Li Zhen was not happy these days. Her mother was ill and she had to support herself. Her aunt at home was pregnant. She could sense that the atmosphere in the family was not good.
Reluctantly, she came to talk to Lirou and vomited her bitterness, "Dad is now focused on that vixen, and he even pays less attention to me. He always says that I am not as good as Lishu. As for mother, she is obviously not feeling well, but she still has to pretend to be fine." It looks like a human being, and it makes people anxious to see it.”
Li Rou originally didn't like Li Zhen because she was often unruly, willful, mean and unreasonable, relying on the favor of her uncle and aunt to boss around. If it weren't for her low status, she wouldn't have compromised.
But after hearing what Li Zhen said, Li Rou sympathized: "Don't worry too much, adults can take care of themselves. It's better to think about it. It's July now, the weather is hot and hot, and I don't know if the old lady will bring it with her this year." Are we going to Zhuangzi?"
Sure enough, Li Zhen was overjoyed when she heard this: "I am still at home in Zhuangzi, and there are not so many restrictions. Grandma doesn't care what happens to the two of us."
But then she thought again and frowned: "No, Li Shu will definitely go with her this year. In previous years, she studied at Zeng's Girls' School, but now she doesn't study anymore, and of course she wants to curry favor with her grandmother."
Lirou shook her head: "It's not that I'm flattering, it's the right thing to serve grandma."
"Having said that, she always takes the credit from you. She doesn't want to go because of her studies. After finishing her studies, she goes there again. How come she gets all the good things in the world?" Li Zhen couldn't help complaining. .
Lirou felt uncomfortable after hearing this, but she never showed it very much. She just said: "She is willing to go, and grandma will not stop her, and there is nothing we can do."
Li Zhen stood up again, helpless. She did not want to stay under the same roof as Li Shu. They had not spoken a word in the past few days since the Zheng family came back last month.
However, she forced Liju and said, "Let me tell you, we are on the same side, so don't stand on her side."
Lirou smiled when she heard this. She knew that Lishu was actually unpopular, and none of the sisters at home liked her. This was surprising. She probably always thought highly of herself, but she didn't know that dealing with others was also a major subject.
Li Shu didn't care about whether to go to Zhuangzi or not. She heard that a roommate named Hu in her uncle's room was pregnant, and she was finally relieved, but she didn't understand.
"Why don't uncle and aunt have a child? How nice would that be?"
Little Fu smiled and said: "You little girl, you are still taking care of things in other people's rooms. Your father is only responsible for quietly finding a doctor to treat your uncle without anyone noticing. As for People can go to whichever room they want, and that's not something we can worry about."
In fact, Mrs. Fu has long seen that Mrs. Xu and Liu Chengzong are inseparable in appearance. Mrs. Xu has a strong desire for power. Although the second bedroom is in charge of the courtyard of the second bedroom, Mrs. Fu is generous and does not care. Otherwise, Mrs. Xu would not have interfered with so many people. It was impossible for Mrs. Xu to know her every move so quickly.
Maybe she always thought that Liu Chengzong couldn't give birth anyway, so she just let him do whatever he wanted. The reason why Li Zhen was so domineering in these years was also because she, as a biological mother, always wanted to dominate others.
But people's feelings don't come and go as soon as they are called upon. The Xu family does not manage it, and Liu Chengzong is not a lover. This result is really normal.
Of course, it would be best if her son didn't need to be adopted.
"Then I have done the greatest favor to my mother this time, so she should tell me the secret. Who do you think you want to find for me to be my husband?" Li Shu said coquettishly.
Little Fu's attitude was firm: "You, how can a little girl think so much? I have my own sense of discretion." She wanted to wait until the dust settled before telling her daughter, so as not to let her daughter's joy be in vain.
There was a heavy rain at night, and the green banana leaves rustled with the rain. Siyu was about to get up to move the flowers, but was stopped by Li Shu: "It rained so heavily. Even though it is summer, you will have a headache if you get caught in the rain." .”
"But those flowers..."
