Chapter 752: Guarding and Waiting (Part 2)

  Back at Bao Da Fang's Gong Xian Hutong, the lanterns had just started to light up.

  Old Lady Gu supported Old Madam down from the carriage and whispered: "Mother, Second Master and Second Mistress have arrived!"

  The lady looked slightly stunned: "Haven't you left yet?"

  "No!" said Big Granny in a low voice, "Fourth Granny has also come along..."

  "Madam raised an eyebrow: 'What is she doing here?'"

  The sound of hearty laughter was already coming from the main house.

  Eleventh Sister was about to get off the bus, her foot on the step, when she heard that laughter and paused for a moment.

  It's Second Master's laughter...

  The curfew in Yanjing has just started, and it's already the hour of You. I don't know how far Huanghua Lane is from here, can I make it back within half an hour...

  She thought for a moment, and the laughter grew louder. The second master's voice was clear: "...Brother, I'll come to invite you tomorrow at Chen Zheng."

  "The old master's voice was warm and elegant: 'Then I'll wait for you, let's have breakfast together before we go.'"

  As soon as the words fell, the figures of Da Lao Ye and Er Lao Ye appeared in front of the Chuihua Gate, one inside and one outside, and they bumped into each other.

  "Welcome back!" The old master smiled and greeted the old lady, while the second master bowed and shouted "Sister-in-law".

  The madam curtsied to the two of them and respectfully called out "Master" to one, then "Second Uncle" to the other.

  Two people walked out behind them, a woman in her forties. Her face was pale and long, wearing a fragrant colored hundred butterfly flower embroidered silk jacket, with jade and red gold Guanyin pendant, large Western pearl flowers, surrounded by a circle of green plum blossom fine threads, under the light of the red lantern hanging on the door, shining brightly.

  "Eldest Sister-in-law." She smiled all over her face as she curtsied to the madam, "I knew you were coming, so I specially brought a few children over to pay their respects. Who would have thought that you went to the Yongping Duke's estate...and waited until now. Fortunately, I was able to wait for you."

  She is Mrs Yu, the second wife.

  "Sorry to keep you waiting." The elderly lady bowed to the second lady, and a young woman emerged from behind the second lady, calling out "Auntie".

  The woman in her early twenties had a tall and slender figure, with fair skin and soft features that made her look very comfortable.

  "Fourth daughter!" The madam smiled and greeted the woman, "I didn't expect you to come too!"

  "I was originally going back to see my mother, and only then did I know you had arrived in Yanjing. So I followed the servant to come and pay my respects to you." Fourth Sister smiled like a spring breeze, "I heard you went to Yongping Hou's residence. Is Big Sister doing well?"

  The big wife smiled and nodded: "It's okay! Thanks for remembering."

  "That's good." Fourth Daughter let out a sigh of relief, "I heard that her illness is not light, and I'm sitting in confinement after childbirth, it's inconvenient for me to go. I've been worried about it all along!"

  Seven years ago, Third Madame arranged for Four Miss to be married off to Yu Naike's eldest son, Yu Yiqing. Who knew that she would be widowed within two years of marriage? After Yu Naike passed away, she returned to Fuyang with her mother-in-law. The Yu family was originally a poor household, and it wasn't until Yu Naike became a jinshi that they slowly began to accumulate some property - about 400-500 mu of water produce, one house in the city and another outside, plus many brothers and sisters of Yu Yiqing's, making life quite tight. Second Madame pitied her daughter and every year would set aside 500 taels of silver from her own share to be sent to Fuyang.

  Yu Yiqing was quite good at studying and passed the imperial examination to become a juren in the 49th year of Jianwu. The next year, when the new emperor ascended to the throne and granted amnesty, he hastily took part in the examination but failed. The second wife then used the excuse that "there are no good scholars in Fuyang" to bring her daughter and son-in-law to Yanjing, and through Old Master Yu's connections, they entered the Imperial Academy to study. They also helped rent a house near Laojuntang Hutong.

