Chapter Six Idle Talk

  The east wing of the second courtyard of Chengfu, adjacent to the lotus pond, is a garden shared by both the first and second courtyards, and it's also a great place for summer relaxation. The living quarters of the young girls in the family are all nearby.

  Early in the morning, many servants came and went to serve, but unlike usual, everyone stopped and looked at a mansion for a while, discussing it in low voices.

  Yesterday midnight, this room was hastily cleaned up and a woman moved in, said to be the eldest daughter of the family.

  "We all have to move back a row, and from now on, Seventh Sister will be called Eighth Sister." Twelve-year-old Cheng Liu Niang said with a smile.

  After hearing her words, the other two young girls eating in the house put down their chopsticks and lowered their heads to hold back their laughter.

  The wet nurse rushed over in a flurry.

  "Sixth sister, stop teasing your younger sister." she said.

  Liu Niang is the legitimate daughter from the main house, not a concubine's daughter from her own household, so she doesn't dare to scold.

  Qiqi's accumulated anger from the whole evening was triggered by this sentence. She threw down her chopsticks and ran out crying.

  The wet nurse exclaimed and hurriedly chased after her.

  Cheng Qiniang was so angry that she cried, and Cheng Liuniang stuck out her tongue and quickly ran away.

  The two girls left in the room exchanged a glance.

  "Do you still remember that fool?" asked Cheng Si Niang.

  "She left home when we were only two years old, how can I remember?" said Cheng Wuniang, slowly picking up her chopsticks to eat again, "Besides, what's there to remember about a fool, it's all like that."

  She said with a mischievous expression, sticking out her tongue and rolling her eyes.

  Cheng Si Niang was amused by her.

  "After that, I became Cheng Wu Niang," she said, pointing at Cheng Wu Niang.

  It was really funny, the two sisters looked at each other and burst out laughing again.

  Mrs. Cheng II didn't sleep all night and hadn't eaten dinner, wanting to sleep a little longer, but was forced to get up by her daughter's crying.

  "No one will stop you from being Qī Niáng, you are Qī Niáng, and will always be Qī Niáng." She said with her hand pinching her head.

  Qī Niáng grabbed her mother's sleeve, her big eyes full of tears, and felt slightly comforted after getting her mother's guarantee.

  "I don't want a silly sister like you, people will laugh at me!" She shouted again, twisting her body.

  If possible, I suppose everyone in the Cheng family would have such thoughts, but what can be done about it?

  This fool has been gone from the Taoist temple for seven or eight years and hasn't died yet, but he's back.

  Madam Cheng II felt her head splitting.

  "All right, Seventh Sister, what are you making a fuss about? Look at yourself, do you have the demeanor of a young lady from a good family? If you continue like this, you'll end up being laughed at by the whole town just like your foolish older sister!" She scolded with a stern face.

  This was Qīniáng's worst nightmare, she looked at her mother and let out a loud wail.

  The second house of Cheng's family was in a mess early in the morning.

  The news reached the main house of the Cheng family, and almost overnight, Mr. and Mrs. Cheng looked at each other, sighed heavily.

  "The second brother has a family of his own, and the younger sister hasn't seen that child even once since she got married, I think it's better not to let them ask, bring him over and I'll ask him myself," said Mrs. Cheng.

  Cheng Da Lao Ye nodded, with a hint of fatigue.

  "Has that child eaten yet?" Madame Cheng then had a servant woman go ask.

  My wife came back soon after.

  "She said, 'Still sleeping.'"

  Mrs. Cheng was somewhat stunned, looking at the sky outside, it was bright early in the summer day, and now the sun had risen very high, everything inside and out was shining brightly and dazzling.

  "A fool, can you still expect her to have a normal routine? Isn't it just eating and sleeping?" Mr. Cheng said irritably, "Don't ask anymore, just leave it like that."

  Jiang Yao and her servant returned to the Jiang's house on the first day and slept soundly.

  The radish returns home and settles down, several months of worry and fear are all gone, and the sleep is exceptionally sound.

