by Mr. Fu.
So, Li Shu said: "Mom, no, I guess you are going to marry your eldest sister to your cousin Minglun? Although they haven't heard of it, I think it's somewhat true."
"What? Minglun wants to marry Lijia? No wonder my second sister-in-law was very angry with me when I went back. I thought it was because of other things." Little Fu will not go back to the Fu family if she can, and she is usually too lazy to do so. inquire about.
Li Shu nodded: "Although it's not completely like this, it's still somewhat true. Every time cousin Minglun sends aunt and eldest sister back, the eldest sister sees that cousin Fu is different from others. But why not get married? ? My eldest sister is already thirteen years old, so she is not young."
Little Fu didn't know what she was thinking of, and muttered: "So you all know about her affairs. On the surface, you make decisions for her, but in fact, you despise her like a pair of shoes. You people are much worse than me."
Li Shu was confused when she heard this.
…
This year, as Liu Chengxu came back to take office, the Liu family was reunited, and Mrs. Liu even resumed his role. Although he was not as powerful as before, he returned to his official career. The Liu family was very happy.
In addition to Aunt Su's desolate situation here, Li Wan also wanted to persuade her: "Don't worry about this. Ask your aunt to ask a famous doctor to take care of your uncle, or go back to your hometown to recuperate. In the future, the second brother will be adopted, and the third brother will have to be valued by his father, no matter it is Whoever is promising, it is not easy to help my uncle, why do you need to act like this now, don't worry, daddy won't like it."
Aunt Su was extremely angry and scolded Liusu angrily: "Little bitch, little whore, if she hadn't been a waste, how could such a thing have happened?"
From Aunt Su's point of view, Liusu, a little girl, was not very polite to her because of her beauty, and she used Fu to act as a swindler. Maybe she did this on purpose after seeing the master come back. The same goes for the master. If his elbow is broken, he still has to fold it inward. Fortunately for him, he actually sent his brother to Shuntian Mansion and played a hundred and seventy boards.
But she was just an aunt, so she couldn't send anyone out at this moment.
When Liwan saw Aunt Su talking dirty words, she hid out. After a while, Aunt Su heard something else: Liusu was actually Putao's biological sister.
Tassel is here for revenge!
Back then, my younger brother came here and lived in the village. I saw that Grape was quite pretty, and Grape was not a good thing either. She often flirted with him, but that girl was really bad. She just wanted to hang her brother up, and she took a lot of things. , but he pretended to be innocent, and later...
It was her younger brother who drank some wine and had sex with her, and she even pretended to be a chaste saint.
She swore that she didn't want to do anything to her. It was because she wanted to tell the master that she had murderous intentions.
No, she couldn't let Liusu say that anymore. Her brother had been maimed, and she had to get rid of this harmful man. Otherwise, with Liusu's temperament, she might be the one to deal with him next.
Aunt Su never paid attention to a girl, not even the Fu family. If she didn't deal with Liusu as soon as possible, it would definitely affect her son's future.
This has to happen quickly.
Thinking of this, Aunt Su also spent a lot of effort. She went to Mrs. Fu in person to admit her mistake. She spoke sincerely and said to Liusu: "Miss Liusu, this is all my brother's fault. I apologize to you. I really don't." Knowing this, it would be a shame for this beast to die."
Liusu turned her head and said nothing, because she knew very well that it was not Su Daquan who killed her sister, but his sister Aunt Su.
Aunt Su had long known what her brother was like, but now he was just showing off. When Mrs. Fu saw Liusu being silent and knowing that Liusu was frightened, she said to Aunt Su: "You should go back first. Your brother has also learned a lesson. Let him be a good person in the future."
Aunt Su replied calmly and left a lot of gifts. Mrs. Fu sighed slightly when she saw this.
"I know you are not convinced, but the master has sent you to Shuntian Mansion for your matter. He almost wanted to beat him to death. Let's end the matter here. You must be spared and spared. I will let you go back and rest in these few days. , come back and serve me in a few days." Mrs. Fu said.
Tassel should be.
Mrs. Fu thought the matter was over and breathed a sigh of relief, but she didn't expect that it would be a storm after that.
There was another heavy snowfall the day before, and Li Shu was doing needlework with little Fu. She drank a cup of hot tea and warmed her hands for a while before continuing. Shurui took Shulin to play in Lishu's room. Lishu had a lot of gadgets, pastries and tea, and the earth dragon was burning brightly in the whole room.
"Mom, do you think the locking here is good?" Lishu showed her mother the needle and thread.
Little Mrs. Fu glanced at it and couldn't help but nod: "You learn from Mother Hu. Back then, she could embroider a floral skirt in one night. Your stitches on the seams are very dense now."