"Is it more important, people or flowers? It's still thundering outside, don't go out. Just raise a few more pots in the future." Li Shu said to her.
There was lightning and thunder outside, and Siyu was very moved when she saw Lishu insisting on not letting her go out, but she felt pity for those pots of flowers.
Tingxue also yawned: "Little Hoof, Miss Bodhisattva is considerate of you. Don't go out. Go to sleep first. When the rain stops, I will go out with you."
"Okay." Siyu also knew that the girl was really kind.
Not to mention that the two of them bought it from outside, even Sister Shui Zhi and Shui Yun from the old lady's place took it for themselves, all because the girl treated them so well.
The two of them were keeping vigil together today, and when they saw the girl falling asleep, they were both worried about her.
"I think that although the fourth girl seems to be neutral, she is vaguely biased towards the fifth girl. When the time comes to go to the village with the old lady, they will definitely be suppressed by their cliques. It is really annoying." Siyu thought that everyone was worried. Can't sleep.
Tingxue sighed: "Yes, if the girl from our second room is together, she will always be considerate. She likes to open fire and fight, and she is stubborn and difficult to get along with."
Siyu snorted coldly: "I just like to show off. Before, I really thought she was the king of the family because of my eldest wife. Now I heard that my eldest wife is not very healthy. Let's see if she can bully others. I think about it now. I was so angry that I went to Mrs. Zheng's house last month. Our girl saw that the incense in Mrs. Zheng's house smelled very good, so she asked for advice. Mrs. Zheng said that it was given by someone else, so our girl said nothing. She was better, wait for Mrs. Zheng As soon as the front foot entered, he ridiculed our girl and said that our girl was ignorant when she climbed up the pole. He also secretly arranged for our wife to say that she was not a concubine or a concubine. Be careful that the high branches are difficult to climb and she would fall. Fortunately, we were in other people's homes, and our wives could bear it. , the girl also knew that there was no quarrel."
"She also got her comeuppance. I heard that Aunt Hu, the people in the eldest house called her a vixen. The eldest lady didn't like her very much, but it happened that she was pregnant. In the past, the eldest lady seemed to be aloof, and every time the eldest lady treated us My wife is not a sister-in-law at all. Last time she secretly said that our two wives were having trouble, and now she deserves it." Tingxue, who usually didn't talk about right and wrong, felt relieved.
Siyu also smiled and said, "That's right. If she had a brother who was Aunt Hu's son, would she still want to bully him?"
"The fun will be great in the future, but Aunt Hu is not a fuel-efficient lamp." Tingxue said slowly.
The conversation between the two gradually became quieter, and it was unknown when the rain stopped.
After a dreamless night, Li Shu stretched her body, washed herself, and then went to wait for Mrs. Fu. The mother and daughter went to greet Mrs. Liu together.
The first person Mrs. Liu saw was Shulin, and Shulin quickly stepped forward to say hello: "Greetings, grandma."
"Oh, my little grandson is really good. He has learned how to say hello." Mrs. Liu looked at Shulin and hugged her on her knees, looking very happy.
Mrs. Fu's eyes were sore from looking at it, but she still held on. Mrs. Xu felt that she had really fallen short. Originally, the last time she went to Zheng's house, the quarrel between her daughter and Lishu also involved Mrs. Fu, and Mrs. Fu endured it. She thought Her plan had been successful, and little Fu finally knew how to be afraid, but she didn't know that there was a fire in the backyard.
She will definitely not mention the adoption issue again. She may have another bastard. However, because of this bastard, the old lady beat her specially, fearing that she would harm others. Mrs. Xu was really in trouble. .
She instantly felt that women were really miserable.
Little Fu only thought it was funny. Yes, you resorted to various means to steal other people's children. Even when your daughter bullied other people's daughters for many years, you looked calm. There is nothing like that in the world.
After coming back to his senses, little Mrs. Fu smiled and said, "I saw this kid's sister teaching him how to salute yesterday, but I didn't expect that he would be able to do well today."
Mrs. Liu glanced at Li Shu: "It turns out that the third girl taught you. I heard your mother said that you can take care of your brother when you have nothing to do. This is good. A family should be affectionate and affectionate. That is the right way."