  Or with the care of their mother, the fourth daughter who had been quiet for a long time gave birth to two sons - the youngest was born last month.

  "How is your child growing?" The lady smiled and chatted with her, "I had someone send you some donkey hide gel from Shandong a few days ago. Did you receive it? Can you get used to eating it? That thing is the best for nourishing blood and energy."

  "Received!" Fourth Daughter hastily thanked Madam, "Thank you, Auntie, for your concern."

  The Fifth Daughter and the Eleventh Daughter took this opportunity to go forward and pay their respects to the Second Lady and the Fourth Daughter.

  Fourth Daughter returned the courtesy, Third Granny Ding led Seventh Daughter out to pay respects to Eldest Lady, Fifth Daughter and Eleventh Daughter, amidst lively chatter.

  The old master just smiled and said: "Standing here doesn't look good. Why don't we go back inside and have a cup of tea?"

  The second lady had several ideas, but the second master said: "It's getting late, tomorrow I and you still have to go to the Liu family. There is plenty of time in the future."

  The old master then did not stay with the guest, only instructing: "Be careful on the road." He also called Luo Zhenxing, who had been standing by with his hands hanging down, to help see off the guest. He and Madame stood at the flower-hung gate waiting for the second house's carriage to gallop out before returning to the main house.

  "Are you going to the Liu's old house tomorrow? Why didn't you tell me, I also need to prepare. What are you doing at the Liu's?"

  The third master of the Luo family married the youngest daughter of Liu Ge, and after the old master of the Luo family retired, Liu Ge took care of the three brothers of the Luo family. The three brothers of the Luo family also showed great respect to Liu Ge, except for the Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, and Spring Festival, from Liu Ge's birthday to the young master of the Liu family taking a concubine, the Luo family would send someone to congratulate them.

  "It was a sudden decision." The old master furrowed his brow, looking somewhat annoyed. "Lyū Gé Lǎo had a dispute with Chén Gé Lǎo over the tea tax and, in a fit of anger, submitted his resignation. Who knew that the Emperor would actually approve it..."

  "What?" The old lady was shocked and lost her color, "How could this be?"

  "The day after tomorrow, I'll leave Beijing." The old master's expression turned gloomy. "We'd better listen to Lao San - Lao Er heard you came and was planning to invite Lao San over for a gathering at home, but who knew something like this would happen? Lao San and his wife rushed to the Liu family!"

  The old lady waved her hand impatiently at the fifth and eleventh daughters-in-law: "You two have also had a tiring day, go down and rest!"

  The Fifth Daughter and the Eleventh Daughter quickly knelt down to respond with a "yes", when they stood up, the old master and mistress had already entered the main house, but their voices could still be faintly heard.

  "How is your mother?"

  "It's okay." The madam's voice was tight, "Exactly, I have something to say to you..."

  The sound gradually faded away, and the courtyard returned to its quiet state.

  The Fifth Daughter and the Eleventh Daughter returned to the back house, one in front of the other.

  The next day, early in the morning, Old Master One invited Old Master Two to have breakfast together, and then they went to the Liu's house.

  The Fifth Daughter and the Eleventh Daughter went to pay their respects to Madame, but Madame was somewhat distracted. Even the arrival of Brother Rong could not bring a genuine smile to her face, and instead she had the wet nurse take him away, leaving only Madame alone to talk.

  The two of them went out the door, and Wu Niang smiled warmly at Shi Yi Niang: "Come to think of it, we sisters haven't sat together for a long time. Since we're free today, little sister come to my place to have some tea!" Her demeanor was a departure from her usual coldness and disdain.

  The eleventh girl was slightly surprised.

  As long as Wu Niang did not achieve her goal for a day, she would not be able to make peace with herself for that day.

  Such warmth and kindness, I'm afraid it must be intentional!

  No matter what her purpose is, if she doesn't pay attention to herself, Wu Niang might think that she wants to declare war on her.