Lishu looked at her mother's needlework and the colors were very good. She said with envy: "No matter what, I can't be like you. Mother, why am I not very skillful and talented in painting?"
Little Fu thought for a moment: "I don't know either. For example, if I see something, I know how to draw it without having to learn it. When I was a child, I would just observe bugs and other things when I had nothing to do. I would draw it easily."
It means that this is a talent, and you can’t envy it.
"Mother, my daughter is so envious of you." Li Shu said coquettishly.
Little Mrs. Fu was embarrassed by what her daughter said. She blushed and said, "Hurry up and do your needlework. You will know how to play when you see the sky."
Although mother and daughter sewed together, they often said they had forgotten about each other when talking. Shurui and her sister didn't get along much, and Lishu would talk and play with him. It's probably because Mr. Fu's teachings were very strict. The two younger brothers didn't make any noise at all, and even if they fought occasionally, they wouldn't scream or cry.
After all, she is here with the old lady. It would be bad if she disturbed the old lady.
I don't know why Li Shu likes her mother very much. She is shy, gentle and very talented. She can talk to her about anything and she doesn't put on the airs of her elders at all.
After another half hour of sewing, Lishu played with Shulin with the Nine Links. Compared with her mother who was born to draw, Lishu was very good at playing these games. She could quickly open the Nine Links Luban Lock and even the Nine Palaces Technique. .
Shulin clapped his hands: "Sister, sister, one more, one more."
"Okay, sister, what is this?" Shurui found a small box nearby. There was a strange thing in the box. He picked it up and looked at it. Inside, there were flowers that were constantly changing. It was very magical.
Li Shu said indifferently: "There was a strong wind that time and a piece of glass broke in my grandmother's house. I picked up a few pieces and made them for myself. Do you like them? If you like them, take them."
Shurui showed it to little Fu again. Little Fu liked it even more than Shurui because she saw the flowers inside were constantly changing and very gorgeous. She was mesmerized by it, and she concealed her inner shock and asked Lishu: " Did you really do this?"
Li Shu nodded: "Yes, I just do it casually when I have nothing to do. Is it very rough? I just take a look at it sometimes because it's fun."
Little Fu shook his head: "No, you are too powerful."
This time it was Li Shu's turn to feel embarrassed.
Little Mrs. Fu wanted it very much, but she couldn't steal her son's stuff, so she had to ask: "When will the next strong wind blow? It's been snowing heavily these past few days, but the wind has stopped blowing?"
Li Shu laughed loudly when she heard this: "Mother, I will just make you a potpourri. I picked up a lot of those glasses last time and put them in the cabinet."
"I didn't say anything." Mrs. Fu turned her face away. She was embarrassed to say that she wanted something made by her daughter.
Everyone was laughing and joking inside. Lishu once again heard that Danhong came in and said that Mrs. Ding was here. This time Lishu was a little confused and said: "Even though she is the county magistrate's wife, Aunt Ding is just an aunt after all. Can she come to the house so often?" ? The Ding family has a close friendship with our Liu family, so it wouldn’t be bad if we didn’t meet, but if we did, it would be inappropriate after all.”
You must know that the Liu family still attaches great importance to rules. Even though Aunt Ying was so favored in her previous life, she did not set things right.
Not to mention that Aunt Ding can't meet her family often, even Mrs. Fu and Mrs. Fu can't go back frequently. Every time Fu takes Li Jia back, she always goes back with Mrs. Fu having a headache. At most, Li Jia stays. After spending some time at her maternal grandfather's house, Mrs. Fu still had to stay in the Liu family.
Mr. Fu smiled again and said, "You don't have to worry about it."
Mrs. Ding came to the door this time, her attitude was very different from last time. She said to Aunt Ding: "Sister-in-law, what on earth did you tell your uncle? Your brother came to your master, but he said that donating prison and becoming a county magistrate is already a good thing. , and said that although we are in-laws, we cannot regard the officials of the imperial court as our own. Your brother is an honest man, so he dare not say anything more. Sister, you can ask your uncle, we can do it without being county magistrates, but if you return When you get to Macheng, let your brother be the county magistrate. Isn't that just an official? Isn't it a piece of cake for the Liu family? "
Aunt Ding shook her head: "Sister-in-law, didn't you say that my brother is all excellent in exams, so why can't he wait for the official appointment?"
Mrs. Ding originally thought that this matter was a sure thing, and she had already run out of money. She said, "If we keep waiting like this, how can we have any money?"
"But I don't want to beg the master for this matter. This is not good." Aunt Ding said so, and she gave some of the money in her hand to her parents' family.