"Grandma said that Shu Rui is studying, so I don't have to worry about it. However, this child often wants to play with me. He wanted to play on the swing. I was so frightened that I had to look at him." Li Shu knew that in fact, too much Madam must have known how Li Zhen scolded her and Xiao Fu.
She is not like other old ladies who care about one thing but not that one. She always remains fair. Unfortunately, her beatings are of no use to Li Zhen. Li Zhen does not understand and instead feels that she is a teacher of justice.
Soon, Mrs. Liu said: "It rained heavily last night, and the sun came out again today. It's hotter than ever. It seems that I still have to go to the village this year. My wife, you have big beads of sweat in the dog days of summer. Look, It’s been a bitter summer, and everyone has lost a lot of weight. You can go with us this time.”
All kinds of eyes met at Madam Xu. Madam Xu was on pins and needles. Her mother-in-law's words were already known to everyone in Sima Zhao's heart. She followed her to Zhuangzi. When she came back, the little bitch's fetus was already very stable. .
Mrs. Xu still had to hold on: "Old lady, how can I go to Zhuangzi as the head of a family, and I have to stay at home and take care of everything!"
Mrs. Liu smiled and said: "All the girls will go this year. I am already old, so I have to look after you to take care of the village."
The mother-in-law mentioned this, so Mrs. Fu hurriedly came out and said, "Sister-in-law, just follow me. There is always a sister taking care of the house. She does things well, so don't worry."
Mrs. Fu has not taken over the family power since she was a child, and now she is pushing Mrs. Fu out in the hope that Mrs. Fu can represent the second wife to get back the rights that were previously encroached upon by Mrs. Xu. Of course, if she can't get them back, she is derelict in her duty. Don't blame the capable ones. The mediocre are gone.
But Mrs. Fu felt that Mrs. Fu had tricked her, and she felt vaguely unhappy. She naturally said: "Sister, what are you talking about? I am not as capable as my sister-in-law, so I don't dare to take the lead."
Mrs. Xu was happy when she heard Fu's words and hurriedly borrowed the donkey from Poxia: "What can I do? It's just that the old lady feels sorry for me. I know that, but I really can't get away from preparing for the Mid-Autumn Festival."
"Since my sister-in-law and sister can't leave, I'll enjoy the blessing. Let's accompany the old lady there." Little Fu said with a smile.
Mrs. Liu stopped her and said, "Shu Rui has just started his education not long ago, and Shu Lin still has to be taken care of by you. How can you go? It's a pity that my old lady has lived to this age and been despised by others."
At this time, Mrs. Xu did not dare to cause trouble, so she had to express her willingness to go with her. Only in this way did Mrs. Liu look happy.
Young Mrs. Fu looked at Mrs. Xu and saw that she was sweating profusely and her makeup was stained. She had lost her favor in front of her mother-in-law, and she had no sympathy at all. On weekdays, she used the adoption issue several times to make remarks in front of Mrs. Liu, to attack her sisters-in-law, and allowed her daughter to bully her daughter everywhere.
If she hadn't fought back, Shurui would have been adopted by her now, and she would have taken advantage of her and let her round and flatten her, causing them to be separated as mother and son.
This time, all the Liu sisters were going. Mrs. Fu said to Lijia gently: "You are the oldest among the sisters, so you have to take good care of the sisters."
In fact, it's not that Mrs. Fu is stupid, she just can't bear it, and it's hard for her sister-in-law to blame it. She has been childless for so many years, and now it's easy to have a happy marriage. She doesn't need to adopt him, but the child is from a concubine who can't deal with it, so it's better to adopt him! Therefore, she was very sympathetic, but now that Mrs. Liu had spoken, there was nothing she could do.
As both women, she couldn't see it like this, not to mention that she and Xu's sister-in-law had been on good terms for many years. Li Zhen admired Li Jia even more, and the two of them were as good as sisters.