  Eleventh Sister thought for a moment, smiling lightly: "Alright! It's been a long time since we've sat together and had tea!"

  The fifth daughter smiled slightly and looked very satisfied with the eleventh daughter, then took her to her own residence.

  It's clear that the old lady put a lot of thought into arranging for them. The east and west wing rooms not only had identical furnishings, but even small things like tea cups and chair cushions were exactly the same, with no distinction between them.

  The two sat down on the kang by the window, Ziwei poured tea, and Wu Niang smiled at Shi Yi Niang: "I want to talk to you about something personal." She said, dismissing Ziwei and a few others.

  The eleventh girl also smiled and left a few amber beads behind.

  Only the two of them were left in the house, and Wu Niang let out a sigh, looking at Shiyi Niang with a face full of apology: "Good sister, I misunderstood you, that's why I've been displeased with you everywhere... Don't be angry with me."

  Eleventh sister was quite unexpected.

  It seems like Wu Niang has made up her mind to get it?

  She looked uneasy: "Sister, don't say that. It must be my fault somewhere, so I made sister misunderstand." As she spoke, she widened her eyes and stared at Wu Niang, "Sister, what did I...".

  "It's all my fault." Wu Niang looked very ashamed, "You don't know, Mother chose you and me to come to Yanjing to visit Dà Yuán, but it was just because older sister is already married, and older brother is far away in Yanjing, with no one by her side, she wanted to find two daughters who share a close relationship to accompany her on the journey, chatting and laughing to alleviate her boredom." Her face showed a hint of anger, "Who knew that this matter would fall into the ears of someone with ill intentions, and it became 'Dà Gē's body is not well, sister wants to choose one of the younger sisters to be his concubine'!"

  The eleventh girl accompanied her and revealed a surprised expression: "Is there still this matter? How come I've never heard of it before?"

  "Those people looked down on my younger sister because of her age and didn't dare say it to her face." Wu Niang's gaze shifted, "But they dared to come to my house and whisper in my ear." She paused for a moment, "To be honest, I'm not afraid to tell you that the ones who said this are actually Da Yiniang and Er Yiniang."

  Eleventh girl stared at Fifth Girl in surprise.

  She's really something!

  However, Big Aunt and Second Aunt are everywhere, saying that it's uncertain whether they have said this or not.

  The fifth daughter saw the eleventh daughter's expression and was very satisfied. She smiled and said, "How about this? Moreover, mother brought us two people here, in order to let older sister choose one from among us. So, that day you were feeling unwell but still came to my room to ask me about older sister's affairs, I was very angry!"

  "Sister!" Eleventh Maiden looked at her with some trepidation, "Sister, you don't think I'm thinking...I really didn't know there was such a thing...It's just that the boat is boring, so I chatted with my sister about trivial matters." As she spoke, she showed a self-reproachful expression again, "If I had known earlier, I should have made it clear to my sister. And also avoid misunderstanding me!"

  "No, no, no." Eleventh Sister hastily said, "To say it, this matter is all my fault. I didn't make it clear to my sister, so...". She lowered her head, her face flushing red, with a shy and embarrassed expression, "Mother had told me about this before... saying that older sister's body isn't good, and she was worried that if she left, there would be no one to take care of Younger Brother. Saying, in the family, only I and Tenth Sister were of suitable age... you also know, Tenth Sister wasn't favored by Mother. And asked me, asked if I was willing or not... how could a young unmarried girl like me answer... so when Mother told me to go to Yanjing, I refused to go... Mother then advised me, saying that if I went alone, wouldn't everyone find out... Mother then had you and me come to Yanjing together..."

  The eleventh girl was shocked.

  Wu Niang has become ruthless in her pursuit of Yuan Niang's position...

  Even if it were true, Madam Yu wouldn't dare say such a thing. And besides, Yuan Niang is still alive!

  (Only one update today! Hehe......)

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