Mrs. Ding saw less than twenty taels of silver, so she didn't ask for it: "Sister, it's better to keep it for yourself. At any rate, go and beg your master. Your niece's marriage was only concluded because your brother became an official. It's a good marriage. If we don't have an official position now, this marriage will not be possible. And you, when you entered the Liu family, your father collected a dowry for you, and even gave you my dowry. You said you didn't want to We don’t blame you for fighting for favor, but you can’t let our Ding family lose their way of living? When you return to Macheng, are you going to let us be ordinary people? ? "
…
Finally, Aunt Ding was ready to see Liu Chengxu. When she came in, Liu Chengxu was looking at the kaleidoscope made by Li Shu with little Fu. Liu Chengxu's hand casually rested on little Fu's shoulder. Aunt Ding had never seen them getting along in private before, and now she felt a lump in her throat.
When Mr. Fu saw her coming, he stopped talking and left first.
As soon as she left, Liu Chengxu seemed to know what she was going to say: "I was responsible for your brother's prison donation. Later, there happened to be someone I knew in the civil service department. If there is someone who can fill the vacancy, it would be good to let him fill it, but as for him I can’t predict how your official career will turn out in the future.”
In fact, it's like Liu Chengxu once gave Su Daquan money to do business. He only gave him the capital, introduced one or two projects, and then he ran it on his own.
It's okay to help, but it's definitely not a transaction of money and power, not to mention that his brother has mediocre talents and always aims high, so that's not okay.
Aunt Ding said considerately: "My brother has no ambitions, and I don't understand the outside world. It's just that my nephew has a relationship. If my brother doesn't have this official position..."
"Then don't always want what you can't get. I can't help officials protect each other. Your brother has served for one term, but without me, you can't be an official at all? Even if you are an official, you still need help from our Liu family. This is not being a relative. The long-term way. Don't say that we are not serious in-laws, even if we are serious, I will not help like this often." Liu Chengxu shook his head.
At present, people value hometown friendship, in-laws and even family members, but Liu Chengxu can help normally if he can, but if it exceeds the limit, he will flatly refuse.
After hitting a wall with Liu Chengxu, Mrs. Ding came again a few days later. She pointed at Aunt Ding’s nose and scolded: “Because of you, your niece’s engagement was annulled, and your brother, the county magistrate, is gone. The county magistrate, your man. They didn’t even agree. After your niece was annulled, she couldn’t think of anything and committed suicide..."
When Aunt Ding was at home, she took care of her niece for a few years, and they had a very good relationship.
I didn't expect that people would disappear.
Mrs. Ding pointed at her nose and scolded: "You are noble, you pretend to be a good person, you always abide by your duty, but look at what fate you will get, we will never beg you again, we will support your niece right now His coffin returns home."
Liu Chengxu explained this matter to Mrs. Liu in private: "Qiu Jun was pregnant, and she recommended Na Ding to be the housekeeper, but she didn't expect that she actually hoarded it. All she talked about was profit, and she actually wanted to make such a windfall. . It was only after Qiujun opened the grain cabin, took out the belongings, and saved many people as jewelry for her dowry that the matter was settled. She is so bold and reckless, how can I still promote her brother? This is it now, when the time comes When working under me, I don’t know how to accomplish big things. So, my son didn’t think too much about it.”
Mrs. Liu was also a daughter of an official, so she understood what was going on. She said, "This is wrong. Her niece's death has nothing to do with us. If it weren't for our family, how could her brother have been the county magistrate for so many years? How dare he blame us?" You can’t.”
"It's not that it's just that Mr. Qiu is too kind-hearted, so he asked me to comfort Aunt Ding." Liu Chengxu said.
Mrs. Liu waved her hand: "Women are always kind-hearted, but this is not a trivial matter. There is no need to mention it in the future. I don't know why recently, the families of these aunts have been in trouble. You don't have to worry about it in the future. It's just an aunt. Come to our house." I’m still wronged, I’m either asking for money or an official every day, it’s just that you’re too kind.”
Liu Chengxu was silent.
However, all this was heard clearly by Lirou who was standing outside. She didn't understand Sun Tzu's Art of War, but she knew what it meant to play hard to get. There seems to be no hand of Xiao Fu here, but her methods are everywhere. She deliberately let her mother take care of the house, and then said that the family's income was too little, so her mother naturally found business opportunities in order to make a career.
She asked her mother at first, and she said that she was not the only one who did this, but there was also a wife from Zhizhou who did this and made a lot of money. She didn't want the money and others wanted it, and Mrs. Zhizhou sold it a hundred times more. , she only sold it for fifty times, which is already very considerate of the people.
However, he was reported by Mr. Fu in advance, which caused his uncle to lose his official position and his cousin to commit suicide...:,,