Before leaving Beijing, boxes and cages were being packed everywhere. Little Fu came over to pack for her daughter. Seeing Shulin hugging her sister's thigh and refusing to let go, she felt funny again: "You want to go too, but you're too young, so it's better to go with her." Mom is at home, wait for your sister to come back, okay?"
"Sister, I want to be with my sister." Shulin spoke more and more clearly.
Little Fu said: "That's not possible. Wouldn't it be better for my mother to stay at home with you? Your sister is in a state of chaos herself. When the time comes to go to Zhuangzi, there will be nothing she can do."
"Mom, why don't you let Shulin accompany me?" Lishu was also a little reluctant. She had a normal relationship with her sisters, but she had a good relationship with her two younger brothers.
Little Fu waved her hand: "Stop talking nonsense, you are still a child yourself. You should also go to the village to recuperate and get more sleep. You have dark circles under your eyes at such a young age."
Li Shu nodded. What she brought most was clothes and some tooth powder and ointment. The other things were fine.
Little Mrs. Fu couldn't bear to leave her daughter, but she had more important things to do, so she had to let her go out alone, and carefully warned her: "The last time I met that prince, the rules of the people in this village are not as good as ours. You should be more careful, take more rest every day, and don’t do anything.”
Li Shu agreed.
The rest of the little Fu family didn't have much to say. They were afraid that she would be hungry on the road, so they went to cook some of Lishu's favorite dishes and had them packed in food boxes.
Mrs. Xu already had a lot to worry about because she had to go with Mrs. Liu. At this time, she still had time to say to her mother who was staying behind in charge: "Mrs. Zheng's birthday is next month. It's a pity that I can't leave my congratulations, but The gift list must be 30% thicker than before."
"Yes, but why do you want to give such a generous gift to the Zheng family?" The lady in charge was afraid that Mrs. Xu had made a mistake.
Mrs. Xu naturally had her own concerns. She originally had her eye on the fourth son of the Zeng family. The madam is a snobbery, and the second wife of the Zeng family is married to her niece Liwan, which makes it impossible.
She originally visited several families, but they were far behind the Zeng family.
Until I saw the Zheng family, what kind of family background is the Zheng family? The Zheng family in Xingyang has been a famous family for hundreds of years. That Zheng Hao, Master Zheng, seemed like a heavenly being. He had already received the hometown letter and was extremely knowledgeable. Such a person would It would be no wonder that the Fourth Young Master Zeng could be her son-in-law.
Of course, she also knew that her daughter was not outstanding in talent or appearance, but so what? Her daughter's dowry was extremely large, and she was the legitimate daughter of Liu's family. She even hired Mrs. Zheng's daughter as a lobbyist, so she only hoped that this marriage would be a sure thing.
In this way, we can avenge our past humiliation and give our daughter a bright future.
So Mrs. Xu looked at the lady in charge and said seriously: "You must do as I ask, otherwise, I will skin you."
The lady in charge is Weiwei.
Before the sun rose, Li Shu set out on the road to Zhuangzi with reluctance to leave her mother. She and Liwan Lirou stayed with the old lady, while Mrs. Xu took Lizhen and Lijia in the carriage.
Mrs. Liu saw that Lishu started to sleep as soon as she got on the carriage, so she laughed at her and said, "Third girl, what's wrong with you? I see you are usually in good spirits, why are you so sleepy now?"
"Yesterday Shurui came to see me and asked me to accompany him to play some tricks. Shulin wanted to pester me to sleep. The two little dolls pressed their legs on me. It's strange that I could sleep well. Children She has so much energy, so her granddaughter didn't sleep well." Lishu fell asleep again after saying this.
Mrs. Liu smiled and pointed at her: "You are still a child yourself."
Lirou can't get in these words. Her aunt is no worse than Mr. Fu. When it comes to being a housekeeper and dealing with people, she is even better. People forget.
Li Shu smiled and said: "Grandma, my mother said that there is a custom in our country called ten years old, right? If you pass the childhood pass, your life will be smooth."
"Well, there is indeed a saying. When your father turned ten, it was very grand and many people came!" Mrs. Liu fell into memories. She was still very young at that time.