  Jiang Niang has been unable to sleep well since waking up several months ago, but now her sleep is getting better and better. Especially last night, she didn't even have a single dream. Could it be that this is because she has finally returned home, and her soul is at peace?

  In short, both master and servant were in a good mood, so after getting up and washing, they didn't have much aversion to the cold food.

  "At home, dinner time is early. You newcomers don't know, but once the stove is turned off, it's not good to start again. Our family has a lot of people and no separate small kitchen rules." A maid outside the corridor explained to Banqin with a smile that was not quite a smile, while glancing at the sky, "Or else just wait a bit longer, lunch will be ready soon too."

  This is ironic, they started late, and Half Cabbage didn't care.

  "It doesn't matter, I'll just warm it up myself." She said with a smile at the waitress.

  Is she going to cook? The servant woman was stunned for a moment, and indeed, the little girl went in and soon set up two small stoves in the hall, opened a food box, and inside were pots, ladles, bowls, chopsticks and other utensils that were not only complete but also very exquisite. There were several things she had never seen before.

  How can an idiot use it so skillfully?

  The servant woman was stunned, and a servant woman behind her reached out and poked her.

  "What's he like?" The maid who came later asked in a low voice with some curiosity, while secretly glancing into the hall.

  The maid before shook her head.

  "I haven't come out, and I haven't gone in either. The window is open, you can take a peek." She said with a low laugh.

  Two maidservants were giggling together.

  Looking at the half-done dishes being served in the food box and taken to the bedroom, the two maids didn't follow to take a look either.

  "When I was young, I still remember that I couldn't even eat rice properly, and didn't know how to hold my urine. By winter time, our clothes were all unwashed, and we stank every day. My first wife would burn incense in the house, one stick at a time, but it ended up making me sneeze uncontrollably. Every time I sneezed, I'd pee."

  On the other side, the servant women who were sweeping and dusting also gathered together chatting and laughing, and when they got to this point, they all burst out laughing.

  "It's really hard for the first lady, this child shouldn't have been kept from the start."

  "It wasn't that the old master wanted to drown him, but the lady wouldn't let it happen. She cried and made a fuss, bringing over relatives, which only ended up making the old master so angry he took to his bed for three days, losing all interest in the affairs of the second household."

  "Not listening to the elderly, trouble is right in front of you. The first wife suffered for this foolish child and was dragged down by him. The second master didn't like it either and didn't want any more children. Instead, he ruined his own body and left early, leaving behind this child to suffer. It would have been better if they had just ended it quickly from the start. Now, she's probably reincarnated and living a good life."

  "Look what you're saying, if it weren't for the first wife passing away early, there wouldn't be the current second wife's affair."

  This remark again triggered a burst of laughter, and the topic shifted to the new wife.

  "Which one is better, the previous wife and the current wife?"

  Comparing herself to a dead person was what Madame Chong dreaded the most. As a second wife, this was unavoidable. From the time she discussed marriage with the Cheng family in her boudoir, she knew this would happen.

  Which girl doesn't want to be a couple, you only have me and I only have you, but life is always full of helplessness. Because her father was guilty in the past, family matters were involved, she became an old maid, and had no choice but to marry someone as a second wife.

  Fortunately, her husband is young and handsome, with a smooth career path. The relationship between the sisters-in-law is harmonious, and her mother-in-law is devoted to Buddhism. She feels like she has become a part of this family, more like an older daughter than a daughter-in-law. Now that she has given birth to a son, all the worries she had before getting married have gradually been forgotten.

  Who would have thought that at a time when everything was getting better, such things would suddenly emerge, and those unpleasant memories suppressed in the heart would all rush to the surface.

  In the future, she and her husband cannot sleep together in peace, with a coffin between them, and she can only be placed in a lower position. Even though she accompanied her husband for decades, gave birth to children and continued the family line, she is still inferior to that woman who lived for just a few years at home without any weight, simply because she entered the house before her, simply because she was her husband's first wife.

  Madam Cheng's whole body was trembling, having been cried at by her daughter all morning, and she couldn't get out of her head her daughter's words: "I don't want a stupid sister."

  Fool! All this trouble was brought by this fool, why didn't she die in Bianzhou and come back?!