After Li Shu finished speaking, she fell asleep again. Li Wan wiped the sweat from the tip of her nose for her: "It's so hot that you can sleep, be careful not to hit your head due to bumps."
"No." Lishu really fell asleep as soon as she said she would.
So when she came to Zhuangzi, the cool breeze hit her, and she was in great spirits. It was the first time for her to come to Zhuangzi, and she just felt comfortable and open, and there were birds singing and flowers everywhere, so while the servants were cleaning up, she asked someone to set up the piano. , play a song called "High Mountains and Flowing Waters" to express your feelings.
Mrs. Xu also heard the sound of the piano. She was serving Mrs. Liu, and felt that people like Lishu were only suitable for making beautiful ornaments, playing the piano, painting, and serving as vases. How could they make a living from these.
Only those who are true matrons know the seven things to do when opening a door: rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar and tea.
Therefore, Mrs. Xu spent most of her time in Zhuangzi secretly teaching her daughter how to settle accounts, how to manage servants, and how to read various contracts. Li Zhen wanted to go play with Li Rou, but Mrs. Xu stopped her: "Don't always get angry with the third girl. You should think about where your strengths are, so that you can go further."
Li Zhen didn't understand: "What are the strengths you mentioned?"
"Silly girl, these are my strengths. No matter how fanciful you say, as our mistress, the most important thing is to take care of the family business and social relations. This is especially important to take care of the family business, for example, it is the Mid-Autumn Festival now. , can you buy mooncakes now? Not only are they expensive, but the good ones have been sold out. What kind of gifts should I give during the Mid-Autumn Festival? Which families should I give them to? How many people in the clan are taking advantage of the festival to enjoy the autumn breeze? Are you ready? How much silver do you want to get out? These are the most serious things. Who listens to those pianos she plays?" Seeing that her daughter was older, Mrs. Xu couldn't help but say a few more words, especially about getting married to the Zheng family. Don't be careless.
Zheng Hao is the eldest son!
Seeing this, Li Zhen had no choice but to follow Mrs. Xu's example. The mother and daughter were still in charge of the Mid-Autumn Festival in Zhuangzi, and they were doing a great job.
Seeing this, everyone had different reactions. Lijia didn't express any opinions and just immersed herself in sewing. No one knew what she was thinking. Liwan and Lirou always flattered Mrs. Liu, but Lishu was free. Just sleep.
Even Mrs. Liu said: "Lishu, this lazy girl, has been sleeping for I don't know how long."
Liwan said with a smile: "Yes, I never thought that she was a lazy girl. I still remember that when she was studying, she got up very early."
Li Rou, who heard this on the sidelines, felt that Li Wan was not a good person. Now she was giving Li Shu's eye drops here, but she was the best person with Li Shu.
Now Liwan is clearly saying that Lishu is lazy and unwilling to serve her grandmother.
Lirou lowered her eyes and heard a female voice coming from outside, also smiling: "Grandma, look, I'm just a little late, and I'm being arranged by my second sister."
Liwan looked calm and said instead: "You girl, you are late and you are saying such things."
"I'm not late. I went to make sour plum soup for my grandmother early in the morning. I didn't know if grandma wanted to drink sour plum soup in the morning, so I went to make a cup of walnut and pine nut tea." Li Shu didn't seem to care at all about Li Wan's maggots. .
Even though Mrs. Liu was more sympathetic to Li Rou, she also liked the fact that Li Shu was so filial.
Li Shu was also very measured and did not inquire about anything about Li Zhen, which made Mrs. Liu look at her favorably. With the help of Mrs. Xu, Lizhen hosted a Mid-Autumn Festival banquet at Zhuangzi this time. Everyone praised Lizhen. Although Li Shu was not on good terms with Lizhen, she would not gossip about Lizhen everywhere. .
At this point, Lirou felt that the reason why Lishu was stronger than Lizhen was because she was stronger here. No matter what, she would never get angry and do something that would harm others and not benefit herself.
Of course, that's why Lirou thinks Lishu is scary.
Since this Mid-Autumn Festival banquet, Li Zhen has been praised several times by the old man and his wife. She seems to be very proud. Knowing Mrs. Xu's painstaking efforts, she has also begun to calm down and learn to manage the household affairs, which makes Mrs. Xu feel at ease.
Of course, Li Shu also received poor treatment from Li Shu, such as sending two pieces of satin with the ugliest colors. Shuizhi's face turned dark when he saw it: "We girls are young, we can't fool people like this, what is this?" The clothes are made of blue, black or colorful bat materials, and they also have a musty smell. I don’t know where they were packed away from the bottom of the box?"
"I knew she was a dog who couldn't hide two ounces of sesame oil in her belly. I thought she had really grown, but I didn't expect her technique to be so crude." Lishu was speechless. Isn't this a joke?
Fortunately, Mrs. Xu was more sensible than Lizhen, so she immediately sent someone to tell her that she had sent it to the wrong person, and specially sent two pieces of bright satin. Lishu shook her head.
Afterwards, Mrs. Xu criticized Li Zhen again: "Tell me about it, send this thing to Li Shu. Li Shu is easy to bully. If you complain to your grandmother, even I will be punished."
"She is only worthy of this. If it hadn't been for her, I would have been said to be petty last time and said that I cut her strings. They were just slandering me with red lips and white teeth." Li Zhen said plausibly.
Mrs. Xu said angrily: "Be careful, we will go back after the Double Ninth Festival. Do you remember what mother told you?"
Li Zhen nodded like a chicken pecking rice: "Remember, remember, it's Mrs. Lu, you told me."
"It's good that you know, but any good thing must be decided early. Zheng Hao is not young. If he doesn't strike first, it will be too late." Mrs. Xu thought very carefully. Her daughter is not very old. But Zheng Hao was twenty years old. If it weren't for his filial piety, he would have been married long ago.
Li Zhen has been pregnant for a long time, and her face is red because of Zheng Hao. She must bear with Li Shu for now, and she will be able to suppress her in the future.
After more than two months in Zhuangzi, the weather began to turn cold. Mrs. Xu was already eager to return. Mrs. Liu also sent a message to go back together. Mrs. Xu sat in Mrs. Liu's carriage and was very attentive all the way, but I am also a little uneasy. My right eyelid twitches when I wake up in the morning, and I don’t know what it is.
Who would have thought that as soon as the carriage arrived at the Liu Mansion, they saw Madam Zhuang, a famous matchmaker in Beijing, walking out of the door. She quickly stopped her and asked, "Madam Zhuang, who are you talking about marrying?"
Madam Zhuang smiled and said: "Of course she is the daughter of your family. Zheng Zhanshi is a good match for your family. Mr. Zheng has already received the township letter. Now he is the master of the country. The three girls of your family are both talented and beautiful. No, The horoscopes are combined. Guess what, it actually means that two birds separated for a while will eventually meet again. Although the third girl of your house will not get hairpins for several years, she and Mr. Zheng cannot marry immediately, but they are very destined. , It’s really a thread that ties a thousand-mile marriage together! There’s nothing better than this.”
Mrs. Xu was usually eloquent, but her heart was choked. She even stuttered: "This...when did this happen? Why didn't I know?"
Mrs. Liu gave her a strange look: "If I don't match my horoscope, why should I tell you?"
"But..." Mrs. Xu wanted to say, but that was her favorite son-in-law.
Mrs. Liu frowned: "Why do I have to tell you everything about my second wife?"
Mrs. Zhuang saw that Mrs. Liu was behaving strangely and did not dare to stay longer. She was going to the Zheng family to seek reward. Mrs. Xu, on the other hand, stared in confusion as she was helped in. When she saw Mr. Fu coming out with a smile, he pointed at her and said, "You, you..." but it was difficult to say the following words.
Little Mrs. Fu squeezed her hand and whispered: "Sister-in-law, it's all my fault. I didn't have time to tell you. How about it? Last time you told me that Mr. Zheng is very good. I also think that he is very good." Very good, she and our Lishu are a perfect match.":,,
